Great Neck Plaza officials gave a preliminary approval for J. Anthony Enterprises to work on the Welwyn Road and Shoreward Drive transportation enhancement project at a special meeting on May 9, which now awaits final state approval.
J. Anthony Enterprises, which previously upgraded the Maple Drive parking lot, was the lowest of four bidders, offering to do the TEP project for $995,754.
Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said the next step is for the state Department of Transportation, which is administering a federal grant that will pay for 80 percent of the project, to give a final sign off that could come in a few weeks.
“We’re just very excited about being able to see it come to fruition,” Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said Thursday afternoon. “We think it’s going to be a transformative project.”
The plan features a public plaza near the post office on Welwyn Road, new curbing and brick sidewalks, benches, trees and at least five extra parking spots.
There will also be a new circular intersection, special bike lanes, a mid-block raised crosswalk, and other pedestrian features.
“It’s going to be quite attractive and also have traffic calming features, which we hope will make it safer and easier to understand where pedestrian crossings are,” Celender said.
The $995,754 bid from J. Anthony Enterprises is below previous project cost projections of $1.04 million, from when project proposals were outlined in 2016, and the more recent $1.09 million estimate.
Village Clerk-Treasurer Patricia O’Byrne previously said officials had raised their cost estimates to account for prices rising due to inflation and that delays primarily came from exchanges with the state’s transportation department.
Celender said the village first received notice of the award in 2014.
In other unrelated meeting business, trustees appointed David Kirschenbaum to the village’s Board of Zoning and Appeals.
Kirschenbaum, who has worked in municipal finance for nearly 50 years and served as president of the Stonebridge Condominium for 15 years, said he “wanted to become involved in the other side of the equation” and believes his skills could be an asset for the board.
“I want to be able to utilize the many years of experience I’ve had both as a municipal finance advisor and also as a president of my condominium,” Kirschenbaum said.
In unrelated business, Great Neck Plaza will also have a public hearing regarding a law hoping to rein in late developments and try mitigating the impacts of construction on May 16 at 8 p.m.
Celender previously cited an ongoing project at 5 to 9 Grace Ave., which she said has gone on for two and a half years. In a recent interview, she also noted an ongoing project along South Middle Neck Road.
“We don’t want to see construction impacts go on and on and on because the community and our residents are suffering from that,” Celender said.
