Trustee Lynn Pombonyo

Fire Department
We continue to thank our Floral Park Fire Department for their ongoing service to our Village, recently, with a weekend day with eight calls in an eighteen hour period from 1am to 7pm, mostly rescue calls. There are many days of multiple fire-related and rescue calls coming in close sequence, and our volunteer Fire Department is there for us 24/7.

Recently, the Department has responded to serious carbon monoxide calls, at times, with aided. Please make sure that your fireplaces, boilers and chimneys are cleaned regularly and well-maintained. And never use gas-powered tools and equipment indoors. CO emissions build up quickly, are colorless and odorless, and endanger people and pets without our awareness. Always check to make sure your CO detectors are working properly.

And, at the holiday season, take care with Christmas trees, house lights and candles. Make sure your wiring is in good condition, don’t overload sockets, water a live tree frequently, and don’t leave burning candles unattended.

We want all to enjoy a happy and safe holiday season.

Department of Public Works
Thanks go to DPW for making the holiday season come alive with our bright and colorful Village decorations and spectacular Tree Lighting and Festival.

DPW’s ongoing Village maintenance includes leaf collection, pot hole repairs, and getting ready for winter with our salt deliveries.

Stay tuned for DPW announcements about our upcoming new and improved recycling program. It will feature the collection of newspapers and cardboard on different days than the collection of glass and plastic bottles and jars, and metal and aluminum containers. This will ensure the separation necessary for proper and efficient recycling.

Conservation Society (FPCS)
As Centennial Gardens has now closed for the winter, we thank over one hundred Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts who, with the Theodore Roosevelt Council of western Nassau, conducted a massive November clean-up and organization of a large, visible area of the Gardens. Troops 4 and 482 from Floral Park, Troop 544 from New Hyde Park, Troop 267 from Roslyn, and Troop 8 from East Williston all lent a hand. This was an all volunteer operation which included FPCS coordinators and super-volunteers Patrick Sexton, Tom Christman and others; Boy Scout coordinators Marina Pavlovic and Katy Tai-Wong of Floral Park’s Troop 4; and many troop leaders and parents. This successful scouting event also featured the collection of cartons and cartons of food donated to the Our Lady of Victory Food Pantry, just in time for Thanksgiving. Many thanks go to the hundreds of dedicated Gardens volunteers, young and the young-at-heart, near and far.

Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses
Holiday appreciation goes to our Floral Park Chamber of Commerce, Floral Park Junior Woman’s Club, Our Lady of Victory, and the Village of Floral Park’s Village Hall staff, Police Department, Department of Public Works, Fire Department and Santa for this celebration of the holidays and our Village at last Friday’s Tree Lighting and Festival.

Coming this Saturday, December 10th at 4pm will be the Covert Avenue Chamber’s and Village of Stewart Manor’s Tree Lighting, featuring horse and buggy rides, Santa photos, wreaths, hot cocoa, cookies and candy canes. Bring your whole family and the neighborhood to celebrate the holidays on Covert!

Trustee Frank Chiara

Police Department
With the holiday season in full gear, deliveries of packages to homes are steadily increasing. We are encouraging residents to bring in packages as soon as possible to avoid any unfortunate incidents by porch pirates. If you are going to be away for a period of time, ask a friend or neighbor to kindly secure your packages. An ounce of prevention goes a long way with safe deliveries of packages. Report any incidents or any suspicious activity immediately to our Police at 516 326-6400.

Building Department
Both projects currently underway, the library ramp and the multipurpose rink are moving along well. The foundation for the library ramp is expected to be complete within the next two weeks. Total completion of this ramp will hopefully be done in early spring. The multipurpose rink is about 50% complete and looks great. The dasher board system has been ordered and the final surface coating will be applied in the spring when the weather warms up. We are all looking forward to the completion of both projects.

Trustee Jennifer Stewart
Thank you to all who attended the all of the Civic Association meetings this year. They are a great way to be informed about important issues in the Village. I’d like to thank the Floral Park Junior Women’s Club and the Chamber of Commerce for yet another amazing Tree Lighting event this past Friday. A special thanks to the FPFD for bringing Santa Claus around to the delight of our youngest residents, and to DPW under the supervision of Mr. Kevin Ginnane and the FPPD for making sure everything went safely and smoothly.

Congratulations to the Floral Park Chiefs girls’ soccer team for their first-place division win; believe me when I say these are memories that will stay with you forever. Well Done!

Recreation Center
The Multipurpose Rink is really starting to take shape! It’s starting to look like a rink! Thanks to Dept. of Building Superintendent Renee Marcus and Recreation Superintendent Kurt Meyfohrt for overseeing this project.

Last week both the Recreation and Pool Committees met to discuss the summer and fall 2022 seasons, we are so grateful for all our volunteers, Floral Park would not be what it is without them. The Pool Committee voted to institute the 12 Days of Christmas at the Floral Park Pool; residents can purchase memberships over the next 12 days for 2023 at 2022 prices, and get a surprise gift too! This would make a wonderful family gift. Check the website for dates and times. Thank you to Village Hall staff member Darlene Lanza and recreation staff member Gina King for all you both did to make this happen!

Our fields are closed for the season, look for winter sign-ups for programs in the pool building in the coming weeks.

MTA/3TC/LIRR
Hector Garcia, representing the MTA is here this evening and will make a presentation and answer question regarding the work proposed at the Tunnel Street entrance.

We continue to monitor the ongoing work relating to the third track and as always, we encourage residents to reach out directly to the MTA with questions and concerns, as we have found this the most effective way of residents communicating with them. The MTA can be reached at contact.mta.info/customer-feedback or by phone at 516-203-4955 – this is an automated response, but you can ask for “more options” and then ask for “Comments and Concerns” to speak to a person.

Some repair work is beginning on the Floral Park LIRR platform. Much of this will be concrete work, I ask residents to use caution when entering the platform, just be aware of your surroundings as portions of the platform may be sectioned off for the work.

Trustee Michael Longobardi

Floral Park Library
Construction is ongoing currently on the front of the building. There have been inquiries asking if the Library is open. The Library is open and operating normally; entrance to the Library as well as the book drop are temporary relocated to the rear of the building by the Tulip Avenue side. Please pay attention to signs and directions as we work to upgrade access to the Library. Thank you for your patience.

A new museum pass has been added to the library museum passes for the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Navy Seal Museum located in West Sayville. It is a world class state of the art facility highlighting Maritime History. Some upcoming Library events and classes include Empire Council Defensive Driving December 8th, Holiday Ornaments for Kids Grades 3 – 5 December 13th with local artist Michelle Pappas, Teen Cupcake Wars Grades 6 – 12 on December 16th, monthly Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, December 14th at 7:30 pm. Details for these and many other events are listed on the Library website: www.floralparklibrary.org. You can also register on the website to receive regular emails on Library updates and events.

Four Village Studio (4VS)
The new office computer as well as an upgrade to a more secure IT infrastructure to protect the studio’s computers has been completed. The next phase will include an upgrade of the server and on-air controllers.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald recently recorded another installment of the Mayor’s Report with Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo and Superintendent of Buildings Renee Marcus. This discussion explains the downtown revitalization initiative in detail. The Village, thanks to the hard work of Renee Marcus and many others, recently applied to NYS for the Grant. This is a very informative show about how the grant works, what it covers and what our goals are for the grant. Please go the www.4vs.org, click the watch now tab and learn about the grant program. To see a list of all our shows, please visit www.4vs.org or watch your local provider station.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Good evening.

During the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Floral Park PBA commenced an arbitration proceeding against the Village seeking double time pay during COVID pursuant to the “Holiday” pay provision of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”) between the Village and the PBA. It was and is the Village’s position that the CBA’s “Holiday” pay provisions are inapplicable, were never triggered in this instance, and that the PBA’s claims are without merit. The New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, agreed with the Village and enjoined the PBA’s arbitration from proceeding. However, the New York State Appellate Division ruled recently that the merits or lack of merit of the PBA’s claim should be determined by an arbitrator and not the courts. Therefore, the Village may need to arbitrate the PBA’s claim that they are entitled to the additional “holiday” pay during COVID. The Village’s position remains that the PBA’s claim lacks any merit.

“We will continue to keep the taxpayers advised of any future developments when they occur, but understand due to the current litigation no further comments will be made at this time”.

Recently, the Village submitted a grant application for the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative to improve the business districts on Covert Avenue, Jericho Turnpike, and Tulip Avenue. The 4VS show that I filmed with Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo and Superintendent of Buildings Renee Marcus is very informative and takes you through the steps that the Village has taken to date. Thank you to all of the residents, businesses, Deputy Mayor Pombonyo and Building Superintendent Renee Marcus for all of their hard work on this. The grant, if approved, would be for $10mm to improve the downtowns to provide a beautified Business District with a vision to enhance unity among the three separate areas, attract new commerce and provide a centralized hub for quality dining, shopping, leisure arts and culture. Reports have been given at the Civic Association meetings throughout the year and the Village will continue to apply and keep on trying until we win!

Thank you to everyone for being here tonight.