Photo by Jennifer Corr
Addressed to local and state lawmakers, resident Rosemary Mascali three months ago started a petition on Change.org requesting sewer service for the Plandome Road Business District. That petition has accrued approximately 1,400 signatures out of its 1,500 goal.
“There is a growing concern that continued use of cesspools in our Plandome Road business district is both expensive and bad for our environment, especially the impact of cesspools on the water quality of Manhasset Bay,” Mascali wrote.
Among the officials who the petition was addressed to is Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judy Bosworth, who told the Manhasset Press that she, too, was in support of sewer service along Plandome Road.
“The Town of North Hempstead is in full support of the proposed sewer installation in the Manhasset business district,” Bosworth said in a statement sent to the Manhasset Press. “The Great Neck Water Pollution Control District – the entity that would be responsible for the construction design, administration and implementation of the sewer project – has completed a feasibility study regarding this project. We encourage interested residents to contact the commissioners at the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District to make them aware of their interest in the sewer installation.”
According to the feasibility study that was conducted for the Plandome Road commercial area north of Northern Boulevard to Vanderbilt Avenue, low-pressure sewers would be the most economical approach at an estimated cost of $12.4 million. Installation of these sewers would have a lessened disruption of traffic during installation and, according to the petition, limit potential of future high-rise development on Plandome Road. As an added benefit, nitrogen discharged into Manhasset Bay, which has been proven to, along with coliform from fecal matter, cause dead zones, would be lessened if the area was sewered.
“Sewers in the commercial district will help reduce vacant store fronts, add new businesses and increase tax revenue to the economy in our area,” Mascali wrote. “Restaurants could expand their seating and new restaurants could open, providing more social opportunities for our residents.”
Bosworth wrote that if enough community feedback was sent to the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, a formal petition would be sent by the district to the town in accordance with local law.
“At that point, the elected officials at the town board would be directly involved in either approving and disapproving the expansion of the boundaries to allow for this project to be implemented,” Bosworth wrote.
Matthew Donno, the co-president of the Manhasset Chamber of Commerce, said that sewer service along Plandome Road is something that the chamber, along with residents, landlords and business owners, are in support of.
“The business community and our local community could both benefit from sewers on Plandome Road,” Donno said.
Contact the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District at 516-482-0238.
