Budget Sessions for 2022 through 2023
The Garden City Board of Trustees will conduct work sessions to review the tentative 2022 through 2023 Operating and Capital Budgets in person in the Village Hall Board Room and via Zoom. The sessions began on March 10. Here is the schedule:
Budget Work Session Two
March 16 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Police Department
• Department of Public Works and Water Fund
Budget Work Session Three
March 24 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Fire Department
• Finance Department
• Other unallocated expenses and revenues
• Administration
• Library
Budget Work Session Four
March 30 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• Presentation of changes and the final budget
Monday April 4, 2022 7:30 p.m.
•Adoption of budget
For those who wish to attend any of these sessions, email Village Clerk Karen Altman at kaltman@gardencityny.net before 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting and she will send the link.
Water Update
Residents may have already received a mailer providing an update about lead in the water. There has been a lot of discussion throughout the village on the topic of lead in the drinking water. Recently, the village was informed that a homeowner was diagnosed with an elevated blood lead level and promptly notified their engineering consultant and the Nassau County Department of Health (NCDOH). The Village immediately had the wells and points of entry to the system sampled for lead. The sampling demonstrated that the water entering the distribution system was non-detect for lead. The NCDOH was also notified by the resident, and they performed an investigation of the residence for lead exposure, part of which was sampling the water for lead. The result of the water sample was above the New York State Action Level of 15 µg/l. The home has a privately-owned lead service line connection to the public water main.
(Photo courtesy Marcus Quigmire via Wikimedia Commons)
Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets and fixtures. In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water. Lead pipes are more likely to be found in older developments. A 2008 American Water Works Association and Water Research Foundation Study, based on a national survey of utility Lead and Copper compliance reporting, suggested that the percent of lead contribution to a typical home served by a lead water service was as follows:
• Lead service line: 50 to 75 percent
• Premise piping: 20 to 35 percent
• Faucets: 1 to 3 percent
Important steps to reduce lead in drinking water include having water tested. New York State Department of Health has a free lead testing pilot program. Go to the New York State Department of Health website. Note that this program has limited capacity and therefore, residents may choose to use a private laboratory. If the water tested at or above the action level of 15ug/l, residents should either utilize an approved filter or use New York State Certified (NYSDOH-Certified) bottled water for drinking and cooking.
Visit the following Environmental Protection Agency website for more information:
Lead exposure in general.
Visit the village website for updates and further information. Residents may also contact the village at 516-465-4003 for any more questions.
Track work: Hempstead Branch
The Metropolitan Transit Authority has advised the village that they will be replacing the wooden ties along the Hempstead Branch over the course of the next six weeks.
• This work will take place from just west of Covert Avenue to about Franklin Avenue.
• The MTA began this work on March 7 and it is expected to last about six weeks.
• This work will be taking place almost exclusively during the weekday daytime hours. There is no chance the MTA will be working on weekends, but it will provide an advanced notice if it needs to do so. There is a chance the MTA will work some nights, but no heavy equipment or engines will be used.
• The equipment that the MTA will be using are 15 to 16 work engines and cars along each track as they replace these ties.
• This work is critical to maintaining the MTA’s infrastructure in a state of good repair and ensuring reliable service along the Hempstead Branch.
• There are no service impacts for this work.
Third Track update:
During March, four double track outages are scheduled, including the previous outages from March 5 to 7 and 12 and 14, and future outages from March 19 to 21 and 26 and 28. During the weekends of March 19 and 21 and March 26 and 28, crews will be removing and installing new track switches. Residents may hear louder noises and feel vibrations during this work.
As for the Merillon Avenue Station Enhancement, 3TC has substantially completed its work on the Merillon Avenue Station and will now begin the process of restoring the area in its permanent condition. As a result, there will be ongoing punch list work at the station throughout the month. Both elevators are now fully operational and available for use.
For the Tanners Pond Road and Denton Avenue Bridge Replacement Project, crews continue utility relocation work to accommodate for the upcoming bridge replacement. As a result, local road closures and detours are in place. Tanners Pond Road and Denton Avenue are closed from Main Avenue to Railroad Avenue during this activity. Thru traffic is being redirected to alternate routes. Work zone traffic control (WZTC) signage has been posted throughout the closure. A concrete U-box substructure is being installed to support the new bridge superstructure and 3TC will use the box-jacking method (similar to the method used at the New Hyde Park Road underpass) which will allow 3TC to move the bridge into place during a single weekend.
Following utility relocation, steel assembly will begin with an anticipated “bridge push” scheduled for the weekend of April 29. The bridge is scheduled to be removed and replaced with a three-track structure to accommodate the new third track and improve safety.
—Submitted by the Village of Garden City Office of the Mayor Cosmo Veneziale
