Manorhaven Village Wins Major New York State Grant

Manorhaven Mayor Michael T. Meehan recently announced that the village was awarded a $100,000 New York State grant to replace all of the street lights within the village.

"Through this initiative, 245 outmoded mercury vapor and high-pressure sodium lamps will be replaced by new induction lamps, covering every light pole in the village," Meehan said. "This upgrade will improve energy efficiency, lower our LIPA costs and reduce the village's carbon footprint."

The mayor added that additional benefits will include reduced maintenance costs related to the street lights and removal of a potentially hazardous substance (mercury) contained in many of the present fixtures.

Mayor Meehan estimated that the energy savings to the village, when all the new lamps are installed, will be in the range of 70,000 kilowatt hours per year, which is expected to cut the village's LIPA cost for street lights by 50 percent. The mayor said this should translate into about $11,000 each year in savings to Manorhaven taxpayers.

Mayor Meehan acknowledged the efforts of Village Clerk-Treasurer Jonathan Fielding and Environmental Affairs Commissioner Jeffrey Zeh as having been instrumental in the village's successful grant application and said work will begin this year and be completed by 2011.

The $100,000 grant will be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the village is expected to contribute a maximum of $15,000 to the project, which is already included in the 2010-11 village budget.

"I want to emphasize the positive environmental impact of this project, at a time when we are all striving to reduce our carbon footprint at the community level in order to help combat global warming," Meehan said. "We estimate that removal of the present light fixtures and installation of the new lamps will eliminate approximately 60,000 pounds in carbon dioxide emissions each year in the village. Through this effort, I am proud that the Manorhaven community is doing its part locally to address a critical environmental challenge."