Residents push back against proposed Hatzalah ambulance facility in North Woodmere
People who live there say it's constantly busy between school buses, pedestrians and drivers.
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A proposal to bring an ambulance service to a Nassau community is sparking major concerns from residents.
People who live near Hungry Harbor Road and Plainfield Lane in North Woodmere are fighting back against a proposal to build a Hatzalah ambulance service there.
"The intersection is in itself inherently dangerous," resident Nissan Shapiro said.
Representatives for Hatzalah at the Hempstead Town Board of Appeals meeting on Wednesday said the building will be empty most of the time unless there is a call.
The location would have two ambulances.
People who live there say it's constantly busy between school buses, pedestrians and drivers.
"The corner that it's going to be placed on has an accident an average of about one every six months," Shapiro said.
Residents say people often speed and it's made worse with blind spots.
"It's a blind spot," Alex Mohamad said. "They have no kind of time to actually pull through traffic."
Neighbors say traffic is already heavy at all times of the day in this area. They say that building an ambulance facility right there will make conditions worse.
"When they respond, they're in a hurry. They jump out, they blow through traffic," Mohamad said.
Multiple people spoke about the issue at the Town Board of Appeals meeting.
"There are children who are typically here in the morning and afternoon getting picked up and dropped off by the bus," Shapiro said. "It's a very big concern for us."
"The big thing here is the travel time from West Broadway to North Woodmere, which is significant minutes. Minutes saves lives," said a representative for Hatzalah at the meeting.
No decision has been made on the proposal yet.
