By James Yeary
The Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees Tuesday night unanimously approved increasing the budget for planting restoration along Middle Neck Road.
The board also discussed potential ways to divert runoff from a construction site in the village.
Clerk-treasurer Abraham Cohen explained the original budget for the project was $9,000 and that the additional budget would be used in the bidding process to select a contractor to undertake and complete the project. The resolution to allocate the additional budget passed the board unanimously.
The board discussed the recent issue of diverted flood runoff from the Great Neck School District’s construction site that has affected the homes of nearby residents.
“There has always been runoff from the area around the school, but since they started construction, it’s been causing significant amounts of flooding around people’s homes,” said Mayor Pedram Bral. “People have been sending me photos of the mud going into their houses.”
Village Attorney Peter Bee said during discussions for a solution to the problem that diverting the floodwater would need approval from the state government beforehand.
In other village news, the crime report for November included Nassau County Police written summons for 96 moving violations, 14 parking violations and 28 aided cases. There were 16 car accidents in November with 7 injuries and it was noted by the board that none of them were the result of drivers running stop signs or red lights.
The report also indicated zero cases of burglary, robbery, or criminal mischief.
The building department issued 13 violations and 40 summons along with receiving 49 new applications in December.
The board also unanimously voted to file a request form with the state regarding a Home Rule Request to put village employee Dawn Ward into the correct tier of the village’s pension system.
After reviewing a request related to the valuation of the Great Neck Music Conservatory, the board passed a resolution that will adjust the assessed value of the building to $740,000 with a $3,800 lump sum tax refund.
The board also set a public hearing for Tuesday, Feb. 20 to discuss amending the village code. The amendment would let the village raise fines for certain violations that are currently capped.
Cohen pointed out that certain people would rather pay the amount than fix the problem they’re being fined for, and that the meeting would open discussion on the idea of raising the cap on certain fines.
