Friday, February 23, 2018
Vol. 94, No.23
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Women's History PAGE 18 n Pancake breakfast PAGE 32
Streetscape work session considers re-do for business districts
LOVE IN THE AIR
BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
Love was in the air at the Community Church Nursery School's Valentine's Day celebration recently. Children made and delivered Valentine cards for their classmates and parents. Above, some of the boys enjoying playtime. See page 44.
Sidewalk Story: The Fair Share Question BY RIKKI N. MASSAND A major component of the village’s Streetscape proposal, now on track for a budget allocation for 2018-2019, will be addressing failing sidewalks and pavers in the Village of Garden City in front of and around most retail, restaurant and office spaces in all three of the chief business districts. At the February 15 work session on the Garden City Streetscape initiative, Mayor Brian Daughney said the concept of replacing versus fixing the sidewalks could make the costs fluctuate from $1.5 million up to $9 million. Trustee John Delany says it is obvious that the village cannot spend the funds “to do everything at one time.” He suggests the temporary mindset for the Board and Planning Commission to adopt being to take care of safety issues, “doing it
temporarily.”
ADA Guidelines Highlighted
Trustee Bolebruch said the first item on his mind was the lack of handicapped accessibility for the rear entrances of 7th Street stores, particularly from Lot 7S. He referred to the Traffic Commission’s hearing and deliberations over the ADA guidelines which municipalities have to follow, as places that have not done so have been sued by residents and others. “If in the event, however we proceed with the Streetscape, I will presume whatever we are doing from walkways along 7th Street and the rear of the shops would all be following the ADA guidelines,” he said. Planning Commission Chairman H. Bradford Gustavson said among the 32 recommendations See page 22
The latest chance at a refresh for Garden City’s downtown and business corridors along Franklin Avenue, 7th Street and New Hyde Park Road took shape with a joint work session at Village Hall last Thursday with the Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, and several major players in the commercial sector here gathered for a meeting of the minds. Mayor Brian Daughney began the meeting on February 15 by asking Planning Commission Chairman H. Bradford Gustavson to describe the work performed by the Commission since the summer of 2017. In November, the mayor added the following into his “State of the Village” release accompanying Garden City’s annual report: “we are working with our Chamber of Commerce and Planning Commission, as well as several restaurant owners and commercial building owners, to review our Main Business District and New Hyde Park Road commercial areas to determine how we can improve our streetscape and parking.” Gustavson says the Planning Commission and Chamber of Commerce representatives walked the business districts of Garden City last fall, and afterward they prepared a comprehensive list of 32 items to address in the 7th Street and Franklin Avenue T-zone plus another six
to eight items in the New Hyde Park Road district. Gustavson said the general items include sidewalk repairs, kiosks at street corners, a lack of trash receptacles, and architectural improvements needed for the area; for example the back facades of buildings along the parking lot 7S. “You can see that area from LIRR trains, and that needs to become a pedestrian-friendly area, where it isn’t the stained driveways and walking along a sidewalk in an alleyway. The parking lot has no guardrails and no curb, and people park on the sidewalk,” he commented. He said the first focus for the Streetscape should be addressing pavement and sidewalk issues such as deep depressions and curbs, which not only look bad, but they are dangerous to pedestrians as people can trip and fall. In June of last year the Board of Trustees’ Priorities List for the calendar year listed a secondary task/project, with a completion date of this February: “Address parking lots improvements and changes to (7S) and Franklin Avenue improvements. Create a Commission of Chamber Members and Trustees.” At the Thursday, February 15 work session Mayor Daughney spoke about the budget process for 2018-2019 ahead and the reasoning for village officials: “I know See page 24
Kiwanis Club collects gifts for Adopt-a-Family PAGE 38 Irish singer to perform at Historical Society PAGE 8