Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand Discusses 2020 Plans For Village

FARMINGDALE, NY — Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand revealed what's in the works for the village, primarily Main Street, in an exclusive interview with Patch. Chief among his plans are bolstering the safety of the village, as well as beautifying it.

Ekstrand said National Grid is replacing the decades-old main gas line running down Main Street as part of a capital project. Once the main is replaced, all gas lines running from it into each apartment building and business will also be swapped. Ekstrand said the timetable for the project's completion is sometime in April. Patch reached out to National Grid but has yet to hear back.

The Village has an inter-municipal agreement with Nassau County to fund the repaving of Main Street, which Ekstrand said will happen once the National Grid completes its work. Additionally, there are plans to reconfigure the crosswalks to make them safer, the mayor said.

"Whatever traffic calming we can do to make it safer for residents to shop and dine on Main Street with street safety for pedestrians in mind," he said.

The traffic engineers at Savik & Murray are working on that. Patch reached out to the company for specifics.

Parking Lot #4, which is behind Nutty Irishman and St. Kilian, will see a beautification process — "the same treatment as other lots," Ekstrand said — in terms of lighting, an irrigation system to water plants and hanging baskets with a new grip line. Ekstrand says the "phenomenally effective" system, which sees potted plants get watered through a line coming up on the inside of the street lamps, saves the Village money. There are also plans to get rid of the islands and plant new trees in order to make the lot as pretty as the others. The work in the lot is planned to be completed May 2020.

Ekstrand said there are plans to improve the lighting on Main Street, with a focus on making the road better lit at night for the safety of pedestrians. The crosswalks would also be more lit up, so people walking can see oncoming traffic and vice versa. Ekstrand said the target date on Main Street work, including repaving, crosswalk safety and enhanced lighting, is sometime this summer. However, it depends on when National Grid completes its work with the gas line.

Lastly, Ekstrand said the Village is looking to place surveillance cameras around Main Street.

"God forbid something happens, if somebody breaks a window or somebody gets mugged, at least we’ll have street cameras where we can look it up," he said.

Some of these plans are currently hypothetical, as Ekstrand will have a challenger to his mayoral position at the Village's March 18 Election Day. George "Butch" Starkie, former Farmingdale Village mayor, is looking to unseat Ekstrand. Starkie did not seek re-election after a term running from 2008 through 2012. Ekstrand has been at the helm since.

What are your thoughts on Ekstrand's plans for Farmingdale Village in 2020? Let us know in the comments.