Huntington Updates Revitalization Program

The Town of Huntington held a follow-up meeting tonight on the progress of the Huntington Station Revitalization Project. In the absence of Supervisor Smyth, Deputy Supervisor McCarron ran the meeting.

The good news is that paving New York Avenue is scheduled for this summer. Since this is a state road, NYS will pay for the paving if the project can come in on time. The end of the broken road is in sight.

The street will be the same width that it has been; ideas that had been floated about prohibiting parking on one side to make room for a bike lane were dismissed as impractical. The road would have been too narrow, and there is no alternative parking lot for shoppers or patrons.

The intersections will receive special attention with bulb-outs at the corners and well-designed crosswalks that will make crossing the streets safer. Lighting improvements will make the area safer for pedestrians as well.

Elissa Kyle from Vision Long Island spoke about the facade project which is also part of the State grant. Business owners in Huntington Station will be contacted about the opportunity to update their storefronts or signs.

A historian brought up the plan to put in a limited access highway from Jericho Turnpike to the train station or even up to the Village to start at a Cloverleaf design at Route 110 and Jericho in the 1960s kept the Urban Renewal plan in suspended animation until 1970 when it was abandoned. By that time the Urban Renewal money had dried up, and so any opportunity for investment in Huntington Station was lost.

We heard from the engineers; Jonas Wagner from the Supervisor's office; Legislator Rebecca Sanin who is working on the 5-corners safety improvements; environmental activist Billii Roberti; and bike path advocates.

Assemblyman Steve Stern, who championed Huntington Station in the NYS Assembly, was represented by Debbie Weksberg Harris.

Dana Elliott Richter of Huntington Matters ran a livestream of the program.

Cheryl Lynn Blum