At last, North Merrick Campgrounds to be repaved

The historic section of North Merrick commonly referred to as the Merrick Campgrounds, where Methodist revival meetings were held during the 1860s, will be repaved next year, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray announced during a recent town board meeting.

The Campgrounds are just east of Merrick Avenue, north of Camp Avenue and south of Old Mill Road. With a number of homes built in the mid-1800s still standing today, the neighborhood is a labyrinth, with narrow streets, many of them just one lane wide, fanning out in concentric circles from a central point, where a revival hall once stood.

The repaving work will continue a project from the summer of 2011, when the town began street work in the Campgrounds. Improvements will include new asphalt pavement, concrete roadside gutters, new storm drains, new driveway aprons and the restoration of disturbed roadside grass. Officials said the work should help relieve flooding in the area.

Haven, Peck, Bangs, Olin, Webb and Kingsley avenues, half of Fletcher and Wesley avenues and parts of Abbott Avenue were among the streets that were repaired during the first phase of the project.

Town officials did not say precisely when phase two will begin, but it will encompass Hedding and Fisk avenues, East Drive, the other half of Fletcher and Wesley avenues and an additional section of Abbott Avenue.

The first phase cost $708,000, and the second phase will be included in the town’s 2013 budget, which has yet to be submitted, officials said. According to a town spokesperson, the cost is estimated at $1 million.

Murray said that she and Town Councilwoman Angie Cullin, a Republican from Freeport, are “thrilled that work on phase two will begin next year.”

“Keeping town roads in good repair reduces maintenance costs as well as improves safety for pedestrians and motorists,” Murray said. “By continuing to invest in community upgrades, Hempstead Town is improving the quality of life for local residents.”

A letter was sent to Campgrounds residents in August, informing them of the upcoming repairs.

Claudia Borecky, the president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, had attended several Town of Hempstead board meetings with Campgrounds residents, calling on the town to finish the project.

“This is a great victory for Campgrounds residents,” said Borecky. “Since the NCMCA’s first letter to the town in February 2009, Campgrounds residents have joined us in tenaciously walking door to door with letters and petitions.

“Thank you, Supervisor Murray and Councilwoman Cullin, for finishing the project you started last year,” Borecky continued. “I look forward to seeing the Campgrounds restored to its historic glory.”