Seaford Harbor access road approved

It has taken 51 years to get the approval to build an emergency access road at the Seaford Harbor Elementary School, but on Monday, the Nassau County Legislature voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to execute an intermunicipal agreement with the Seaford School District.

“We did it,” said Rita Matalone, of Seaford.

A round of applause came from the dozen or so Seaford residents who were at the meeting for the vote. Superintendent Brian Conboy let out a sigh of relief. “It’s finally over the finish line,” he said.

The intermunicipal agreement, which took more than a year in negotiations between the county and the district, will provide county funding that will allow the Seaford School District to bid out the construction of an emergency access road at the Seaford Harbor School. The road will provide another way in and out of the school and will run south from Cedar Street and meet up with Bayview Street across from the driveway to the school’s back parking lot.

At the present time there is only one way in and out of the school along Bayview Street. The emergency access road will be gated at both ends and will be used in case of an emergency or when there is congestion at drop-off and pick-up times at school. School officials will determine when the gates are to be opened.

“It is God awful to get in and out of there,” County Legislator Dennis Dunne said before the vote. “I’d even say it’s scary, because if you have a heart attack or some kind of an emergency, you can’t get in or out.”

That was the sentiment of other speakers as well, including Seaford Harbor Principal Donna DeLucia-Troisi, Seaford Harbor parent and PTA representative Melanie Schnaier, and County Legislator Steve Rhoads. Additionally, Matalone, of Friends of Wantagh and Seaford, spearheaded a petition drive that collected 700 signatures that were previously submitted to the Legislature.

“We have 601 students and 100 workers at Seaford Harbor School,” Troisi said. “If there is a bus or truck coming down the road, you can end up with a traffic jam.”

Troisi said the problem dates back to Seaford Harbor’s opening. “Helen Schneider wrote about this problem in her notes,” Troisi said, referring to the school’s first principal.