At the last New Hyde Park Village meeting Mayor Daniel Petruccio asked Boy Scout Justin Costantino to start the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

The mayor then praised Costantino for the success of his Eagle project, which was to catalog and package approximately 30,000 library books from the now-closed New Hyde Park Village Library, which will be sent to libraries affected by Hurricane Katrina.

After a number of carter, landscaper and used-car operator licenses in the village were approved by the board the mayor opened the meeting for public comment.

The first comment was from a resident regarding the parking of seven or eight cars in front and on the side of property of the house behind the Medical Center on South 9th Street. Mayor Petruccio said he would have the building department investigate the situation.

Another resident suggested that perhaps the board would consider replacing the Christmas lights with environmentally friendly light bulbs. The mayor said that he would discuss the idea with board members.

The New Hyde Park Little League, Soccer and Lacrosse teams requested the use of Memorial Park and their request was approved by the village board.

The registration schedule for the New Hyde Park Children's Summer Program has been set for June 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The program will begin on July 7.

Trustee Coppola announced that three bids have been submitted for the roller hockey rink project. However, the prices are too high. The committee is now researching the possibility of installing a sprinkler system/mushroom instead.

It was also mentioned that some areas in the parks need resurfacing with wood and rubber chips. The committee is waiting for pricing prior to making a decision.

Once again Youth Night will host another event. On Feb. 29 they will host Guitar Hero at the William Gill Theater on the second floor of New Hyde Park Village Hall. Two age groups will be involved. The first group is for grades K-4 from 6 to 8 p.m. and then children in grades five to eight from 8 to 10 p.m.

Deputy Mayor Lofaro reported that the newsletter was not delivered in time for the President's holiday alerting residents of a change in the garbage pickup schedule. However, he said residents already knew since many didn't put their trash out on that day.

He also commented that the LIRR has submitted the Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the Federal Transportation Agency. He said that the board has not obtained a copy of the EIS but will continue to pursue trying to get a copy.

Both Trustee Donald Barbieri and Trustee Lawrence Montreuil were absent from the meeting so the next report was from Mayor Daniel Petruccio.

Mayor Petruccio announced that the petition drive for signatures to present to Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy is being finalized by all the villages involved along the LIRR Mainline Corridor. The goal, he said, was to obtain 10,000 signatures. No definite date has been set to meet with the congresswoman, but it is expected to be at the end of the month.

Assemblymen Thomas McKevitt and Thomas Alfano have created a LIRR Task Force and at their request the mayor said he has agreed to participate in the task force.

Further, Mayor Petruccio said he has been interviewed by a reporter from The New York Times. This will be that paper's first article devoted to the problems of the LIRR Main Line Corridor Project.

The Village Officials Association will be meeting on March 11 and Helena Williams, president of the LIRR, will be the guest speaker.

The mayor announced that budget meetings, are under way and the next meeting will be held on March 4. The public is welcome, but on a non-participatory basis.

Having no further business to discuss after the resolution to pay the bills was passed, the mayor and the board closed the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, once again it was open for the public and a resident asked why meter parking is in front of the Hillside Library on Lakeville Road. There is mixed sentiment on the meters that were originally installed so that there would be a quick parking turnover. However, Superintendent of Department of Public Works James McCloat will report on this to the board and they will make a final decision.

A resident of Albert Street thanked the board for installing No Standing signs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. by the park. He said that he is still concerned about groups loitering in the park. He said the park is being locked after dusk instead of at dusk. The mayor said he will alert Jim McCloat to look at the surveillance tapes and they will make a decision on when the park should close.

The next village meeting will be held on March 4 at 8 p.m. at New Hyde Park Village Hall, corner of New Hyde Park Road and Jericho Turnpike.