The East Williston school board is appealing to the Town of North Hempstead to improve safety at a crosswalk at the Willets Road School, and a school official said the town had promised to take action.
At a meeting on Monday, board President Mark Kamberg said a letter would be sent to Councilman Peter J. Zuckerman concerning a crosswalk at Percheron Lane at the middle school. Kamberg read the letter out loud: “It is with great concern for the safety for our Willets Road middle school students that we write this letter. We want to bring to your attention the dangers associated with the current crosswalk located on Schoolhouse Lane near the intersection on Percheron in Roslyn Heights.”
Kamberg said the crosswalk lacks a crossing guard, safety strips or stop signs. As a result, he said, speeding cars are putting children and staff at risk.
He said that the 3rd Precinct of the Nassau County Police Department said that a crossing guard will not be assigned there. “As a result, we are asking the Town of North Hempstead to further enhance the safety of the crosswalk with additional crossing, warning strips and crocodile teeth,” he said.
While the letter was not sent until the board approved it, Kamberg said that he had already spoken with Zuckerman, who Kamberg said will “fast track ” the project. Kamberg said he is confident that this will be done by the beginning of the next school year.
Zuckerman’s office issued a statement saying that the councilman’s priority is the safety of children and the community, and that a town traffic technician would review the request.
On another matter, Kamberg announced that the plans to erect fences around the North Side School were approved by New York State, after which the district was able to pursue a bid for the project.
Kamberg said that at the May meeting the board accepted a bid of $339,222 from architect John Grillo and the Island Fence Co. for the installation of estate fencing and exterior masonry for the project. Kamberg said the project will move forward once the school year ends. The district sent the plans after some redrafting based on suggestions from the East Williston Fire Department. A proposed retaining wall that would have blocked access to emergency vehicles was altered.
Plans for the North Side project can be viewed online.
The board also had to vote on the destruction of the ballots from the May 15, 2018, East Williston school budget vote. Kamberg and the board said that Nassau County requires districts to print ballots for all registered voters in the area. Kamberg noted that there are 7,000 registered voters in the district and noted that not nearly that many will come out to vote. The meeting agenda states that education law allows the destruction of these ballots six months after the vote.
Kamberg said, “This is Nassau County politics costing the district money.” He estimated that printing all the ballots cost the district $2,500.
