Residents go out on a limb for village trees, delay $6M Manorhaven streetscape project

A $6 million project to revamp Manorhaven’s mile-long main street is scheduled to begin in the fall, a long-awaited infrastructure upgrade that was delayed by opposition to tree removal and then the pandemic.

Local officials have said improving Manorhaven Boulevard would not only make the county road safer but also more aesthetically pleasing, which they are counting on to draw businesses and visitors.

"I’m really hoping it’s going to help the businesses there and attract new businesses," said Nassau County Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove), who represents Manorhaven. "I’m really excited cause I love Manorhaven. I think it’s a jewel that just needs a little shining."

Debbie Greco Cohen, president of the board of directors at the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, said beautifying the corridor would make Port Washington’s "second main street" a destination.

"Right now, it’s a drive-through for the boating community," she said. "Once it’s more attractive, people start to look. ... When they see a new awning, they say: ‘Oh, look at that store there." And then they keep their eyes out for more and more stores to come."

The project is expected to break ground in September and be completed by the end of the year, DeRiggi-Whitton said.

"It’s going to be a little bit of an inconvenience for a little while for everyone," she said. "But when it’s done, it will be done."

Crews will repave Manorhaven Boulevard from Shore Road to Kirkwood Road, as well as Manorhaven Village’s municipal parking lot. They will also put in new crosswalks, traffic signals, bus shelters, trash cans and decorative streetlamps with brackets for hanging flowerpots, according to a streetscaping plan that residents can view on a billboard outside Village Hall.

Residents can expect to see two new plazas with benches to rest. The larger plaza would feature an imprinted concrete compass rose, a nautical display of an anchor and a memorial wall.

Because Manorhaven Boulevard floods easily during heavy rain, workers would clean existing pipes and install new drainage, including curbs and gutters.

At public meetings in 2019, a few attendees pushed back on the original proposal to cut down trees that have displaced sidewalks along the boulevard.

In the latest plan, officials said five out of 90 trees would be removed because their encroaching roots do not leave enough room for the county to construct sidewalks wide enough to accommodate those in wheelchairs. Nine trees would be planted elsewhere.

"The community really came out, saying that they really wanted to protect the trees. We redid the entire plan," DeRiggi-Whitton said. "… The sidewalk has to be 4 feet wide in order to be handicap compliant. So it took a bit of work, but we were able to do it."

Mayor Jim Avena, who declined through Manorhaven Clerk-Treasurer Joanie Corbo Hanna to be interviewed by Newsday, wrote in an email last week that the project is "top priority" for his administration.