All rights reserved | Site by NeuLion, Inc
SUPPORT THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT
New York Islanders
Feb 15, 2008, 10:34 AM EST
Informational Table at Gate 13 Spreads the Word About the Lighthouse Project
Islanders fans looking to learn more about the Lighthouse at Long Island - the transformation of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum property – can show their support by visiting the project's informational table at all Islanders home games.
Renderings of all the proposed facilities for the 150-acre site and members of the Lighthouse team will be there to help answer questions. Fans can also sign up to obtain more information on the Lighthouse.
"Getting the Islanders fans involved and informed is a very important element in making this project successful," said Islanders owner and Co-Founder of the Lighthouse Development Group, Charles B. Wang. "For the most part, these are Long Islanders who care not only about their favorite hockey team, but share the vision of a destination at the Coliseum site for the better of the community."
More than 3,000 fans have come to talk with Lighthouse staff in the six games the information tables have been on the concourse.
"It's been a great opportunity to reintroduce our revised Master Plan to the Islanders fans," said Matthew Frank, Managing Director of the Lighthouse Development Group. "Being at the Coliseum has enabled us to get people updated on where we are in the process of making this landmark project a reality. It provides a special opportunity to hear what people in the community are concerned about."
Through the rest of the Islanders home schedule, the Lighthouse Development Group will be at the Coliseum talking with and listening to hockey fans about the Lighthouse at Long Island.
Stop by the Lighthouse display on the concourse, sign up to get more information and be part of the success of the most important development project on Long Island in 60 years!
About the Lighthouse Development Group, LLC.
Lighthouse Development Group, LLC, a joint venture between Charles Wang, the Founder of the Lighthouse project and owner of the New York Islanders and New York Dragons, and RexCorp Realty, LLC., Long Island's largest owner, manager and developer of commercial real estate, has been designated the exclusive developer of the Coliseum site and has entered into a Development Plan Agreement with the County of Nassau. The partnership combines Charles Wang's vision for the revitalization of the aging Coliseum property with RexCorp's renowned expertise.
The Lighthouse project is the transformation of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site and surrounding area into a modern 24/7 suburban center. The centerpiece will be a revitalized arena for the New York Islanders and New York Dragons, surrounded by exciting residential neighborhoods, lifestyle retail and entertainment venues, a sports technology center, multi-purpose athletic complex, state-of-the-art conference and exhibition facilities, a baseball stadium, and the first 5-star hotel on Long Island. The estimated $2 billion project is expected to generate almost $60 million of annual real estate tax revenue. An expected 17,000 construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs and many new businesses will be created. Overall, the Lighthouse project will add more than $200 million of incremental revenue over the next 25 years to the County and the State from the renovation of the Coliseum alone and keep the New York Islanders on Long Island for decades to come.
For more information about the Lighthouse project visit www.lighthouseli.com
Dec 5, 2007
By: Amanda Marsh, Associate Editor
RexCorp Realty L.L.C., one half of the development team for the massive 5.5 million-square-foot, $2 billion The Lighthouse at Long Island project in Nassau County, NY, has embarked on a $40 million capital improvement plan to turn its Long Island Marriott Hotel and Conference Center (pictured) in Uniondale into a state-of-the-art, fully amenitized, full-service hotel.
The hotel, which adjacent to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum—the area of the Lighthouse project—will receive extensive upgrades. The first phase of the project, scheduled to start this month, will include: renovations to the main lobby, ballrooms and great room, which will be completed by March 2008; and the guest rooms, which will be finished by mid-May 2008. The second phase of the improvement plan, which includes re-skinning the exterior façade of the building, will be completed in conjunction with the Lighthouse project. These renovations also prepare the Marriott for integration into the Lighthouse project.
“It was time to renovate the hotel, and as we started Lighthouse, we wanted to build the (project’s) momentum as a destination for meetings and conventions,” Lighthouse Development Group L.L.C. managing director Matthew Frank told CPN. Lighthouse Development Group, which includes RexCorp and developer Charles Wang, has been designated the exclusive developer of the Coliseum site.
The hotel, which was built in 1982 and expanded in 1991, includes: 612 guest rooms; 11 suites; a concierge level; two restaurants; 14 meeting rooms totaling 27,000 square feet; a 10,000-square-foot grand ballroom; and five other ballrooms of varying sizes. The in-house design and construction team includes Leo A Daly Interior Design, SF Design Group and Marriott Architecture and Construction.
Lighthouse Development Group entered into a development plan agreement with Nassau County in November, months ahead of schedule. The joint venture’s Lighthouse goal is to transform the Coliseum and the surrounding site into a modern 24/7 suburban center with: residential neighborhoods; lifestyle retail; entertainment venues; a sports technology center; a multi-purpose athletic complex; conference and exhibition facilities; a baseball stadium; and Long Island’s first five-star hotel.
Frank noted that the public review process will take approximately 18 months, and that the joint venture hopes to start the initial phase of the Lighthouse project by the middle of 2009.
The Lighthouse project is expected to generate almost $60 million of annual real estate revenue tax, 16,000 new construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs and many new business. Overall, the venture will add more than $200 million of incremental revenue over the next 25 years to both Nassau County and New York State from the renovation of the Coliseum alone.
RexCorp has also recently announced two other major mixed-use projects on Long Island: the $1 billion, 67-acre waterfront Glen Isles development in Glen Cove; and a $550 million, 224-unit Ritz-Carlton condominium residences project in North Hills with co-developer Midtown Properties. The latter project is part of a $2.8 billion partnership between RexCorp and Midtown, which will also include another Ritz-Carlton residential project in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and a 6-million-square-foot mixed-use waterfront project in Bridgeport, Conn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lighthouse Development Group, a Joint Venture Between
Reckson and Charles Wang, is Chosen by Nassau County
for Redevelopment of the Nassau County Hub
Uniondale, NEW YORK, March 16, 2006 – today Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi
announced that he has selected The Lighthouse Development Group, LLC, a joint venture
between Reckson (NYSE: RA), Long Island’s largest owner, manager and developer of
commercial properties and Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders (NHL) and NY
Dragons (AFL), to redevelop the Nassau County Coliseum complex.
“We are very pleased with today’s announcement. We look forward to continue working
with the County Executive and County Legislature, the Town of Hempstead and the
surrounding community as we transform this aging and obsolete facility as part of the
creation of a modern suburban center that everyone will be proud of,” said Charles Wang,
founder of the Lighthouse Development Group, LLC.
Scott Rechler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Reckson, added, “We have been
given an opportunity by the County Executive to contribute to the economic future of the
region. It is a historic responsibility we do not take lightly and we intend to make good on
the trust and confidence he has expressed in his decision to allow us to go forward.” Mr.
Rechler continued, “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this process. The
County ran a thorough and competitive RFP process which resulted in an enhanced
proposal which clearly benefits the people of Nassau County.”
For more information about the Lighthouse project, please visit www.lighthouseli.com.
About Reckson
Reckson Associates Realty Corp. is a self-administered and self-managed real estate
investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, leasing, financing, management and
development of Class A office properties.
Reckson’s core growth strategy is focused on the markets surrounding and including New
York City. The Company is one of the largest publicly traded owners, managers and
developers of Class A office properties in the New York Tri-State area, and wholly owns,
has substantial interests in, or has under contract, a total of 102 properties comprised of
approximately 20.2 million square feet. For additional information on Reckson Associates
Realty Corp., please visit the Company’s web site at www.reckson.com.
About The Lighthouse Development Group
The corporation was formed to develop and execute a plan for the redevelopment of the
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and surrounding properties.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Laurène Gros-Daillon, The Lighthouse Development Group 516-501-6870
lgrosdaillon@newyorkislanders.com
Susan McGuire, Reckson Associates Realty Corp. 631-622-6642
smcguire@reckson.com
Certain matters discussed herein, including guidance concerning the Company’s future performance, are
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of results and no assurance can be
given that the expected results will be delivered. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks,
trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected. Among those
risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate, including the conditions affecting industries
in which our principal tenants compete; financial condition of our tenants; changes in the supply of and
demand for office properties in the New York Tri-State area; changes in interest rate levels; changes in the
Company’s credit ratings; changes in the Company’s cost of and access to capital; downturns in rental rate
levels in our markets and our ability to lease or re-lease space in a timely manner at current or anticipated
rental rate levels; the availability of financing to us or our tenants; changes in operating costs, including
utility, real estate taxes, security and insurance costs; repayment of debt owed to the Company by third
parties; risks associated with joint ventures; liability for uninsured losses or environmental matters; and other
risks associated with the development and acquisition of properties, including risks that development may not
be completed on schedule, that the tenants will not take occupancy or pay rent, or that development or
operating costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact
Reckson, reference is made to Reckson's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reckson
undertakes no responsibility to update or supplement information contained in this press release.
Special Report: The Lighthouse project
Special Report
Photos: Plan for new Nassau Coliseum
This video was provided to Newsday by the New York Islanders.
Hofstra Supports Lighthouse
Neighboring University Endorses Project
(November 9) Hofstra University, a close neighbor to the Nassau Coliseum and surrounding 77-acre development, has given its collective blessing to the Lighthouse, Charles Wang's vision for the site.
Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz attended last month's press conference to introduce the project and emphatically endorsed the Lighthouse and the positive effects it will have on his university. Rabinowitz and Wang have discussed programs in which Hofstra students would be involved in many aspects of the Lighthouse.
"President Rabinowitz has been very supportive of Mr. Wang and thinks his proposal is good for Hofstra," said Melissa Connolly, assistant VP for University Relations. "The plan includes a sports complex in walking distance from Hofstra and this would greatly improve campus life."
In a recent article in the Hofstra Chronicle, students also were very enthusiastic about the Lighthouse. "I think it's good for the economy," said Issac Elyasoff, a junior Business Management major. "I think it would really improve the area," said Matthew Diano, a junior Journalism major. "This campus is beautiful, but when you step off it, you're in an eyesore. Being a huge sports fan, renovating the Nassau Coliseum would be huge."
Visions of $200M renovation
Islanders’ owner unveils plan to transform aging facility, surroundings into revitalized arena with housing, shopping and sky terraces
| STAFF WRITER; Staff writer Dionne Searcey contributed to this story.
September 28, 2004
Article tools
Related links
· Photos: Nassau Coliseum proposed renovations Photos
· Coliseum makeover?
· Sixty-story tower may be tough sell, some predict
· Wang fully transforms from software giant to real estate developer
· Q & A on the Nassau County Coliseum
· Charles Wang Photo
The plan calls for construction to begin in 2006 and be completed in 2009. Most of the heavy work would be done during the summer from June to October when hockey season starts. The Coliseum would be closed during that time.
Financial details of the proposal, however, were sketchy. Picker said the overhaul of the Coliseum and construction of the athletic complex would be done with help from state, the county and Wang. He would not release further details.
Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi would not comment on the proposal and Islanders spokesman Chris Botta wouldn't comment on the financing. "The deal isn't done," he said.
By lowering the Coliseum floor, Picker said the facility would increase its seating from 16,300 to 17,500 for hockey games, could seat 18,500 for basketball games and 20,000 for concerts. The facility would keep 31 luxury boxes at the top of the Coliseum, Picker said.
Calling it "The Coliseum At The Lighthouse," Picker said Wang's vision for the area also includes a second phase, which would develop the 70 acres surrounding the Coliseum. However, who will develop that area, how it will be financed, and whether zoning and environmental issues can be addressed remain uncertain.
Plans for Phase 2 include "The Great Lighthouse," a 60-story building with a 10,000-square-foot observatory deck with a hundred miles of unobstructed view. The building is modeled on the ancient "Great Lighthouse" of Alexandria, Egypt.
Beneath the deck would be the Grand Hotel at the Lighthouse, a five-star, 500-room hotel with four restaurants, ballrooms and sky terraces. The lobby of the hotel will be on the 40th floor and every room, officials said, will have "incredible views."
Beneath the hotel would be luxury condominiums ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet.
Picker said there is also a plan to develop "The Residences At The Lighthouse," which would be "affordable priced," mid-rise rental apartments that would be connected to the athletic complex and Coliseum.
The delicacy of the plan was borne out yesterday through state and county officials who had inklings of the plan but were hesitant to comment on details, worried about upstaging Wang and blowing the deal.
Some state and county officials said they had learned Wang would finance much of the project himself.
County officials have long said that cash-strapped Nassau, while its finances are improving, is in no position to provide cash. However, it can provide the 70 acres around the Coliseum for development.
For months, Wang has made the political rounds, courting Gov. George Pataki and other Albany lawmakers for state help and holding many meetings with Suozzi.
He plans to meet with local officials, Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs, (D-Woodbury) and Minority Leader Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa), today to discuss his plan in detail.
The Suozzi administration has long viewed a Coliseum project as key to the redevelopment of the central Nassau Hub, which stretches from the EAB Plaza in Uniondale on the southeast to Roosevelt Field mall on the northwest.
To pull off the second phase of Wang's plan, the county would have some major hurdles to clear. County officials said that a major transportation system, which would cost millions, would have to be developed to accommodate increased use of the area. There are zoning and environmental issues that would have to be worked out as well.
And Nassau County is still under contract with SMG of Philadelphia, which manages the Coliseum under a lease that runs until 2015. The company receives the bulk of revenue from concession stands and luxury boxes, and has management rights to any facility built on the 70-acre parcel around the Coliseum.
Trump's Jones Beach plans hit rough surf
10:27 PM EST, December 11, 2007
Article tools
E-mail- Share
Print
Reprints- Post comment
- Text size:
An indignant Donald Trump said Tuesday that a state board's denial of a variance for a basement at his planned restaurant and catering facility at Jones Beach could delay construction "for years."
The high-profile developer needed a variance for the 36,000-square-foot basement because Trump on the Ocean would be built in a floodplain.
"That decision cannot be appealed," said Eamon Moynihan, spokesman for the Department of State, whose review board issued the decision in Cortlandt Manor Tuesday.
Related links
· Trump on the Ocean renderings Photos
· Trump responds to Newsday editorial
· Complete coverage: Trump at Jones Beach
· ExploreLI: Jones Beach
• Jones Beach info
• Jones Beach concert photos
• Jones Beach seating chart
• Boardwalk Bandshell
• Fun & games
• Jones Beach events
• Jones Beach flash map
• Share your Jones Beach memories
• Nearby dining
• Jones Beach, marvel by the sea
"This particular project, as designed, will not be built" unless the parks department -- which applied for the variance -- decides to take the matter to court.
Trump was incensed. He complained last week that the state already was slowing his progress on the project, and Tuesday he blamed state parks officials for the latest holdup. He also said that agency had repeatedly approved the plan -- basement and all. Finally, he threatened legal action against the parks agency "if they don't get this straightened out."
"What it means is that for years, that site will sit the way it is, no income will be derived, and the state will have a huge liability," Trump said.
Eileen Larrabee, spokeswoman for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation, said the agency has not yet signed off on any final design for the facility.
She added that Trump and partner Steve Carl had been told earlier this year that the basement could pose a problem. She said that the developers are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the project has all the necessary permits and variances under the terms of their contract with state parks.
Trump's seaside vision also prompted questions from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. That agency is concerned that waves hitting the portion of the basement that is above ground could cause scouring and possibly undermine the entire structure, said William S. Nechamen, chief of the DEC's floodplain management section.
"Lack of a recent flood does not decrease the possibility of future flood," he said in response to a statement from the Trump architectural team that the area had not experienced flooding in years.
Next in the process: Trump's people and the parks department will review the variance board's written comments and decide how to proceed.
Trump's team and state parks officials had traveled to Cortlandt Manor yesterday to present their case before the review board overseen by the State Department of State's Division of Code Enforcement and Administration. After more than three hours of testimony and deliberation, the board announced it had turned aside the request. It cited "insufficient evidence to grant the variance for the basement."
State building code requires that new buildings in the floodplain be elevated above the expected level of flooding and waves in a 100-year-flood -- an event that has a 1 percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
The proposed site is about 22 feet farther inland than the previous restaurant, said Michael Russo, team project manager for Hawkins Webb Jaeger, the Medford architectural and engineering firm working on the project.
According to a 2006 environmental impact statement, the Trump on the Ocean site has a 1 percent chance of being flooded in any year and the flooding would be accompanied by breaking waves that are 3 feet or greater in height. There is a 26 percent chance of the flood within 30 years, DEC officials said.
Questions during the hearing centered on the facility's proposed 37,000-square-foot basement, which would have coolers and storage areas.
Nassau Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), who attended the hearing, said he was concerned that the basement would worsen erosion of the surrounding area during bad weather.
Trump's representatives said putting the building entirely above ground would be impractical because it would take up too much space on public land and conflict with the parks department's demands that the building be low enough to blend with the surrounding historic buildings. Before yesterday's setbacks, Trump had said his construction schedule was six weeks behind.
But when board members asked Russo whether any legal reason prevented Trump from proceeding without a basement, he said "No."
Jones Beach over-development update: Trump hearing
Congratulations to Newsday for interesting coverage of this story here. (There’s actually a great visual of the affected area, which makes you appreciate the natural resources.)
excerpts of reporting by BILL BLEYER | bill.bleyer@newsday.com
March 4, 2008
…The meeting room for the long-awaited hearing at the Cradle of Aviation in East Garden City holds 300, but people were being turned away Tuesday even before the previously scheduled start time,which was 11 a.m. at the Cradle of Aviation in East Garden City.
At least 30 people remained in a spill-over area…Another 30, with no where left to sit, left.
The Donald’s Trump on the Ocean catering hall/restaurant is before a state review board because it needs a variance from the state building code to be constructed at Jones Beach. Trump needs a variance because his building would have a basement, and those are not allowed in floodplains…
The board at Tuesday’s hearing was also different. Three of its original five members recused themselves in the past week or so. The state won’t say why…
Donald Trump and Steve Carl are planning to open up their Trump on the Ocean catering hall at Jones beach in 2009. It seemed like just yesterday Albany pulled the rug out from underneath South Shore Long Island residents by giving permission to Donald Trump to build another “Grand” building for all the world to awe at in place of the abandoned Jones Beach Restaurant.
Yesterday a meeting was held in Garden City with the public in attendance addressing the issue of allowing Trump to have a basement in the restaurant. He was shut down 4-1. In an interview with TV10/55, Steve Carl says about Jones Beach and Wantagh that they want “to give it something it’s never had, a great facility.”
YO - Nobody wants you here, Steve Carl. We don’t need you or DTrump to give us a great facility. It’s been great since before your millionaire daddies were born.
I could care less about a basement, I just do not want Donald Trump anywhere near my town. The basement was an excuse to get him out. Jones Beach is already a huge tourist destination, I am not shunning tourists. It is Trump which I am against. It is his gaudy, overextending taste, his massive monuments which do not know how to compliment anything around him. This restaurant is aiming to be the main attraction of Jones Beach. — The main attraction should be the beach!
A restaurant would be great there! One that fit in discreetly with the environment. Some place that served seafood and other foods that came from Long Island and the East Coast. I want to show off why Long Island is so great.
I’d rather have anyone than Trump. Give it to Charles Wang. He is a real Long Islander, he has given hundreds of millions to the Island and wants to build places to create a harmony of community - not to improve his fortune by a fraction of a percent.
Who is for us, who is against us?
Dave Denenberg seems to be against it most of the time, at this interview he thought it was ridiculous that the public didn’t get their piece at the hearing.
Fellow Long Islanders, We have about a year to stop the construction of donald trumps newest development: Trump on the Ocean, a multimillion dollar catering hall that will pander to the wealthy by serving $300/plate meals on Long Islands Jones Beach. This venture will replace the old Boardwalk Cafe, which had burned down quite a while ago, with a private catering hall. In any other situation, this would not be a problem, Long Island is filled with trendy places such as this. However, Donald Trump is building on STATE PROPERTY which is intended to be used by everyone, not just a select few. In addition to the various problems this would cause for average beach-goers like you and me, theres the question of how this business would even stay afloat in a venue that only operates for 6 months out of the year. Not to mention that New York State and Long Island are getting royally screwed out of millions of tax dollars, considering that this project will be built, not only on public property, but state owned land. Neighboring towns such as Wantaugh and Seaford will not see one tax dollar from this project, the taxes goe directly to the state. So in the end, the rich get richer, and you and I are left in the dust.
Trump
March 7, 2008, 5:39 pm
Donald Trump Goes to the Beach
Donald Trump — who likes getting his way, and his name on things — could be handed a setback on both scores. He hasn’t been getting anywhere in his plan to build an enormous catering hall bearing the Trump brand at Jones Beach State Park.
This week, a state code-enforcement panel rejected his request for a variance to build a 26,000-square-foot basement kitchen for his seaside palace, which he calls Trump on the Ocean. New York does not allow basements to be built in a flood plain, unless they are used just for storage.
At the same meeting where Mr. Trump lost the vote, his plan was denounced by dozens of Long Islanders who said it was too big, too exclusive, too Trumped-up for Jones Beach, which is one of the grandest, loveliest — and most charmingly understated — public spaces in all the Empire State.
The dozens of Long Islanders are right.
To be fair to Mr. Trump, he does have a deal, which he signed in 2006, when Bernadette Castro was parks commissioner under Gov. George Pataki.
It certainly is sweet for Mr. Trump: the term is 40 years, long enough for your nephew to have both his bar mitzvah and his 25th wedding anniversary there, and it calls for Mr. Trump to pay the state only $200,000 a year, plus a percentage of sales revenues, though never more than 5 percent. That is a pittance for exclusive control of the only catering hall on six miles of some of the most spectacular beachfront property on the East Coast, or anywhere.
New York State is finally doing what it should have done under Mr. Pataki: putting this deal under a microscope, with lots of public input, to make sure that Mr. Trump is not allowed to deface or exploit a public treasure. He has repeatedly clashed with state officials over the permits, variances and environmental rules that would keep his ambitions and ego in check. He has been grumbling over things like how big he could make the “TRUMP” on the side of his building — he wanted the letters bigger than the state allows, of course — and now that basement.
Park officials should hold firm against Mr. Trump’s bluster and bluffing and make sure that whatever is built becomes an asset for all the people of New York, not just another branding opportunity for the often-shameless Mr. Trump and a strut-your-tux spot for the $300-a-plate, Cadillac-S.U.V. crowd.
What? You do not share this skepticism?
Then go to trumpontheocean.com. Watch as the letters of his name rise from the waves, like some golden temple of Atlantis. Click on the video. Who is that lovely young woman running along Jones Beach in a tiara, chandelier earrings and sexy beaded gown?
Is it New York State’s Parks Commissioner, Carol Ash?
No, silly, it’s Miss USA 2007, Rachel Smith, pouting and prancing through the surf for her boss, Mr. Trump, who owns the pageant and is always up for some not-so-subtle cross-marketing.
When Ms. Castro announced the Trump deal in the waning days of the Pataki administration, she said it was “like a gift from God.”
The implication was that God had looked upon the grandeur of His handiwork — the vast ocean, sand, wind, sun, grass and soaring gulls — and said: “Yeah, this is fine, but what it really needs is a place for some awesome, blowout wedding receptions. I wonder if Trump is available?”
Note to readers: Mr. Trump is not God. Nor is he Robert Moses, who, for all his many flaws and lordly ways, built what he built for the regular people of New York. Jones Beach is perhaps his greatest achievement. It is a magnificent public park, and should stay that way.
It was reported in yesterday’s Newsday that Donald Trump and Steve Carl (of Carlyle on the Green in Bethpage) will be opening a new restaurant at Jones Beach to replace the old Boardwalk Restaurant which closed down years ago and was recently demolished.
Donald Trump on Long Island? I’m not sure I like the idea…
Pros:
Anything built by Trump is top notch. This won’t be a half-baked sham or under funded project.
Plans call for a 36,000-square-foot facility on 6 acres, which could handle groups up to 1,400 people. In addition to the restaurant the three story building will also house a nightclub.
According to Mr. Trump, “When it's finished, there will be nothing like it anywhere in the world.” Of course…
The facility will be open year round and includes an outdoor dining facility for beachgoers.
Cons:
Probably not too much in the con section. Anything is better than what was there.
My only concern is that the facility will be “marketed towards an affluent clientele,” not the everyday guy like you and me. According to Trump and Carl however, it will be accessible to “those who aren't Rockefellers.”
Is it just me or does that not sound encouraging?
Jones Beach was built for the masses and I think that tradition should be observed. To plop down a haven for the affluent in the middle of it seems just plain wrong.
Most Long Islanders work pretty darn hard for a living and places like Jones Beach offer a great escape from the week’s BS. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want when I’m relaxing is a reminder of how not rich I am.
Well, the place isn’t even built yet so maybe I’m overreacting. We’ll see.
Back on the Pro side, Donald Trump is against the LIPA proposed wind farm. Good man, Donald! Although he’s against it purely for aesthetic reasons I’m still glad he’s against it.
Tangent
In my opinion the wind farm is a bad idea. It’s going to cost us a fortune to build and is not going to save us ratepayers a single cent.
Not only will it ruin the view all along Long Island’s south shore, but you’ll hear it as well. That’s right, the windmills make noise.
For a preview of how bad this is going to look check out these pictures on the LIPA Offshore Wind Park website. Click on each link below and when the picture opens scroll back and forth a dramatic panoramic view.
Jones Beach | Cedar Beach | Gilgo Beach | Robert Moses
Then read this eye opening article opposing the LIPA Wind Farm by Long Island resident, Richard Moore.
Construction of Trump by the Ocean is scheduled to start this year with a completion date sometime in 2008.
Regardless of the targeted clientele, this project is a much needed improvement to Jones Beach. I just hope it’s not so pricey we can’t even afford an anniversary or birthday dinner.
SITTING at a table overlooking Bethpage State Park’s vaunted Black Course, Steve Carl, a small man with shoulders permanently frozen in an Ed Sullivan hunch, is not too shy to disclose that he spent $10 million out of his very own pocket to renovate the dilapidated clubhouse that was the pride and joy of Robert Moses when it opened in 1935. Now it is Mr. Carl’s pride and joy. Even if New York State owns the whole spread.
“Public-private partnerships are where it’s at,” he said.
Mr. Carl confesses to being no golfer but considers himself one heck of a caterer. His Carlyle on the Green (yep, his surname brands the product), which operates out of the majestically restored clubhouse at Bethpage, is booked solid on weekends through 2008.
This East Meadow lad has come a long way since breaking into the event business 14 years ago as Carlyle Kosher Caterers. Now, after winning the bid to work his magic at another Robert Moses gem, Jones Beach, he is expanding in a big way. Too big, in fact, for him to pull off solo. To build a $40 million catering and restaurant establishment in the footprint of the historic and, alas, defunct Boardwalk Restaurant, Mr. Carl needed a partner.
Who to turn to? Call it kismet that his all-time hero, Donald J. Trump, partook of Carlyle on the Green’s amenities in May of last year while accepting an award for being a generous friend to the state’s parks. Mr. Carl mentioned his Jones Beach deal. Mr. Trump revealed that he, too, had fond memories of wading in the surf and prowling the boardwalk there as a kid. So it was a done deal.
Well, not quite. “He checked me out a hundred ways from Sunday,” Mr. Carl said. Mr. Trump is into details.
Mr. Carl is positively delighted to take responsibility — or the heat, depending on one’s opinion of Mr. Trump’s impact on landscapes — for the Trumpification of Long Island. The new place, a three-story extravaganza with forever views (maybe) of the pristine ocean, will be called Trump on the Ocean and is expected to be operational in time to give the fathers of summertime brides in 2008 a real bang for their buck.
It represents Mr. Trump’s first venture on Long Island, and with him aboard, mahogany, marble and gold-plating are a given. “There is nothing like it anywhere ,” Mr. Trump said, weighing in by telephone. “It is unprecedented.”
The location, he added, was too rare to pass up. “There is no such thing as a building with 25-foot windows hovering over the ocean,” he said. “And this is good for Long Island. What was there was in terrible disrepair. It was crummy.”
As for the costs, estimated at $40 million to build a showplace that belongs to the state, $200,000 annually to the state for the duration of the 40-year lease, as well as a percentage of the profits to the state, “It was a big job for Steve, but it’s not a big job for me,” Mr. Trump said.
And as for critics who complain that Mr. Trump and Mr. Carl should pay property taxes on a facility they will build from scratch but not own, rules are rules. Concessionaires on state property are exempt from property taxes.
Mr. Trump vehemently opposes, and is crusading against, a wind farm of 40 turbines that has been proposed for about three and a half miles offshore. “Even environmentalists are divided: Some like it, some are repulsed, and the ones who are repulsed are right,” he said. “I’m not a big believer in ruining landscapes.” Or in having the views from Trump on the Ocean sullied.
Not to belabor the obvious, but naming the place Carl on the Ocean was never an option.
Mr. Carl takes the credit. “I told him, ‘I’ve got it, I’ve got the name: Trump on the Ocean.’ And he said, ‘I like it.’ I realize his name has much more clout than mine. I’m very content letting Donald handle the spotlight. It is my pleasure to put his name on Jones Beach. Ten years ago when I was asked who I would most like to emulate, I said Donald Trump, and today I’m his business partner.” Awesome.
The emulation is not confined to business. Mr. Carl, just emerging from his second divorce, notes that Mr. Trump is sailing along on his third marriage: “I haven’t caught up to him yet.” It does not, however, include hair. Mr. Carl’s is mousy brown and generically combed. “I’m not trying to duplicate the hair,” Mr. Carl said, “but I like his style in deals.”
Bernadette Castro, the state parks commissioner, champions the partnership to the point of hyperventilation. “Jones Beach is not your normal beach,” she said. “Donald Trump fits right in. He only knows one way to do something, and that’s five-star, because his name is everything to him, it’s his marketing tool. Jones Beach is Robert Moses’ greatest legacy, and he would embrace the arrival of Donald Trump.” Don’t forget Mr. Carl.
No comments:
Post a Comment