At the last Village of New Hyde Park meeting, New Hyde Park Village Mayor Daniel Petruccio announced that the village would hold its annual premier street fair on Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
However, Jericho Turnpike will be closed from New Hyde Park Road to Covert Street starting at about 5 a.m. to set-up for the fair. Mayor Petruccio said he wanted to make sure that all residents were made aware of this closure so they could plan on taking an alternate route if they planned on traveling on Jericho Turnpike that day.
He also announced that that there is a strong chance that this year’s fair will also include a car show, which will be a great asset to the fair.
Mayor Petruccio said that New Hyde Park had lost a great friend in the death of Kevin McHale and he extended his deepest prayers and thoughts to the family.
Hearing for Food Use-Deli at 245 Jericho Turnpike
Prior to the regular meeting the board held a hearing for a special exception food use applied for by Jacob Thyparampil of North 3rd Street, New Hyde Park who was applying for a deli-type store at 245 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park.
Thyparampil explained that the hours of operation would be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. He further said that the store would feature imported dry Indian spices, fresh fish and meat and Indian frozen foods and there would be no cooking on the premises, much like a butcher shop with one cutting machine. All items would be delivered by a dealer here in New York.
He also explained that he had a lot of experience in grocery stores in Tennessee with his brother-in-law, who is his partner, but this is the first time he will actually own a store. He said, in answer to a question by Mayor Petruccio, that the top number of people he would have working in the store would be four and that would include his brother-in-law and himself.
He also said deliveries would come from specialty dealers in the New York area and they would be made through the front of the store and it was established that deliveries would be about two per day.
There will be no live stock delivered. They will get the meat from either a farm or from boxed meats and the fresh fish will come from the fish market.
Trustee Lawrence Montreuil wanted to know what his plan was for disposal of garbage. Thyparampil said he planned to utilize the village pick-up but it was pointed out that only comes twice a week and perhaps he could store it in a refrigerator until the time to be picked-up. Trustee Cappola said that would be very important since fish has such a strong odor.
Thyparampil said that was in his plan, but he hadn’t laid out that plan as yet and he said he has a full basement at his disposal and that would possibly be where the garbage would be refrigerated as well as storage for the store.
The board had no further questions and there were no questions from the public so village board attorney John Spellman directed the board to close the hearing. They then voted on closing the hearing and reserve decision and to refer the special use permit to the Nassau County Planning Commission for their approval or disapproval which takes about 30 days.
Regular Meeting
Trustee Reports
Trustee Richard Coppola
Trustee Coppola reported that the summer program in the park was over and he extended thanks to Parks Commissioner Patricia Sheridan for doing such a nice job in running the program. He said everyone he spoke to had a good time and they plan to run the program next year.
He also reported that the wood chips are down in the park.
He said that the New Hyde Park Little League Championship Girls parade was a huge success. He said he wanted to especially thank the Third Precinct officers, the New Hyde Park Fire Department and the New Hyde Park Auxiliary police for all their help in directing the parade safely to Nuzzi Field.
Mayor Petruccio asked Trustee Coppola if cutting back on parks part-time personnel made a big difference in the maintenance of the parks and Trustee Coppola said, “Not to the level I would like to see it. It hurts a little bit.”
Update on William Gill Theater Renovation
In the absence of Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro, New Hyde Park Village Clerk/Treasurer Patrick Farrell reported that the theater was awaiting the carpet and the doors and he added, “It should all be finished by this weekend.”
Mayor Petruccio added, “We have submitted bills to the state, but we have not as yet received any compensation. The way these grants are laid out is that you have to lay out the monies first, so this is a ‘leap-of-faith.’
Trustee Donald Barbieri
Trustee Barbieri said, “Good evening everyone, hope everyone survived this hot summer better than I did.” He added, “Son of a gun!” Beside him, while he was giving his report, was his yellow lab service dog, Hailey, who is just beautiful
He reported that the Concerts in the Park had a great turnout and all the acts have been really terrific.
He said, “I attended a meeting in Patchogue, sponsored by United States Senator Charles Schumer. Many municipalities who have received different grant awards, over the years, have run into obstacles and getting approval by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and then getting the money. That sounds familiar. Some of the grant money that we received is now five or six years old and it is sitting in the vault for us.
“We met some of the federal officials from the DOT and hopefully they can help us with some of the red tape and they will, hopefully, help us finish our Operation Downtown. But, all-in-all it was a great meeting.”
He then added, “Pat Farrell deserves a lot of credit for making sure the William Gill Theater is just right. Hopefully, we will be announcing many programs in that facility before long.”
Trustee Lawrence Montreuil
Trustee Montreuil said he wanted to elaborate on trustee Barbieri’s comments on Pat Farrell. He said, “I took a tour of upstairs when I came in last night to collect my mail and it was exciting to see it in the almost completed stage. So, thanks very much Pat for all your hard work.”
Building Department
The Department issued 42 permits representing a 14 percent decrease over last July. “In fact,” he said, “It was the lowest amount of permits in the last four years according to my records.”
He also reported that June’s permits had dropped. He added, “Overall there has been a steady decline in building permits. ”
Kevin McHale, Head ofArchitectural Board, Dies
Trustee Montreuil also said that the village had lost a great friend in Kevin McHale, who was the head of the Architectural Board. He said he was very highly respected and all the village flags were flown at half-staff.
Public Comments
A resident of Albert Street said that there seemed to be fewer kids in the park and he suggested that it would be great if the police could just cruise by between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. and that would help clear them out. Further, he said he would also like to say that the cars are still using the street as a raceway, which is very dangerous.
Finally, he asked if Mr. Softee’s music could be lowered. He said it was very annoying and he leaves it on during the time he is parked and he asked the mayor if something could be done.
Village Clerk Farrell is going to send him a letter telling him about the complaint.
The same resident said that during the winter many neighbors park their cars on the sidewalks which is very dangerous and he asked that something be put in the next newsletter reminding residents that winter was coming and that residents should shovel their sidewalk when snow is on the ground.
Mayor Petruccio said that was easy to fix since those who do not shovel their walks are given tickets. He said the village just has to be made aware of the situation.
Rosemarie Hudson commented on the cutting back of personnel in the Department of Public Works and she said it has made a big difference on Jericho Turnpike. It has become far more cluttered than usual. Further, she said there are so many weeds from Jericho Turnpike, down to the Whistle Stop to the post office.
The meeting ended and the next meeting will be held on Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. at village hall, at the corner of New Hyde Park Road and Jericho Turnpike.
