Mill Road parking lot to be upgraded

The Town of Hempstead plans to finance $450,000 to reconstruct a town parking lot on Mill Road in Hewlett. New curbs, sidewalks and storm drains will be installed, while the lot will be repaved and trees will be planted.

“The parking lot will be put back into top shape,” said Councilman James Darcy, who represents the town’s 3rd District, adding that the town also plans to convert five one-hour spaces into eight-hour spaces in another town lot, behind Trader Joe’s on West Broadway, also in Hewlett.

Bids for contractors are currently out for the repaving of the Mill Road parking lot, which is frequented by Long Island Rail Road commuters, and Darcy said that work would most likely begin in July. “Bids are going to be awarded at the town board meeting on June 14 or 21,” he said.

The condition of parking lots in the area and the number of spaces available has been a problem for several years, according to residents. There are nearly 80 stalls in the Mill Road lot, which does not seem to be enough to accommodate the volume of vehicles that are parked in the area.

Darcy said that Trader Joe’s made the request for the revised parking field metering in the West Broadway lot, on behalf of its employees.

Woodmere resident Lillian Bergstein, who shops at Trader Joe’s twice a week, said that the lot is always crowded. “If [LIRR] commuters are kept out of the parking lot, it wouldn’t be a bad parking situation,” Bergstein said. “It’s important for the town to get involved, though, because the parking lot is congested.”

Hewlett Business Association President Joseph Gelb said that his organization has been asking for more parking for years. Gelb said he submitted a plan for a double-deck garage to town officials eight years ago, and nothing came of the idea.

“We’re desperate for parking,” he said. “We’ve been asking consistently for several years.”

The Trader Joe’s lot needs to be reconfigured, according to Terri Kotz of Valley Stream. “Since they made one exit only for one-way traffic, it’s total confusion,” said Kotz, who also suggested that the timing of the traffic signal at the West Broadway-Harris Avenue intersection be altered.

Darcy said that the revised metering plan in the lot behind Trader Joe’s will be addressed at the town’s public hearing on June 14. “Assuming the board passes the decision,” he said, “the Traffic Control Department will change the signs in the parking lot and the cost will be incidental.

“If a lot of people come to the hearing and raise issues, we would reserve time to make a decision and review comments and concerns raised by the public,” Darcy added. “These things in general go through pretty routinely and are not real controversial items.”