Harbor Hills Park in Great Neck will be getting $847,975 for facility upgrades from FEMA, according to the Town of North Hempstead’s 2018 capital plan, as well as $1,275,000 for the replacement of pool mechanical parts.
The $847,975 will go towards fixing the pier, a seawall, and improving the drainage systems and parking lot, the capital plan says, in order to buffer it from future storms.
The park, which stretches 2.4 acres and features an outdoor pool, playground, tennis facility and waterfront view of Little Neck Bay to the west, was battered by flooding and high winds from Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
In the 2017 to 2021 capital plan, issued last year, the town was scheduled to spend $80,000 in fiscal 2017 and $660,000 in fiscal 2018, for a total of $740,000 on the project.
This follows the approval of $847,000 in FEMA funding for repairing the park in 2015.
At the time, various representatives said the money would be crucial for restoring and strengthening Harbor Hills Park.
“This North Hempstead park, perched by Little Neck Bay, suffered tremendous damage from Superstorm Sandy,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said at the time. “These critical FEMA funds will help restore a favorite neighborhood recreational space and repair a protective seawall structure that will make this area more resilient in future storms.”
“This FEMA funding will help us restore beautiful Harbor Hills Park to its pre-Superstorm Sandy splendor,” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth also said.
The restoration of Harbor Hills Park is one of 15 FEMA projects the town has slated in the new capital plan. They range from reconstructing a parking lot in Michael J. Tully Park and improving piers to stabilizing the Bayview Avenue shoreline and sand removal.
Meanwhile, the $1,275,000 “funds the replacement of the existing pool mechanicals,” according to the capital plan.
The plan calls for $75,000 to be spent in fiscal 2018 and $1,200,000 in fiscal 2019, but no funding source is listed.
