Two Cub Scout troop leaders turned East Williston village board trustees, James Lark and Anthony Gallo, have been serving together since 2020. The pair make good friends, living just a few blocks apart.
They are both fathers who like to volunteer for their kids’ organizations, whether it be coaching the local Little League or heading up a scout troop. They have worked well together over the years, with both trustees viewing the East Williston board as a well-oiled machine.
But their time on the board together could possibly come to an end this year. Newcomer Rushi Vaidya, a project manager for a consulting firm in the construction arena, is challenging the two incumbent candidates for one of the two trustee positions up for election on March 19. He is running for election with the Family Party.
Vaidya moved from Astoria to East Williston in 2022 with his wife and son. A similarly civic-minded individual, he volunteers for the local Fire Department and is currently attending fire school. Although a fairly new resident, Vaidya’s admiration for the town dates back to the early days of his 10-year relationship with his now-wife, who grew up in East Williston.
“I remember, with my wife growing up here, there was a recreation committee and the recreation committee would host events on the weekends or in the evenings and residents would show up to that,” said Vaidya. “But over the years, involvement has dropped down.”
Vaidya fell former a love for the town after meeting his wife.
He hopes to improve communication between village board members and town residents.
“I am young. I’m 34,” said Vaidya. “I’m hoping that the residents in the village who are closer to my age want to get more involved.”
Vaidya would like to implement summaries that are sent out after village meetings so all residents can keep up to date on town matters.
He said he has not only the time and energy to give back to the community, but a helpful background in engineering and construction project management that could be useful for the board.
With a 2-year-old son at home, Vaidya foresees another 30 years in East Williston for him and his wife. He would like to be a go-to person for other East Williston residents during that time.
“I’m willing to be present,” said Vaidya. “I’m willing to have my neighbors call me up at three in the morning if they have a problem.”
But Lark and Gallo have fulfilled that role for the past few years and they’re not ready to stop anytime soon.
Lark has lived in East Williston for 12 years and he works for an insurance company in New York City. But the biggest resume standout that helped him cinch a trustee position in 2019 is his time spent volunteering in the community.
After longtime trustee Anthony Casella resigned midterm in 2019, Mayor Bonnie Parente asked Lark to assume the position after she noticed him participating at multiple board meetings. Lark stepped up to the plate after years spent working, coaching Little League teams and forming Cub Scout dens for his daughter to join.
“When the mayor originally asked me to step up, I viewed it as community service,” said Lark. “I love our village. I love living here. And the more people who step up in any capacity, the better.”
Just one year later, Lark found himself guiding Gallo through a similar situation when trustee Chris Siciliano decided not to run again. Lark, who knew Gallo through scouting, encouraged him to run.
Gallo has lived in East Williston for more than 10 years and works as a civil engineer. Gallo was first appointed trustee in 2020. He said his engineering knowledge has come in handy many times during his work as a trustee. The mayor agrees.
“Anthony works as a civil engineer and dives deep into our infrastructure projects and contractor bids and translates them into a language we can all understand,” said Parente. “He does this on his own time.”
Parente “enthusiastically” endorsed both Lark and Gallo.
Lark and Gallo shared many of their achievements during their time as trustees, including upgrading all of the LED lighting in the village and overseeing the redoing of gas line mains through the village. Gallo said he was particularly proud of the resurfacing of the tennis courts in town, since many residents can now enjoy the use of the courts.
Both incumbent candidates said they hope to do more of the same if elected for another term. Their goal is to keep the village running as smoothly as possible. Both candidates are running with the Community Party.
Lark and Gallo praised Parente’s long-term plan for the village and said they hope to work with her on future tasks, including a large road repaving project coming to the village this year.
While Vaidya said he does not have any concerns for the village except for a lack of communication, both Lark and Gallo said their major concern for the village is the upcoming village-wide assessment of water lines for lead.
“How is this going to impact us as a village in terms of both cost and disturbing residents?” said Lark. “We don’t yet know what the extent of that is going to entail.”
Both Lark and Gallo emphasized that the assessments for lead and the repaving projects should be aligned to minimize disturbance to residents and avoid ripping up the same road twice.
While Lark joked that the board members do not always see eye-to-eye, he commended the board on always being able to reach decisions and respect one another.
“I think as a trustee I’ve done a good job of upholding the standards of the village, interacting with residents, and I think we have a really good board and mayor in that regard,” said Lark. “We work together very well. I think we have things running very smoothly.”
Gallo also praised board members on their working relationship.
“I think that residents should re-elect me this year so I can continue to offer what I can to the village. I feel like I did a good job – I’m doing a good job so far, and I want to continue to do it,” said Gallo. “I feel like my background ties in well with the rest of the board. Each one of us has our own little niche.”
The election will be held on March 19 from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. at East Williston Village Hall at 2 Prospect St., East Williston.