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Mostly Cloudy Valley Stream takes aim at facilities
Mayor discusses improvements ahead for 2014
By the end of this year, the abandoned incinerator will be gone, Valley Stream’s court will be operating on Rockaway Avenue and the old courtroom will have been converted into a theater. Those are the major items on the agenda for Mayor Ed Fare and the village board as a new year begins.
Topping the list is the demolition of the incinerator building at the Public Works complex on Arlington Avenue. It has been unused since 1979, and village officials are planning to tear it down and replace it with a modern transfer station.
Fare said that the board is expected to award a bid for the first phase of the project — abatement and demolition — at its February meeting. Before the building and smokestack can come down, which Fare wants to see happen by spring, asbestos, lead paint and vermin must be properly removed.
Once the building is down, Fare said, the board will begin discussing how to replace it. He explained that there are several options for its replacement, and that surrounding homeowners would find any of these facilities more suitable.
At 195 Rockaway Ave., the design for a first-floor courtroom has been finalized, and village crews will begin work this month. The project will include the construction of two bathrooms, conference rooms and a lobby, seats and a judge’s bench in the courtroom, and new lighting.
“We’ll have a big huge push to have the building open in the spring,” Fare said. “I’d like to have the court building functioning in 2014 on Rockaway Avenue.”
When the court finally moves downtown, he said, work will begin on converting the courtroom in Village Hall into a theater. The facility has already hosted several performances, including plays and a comedy night, but Fare wants it to actually look like a theater, with a permanent stage, lighting and curtains.
The old wooden seats will be replaced by padded theater seats, and the court’s back offices will be turned into dressing rooms. There are also plans to have a village staffer take on the role of theater manager to book events.
