The Town Board on Thursday unanimously approved transferring 25 wooded acres at 301 Pomona Road to its Local Development Corporation for commercial and/or mixed use.
The land is located in the Village of New Hempstead, which would have to grant all zoning, environmental and building approvals. Town Board member Pat Withers said the RLDC has had informal discussions with New Hempstead and with potential private developers who expressed interest in the site, including Hilton.
Withers added: “I know people were upset about how the ballpark got here but quite frankly it’s here and we have to find a source of economic revenue to support the stability of the ballpark.” The RLDC is paying off a 25-year bond that financed the stadium, even though voters rejected a financing plan during an earlier referendum.
Robert Rhodes, chairman of Preserve Ramapo, which sued unsuccessfully to block the stadium, said St. Lawrence was using the same tactics of going behind the backs of the taxpayers to push the latest plan through. He criticized the town for holding the public hearing on Holy Thursday.
“At the very least Ramapo should have been required to get an appraisal of this land, and a careful legal explanation of the right of the town to transfer a valuable piece of property to the supposedly independent RLDC.” Read the full text of the Journal News story here.