Citing unnamed sources, the Long Island Press reported Wednesday that the Lighthouse project was being abandoned internally by Wang. The same report said a company "reorganization" was underway that would reassign key executives on the project to other, unrelated projects.
"Yesterday's report on the Lighthouse project, which appeared in the Long Island Press, is untrue," Wang says in the statement. "There are no plans to abandon this project, which is so vital to the future of Nassau County and Long Island as a whole."
He adds, "As far as the status of the Lighthouse project, we have submitted to the Town of Hempstead and supervisor Kate Murray all the studies and required documents. A lease has been negotiated. Murray and the town board need to make a decision on the zoning. Long Island stands in this defining moment waiting for an answer. Yes or no."
Lighthouse Development Group, LLC is the joint venture headed by Wang and Scott Rechler, CEO and chairman at RXR Realty. Thursday's calls by GlobeSt.com to RXR weren't returned in time for deadline, but on Oct. 1, Rechler did speak, noting that in Nassau, "the community has rallied behind the project as something that will serve as an engine for the future growth of Long Island."
Rechler pointed out that "in terms of not only creating short term positions," but also "a magnet for companies and people who want to live in Long Island in a more modern type setting with the type amenities that are more appealing to the current work force." He then urged the Town of Hempstead to approve the zoning.
But, in that same GlobeSt.com report, a spokesman for the Town of Hempstead urged patience among those who would hurry along the pace of his municipalities' approval process. Instead, he argued that "in the scheme of things, this has gone at a very rapid pace." Reports show that Nassau County waited around five years to even select a developer for the land around the 1970s-era Nassau Coliseum. Town officials say they've only had the project in their domain for 20 months.
Meanwhile, Wang offers instructions to an information hungry public, saying, "we will not discuss any meetings in the media. Any reports of meetings should be considered untrue."
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