The Floral Park Board of Trustees will have a question-and-answer with NYU Langone on Tuesday, Jan. 3 as they continue to weigh potentially increasing ambulance services in the village. 

Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo said in her report Tuesday night the fire department recommended supplementary ambulance services for a variety of reasons that include response times and staffing, among other things. 

“In many cases, wait times are increased because an ambulance, either ours or the county’s or mutual aid’s, are dealing with a prior call or delayed at the hospital with a prior patient,” Pombonyo said. 

Pombonyo added that NYU Langone and Northwell both gave a presentation to fire department leadership before they recommended Langone and the proposal will be discussed at the first meeting of the new year.

“The board is seeking information and input regarding this growing problem and appreciates the hard work of the fire department,” Pombonyo said.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said a few of the factors that helped lead to this include an overall decrease in volunteering, staffing and increased time for training to become an EMT compared to years past. 

Fitzgerald said if the board decides to go through with Langone’s proposal, which includes designating an ambulance stationed in the village, a decision can come by the second board meeting in January.

Before adjourning for the year, Fitzgerald on behalf of the entire board thanked the staff at village hall for their hard work over the year and wished those in attendance a happy holiday and new year. 

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into this village every day and we see it first hand,” Fitzgerald said. “Thank you for everything you all do for our village and residents, we are a tight-knit family that gets a lot done for our residents and I know they appreciate it. We’re lucky to sit up here and see it firsthand.