Indoor Motorsports Facility

[J.D.]

In Newsday today, anybody heard anything on this? Supposed to be at Yaphank site. They don't say what kind of Motorsports.

[allhailunc]

I'm amazed this is still being kicked around :rolleyes: the article does mention about a "possible" indoor motorsports facility, but just how big could that be?The article also mentions that the area so designated for this "Project" will be set aside for possible ballfields and park area (a goodly portion of it at least). There are also other projects in mind for some of the other parcels available but remember this: I'm sure that those that "might" show an interest in building "something" out there will have a big say on who/what their neighbors will be. Maybe you should all pray for another friggin' golf course, because that seems to be the only thing that never has a problem getting built. :disgusted

[W. J.]

Now, now, let's not be too negative. Yes, it seems there may be an indoor facility built within a 60 acre parcel of the land. You can bet the farm it won't be used for full sized race cars, but keep in mind, this past weekend in Atlantic City, there was a show with TQ's and go karts, and that's mainly what runs indoors, so all is not lost. That will be an asset for race fans, too.
I found a more interesting, though not racing related, portion of the article dealt with the type and location of the housing they want to build there. It would be affordable, below market cost, townhouse/apartment type units, NO single family homes :confused: , and all in the Longwood school district, none in the Yaphank school district. Playing to the local (residents) tax base? Keep in mind, there is also an industrial park planned for the Yaphank school district area (good for the tax base, good for the school district), and they also want to build an ice rink facility on the Northeast portion of the land, a small benefit to the taxpayers of the Longwood district.
Those who supported Topgun's idea for the land and attended some or all of the preliminary meetings on the use of this land now know who your political friends are and aren't. At least there is still hope for Topgun's proposal at Calverton, if the Town of Riverhead does the right thing and uses the Grumman land for recreation. So, forget Yaphank, and get behind the Calverton proposal with the best effort you can, and hope that it happens.

[art11758]

umm, I guess I'm a bit late with this then:
http://www.libn.com/viewFeature.cfm?recid=104&sourceReferrer=flashReport
I particularly like the "deep pocket" folks who were mentioned. I would think their input shouldn't matter diddly, unless they live here in Suffolk. Where does Mr. Wang live anyway??
And the final bit from the developer who says to sell it and use the proceeds to purchase (and I would imagine subsidize) existing housing. Certainly doesn't look like it will turn out the way it was presented to me in the Bellport H.S., that's for sure.

[W. J.]

Mr. Wang will get his super city built around the Nassau Colisseum, and probably only wants the ice rink at Yaphank for a minor league team. As for Parr, all he ever wants to do is build industrial parks, but the idea of rehabbing a few homes elsewhere to create affordable housing is one the county should run with. God knows they have enough of them that they've picked up through tax defaults.
But like I said previously, we should all forget this project area, and get behind Calverton and Top Gun. :)

[allhailunc]

Hey Walt-ever see the likes of those that wind up in those houses?I do.we have more than enough of that in just our little area alone.we don't need more of that in whats left of our nice town :disgusted

[Rich Mergl]

There is no Yaphank School District. Yaphank is in Longwood School District.

[W. J.]

My mistake, Rich. What I meant was the Southern part of the property, designated for industrial only, is in the South Country Central School district. Sorry for the mistake, it was all my own. The point I was making is that all the housing would be placing the burden on Longwood, and the industrial tax base would be mostly outside that area.

[CIN]

Wang threw together something just to have his name in the mix and to have Nassau know it too. He's not that interested. As for all the meetings, the county knew long before what they wanted to do. There will be housing, and it will impact the Longwood SD big time. I just hope all those in that district are willing to shell out big time for new schools.

Like Walter said, on to Calverton. The plans for there are great. And if Riverhead makes the right decision, then everyone interested in anything will have a place to play.

[The Bullfather]

post last week in suffolk life

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17692536&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6365&rfi=6

[Tracy87BB]

Gee, I bet that will be fun for the Longwood school district. I moved into that school district in 1985, I think, and that's when they were in the process of building what is now the high school. The middle school at the time actually housed school in split shifts - 8th and 9th graders went in the morning, and 6th and 7th graders went in the afternoon. It was such a wonderful experience...I got to go to school something like noon to 5 pm in a school with no real walls to speak of (that still hasn't changed from what I understand but is beside the point anyway); in the winter it was already dark by the time I got home. My older brother, on the other hand, had to be at the bus stop at something like 5:30 am (so there were times when he got to leave for school in the dark). The new school was done before I had the pleasure of going in the morning. I sure hope residents of the district are ready to see that happen again if, as is being suggested, all of the housing ends up being in Longwood.

[CIN]

If what the planning committee wants goes thru, all the housing will be in the Longwood SD. And sorry, but I find nothing affordable in what they are preposing...1 & 2 bedroom, basically, apartments starting at 185,000+ and that doesn't include taxes and maintenance charges. Besides the fact that you have to buy them, they might also require that part of the mortgage agreement you must sign that you will live there for at least 5 years. Now put into the mix that Dowling and Stony Brook want some of the units for their professors, Brookhaven hospital for their nurse's and doctors, BNL and Northrop for their engineers and the volunteers that Levy spoke of, I'd like to know what will be left for those that really need this...our young people. Nope, not a good plan, and We the tax payers are subsidizing this joke. Remember it was our (or should I say my parents) taxes that bought this land.

Don't get me started....

CIN

On to Calverton....

[allhailunc]

I hate to say this but housing, whether it be subsidized/cheap/affordable-is of a much higher priority than any race track could be.

[Tracy87BB]

Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact figure from the public hearing I went to in Bellport, but there is an alarming number of people my age on Long Island who still live at home. One of the problems that I see is not the lack of housing per se, but the inability to afford it. Many retail locations, etc., are offering in the area of $7-$8 per hour, and many are now even capping the number of hours employees can work in order to keep them below full-time status (many places offer 30-32 hours per week). In a 32-hour week - even at $10 per hour - you're still only grossing $320 and probably netting around $250 a week. Okay, if these units are designed for young people with no children, how are you supposed to afford a mortgage payment on a $185,000 unit when you bring home $1,000 a month? And that's not to mention whatever "maintenance fees", etc., that get thrown on top. It's funny, because just last week I looked at a pretty inexpensive three-bedroom single-family house in Longwood School District (on a relatively small piece of property), and the issue wasn't even so much the mortgage payment itself, but the extra $500 a month on top of that I would be paying in taxes...and that's a pretty small tax bill for the area (I would think the taxes in the district will only go up when this project is built...I'm just not buying the whole line of there being few enough kids put in there that they can be crammed into the existing school system, actually bringing taxes down). I was originally under the impression that the idea was to build affordable homes for people in my demographic - those of us starting out raising families who are going to be forced off of the Island to find more affordable living (not to mention jobs). I do have a few friends who are around my age who are having children but still living at home. If it's all one- and two-bedroom units, who is going to live there? It doesn't sound to me like it's catering to the people who are supposedly in need of "affordable housing" (not that I'd want to move my family into housing on that particular site, anyway...they're worried about building a "noisy" racetrack near homes...I guess it makes a lot more sense to build homes near things like a landfill and a fireworks plant...). Oh well, I might as well spit in the wind on this one, I guess. It's just so sad to see something that could have actually provided an economic stimulus get turned into something that is going to be of no benefit to me or my family, directly or indirectly.

[art11758]

It appears the local citizenry are upset about something. Check this out:
http://www.libn.com/breakingNews.htm?articleID=6758&sourceReferrer=flashReport
I don't see what it will do for anyone, other than get Jim Morgo's name in the paper a few more times. But then again I've got my own visions of how things should be.(see my thoughts about the Staten Island thing that didn't happen)

[W. J.]

Interesting story, thanks Art. The thing that caught my eye is the 'national bidding' part of it. Maybe Disney will want to build a mini-theme park there? LOL. Six Flags Amusements? Paramount (Studios) Parks? Better still, all should remember, this land will be 'LEASED", not sold, so what happens to it when the lease is up? Pack up and get out, we have a new entity that offered us more money. This is turning into the (unfortunately) usual political boondoggle, meaning we are getting sold out by the politicians once more. TGSE knew it was a lease, wanted to build something to benefit all county (taxpaying) residents, and they've apparently been shoved aside to build affordable (?) housing on a scale that Levy himself said at the opening of this process was only to be a small part of the land use. 1000 units is NOT small. This whole thing has turned into another waste of taxpayers time and money, apparently to give the politicians more publicity in their quest to make names for themselves. We'll all just have to remember this come election day, which as history reflects, many won't. :mad:

[art11758]

Just what exactly does Steve Levy mean? Check this out:
http://www.libn.com/breakingNews.htm?articleID=6768&sourceReferrer=flashReport
“Because the county owns the land it can sell to developers at a subsidized rate,” he said. The cost saving will then be passed on to the consumers."
That's "smart growth"? Arrrgh! Maybe I should just stop looking at this stuff.

[allhailunc]

What does that mean? What that means is if you want your indoor racing facility,you want your ball fields/park, you want your sports arena-you are going to pay right out the ying-yang. That's what that means. :(

[W. J.]

We NEED affordable housing. We WANT more recreational facilities. Subsidizing BOTH would be smart growth, as one (housing) is a 'one-shot' form of revenue, while the other (recreational facility) is a recurring one. No one in government seems to get it. We tried to tell them, and they wouldn't listen, and it now looks like Levy is going to squander one of the last chances left gfor our government to do the right thing. :mad:
Let's hope Riverhead Town is smarter in regard to the Grumman/Navy property in Calverton.

[btgoss]

How dare you W.J.... How DARE you SIR....

Using both LOGIC AND REASON in a discussion of Long Island politics!!!

For shame...

Please remember our motto...

Long Island: Not In My Backyard.

[310fig8]

Walt I am sorry to edit you here, but you should NEVER use the words town or any other type of government and smart in the same sentence. That is very improper english. please learn this or I will have to block you from the Jam. :-B

[W. J.]

Sorry guys, please accept my humblest of apologies (LOL) and please don't ban or delete me.

[art11758]

Wanna get your opinion noticed? Follow this link to a blog where other motorsports folks have been getting noticed.
http://www.libn.com/breakingNews.htm?articleID=6805&sourceReferrer=flashReport
It may not do anything other than let you get your frustration at the "system" out there. Then again staying quiet doesn't do anything at all.