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Fair Left in the dark
Merrick Road businesses want more light
Some businesses on Merrick Road are starting to shine a light on the fact that their stretch of Rockville Centre is usually left in the dark.
Business owners say that Merrick Road is poorly lit, adding that while it’s not much of a problem during sunlit summer evenings, it can hurt business in the winter months.
“The businesses on Merrick Road are not getting the same reception,” said Elizabeth Douge, who owns Presava, at 270 Merrick Road, comparing them with shops on Park Avenue. “We started noticing people complaining about us being in an area with no lighting. Even if we’re open till 9 o’clock at night, competing with mall business, people don’t want to walk in an area with no lights.”
Douge said she wished Merrick was more like Park Avenue, which has not only street lights, but smaller lamps lighting the sidewalk in front of businesses. “As soon as you walk on Park Avenue, it’s beautiful,” Douge said. “There’s lights, and there’s curb appeal.”
Given that it is one of the village’s busiest roads, business owners feel that Merrick Road needs more attention. “There’s no lights in front of my store or any on this side [of the block],” said Tiphanie Colon, who works at Brew 7, just down the block from Presava. “At night it’s a little weird. People don’t want to walk around.”
“I think if we had more lighting on this block, we’d get more business, too,” she added.
Other businesses had similar comments about the lighting on Merrick Road, though they didn’t want to be quoted for this story.
Douge said she had written to the village many times and spoken to the mayor more than once about adding more lights to the road. Mayor Francis X. Murray acknowledged that he had spoken to Douge once, but said that no other businesses have complained about the lighting on Merrick Road.
“At this time, it’s the village’s belief that the lighting in that area is adequate,” said village spokeswoman Julie Scully.
