Residents claim traffic a hazard to seniors

A parking lot being built by the Five Towns Senior Center on Hewlett-Woodmere School District property adjacent to the historic Hewlett House will be a hazard to seniors, some residents say.

The Senior Center is looking into mitigating the traffic problem by changing an existing blinking traffic signal at the entrance of the lot to a fully operational signal with red, yellow and green lights, according to district sources.

"Does someone have to get killed before the authorities realize this parking lot project for the seniors is a very ill conceived idea," said Donna Shulman, a member of the Committee for the Preservation of the Hewlett Homestead.

The committee is comprised of residents who live near the parking lot currently under construction. Before construction began, the site had several trees that was once a part of the Hewlett Homestead, which dates back to 1740, according to the Town of Hempstead, and is one of only a dozen or so Dutch colonial houses left on Long Island.

In leasing another building known as the Carriage House on school district property on the opposite side of the street from the new parking lot for use as a new senior center, the district is allowing the Five Towns Senior Center to pay for and construct this parking lot on land directly adjacent to the Hewlett House. A district source said the possibility of a shuttle bus to deliver seniors from the new parking lot to the site of the new senior center, which is across the street and down the road several hundred yards, is being researched.

Confirmation that the Senior Center was considering such plans were unavailable, as Senior Center President Richard Braverman, said by his staff to be the only person authorized to act as a spokesperson for the facility, was on vacation, and as of press time unavailable for comment.

"Our safety concerns for the area around the Hewlett Homestead includes poor visibility around a blind curve on East Rockaway Road in front of the Hewlett House," Shulman said. "Drivers come around that curve so quickly even with the blinking light."

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