The Syosset Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan was presented during a public hearing at Tuesday's Town of Oyster Bay Town Board meeting.

"The Syosset Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan was initiated by Town Supervisor John Venditto, myself and our fellow Town Board members as part of the Vision 2020 Plan for the Town," said Town Councilman Chris Coschignano, who serves as Chairman of the Syosset Hamlet Plan Steering Committee and is a Syosset resident. "Working with a steering committee comprising dedicated volunteers who live and work in the community and the consulting firm of Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, LLC, we have developed a plan that looks at every aspect of the downtown and outlines actions to develop the area's potential to become a thriving traditional downtown for the community."

The Steering Committee is a committee that was appointed by the board in 2002 and is comprised of a broad spectrum of community and business leaders, government officials and other interested stakeholders. Committee members, as listed in the plan, include chairman Town Councilman Chris Coschignano, town representatives Michael Gange, Jon Klein, Aldona Lawson, Leslie Maccarone, Louis Warner and Timothy Zike. Permanent Committee members are Syosset resident Nicholas Bartilucci, Residents for a More Beautiful Syosset member Jo Ann Bonasera, Syosset Chamber of Commerce member William Chabina Jr., Syosset Groves Civic Association's Warren Church, Syosset resident Ann Durman, Syosset resident Marc Herman, Syosset Chamber of Commerce member Lisa Predmore, Syosset Chamber of Commerce member Philip Rhoads, Residents for a More Beautiful Syosset president Robert Rockelein, SYAC's John Rudes, North Syosset Civic Association's Tricia Shannon, Residents for a More Beautiful Syosset vice president Laura Schultz, Syosset Chamber of Commerce member Frank Urso and from Nassau County, Sandra Weinstein. Advisory committee members are Syosset resident Thomas Abbate, Syosset Chamber of Comerce member Gus Altobello, Syosset High School student Michael Comerford, Syosset Fire District's Ron Geraci, Senior Citizens Group member Tobert McCullough, Syosset Teen Council's Thomas Montalbano, Syosset resident Lee Schwartz and Syosset Chamber of Commerce's James Tinnelly. The following people are not on the official steering committee but also contributed: Town of Oyster Bay's Kurt Ludwig and Jaime Van Dyke, retired engineer William Coschlich, Syosset Chamber of Commerce's Jo Costa, Syosset Chamber of Commerce's Sofi Kaufman, Syosset resident Leslie Levy, Syosset Chamber of Commerce's Preston Pumphrey, Syosset High School student Julie Samuel and Syosset resident Rhonda Samuel.

The Steering committee met approximately 15 times and also broke down into five subcommittees: employee parking, surveys, traffic calming/parking, visioning and public relations. Surveys were created to poll local business and residents to find out what their visions for downtown Syosset included. Over 2,000 residents and 39 business owners completed the surveys, a number that exceeded expectations. Also, public input was encouraged through workshopss.

According to Coschignano, the main goals included in the plan are to develop a sense of place or a unifying theme, recruit new businesses, improve parking and traffic flow, make downtown Syosset more "pedestrian-friendly", enhance the aesthetic character of the downtown, improve street lighting and promote community events, which would promote local shopping.

The plan would make Syosset a destination point. Coschignano explained that the plan hopes to attract new businesses to the area that would in turn, attract complementary businesses. He cited attracting a movie theater that, in turn, would attract a dessert shop, as an example.

To improve parking, the plan states that solution could possibly include establishing long-term and short-term parking areas, reconfiguring parking lots for better efficiency and circulation and interconnecting parking areas wherever practicable.

Some other aspects of the plan include improving traffic flow and looking at areas where they can simplify intersections to reduce conflicts, introducing traffic "calming" measures to reduce speed but improve circulation, consider a more optimum location for the LIRR ticket building and seeking a solution to railroad-related delays on Jackson Avenue.

Downtown Syosset will be made more "pedestrian-friendly" by improving and widening sidewalks, addressing safety issues and creating defined pedestrian access through parking, according to the plan. Also the aesthetic character will be improved through additional greenspace, landscaping, trees, the addition of planters and street furniture and facade improvement. Specific problems and proposed solutions are found in the plan.

"During the past couple of years, the steering committee and the planning consultant have been hard at work forging the Syosset Downtown Redevelopment and Revitalization Plan," Coschignano said. "Community input was an important part of the process; several community meetings were held and surveys were conducted to ensure that all residents had an opportunity to be partners in the development of the plan."

According to the plan, which was created by Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, LLC, "planning for the future of a downtown is a multi-faceted process. The process is best served through the involvement of stakeholders, their visions and a dedication on many levels to effect the change. The downtown area of Syosset has many issues, as well as many opportunities, and residents and business owners have demonstrated recognition of the enormous benefits of revitalization. The Syosset commercial center [the area surrounding the railroad station] is a unique place with great potential to become a thriving traditional downtown."

The plan states that Syosset's downtown is typical of many village centers that can be found around the railroad stations on Long Island. "In the late 1950's and 1960's, the development boom of the 'shopping mall' delivered an even more severe blow to the viability of downtowns such as Syosset. Most recently the emeergena of the 'Big Box' shopping craze of the 1990s as well as Internet shopping, have impacted many of the traditional shop owners, who attempt to maintain a market share by providing convenience, personalized service and/or specialty items."

Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, LLC found that the total commercial space in the study area is estimated at 450,525 square feet. The plan states that residential use is not prevalent in the area, with a few exceptions, but many single-family homes are located within walking distance of the downtown. Also, the plan points out that there is "very little" vacant land in downtown Syosset.

Coschignano pointed out that this is just a plan and not necessarily everything included in it will be implemented. "This hamlet plan is a wish list," he said. "We would like to implement whatever will work best in the community."

Some local residents addressed the board during Tuesday's meeting. "During this two year odyssey, the steering committee validated the fact that there is much to improve in downtown Syosset," said Robert Rockelein, president of Residents for a More Beautiful Syosset in a statement to the board. "The growth of our community and the expanded use of our existing infrastructure have been fueled by the desire of so many, who wish to share in our local amenities, and the quality of life we enjoy here in the Town of Oyster Bay. Unfortunately the original design never perceived the modern day usage that we now experience."

According to the plan, funding would come from a number of potential sources. The plan cites the following as potential funding opportunities, "Quality Community Grant, SAFETEA, Town Capital Improvement, Nassau County, CHIPS, Public/Private, Private with incentives, MTA, NYS Multi Modal Program, NYS Environmental Protection Fund and NYS Dormitory Authority."

Coschignano explained that the private funding would be mainly in the form of businesses rehabilitating their own property and the possibility of creating a business improvement district, which gives business certain incentives.

"Board members from residents, along with Councilman Coschignano have already commenced an informal inquiry with some of our elected representatives in State and Federal government to "test the waters" regarding sources of funding for this plan, so that we can quickly continue with the implantation stage, and provide some visible results for the public to see," said Rockelein.

Syosset is the perfect place for a project like this, according to the plan. "Syosset has many advantages. For one, there is tremendous dedication to this area and overwhelming support for the revitalization of the downtown. The involvement of Councilman Coschignano as chair of the steering committee has been steady and true; the steering committee has committed several years to the creation of this plan and has always shown enthusiasm and dedication; finally the residents of both Woodbury and Syosset and business owners showed enormous support for this effort through their overwhelming response in the resident and business surveys and participation in the visioning workshops. Secondly, while traffic is considered a major issue in need of solutions in this revitalization plan, sufficient traffic volume is essential for the support of a successful downtown; and Syosset certainly has plenty of traffic flow."

According to Coschignano, the next step is for the town board to adopt the plan, which he does not foresee to be a problem. "There does not seem to be any reason that the board will not adopt the plan," he said. "The key is implementation."

The plan states that a major facet of this plan is continued support. "Continued dedication on the part of Town Supervisor John Venditto and Town Councilman Coschignano are crucial to the success of this endeavor. It is recommended that the implementation strategies be reviewed and a timetable established as soon as possible following the adoption of the plan."

Copies of the plan, which is over 55 pages, can be viewed at the Syosset Public Library, 222 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset, at the Town's Clerk's Office, 54 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, and on-line on the town's website at www.oysterbaytown.com.