Project To Fix Parking Garage Near Hicksville LIRR Station Postponed Until The Fall
HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – A parking problem is consuming commuters at Long Island's busiest train station.
The garage that many of them use is slated to close for three months of repairs. But now, the multi-million dollar project is being postponed until the fall.
Commuters appeared shocked as town officials huddled Tuesday, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported. The fix to the parking garage next to the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station, set to close for three months in July, is now suddenly on hold.
"To get this garage done properly, without spending an exorbitant amount of the taxpayers' dollars," Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino told McLogan
"It seems like there's a lot of confusion," McLogan said.
"Not to us," Saladino replied.
LIRR commuters disagreed.
"Now they're going to delay the garage? How is that going to work?" one asked.
"Get the job done ASAP," another added.
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The garage opened seven years ago at a cost of $65 million and has been plagued with problems -- cracking concrete, unstable foundation and more – plus, its 1,441 spaces are always full, McLogan reported.
"Hicksville train station, horrible parking," one commuter said.
"I've been around here for half an hour," said another.
Saladino said the town is still holding the original contractors liable and suing for the money. Commuters worry it's too late to recoup for substandard work.
Now, the project must be re-bid and not considered until the town's July 24 meeting, pushing back the start date for the shutdown and repairs until possibly September.
"Who knows how long, if at all," one commuter said.
"Any delay is not beneficial and hurts commuters," said another.
Instead of the summer lull, the repairs could stretch through Thanksgiving.
"That's the worst time they could do it," a woman said.
Once it happens, there will be a slew of buses that board at the empty Sears lot across from the Broadway Mall and shuttle thousands to their trains.
The town supervisor said he wants lower bids for the work, which will delay the repairs.
