New Hyde Park Village Mayor Daniel Petruccio announced that after the tedious process of interviewing many attorneys for the village the board voted unanimously to appoint the services of John Spellman. Spellman, whose office is in Garden City, is an experienced village attorney and serves as the village attorney for the Village of Mineola and the Village of Roslyn. He has been their attorney for years and both villages report they are more than satisfied with his services.

Mayor Petruccio said that Spellman will be in attendance at every board meeting and when questions of law are asked by members of the audience as so often is the case, he will have the answers readily at his fingertips because he is so well-versed in town, county and state law.

A resident of North Sixth Street presented photos to the board showing the amount of flooding during the last storm that took place in front of his house. He said he has been complaining since 1964 about the problem and the village was supposed to install a drywell to take care of the runoff from his street but it has never been done. Further he said that North Hempstead Town Councilman Angelo Ferrara is also working on the problem and they are supposed to start their phase of the road repair in about two weeks.

Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro said that soon a very large road project will be started in the village and he would like to see this problem tied into the village road project. Mayor Petruccio said that the next time the flooding is so severe he would like the resident to call him and he will go and observe the problem in person.

Another woman who lives on North 10th Street said she too is plagued with flood waters and then when the water finally subsides she said she is left with garbage and residue from the flood on her property which she said is very frustrating. She also wanted to know if the catch basins are ever cleaned and the mayor said he would look into that.

A resident wanted to know if a permit was necessary to hold a garage sale and then he said that whoever held a garage sale last week put up hundreds of flyers all over the village; on trees, on poles and on signs, which the mayor said was against the village law and whoever is holding a garage sale and puts up signs is liable for a summons. Deputy Mayor Lofaro said that he saw the same signs and took down about 60 of them on New Hyde Park Road. However, it is not necessary to obtain a permit to hold a garage sale as of now, but Mayor Petruccio said that with attorney Spellman on board that may all change because the board will have him look at the problem of garage sales and signs. It was also mentioned that in other communities a resident is only permitted to have a garage sale once a year.

A Puma Wildcats Soccer car wash that was scheduled for June 23 was cancelled at the last minute and with board approval was rescheduled to Sept. 8.

Another resident complained that the same cars are parked in the village Lakeville Road Municipal Parking Lot overnight. He particularly mentioned a black Explorer and a van. Mayor Petruccio said he would contact Problem Oriented Policeman Steve Markakis and have him look into the problem.

An unsightly vacant home was reported on the north/west corner of Stewart Manor and Covert Street. The resident said that four or five garbage cans have been in front of the garage for months and they look terrible. Mayor Petruccio said he would contact the building inspector and have him investigate the problem.

In the trustee reports Trustee Donald Barbieri said that he has spoken to the owner of Domino's Pizza regarding their delivery men driving recklessly throughout the villages. He said that he would appreciate residents in that area to tell him if there is any change in the driving habits of the drivers.

Trustee Coppola reported that the Nuzzi Park Children's section is still under construction and there will be two sections when it is finished; a section for the very little children and a section for children up to 12 years with age appropriate equipment.

The Summer Recreation Program promises to be better this year and will be run under the leadership of two Adelphi University graduate students. The program will be held in two sessions according to age. Children age 6 to 8 will attend the morning session from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and children between the ages of 9 to 12 will attend in the afternoon from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Village children may attend the program free-of-charge and non-village children will be charged a nominal fee of $25. For further information, please call village hall at 354-0022.

Trustee Coppola also announced that "No Smoking" signs have been posted at the two fields for the protection of the health of the children.

Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro announced that the newly designed newsletter was in the mail and residents should have it shortly. He reminded residents to check the newsletter for the many dates of scheduled summer events and for the sanitation pickups during holidays. He also urged any resident with any comments or suggestions regarding the new format to bring them up at the next village board meeting which is to be held on July 17 at 8 p.m. at village hall.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro announced that the G-Force (Graffiti fighters volunteers) were out in the village removing graffiti and unfortunately it was put back on one of the building they cleaned. However, the village had it removed again the next day. Lofaro said, "Unfortunately, graffiti is a war and the G-Force volunteers will be out continuing to remediate it." Further, there were about 25 signs that had to be cleaned and freed of graffiti. He reminded residents that the Nassau County Police Department offers a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the conviction of anyone drawing graffiti. He said, "I ask that the residents keep their eyes open because graffiti is an invasion of our privacy and our property."

He also announced that from now until July 4 60 to 65 planters filled with flowers and greens will be installed on Jericho Turnpike and Lakeville Road which will surely enhance the area under "operation downtown."

Lofaro also announced that the board has received an engineering report regarding the facade of village hall, which is in dire need of repair. That report is available for anyone to see what has to be done. Painting will be done inside the building the first week of July. Monies have already been appropriated to repair the building.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro said that due to the fact there has been a delay on the part of the engineers regarding the road work it has been decided to divide the project into two phases. The first will be from 6th Avenue between the village line and Covert Avenue; 10th Avenue between Covert Avenue and Premier Boulevard and 7th Avenue between Premier Boulevard and the dead end. Bid openings are expected on July 6. The first phase is expected to cost approximately $500,000.

Lofaro said, "On or about the first week in July the second phase bid document which includes about 10 roads on the north side of the tracks and those bids are expected back in the middle of August and we hope that construction will begin on the northside sometime around Labor Day. We are putting a mandate into the contract that the road work be done within 60 days. Hopefully the road work will be completed prior to Thanksgiving."

Lofaro also said that the work will be focused mainly on the road surface and there will be a requirement in the document that only one half of the road will be worked on at any time. Selected curbing when the grading changes the curbing or the apron will also be done.

Lofaro also reported that he and trustee Coppola met with representatives of the MTA and the LIRR regarding the property at the train station and they will meet with attorney Spellman to discuss in detail the property. They also met with New York State Senator Michael Balboni regarding the funding of the Long Island Rail Road project and there will be funds available to enhance the area in and about the rail road station.

Trustee Lawrence Montreuil reported that the next Board of Zoning is Aug. 8 and applicants are urged to get their applications to village hall as soon as possible.

Montreuil said that the Planning Commission discussed possibly putting into motion a law addressing cell towers. Further, a discussion was held on future plans for Jericho Turnpike.

Montreuil reported on a Flag Day celebration at New Hyde Park Road School and that the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park Schools have put into motion a project to keep schools safe by passing a SAFE policy for the school.

Mayor Daniel Petruccio reported that the meeting of the board with businessmen on Jericho Turnpike was very successful and as a result of the meeting the board is naming a task force to address the various issues of the businessmen and the residents to obtain a balance between them.

Mayor Petruccio announced that the parking situation is being studied throughout the village parking lots and at the station.

As mentioned before, the next meeting, because the village is following its summer schedule, will be on July 17 at 8 p.m. at village hall.