Valley Stream close to getting downtown building

Valley Stream should own the building at 195 Rockaway Ave. within 60 days, according to Mayor Ed Fare. The village is moving ahead with its acquisition of the building through eminent domain to serve a law enforcement annex.

Fare said that a price for the building has not yet been determined, and there was a wide discrepancy in the appraisals received by the village and the building’s owner. However, Fare said, the price could still be negotiated after the village takes the building, and could ultimately be determined by a judge. “It doesn’t stop us from having the deed and starting to work on it,” he said.

Once the village takes the deed to the building, which had previously served as Village Hall in the 1940s, work will immediately begin. Early projects include power washing the outside of the building and installing a sump pump in the basement.

The second floor will be used to house the village’s Code Enforcement and Public Safety departments, along with offices for the Auxiliary Police and Civilian Patrol. Fare said there is little work to do up there since the second floor already has cubicles and offices.

Renovations to the former Hendrickson Park administration building, which was damaged in a mid-August flood, should be complete within the month. Fare said when that construction is done, that village work crew can move over to 195 Rockaway Ave. to begin work there.

The first floor once served as the village’s courtroom and will be converted back to that use. Those renovations will take some time, Fare said, and the village is seeking grants to restore the room. He said he wants to keep the 1920s look in the courtroom with wooden benches and pendulum lighting. Even the bathrooms, which have a vintage 1920 look, can be kept in tact.

Another project includes replacing the roof. It’s in good shape now, Fare said, but “it doesn’t have many years left in it.” He said he would like to replace it with a “green” roof that includes recycled materials, solar panels or both.