Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo
A Memorial Day Thank You
Memorial Day was a proud day in Floral Park. Thank you to our Floral Park American Legion for honoring our deceased and living Veterans, especially our Purple Heart heroes and heroes who fought and lost their lives on the beaches of France eighty years ago this Thursday, June 6th, 1944. And thank you all in Floral Park for joining our Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony. It was a proud day.
Police Department
Tonight’s Floral Park Police Department report is about enforcement. May’s monthly statistics reflect that 211 summonses were issued for vehicle and traffic violations. This number is consistent with prior months in 2024.
With respect to violations for failure to obey traffic control devices, including stop signs, thirty-nine summonses were issued in May. Illegal and improper U-turn summonses totaled ten. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle (some due to suspension or revocation) resulted in twenty summonses, with repeated offenses becoming felony crimes with the potential of arrests. Driving unregistered vehicles (some also due to suspension or revocation), including two motorcycles, resulted in eighteen summonses. Twenty-five summonses were issued for driving uninsured or uninspected vehicles. Twenty-four equipment violations and summonses related to inoperable or malfunctioning lights (headlights, taillights, plate lights, etc.)
The new Speed Alert Radar Message Sign continues to provide motorists with data relating to their own speeds, as well as transmit that data to our FPPD leadership. This equipment has been positioned near our schools and at other locations where the speed of vehicles has been a concern.
In the area of Motor Carrier Safety or Truck inspections in May, a total of six inspections were completed along Plainfield Avenue. Forty-five moving violations were issued. Three trucks were placed out of service, two for uncovered/blowing cargo and the third, for unsecured hazardous materials. Our FPPD truck inspections are an important component of the Village’s vehicle and traffic safety enforcement.
Jericho Turnpike, and Van Siclen, Van Buren and Garfield Avenues continue to be areas of focus for illegal parking enforcement. Summonses will continue to be issued for illegal parking, double parking, blocking the road and driveways, exceeding the four-hour and other posted parking time limits, and failure to pay the meters. The cooperation of the drivers of private and commercial vehicles is needed. If repeated violations occur, all are urged to notify FPPD at the non-emergency number, 516-326-6400.
Conservation Society (FPCS)
Summer will be here in two weeks. Include visits to our Centennial Gardens & Bird Sanctuary in your stay-cation plans. It’s the perfect place to go for a beautiful, invigorating walk or peacefully sit and take in Floral Park’s best of nature and its birds. The Gardens are open daily, 12-5 PM.
The Gardens Facebook page, Floral Park Centennial Gardens, features magnificent photos of our Gardens treasures and events.
If you are interested in planting or doing a Scouting project in the Gardens, you must get FPCS approval by emailing: fpcentennial@gmail.com
Planting in the Gardens is prohibited without prior approval, Better, use FPCS expertise and talent to assist you.
On Saturday, June 15th, the Our Lady of Victory Church and Floral Park Knights of Columbus will hold a special Gardens Mass, open to the public. Bring your own lawn chair and spend a joyous late afternoon with your neighbors and OLV’s Father Thomas Fusco.
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses
Welcome to Häagen-Dazs, one of our newest businesses on Tulip Avenue. This past sunny Saturday, Floral Park’s ice cream lovers joined with local owner Bobby Patel, the Häagen-Dazs Company leadership, members of the Floral Park and Covert Avenue Chambers of Commerce, Town of Hempstead representatives, and our Village Board for a spectacular Grand Opening. After we cut the ribbon, everyone celebrated with scoops of delightful ice cream. Best wishes to this fun-filled addition to Tulip Avenue!
It’s now three days and counting until Friday night’s June 7th, 5-10 PM Floral Park Chamber of Commerce Street Festival. Families are invited to come on down to Tulip Avenue for the live bands and DJs, fabulous outdoor dining, local merchant shopping, face painting, balloon art and food, fun and giveaways. Be sure to stop at NYRA’s own race starting gate too, check it out!
June is absolutely the best time to SHOP, DINE AND ENJOY YOUR ICE CREAM LOCAL, right here in Floral Park and Stewart Manor.
Trustee Frank Chiara
Library
The month of June has begun and there are lots of planned activities and events taking place at the Floral Park Library:
- On Thursday, June 6rd, at 1:00 PM the library is hosting a discussion on Maintaining a Healthy Mind and Body as We Age. A representative from Family & Children’s Association explores the importance of mental well-being as one grows older. Topics will include: cognitive health, emotional well-being, and practical tips for promoting overall wellness in later years. You can register online at floralparklibrary.org or in person at the Reference Desk. For questions call the library at 516-326-6330.
- On Friday, June 7th at 3:30 PM the Little Gardeners with Ms. Rita. This program will take place outside on the library lawn. This is a 3-week session program for children age 3 to 5. They will be planting some fruits and veggies and watching them grow as the sessions continue. In the event of rain, the sessions will move inside or re-schedule another date.
Registration for this 3-week session is full but there will be another 3-week sessions in July, so be on the lookout on when to register.
- Also, on June 7th at 5 PM there will be a Teen Scavenger Hunt for Grades 6-12. Teens can take a break from schoolwork and join the library staff for a fun-filled afternoon! Together, with their teams they will solve puzzles, trivia & much more! Prizes will be awarded to first place winners.
- On Saturday, June 23rd the Library will be kicking off its summer reading program with
Petra Puppets on the Library Lawn. This is a family event. All can come to be entertained by Comedian Ventriloquist Steve Petra and his Zany Adventure Team!
- Summer Reading 2024 Kick-Off continues with Animal FUN. Stepping Out Ponies will be here with their wonderful petting zoo and pony rides from 3:00 until 4:00 pm to continue our summer reading celebration.
There is a lot more on tap at the library for the month of June. Details on these and other scheduled events can be found on the Library’s website at www.floralparklibrary.org .
Fire Department
For the month of May, our Village of Floral Park Fire Department has responded to 121 calls for service.
The Fire Department is made up of 100% dedicated volunteers. New volunteers are needed and always welcome. Please consider volunteering! The Departments recruitment tent will be at a number of our Villages upcoming events to provide information to anyone considering volunteering.  This Friday, June 7th, the recruitment team will be at the Belmont Stakes Tulip Avenue Street Fair. Stop by if you are considering volunteering. It is an opportunity to have any questions you may have answered and to meet some of the other volunteer members of the department.
Trustee Jennifer Stewart
4VS
Congratulations to volunteers Francis Brandt, Kyle Enriquez, Juliana Kenna, Jamie Liesner, and Joey Zuccamaglio for earning their undergraduate degrees. We are very proud of you and wish you many successes in your next chapters. Also, congratulations and good luck to volunteer Cris Greco who will be starting his master’s program in media studies at the New School this fall.
A highlight for this week’s programming schedule is The Mayor’s Corner with our esteemed mayor Kevin Fitzgerald featuring Police Commissioner Stephen McAllister.
DPW
I’d like to thank to our Department of Public Works for their efforts in getting the Village prepared for our Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony, including the hanging of our spectacular veteran’s banners. Additionally, we are grateful for the beautification of the Magnolia Parking lot. Sanitation collection continues, and new, larger recycling pails are available at DPW for $20.
MTA
Late last week the Village was informed that switch work was being done near Floral Park over the weekend with the intention of alleviating some idling trains along the Hempstead Branch. Work will continue next weekend as well. Please check the schedule for changes.
The Village has been informed that the MTA is planning on bringing a new New York City bus line, the Q110, into the Village with a stop at the Floral Park LIRR Station. Information from the MTA/LIRR is sketchy at best. Pictures of the route show the bus turning south off of Jericho Turnpike onto Carnation Avenue, turning left onto Caroline Place, continuing to the LIRR Station, stopping along the station, and continuing back to Jericho Turnpike north along Tulip Avenue. The Village is vehemently opposed to this plan, and will use any and all resources at our disposal to fight the MTA running city buses on our streets. Links to the proposed MTA Queens Bus Network Re-design Project is included below and will be in my board report in the Weekly Email which goes out to residents on the Friday following every Board of Trustees Meeting. We will continue to inform residents as information becomes available.
Please check the MTA Queens Bus Network Redesign Project at
https://new.mta.info/project/queens-bus-network-redesign
Page 388 and 389 of the Final Plan gives more detail of the schedule and new route of the Q110
https://new.mta.info/document/128476
Trustee Michael Longobardi
Building Department
At the May Architectural Review Board meeting, a site plan resubmittal was presented for the restaurant at 99 Covert Avenue. The owners updated the plan to comply with the Board’s comments and requested changes. After review the plan was approved. Next steps for the applicant will be to submit the required applications for building permits.
The owners of the Covert Avenue fire property will be having a coordination meeting with the Building Superintendent Renee Marcus to review the construction timeline. Further updates on the timeline and staging will be provided once the start date has been confirmed. Reconstruction of the 266 Jericho Turnpike fire property is underway and is expected to take about a year. Foundation construction is near complete for the apartment building at the former Centennial Hall site. Construction has also started on the Tulip Avenue Pedestrian Walkway connecting the Spur Parking Lot to the Tulip/Carnation Avenues intersection. This walkway is expected to be completed next month and will provide direct access to additional parking for residents and post office patrons in that area.
The building department has received a proposal for an apartment building on Jericho Turnpike and South Tyson Avenue. This proposal will require various steps including public hearings and studies. The North End Civic Association is planning a public information meeting currently scheduled for June 17th to present the details about the proposal and the steps that need to be taken. There will be no formal hearings until September. Please keep an eye out for further announcements.
We would like to remind all property owners that except for cosmetic upgrades, all exterior and interior construction work requires a permit prior to start to ensure compliance with the zoning and building codes. Please check the Building Department website for a full list of requirements and permit applications. Please contact the Building Department for any questions or if you require assistance with a permit.
Recreation and Pool:
At this time, we are just about 87.5 hours from our first swim of the season. Our pool is filled and ready to go. The staff is doing some last-minute preparation before the first swim which will take place this Saturday at 12:00 PM.  We look forward to seeing everyone there to kick off the season. Pool hours are 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM until June 21st and then after 10 AM to 8:45 PM.
Little League regular season has ended and they are heading into the playoffs. Adult volleyball and basketball leagues will begin next week as well as the adult pickleball lessons and adult tennis lessons.
Do not miss out on the fun; call or stop by the pool building for information and to register. I want to remind residents that Village of Floral Park Leisure passes are required to use the recreation complex and to register for the programs.
Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC)
The next meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Monday, June 24, 2024 at Hempstead Town Hall, One Washington Street, Hempstead. If you want to make a noise complaint regarding air traffic, you can call 1-800-225-1071. You can also go to the Village website at fpvillage.org which has the links under the TVASNAC Noise Complaint Contact Information Page on our home page
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Prior to the start of the Regular Meeting the Mayor requested a moment of silence for Martha Cirina a Village employee who passed away suddenly a week ago.
There is a lot going on in the next few weeks. I hope to see everyone at the Belmont Stakes Street Fair which will be held on Friday night. We have our pool opening on Saturday June 8th and I hope to see our residents signing up and joining the pool. It has always been a great place during the summer months especially for families and kids.
As Trustee Stewart reported about the city bus potentially coming to the Floral Park Train Station, the Board has many serious concerns and questions regarding that. Village Administrator Bambrick found a 100-page document after we were notified about this. The document is extremely light on details, other than a few words about the stop, even the route is somewhat sketchy. It mentions the triangle the bus would take by coming down Carnation Avenue, stopping at Caroline Place and going up Tulip Avenue. Hopefully we will be meeting with the MTA this week to find out more as to why this is needed and then we will come up with our next steps and ensure as best we can that this does not happen.
Once again thanks to everyone for coming out on Memorial Day. Marching in the parade is always a great experience, especially when we turn down Tulip Avenue and see the people along the road celebrating with us; seeing most folks staying for the ceremony, which is always very poignant and meaningful, especially for the younger generations to understand that we would not be here if it wasn’t for the names read on that day.
Trustee Chiara and I continue to meet with the Belmont Park Advisory Board and there will be another meeting in two weeks. We will provide an update once we attend that meeting. As you can see the Grand Stand is in the process of being taken down.
I’d like to thank Taylor Herzlich for joining us this evening and for continuing coverage of Floral Park in Blank Slate Media.
