The village of New Hyde Park has voiced its concerns over effectively notifying the public about the permanent closure of Second Avenue east of Herkomer street starting July 22.
The closure of Second Avenue between Herkomer Street and New Hyde Park Road is part of the LIRR third rail expansion project.
The village of New Hyde Park announced the closure July 11. “While the New Hyde Park Village Board appreciates that time is of the essence in this massive project, we have stressed to 3TC the importance of properly and effectively notifying the public,” it said.
The village board said it has requested a delay to the start date to allow for more time to alert residents.
Mayor Lawrence Montreuil said in an interview that “we’re surprised it was so quick.” While the board knew that permanent closure was inevitable, the board was alerted tothe closure July 9 — just 13 days before the road closure.
“We want people to be alerted,” said Montreuil, who pointed out that the board is concerned about getting the message out to the village. “We don’t want it to be a mess there.”
The New Hyde Park Road grade crossing in the Village of New Hyde Park is one of seven street-level crossings along the LIRR Main Line being eliminated as part of the LIRR Expansion Project from Floral Park to Hicksville. The grade crossing is being reconstructed to feature a new five-lane underpass with pedestrian sidewalks on the east and west sides of the underpass.
Construction for the project is set to begin during winter 2019. The work should be completed by next summer.
The detour plan, designed by the 3TC with village input, will channel traffic into the new parking lot on Plaza Avenue. The 50 voucher parking lots around Second Avenue lost due to the closure will be transferred to a newly created parking lot at the site of the former 115 New Hyde Park between Second Avenue and Plaza Avenue.
Montreuil said the board is requesting that the third track developers hand out fliers throughout New Hyde Park to alert residents to the road closure. Despite requesting more notice for the closure, the board has had a “great relationship” with the development team, he said.
