MAYOR SAYS SEA CLIFF AVENUE SEWER LINE SOON TO BE A REALITY
July 16, 2014 -- At Monday night’s Village Board meeting, Sea Cliff Mayor Bruce Kennedy announced that the Village is now ready to go forward with the construction of a sewer line down Sea Cliff Avenue from Main to Prospect. The funding is now in place, he said, after he had secured a grant through Congressman Steve Israel for “a guaranteed $400,000 and possibly as much as $1.2 million.” The grant is a part of the $2 million investment towards north shore sewer projects that was announced at a press conference with local, state, and federal elected officials earlier in the day at Crescent Beach in Glen Cove. With the funds that have already been secured over the past five years, the $400,000 eliminates the shortfall in paying for a project that has an estimated cost of $2.1 million. “We have the feasibility study complete, we have the engineering plans, we have construction drawings complete. We were just shy on funding,” said Mr. Kennedy.
The installation of sanitary sewers in the central business district has been a major goal of Mayor Kennedy since taking office in 2009. Since that time, he explained in an interview with Northwordnews, the Village has secured grants that total $1.7 million for the project. In addition to the $400,000 through Congressman Israel, the village has acquired $250,000 from the New York State Dormitory Authority and $555,000 from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as in the last few months, an additional $500,000 from a Nassau County Community Development Block grant. At Monday’s Board meeting, Mr. Kennedy credited the efforts of Erin McDonnell, the village Grant Administrator, with securing the community development grant. Additionally, the Mayor said, the Village has, over the past 5 years, been saving for the project, putting aside $385,000. A business district sewer line, the Mayor said at both Monday’s Crescent Beach press conference and at the Village Board meeting, is not only necessary to protect Hempstead Harbor and the water table, but also to promote economic growth in the village. Without sewers, he explained, “it is not possible to create a vibrant, thriving downtown without polluting our waters.” “The result of this happening [installing a sewer], is going to do wonders for our storm water report, it’s going to be good for the environment, it’s going to help revitalize the downtown. Right now, restaurants are limited to a number of seats based on their septic capacity and we won’t have that issue anymore.” Additionally he said, the County would be getting a return on its investment in the next two and a half years with increased sales tax revenue. Ultimately, he said, after the Sea Cliff Avenue line is operational, service could be extended to include properties along Prospect Avenue and its cross streets heading down towards the shore. The Sea Cliff Avenue sewer line will be linked to the only existing line in the Village which runs along the Boulevard past Sea Cliff Beach and the Yacht Club and into the Glen Cove sewer system and treatment plant, which is now operated by Nassau County. That final connection will occur after a line is installed along Prospect Avenue and down Snake Hill to the Boulevard. That installation can take place in one of two ways, Mr. Kennedy explained to Northwordnews. Either it will be constructed by a private developer that is looking to build what has been called the Glen Harbor project just south of the power plant on Shore Road in Glenwood Landing (by Duffy’s); or, by the Village when it secures additional funding for the link up. With regard to the first scenario, Mr. Kennedy explained that the permit issued by the Town of North Hempstead to the Glen Harbor developer requires that the condos be connected to a sewer and that the line be in place before the units are built. In 2009 the development company came to an agreement with the Village that would allow it to construct a sewer line northward towards Glen Cove under Shore Road, Prospect Avenue, and down Snake Hill so long as “T-connections” are included at cross streets for eventual hook-ups, that the line would be deeded to Sea Cliff, and that for each condo unit built, a yearly fee be paid to the village for maintenance of the line. If that scenario does not play out, the village would have to secure additional funding, much of which could come from a portion of the $2 million grant announced Monday morning. Mr. Kennedy explained that having the Sea Cliff Avenue line in place will facilitate the securing of additional funds as it demonstrates that the Village has committed to the project. In addition to crediting Congressman Israel for his efforts in securing funding, Mayor Kennedy, cited others for their work – in particular County Legislator Delia Deriggi-Whitten for her role in acting as the “middle person” between the various levels of government, as well as the efforts of County Executive Mangano, Deputy Executive Robert Walker, and Hempstead Harbor Protection Committee Director Eric Swenson. The Mayor said that he expects construction on the line to begin within six months. BACK TO HOME PAGE BACK TO WEEKLY |