Town: Hicksville garage work going smoothly

Replacing the parking garage at Hicksville's transit hub began haltingly as Oyster Bay leaders spent months deciding whether to build the new structure on or off site.

Two years later, construction is now moving smoothly toward a mid-March opening on the site of the old garage near the Long Island Rail Road station, town officials said.

The town board will consider Tuesday several housekeeping resolutions about the new 1,440-car garage. The $65 million project - $35 million of which was for construction - is within its budget and its initial timeline, officials said.

"Obviously you want to make this as easy on the residents as possible," Deputy Town Supervisor Len Genova said. "Things are going very well."

The resolutions include a $745,500 already-budgeted change order for construction material and obtaining an easement from Hicksville Water District for a pedestrian walkway. Another extends the existing $2,100 per-month agreement with a private, 65-space lot that has provided temporary parking.

"We're just closing up the loose ends," Genova said of Tuesday's proposed board actions.

Oyster Bay shuttered the old garage in June 2008 after workers discovered cracks in concrete-and-steel T-beams. The 37-year-old structure had one floor at grade level and three above ground.

Its replacement includes one floor at grade level, one above and two below. The design considered concerns from Hicksville residents that the garage have as small a footprint as possible.

Initially, one civic organization lobbied to build the garage at a new location, but the town, after a lengthy study, decided that the existing site made the most sense to commuters.

Aside from construction costs, the town spent roughly $30 million for demolition and asbestos removal at the old garage, contracts for temporary lots and shuttles, road improvements and acquiring a needed piece of property.