New asphalt for beach-going motorists  

The City Council voted to authorize a contract for roadwork reconstruction on Broadway, between Long Beach Boulevard and Edwards Boulevard, at Tuesday’s meeting. Meanwhile, residents and council members expressed concerns about the project, which is expected to get started this spring, further impacting parking for residents and summer beach-goers.  

The city will contract with the Jamaica-based Thomas Novelli Contracting Corp to remove and repave that section of Broadway and to replace the storm drain system and add new streetlights, sidewalks, curbs and driveways. Eighty percent of the funds for the $1.3 million contract will come from the Transportation Improvement Program, a federal-state fund, and the city will pay the remainder through bonds.    

City Manager Charles Theofan said that the work will take approximately four months to complete. Council member Mona Goodman raised the issue of the project affecting beach traffic this summer. “It’s tough enough on people who live in that area during a regular summer season, but to add on a new construction project?” Goodman said. Council President Thomas Sofield suggested that the city explore the possibility of splitting the construction schedule, rehabilitating one side of the street in April and May and the other in September and October.    

Al Symons, a resident of 35 E. Broadway, one of the apartment buildings along that stretch of Broadway, asked that the city notify residents who park in that area, which he estimates has roughly 200 spaces, which parking will be suspended during the reconstruction.      

Council member Mike Fagen asked what effect the potential development of the Superblock, the adjacent property that is zoned for hotel and condominium buildings, will have on the newly constructed road that borders the property.    

Theofan said that the developers would have to pay if they had to rip up the road in order to build their hotel and condos. “We will not do that unless the developers agree to pay the entire cost [of reconstructing the roadway],” he said, stressing that if the city doesn’t do this work now, it will lose the federal-state funds.    

Theofan said that the owner of the Superblock property has been a victim of the recession, and he has told him “that there’s a tremendous amount of interest in the property. We certainly hope by next year that we’re going to see some more concrete plans for it.”  

Resident Larry Benowitz suggested that two other streets that the city has designated as among the most in need of repairs, Riverside Boulevard, between Broadway and Park Avenue, and Neptune Boulevard, should be reconstructed before Broadway. “I would encourage you to put that at the top of your priority list,” Benowitz said.   

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.