A yearslong controversial push to develop the site of a former tony Long Island country club may finally get the green light.
New Jersey developers Robert Weiss and Efrem Gerszberg have been battling local towns for almost a decade to build on the roughly 117-acre property that used to be the Woodmere Country Club in the town of Hempstead in Nassau County.
The developers originally hoped to construct nearly 300 single-family homes at the site but have since revamped their plans and now want to build a smaller luxury senior-living facility.
Their reps pleaded with the town’s board last week to rezone a 34-acre section so they can move forward with the smaller project — and it appears local officials may finally be ready to buy into the proposal.
“In nearly a decade, we’ve seen several proposals — many of which didn’t align with the surrounding community,” said Woodsburgh Mayor Jake Harman, whose village is in Hempstead, at the hearing. “This one preserves a significant amount of landscaped open space and meets the needs of our aging population.”
The current proposal was pitched last year as a compromise to settle a costly ongoing court battle between the developers and the villages of Woodsburgh, Lawrence and Woodmere, which are all in the town of Hempstead.
The legal war over the property has involved 10 lawsuits — eight in state court and two in federal — and left taxpayers on the hook for a mountain of lawyers’ and other fees.
The developers bought the country club in 2017 with plans to close it by 2021 and develop it into housing. COVID shut the course down early in 2020.
The town had imposed a future-building moratorium at the site in 2016, the year before it was bought, to block any major construction, but that move was later struck down as unconstitutional by a judge. In 2016, the town for extra measure also created a new zoning designation — the Coastal Conservation District — to severely limit building there.
The designation capped new construction on the property to 59 single-family homes while preserving 83 acres, including those that housed the nine-hole golf course and its original clubhouse.
The developers sued.
Tuesday’s hearing drew a mix of support and skepticism over their latest plans.
The builders’ lawyer, Jack Martins, said at the hearing that even the land’s current designation allows “59 large homes, new roads, real infrastructure burdens” — which is “not nothing.”
His clients’ revised plan “offers a better outcome for traffic, parking, environmental impact, and the community as a whole,” he said.
“I would urge the board to consider this as the proper compromise, proper resolution and proper care for what’s best for the community when it comes to traffic, parking, and impact,” Martins said.
If the developers’ latest proposal is approved, housing would be built on a 34-acre northern portion of the site while setting aside 50 acres as open space for preservation and a 5-acre park.
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That northern portion, which sits entirely within the village of Hempstead, would hold more than units of over-55 condos across two buildings linked by a private clubhouse.
Harman, whose village also contains a portion of the land, said the updated plan was “the most appropriate option” put forward in years.
But some residents are not convinced.
“While the development looks beautiful, I live there — and the road simply can’t handle 160 units and over 300 cars,” Woodmere resident Steven Fuchs told the board. “This changes the entire character [of the neighborhood.]”
But once-skeptical Lawrence Mayor-elect Shlomo Nahmias called the proposal “a good deal” that reflects community concerns.
“There might be some small tweaks needed, but for the most part, people are receptive,” Nahmias said. “At the end of the day, it’s up to the town of Hempstead.”
The Hempstead Town Board has not yet set a date to vote on whether to change the zoning to allow for the senior complex.
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