Hewlett Harbor to Close Off Street

The dumping of garbage by landscaping trucks and other vehicles has prompted Hewlett Harbor to close off a street, the village's board of trustees said at their monthly meeting last Thursday.

A special gate will be put up at Hewlett Lane to prohibit dumping, with provisions for giving approved vehicles access, board members said. Residents will be notified, as well as the fire, police and sanitation departments. The possibility of giving homeowners advance notice was proposed to allow for residents’ comments, but the need for immediate action was given precedence, and any legitimate concerns will be dealt with later on, the board said.

Other topics discussed during the meeting included:

• Hewlett Harbor wants some way to cover up its Verizon utility boxes, which one resident in attendance of the meeting called "an eye sore.” The board wants the telecommunications company to plant shrubs around the boxes, at its expense. If Verizon doesn’t comply, the board plans to hire their own landscaper and bill Verizon for reimbursement.

• Mayor Mark Weiss is pleased with recent snow removal efforts, saying  “We’ve not had one complaint.” A couple of homeowners did claim that snowplows displaced several cobblestones from their property. The village will take their claims under consideration. Meanwhile, they plan to alert residents about not plowing snow from their property into the streets, which causes traffic hazards and impedes street plowing efforts.

• A signage and beautification program is underway. Since a grant that was promised to the village fell through, they are working on how to secure funding for the projects.

• Proposed changes to building codes are a big priority, which will give the board more control over the size and aesthetics of future construction of homes. They may bring in experts that can create computer renderings for board approval.

The next meeting of the Hewlett Harbor Board of Trustees will be held on Feb 10.