The Town of North Hempstead renewed a contract with Metro Paving LLC to finish redoing 40 miles of road at the town board’s Wednesday, March 4, meeting.
The contract renewal passed on a party-line vote, with the Republican majority voting in favor and Democrats objecting to the length of time it has taken to complete the project and voting no.
Democratic Council Member Robert Troiano displayed boards with a title “Promises Made, Promises Broken,” stating that 45% of roads remained unfinished in District 1, 41% in District 2, 46% in District 3, 32% in District 4, 76% in District 5, and 42% in District 6.
The Department of Public Works Commissioner, Kristin DiStefano, responded to inquiries about the project’s status, saying that 73% of the roadwork was completed last year.
She also said that $4.8 million of the maximum $6 million project has been spent in 2025.
“It’s a beautiful campaign piece,” Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said after Troiano brought out his boards
DeSena had a simple response to why the project is not complete.
“Weather,” she said.
“Councilman, I think you’ve been around long enough to know that in New York, you can’t keep paving through the winter,” she said to Troiano.
Troiano said the town should have had the foresight not to announce overly ambitious plans and should have been monitoring the company’s progress.
“Weather gets cold every year around November. It’s not a shock,” he said.
Troiano said that last year, he asked the Department of Public Works commissioner where Metro Paving was doing its roadwork, and she did not know.
Council Member Edward Scott said, “I wish that you would’ve brought this up earlier so we could’ve gotten the DPW commissioner here, but that was by design. You didn’t do it that way.”
“This is just another attempt at another political attack on the supervisor!” said Council Member Dennis Walsh. “Big Actor! This guy’s acting!”
The board approved the purchase of a $279,859 heavy-duty truck for the sidewalk district after a heated dispute over the town’s sidewalk conditions.
This was yet another party-line vote, with Republicans voting in favor and Democratic Council Members voting no because it involved transferring $150,000 from the sidewalk fund to pay for the truck.
Council Member Christine Liu said the truck should be purchased with money from the capital fund.
“We should use our sidewalk fund to fix our sidewalks, and not keep distributing it to other areas,” she said.
Town resident Peter Gaffney spoke against the decision to use sidewalk funds to pay for the truck as well, saying, “We’re taking from the sidewalk district…you’re hurting sidewalks.”
DeSena said the use of funds was “certainly very appropriate” since the sidewalk district would use the truck.
Troiano played a voicemail from a constituent who voiced her frustration with the decrepit condition of her sidewalk.
“Now my insurance is cancelled because these sidewalks haven’t been fixed,” she said in the voicemail.
“Fix the sidewalks!” Troiano shouted. “This woman actually now has no insurance for her home because we can’t get our act together.”
DeSena said Troiano was not appreciating the work of the town’s public servants.
“Our sidewalk employees work non-stop. They are probably the hardest working people in the town,” she said. “Our sidewalks are being repaired as quickly as our manpower, our very dedicated manpower, can get to it.”
The town board also unanimously passed a motion to co-sponsor the second Dragon Boat Festival, which will be held on July 25 at North Hempstead Beach Park with Ohana Paddling Association, Inc.
“Dragon boat is a longtime Chinese tradition, but it is not only for the Chinese people,” said a town resident involved with the event. “It represents teamwork, unity, power, and strength for everyone.”
Liu said she has been pushing for the town to hold this event for years. Liu helped organize this event along with several Chinese community organizations last year without town involvement.
The town board also unanimously approved a license for advocacy organization Kyra’s Champions to place over 750 plastic pinwheels at Mary Jane Davies Green in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.
Seventeen-year-old town resident Karen Blumenthal spoke about the murder of Manhasset-resident two-year-old Kyra Franchetti, whose tragic story inspired the organization’s creation.
“Kyra, as many of you know, was only two years old when she was killed by her abusive father during a custody case,” she said.
“The pinwheels represent Kyra and 767 New York children who have been murdered due to the failings of New York Family Court or Child Protective Services.”
“The message is that child abuse can happen anywhere,” DeSena said. “You can’t assume that this type of abuse doesn’t happen in an affluent neighborhood.”
The board will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, March 10, at 10 a.m.
