Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency
Public Hearing, July 14, 2008, 9:15 a.m.
350 Front Street, Hempstead, New York
JS Hempstead Realty LLC
          Frederick E. Parola, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (the “Agency”), called the hearing to order at 9:19 a.m.
           Frederick E. Parola then appointed Edie Longo, Deputy Executive Director/CFO to record the minutes of the hearing.
JS Hempstead Realty LLC, a limited liability corporation duly organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of New York, having an office at 286 North Franklin Street, Hempstead, New York, on behalf of itself and/or the principals of JS Hempstead Realty LLC and/or an entity formed or to be formed on behalf of any of the foregoing (collectively, the “Company”), has applied to the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (the “Agency”) to enter into a transaction in which the Agency will assist in the acquisition of an approximately 2.73 acre parcel of land located at 257 North Franklin Street, Village of Hempstead, Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, and the construction and equipping thereon of what is currently estimated to be up to approximately 109,150 square feet with 655 new parking spaces to be leased or sold by the Agency to the Company and leased or subleased by the Company to Millennium Toyota Ltd. and/or the principals of Millennium Toyota Ltd. and/or an entity formed or to be formed on behalf of any of the foregoing (collectively, the “Sublessee”) for use by the Sublessee for the operation of a Toyota dealership offering sales of new and used automobiles and service of automobiles to its customers (the “Facility”).  The Facility will be initially owned, operated and/or managed by the Company.
The Company will, as agent of the Agency, acquire, construct and equip the Facility and the Agency will lease the Facility to the Company.  At the end of the lease term, the Company will purchase the Facility from the Agency.  In addition to entering into a straight lease transaction, the Agency contemplates that it will provide financial assistance to the Company in the form of abatement of real property taxes, sales tax exemptions, and exemptions from the mortgage recording tax if a mortgage is required now or in the future, consistent with the policies of the Agency.  The following is a listing of the persons in attendance and a summary of their views:
Wayne Hall, Mayor, Village of Hempstead, questioned the Agency about the “lack of information in the notice” and advised he was opposed to a PILOT Agreement and suggested the applicant explore benefits through the Empire Zone.  He was concerned about the high tax rates in the Village of Hempstead and the large number of properties in the Village that are off the tax roll.
Claude Gooding, Commissioner of the Village of Hempstead CDA addressed the hearing in support of the “project concept” and asked why the applicant was not seeking Empire Zone credits for the project.
	Ray Calame, Treasurer, Village of Hempstead requested a copy of the proposed PILOT and also wanted information from the company about the Empire Zone Credits.  He advised the Agency that the applicant is the largest car dealership in Hempstead.  He is concerned about the number of PILOT Agreements extended to projects in the Village of Hempstead.  He is opposed to a PILOT Agreement for this project.
	Harvey Levinson, Nassau County Assessor addressed the hearing and questioned if the project was retail and asked how the IDA could be involved in a retail project.  He also asked if the Agency has done any retail in the past.  He requested a copy of the financial statements for the company and suggested that PILOT Agreements be circulated before public hearings so residents can voice their opinions on the particulars of the PILOT.  He also asked why the company did not pursue the Empire Zone benefits.
Eric Rubenstein, Esq., the attorney representing the applicant, advised the residents of the status of the applicants Zoning, Building and Planning Board approvals from the Village of Hempstead.  He also assured the residents he would obtain additional information on the status, if any, of the Empire Zone benefits available to the applicant and speak again with the Village.
The Executive Director then asked if there were any further comments.  There being none, the hearing was closed at 9:55 a.m.

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Respectfully submitted
Edie M. Longo, Deputy Executive Director/CFO