The Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to reverse the flow of traffic on Cornelia Avenue in an effort to allow quicker access to Steamboat Road.
The proposal shifts the flow of traffic on Cornelia Avenue, a one-way street, from south to north to north to south.
Joshua Charry, assistant chief for the Great Neck Vigilant Fire Department, said in an interview that a street that runs parallel to Cornelia, George Street, also runs south to north, which made it difficult for drivers who wanted to get on to Steamboat Road.
“If you wanted to get to Steamboat you had to go all the way to Allen [Drive],” Charry said.
Trustees at the meeting expressed their approval of the change in traffic flow.
“I think this is a great idea,” Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said.“I’m surprised nobody proposed this sooner.”
Charry said at the meeting the fire department had “no objections” to the proposal.
“We actually think it will make it easier for us to provide emergency services,” Charry said.
In other developments:
•Kreitzman announced that the village received a first place “Local Government Achievement Award” from the New York Conference of Mayors for its linkup of the sewer system with the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District. Kreitzman said the village won the first-place prize in the under 10,000 residents category. Kreitzman said the population of the village is 9,989.
• Trustees said they could not approve an application by Honda Manhasset to change the face of its building on 300 East Shore Road because they did not have the authority to approve the changes
Kreitzman said following a 15-minute closed-door meeting with attorney Stephen Limmer that the proposal had to be approved by the village’s architectural review committee.
The building at 300 East Shore Road was previously owned by an auto body shop, which in February pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny charges.
The former owner, Joseph Caraccia, agreed to pay back $335,000 in taxes he failed to pay over a three-year span, according to a February release from Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s office.
•Trustees scheduled a May 20 public hearing to allow Bistro Burger, located at 605 Middle Neck Road, to have outdoor seating.
