Seeking a safer street crossing

Crossing East Rockaway Road in Hewlett, where the newly created parking lot for the Five Towns Senior Center was constructed, is dangerous, especially for the seniors who use the center.

A bend in the road to the east blocks the vision of motorists coming out of the 24-stall lot to make a left or right turn, and pedestrians who want to cross and reach the center now housed in the carriage house on the campus of Hewlett High School.

“It is very hard to see,” said Woodmere resident Joel Goldfarb, who uses the shuttle bus that the center and Phil's Body Works provides that ferries center users from the lot adjacent to the Hewlett House throughout the day.

The traffic signal currently flashes yellow and red, but it isn’t a fully functioning signal that stops traffic. The speed limit is 20 mph in the areas of the bend, but traffic constantly whizzes by.

A petition with nearly 60 names asked for the signal to be activated. “It is very dangerous, we don’t want an accident to happen,” said Valley Stream resident Louise Kirshstein.

Center Executive Director Georgiana Wolfson sent a letter to Nassau County’s Commissioner of Public Works Shila Shah-Gavoundis, who told Wolfson that some construction needed to be done to raise the road as part of activating the light.

“I told her the answer was not acceptable,” said Wolfson, who found State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) a willing listener. After a Sept. 24 phone call from Skelos's office to Nassau County the signal is expected to be activated in the next two weeks. Curbs and sidewalks are slated to be addressed within the next two months.

With many seniors relying on this signal each day to attend programs at the Five Towns Senior Center, it is critically important that they are able to reach their destination safely,” Skelos said.