Will Changing Harbor Road's Name Matter?

Name changes are finicky. Some are simple like when a man and a woman get married while others can be really taxing and difficult. The potential name change of Harbor Road in the Village of Sands Point falls into the latter category.

The village's Board of Trustees held a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 23, to give residents a chance to voice their opinions on the possible name change.

At the board's last meeting on Jan. 27, concerned village residents brought a petition before the board to have Harbor Road in Sands Point name changed to Harbor Acres Road. This idea has been met with a lot of positive thoughts from many in the community, but not all minds think alike.

Mark Thompson, who has lived at 240 Harbor Road in Sands Point for more than 50 years, said he disagrees with the name change because he thinks it could create unwarranted confusion between major billing companies and government agencies. From the IRS to the DMV to family and friends, Thompson said he feels it will only create more issues for residents to have to notify every person, business and company that they've ever dealt with.

"I'm not interested in informing the entire world of my change of address," he said. "That's a major headache that I don't want or need. I've had very little or no problem whatsoever getting my mail or had any confusion because of exactly how I present my address to anyone who asks."

Thompson explained he simply writes "Harbor Road, Sands Point" or "Harbor Road, Harbor Acres" and has never had a problem. He said he feels an address change would cause an even bigger quagmire with his long history of living in Sands Point.

"Everybody would have to be notified," Thompson said. "I have a very long history of people who I've given my address to and I'd have to contact all those people and make sure they receive the change. So now my mail is really going to get lost."

Thompson added with a laugh, "I'd even have to notify my banks, my family and all those lovely people who like to send me bills."

Attorney Jack Kramer, whose wife, Debbie, started the petition to have Harbor Road's name changed, said they recently changed their address and have had no ill effects from it. "I recently changed my address from Bridal Path to Harbor Road because our driveway is now technically on Harbor Road and it was effortless," he said. "I've experienced none of the problems listed tonight."

Diane Venezia-Livingston, who also lives on Harbor Road in Sands Point, said she feels the name change would benefit the postal issues that some residents do have. Most recently, she received a postcard in the mail with an order of recall for her Ford vehicle. But there's one problem, she doesn't have a Ford.

"I don't own a Ford," said the 171 Harbor Road resident. "And when I flipped [the postcard] over, it's addressed to some guy named Jose who hasn't gotten this because I've been away for two weeks. This is his mail and it's an important piece of information considering he may be driving a dangerous car. His address is Port Washington so there is an obvious confusion, regardless if your address is written with this name or Sands Point."

Venezia-Livingston said she feels this is a cause for concern not just for the obvious mail confusion, but safety issues as well. "The mail is a problem, but he's been driving around with a car that has been in recall for a while," she said. "What if he got in an accident?"

At the conclusion of the hearing, Mayor Leonard Wurzel took a "mini-vote" and asked who was not in favor of the name change. Of the close to 20 people in attendance, only two raised their hand.

"The names of roads in Sands Point have changed over the years," Wurzel said. "It's nothing new. Middle Neck Road was once Sands Point Road. Now it's two roads and both roads change names as you head further south which are Port Washington Boulevard and Shore Road respectively."

The board said it will take the matter into serious consideration and will decide on it "in due time," according to the mayor. He said this will most likely be in issue again at the next trustees meeting on March 23.

No matter what happens, Thompson, who was one of the two not in favor of a name change, said he feels many problems pertaining to this may never change. "They can change the name of the street, but it will not change anything," he said. "The word Harbor is still there, so when a trucker sees that, he or she will think that's the road and will turn on it regardless if it has 'Acres' in it or not."