Trouble over the bridge

A plan to replace the 100-year-old Meadowmere Park bridge, a wooden footbridge that connects Meadowmere Park, an island community of about 100 homes, to Rosedale, Queens, is facing strong opposition from residents.

The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery had planned to build a new, more storm-resistant bridge across Hook Creek, a small Jamaica Bay tributary, using a $2.4 million grant, but residents say they want the existing bridge repaired.

Local officials and representatives of both GOSR and the Woodbury-based Cameron Engineering, the firm hired to design a new bridge, were met by a wave of opposition to the plan from roughly 50 residents at a meeting at the Meadowmere firehouse on June 12. The Hempstead Town Board had approved a $243,615 contract to have Cameron do the work on Feb. 6.

The bridge was last repaired 48 years ago, according to longtime Meadowmere Park resident Ruth Samuelson. Its underpinnings were hit hard in Hurricane Sandy. The grant was announced in December of 2016, and work was slated to begin last year.

The enclave has only one entrance and exit for vehicles, by way of East Avenue, which connects to Rockaway Turnpike. “Sandy exposed our vulnerability along the South Shore,” said Kevin McAndrew, a partner at Cameron Engineering, “particularly in Meadowmere.”

The firm designed three versions of a new bridge, all of which would be 13 feet wide — over three feet wider than the existing structure, which would give emergency vehicles another point of access to the community. The new bridge would also be six inches higher to accommodate rising sea levels.

Residents rejected the proposed changes, with many citing the fear that a new bridge might draw more traffic to Meadowmere Park, despite plans to install bollards, or posts, that would block traffic unless they were removed by the Meadowmere Park Fire Department in the event of an emergency. But vehicular access was a requirement to make the project eligible for the GOSR grant. “All projects funded by the program have to meet certain requirements,” said Jeanmarie Buffet, GOSR’s Long Island director of community reconstruction. “I don’t see how a pedestrian-only bridge can meet those requirements.”

Rather than see a new bridge built with GOSR money, Meadowmere residents said they would prefer to see the current bridge repaired, and have the money from the state used for other projects such as bulkheading. Buffet, Town Supervisor Laura Gillen and Councilman Bruce Blakeman said they were unsure whether such a plan would be eligible for the money.

“It’s the town’s bridge,” said Samuelson, president of the Meadowmere Civic Association. “It should be up to the town to repair it . . . Take out the bad wood and put in new wood. That’s it.”

Most residents seemed to agree. “All we want is for you to repair it,” resident Carolyn Bonino told Blakeman and Gillen. “Keep it as it is. We don’t want any vehicles, emergency or otherwise, crossing over. There’s no need for it.” Several residents also pointed out that the Rosedale side of the bridge is six inches lower than the Meadowmere Park side, so if flooding occurs, vehicles wouldn’t be able to use the bridge.

Dennis Kirchner, who has lived in Meadowmere Park for 64 years, said that part of the reason his parents moved to the area was that bridge. “I think that surely the town can afford to repair the bridge every 50 years,” he said.

After listening to residents’ comments, Gillen and Blakeman said that neither of them would support the proposed plans, and would instead do as the residents wished and work on getting money from the town to repair the bridge, while looking for alternative projects for the GOSR money. “It’s my job to help you,” Gillen said. “It’s very clear nobody wants [a new bridge], but I have to come here to make sure that everyone is in agreement. That’s why we came.”

Though residents were clearly riled up at the beginning and during the meeting, the applause Gillen and Blakeman received after announcing their support for the community’s position made it apparent that the anger had subsided.

“I’m happy that they’re not going to harden the bridge,” Samuelson said afterward. “I’m happy that the town is stepping up and fixing the bridge. It’s my heart. We’ve got to fix that bridge. You can’t put trucks over that bridge.”

Have an opinion about repairing the Meadowmere Park Bridge? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.