The Lighthouse brain trust of Lighthouse President Michael Picker (l), Charles Wang (mid r) and developer Scott Rechler (far r). By its very nature a lighthouse is supposed to ward against danger using its beam of light to warn off passing ships from impacting on the rocky shores. In an ironic twist, Charles Wang’s $3.8 billion project has done the opposite, with outsiders mainly from the Village of Garden City warning of the Lighthouse project’s impact on the surrounding area.

Set in the sea of asphalt surrounding the Nassau Coliseum, the Lighthouse project would be the densest development on Long Island - 30 buildings - and sporting the tallest buildings by far - a pair of towers with a bridgeway arch more evocative of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in Malasia than of the sole solitary soldier of Montauk.

“You have your fans,” commented Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray (R) as Wang was greeted with cheers from union workers and the few Islander fans who showed up sporting jerseys of No. 1 draft pick John Tavares. As much as the centre is the future of the Islander hockey team, Wang argues his development is the future of the Island, a 21st century development - if only the Hempstead Town Board is willing to approve the elaborate zoning in order to accommodate.

As Wang (l) looks on Trustee Episcopia comments that “over 300,000 sq. ft. of retail space can’t possibly not compete with the local downtowns. There’s already substantial vacancies in our local communities - and we all know what happened to the Source mall.” But some Board members are clearly not fans as they held the final public hearing on Wang’s proposed Lighthouse project Tuesday on the Hofstra University campus. Confusion and nonclarity seemed to be in excess as questions were asked repeatedly of the developers where one answer appeared to transform into another and early crowd cheers turned into silence and some shocked disbelief as the day wore on.

Wang and his braintrust of Lighthouse President Michael Picker and developer Scott Rechler have held 212 previous public meetings refining the project proposal refining their design, most notably eliminating the eponymous Lighthouse and instead inserting two-36 story towers housing a hotel and luxury apartments. The Coliseum itself would be renovated and expanded to more than double its current size to 831,500 sq. ft., while a huge sports complex, theater, exhibition/ conference center, mixed use housing, and small shops spring up around the 150-acre County-owned site. Wang’s ambition for the site goes even further as a promotional video shows he wants the Coliseum to host the NHL Draft, NHL All- Star Game and the NCAA Tournament.

New Suburbia or Urban Development?

From a business plan perspective, Town Councilman Santino was at a “loss,” saying “this whole process has been like nailing Jell-O to a wall - it just doesn’t compute.”While Wang views the project as a “new suburbia,” the question is whether the Lighthouse is a 21st century Levittown or as Newsday put, a Rockefeller Centre. “We in Garden City see (the Lighthouse and the Nassau Hub) as one (project).” said Garden City Mayor Robert Rothschild, thanking Wang for committing not to build a rail through the Village. Rothschild credited the property owners Assn. as “the most ardent, single-minded voice of concern that I have ever heard on any issue that has ever effected the Village of Garden City,” saying that the developers have failed to answer questions on effects on surrounding area and communities and being jeered off the podium when he

There will be 2,306 housing units in total: 426 one-bedroom, 1,362 two-bedroom, and 518 three-bedrooms housed in 21 towers ranging in height from three to 36 stories. Next generation housing will have 461 units, and 116 rental spaces. There was more confusion over the exact number of buildings in the project as the number jumped from the 21 towers to 33 buildings which would push the total number of buildings to north of 50.

Developer rhetoric did not match up with action on price though as the affordable “next generation” housing turned out to be in many people’s minds not so affordable. Next Generation hosing comprises 20 percent of the project, student rental is 2.5 percent and 2.5 percent for seniors 55 and over.

The formula for determining the price for next generation housing is to take 120% of median family income for a family of four in Nassau County, and the unit can be sold for 2.5 times that level. The median family income in Nassau is $92,125. The price in today’s market for next gen. housing is $234,000 or one-bedroom, $273,000 for a two-bedroom, and $312,000 for three-bedrooms, but the numbers are “going to move” Picker added. “I don’t see any way that people in my district can live there,” Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, who represents Roosevelt, commented. Santino observed that it was possible to buy a single-family home in the Town for not that much more, and the prices did not address the need for affordable housing.

Students and seniors do not fare much better. Using today’s market, a silence passed over the crowd as Picker read off the rental rates: $2,300 a month for one-bedroom, $2,900 for two-bedroom, and $3,600 for three-bedroom. “For students?” asked a shocked Goosby. “No senior discount?” queried Murray. When asked about affordable housing, Picker smiled: “It’s a matter of what your definition is.” The market value apartments will be in $500,000 - $600,000 range, with the luxury options all north of $1 million. But, “we have not fully set the prices,” said Picker. The residential towers will not be constructed immediately as the first phase focuses entirely on the Coliseum renovation and expansion.

“There is no perfect solution for the challenges that face Long Island but certainly it is not perfect to let things remain the same,” Wang said. From a business plan perspective, Santino was at a “loss,” saying “this whole process has been like nailing Jell-O to a wall - it just doesn’t compute.”