Representatives from the Town of Oyster Bay recently announced that they have relinquished the proposal to eliminate existing roadways in order to construct new roads throughout the hamlet of Hicksville.

Some 60 civic members and business owners gathered at a town-called meeting at the Hicksville VFW hall on Wednesday, March 13. At this time, town officials stated that a draft roadway proposal, which falls under a larger proposal known as the Hicksville Hamlet Plan and called for the elimination of roads and commercial property to construct two new east-west roads that would connect Newbridge Road and Broadway, was off the table. The meeting was also attended by representatives from Frederick P. Clark Associates, Inc., and Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc., the planning consultants hired by the town.

"Is there going to be any taking of roads or property? The answer is no," Len Genova, aide to Town Supervisor John Venditto, said. "I don't think the [Hicksville Hamlet Plan] committee or the community would have ever let that proposed concept [occur], but to alleviate everyone's concerns, the answer is no. If this is important to you, and I suspect it is from everything I've heard, the answer is unequivocally no. I am giving you that assurance."

Genova added that proposals of this nature typically go through a four-step process that includes the formation of a committee, draft plans, public hearings and revisions before being reviewed by the town board. The final version, as agreed upon by the committee, civic leaders, residents and business owners, then gets logged into a book for review and adoption by the board.

"Nothing would ever get embodied into this plan unless there was overwhelming support from the community at large, [including] the civic community, the business community, the residential community and the committee members," he said. "The purpose of the plan is to identify the problems and things you wanted to see here, whether it be traffic congestion, code enforcement, zoning classifications. When it comes to doing anything in the hamlet, I can't emphasize it enough, it doesn't get into that book, or any book for that matter, unless it goes through public approval."

He went on to say, "I think what happened here is someone looked at the proposal, grabbed a page, passed it around and said 'they are doing this.'"

Martha Offerman, Oyster Bay Town Clerk, said she is thankful the concerns of residents and business owners were taken into consideration. "I think that they got the message and have given us assurance that they are not going to go forward with this part of the plan. We are going to hold the town to it," said Offerman. "The community has been very strong and came together in common cause. They spoke and have been heard and I am very pleased with the outcome."

Bridget Dugan, a senior associate of Clark Associates, said "We have heard overwhelmingly from the community that they do not want roads widened like what was done years ago to Broadway and Jerusalem. Many people feel it had a negative impact on the downtown and do not want to see it happen again."

In an effort to move the meeting in a different direction and cover a broader range of issues, Dugan added, "You have heard clearly from the supervisor's office that it is off the table. I think we have to get past this draft concept because there is so much controversy associated with it. Let's try and move on now and look at the other issues that have been raised by the community."

As a result, many residents and business owners raised questions regarding traffic and commuter parking in and around the downtown. Judy Lombardi, a Hicksville business owner, resident and secretary of the chamber of commerce, suggested designating two-hour parking in the town lot off of Route 107, north of West Marie Street and Dalton Funeral Home.

"That is in the middle of what is left of our shopping area," said Lombardi. "By seven in the morning it is full of commuters. [Perhaps] that could be designated two- or four-hour parking for shoppers only..."

Another Hicksville resident expressed concern for the number of cars parking on Burns Avenue to pick their children up from school, making it difficult for buses and traffic to make their way through. Police officers from the Second Precinct said they would look into the problem.

Many also echoed similar opinions in favor of opening the Landia Station in Syosset as a means of reducing commuter traffic in Hicksville. "The Landia Station was closed without considering the impact it was going to have bringing all those commuters here," said Anthony Sorvillo of the NorthWest Civic Association in a previous article. "The only purpose for that traffic is to get on the train and off the train. That is what's jamming up Hicksville right now. The commuters that don't do business in Hicksville can get off the Long Island Expressway, park right at the [Landia] station, go to New York and come back without jamming up Hicksville. All this is unnecessary."

Offerman is currently working with the Long Island Railroad in the hopes of getting the Landia Station reopened. Also, a petition to have the station opened is currently circulating.