Village Reports Findings on Accusations of “Blight”

Following up on a series of complaints from a resident regarding several , the Village of Mineola presented its findings at a recent meeting last month.

Speaking at the December 14 meeting at the , Mineola Village Clerk Joseph Scalero first reported that a project involving removing a shed covering the abandoned pedestrian underpass adjacent to the Long Island Railroad tracks at the end of Lincoln Avenue was “bumped up” from the spring and had been filled in and closed. A resident had complained about a rodent infestation at the site.

The hole caused by the shed’s removal was large enough to drive a minivan through according to the clerk, who presenting photos of the demolition and fill. The village was prepared to take the shed down the previous Wednesday night and had been planning on doing so for some time but was delayed by asking for the MTA to become “involved and getting certain permissions,” however the village simply decided to use its own people.

Responding to another resident’s assertions of trash, debris, graffiti and reports of homelessness and gang activity in the area, the village addressed each in turn. Scalero stated that the section of Lincoln Avenue in question receives trash pickup three times per week, conceding that “there will occasionally be trash in the street” since despite the village’s best efforts, people still litter, though not in the amounts which were described by the resident.

“I don’t know the specifics of when that garbage was there,” Scalero said about photos the resident produced. “The street was clean when we went through there the next morning.”

Scalero also displayed a photo that he took in the area of the old pedestrian tunnel of 25 trash bags sitting on the street.

“That looks like a lot of garbage,” the village clerk said. “That building probably has... in the neighborhood of 85 to 90 units; that’s a normal trash pickup. It’s not unusual to have that much out, what was unusual was by the time I took this picture it was almost 10 o’clock and the trash was still there which means it had been put out after that morning’s pickup.”

Regarding the “specific and disturbing allegations” of graffiti and gangs, village building superintendent Dan Whalen reported that he visited the house in question the day following the meeting – December 8 – at about 10:30 a.m. along with other village personnel. He met with the owner of the property as well as the tenant owner of , who has been there for 2 years and reported there have been “no problems whatsoever.”

Whalen added that the “were unable to give me any indication that there was any illegal activity” in the area for the past 2 years except for , which had only occurred recently.

The village had worked with police to address issues at the site in 2006 involving persons who “were not residents and didn’t live there,” with arrests being made, Whalen said.

Showing photos of the roof of the building which displayed what Whalen said was “dated” graffiti and had about “half a dozen” beer bottles which had been there for “years,” he stated that “I’m just curious as to when those photos were actually taken. I found nothing, either by way of personal observation, contact with tenants, neighbors and the police department.”

He reported that he was reassured by police that there was no gang activity in the area.

asked that the village remain diligent in regards to any quality of life issues that may arise.