At the last New Hyde Park Village board meeting residents packed the boardroom because they were upset about a comment made by New Hyde Park Village Mayor Daniel Petruccio regarding his vision of LIRR property in years to come when interviewed on a recent TV program.

Before a resident attending the meeting complained about what the mayor said, he said he was not happy with the comment that was made by the commentator of the show, Patrick Halpern, who alluded to the fact that New Hyde Park Village would have to 'take it on the chin' so that the third track could be constructed.

The resident went on to say that apparently the mayor said on the TV program that he would like to see affordable town houses constructed at the site in question. However, many of the residents in attendance at the meeting interpreted that to mean "low-cost" housing and if that was the case, they were dead against that.

The resident also wanted to know if any federal monies would be available when the entire track is completed.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro said, "We do not have any federal, state or local monies tied into any work being done by the LIRR.

The resident wanted to know if any federal monies were tied into any projects on Jericho Turnpike.

Lofaro said, "$1.6 million had been allocated by the federal government to New Hyde Park, for five years for its Downtown Revitalization Project. But he said the number actually changes and when the number actually changes there is less allocation and ultimately it may go down to $1.4 or $1.3 million. But that money is earmarked for our efforts on Jericho Turnpike to do curbing, fencing and bushes. The reason why we have held off is that we are waiting for New York State, which will be doing a major renovation project on Jericho Turnpike and we want to see their plans and we are going to try to push for them to do this in the way we want it to be done."

The residents attending the meeting complained and complained to Deputy Mayor Robert Lofaro, who kept saying neither he nor the other trustees had viewed the segment and when the mayor arrived, about 9:30 p.m., the residents started in all over again with the same complaints, but this time directly targeting the mayor.

Simply, the mayor explained that he would like to see, on the side streets leading to the LIRR, town houses that were affordable, somewhere in the $400, 000 or $500,000 range and he said he never ever mentioned low-cost housing. He said he would think that the residents would far rather see town houses in the area than huge trucks clogging the streets. Some of the most vocal residents seemed to be appeased by his explanation. However, they kept questioning him until the meeting finally ended close to 11:30 p.m.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro conducted the main portion of the New Hyde Park Village Board meeting. He announced that beginning in October the village would revert back to two meetings a month - one on the first Tuesday and the other on the third Tuesday of the month. He added, "Please come and visit with us!"

During the open portion of the meeting, held at the beginning of the meeting, residents near the Dunkin Donuts on Jericho Turnpike were present and said that things are "out of control" with the crowds that congregate at that location. They said they blast their car engines and the pictures on their walls vibrate from the music that is blasted by the groups that gather from 7 a.m. to 3 o'clock in the morning.

One resident said that when he called the Third Precinct to complain he was asked, "Why don't you move?" Trustee Richard Coppola said he would like to have the name of the officer who said that and he said he would get in touch with the Third Precinct Inspector.

Trustee Lawrence Montreuil said in the past when they have received such complaints from businesses in the area, and the board has set up meetings with the managers of those establishments. Therefore, it was decided that the manager would be contacted and a meeting with the village officials would be arranged.

A resident of South 4th Street said that he thought that South 4th Street would be one of the streets that would be repaved and he said that hasn't happened. He said the curbs were all cut up. He said that Department of Public Works Supervisor James McCloat said it was on the top of the list.

The resident kept insisting that McCloat said South 4th Street was at the top of the list and Lofaro said let me say this, "South 4th Street is not on the top of the list of streets to be renovated."

The resident came back with, "Well, then why should we pay taxes?"

Trustee Donald Barbieri said, "Look, we have an engineering company Divirka and Bartilucci and wht they did was they went through and graded every block in the village with an A to F grade. We have been repairing them according to grade.

Lofaro said the village has been repairing miles and miles of roads. He said, "If you lived on Washington Avenue and there was no pavement on your road but rather it was down to the dirt that would be a higher priority.

The resident kept coming back with other streets that had been repaired that he didn't feel were as bad as South 4th Street. Lofaro said, "That's your opinion and the reason we engaged an engineering firm was so that they would make the decision on the streets that needed repair. They went over every street in the village and assessed just what each street needed. They went from corner to corner and then came back to us with the listing of the worst streets in need of repair. We, as a board knew we had $1.5 million and how far that would go to repair the worst roads in the village."

Lofaro said, "We have had residents come with petitions stating their roads are the worst in the village. But, we went by the list that we received from the engineers stating the worst roads in the village. Right now we are working on the roads that are listed as C and C minus. We have done all the Ds and we have done all the Fs."

Further, the same resident complained that last year he asked that his Pin oak be trimmed and that was never done. He said he wasn't home the day they came and instead they trimmed two or three branches off his Chestnut tree.

Lofaro said, "That we can do. That's easy. We only wish all the problems were that easy."

Deputy Mayor Lofaro said that he wanted to resume the regular order of business including the reports from the various trustees.

Trustee Coppola reported on a future meeting of the Chamber of Commerce to be held at the Inn at New Hyde Park and of a New Hyde Park Fire Department Picnic to be held at Memorial Park.

He thanked profusely Street Fair Coordinator Janet Bevers and Jim McCloat and his staff for such a successful Street Fair. Further, he went on to praise the Third Precinct for their help as well as the great demonstrations put on by the New Hyde Park Fire Department.

Coppola also reminded residents to please be prepared for hurricanes and to have a handy kit ready with flashlights, water and canned food in case of emergencies.

He, too, praised Janet Bevers and the Department of Public Works for the amazing amount of work they did to make the Street Fair such a success. He said what the public doesn't see is when the vendors pack up and leave the street looks like Times Square on New Year's Eve and the outstanding job the members of the DPW do is amazing. He said that the revenue from the vendors balances out any cost to the village to put on the fair so that the residents are not charged any extra to produce the street fair. He said, " The village sets the venue but the operating organizations produce the life of the street fair and this year it was an outstanding success."

Commenting on the Beautification Committee Lofaro praised its chairman Richard Pallisco for all the hard work he has put into the Downtown Revitalizing Project especially in choosing the shrubs and fencing for the parking lot across the street from village hall as well as the pocket park.

He mentioned two things regarding the LIRR. One is an announcement from the governor's office that large amounts of monies have been allocated in the budget for rail expansion. He said that there is no way what the money has been specifically earmarked for, but will try to find out. Further, he said he, the mayor and village clerk Patrick Farrell attended a meeting of CARE, an organization of mayors along the LIRR main line corridor. He said they are looking at the current projects that the LIRR is working on including the East Side Access Project, the Main Line Corridor and the one that is most troubling is the Brentwood Intermodal Facility which has scheduled a meeting. He said, "The Village of New Hyde Park will be sending an objection statement to that meeting because it is the feeling of the village that increased freight will travel through New Hyde Park on the proposed third track. We are looking at this very closely because we feel strongly this will have an impact on New Hyde Park."

He, too, thanked profusely Rich Pollisco for all the time he has given to the village in selecting the fencing, the shrubs and where the benches would be placed especially to beautify the parking lot opposite the village hall. He said there was a little bit more work to do at the Lakeville Road parking lot facility but it has all brightened up the community and has greatly improved all of Jericho Turnpike.

He said that the village working in conjunction with the Town of North Hempstead has been approved to build another pocket park in the parking lot opposite the Hillside Library. He said that he would be bringing forth to the New Hyde Park/Garden City Park School Board at the Oct. 15 meeting a rendering on what is proposed to built there. He added, "I'm excited about these projects. One by one we'll keep them going, as money allows."

He said he has been in touch with the representative of DOT which is coordinating the rebuilding renovation project on Jericho Turnpike. He said, "They are going to come from the city line through Herricks Road similar to what was done on Hillside Avenue several years ago. They will be repaving Jericho. But they keep pushing the date back. But there should be a public meeting sometime in November of this year. The project should include lighting and the turns on and off Jericho Turnpike from the New Hyde Park Village side streets. We will continue on our aim to make Jericho Turnpike a more pedestrian friendly or walk able for all of us to shop or to be able to safely have our children on the Turnpike. We think it will include a countdown signals that have been at intersections, which should make crossing Jericho Turnpike safer. You will probably see the elimination of some left-hand turns, which will keep the flow of traffic safer and more orderly.

"He said that some of this has not been completely agreed to and we hope when they do have that public meeting you will all come out and take a look at what we think will be important changes."

He added, "This should be a very exciting year and we should be able to see a lot more green on the turnpike."

He added his staff to the village staff for a very successful Street Fair in particular to Janet Bevers for pulling it all together and for Jim McCloat for having the courage to go forward in spite of some threatening weather forecasts.

He said, "The Building Department has issued 62 certificates of various types as opposed to 37 last year. Twenty-nine Certificates of Approval, 17 Certificates of Completion, 6 Certificates of Occupancy and 9 Special Exception Permits. As you know a temporary CofO was issued to the New Hyde Park Inn and they were able to get their main event on as scheduled. Obviously, that is going to be an attractive asset to the village.

It is nice to see that this project has been moving along in such a safe fashion with our building department overseeing it as well.

"Also the building department has given notice to the temple on Lakeville Road that they have to come back in and talk to the village board because they have substantially changed since they were submitted.

"The Zoning Board of Appeals met and entertained six cases and also covered two decisions held over from two previous decisions. They are 1001 Jericho Turnpike and 247 Jericho Turnpike. Both were granted for both the pasta shop and for the dance studio to open.

"The other six cases heard including 401 Terrace Boulevard and 1900 Plaza Avenue which has been postponed. An in-ground pool was granted for 321 South 8th Street and another variance for 1533 Lincoln Avenue and certain stipulations were included for 404 Third Avenue.

"The Architectural Review Board met and they, too, have been busy. Their first case was evaluating landscape plans for a subdivision on 6th Avenue and I think its notable that this board is taking such a concern about landscaping.

"When notable disallowance was not to allow basement entrances to new buildings, which might make illegal dwelling more accessible.

"Further, they heard applications for building signs on Jericho Turnpike and they will address those issues as well as color schemes on commercial buildings."

Lofaro said that at the August meeting a number of residents complained about code enforcement and parking on South 10th Street and an array of concerns and in response to those complaints the village hired a new code enforcement officer and he is currently now working on the street. He added, "We have heard what the residents have said and we are doing our best to address those issues."

Longtime resident Artie Johnson suggested that the Village of New Hyde Park institute a program to give recognition to village residents who fly the American Flag every day. Deputy Mayor Lofaro said he would look into such a program.

Another resident wanted to know why the Village of New Hyde Park is not eligible to receive funds from FEMA in case of a flood. Village attorney Ben Truncale said he would look into it and get back to the village.

A resident wanted to know what is planned for the Chevrolet facility on Jericho Turnpike. He explained that the building is not in the Village of New Hyde Park and there are no proposals for the parking lots.

The same resident wanted to know what is happening with the Master Plan for the village.

Lofaro said that as of now the village is in the process of forming a Master Plan with new local and zoning laws and at the end radical changes were made to the codes. For instance, residential buildings are no longer permitted on Jericho Turnpike. If they are already there, they may stay but no new residential buildings will be entertained.

Down by the LIRR and in the Industrial Zones residential building is not permitted.

Lofaro said, "On the heels of enacting those local laws it was thought what about years from now? At that point it was decided to write a Master Plan and John Shapiro was hired and a diverse committee of residents was appointed to the committee. In the meantime, unfortunately, John Shapiro was diagnosed with cancer and everything was put on hold. Now, thankfully, he is back and the committee is moving along. Eventually, there will be a public hearing and everyone in the village will be able to come together to comment on the master plan. However, no date has been set, as yet for that meeting."

Lofaro added, "It's an evolving plan and at the public hearing the residents will be able to question and make suggestions regarding the master plan."

As mentioned before, the meeting finally ended close to 11:30 p.m. as many of the residents lingered behind to continue discussions with one another.

Prior to the regular meeting of the village, the village held a hearing for the general regulations amending a local law regarding Privacy in Garbage and Litter.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro said that up until now, when people went through the garbage and were told not to they always replied, "It's not against the law." Now, he said the law would be in place so that is not the case.

The amended law states:

• Garbage and litter placed at the curb in a private or public receptacle or dumpster shall remain the property of the owner thereof until such time as the garbage or litter is actually picked up by the garbage company or sanitation worker, placed in the garbage truck.

• Anyone, other than the owner thereof, going through the garbage or litter, taking the garbage or litter, or collecting information or notes from the garbage shall be in violation of the law.

• No one shall place their garbage or litter in the receptacle of another property owner without prior written consent. Anyone placing their garbage or litter in the receptacle of another property owner shall be guilty of a violation of law.