End in Sight for Malverne Downtown Construction

Getting around Malverne's downtown area has been slow and difficult for the past two months as Hempstead Avenue undergoes a facelift.

Drivers have had to navigate around traffic cones and construction (with help from the Malverne Police) as workers rip up the pavement and install new crosswalks. Local merchants have also had to grapple with the temporary loss of the sidewalks outside their stores and nearby parking spaces, conditions has caused them to lose customers, as workers overhaul these areas too. Last month, the construction also caused a which resulted in the temporary closure of a portion of Hempstead Avenue near the Malverne Bagel store.

But at Wednesday's meeting of the village board, Superintendent of Public Works Paul Jessup had some good news.

"We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said, explaining that the second phase of the , paid for through a federal grant secured by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, is winding down.

Most of the work should be completed in about another week or so, leaving just the finishing touches to do such as the installation of light posts and benches, Trustee Michael Bailey said. He advised residents in the remaining days of the roadwork to "drive slow, take it easy."

"The crosswalks that we're working on now are the most complicated to get done and keep the traffic moving," Jessup said. This includes the ones near Associated supermarket and the Long Island Rail Road train station.

Some residents have questioned why certain locations including some of the crosswalks, were being worked on when they had recently undergone repairs.

"They were just done," Jessup said, "but they weren't done in accordance to [Department of Transportation] regulations."

For instance, crosswalks must be the shortest distance between two points but this wasn't the case in some instances.

Jessup assured the board and residents that the project would be finished before the Holiday Lighting in early December, adding, "The finished product is worth the aggravation that we've all put up with."