Even as far back as the 1970s, the Village of Westbury has encouraged the development of multifamily housing within walking distance of its Long Island Rail Road station and downtown business district.

Now this early adopter of smart growth and booster of walkable-communities is preparing to double down on its philosophy of promoting varied housing opportunities for residents of all ages and income levels.

The village board of trustees will hold a public information meeting next week on a proposal to create new zoning for about 50 acres next to the Westbury LIRR station that could result in as many as 1,500 new residences.

Village officials have already spoken with about half of the people and businesses that own property in the redevelopment zone, which covers an area east of Post Avenue that’s bordered by Maple Avenue on the north and Railroad Avenue on the south, most of which is called the Maple/Union triangle. Some of the property owners have already been in talks with a few of Long Island’s major multifamily developers, who are anxious to build for-sale and rental projects in the area currently zoned for light industrial uses.

If approved, the new zoning would provide incentives for projects that offer increased percentages of workforce-priced housing or give preference to seniors and veterans. Projects meeting those and other criteria will be able to increase building heights up to five stories and receive density bonuses as well.

“We want to provide additional housing opportunities at every price point,” said Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro, one of the architects of the new zoning effort.

Another advantage to developing projects in the Maple Union Transit-Oriented Development Zone is certainty of yield and quicker entitlements. Applicants will be able to go right to the board of trustees for all necessary approvals, which could take six months and potentially even less time than that.

Grant gets it going

The transit-oriented zoning plan is one of seven projects that have been largely funded by the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant Westbury received from the state in 2016. Other projects include a $3.5 million streetscape improvement program that will bring new LED lighting, new pedestrian crosswalks, benches, parking meters and plantings; renovations for the Westbury Community Center; the $640,000 acquisition of a 3,360-square-foot building to be used as the home of Westbury Arts; land acquisition for infrastructure and open space; and a new pedestrian plaza and redesign for the intersection of Post and Union avenues.

“We were very fortunate to receive the DRI grant,” Cavallaro told LIBN. “We were the first community to receive it once the program was established. In local government, you never have enough resources to do all the things you need or want to do for your community. The DRI grant has enabled us to fund seven really important projects that will enhance the village today and make the community much more sustainable for the future.”

Business booster

While some of the anticipated projects in the rezoned area may have some commercial space at street level, the mayor said its likely there wouldn’t be added competition for the village’s retailers and restaurants.

“We’re looking for the new housing to support the existing businesses here in Westbury,” he said.

That’s good news for folks like Sam Zaino, owner of Cafe Gino on Post Avenue.

“Anything that brings more people into the village is good,” said Zaino, who emigrated to Westbury from Durazzano, Italy in 1972 and opened his restaurant 31 years ago.

While pizza is still his best seller, customers also flock to Gino’s for Zaino’s famous linguine pescatore, a slightly spicy mélange of shrimp, mussels, calamari and clams over pasta.

Zaino says Westbury has been on the upswing in recent years and the new zoning will help keep that momentum going.

“It revitalizes the village with brand new construction,” he said.

John Fitzgerald, manager of Donohue Cesare Funeral Directors and president of Westbury’s Business Improvement District, is also looking forward to the rezoning and resulting multifamily developments.

“It will be a tremendous boost to the business in the downtown,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to bring more and more people into the community.”

Fitzgerald, who’s been working in Westbury since the 1970s, says the formula of adding feet on the street and attracting a younger demographic has worked out well for other villages, such as Patchogue, Farmingdale and Mineola.

“They all had new housing and their businesses were revived,” he said. “Now, they’re the most vibrant.”

Peter Carbone, a board member of the Westbury BID and a principal of Carbone & Molloy Insurance, says the rezoning and expected new housing will serve as a catalyst for getting younger families into the village.

Carbone’s grandfather Joseph started the insurance brokerage in 1949 and the family owns property in the rezoning area.

“People don’t leave,” Carbone said of the many families who have deep roots in the Westbury community. “It’s a good area. The new zoning will help in getting foot traffic on Post Avenue and help the overall atmosphere.”

Carbone added that having the LIRR station is a big advantage for the village and its push for redeveloping the 50-acre rezoning area. The MTA is adding 670 new parking spots with a three-story parking garage on the village-owned lot on the north side of the station, as part of the Third Track project. Cavallaro said the MTA has also had discussions about possibly building additional parking on the lot it owns on the south side of the station.

Joe Stasi, who along with his brother Lou, owns Stasi Brothers Asphalt and a restaurant called Cena 081, was born and raised here and has spent 50 years in Westbury. Stasi is already in discussions with developers about the nearly 4 acres his family owns in the proposed redevelopment area just across from the LIRR station.

“It’s going to be costly to relocate and most of my wheelhouse is in Nassau,” Stasi said. “But I care about the village and I think the downtown can thrive. I think it can be improved a lot by bringing in more bars and restaurants and all new multifamily housing.”

Space sets the pace

While the DRI grant was key to jumpstarting Westbury’s downtown renaissance, the addition of The Space, the village’s performing arts complex that opened in 2013, is credited with attracting some new businesses.

Julie Lyon, president of the Westbury Arts board of directors, said The Space has been “a great thing” for the village.

“You already see new restaurants coming in and it’s bringing people who wouldn’t have had a reason to come here,” Lyon said.

The arts nonprofit will be setting up shop in the building on Schenck Avenue that was purchased with DRI grant money. The building will have a small theater, classrooms, a gallery and meeting space.

“What I hope is that in the not-to-distant future we’ll be an art-based community with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion,” Lyon said. “All of the plans that the village has set forth in its DRI grant programs have pointed us in that direction.”

Strength in diversity

Westbury’s diversity has long been one of its biggest positives. In the early 1900s, the village was settled largely by Italian and Irish immigrants who toiled at landscaping and other services that tended to the sprawling estates in Old Westbury to the north. By the late 1960s an influx of Caribbeans and Latin Americans added to the village’s eclectic population mix.

“Westbury is the most tranquilly diverse communities in all of Long Island,” Cavallaro says. “That’s because we’ve been like that for many decades. We’ve had practice at it and I think it’s worked.”

Several of the newer businesses in Westbury are owned by Latinos and Caribbean immigrants and their descendants. One of those is Punta Cana Domincan Grill, owned by Westbury native Jonathan Romero, whose parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic.

Nearing its fourth year in business, Punta Cana attracts patrons with its flavorful menu featuring best-seller pernil with yellow rice and pigeon peas. The restaurant’s staff speaks at least five different languages and embodies the village’s varied cultures.

Romero, who will soon be expanding the Punta Cana concept to Huntington and Rockville Centre, has high hopes for the village’s rezoning effort.

“I think they’re going in the right direction,” Romero said. “Everything looks positive. It will bring the younger crowd here.”

Westbury resident Luis Mendez, a former deputy director for the Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs, is a downtown redevelopment consultant who recently worked with Renaissance Downtowns on its revitalization efforts in Huntington Station. Mendez came to Westbury from El Salvador in 1983, one of several hundred Central American immigrants who were assisted by clergy from St. Brigid’s church in resettling in the area.

“We want to make sure there’s minority representation in the DRI grant projects,” Mendez said. “We’d like to see more engagement with the Latino community in the process to ensure gentrification doesn’t get in the way of Westbury’s cultural diversity.”

Kevin Shakil, who has lived here for all of his 24 years, said developers who want to build projects in the village’s proposed rezoning area should invest in community benefits that assist young people.

“Construction jobs are good, but it’s not long term,” Shakil said. “Developers need to contribute to community benefits agreements to help with job training and to help the Westbury School District bring more STEM programs, so students are prepared to take high-paying jobs.”

Next steps

Meanwhile, the village will hold its first information session on the rezoning initiative on April 15 and a second in May. Cavallaro said public hearings on the new zoning and its environmental review will be scheduled during the summer.

“The goal is to have it in place by the end of the year,” the mayor said.

Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island, which is a planning consultant for the village’s downtown revitalization initiative, says Westbury’s rezoning plan takes advantage of the opportunity to redevelop around the train station while simultaneously assisting its Post Avenue business district.

“This work will complement the achievements of their arts council, downtown theater, improved crosswalks, increased parking and solid management,” Alexander said. “From the feedback we are getting, there is tremendous interest in the rezoning plan that builds upon many years of thoughtful planning and revitalization.”