Lynbrook business owner to have street dedicated in his honor

A Lynbrook businessman will soon be recognized for his efforts to help fund improvements to a dangerous intersection in the village.

Jeffrey Greenfield will have “Greenfield Corner” named in his honor after his work on the Nassau County Planning Commission helped him secure a $3.2 million grant to make safety improvements at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Merrick Road. Greenfield is a managing partner at the NGL Group, which his late father, Martin Greenfield, brought to Lynbrook in 1966.

“When the mayor approached me for this recognition, I was very humbled by the gesture since it’s always my intent as a local business to contribute to the community in which I have had my business for 40-plus years,” he said. “I had to transverse that road four to six times a day and knew how deadly it was.”

At the April 4 village board of trustees meeting, Lynbrook Mayor Alan Beach presented and the trustees presented Greenfield with a replica of the road sign. After the meeting, Beach said, the dedication of Greenfield Corners at Rocklyn Avenue and Merrick Road would likely happen sometime in May. 

Greenfield is the vice chairman of the Nassau County Planning Commission, and was able to help secure the grant to complete the expansive roadwork, but it was an arduous journey. He said he had been pushing for improvements to the intersection for 15 years and that in one year in the early 2010s, 62 accidents were reported there. 

After securing the funding for repairs, Verizon, Altice, the Long Island Power Authority, PSEG and National Grid each had to relocate their underground lines before work could begin. Then the original contractor went bankrupt, and the county had to select a new contractor to complete the project. After three years, work was finally finished last fall.

Improvements to the roads included the creation of two turning lanes southbound from Ocean onto Merrick, a left turn lane northbound on Ocean to Merrick, a right turn lane in lieu of a cutover on the corner of Ocean and Merrick, the widening of roads by removing a median, upgrades to a 15-year-old traffic signal and the addition of crosswalks. 

Beach called the intersection one of the most dangerous on Long Island, and said he was grateful for Greenfield’s efforts and pleased to dedicate the new Greenfield Corner to him.

“That’s quite a task that he did there to get the money for that intersection,” Beach said. “He used his influence on the planning commission to get that done, so he definitely deserves recognition.”