Garden City Residents Question and Criticize Hub Study

Jeff Stiles stood at the front of an auditorium to tell residents about the Nassau Hub Study, just like he did at the Mariott Hotel in Uniondale in August. He presented almost exactly the same slideshow at Stewart School on Tuesday as he did in August. And, like that evening in August, residents had questions and criticisms about the project.

The Nassau Hub Study is a $13 million project that will analyze an 11-mile area encompassing all or parts of the villages of Garden City, Mineola, Westbury and Hempstead, the hamlets of Carle Place and Uniondale and the unincorporated area of East Garden City, with Eisenhower Park serving as a border to the east and Hempstead Turnpike a border to the south.

The county has performed similar studies, most recently in 2006, but this is the first one to completely abide by federal guidelines. The federal government is slated to cover 80 percent of the costs with New York State and Nassau County each contributing 10 percent. According to Stiles, following state guidelines will lead to further federal funding if the project agrees on new transportation construction.

Chief among residents' concerns was that the Hub Study is connected to Charles Wang's Lighthouse Project.

Stiles, of Jacobs Consultant Team, said that the projects are not intertwined but said there is little doubt something will happen to the Nassau Coliseum property.

"I think we can all agree that in the next 20 years something is going to happen on that property," he said. "I'd be surprised if I came to a meeting and somebody didn't mention a connection."

He said that as the population continues to grow, traffic congestion will grow. He also said that any major construction, like the proposed Lighthouse, would bring additional traffic to the area.

According to Stiles, the group aims to find out if residents would use an improved bus system, light rail transit or automated guideway transit.

Dennis Donnelly, village trustee and chair of the Garden City's traffic commission, said he sees no advantage to taking part in the study.

"[The village's] official position is we don't want it running through our village.  We don't see any benefit for us," he said.

Trustee Nick Episcopia shared the same thought he had when discussing a similar project in 2005, saying that a light rail would be like "a sword going through the heart of Garden City."

Residents said that, based on their personal experience viewing buses at Roosevelt Field Mall and other areas, very few people appear to be riding the bus to shop. They said that the Hub Study is looking to increase public transportation in an area where residents feel more comfortable using a minivan for transportation.

Some residents lamented the lack of attendance in the half-full auditorium, though there was also a board of education meeting scheduled Tuesday. Others said that they had moved from urban areas to Garden City to escape the bustle of city life and now fear that their village will become too much like Queens.

Stiles asked for patience and more input from residents so that the county best knows exactly what works for everyone.

"We could very well come out of this study will all of you saying we don't need anything. This result could be small … This is the right time to be planning for the future … We need to be prepared as things improve and things change," he said.