Residents in North Hills are at odds with a developer over plans to cut into a forest with a luxury housing community.

Neighbors and environmental officials say they strongly oppose a project that would bring about a four-story Ritz Carlton condominium complex in a wooded area south of the Long Island Expressway. They say the proposal is an example of invasive urbanization that will hamper the area's ecological integrity.

Developers wants to utilize 17 acres of the 40-acre site, saying they will enhance the project to better serve the community as a whole.

A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 23 in North Hills.