100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. Host Renaissance Downtowns Hempstead 2 Billion Dollars Revitalization Meeting
Left to Right: Warren Woodberry, Jr. – 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. (OHBMLI, Inc.) Secretary/Chairman of Public Relations, Henry Holley, Past President, (OHBMLI, Inc.), Donald Monti, President & CEO Renaissance Downtowns, Edward S. Scott, Esq., Sr. Managing Director & CEO-CIO, Urban America, Leone Baum President, Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, Phil Andrews, President, One Hundred Black Men of Long Island, Inc., and Brandon Palanker, VP Marketing and Public Affairs Renaissance Downtowns
On June 29, 2011 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. hosted a special meeting regarding the 2 Billion Dollar proposed Hempstead Revitalization Plan at their headquarters located at 9 Centre Street, Hempstead, New York 11550. Those in attendance included representatives from the Hempstead Camber of Commerce, Sustainable Long Island, clergy, local government and business owners, community residents and members of the 100 Black Men of Long lsland, Inc.
A presentation of the project was presented by Urban America with a brief overview.
Community members were provided an opportunity to give their input to redevelop downtown.
Village trustees will have a vote on the project over summer on possibly naming Renaissance Downtown as the master developer.
The plan calls for over $140 million in environmental and infrastructure improvements.
For the past few months Urban America and Renaissance downtown has conducted many civic and community meeting to listen to the voice of the community to ensure that their input is implemented when the project is launched. This is a major change in the way developers seek to win approval in development projects.
Approximately 1/3 of property located in the Village of Hempstead is currently off the tax roles.
The project would create a potential for 3,500 permanent jobs, and has the potential for over 10,000 construction jobs over a ten-year period.
www.hempsteadrising.com – you can voice here
Glen Cove project is one as an example of projects in which the developer has had great success.
The Renaissance Downtowns group has reached out to property owners about property that is off the tax rolls.
A lot of the property that are vacant are on the municipal rolls and if they are put back on the private tax rolls that would bring in more dollars in terms of taxes.
West Columbia/main street adjacent to the bus terminal a special trailer has been set up as a community information office to address concerns of residents of the Village of Hempstead.
A major giveback of the project would be implementing employment programs that would prepare and give local residents the opportunity to work on the project.
Local residents are concerned about people being able to get work once the project gets started. The developer stated that they would be willing to sign a public agreement that they will provide opportunities for local residents to get jobs.
The project will require a major investment in the sewage system of the Village of Hempstead, which is currently in need of repair, and will be a major benefit to the area.
The 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. sponsored this special community meeting as part of its mission of Economic Empowerment. The mission of the 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. is to impact the four major areas of mentoring, education, health & wellness and economic development. For more information on the programs and activities of the 100 Black Men of Long Island, Inc. log on http://100blackmenoflongislandinc.blogspot.com. You may email us @ ohbmli@live.com to be placed on our email list for upcoming events.
