Lot Reconstruction On Horizon

The redesign of a parking lot on the south side of 2nd Street, west of Roslyn Road is gaining steam, with the Mineola Village recently approving a $7,750 plan to reconstruct and expand the spot.

“It needs significant work,” Mayor Scott Strauss said.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Tom Rini cited flooding and concrete issues with the vacant lot.

“It needs curb [work], it needs drainage,” Rini said. “It needs a lot before we can allow people to start parking on a regular basis.”

The lot will be expanded, Rini said, to 75 feet wide by 200 feet long and hold 34 parking spaces. The east end of the property slopes south towards Old Country Road so, according to Rini, the lot will be extended “as far east as we can” without building a retaining wall.

“We do have some setback requirements because there is a [Nassau] County traffic signal right there,” Rini said. “Having people coming and going out of there, we’re going to have to force everyone to go in an easterly direction. It’ll be a one way parking lot coming from the west, exiting from the east.”

Mineola secured this final piece of New York state-owned land that was subject to the long, drawn out Long Island Rail Road Grade Crossing Elimination Project encompassing Roslyn Road earlier this year. The rail road had earmarked pieces of land near train tracks on Roslyn Road for usage prior to its raising.

The village board had announced a plan in 2013 to begin plans to acquire land pledged by the State Department of Transportation.

“We will go as far as we can [to the street] without impacting the county traffic light,” Rini said.