Parking lot purchase approved by Hempstead Sanitation District 6 voters
An exterior image shows the parking lot next to the Sanitation District 6 building in West Hempstead in August 2012. Credit: Google, 2014
Voters in Hempstead Sanitation District No. 6 approved a $1.8 million bond to purchase a parking lot in Garden City.
District officials proposed purchasing the 1 1/2-acre lot across from its offices on Cherry Valley Avenue. The district has been renting the lot from the Village of Garden City.
An initial tally of ballots cast Thursday showed the measure passing 649-80. Additional absentee ballots and affidavits are being counted and the board is to certify the vote during its meeting Wednesday.
The district serves Elmont, Franklin Square, Garden City South, Lakeview, Malverne Park, North Valley Stream, South Floral Park and West Hempstead. Sanitation officials said the bond would not lead to a tax increase for residents.
The village recently decided to sell the property to the sanitation district at a discounted rate of $1.4 million, said Frank Sparacio, secretary to the district board of commissioners. The remaining $400,000 of the bond is to be used for parking lot repairs and improvements.
The district for 40 years has been using the lot for employee parking of about 150 personal vehicles. Last year, the district paid the village $86,000, Sparacio said. The sanitation district has a separate lot on its property that it uses for equipment and sanitation vehicles. A purchase date has not been set.
"It's good that we won't have to pay rent on the parking lot," Sparacio said. "If this bond didn't go through, they could have asked whatever price they wanted."
But Pat Nicolosi, president of the Elmont East End Civic Association, said he pays $600 per year for sanitation services in the district and worried that the bond would lead to additional fees. He said the district should have asked the village to lift other parking restrictions around the sanitation offices.
"It's a shame. They're voting for a parking lot for themselves," Nicolosi said. "It's not the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for their parking."
The Town of Hempstead filed for the bond because the village does not have bonding authority. A public hearing is to be held Wednesday at Hempstead Town Hall to submit the bond.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
