At the last meeting of the New Hyde Park Village, a resident, at the start of the meeting, said she would like to praise the village for quick and efficient action in response to a problem.
She said, “Last Thursday, the street light on my block was out. So, I called village hall and spoke to someone who took my name, the address of the outage. I asked him if I should get another phone number to call and he said no, we’ll take care of it. Then, Thurday night the bulb was replaced. ”
New Hyde Park Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro, who was chairing the meeting, thanked the resident for her praise. Trustee Donald Barbieri jokingly said to the resident, “Next time I want something done in the village, in a hurry, I’m calling you.”
The next comment was by a resident Rosemary Hudson, who wanted to know if two containers for papers in front of the post office could be removed since they now only hold garbage.
Deputy Mayor Lofaro said they have removed those stands from every location, except the post office and he said he felt the vendors would only put them back if they were removed, but he said he would look into it.
Hudson also reported that there was a huge pothole on South 11th Street and Second Avenue and Department of Public Works Superintendent James McCloat took down the location and said he and his men would have a look at it.
Reports
The meeting was then returned to the board table and Deputy Mayor Lofaro was the first to give his report.
He then proceeded to heap high praise on Janet Bevers, who along with Jim McCloat, was in charge of the recent New Hyde Park Fair. He said, “They all took a chance by holding the fair in spite of the weather forecast and aside from some sprinkles around 12:30 p.m., the fair went on; it was a huge success,
“Personally, I can’t believe that we have been holding the fair for 14 years and that another one is over. So, my complimnts to Janet, Jim and anyone else that had anything to do with the fair.
“My observation this year, and let’s face it every year we notice something different, but this year I noticed there were more kids than ever before. I heard someone comment that the football game was played on the Thursday before the fair and that was why we had so many kids at the fair. Whatever the reason, it’s nice to see so many young folks taking advantage of the fair.”
Department of Public Works
Lofaro also announced that the village is 98 percent completed with the road construction. The topcoats have been put down on the street and they are just waiting for the striping to be completed as well as some sod work.
Lofaro said, “I know we have had residents complaining about the work in connection with the road construction, but oddly enough when that topcoat goes down and curbs line up properly, it does look better. So, hopefully the folks who had their blocks done are pleased with the work.”
DPW McCloat added, “The recent rain was good because we were able to check for any drainage problems and we didn’t have any, so that was good.”
Deputy Mayor said, “We have gotten a lot of inquiries about Falmouth Avenue and why that has not been done. We spoke to the Town of North Hempstead and they informed us that they are scheduled to do the second half of Falmouth Avenue next year, so we decided that we will do our half of Falmouth Avenue next year as well.”
LIRR
Lofaro said he was able to speak to the mayor of Floral Park and they met with them recently to address the problem of cutting trees. He said, “Not only did they cut a lot of trees in our area but apparently they just devastated an area of beautiful foliage along Atlantic Avenue.
“Basically, what happens is that some of the sap and the leaves from the trees affect the rail operation by making the tracks slippery and it was necessary, but Floral Park met, along with Senator Craig Johnson to see what they could do to remedy the situation. We have our issues, but nothing to the extent of those of the Floral Park Village.”
Trustee Donald Barbieri
Barbieri also thanked Janet Bevers, Jim McCloat and Craig Romano for making the street fair such a wonderful event. He said, “I really enjoy being there because it is such a “super family day.”
Barbieri continued, “The last time I was at a meeting, folks were here asking questions about the increase in helicopter traffic that has returned especially on Sundays during the summer.
“At the time I didn’t know the name and number of the organization that is needed to reach out with inquiries. The organization is Eastern Regional Helicopter Association and the phone number to call is 1-800-319-7410.
“I was originally told that the helicopter traffic would be re-routed over the sound and apparently it still is, however, they subsequently noted that if there was particular volume of airplane traffic into LaGuardia, whereby a plane landing on this route was forced to pull off their landing, that airplane could potentially fly in an area where they could have a problem with the helicopter.
“So, on days when there is a volume of traffic on this route, they contact the helicopter pilot and request they change their route and unfortunately for us, it requires them to use the same route as the railroad to come back and land the helicopter safely.”
Jericho Turnpike Revitalization Project
Trustee Barbieri said, “The plans that have been prepared by our landscape architect are now in the hands of the New York State Department of Transportation. They are reviewing the plans and they have gotten back to us with the first round of questions, which our architects and engineers are answering and we are moving forward.
“Right now, if the state DOT can find the money to complete what is known to us as “design plans for the Jericho Turnpike Project, “ the Village of New Hyde Park will be able to go out to bid. I don’t have a timeframe because I don’t know where the money is coming from. But, we will be ready when the time comes to move forward.”
Trustee Lawrence Montreuil
Building Department
Trustee Montreuil said that during the month of August the building department issued 35 building permits, which represents a 44 percent decrease from August of last year. He said, “On a year-to-year basis we are running about 33 percent behind on the permits issued.”
Zoning Board
Montreuil reported that the zoning board met on Sept. 9 and heard five cases.
He said, “First was a second kitchen at 542 10th Avenue, and that decision was postponed until the Oct. 4 hearing. A golden age permit was granted for 139 North 10th Street, there was variance granted for 1616 Park Avenue, no details at this time and Gino’s, on Jericho Turnpike; the decision was reserved and held over for the Oct. 14 session. Further, a variance was approved for 800 5th Avenue.”
The next meeting of the Zoning Board will be held on Oct. 14.
Architectual Review Board
Trustee Montreuil said, “There were five cases, but since there were only three members present, the chairman asked the presenters if they wanted to wait for a full board and they all declined.
“The first one was World Courier, 1301 Fourth Avenue, who came with a request to replace the south front façade of their building. The plans were accepted for a roof and a new façade for the colors of limestone mountain fog with bright red trim.
“Also 806 Jericho Turnpike a request for a new sign was tabled pending further information regarding the sign.
“1441 Jericho Turnpike also requested a sign application for its store Cheepers Peepers on the corner of New Hyde Park Road. The request was for a pole sign, but it falls outside the realm of the new code. Further, the colors of red and black for the sign was also denied and that was tabled for further discussion.
“The Susuki building at 1800 Jericho Turnpike requested to modify the building. They want to expand the building to go from a repair center to also sell cars. They would have to increase the size of the building and it would be dressed up. There was some discourse and tabled for Oct. 7. The board felt it necessary to have a full board to make that decision.
“The last was 510 South 13th Street, a sub-division approval request. The approval for this sub-division was apparently approved by the Nassau County Planning Commission in 2006, but held up by the NCPC until 2009.
The next meeting of the ARB will be held on Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.”
After the reports of the committees, Deputy Mayor Lofaro opened up the floor to the residents.
New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School Board President Ernest Gentile said he wanted to add his words of praise for the recent New Hyde Park Street Fair.
The meeting finally ended and the next New Hyde Park Village Board meeting will be held on Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. at New Hyde Park Village Hall, corner of New Hyde Park Road and Jericho Turnpike.
