5 Towners enraged over pending development of Woodmere golf course

Hempstead Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman made a prescient comment at a community meeting at Lawrence Woodmere Academy on Monday night, saying that the developers who now own the Woodmere Club are known for being litigious. On Tuesday, town officials said that Efrem Gerszberg, of 2020 Acquisitions, one of two owners of the 110-year-old club, had filed a lawsuit against the town for its continuation of a building moratorium and its proposal of a Golf Course Coastal Residence Overlay District.

The club was sold last year to Weiss Properties and 2020 Acquisitions. Their plan, according to representatives of the companies, is to keep the club open for the next four years and begin developing the property in 2022. Gerszberg did not respond to a call seeking comment on the lawsuit. 

At Monday’s community meeting, attended by several hundred residents, Blakeman said that the developers could build at least 240 homes on the 60 x 100-foot lot size that is typical of many houses in the immediate area.

“We will do everything in our power and consider all available options to ensure that the integrity of our local communities remains intact,” Councilman Anthony D’Esposito. 

“The town realized we had to do something, and we investigated legal options.” Blakeman said. Creating a regional park or a municipal golf course was considered, then dismissed, because a park would likely create more traffic volume than a potential residential development — and because the popularity of golf courses, Blakeman added, is declining, especially in the Five Towns. Both options would involve the town buying the land, and the cost, officials said, would be prohibitive.  

With information collected by Cameron Engineering and town departments, the overlay district was created to include more restrictions on building on land that Blakeman described as “environmentally sensitive,” noting wildlife, vegetation and flooding issues. The Inwood Country Club and the Golf Club at Middle Bay, in Oceanside, are included in the proposed district. If the Town Board approves it, building on these properties would be restricted. 

Hessel Hall, on the campus of Lawrence Woodmere Academy, was filled to its 400-person capacity on Monday by Five Towns residents, mainly from Cedarhurst, Lawrence, Woodmere and Woodsburgh, the communities potentially most affected by what could happen at the Woodmere Club.

“It was being done without transparency,” 40-year Woodmere resident Peter Stein said of the creation of the overlay district after the presentation. “They were going to vote on this on May 8, and the community didn’t have the opportunity to speak.”

Other community members agreed. “We don’t want the value of our houses to go down,” said Cedarhurst resident Michael Gross, whose home abuts the golf course. “The commissioned study’s parameters were too restrictive. The community may have other ideas.”

Mario Alex Joseph, president of the Five Towns Civic Association, was one of a few attendees who exchanged shouts of disagreement with Blakeman. Joseph said he also thought the district plan was rushed so it could be voted on at a town meeting schedule for Tuesday. “This wasn’t educational, it was an indoctrination,” said Joseph, who lives in Woodsburgh, adding that the town was preparing them for potential land development. 

D’Esposito reiterated to several residents that “no developer has come to us with a plan,” that he believed the town had been “fully transparent,” and that board members had expected the Cameron report more than two weeks ago. “We will take it off the calendar, and a hearing will be postponed indefinitely,” he said, noting that another community meeting could be held soon.

To view the entire Cameron Engineering report, go to bit.ly/2rv1rue