Art's Long Island Motor Parkway Site

However, during 2013 the Hempstead Town Board gave its approval for Josato to erect 4 houses off of Crocus Lane in Levittown.  As followers of the Motor Parkway know, this area was the site of the Vanderbilt Cup Races grandstand and for the last 25 or so years has been at the center of numerous law suits to permit a rezoning of the property, variances to be given and to stop the site's development.  Well, Josato finally convinced the Board to grant it its variance, but  low and behold, sold the area in January, 2014 to a real estate concern based in Great Neck.  Previous pages on this website have detailed past explorations of this site, and most recently, the excavation of a Motor Parkway post, with permission of Josato.   Since Josato's sale, I was able to contact the new owners who pledged to give me full access to the site during excavation.  I'm glad to report they have kept their word.  This page will document the findings during their excavation.

These are pictures of the area being readied for excavation.  The site will have two houses close to Crocus Lane, a private road down the middle of the tract and two more houses (approx. 3,000 square feet each) at the rear of the property.  These houses will share a common driveway and each will sit on approx. 1.2 acres of property.  Somewhat not at all like the rest of Levittown!

Digging got under way in earnest in early July and as these pictures show much of the Motor Parkway was uncovered and piled up high.  Slabs of the roadway were all over the lot and I had occasion to inform the workers of what the slabs were and their historical significance.  Thankfully I took these pictures documenting the remains of the Motor Parkway in Levittown; coming back a couple of days later, they were all removed (except for one small piece that I had previously taken with me as a souvenir of my preservation efforts)!
 

During removal of trees and bushes on the property, 5 previously undocumented Motor Parkway posts were uncovered, 4 standing upright along the northern border of the property where two previous posts had already been documented and one lying on its side along the southern edge.  I've been told that care will be taken when continuing to dig around these "new" posts.  Question is do they stay or do they go as they may actually be in the new homeowner's backyard once the homes are built!
Enjoy the pics of these newly found posts!

The four homes being built on the Motor Parkway site are nearing completion and should be in move in condition in the next few months.   The remaining Parkway posts are still intact even though one or two others (and some pieces of actual roadway) have been removed for safekeeping.  The following pictures were taken in April/May of 2015 and show just how close the posts are to the homes and what remains of the Motor Parkway itself.

When I first met the contractor we joked that maybe he would find an antique car from the Motor Parkway days buried underground.  Well, on my next visit he presented me with the closest 4 wheeled machine he could find on the property.   And then, during a drive by a few days later I saw another form of transportation that had been dug up!  You never know!