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Overcast Harbor access road agreement nears
County Legislature expected to approve deal on Monday
The long-awaited Seaford Harbor School access road is closer than ever to becoming a reality. An agreement between the Seaford School District and Nassau County is on Monday’s legislative calendar.
The Nassau County Legislature is expected to vote on the intermunicipal agreement, which would allow the district to go out to bid for the construction of the road, which would provide a second means of access to the elementary school. Presently, the only way to get to the school is Bayview Street, which dead-ends at the school.
Supporting the agreement are 19th District Legislator Steve Rhoads, and 15th District Legislator Dennis Dunne, who formerly represented the Seaford Harbor neighborhood. While Rhoads has only held his seat since March, he said construction of the access road has been an issue of importance to him for several years.
“I don’t anticipate there being any issues with the approval,” he said, adding that he expects it to get bipartisan support. “This is a public safety issue.”
Dunne, south Seaford’s legislator for 10 years, said he once went to the school to read to students, and noticed the congestion when he tried to leave. After that, he learned from community members of the decades-long attempt to get an access road. He said he brought in town, county, state and federal officials to try to find the right spot for the road and get it done. “We kept hitting brick walls,” he said, adding that he credits Rhoads for getting it to the finish line, and the Seaford School District administration for its persistence.
Once the county Legislature approves the agreement, it would then go to the desk of Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, and would also have to be reviewed by the county comptroller.
Where the road would go
The access road would run south from Cedar Street and meet up with Bayview Street across from the driveway to the school’s back parking lot. It would not be a regular road, and would be gated at either end. The district would be able to open those gates to ease congestion at drop-off and pick-up times, for school events, and in case of emergencies.
“It will give use a lot better access to the Harbor,” Seaford Superintendent of Schools Brian Conboy said.
