Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan gave updates on a number of projects around the Manhasset area Wednesday to the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations.
A wooden guardrail installed a few weeks ago at Manhasset Valley Park, placed in the grass between the sidewalk and the parking lot, is still not deterring residents from parking along the sidewalk and partly in Maple Street.
“If a car’s coming down the street, they can still hit someone on the sidewalk before hitting the guardrail?” Bayview Civic Association President John Minogue asked. “Why didn’t they put the guardrail on the other side of the sidewalk?”
Kaplan said even when the parking lot is not full, cars are using the mountable curb as a small driveway to drop off children without parking despite the length of the park being lined with “no stopping” signs.
“People are dropping off young children at that field, and that’s the issue,” Strathmore Village Civic Association President AnnMarie Cerrone said. “I’m gonna say that I’ve done it. If you’re dropping off a 5-year-old, you’re not going to park and not watch them because you can’t see the kids walking.”
“Walk with them after you’ve parked,” Terrace Manor Civic Association President Joanne Spencer responded. “It’s not about convenience; it’s about safety. That street is already so narrow.”
Council President Richard Bentley said he has been requesting that the curb be restored so it will deter cars from stopping on the sidewalk.
“When you have a curb that has asphalt built up in it that gives the driver the impression they’re allowed to drive up it, you’re encouraging people to park,” Bentley said. “I suggested rather than put in the guardrail, that you just restore the original curb so that it’s a full five-inch curb so people will know this is no longer tolerated by the Town of North Hempstead.”
Kaplan also updated the civics on the status of adding 16 parking spaces to the parking lot on Memorial Place owned by the Manhasset Park District.
Kaplan said part of the delay, according to the town attorney’s office, has been because the district submitted multiple sets of plans, increasing the number of entrances to the lot, but Bentley said the plans have always shown four curb cuts.
According to the group’s website, the plans including four entrances were drawn up April 10, 2015.
“The last thing I want to do is hear that the park district changed the plan from a lower number of curb cuts to something new, and find out that’s not accurate,” Bentley said.
In regards to a walkway along Bayview Avenue to Manhasset Valley Park, Kaplan said while she would love to see the community be more connected to the park, she doesn’t think it is doable.
“I know there was always a conversation about having a sidewalk, but I know that for the last few years, I’ve been looking at this, and it really does not seem to be feasible,” Kaplan said. “There are parts of the road that narrow and there’s no place to put a walkway.”
Bayview Avenue runs under a narrow railroad trestle, Kaplan said, and any potential walkway would have to end before the trestle, restricting access to the park on the other side.
Kaplan said she is still pushing to get a sea wall along Bayview Avenue fixed during 2018.
I don’t want anyone to wrongly perceive Councilwoman Kaplan was intentionally misleading the community; We enjoy a strong, good, and positive relationship between Ms. Kaplan and the Manhasset community. Her status included that Town Attorney’s office project update given to her had included that the long delay was partly due to MPD submitting revised plans that increased to 4 the number of curb cuts from the initial plan. When we immediately showed Ms. Kaplan the initial MPD plan always had 4 curb cuts, Ms. Kaplan immediately responded that the information she was given by Town attorney’s office was obviously either inaccurate or misinterpreted and agreed to follow up for clarification. The bottom line is that this should have been a quicker ‘win-win’ process and project; TWO YEARS of delays HURTS everyone. We ask for prompt Town action to approve the plan which increases the number of available parking spaces in this lot – for the benefit of our residents.