By Alex Ginsberg
Plans for a new seven-level parking garage to be constructed on the Glen Oaks campus of Long Island Jewish Medical Center were greeted with apprehension and mistrust by members of Community Board 13 last week.
Hospital representatives outlined an ambitious construction project that they said would provide 1,600 additional parking spaces and alleviate the problem of LIJ employees parking on Hewlett Street and adjacent residential streets.
But residents and community board members at the March 19 meeting said the project was simply a money-generating scheme by LIJ and that the hospital's activities would continue to disrupt life in the surrounding neighborhood.
The proposal is the second to come before the community board. An earlier plan to build on top of the existing garage – along the southern edge of the campus – was roundly criticized by board members, who feared the noise and disruption would affect the adjacent residential streets.
“We heard you quite clearly,” Maurice LaBonne, senior vice president for facilities and services, told the board. “'Don't spread out. Leave as much green space as possible.'”
To that end, he said, the new garage would be built away from the edges of the campus, instead abutting the golf course of nearby North Shore Towers.
While some community residents conceded that the new proposal took their concerns into consideration, most continued to voice strong objections.
The discussion, which at times grew acrimonious, reflected long-standing tensions between the neighborhood and the hospital, which has grown tremendously in recent years. One side effect of that growth has been increasing use of residential streets for parking and access to the campus.
“We've been trying to work with the hospital, and to some extent they have tried to control their contractors to use the entrance on Lakeville Road, and they've been cooperative in that way,” said Richard Hellenbrecht, chairman of Community Board 13. “But still, there's a tremendous amount of vehicles that come down [the residential streets.]”
At the meeting, community residents said they feared traffic problems would plague the area because the new parking facility would only have one entrance.
Martin Baker, an attorney for the hospital, said attempts to purchase land from a nearby bank to create another entrance to the proposed facility had not been successful.
Many also said the hospital's plan to use “attendant” or valet parking in both the old and the new facilities was simply a way for LIJ to generate more cash. An expensive parking garage, they argued, would encourage people to continue parking for free on neighborhood streets.
Hospital officials countered that valet parking would enable them to increase the capacity of the new garage from 1,200 to 1,600 spots and the size of the old garage from 900 to 1,200 spots. LaBonne said the hospital would only charge what was necessary to maintain the facilities.
The board will vote on the proposal at its next meeting April 21.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
