Free LIRR shuttle for North Hills residents
North Hills commuters will soon be able to take a free village-sponsored shuttle to and from the Long Island Rail Road.
The North Hills village board voted Wednesday to create a new shuttle system to transport North Hills residents between the Manhasset LIRR station and both the Village Hall parking lot and Christopher Morley Park.
North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss said the village contracted with Long Island Limousines to run the shuttle, which is scheduled to begin July 2. It will operate weekdays for six months and cost the village about $250,000. Natiss said the money would come out of the village's roughly $37 million incentive-zoning fund, which is earmarked for community amenities.
The system will consist of two 14-passenger shuttles -- one running between the station and Village Hall, and the other running between the station and Nassau County's Christopher Morley Park -- and will only be available for village residents.
Natiss said the village will issue photo-identification cards for those residents who want to use the service.
The shuttle will run every half-hour between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m., and between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., Natiss said. The village will lease 40 parking spots at Christopher Morley Park for its commuters at $1 per day per car, and will keep 30 spots open at Village Hall, Natiss said.
Natiss said the village conducted a survey of its residents about a year ago and found that 250 to 300 said they would be interested in the shuttle.
"If it's used, we will continue it," he said. "If it's not utilized or underutilized, we won't do it."
Natiss said the shuttle was a response to concerns about a shortage of parking around the station. The village has offered to pay for a parking garage in Manhasset on North Hempstead Town-owned property, with spots reserved for North Hills, Manhasset and North Hempstead Town residents. Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said the town board has felt that Manhasset residents were not interested in having a parking garage.
"There's a sense if you build more parking, you get more people," Kaiman said. "They feel they've reached the limit of traffic."
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
