Bell Boulevard Streetscape Project Likely to Begin Soon

A long-awaited streetscape project for Bayside’s Bell Boulevard could soon be underway, the chairman of Community Board 11 said.

The project will include adding benches along the shopping strip as well as planting new trees, upgrading sidewalks and installing antique lampposts.

The first stage is expected to begin within the next few months, said Jerry Iannece, CB 11’s chairman. It will include new benches along Bell Boulevard between Northern Boulevard and 35th Avenue.

“It’s a great plan and one that most people support,” Iannece said of the streetscape project. “It will make Bell Boulevard a lot friendlier and more conducive to shopping. The design is to make the area more of a village like Great Neck.”

The city’s Department of Construction and Design will undertake the project. But Iannece said the plan has been stalled for some time due to funding and sewer-related issues.

“The city has gotten through a number of hurdles, but now the issue is money,” he said.

Iannece estimated the project to cost a couple million dollars.