Serving New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Herricks, Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, North Hills, Floral Park
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Friday, March 11, 2016
Vol. 65, No. 11
N E W H Y D E PA R K
guide to schools Belmont casino faces hurdles and education
guide to schools & education
PAGEs 35-46 r publications media / litmo a blank slate
PAGE 2
gop, conservatives pick martins PAGE 20
2016 n • march 11, special sectio
No 3rd track land loss for residents: Gov
TA K I N G O N S TAT E
By N o a h Manskar Village of Floral Park voters will have two unopposed trustees on the ballot when they go to the polls Tuesday. Trustee Archie Cheng and Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald are running for re-election with the Citizens Party, Floral Park’s dominant local party. Fitzgerald, first appointed a trustee in 2011 and made deputy mayor following the December death of the late Trust-
Cuomo, MTA cut 20 residential takings from initial plans for contested project By N o a h M a n s k a r The state will not have to take any residential properties to add a third track to nearly 10 miles of the Long Island Rail Road, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. The governor asked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to cut the estimated 20 residential acquisitions from the preliminary plans for the estimated $1.5 billion project he announced in January. The change, along with a full review of all seven grade crossings along the 9.8-mile stretch of the LIRR’s Main Line from Floral Park to Hicksville, are steps by Cuomo to distinguish his plan from one the MTA proposed in 2005 and respond to concerns local residents and officials have voiced about the impact of construction. “Ten years from now when we talk about it, we will say it was a no-brainer, right?” Cuomo said Tuesday at a meeting of the Long Island Association business group.
“To add an additional length of track and compared to what we’ve done, and what we’ve built and who we are, this shouldn’t even be much of a question, to tell you the truth.” The initial estimate of 50 total property takings was down from about 200 the old plan required. Cuomo has told village officials along the Main Line that the state will work with affected communities to eliminate the seven street-level crossings as part of the project, a step local officials have called a “carrot” attached to a third-track “stick.” The crossings are safety hazards and back up traffic in villages, Cuomo said, noting that 25 people have been killed at grade crossings since 1980. “We brought in the local mayors; I said, “Tell us how you want to do it. It is not really rocket science,’” Cuomo told the LIA. “‘You can go under the track, you can go over the track. Tell us how you Continued on Page 65
2 trustees unopposed in F.P.
ELECTION 2016
Photo courtesy of Sewanhaka Central High School District
Floral Park Memorial High School senior Kaela Hilaire takes a shot in the Lady Knights’ Nassau County championship victory over Elmont. The team is heading to the state tournament in Troy this weekend. See story on Page 3.
ee James Rhatigan, is seeking a third full two-year term. Cheng is seeking his first full term after his appointment to Rhatigan’s seat in February. Both trustees are leading Floral Park’s fight against a proposed video casino at Belmont Park and the Long Island Rail Road’s plans for a third track starting in the village — two projects village residents feel are being foisted upon them, Fitzgerald has said. Cheng said last month he hopes residents will consider a vote for the unopposed pair as “proxy” for not wanting a casino or third track. Fitzgerald chairs the village’s Belmont Park Task Force, Continued on Page 66
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