Former Mineola Mayor Bob Hinck, who is now the village's point man on its revitalization project, said that he was told by a deputy in the Nassau County Department of Public Works that the village's plans for improvements to Mineola Boulevard are being held up because of an issue with the county and the village.

Hinck was, of course, referring to the lawsuit the Village of Mineola filed against Nassau County with regard to the county's sale of the department of social services building and the adjacent parking lot.

In February, the village, under the direction of Mayor Jack M. Martins and the board of trustees, filed a lawsuit against the county because the county, in the mayor's and trustees' eyes, did not provide an adequate parking plan to replace the parking lot for the courts the county planned to sell. The mayor feared that by selling off the parking lot south of the Supreme Court, those who use the court would resort to parking on the streets of Mineola. The lawsuit is still pending.

In one of the village's revitalization plans, the village planned to use grant money secured by state Senator Michael Balboni to add brick pavers, benches, receptacles, lighting fixtures and trees along Mineola Boulevard from 1st to 2nd Streets and 3rd Street to Old Country Road. The village also had plans to construct a center median on Mineola Boulevard starting on 3rd Street and going south to Old Country Road. The village also had plans for a clock tower as a sort of gateway to the village from Old Country Road.

Hinck believes the project will link up the south to the north on Mineola Boulevard by providing a gateway from Old Country Road north to 3rd Street. "It will provide an outstanding, picturesque, quiet area that will give us something to be very proud of," he said.

Because Mineola Boulevard is a county road, the village must receive county approval before the project can be done. Hinck said plans for the project were submitted to the county on Sept. 13. However, the plans have not been approved. When Hinck inquired as to what happened to the plans, he said he was told a decision on the plans would not be provided until the county executive and the mayor resolve some outside problems, referring to the lawsuit.

This was enough to frustrate Mayor Martins, who hoped to get the project done for the village's centennial celebration next year. "We, in Mineola, have joined others on Mr. Suozzi's enemies list," Mayor Martins said.

Mayor Martins met on Friday with Nassau County Deputy County Executive Anthony Cancelleri. The mayor said Cancelleri said it was a misunderstanding and that the village hadn't received approval yet because it was a complicated project that included a center median. The mayor maintains that if the county has a problem with the center median then it can still give approval for the sidewalk improvements so the village can get started.

In another project, the village received a verbal agreement from the state for streetscape improvements on Jericho Turnpike from Willis Avenue to Mineola Boulevard. The project also includes a center median similar to the one on Hillside Avenue. The village needs approval from the New York State Department of Transportation because Jericho Turnpike is a state road.

The project is expected to go out to bid in early December with construction beginning in early 2006.