Barclays Center & Relocation Part VI : Belmont announcement likely this week.

[periferal]

I really wish some of you would go to one of these community meetings. It's almost as funny as it is scary. It will open your eyes to why things never get done in Government.

I went to one of the Lighthouse meetings back in the day. That said all you need to do is look at who is elected throughout government to tell about the public who voted for them.

 

[doublechili]

I went to one of the Lighthouse meetings back in the day. That said all you need to do is look at who is elected throughout government to tell about the public who voted for them.

When I go to my first game at a Belmont arena, I will wear my "Meet Me at the Lighthouse" hat.

 

[lorwood]

Fair enough. However, https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/rfp/Belmont_Addendum3_QA.PDF

'1 When and where will there be an opportunity for community input?

On July 10, 2017, prior to the release of the RFP, ESD attended a community listening session for the redevelopment of Belmont Park. Feedback from this session was recorded and incorporated by ESD into the RFP. Future opportunities for community input will arise during a public process which will include public hearings and public meetings...

49 The RFP refers to “zoning overrides” a few times. Does this mean “variances”, and will the designated developer have to go to the Hempstead Town Zoning Board for such variances? Or will the state be issuing building permits and variances and if so, which State agency?

ESD has the authority to override zoning per the UDC Act. A General Project Plan will be required that sets forth the replacement zoning and does not require review or approval by the Town Zoning Board. However, as part of the zoning process, ESD will engage in consultation with the Town of Hempstead regarding the override. As per p. 7 of the RFP, any development on the Site will be subject to New York State building codes.'

While TOH will have literally no say, its residents very well might, particularly those from Elmont and Floral Park.

On another note, how much will it cost to build an LIRR double rail spur from Belmont Park to Bellerose?

A community listening session is quite different from a hearing or even a public meeting. In fact this is the first I ever heard the term used. I truly believe that this was just a way to placate the town and the minutes will be basically thrown in a folder and forgotten about.

Consultation with the TOH. Again code for we will let the TOH know what we are going to do but they will have no significant input.

IMHO the fact that this is state land which takes the NIMBY's out of the equation improves the odds of a new arena anywhere on Long Island significantly.

 

[WagnerGrad96]

But what if they launch a lawsuit against NYS for bringing the Isles at Belmont?

I don't believe they would have standing.

 

[periferal]

When I go to my first game at a Belmont arena, I will wear my "Meet Me at the Lighthouse" hat.

Oh please do. Get me one and we'll party.

 

[beach]

And now ESD is submitting Belmont as a potential site for the Amazon HQ2:

https://www.newsday.com/business/li-sites-among-those-being-submitted-for-amazon-hq2-1.14527554

Not sure if the same plot of Belmont land that the arena proposal is for. If the same plot and we have to wait for an Amazon decision, I hope it is quick.

 

[beach]

King Umberto’s? Hempstead Tpk and Meacham Av. It’s still there.

King Umberto's is great. I lived in Floral Park for several years and love the food. I make sure to eat there when I'm in town.

 

[MJF]

And now ESD is submitting Belmont as a potential site for the Amazon HQ2:

https://www.newsday.com/business/li-sites-among-those-being-submitted-for-amazon-hq2-1.14527554

Not sure if the same plot of Belmont land that the arena proposal is for. If the same plot and we have to wait for an Amazon decision, I hope it is quick.

ESD isn’t submitting Belmont, Ed Mangano is

 

[doublechili]

And now ESD is submitting Belmont as a potential site for the Amazon HQ2:

https://www.newsday.com/business/li-sites-among-those-being-submitted-for-amazon-hq2-1.14527554

Not sure if the same plot of Belmont land that the arena proposal is for. If the same plot and we have to wait for an Amazon decision, I hope it is quick.

Thanks for posting that. It looks like we don't know for sure whether Belmont is included among the sites that ESD is submitting:

"It was unclear Wednesday whether the development agency is submitting all the sites to Amazon for consideration, though local officials said they believed all would be sent."

If HQ2 includes operations (warehouses, etc.), then I just don't know if a densely populated urban-ish area is the best option. Wouldn't they want to be somewhere with a little more space, and little less traffic, and easy access to an airport that's not too busy and has room for expansion?

 

[denis5]

They want an urban area for an operations center HQ. All the Island sites, including Belmont, are highly, highly unlikely to be even considered as the cost of living, high traffic, and miserable public transportation options will put it behind many of the 100 other locales that will be bidding as well. On top of that, those hoping for Amazon may wind up being very, very sorry if they win. Consider this:

Thursday is the deadline for cities bidding to host “HQ2,” as Amazon calls its planned second headquarters, and the competition has been intense. More than a hundred would-be hosts have assembled generous packages with everything from multibillion-dollar tax breaks to free utilities to an offer to build Amazon its own city (also named Amazon) in the hope of enticing the online retail giant and up to 50,000 of its handsomely paid employees.

But as these cities go all-out to win Amazon’s affections, they might take a lesson from the city where those same affections have dimmed: Seattle. To be sure, the town’s business community is mortified to be losing so much of Amazon’s future growth to another city and has roundly blamed the city’s left-leaning “anti-business” politics. But many ordinary Seattleites seem relieved. Most would acknowledge the extraordinary prosperity that Amazon has brought to Seattle since Jeff Bezos and his startup arrived in 1994. But they are also keenly aware of the costs, not least the nation’s fastest-rising housing prices, appalling traffic and a painful erosion of urban identity. What was once a quirkily mellow, solidly middle-class city now feels like a stressed-out, two-tier town with a thin layer of wealthy young techies atop a base of anxious wage workers. As one City Council member put it, HQ2 may give Seattle “a little breathing room” to cope with a decade of raging, Amazon-fueled growth. A commenter on a local news site was less diplomatic: “Amazon = cancer.”

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/19/amazon-headquarters-seattle-215725

 

[The Lighthouse]

For the volume and scale that Amazon needs, Belmont is just extremely unlikely. Transportation for that many employees is a no go. As Denis posts above, other regions and cities will be throwing crazy packages at Amazon to entice them to come, and Belmont is just not going to compete. Keep in mind that Amazon is considering sites throughout North America!

 

[beach]

For the volume and scale that Amazon needs, Belmont is just extremely unlikely. Transportation for that many employees is a no go. As Denis posts above, other regions and cities will be throwing crazy packages at Amazon to entice them to come, and Belmont is just not going to compete. Keep in mind that Amazon is considering sites throughout North America!

I agree, but my fear is the State doesn't even review the RFPs from submitters such as the Isles' group while they hold out false hope that the Amazon deal could come to fruition, further delaying the process.

 

[denis5]

I agree, but my fear is the State doesn't even review the RFPs from submitters such as the Isles' group while they hold out false hope that the Amazon deal could come to fruition, further delaying the process.

That's probably not much of a concern as between the time the county suggested Belmont and now, the state went out and hired an environmental consulting firm with arena/stadium expertise to work with the eventual bid winner. Honestly, the odds of Belmont being considered are essentially zero. Just in NYS, it's up against two other locations on LI, four from the city proper, six from Westchester, plus others from upstate. State is apparently taking the attitude of pick any site and we'll give you tax breaks. Keep in mind that the Belmont site the Islanders want to use is way too small for what Amazon wants. They are apparently offering the entire race track, which means added costs and complexity since the NYRA holds the franchise to that.

 

[periferal]

And now ESD is submitting Belmont as a potential site for the Amazon HQ2:

https://www.newsday.com/business/li-sites-among-those-being-submitted-for-amazon-hq2-1.14527554

Not sure if the same plot of Belmont land that the arena proposal is for. If the same plot and we have to wait for an Amazon decision, I hope it is quick.

ESD isn’t submitting Belmont, Ed Mangano is

This.

Mangano is truly such a putz that I don't know how to fully describe it with just words. There is zero doubt in my mind that he is in bed with the Barclays people in order to score points with his, "Bring the Isles back to the Coliseum" BS. As a result I am confident that the Barlcays people told Mangano to push the "Amazon at Belmont" as a further roadblock which (for them) will hopefully not have another arena built right in the middle of Barclays and the Coliseum.

That said, I have am as confidence that Amazon will not want Belmont as I am that the Isles will not move back to the Coliseum. Why..? Because Ed Mangano came out for both. That guy is in over his head when he's tying his shoes, so he's actually a hindrance when trying to get a project that big done

 

[NewYorkIsles]

This.

Mangano is truly such a putz that I don't know how to fully describe it with just words. There is zero doubt in my mind that he is in bed with the Barclays people in order to score points with his, "Bring the Isles back to the Coliseum" BS. As a result I am confident that the Barlcays people told Mangano to push the "Amazon at Belmont" as a further roadblock which (for them) will hopefully not have another arena built right in the middle of Barclays and the Coliseum.

That said, I have am as confidence that Amazon will not want Belmont as I am that the Isles will not move back to the Coliseum. Why..? Because Ed Mangano came out for both. That guy is in over his head when he's tying his shoes, so he's actually a hindrance when trying to get a project that big done

Amazon would never go to Belmont in a million years, I can see them making their 2nd HQ in the Hudson Valley - possibly around the Kingston area where IBM thrived once upon a time.. they could use it.

 

[Jester9881]

This Amazon talk is all smoke.... it's easy political points to "fight" to get Amazon here. Anywhere on LI would be the last place Amazon would want to put another HQ. They will end up somewhere upstate where it will be far easier, and cheaper to service the NE. Getting things on and off LI is a nightmare. I can't imagine a company that heavily relies on shipping wanting to base here.

 

[periferal]

This Amazon talk is all smoke.... it's easy political points to "fight" to get Amazon here. Anywhere on LI would be the last place Amazon would want to put another HQ. They will end up somewhere upstate where it will be far easier, and cheaper to service the NE. Getting things on and off LI is a nightmare. I can't imagine a company that heavily relies on shipping wanting to base here.

Clicking the "like" button wasn't good enough. I want people to know this is truth.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

People are dreaming if they think Amazon will come anywhere near NYC. Just my opinion.

 

[periferal]

Uhhhh...A few interesting/significant tidbits in article below. How about Ledecky giving the interview while riding the LIRR to Barclays...?

 

[JKP]

People are dreaming if they think Amazon will come anywhere near NYC. Just my opinion.

Agreed. They are looking for a lower-cost tier-2 type city that has lower costs of living (thus lower wages). But that hasn't stopped every city in North America from chasing them...

 

[coachdny]

They want an urban area for an operations center HQ. All the Island sites, including Belmont, are highly, highly unlikely to be even considered as the cost of living, high traffic, and miserable public transportation options will put it behind many of the 100 other locales that will be bidding as well. On top of that, those hoping for Amazon may wind up being very, very sorry if they win. Consider this:



http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/19/amazon-headquarters-seattle-215725

Why are we entertaining this ? Didnt the RFP specifically say that it must be a sports and entertainment destination ? Amazon is neither .

 

[PK Cronin]

Uhhhh...A few interesting/significant tidbits in article below. How about Ledecky giving the interview while riding the LIRR to Barclays...?

Love that he talks about the revenue necessary to compete for a cup.

Why are we entertaining this ? Didnt the RFP specifically say that it must be a sports and entertainment destination ? Amazon is neither .

Amazon isn't beholden to the RFP since they didnt submit a bit. Amazon is accepting bids from various cities for their location, and Belmont is supposed to be a proposed site.

 

[doublechili]

Any politician who is in a position to submit a bid to Amazon for HQ2 and does not do so is certain to see that fact pounded by an opponent the next time they run. It's something they have to do, even if there is virtually no chance of success.

 

[doublechili]

Uhhhh...A few interesting/significant tidbits in article below. How about Ledecky giving the interview while riding the LIRR to Barclays...?

Thanks for posting that link. That is the first solid piece of information re: the arena proposal - ie., that the arena would be north of Hempstead Tpk next to the train station. Also, that there will be 7000 parking spots available.

Note that in the RFP the ESD revised the scope of the project by adding available land adjacent to the smaller parcel where Ledecky said an arena will go. Coincidence?

 

[periferal]

Thanks for posting that link. That is the first solid piece of information re: the arena proposal - ie., that the arena would be north of Hempstead Tpk next to the train station. Also, that there will be 7000 parking spots available.

Note that in the RFP the ESD revised the scope of the project by adding available land adjacent to the smaller parcel where Ledecky said an arena will go. Coincidence?

You're welcome and can you elaborate on the bolded? Not sure I understand. The "smaller parcel" to me is the current belmont lot steps to the (south)east of the LIRR stop no?