The Village of New Hyde Park won the 2016 Long Island Smart Growth Award for its Operation Main Street project. The award was given in a ceremony held recently at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Donald Barbieri, the deputy mayor, accepted the award on behalf of the village. The award was for the Walkability Category.
The award ceremony honored individuals and organizations advancing successful downtown initiatives. Of Long Island’s 100 downtown business districts, 60 have revitalization plans and 40 are actively moving projects forward. All told, more than 12,000 units of transit-oriented development housing has been created over the last dozen years along with countless other downtown projects.
The 2016 event highlighted the efforts of leaders in government, the private sector, and the community that exemplify Smart Growth principles in such areas as transit-oriented development, a mix of land uses, housing options, compact design revitalization, sense of place, walkability and citizen participation.
Barbieri accepted the award on behalf of the village. He was honored for working for many years to improve walkability within New Hyde Park. The ceremony also honored his advocacy work with the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis over 20 years ago, he began his career in politics doing advocacy work for the MS Society and his first initiative as trustee was the installation of handicap ramps at Jericho Turnpike,” the citation read. “Jericho Turnpike, which serves as the village’s Main Street, has become, over the years, a high speed road which was dangerous and uninviting for pedestrians and shoppers. He has been the point person for Operation Main Street, which seeks to upgrade the business district along Jericho Turnpike by making the thoroughfare more walkable while also making aesthetic improvements to the community. He worked with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy to secure a $1.25 million federal grant for the Village and New York State Department of Transportation to make the improvements.
“Don, a longtime resident of New Hyde Park, has worked vigorously to advocate for this traffic calming project,” it continued. “He has worked with various levels of government to bring awareness to the issue and has even conducted a walking tour with AARP. His goal is to return the main street downtown feel that Jericho Turnpike once had, rather than the high-speed throughway that discourages passersbys to stop and shop within the area.
“Improvements to Jericho Turnpike included raised, planted medians down the center of the road and striping of parking lanes to visually narrow the road. Other improvements also include bulb outs on the side streets where they intersect Jericho to slow down cars making turns and shorten crossing distances. With the installation of countdown timers at crosswalks, it has now made it easier for pedestrians to know how much time they have to cross and benches will provide places to rest for people shopping. These improvements help to change the perception of Jericho Turnpike from a high speed highway to more of a Main Street environment where drivers expect to see pedestrians and behave more appropriately. After 12 years, the DOT agreed to all of the plans and change was implemented. Barbieri said of the project, “It will take you five more minutes to pass through Jericho Turnpike, but it’s safer, pedestrians can cross the street easier and in that regard I am quite proud.”’
The citation further added that Phase II of Jericho Turnpike traffic calming and streetscape improvements, which includes surrounding streets, is also underway. It noted that the village board authorized the firm of Dvirka and Bartilucci to design the additional roads. Recently, the board awarded the contract to Pratt Brothers with work scheduled to begin this summer.
“Over the years, Barbieri has worked tirelessly in the village to secure a grant to restore the William Gill theater in Village Hall, establish a New Hyde Park Museum and make improvements to various neighborhood parks,” the citation concluded.
Barbieri made his own brief comments.
“I want to say thank you to the group from Vision Long Island,” he said. “I want to take a minute to say to all of you that we really enjoyed the support of all of the governments that represent us, and help from the county, from the Town of North Hempstead, from the State of New York. I learned how difficult it is to spend grant money. But 14 years later, we were able to get the project done. Jericho Turnpike is the main street in the Village of New Hyde Park and we were trying to do our best to make it more walkable and pedestrian-friendly. I hope we have accomplished some of that.”
Other towns or villages honored with Smart Growth awards included Islip, Westbury, Mineola, Farmingdale, Babylon and Patchogue.
