The Village of New Hyde Village Board celebrated the completion of Operation Main Street with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 2.
At a small gathering of village administrators on the corner of Jericho Turnpike and Lakeville Road, the ceremony acknowledged a more pedestrian friendly and aesthetically pleasing main stretch of New
Hyde Park that is designed to be more inviting to shoppers, residents and visitors.
“We’re so delighted that this day has finally come,” Mayor Robert Lofaro said. “Everything that we’ve done here has always been about the businesses in our village.”
Trustee Donald Barbieri spearheaded the $1.46 million dollar project. Lofaro acknowledged Barbieri as “someone who relentlessly kept this project moving forward.”
“I sit on a board with people who love this place, they are very passionate about the village,” Barbieri said. “This is government at its best—every level of government helped to make this happen.”
State Sen. Jack Martins, who was instrumental in the progression of the ongoing operation, attended the ceremony and said “over the past 10 to 12 years, I’ve worked with the village board, and we’ve seen this thing though—there have been some hurdles along the way, but when you see a project take as long as this has, you want to really see it come full circle.”
Martins acknowledged the assistance of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy as did Lofaro and the rest of the village board. McCarthy was unable to attend, as was former Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Dan Petruccio.
McCarthy originally secured a federal grant of about $1.46 million for the village through a federal transportation appropriation and community block front funds for the project. Martins also presented
Lofaro with a citation to the village on behalf of the senate, to formally acknowledge the accomplishment of Operation Main Street.
Assemblyman Ed Ra also attended the ceremony, saying “we could talk about all the delays over the years, but I think the end result is something to be proud of – its a demonstration of what can happen when all levels of government work together.”
Deputy Mayor Larry Montreuil: “We started a long time ago with a vision, and while we still have more to do, today is a terrific milestone. I appreciate the efforts of everyone involved.”
