In New Hyde Park, a $5M plan to shift commuter parking, build new park
A plan by New Hyde Park officials calls for using a $5 million state grant to transform this area by knocking down two commercial buildings and a vacant home on South 12th Street to create new commuter parking and using most of this nearby existing commuter parking to create a park with pickleball courts and a dog park. Credit: Jeff Bachner
New Hyde Park officials want to use part of a $5 million state grant to buy land near the village’s Long Island Rail Road station and turn it into a commuter parking lot, while using the rest of the money for the construction of a new park nearby.
Village officials introduced the plan at a March 21 meeting and said they are under contract to purchase the land for $3.5 million from the $5 million state grant.
The project still needs final state approval, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.
“The state looks forward to continuing the discussion with local officials about the future of this site,” said Gordon Tepper, a Hochul spokesman.
Mayor Christopher Devane said village officials are “happy to work with the state to move the project forward.”
Under the plan, the property at 300 S. 12th St. — which contains two empty commercial buildings and a vacant home — would be converted into a new parking lot for LIRR commuters.
The village wants to use about two-thirds of an existing LIRR parking lot, between South 11th Street and South 12th Street, to create the new park. The preliminary design shows it would include pickleball courts, a dog park and a shaded seating area.
The remaining $1.5 million from the grant would pay for the demolition of the buildings and construction of the new park and the new parking lot, village officials said.
“After years of construction, noise and disruption … to able to transform this area into a park would be just a wonderful tribute and really making a very positive outcome,” Devane said, referring to the LIRR’s $2.6 billion Third Track project.
It took about four years to complete. The LIRR grade crossing at South 12th Street was permanently closed during the construction project. The crossing point between the south and north side of the track was eliminated and replaced with a pedestrian underpass.
Devane said there are about 120 spots in the current commuter lot, but the village has determined only about 80 commuters use it daily.
Under the proposed plan, the village would keep 37 spaces in the existing lot and add 52 new parking spots across the street. The village also would lose about 31 spots on the south side of the railroad tracks.
Devane noted that a parking lot on the north side of the tracks has 95 spaces.
Five years ago, a large number of residents opposed a different plan to bring a four-story building with apartments and retail space to the same area. Eventually that proposal was scrapped, Newsday previously reported.
Village officials said there was another proposal to convert 300 S. 12th St. into a storage facility, but it never came to fruition.
Longtime village residents Daniela Weinstock, 70, and her husband, Gary Weinstock, 64, said after the new plan's introduction at the recent meeting that they welcomed the proposal for more green space.
“We just wanted it to look nice,” Daniela Weinstock said. “If you go to the north side it looks really nice. It’s suburban with trees.”
Gary Weinstock said the couple wants something new in that spot after years of looking at the vacant properties from their nearby home.
“We welcome big development, but we didn’t know what we’d hear, and this was very pleasing to hear,” he said.
The village is working with Aryeh Lemberger of the Manhattan-based consulting firm WSP for design and engineering work. Lemberger said at the March 21 meeting that New Hyde Park officials looked at several different options for the land but they were limited because of the lack of village-owned property.
“We tried to hone in to something that could really benefit the village without causing any disruptions,” Lemberger added.
New Hyde Park officials want to use part of a $5 million state grant to buy land near the village’s Long Island Rail Road station and turn it into a commuter parking lot, while using the rest of the money for the construction of a new park nearby.
Village officials introduced the plan at a March 21 meeting and said they are under contract to purchase the land for $3.5 million from the $5 million state grant.
The project still needs final state approval, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.
“The state looks forward to continuing the discussion with local officials about the future of this site,” said Gordon Tepper, a Hochul spokesman.
Mayor Christopher Devane said village officials are “happy to work with the state to move the project forward.”
Under the plan, the property at 300 S. 12th St. — which contains two empty commercial buildings and a vacant home — would be converted into a new parking lot for LIRR commuters.
The village wants to use about two-thirds of an existing LIRR parking lot, between South 11th Street and South 12th Street, to create the new park. The preliminary design shows it would include pickleball courts, a dog park and a shaded seating area.
The remaining $1.5 million from the grant would pay for the demolition of the buildings and construction of the new park and the new parking lot, village officials said.
“After years of construction, noise and disruption … to able to transform this area into a park would be just a wonderful tribute and really making a very positive outcome,” Devane said, referring to the LIRR’s $2.6 billion Third Track project.
It took about four years to complete. The LIRR grade crossing at South 12th Street was permanently closed during the construction project. The crossing point between the south and north side of the track was eliminated and replaced with a pedestrian underpass.
Devane said there are about 120 spots in the current commuter lot, but the village has determined only about 80 commuters use it daily.
Under the proposed plan, the village would keep 37 spaces in the existing lot and add 52 new parking spots across the street. The village also would lose about 31 spots on the south side of the railroad tracks.
Devane noted that a parking lot on the north side of the tracks has 95 spaces.
Five years ago, a large number of residents opposed a different plan to bring a four-story building with apartments and retail space to the same area. Eventually that proposal was scrapped, Newsday previously reported.
Village officials said there was another proposal to convert 300 S. 12th St. into a storage facility, but it never came to fruition.
Longtime village residents Daniela Weinstock, 70, and her husband, Gary Weinstock, 64, said after the new plan's introduction at the recent meeting that they welcomed the proposal for more green space.
“We just wanted it to look nice,” Daniela Weinstock said. “If you go to the north side it looks really nice. It’s suburban with trees.”
Gary Weinstock said the couple wants something new in that spot after years of looking at the vacant properties from their nearby home.
“We welcome big development, but we didn’t know what we’d hear, and this was very pleasing to hear,” he said.
The village is working with Aryeh Lemberger of the Manhattan-based consulting firm WSP for design and engineering work. Lemberger said at the March 21 meeting that New Hyde Park officials looked at several different options for the land but they were limited because of the lack of village-owned property.
“We tried to hone in to something that could really benefit the village without causing any disruptions,” Lemberger added.
Spending plan for state grant
- New Hyde Park officials want to buy property at 300 South 12th St. for $3.5 million and make it a commuter parking lot.
- Part of the existing parking across the street would be made into a park.
- A preliminary design shows that the park would include pickleball courts and a dog park.
- The plan still needs final state approval.
Source: Village of New Hyde Park
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