$334G Mineola Village Hall renovation to improve accessibility

Village Hall in Mineola will soon undergo renovations to make the building more welcoming and handicapped-accessible, officials said.

Board trustees approved on Aug. 2 a $334,000 renovation plan with Mineola-based Web Construction. The project calls for a revamped front lobby, including new floors and walls as well as a section devoted to Mineola’s most impactful residents.

“There’s going to be, for example, automated doors, on the inside and outside,” Village Clerk Joseph Scalero said Friday. “There’s also going to be new signage because, right now, you don’t see the signage until after you’ve passed the building.”

Scalero said paperwork is being finished with Web and, after that, village officials and company representatives will meet to determine a construction timeline.

Other changes include a new awning and sidewalk. A $155,000 Community Development Block Grant will pay for some of the construction costs.

“We want to make Village Hall more exciting,” Scalero said.

The renovation marks the first major revamp at Village Hall since the officials moved into the building in 1997. Before that, the two-story building on Washington Avenue housed a Lutheran school that eventually shut down. Village of Mineola offices were located on the second floor of what is now the fire department headquarters.

When renovations are finished, the Mineola Chamber of Commerce will install the John DaVanzo Wall of Honor, a series of bronze plaques that will recognize living and deceased residents who have made noteworthy contributions to the village.

DaVanzo was a Mineola native who served on the Mineola board of trustees and the Town of North Hempstead’s Town Council. He died in 2014.

Chamber officials have already selected two people for the wall — Mineola American newspaper founder Lou Sanders and former Mayor Ed Smith. The chamber will select a new inductee annually, said president Tony Lubrano.

“The people we’re picking for this are huge, significant people who really shaped what this village is today,” Lubrano said Friday. “The next generation will realize why this village is so special and who made it so.”