By Noah Powell
New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane said Friday the village is nearing a deal for a $5 million state grant in the coming weeks to build a new commuter parking lot and playground across from the LIRR station.
Devane said the village is still waiting for two environmental surveys to be conducted and state approval to receive the $5 million in funding.
He said the money would pay for the purchase and demolition of three vacant buildings on 300 S. 12th St. and the subsequent construction of a new parking lot on the spaces.
Using the same funding, part of the current commuter parking lot on 12th Street will be converted into a new playground.
Village officials kicked off the meeting by honoring resident Adam Hallmark, who helped return Luna, a missing dog, to her family.
Luna had been missing since June 15. Flyers for her were found across New Hyde Park streets on the village website and social media.
Hallmark spotted the dog Sunday morning and waited with Luna after calling her family for retrieval. Devane presented Hallmark with a proclamation from the mayor’s office honoring his service to the New Hyde Park community.
Following the proclamation, Devane and the other board trustees approved several applications made by New Hyde Park Memorial High School to hold car washes on July 17 and Aug. 3.
They also approved Jhony Landscaping Inc.’s landscaping license renewal and G&D Brothers Landscaping Group’s license application.
Devane announced changes to the New Hyde Park Fair on Sept. 21, which would require the Chamber of Commerce of Greater New Hyde Park and other organizations to pay for booth reservations.
The mayor said that when the fair first started in 1997, the village had agreed not to charge the Chamber of Commerce or local organizations fees for booth spots to encourage attendance and build community engagement.
Devane said the village will begin charging all organizations, saying he did not believe it was fair to provide non-village residents free access when local residents are required to pay a fee for a booth space.
“If as result, there are some organizations who will choose not to come to our street fair, I respect it,” Devane said. “But a 27-year run is pretty good. But that comes to an end this year.”
The mayor did not yet say what organizations would pay for a booth, but that the public would be notified when the price was decided. Mayor Devane said the Chamber of Commerce was notified a year ago.
The Village Board convenes on the third Thursday of each month at 7 pm. The unusual Friday meeting date was due to scheduling conflict among the trustees, the mayor said. The next meeting is scheduled for July 18. Videos of the meeting are available on New Hyde Park’s YouTube channel, typically a few days afterwards.
There are NO ‘videos of meetings’ on the New Hyde Park Youtube Channel. Here’s the link > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2gADJyK-YNT704H3Ng_p4w
Also, according to the NYS Open Meetings Law (p. 2) – (https://dos.ny.gov/…/docum…/2018/05/open-meeting-law.pdf)
“Minutes of meetings of all public bodies shall be available to the public in accordance with the provisions of the freedom of information law within TWO WEEKS from the date of such meeting except that minutes taken pursuant to subdivision two hereof shall be available to the public within one week from the date of the executive session…”
The last written minutes on the NHP Village website are dated May 16th, 2024 and the last minutes of Executive meetings is dated March 7th, 2024. Here is the link from the village website > https://vnhp.org/meeting-dates-agendas/
It’s apparent that the Village of NHP’s Devane Administration continues to struggle with NYS protocol and law when it comes to openness and transparency.