Carle Place's $4M Westbury Avenue project to bring new sidewalks, street repaving

North Hempstead Town began work on the long-awaited reconstruction and beautification of Westbury Avenue in Carle Place on Tuesday morning.

The project will transform the hamlet's main thoroughfare into "a better heartbeat for the community of Carle Place," Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said during an on-site news conference Tuesday.

The approximately $4 million project will be funded by $2.5 million from Nassau County, which manages the roadway, and $1 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The rest is coming from the town.

The work, to be done by the Hicksville-based contractor Stasi General Contracting, will include sidewalk replacements, street repaving, curb improvements, drainage updates and improved pedestrian crossings for a nearly mile-long stretch of the road from Jamaica Boulevard to Carle Road. 

"We're rebuilding a road, but that's not the big picture. What we're really building here is a better Westbury Avenue," DeSena said. "We're constructing a safer, more attractive 'Main Street' for the people who live here, work here and visit here."

DeSena added: "We're making a more welcome environment for the businesses that call Carle Place home." 

Plans for the revitalization date back two decades but have long stalled amid bureaucratic challenges, DeSena said. 

"When you have many layers of government, sometimes they point the finger at each other," she said. 

Councilman Robert Troiano, who represents Carle Place, said during the news conference that the project would help "rebuild pride in the Carle Place community for their Westbury Avenue."

"This is a community that takes great pride in its schools ... and its homes," Troiano said. "They are connected, in every way possible. But they've never been quite so proud about their downtown."

Last year, Troiano notified town code enforcement officials of overgrown weeds in the right of way of several storefronts and office buildings on Westbury Avenue. 

In an interview, Troiano said the project should be complete by May. A town news release said residents should expect "occasional lane closures, alternating traffic patterns, temporary detours, and some parking restrictions in the project area."

Dominick D'Alonzo, president of the Carle Place Civic Association, told Newsday the "long overdue" project would be a boon for the village's small businesses.

"It's tough to be a small business in this day and age, and then with COVID, everyone took a hit," he said. "Now, we're starting to get a rebirth."

Eric Alexander, director of Vision Long Island, a downtown planning organization, said in an interview the improvements would improve walkability in the village, which would help with pedestrian safety and make for a more bustling downtown.

The project represents a "positive example of pedestrian improvements in communities across Long Island. We need many more," he said. He added community members had been pushing for the ability to "walk into town or park and walk safely, frequent the stores."

The town has undertaken several infrastructure improvements in recent months, including the replacement of the Webster Avenue Bridge and a shoreline stabilization project along Bayview Avenue in Manhasset.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.