Bosworth, Kaplan raise temple school concerns

Dan Glaun

The cross-peninsula movement to contest Congregation Beth Eliyahu’s proposed building of a school on an unincorporated section of Middle Neck Road picked up support this week, as Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth (D-Great Neck) and Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) penned letters criticizing the project and the Village of Lake Success joined other villages in funding a study of the school’s potential traffic impacts.

The school site, located in an unincorporated part of the peninsula controlled by the Town of North Hempstead, is under the jurisdiction of the town’s board of zoning appeals, rather than the government of any neighboring village. 

But village officials – and now Bosworth and Kaplan – have voiced concerns that increased traffic flow and proposed bus routes would cause safety hazards and quality of life issues on one of Great Neck’s busiest thoroughfares.

“I am profoundly concerned about the traffic, parking and safety impacts that an approval in this case would generate,” wrote Bosworth to the town zoning board, which held a public hearing on the project in July but has not yet reached a decision. “It is obvious, as both a matter of traffic safety and common sense, that the site itself and the adjacent streets would be completely inadequate to handle the number of buses involved, including their parking, staging, maneuvering and turning.”

Bosworth also criticized the absence of a specific pick up and drop off area in the temple’s plan, writing that the seriousness of the potential effects on nearby residents prompted her to publicly address the pending case.

“I am persuaded that, if this project were permitted to go forward, it would result in serious traffic and pedestrian problems that would negatively impact – and place at risk – many of my constituents,” Bosworth continued.

Kaplan echoed the concerns of Bosworth and residents who have spoken out against the project.

“The overwhelming sentiment expressed by my constituents is that approval of this application would seriously undermine the quality of life in their residential neighborhoods,” Kaplan wrote. “I would request that the [board of zoning appeals] examine with the utmost seriousness the traffic, safety and logistical issues that have been raised by my constituents in this matter, in order to ensure that the character and integrity of the residential community is properly considered and taken into account in [the board’s] deliberations.”

Efforts to reach the Beth Eliyahu’s legal counsel for comment were unavailing.

The town board of zoning appeals has concluded its solicitation period for public comments on the project and will begin to review materials provided by both supporters and opponents – including the villages’ traffic study – at a meeting Dec. 12, said town spokesperson Collin Nash.

Opposition was also buoyed by Lake Success’ decision to join fellow villages and civic activists in co-funding a traffic study to evaluate the project.

Absent jurisdiction on the project, the villages of Great Neck Estates, Kensington and Great Neck, along with the Allenwood Civic Association, commissioned planning firm Frederick P. Clark Associates to conduct a study and present it to the board prior to their ruling on the project.

As of late October Lake Success had been undecided on whether to join the effort, with some board members saying the issue should be handled by the villages that are more directly affected by traffic issues on Middle Neck Road.

But, Mayor Ronald Cooper said, the board of trustees has now voted unanimously by e-mail to contribute $1,000 to the study.

“We were sort of ambivalent. We didn’t know whether we should do that, but we came to the conclusion… that Great Neck is [our residents’] downtown,” said Cooper. “This really would affect our residents, who we decided to participate.”

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