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A Few Clouds Construction of parking malls a work in progress
As one lot nears completion, concerns over resident safety and traffic
As the reconstruction of two parking malls on East Park Avenue continues, some residents have raised concerns over pedestrian safety and traffic congestion, and said that the reconfigured lots may impact local businesses.
In March, the Long Beach City Council approved a resolution that authorized Long Beach to enter into an agreement with Nassau County to redesign and reconstruct the county-owned parking malls between Long Beach Boulevard and Monroe Boulevard, and between Neptune Boulevard and Roosevelt Boulevard.
At the time, former City Manager Charles Theofan said that the parking lots were in horrendous condition and in need of repair, noting that they were unsafe because of various potholes and broken curbs. Theofan said that the county would fully reimburse the city for the design and reconstruction costs.
To address the issue, the city entered into an $80,500 contract with the Melville-based RBA Group to redesign both parking malls. In addition, the city enlisted in the services of D.F. Stone for reconstruction work.
On Dec. 19, Long Beach Department of Public Works Commissioner Kevin Mulligan said that work for the parking mall between Long Beach Boulevard and Monroe Boulevard started on Sept. 15, and explained that the lot was in terrible condition. He added that the parking mall is near completion, but did not provide a specific date, and noted that the reconstruction of the Long Beach-Monroe mall will cost $800,000.
“This mall was flooding every day, it was the worst parking mall in the city,” he said. “This was a major eyesore. Sidewalks and curbing hadn’t been done in 20 to 30 years.”
Mulligan added, “Now, there’s a storm sewer system that works, there are no more puddles. The east parking mall is open, they’ve paved it and put temporary striping down. And they just paved the western one, and they’re doing concrete and brick work. It should be open to the public relatively soon.”
Asked when work for the Neptune Boulevard and Roosevelt Boulevard parking mall would commence, Mulligan said that a start date depends on the county. “They have to come up with the money,” he said. “If the money was there, we’d start in April.”
