Island Park gets $600K in funding for infrastructure

About $600,000 in federal funding has been earmarked for Island Park to upgrade the village’s drainage systems, resurface a major section of Long Beach Road and reconstruct sidewalks and parking lots.

The funding has been set aside for the village’s transit-oriented development project, which aligns with Island Park’s long-term vision — to enhance its transportation infrastructure, promote mass transit opportunities, and support potential development initiatives along Long Beach Road and other areas within the transit-oriented development zone, which includes Railroad Place and Long Beach Road down to the Intersection of Island Parkway and Long Beach Road.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and other Long Island representatives in Congress secured a total of nearly $87 million in funds for infrastructure improvements and upgrades to public services and community facilities across the island in a spending package approved on March 22. The transit-oriented development project also involves a partnership with Nassau County and New York State, in which the village competed for and received a $1 million grant for the planning, drainage and resurfacing of Long Beach Road, from the intersection of Island Parkway and Long Beach Road to the intersection of Warwick and Long Beach Road.

The village recently was notified of the awarded grant in which the village partnered with Nassau County to help with the administration of the grant.

This first phase of the Island Park project also includes the reconstruction of drainage systems to prevent flooding, as well as rebuilding curbs and sidewalks and installing traffic mitigation measures. Among traffic mitigation efforts that the village is looking into the installation of a left a turn signal on the corner of Warwick Road and Long Beach Road.

The second phase will address the reconstruction of drainage systems in municipal parking lots, particularly those adjacent to mass transit hubs like the Long Island Rail Road and Nassau Inter-County Express bus system. This phase will also involve the reconstruction of parking lots, including a portion of the LIRR lot on Nassau Lane. That portion of the project is tied into LIRR’s plan to reconstruct its parking lots in Island Park.

“All of the railroad parking lots are going to be reconstructed,” Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty said. “And the portion of the parking lot that belongs to the Village of Island Park will be reconstructed and that includes, whether it’s the railroad or us, drainage improvements.

“We must ensure that there are opportunities, with all of this reconstruction,” McGinty said. “The opportunities are basically to be sure people can use mass transit, whether it’s the Long Island Rail Road or specifically the N15 or other buses too.”

The project is in the final planning stages for the LIRR, with design and engineering taking place simultaneously. The mayor estimated around 18 months for the completion of the project, pending adherence to federal and state procurement guidelines.

“We’ll be in design and engineering at the same time because we want to work in tandem with them,” McGinty said.

Procurement guidelines establish the arrangements for obtaining the work and services needed for a project. Federal procurement guidelines ensure that goods and services purchased with federal funds provide value to the federal program.

State procurement guidelines govern the process by which state governments buy services from private businesses. These guidelines help ensure that procurements are performed fairly and transparently, and that public resources are spent wisely and efficiently.

In addition to D’Esposito, Reps. Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota, as well as Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, advocated for and helped obtain the total $87 million in federal funding for projects across Long Island.

D’Esposito, whose 4th Congressional District encompasses much of the Town of Hempstead, advocated for a total of $20.5 million, for police department upgrades, infrastructure improvements and community development projects. Some of D’Esposito’s significant earmarks included $1.35 million for the creation of an Emergency Operations Center in the Village of Freeport, and $241,000 for the Village of Rockville Centre Police Department to purchase six new license plate readers that will assist in criminal investigations and securing arrests.

“I am proud to have successfully secured this critical funding for important infrastructure projects that will benefit Fourth District neighbors in significant ways,” D’Esposito, a former New York City police detective, said in a release. “Enhancing community resiliency against flooding and providing first responders with the resources they need to safeguard the public are palpable ways the federal government can work with local partners to make life better for Long Islanders, and I am glad to have been able to facilitate this infusion of funds into our region.”

“I’m very thankful to Congressman D’Esposito for his steadfast commitment to the Village of Island Park,” Mayor McGinty said. “This is the home he grew up in, and it will always be his home and we couldn’t be prouder.”