The Westbury Board of Trustees had a very eventful Thursday night, approving an affordable housing plans, adopting the 2025-26 budget, and ending the meeting with a heated argument.
The board approved plans by Alpine Residential to build transit-oriented affordable housing at the intersection of Union Avenue and Linden Avenue.
Plans were originally announced in September 2024, but the board and many residents raised concerns about the location.
According to Brown Weber, Alpine’s attorney from Weber Law Group, the main issues addressed at Thursday’s meeting included roadway improvements, traffic flow, accessibility for the fire department, environmental concerns, and the school district’s financial contribution.
Nicholas Tortorella, a licensed professional engineer in New York State and a traffic engineering project manager for Stonefield Engineering and Design, spoke about the roadway improvements on Union and Linden avenues.
Tortorella told the board that an all-way stop control would be installed, including two new stop signs in both directions on Union Avenue, a new crosswalk on Linden Avenue, a stop-sign-ahead warning assembly with flashing lights, and a series of rumble strips to alert westbound drivers approaching the stop sign.
Additionally, a speed radar with flashing warning lights and more rumble strips will be installed on Sullivan Place.
The new rental apartment building will contain 187 units, with 23 units dedicated to families earning 80% of the area median income and a veteran preference for the units. Affordable housing will be awarded through a lottery.
“We wanted to make sure that that affordability was affordable, and so we set that test at 80% AMI, which means somebody would have to make a lot less money to qualify . . . So these units are really for people who might not be able to afford living in a building like this,” said Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro.
The board also adopted the 2025-26 budget, which includes a 0.46% village tax levy increase—exactly at the village tax levy cap—marking the 14th consecutive year at or below the cap. The village remains among the lowest per capita village property tax levies for comparable villages.
The budget includes a residential tax rate of 0.001718 and a commercial tax rate of 0.0033676. As a result, Westbury residents will see a $19 increase in village government services.
The most significant factors in the budget include an 11% increase in the state-imposed contribution to the New York State retirement fund for employees, a 7% increase in insurance premiums, a 1.5% increase for union and non-union employees, and continued rising costs for medical coverage of village government employees.
“We’ll always do the best that we can to ensure our taxpayers are being treated fairly,” Cavallaro said.
To close the meeting, Joe Stasi, owner of Cena 081, spoke to the board about applying for a cabaret license to allow live musicians to play at his restaurant.
Residents opposed the license, claiming they could already hear music on an average night, keeping them awake and “rattling the house.”
The meeting ended abruptly when Stasi and a resident got into a heated argument, leading Cavallaro to step between them. The resident was asked to leave, and the mayor called to adjourn the meeting.
