Vacant U.S. Postal Service lot sought for Great Neck Plaza parking

Joe Nikic

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) urged the United States Postal Service to lease the vacant bottom floor of its two-level parking facility on Welwyn Road to the Village of Great Neck Plaza to make more parking available for residents and shoppers.

Schumer said the vacant USPS parking lot is a waste of both federal resources and space.

“It makes no sense for the United States Postal Service to hold on to its vacant parking garage, which is not only a waste of money but a waste of space in the vibrant Village of Great Neck Plaza,” he said. “The United States Postal Service should lease this lot to the Village of Great Neck Plaza so that it can be used by nearby residents and, in turn, free up space for village residents and shoppers who live and shop in the village’s commercial district.”

Great Neck Plaza is home to over 260 retail storefronts, 90 multiple-family apartment buildings, 148 single-family homes, about 40 office buildings, two hotels, a nursing home, a senior independent living facility and a senior assisted-care living facility.

Schumer said that on top of the residential and commercial properties in the village, the  Long Island Rail Road station adds to the need for parking.

According to a 2015 LIRR  report, ridership on the Port Washington line, which stops at the Great Neck station, has increased from about 13.3 million in 2014 to 13.8 million in 2015, or a 3.7 percent increase.

Park District Commissioner Robert Lincoln said Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said the East Side Access Project, which will bring the LIRR straight into Grand Central Station, would increase ridership by 20 percent at the Great Neck train station upon its completion.

Village of Great Neck Plaza Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen said it was important for the village to work with higher levels of government to assist in addressing its needs.

“In this era of increased and constant demand for government resources and of increasing realization that the funds needed to pay for such resources are limited, governments at all levels must work together to ensure that existing public assets are best utilized to meet the needs of the public,” Rosen said. “Utilization of these much needed and presently unused parking spaces by the residents of the buildings near the main post office would help fulfill a tremendous need of a substantial number of our village residents.”

Schumer’s office said there were  40 to 60 available spaces in the USPS garage, but an engineer would need to survey the location to determine the exact amount that would be available to the village.

Efforts to reach Maureen Marion,  USPS corporate communications manager,  were unavailing.

Schumer sent a letter to David Letourneau, USPS community relations manager,  highlighting the village’s need for parking and how the USPS can help address the matter by leasing its parking facility to the village.

Rosen said if the village were to acquire the additional parking, it would benefit all parties involved.

“I thank Senator Charles Schumer for his assistance and see this opportunity as a win-win for the public that we all serve,” he said.

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