Construction continues for the $35 million+ renovation of 2020 Wantagh Avenue in Wantagh into Mount Sinai South Nassau's new medical office building, formerly a Verizon building that has been vacant for five years.
March 10th, 2025
Written by Andrea Chen
As a Wantagh resident or member of the surrounding communities, are you FOR or AGAINST the $35 million+ renovation and construction of Mount Sinai South Nassau's new medical office building at 2020 Wantagh Avenue in Wantagh?
Besides buying this four-story, former Verizon building which has been vacant for more than five years, Mount Sinai South Nassau has also purchased two properties right behind it - 2042 and 2050 Wantagh Avenue.
This facility will be located near Sunrise Highway, as well as the exits and entrances for Wantagh Parkway and Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway.
According to Mount Sinai South Nassau's August 2020 article, Simone Development Companies are the construction managers overseeing this project, which is being modeled after the Mount Sinai Doctors facility in Greenlawn.
In addition to Wantagh, the new medical building expects to serve nearby neighborhoods including Roosevelt, Uniondale, Seaford, Merrick, the Massapequas, Bellmore, Amityville, Babylon, East Meadow, Levittown, Hicksville, Bethpage and Lindenhurst.
Here's a breakdown of this commercial property:
Located just a few hundred feet away, our team at Iaquinta Real Estate, neighboring small businesses and locals have been watching the progress of construction over the past several years. Below are just some of the reasons why residents are for or against this project:
SUPPORTERS SAY...
- life-saving medical services are conveniently offered at one location
- it's more accessible to those living on the South Shore, expanding and improving health care in the area
- the project will create 100 more jobs to Wantagh
- the project will resolve an eyesore by renovating the former Verizon building, vacant for five years
- the medical office building will bring economic growth to the neighborhood
There are over 2,000 verified signatures on the petition to "Support Better Health Care for Wantagh & The South Shore" (created in January 2022).
CRITICS' CONCERNS INCLUDE...
- traffic that may overflow into nearby residential streets, including Jones Avenue
- congestion that poses potential safety issues to pedestrians, residents and drivers
- certain tax exemptions due to the nonprofit status of the medical office building
- the possible extension of operating hours into select evenings and weekends
So far, the petition against this project has collected over 770 verified signatures to "Say No to Mount Sinai" since February 2022.
Discussion about 2020 Wantagh Ave has been happening as early as September 2020, when Mount Sinai South Nassau interviewed local business owners and Wantagh residents about their thoughts on how this medical facility could benefit the neighborhood:
Several years later in April 2022, News 12 Long Island's Geno Gonnello covered the Town of Hempstead's board meeting where both sides shared their opinions:
Below are key features planned for this new medical office pavilion:
Mount Sinai South Nassau also clarifies that 2020 Wantagh Ave will NOT be a hospital.
It will not have the following at this location:
- overnight beds
- ambulance bays
- drug treatment
- mental health facilities
Instead, their website lists the clinical programs that are expected to be offered:
In Mount Sinai South Nassau's March 2022 Zoom presentation, they shared a site plan, floor plans and their strategy for addressing parking, directing traffic flow from the parking lot to exit towards Sunrise Highway away from residential streets:
One of the questions that remains include, when is Mount Sinai South Nassau at 2020 Wantagh Avenue expected to open?
