Let me begin by saying that I am not a “Lighthouse Expert” by any means. If you want to be informed about every little detail, I would recommend going over to Nick Giglia’s Lighthouse Blog, or following the Lighthouse twitter. Nick has truly taken his time in reviewing all the details, processing them, and passing them on to his readers. I am very grateful for all the information he has passed onto us, and you can visit him here: (http://lettherebelighthouse.blogspot.com) .
Just for a quick summation about the project and the current events:
Charles Wang and Scott Rechler of RexCorp have come together on the Lighthouse Project. It is a $4 billion dollar proposal that would not only renovate the coliseum to seat 17,500 people for a hockey game, but it would also bring about over 2,000 residences, introduce restaurants to the area, a minor-league ballpark, a state-of-the-art science-athletic center, a practice arena that would feature four sheets of NHL sized ice and two NBA sized basketball courts, a beautiful five-star, two-tower hotel with a Parisian bridge, and many more things. If you want a full idea of the project, be sure to check out the video at http://lighthouseli.com .
Now that a base idea is established for what the project will bring to the area, I will discuss recent events. Several weeks ago, the environmental review was passed by the town board of Hempstead. What does this mean? Well, it now opens up a 45-day comment period for citizens to voice their positive or negative words towards the project and the environmental plan. In my opinion, this will be good for the Islanders, as there are a large number of advocates for the project in the area. While some will oppose, the number will be too small to counter the proponents.
Where does this leave us? August 4th! The hearing at Hofstra on August 4th will be the biggest meeting to date for the Lighthouse, and it will bring together the Town of Hempstead Board and Charles Wang and his side, while allowing the public to stand up and present their positions on the project. This will be the biggest meeting to date because it is truly a make-or-break day for the project, and it is imperative that many people show up to support the project. It is expected that all of those who oppose the project will be there, and they will be looking to take out their negative words on anyone in an Islanders jersey.
In short, DO NOT WEAR ANY ISLANDER GEAR TO THE MEETING! We must make it feel as if we are concerned citizens, and not just concerned Islander fans. It will provide a positive light to the project, and it could alter any argument the counter-lighthouse coalition may have!
I apologize that this is just a quick summation. As I said in the beginning, I truly recommend going to Nick’s blog, as he is the Lighthouse Expert, and he can even break down the numbers and provide insight EVERY DAY for what is going on. He is much more knowledgable about the situation than me, so please head on over there and support his cause.
As for me and Glen (and yes, he is a Rangers fan), we are providing our support through a banner at the top of the site. If you can, please be at the hearing on August 4th. New York Islanders Net will definitely be there!
-Justin (IslesNet@Gmail.Com)
2 comments:
I'd go to the meeting myself and support the project but it's a long drive from Oceanside, CA. Besides, the weather is too nice here, 75 degrees and sunny. I hope it passes though; the Kansas City Islanders just doesn't have a ring to it.
I agree, Glen. It is wayyy to nice in California to want to come here to the humid and rainy weather! It is going to be quite the interesting meeting on August 4th, and it is going to be a make or break day.
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