Tropical Storm Irene — Tree-Age (Triage)
Although Long Island was said to be fortunate that “Hurricane” Irene was downgraded to a “Tropical Storm,” it was still horrendous, heaping major power outages and inordinate tree damage to our village. I commend the residents who exercised extreme caution driving through the village with most of the traffic signals not operating and with downed trees everywhere. Village Administrator Schoelle and I were out on Sunday, Aug. 28 separately and again on Monday, Aug. 29 together surveying and assessing damage throughout the village.
A special thanks to the volunteer fire department personnel who were on duty 24/7 over the weekend and who responded to all calls in a very gracious and professional manner. I commend Chief Cavarra for his plan in deploying volunteers to all three firehouses for a faster response to emergencies in every part of the village. As usual, all of the uniformed services, Police, Fire and Department of Public Works, were prepared and ready for all contingencies. The entire village is very grateful for your dedication to our needs.
I was also pleased to learn that the recent cleaning of the catch basins throughout the village by our Department of Public Works personnel last week in several areas of the village, which were prone to street flooding during heavy rain conditions, had positive results in dealing with the several inches of rain that Tropical Storm Irene delivered last Sunday. Kudos also, to those residents who assisted the village by clearing leaves and other debris that accumulated at the storm grade inlets.
The village had prepared for a more severe storm and we thank the personnel of the Department of Public Works who worked throughout the weekend promptly removing downed trees that were blocking roadways. My gratitude to all village personnel for the heroic job they did over the weekend in dealing with the countless tree damage. I wish that LIPA was as responsive to our needs.
Pool Season Ends
With the arrival of Labor Day and the anticipation of school reopening, comes the third harbinger of autumn — the closing of the Garden City Swimming Pool. Much to the credit of the pool staff, village residents experienced another safe and enjoyable pool season. I offer my compliments to Recreation Commissioner, Mr. Kevin Ocker, Ed Fronckwicz, Grace Chianese and the entire Recreation staff.
Sanitation Collection
Due to the observance of Labor Day, there was no garbage or recycling pickup on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Residences west of Rockaway Avenue will have their garbage collected on Tuesday and Friday and those east of Rockaway Avenue will be collected on Wednesday and Saturday. Rubbish will be collected on Thursday. Those residents scheduled for recycling pickup on Monday, Sept. 5 should place recyclables out on Monday, Sept. 12. All other recycling days remain the same.
Drive With Care — Schools Open Next Week
All motorists are reminded that next week marks the opening of the 2011/12 school year in Garden City. Hundreds of youngsters are walking to and from school, many for the first time. Please pay particular attention when driving in the area of recommended pedestrian routes and schoolyards. This will not be any different than prior years in that a few preoccupied young people will inevitably dart out from in between parked cars or fail to look for oncoming traffic when crossing the street.
Please drive slowly. While the police and crossing guards are on duty at school crossing zones, many children will be crossing at unprotected areas. Parents are urged to discuss safe practices with their children and to remind them that it is very difficult for passing motorists to see them and affect a safe stop.
A Reminder to Motorists: The Posted Speed Limit in the area of schools is 20 miles per hour.
Looking Ahead — Save the Date – Sunday, September 11
The Garden City Clergy Fellowship and the Garden City Volunteer Fire Department will be conducting a “Service of Memory and Hope” to mark the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The program will begin at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. At 6 p.m., there will be a service at the 9/11 Memorial on the Village Green (corner of Stewart and Hilton avenues).
Please consult this newspaper for details on the events.
Parking Field #12 — East Side of Franklin Avenue Between 12th And 14th Streets
Phase #4 (the final phase) of Parking Field #12 will be paved, striped and re-opened to the public by the beginning of next week. Once work is done in Parking Field #12, work will begin on 12th Street, east of Franklin Avenue. While work is taking place on 12th Street, access to Parking Field #12 will remain open except during brief periods when full road closure is required. The work on 12th Street is expected to last two weeks.
We thank you for your patience during the reconstruction of Parking Field #12. If you have any questions, please contact the Garden City Public Works Department at (516) 465-4004 (Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
Curb, Sidewalk and Road Improvements — 2011
Paving work on Main Avenue was completed this week, as was some repair work on Fifteenth Street, east of Franklin Avenue. Due to budget constraints, full reconstruction of Fifteenth Street, east of Franklin, will be postponed until next year. The roadways that were repaved this summer will be re-striped shortly and some punch list work will be done as needed. Concrete work will continue on Boylston Street followed by minor concrete work at various locations throughout the village. Detours and road closures should be expected near any road construction. Please be mindful of everyone’s safety when driving or walking near construction zones. Any questions should be directed to the Garden City Department of Public Works (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (516) 465-4004. We thank you for your patience during these much-needed infrastructure improvements.
Board of Trustees Meetings
The next meeting of the board of trustees will be on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. I encourage all residents to attend board of trustees’ meetings so as to be thoroughly informed of village issues from a firsthand perspective.
Village’s Website
I encourage residents to periodically utilize the village’s website for information regarding the village’s operations, as well as items of seasonal and special interest. The address is www.gardencityny.net. For your convenience, listed on the village’s home page under the heading of Administration is a link to the Village Justice Court which lists information regarding the court’s hours of operation, location as well as directions to the court.
