New York State and Nassau County funds will allow the Village of Westbury the extra financial help it needs for important projects that would usually fall through the cracks.
The village recently received $200,000 in state funding from Senator Jack Martins’ office for road improvements. The funds will be used by the village to resurface and improve Castle Avenue (from Plainview to Grand Street), May Avenue (from Sylvan to Nursery lanes), Wickey Avenue (from Sylvan to Nursery lanes) and Wilson Avenue (from Sylvan Lane to Grand Street).
Work on the project is expected to begin next spring and be completed by the end of next summer. After those roads are completed, the village will have completed resurfacing 22 out of its 43 miles of roads in the past six years.
“In securing this grant for Westbury, Senator Martins ensures that the aggressive road resurfacing program that we started several years ago can continue,” said Mayor Peter Cavallaro. “These capital improvements are vital to making our community safer, more secure and more attractive, and help preserve our village quality of life.”
Additional funds from the county will also help keep the village running in case of emergency. After Superstorm Sandy, many Westbury residents were without power for anywhere from 10 to 15 days. Village Hall was also affected, going without power for an extended period of time but operating for several days in the dark with no electricity.
Fortunately, that situation will not happen again thanks to a county Community Revitalization Program grant obtained for the village by Nassau County Legislator Laura Schaefer. With $40,000 from the grant, the village was able to purchase and install two new backup generators, one at Village Hall and another at the DPW Yard on Dover Street.
“It is critical that Village Hall and Department of Public Works buildings remain open to the public during power outages and larger emergency events, and that the phone system and computer network remain functional to insure continued operations within the village,” said Cavallaro.
And the generators have already passed their first test. A section of the village where the DPW is located lost power for two hours on Aug. 10, and according to the mayor, the backup generator operated flawlessly, ensuring that there was no interruption in services for residents.
“I am very happy that I was able to secure funding for the Village of Westbury to obtain generators,” said Schaefer. “In light of the ever-changing weather patterns here on Long Island, having the generators will enable the village to continue serving the residents even during a power outage.”
