As the new millennium was met with nervousness about computer glitches and doomsday predictions throughout the world, progress seemed to be the hallmark of the year 2000 in the Massapequas, with several major institutions seeing capital improvements.

The year 2000 saw the completion of renovations at Massapequa Park Village Hall, the Massapequa Library system, the Massapequa School system, and Massapequa train station. In addition, local voters approved a multi-million dollar bond issue in Plainedge to begin an overhaul of facilities in that school district. And, the village obtained moneys from the state to complete a downtown revitalization project and renovation of the Massapequa Park train station.

The village hall renovation was completed in the spring, and included new heating and air conditioning systems, rewiring, new computers, a new phone system, new furniture and work stations, new roofing and ceilings, a new filing system, new lighting, new windows and venetian blinds, and a complete paint job.

Technological upgrades include improvements that allowed the move from a computer system which consisted of six different networks to a faster, more modern, one-network system. Village Hall was also hooked up to the Internet. The improvements were overseen by the new village adminstrator, Bill Colfer. The work was funded by a combination of moneys from the previous administration under Mayor George Nussbaum, and the current administration under Mayor Camillo Giannattasio.

The Nussbaum administration provided about $400,000 in initial funding for the renovation, which went toward the new village hall roof, as well as the heating and air-conditioning systems, computers and windows. Approximately $4 million in Bond Anticipation Notes under the Giannattasio administration includes about half a million dollars in funding for the completion of the village hall renovations, back-up generators, a new roof for the garage, as well as a salt storage facility.

Each aspect of the overhaul cost several thousand dollars. For example, the heating, air conditioning, ceiling and lighting work alone cost about $225,000, while the new office furnishings, carpeting, computer workstations and other equipment totaled about $65,000. The new technology, which the village is upgrading to 20 computers and one file server, as well as new printers, came at a cost of about $80,000. As part of its emergency system, the village also plans to add a backup generator to village hall and the garage, at a cost of $100,000, and is leasing new burglar and fire alarms at a cost of $20,000.

Additional modernization includes the following: Through a $4,500 grant, the village also acquired a special printer which prints engineering plans. The municipality is also in the process of setting up a computerized geographic information system, which ultimately will provide an index of every building department and public works record in the village.

The Central Avenue branch of the Massapequa Library system was reopened to the public on Nov. 6, following a year-long renovation that brought such improvements as a new computer room, quiet room and periodical area.

Although no new construction was added to the building, 2,000 square feet was gained by converting space previously used as a boiler room to areas for patron use, and moving administration offices to the Bar Harbor branch. Through reconfiguring existing space at the Central building, library administration was able to add a quiet room, a new computer room with high-speed Internet access, new audio visual room, new circulation desk, and a new area for periodicals. In addition to the new rooms, the library received new insulated windows and automatic sliding doors. The building was also redecorated, repainted, and received new carpeting throughout the interior. In addition, book collections were expanded, and computers were added in the children's room and at the librarian desks. To enhance the look of the exterior, new metal trim was added. The overhaul brought the facility up to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The renovation of the Central branch was financed by a $3 million bond issue, which also funded an overhaul of the Massapequa Library system's other branch, the Bar Harbor building. About three quarters of the funds were used for the Bar Harbor building, which was renovated and expanded, while a quarter went to the refurbishment of Central. The Bar Harbor overhaul was completed in November, 1999.

In the fall, the Massapequa School District completed an overhaul of facilities funded by a $50 million, voter-approved, bond project. When students returned to classes in September they saw the fruit of the last portion of that overhaul - more than $20 million in work that occurred over the summer.

As part of the bond work done this summer, every classroom throughout the district received between three and five new computers, as well as a large screen monitor at the front of the classroom that will eventually enable live, districtwide addresses from the superintendent.

The Massapequa Schools bond project was carried out in two phases, with the first phase last summer and phase two this summer. The historic overhaul is the largest the district has ever seen.

Phase 1 saw the reopening of the Ames School, complete with a new roof, interior, and technology. This phase also included new roofs, windows and doors for the district's other schools, and new hall lockers for students at Berner Junior High School.

Phase 2 provided $11 million in new technology for all schools other than Ames. In addition to computers and monitors in all classrooms, the schools' computer laboratories have been equipped with between 20 and 25 computers each. Among other improvements throughout the district were: more window and door work, new lighting and ceilings, modernized general offices, new gymnasium floors and new bleachers in the high school gymnasium. In addition, the faculty lounges were modernized and furnished with private cubbies, in which teachers have access to computers and telephones. The auditoriums at Berner and McKenna Elementary School were also refurbished.

Just before the end of 2000, on Dec. 5, voters in the Plainedge School District approved a $53 million bond project that will provide an overhaul of the school system.

Approval of the bond will enable the district to implement major capital improvements, including creation of a new middle school to address overcrowding, elementary classroom additions, and facility enhancements at the high school.

With the bond measure approved, implementation of it will ultimately touch every building in the school system. Overall components of the plan are as follows:

To provide a new middle school, the district will renovate the Northedge Kindergarten Center by adding two floors and wings at both sides. Northedge, once converted to the new middle school will replace Packard Middle School, which, according to school officials, is overcrowded and does not adequately meet educational program needs.

The plan will also bring to Northedge modern science, math, and technology rooms, new labs, a 600-seat auditorium, a gymnasium to accommodate three classes, expanded orchestra, band, and choral rooms, as well as new furniture and equipment. Work on Northedge would total about $35.7 million. The high school renovation portion of the bond will total about $8.7 million, and include the following: classroom/media center additions and renovations, the creation of nine science rooms, renovation of the auditorium, greenhouse/courtyard renovation, art room addition, new parking lots, exterior doors, bathroom upgrades, replacement of ventilators, and a new transportation office. The elementary school renovations will cost about $7.9 million. Also included in the bond issue is the purchase of eight new school buses at a cost of $600,000.

The full impact of the borrowing project on the tax rate will be $402 per year, for an average home assessed at $6,000. Funds will be borrowed gradually as each capital project is done, and paid back gradually over a period of 20 years. Because the borrowing will be phased in, the full impact of that tax increase will be felt in the 2004-2005 school year, according to school officials.

The most immediate result of the bond's approval will be the addition of classroom space at the elementary schools, which will make way for a new, full-day kindergarten program at the neighborhood schools beginning in September 2001.

A $2 million renovation of the Massapequa Train Station was completed in September, after more than a year of construction work.

The renovation, which rebuilt the station from the inside out, was funded by state legislature moneys secured by Senators Charles Fuschillo and Kemp Hannon, and Assemblyman Steve Labriola.

The interior portion of the overhaul included a new ticket office layout, new, handicapped accessible restrooms, a relocated newsstand, ticket counter and bathrooms, new furnishings, and new windows and doors. Exterior work included a new brick facade, new sidewalks around the ticket building, renovation of the platform waiting area and stairs, and new roofs and gutters. Improvements outside the ticket office also included new lighting. This is the first renovation of the Massapequa Train Station since the facility was constructed in 1953.

In addition the renovation of village hall, officials in the Village of Massapequa Park laid the groundwork for future improvements by securing more than $1.8 million in state grant money for a downtown revitalization and renovation of the local train station.

In September, state lawmakers presented local officials with a check for $1,870,000 for improvement projects at the Massapequa Park train station plaza and other areas throughout the village. Mayor Giannattasio and the board of trustees lobbied for the funds throughout the year.

The funding was won from state coffers and presented by Senator Fuschillo and Assemblyman Labriola. It will pay for improvements in the village's three business districts on Merrick Road, Sunrise Highway and Park Boulevard. Eight-hundred thousand of the funds has been slated for an overhaul of the exterior of the Massapequa Park train station.

The grants will pay for improvements in the village's three business districts on Merrick Road, Sunrise Highway and Park Boulevard, totaling $250,000. Six hundred sixty thousand dollars is slated for repairs to such village streets as Harbor Lane, Whitewood Drive, Maple Street and McKinley Street, while $150,000 will pay for an automated irrigation system at Mansfield Park. The Metropolitan Transit Authority is entering the design phase of a renovation of the railroad station that is expected to be completed in 2002. The station hasn't been renovated since it was elevated in 1979.

In addition to acquiring the state funding, the village, in fiscal year 2000, earmarked $75,000 from a $3.2 million long-term bond for downtown enhancements. The initial $75,000 allotted will fund improvements to Park and Clarke Boulevards. An additional $133,000 which the village has accumulated from leftover community development grants was slated to fund new curb cuts for streets south of Merrick Road.

With the onset of the Year 2001, community members of the Massapequas seem prepared to continue to reach new heights in the new year, by building on the successes of the Year 2000.