By Dana Williams
At a legislative forum in March, dozens of locals told Nassau County officials about the car accidents and other traffic delays that occur when Hempstead Avenue floods during and after a rainstorm.
County officials recently announced that they are moving forward with the county's capital drainage project and have begun fixing the problem. The project, officials said, will run along Hempstead Avenue from Nassau Boulevard to Woodfield Road.
"The county will be cleaning out and fixing the drain pipes and enlarging them so they will divert the water, and this will alleviate the unbearable flooding problems that have been happening throughout the length of Hempstead Avenue," explained Nassau County Legislator Vincent Muscarella, who represents West Hempstead. "Since the construction workers will be digging up parts of the road, some sidewalks and curbs will be replaced and some curbs will be installed."
Muscarella said the project includes funding for the installation of an underground electrical conduit, which will help to synchronize the traffic lights along Hempstead Avenue, and that the pavement along the busy thoroughfare will be resurfaced. The project will be funded through the county's 2007 Capital Plan, and will cost $6.5 million. Depending on weather conditions, Muscarella said, it will take six to nine months to complete.
"The bonding has been approved, the project bids have been awarded to a contractor, and what residents are now seeing on Hempstead Avenue is the surveying and other preliminary work for the project," Muscarella said. "Construction will be done one section at a time to minimize the impact on the community and surrounding areas."
Muscarella said, residents will also be informed about road closures, detours and other pertinent information so they can navigate Hempstead Avenue more efficiently. Officials in the county's Department of Public Works will also meet with civic leaders later this year to discuss beautification and other aesthetic improvements that they think should be made along the avenue. "Residents have said that some trees and foliage should be added on Hempstead Avenue," Muscarella said. "We're really going to do our best to work with community members and incorporate their input."
County officials believe that the project - for which some residents having waited more than a decade - will bring them a step closer to revitalizing Hempstead Avenue, which comprises West Hempstead's business district. Many civic leaders agree, saying that the project will help them to give West Hempstead's downtown area a needed facelift.
"We have been fighting for this project a long time because the flooding on Hempstead Avenue is horrendous," said Scott Jablow, president of the Cathedral Gardens Civic Association. "We thank 'Vin' Muscarella for pushing to get this project done ... and this project is a start in improving our downtown business section."
"The reconstruction of [Hempstead Avenue] has been a long, long time in coming, and, once completed, will surely help to put our hometown on the road toward a much-anticipated and well-deserved suburban renewal," added resident Seth Bykofsky.
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liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
