BOARD OF TRUSTEES SUMMER 2019 UPDATE
Summer is here! Please take a moment to read about the various events and projects happening around the Village. These include Movie Night at Waldman Park, Village tax reminder, infrastructure improvements, the Macys development and some other additional information. If any resident has any questions or concerns, please contact Tara or Maureen at Village Hall. Have a happy and safe summer.
TAXES: Village taxes are due no later than July 1st without penalty. Taxes were mailed out a couple of weeks ago. If you have not received your tax bill in the mail, please call Village Hall. Village hall hours are listed below.
MOVIE NIGHT AT WALDMANN: The Village of Munsey Park and the Munsey Park Women’s Club invite you to attend the second annual Movie Night at Waldmann Memorial Park on Monday evening, June 24 at 8.30 pm. Movie poster below. Hope to see you there!
ROAD IMPROVEMENT: The Village engineer is finalizing the bid books for the Stuart Place, South Eakins Road, Bellows Lane and Burnham Place road work. We should be bidding for this project shortly. As a result of the timing of the bids and then the board’s selection of a contractor, we are anticipating a construction date for August, a little later than originally anticipated. The Village will send more information regarding the road project to all affected residents once we finalize the bid process.
ENTRANCE IMPROVEMENT: The final phase of entrance improvements to Manhasset Woods Road (at Northern Blvd) and at the bottom of the Park Avenue Hill have been completed with the installation of lighting on the brick pillars and entranceways. This soft, LED lighting was intended to highlight the beauty of these elegant entrances while at the same time illuminating dark entrances. We hope you enjoy the lighting. In the future, we will be attending to the entrances at Park Avenue (on the Port Blvd end) and Copley Road (at Northern Blvd).
TRAFFIC: We have observed, as we are sure you have, an increase of traffic on Park Avenue and Manhasset Woods Road during the morning and evening commute. A spot check of some of the license plates on such cars indicates that we are seeing commuters from communities east of Munsey Park using these streets as short-cuts to the LIRR train station and private parking lots near the train station. We will not accept that Munsey Park residents must tolerate such traffic. The Board is performing an assessment of measures that can be undertaken to control pass-through traffic, including, stricter enforcement of our traffic laws. On a related note, we urge all Munsey Park residents to strictly observe speed limits, traffic lights and stop signs. Driving at or under the speed limit may be a low-tech way of deterring drivers from using our streets as a “fast lane to the train”.
Speaking of driving slowly, the end of school is approaching, so please SLOW DOWN. Please take your time driving through the Village and be aware of pedestrians and children playing in the neighborhood. Speed control and safety starts with us.
LOCAL ISSUES COMMITTEE: In the future, you’ll be hearing more from this committee (and it may end up with a better name) but for now, some background. In the past year, the Village has had to deal with matters which might fairly be viewed as threats to the quality of life in Munsey Park. The recent proposal to open a Medmen store on Northern Blvd is a good example. In response to community outcry, that proposal has been withdrawn and both the Village and the TONH enacted legislation designed to contain future similar threats. Now comes the proposal to redevelop the Macys shopping center as “Manhasset Square”, a mixed use development containing 355 rental apartments, 72,000 sf of office space, 73,400 sf of retail and a 200-room hotel. This development will potentially add heavy traffic on local roads, including Plandome Road, exacerbate the parking situation at the LIRR train station, adversely affect retail on Plandome Road and add unknown number of children to the Manhasset school system. The Board of Trustees believes that this is precisely the type of proposal which, while outside the boundaries of Munsey Park, requires input from Munsey Park and an opportunity for the concerns of Munsey Park residents to be heard. To that end, the Board has asked two prominent and active residents to form this committee to help protect the interests of Munsey Park residents. John Dellaquila and Jeff Tantillo will co-chair this committee. This committee is in formation and if you’re interested in assisting, please let Village Hall know. More to come.
To sign a petition against the re-zoning of the Macys property please visit https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-re-zoning-of-macys-from-commercial-to-residential-use.html.
MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY: Thank you to Munsey Park resident Greg LiCalzi Jr. for leading the Memorial Day ceremony at Waldmann Memorial Park and for reminding us of the sacrifices so many have made for our country. The picture below shows residents gathered in the park to read the names of the fallen heroes from our neighborhood.
GUTTER IMPROVEMENT/ CLEANING and STREET SWEEPING: The Village has been working on reinforcing various gutters in the Village with new concrete for support and stability. We are also in the process of pumping and cleaning out the Village gutters. These infrastructure improvements are necessary to allow for proper drainage in the Village. Village street sweeping will follow this month.
SAFTEY UPDATE: The Village Clerk informed the board that an intruder recently entered a home on Burnham Place. As far as we know, no one was hurt because the intruder was scared off by a family member still in the residence. A close call, and, gladly everything seems to be alright. But we take this opportunity to remind all residents to lock your house doors, front and back, lock up your vehicles, keep your home well lit and, when possible, let neighbors know when you are away. It’s the summer, and as people go away for vacations and otherwise relax, it’s prime season for break ins. You don’t know who is watching you pack for that long weekend and you are liable to come to home to nasty surprise. So please, stay vigilant.
SUMMER SCHEDULE: Village Hall will be open Monday through Thursday from 9am - 4pm and close at 12 pm on Fridays through Labor Day. You may contact Village Hall at (516) 365 -7790.
VOLUNTEERS: If any residents have a desire to get involved with the Village, please reach out to Mayor Ceriello or any of the other Trustees.
NEXT MEETING: Our next meeting will be Wednesday, July 10 at 7:30pm. Just a reminder that there is no board meeting in August, the next meeting following our July meeting will be in September.
For additional information please visit our website at www.Munseypark.org.
The Village of Munsey Park
Lawrence A. Ceriello, Mayor (lceriello@munseypark.org)
Jennifer Noone, Deputy Mayor (jnoone@munseypark.org)
Antonio D'Angelo, Trustee (adangelo@munseypark.org)
Anthony M. Sabino, Trustee (amsabino@munseypark.org)
Joseph P. Williams, Trustee (jwilliams@munseypark.org)
