Mayor touts village improvements in speech

The Village of Rockville Centre never rests on its laurels.

That was the theme of the mayor’s 2015 State of the Village speech, in which he talked about all of the improvements that had been made during his tenure.

Mayor Francis X. Murray began his speech, which was given at the May 11 Board of Trustees meeting, by talking about the downtown area. The occupancy rate, he said, had increased from 84 to 98 percent since he took office in 2011. “And I hope you’ve noticed our cleanliness,” Murray said. “I’m downtown every almost every Saturday and Sunday morning … inspecting our sidewalks and the streets.”

He acknowledged that an increase in business is a double-edged sword, with more business meaning more parking problems. “One of my first acts as your mayor was to make parking in our downtown free after 6 p.m.,” Murray said. “This has had a tremendous impact on the occupancy rate, which in turn has increased our tax base. We are, at times, a victim of our own success. We need more parking.”

He said that an engineering firm is working to redesign municipal parking lots 9 and 4 — behind El Mariachi and Churchill’s, respectively, to make 18 new spots. Murray said he was looking for grants to pay for this project.

He also reviewed the acceleration of the road program, naming the many streets that will be repaired this year. “In the past, the village improved approximately one mile of roadway per year,” he said. “However, our model...[has] improved approximately three to four miles of roadway per year, and that will continue in 2015.”

Maple Avenue was finally completed in December, after two years of work. Murray said the permanent paint for the road lines will be put down. “And of course, the familiar green parade route striping will return, too,” he said.

Ten trees have been planted on Maple Avenue, and 20 more were ordered this week, thanks to a grant from the state.

Murray also reviewed the improvements made to parks, and discussed plans to build a special-needs-accessible playground at the handball and basketball courts at Sunrise Highway and Forest Avenue, next to Hickey Field.

Murray concluded the speech by summing up his plans for the future, which include keeping taxes down, completing more roads, addressing parking and securing more grants. “I am proud of the work we have done,” he said, “and look forward to continuing to improve our great foundation to make it an even better place for our children, grandchildren and our great-grandchildren to grow up in.”