By Keith Grant
The congested Park Avenue parking lots between the two blocks will be gutted and renovated starting in mid-September, city officials said. The project, which will see at least one of the two lots closed at all times during construction, is expected to run through late November or early December. The end result, officials said, will be more attractive, reconfigured lots that will add parking to the busy block that houses several restaurants, two banks, the Post Office and the newly renovated movie theatre.
The final product will also feature new lighting for the parking lots which were not previously lit and dozens of new, young trees that will be planted along the north and south sides of the mall. Last winter, the city cut down 24 apparently sick sycamores from the two lots to make way for the renovation project.
It will look good. It will be improved in every way, said city manager Harold Porr.
In addition to new pavement, lighting and greenery, the lots will be reconfigured, narrowing the space between the two lots where vehicles exit and expanding the west side into Riverside Boulevard, aligning it more with the corner in front of the Post Office.
Officials said the work will add 20 new parking spaces to the congested block. The two lots presently hold 78 parking spots.
The movie theatre has been dealing with parking better than we thought, said city council president Joel Crystal. But there are a lot of the restaurants in that area that will benefit from this additional parking.
The money for the $297,000 project is coming to the city from New York State's Comprehensive Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS).
The renovated lots were originally planned to become one long parking strip, like that between Laurelton and Lafayette Boulevards, but instead will remain two separate lots with exits similar to those from the lots between Laurelton and Magnolia Boulevards.
