Great Neck drops sidewalk work permit fees

The Village of Great Neck is having a sidewalk sale.

Not your normal sale -- no purses or shoes, gadgets or tchotchkes. This sale is on actual work done to sidewalks.

"We're trying to sell sidewalks here," Mayor Ralph Kreitzman said. "We're not trying to sell goods on sidewalks."

In an effort to beautify the village and remove crumbling, cracked, lopsided and uneven sidewalks, the village is temporarily canceling permit fees and deposits required when residents and business owners repair or replace sidewalks on their property.

Kreitzman called the sale a quirky way to get people to pay attention -- and obey the law. "If it's unsafe to residents, it violates code," he said about sidewalk conditions.

The "sale" began July 6 and will run through Nov. 15. The village is waiving a $200 permit fee and a completion deposit, which is based on the scope of the project and returned when the work is completed.

No coupons needed.

It applies to residents and businesses alike.

"It isn't that it's a problem villagewide, we just want them all fixed," Kreitzman said. "If there is one or 10 or 100, we want them all safe."

Property owners are responsible for maintaining their own sidewalks. In most of the village, that amounts to basic concrete. Along the commercial portion of Middle Neck Road, the sidewalks have a concrete layer topped with brick-like pavers.

The annual sale began four years ago when the village was looking for ways to beautify the area and make it safer. About 40 property owners have since taken advantage of the discount, which has varied over the years, Kreitzman said.

In 2008, Sue Marchesiello and her husband, Jim Villamagna, knew they would eventually have to replace the sidewalk in front of their Colgate Road house, where tree roots had pushed up sections of the walkway.

When they went to village hall to inquire about permits, they heard about the sale.

"It gave us the extra push to get it done," Marchesiello said. "Any kind of concrete work is not cheap."

The cost for them was about $1,500 to $2,000, so a fee waiver helped.

"It is really in the best interest of the homeowners," Marchesiello said.

"You don't want anyone to get hurt. You want it also to look nice."