One civic leader’s initiative has made North New Hyde Park thoroughfares look neater than they have in years.
North Hempstead and Nassau County crews recently cleaned up stretches of Hillside Avenue, Lakeville Road and New Hyde Park Road in the hamlet after requests from Bill Cutrone, spokesman and acting president for the Lakeville Estates Civic Association.
“Beautification is the utmost for what our civic is trying to do in the area,” Cutrone said. “I’m as happy as can be because they actually did beyond what I thought they would do.”
North Hempstead’s town highway department removed fallen tree branches and trash from Hillside Avenue between Aster Drive and the Manor Oaks School, Cutrone said.
Nassau County sent two crews to clean New Hyde Park Road between Marcus Avenue and the Northern State Parkway and Lakeville Road from Hillside Avenue to Union Turnpike, he said.
The roads had become a “dumping ground” for the area, Cutrone said — some were littered with debris and garbage, including discarded tires and an old engine block.
Residents who work in nearby Lake Success also complained the sidewalks had become overgrown and difficult to walk on, he said.
“It was more a safety issue, not being able to walk on the sidewalks or ride a bicycle on the sidewalks from one point to another,” Cutrone said.
Cutrone contacted town and county officials about the messes, and some came to see them in person. The streets were cleaned within two weeks, he said.
Town Highway Superintendent Tom Tiernan and Councilwoman Lee Seeman were “in awe” of how cluttered Hillside Avenue was, Cutrone said.
“They were amazed at all the garbage and the trees and the stumps, the dead trees that were there that were just falling apart wherever they fell, the branches,” Cutrone said.
Ann DeMichael, an administrative assistant for Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, was also very responsive, he said.
“New Hyde Park is a beautiful community and we strive to keep it clean for the residents,” Seeman said in a statement. “It’s always a pleasure to work with Mr. Cutrone and the leaders of the civic association in order to achieve this goal.”
Cutrone said the messy roadsides were causing concern within North New Hyde Park’s North Lakeville and Lakeville Estates Civic Associations.
The “disregard” for their appearance may have been deterring new home-buyers from moving into the area, he said.
“It’s a quality of life issue,” he said. “It’s a blight of the neighborhood.”
Other efforts Cutrone and the civic groups have taken up in recent months include the repair of a fence behind the new Foodtown store on Lakeville Road and Union Turnpike and getting new road lines painted at the intersection of Hillside Avenue and Celler Avenue.
