by Elijah Reichlin-Melnick
In January 2018, after a spirited primary and general election, I was sworn in for the start of my first full term as one of your village trustees. Working with my colleagues on the Village Board, we’ve made progress on many issues—from infrastructure, to affordable housing, to parking—but just 14 months into my first full term it feels like there is still much more work to be done. Now, because of new state legislation changing the date of primary elections from September to June, the entire election calendar has been accelerated. So as a result, I’m asking you now for your support to continue my work as one of your village trustees for two more years. Hopefully through these updates you have gained a sense of my priorities and values as a village trustee, and have learned about the many exciting projects going on in Nyack. However, if you need more information on what was accomplished by the village in 2018, I encourage you to read the Mayor’s great summary on the village website: https://nyack-ny.gov/prod/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018NyackAccomplishments.pdf
Parking – As of this month, new parking regulations that I pushed for are now in effect on five blocks of North Franklin from High Ave. to 6th Ave. On these blocks, overnight parking is now allowed on alternate nights on the west side of the street (Franklin isn’t wide enough for parking on both sides of the street, so parking is still not allowed at any time on the east side of the street). Prior to this change, overnight parking was banned on Franklin, which made little sense, since all the surrounding streets allowed it. This change adds several dozen parking spaces, which should make life easier for residents of the neighborhoods. Additional overnight parking changes have already taken effect on High Ave. and Lydecker St. and have been approved for parts of South Franklin and North Broadway. Implementation on South Franklin and Broadway is awaiting installation of signage by the DPW.
Potholes – What is true for public safety holds true for potholes: If you see something, say something! Specifically, say something to the village by using our online pothole reporting tool to make sure the DPW knows about the problem and can fix it. This winter has seen repeated arctic blasts followed by warm spells, which is just brutal for our roads. DPW crews are out on a regular basis patching potholes and will continue their work throughout the season. Unfortunately, some of the worst potholes in the village are on Route 59, which is maintained by the State Department of Transportation, not our DPW. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, 59 is in terrible shape, and I’ll be urging our state representatives, Ellen Jaffee and David Carlucci, to make a renewed push for the state to do a full repair of this stretch of road.
Broadway Redesign – Designs for an improved Broadway ‘streetscape’ are nearing completion as part of a major project funded by a grant from the federal Transportation Alternatives Program which the village was awarded several years ago. Changes will include new sidewalks, new street trees and plantings, safer crosswalks, relocation of bus stops to improve circulation and safety, and adding Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) timing to the intersection of Broadway & Main Street so that pedestrians will get a head start to cross before cars get a green light. The Village Board will hear more about these improvements at our February 28th Workshop Meeting starting at 6:30p in Village Hall.
Memorial Park Update – The village is making progress finalizing the steps needed to place a new pedestrian bridge at the north end of the park spanning the inlet that currently separates Memorial Park from the marina parking lot. Once completed later this year (yes, it really looks like it will finally happen!), the bridge, which was paid for by a state grant, will allow people to park in the large parking lot at the marina and walk easily to Memorial Park.
This is a busy time of year, with many exciting projects and initiatives, so I may not wait a full month for my next update. If you want to discuss any of these issues in more detail, or any other Nyack issues, please join me at Village Hall at 10a on Saturday, March 16 where Mayor Hammond and I will be holding an open village update meeting for any interested residents. Hope to see you there!
Elijah Reichlin-Melnick is a Trustee for the Village of Nyack.
See also:
- Reichlin-Melnick: December Village Trustee Updates, Dec 22, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: November Village Trustee Updates, Nov 6, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: October Village Trustee Updates, Oct 13, 21018
- Reichlin-Melnick: September Trustee Update, September 12, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: August Village Trustee Updates, August 12, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: July Village Trustee Update, July 12, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: June Village Trustee Update, June 9, 2018
- Reichlin-Melnick: May Village Trustee Update, May 12, 2018