A sign of the times

"Welcome” marker to be placed in Malverne’s barren triangle

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We daresay there isn’t a more ignored piece of land in Malverne than the concrete triangle that sits at the intersection of Hempstead and Ocean avenues.

During the winter, it’s used as a place to push piles of accumulated, dirty snow. During the summer, it’s a magnet for weeds that grow up to four feet tall in its cracked pavement.

For the most part, it is neglected, invisible, and insignificant — but that will all be history soon — hopefully by mid-summer.

A few months back, Crossroad Farm officials had a meeting with Mayor Patricia McDonald, where they suggested the village place a “Welcome to Malverne” sign in barren space. The area, after all, is a gateway to the farm and the village itself. “The village really wanted to do it, but the cost was prohibitive,” said Brian Lewis, head of special projects at Crossroads Farm, and secretary to the Nassau Land Trust.

Lewis decided to take the sign on as a farm project, and rallied to generate the necessary money and service donations from local businesses to build it. He also arranged for the PSEG to visit the triangle and mark where the electric lines are buried to facilitate the construction project.

The sign, which will be about six feet tall, will sit in the middle of a raised planter full of shrubs and flowers. VDM Masonry of Franklin Square will be building an 18 inch high retaining wall for the planter, which will also hold the sign. Westminster Nursery in West Hempstead, in conjunction with the farm, will be donating the planter’s shrubs and flowers, and Show Me A Sign in Malverne will be providing the sign at cost and installing it for free.

“It’s so great when local merchants come together to beautify Malverne,” said Lewis, who expects work on the raised bed to begin soon. “I think it will be a great addition to the entrance of the village!”

We think so too.