The final phase of Village of New Hyde Park’s project to upgrade the Jericho Turnpike business district has been delayed once again – this time by the Federal Highway Administration’s recent decision to cut off funds for the project.
At Tuesday night’s village board meeting, Village of New Hyde Park Mayor Robert Lofaro said the state Department of Transportation suspended the project, dubbed Operation Mainstreet, after the federal agency notified it that funding was halted because a May 31 deadline for completion of the project had passed.
“The saga continues,” Lofaro said.
State DOT spokesperson Eileen Peters said village officials had failed to submit a required reimbursement form to the DOT, which administers funding for the project. Peters said that prompted the Federal Highway Administration to put a stop on the project funds. She said the funding was reinstated as of June 11.
Lofaro said the DOT notified the village that the Jericho Turnpike street upgrade project had been suspended in the first week of June. The village then direct J Anthony Enterprises, the project’s contractor, to halt work.
“On June 6, we pulled them off the street,” Lofaro said. “We had to submit new paperwork saying the project was about to be completed.”
Lofaro said the village has filed for an extension with the DOT, which has oversight of the project, and requested that J Anthony Enterprises agree to the extension as required by the state.
Lofaro said he expects the project will resume in about 10 days and that work on Jericho Turnpike will be completed shortly after that. Lofaro said that following the completion of work on Jericho Turnpike J Anthony will install benches on the sidewalk along the roadway.
“J Anthony believes they are a few days from the project being completed,” he said.
Lofaro recently criticized the contractor for what he said was its slow progress in completing the work and suggested the village might take action against the contractor after the work is completed.
The contractor had been completing the construction of bulb-outs – rounded corners that would extend slightly into the roadway – at some intersections along Jericho Turnpike to slow traffic down. A subcontractor for the Bohemia-based contractor has been installing rustic red brickwork on some sidewalks along Jericho Turnpike for aesthetic appeal.
The project is intended to improve traffic and pedestrian safety and make the business district more pedestrian friendly. Countdown crossing lights have been installed at some intersections to make it safer for pedestrians to cross Jericho Turnpike.
The village board awarded the contract for the remaining work on Operation Mainstreet to J Anthony Enterprises last August after the contractor submitted the low bid for $1.46 million.
Attempts to reach J Anthony Enterprises President Joseph Knesich for a comment on the situation were also unavailing.
Lofaro said state DOT contractor Tully Construction had replaced plants that had died during the winter in the medians along Jericho Turnpike. Construction of the medians and the plantings were part of Tully Construction’s work on the second phase of a $21.1 million state project to repave Jericho Turnpike from the Queens line to Glen Cove Road in Mineola, which was completed last fall.
In other developments: The village board reserved decision on a special-use application from World Courier at 1301 4th Ave. in New Hyde Park to renovate a second floor space in their headquarters to make room for more information technology personnel.
World Courier president Pat Sweeney said he ultimately planned to move 20 to 25 IT workers into the 6,800 square foot space in the company’s New Hyde Park offices from a facility in Stamford, Conn. the company has been leasing. He acknowledged concerns residents expressed about congested street parking in the area and said he would direct employees to use the company’s on-site parking as much as possible.
Sweeney said World Courier is an international courier company.
