Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo
Police Department
Along with our Floral Park Police Department, we’d like to thank our Fire Department, Department of Public Works and Village Hall staff for their presence and support of our highly popular community events – this month, St. Baldrick’s Day, Hance Family Fun Day and Races, Mary Quinn Mark Foundation’s Afternoon at Trinity, and our American Legion Memorial Day and Purple Heart Village commemoration. We celebrate the significance of these annual Floral Park traditions as well as the importance of the service and protection that our Police and other Departments provide.
And to serve and protect us in the most current and effective manner possible, our police officers undergo ongoing training right here in Floral Park and other areas. Tonight, the Board approved training to expand our officers’ and Department’s capacity to respond to situations involving potential crime, criminals, weapons and vehicles. As the challenges of policing expand, so does the importance of current expertise, precise strategy and highly refined skills. As our officers obtain these skills through training, they return to the Department and turnkey train their colleagues.
Our Floral Park Police Department collaborates with other agencies, including Nassau County PD and NYPD, to share Instructor and other training programs and benefit from the collective expertise of multiple agencies. More on our comprehensive police training programs to follow in future Board Reports. Thank you to all in the FPPD for keeping us safe.
Conservation Society (FPCS)
We salute our hundreds of volunteers who keep Centennial Gardens beautiful and enhance it everyday. This starts with our expert and extraordinarily talented Conservation Society volunteers who plan our gardens; grow interesting flowers, plants and trees; and collectively run the Gardens operations with our Parks Department. Our Youth Gardening classes, who meet on Saturday mornings, add their own special touch with their joyful array of plantings. Next come our Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Eagle Scout candidates who contribute creative ideas, new plantings and impactful projects, as well as support Gardens maintenance. Energizing FPCS monthly weed-outs keep our flowers, plants and trees healthy and looking their best. The community is invited to join FPCS on the first Saturday of every month at 9am. Come to the Floral Parkway entrance and bring your gloves.
This month, Chaminade High School Volunteer Day was an extra bonus to our Gardens spring routines, as was the Hance Family Foundation/Liberty Mutual Insurance Group partnership, also spending a day in the Gardens doing spring clean-up and beautification.
Thanks also go to the Recreation/Parks Department, Department of Public Works, Building Department, and Village Hall staff for their ongoing work on all kinds of improvement projects and enhancements.
Three hundred visitors enjoyed the Gardens on Saturday, the 13th and Mother’s Day. Next, the Gardens will host the Hance Family Foundation Fun Day and Races, this Saturday May 20th, starting at 9am, with the fun continuing throughout the day. On Friday evening, June 23rd, FPCS will host its annual Garden Party at 5pm. Come on down to the Gardens to enjoy yourself with family and friends, support these important Floral Park organizations, and thank our extraordinary Village volunteers.
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses
It’s spring and outdoor dining is back. Please take a moment to enjoy our restaurant owners’ creative work to give us another pleasant summer of dining outdoors. Thanks to them for their collaborative planning with our Building Department and for providing this exciting opportunity for us again in 2023.
Just three weeks to go before our Floral Park Chamber of Commerce Street Fair on Tulip Avenue. Enjoy all the specials from our local businesses, family games, great music, tasty food and a fun evening. Come out to Tulip Avenue to usher in the Belmont Stakes weekend on Friday, June 9th, from 5-10pm!
And, finally, we know that all of our businesses are the BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY! You have until Friday, May 26th to go to the website: archive.theisland360.com/contest2023 and vote. Local nominees for BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY include the Floral Park Chamber of Commerce, many of our restaurants and other businesses, Centennial Gardens, the Floral Park Library and the Floral Park Pool. Let’s show that we are indeed the BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY!
Trustee Frank Chiara
Library
I would like to highlight a volunteer group connected to the library, “The Friends of the Library”. This group of volunteers are committed to the support of our library. Daily, The Friends man the “Book Nook” which is a room in the basement of the library. This is where used books are displayed for sale to any patrons. The proceeds from the sale of these books are mostly donated back to the library to support the library’s mission. Recently, Marie Tetro, President of the Friends informed the library that it will be donating funds to purchase a new return bin which will be placed outside the library. The Friends also puts together baskets, displays them in the library, which are then raffled off to raise funds. Two baskets were recently raffled. One was with a springtime theme won by Jack Salmon and another with a Mother’s Day theme was won by Justina Gluck. Congratulations to these winners and thank you for supporting our library.
A special THANKS to Marie and the Friends of the Library for all the time, work and support you put in to make our Library the “Best in Nassau County”.
A few upcoming events sponsored by the Library:
On Thursday, May 18, there will be a walking tour of Centennial Gardens starting at 4pm and meeting at the Gardens entrance. On Thursday, May 25, Dr. Annunziata a library volunteer, is coordinating a trolley tour of the Green-Wood cemetery. For both of these events, anyone interested in attending can register at the library or on the library’s website: www.floralparklibrary.org. On Sunday, May 21 from 1pm-4pm, the Friends of the Library will be hosting a book sale. The sale will take place at the library. For the special price of $5 patrons can purchase a Friends tote bag and fill it with as many books that can fit in it. Individual books will also be on sale, so please consider coming to the library to support this sale.
Please don’t forget to continue voting for our Library to be recognized as the best in Nassau County for the third year in a row. Check the library website for voting details.
Floral Park Fire Department
On Saturday, May 7, 2023 members of the Village Board, the Chiefs Staff and myself had the pleasure of attending the Installation breakfast for the Floral Park Explorers Post 129. At the breakfast, the Officers of the Post were sworn in: Noelle Orquera as Captain, James Rooney as 1st Lieutenant, Mia Hernandez as 2nd Lieutenant and Geoergio Gnezda as Secretary. There are currently 15 active members of the Post and we are hopeful that in the future these young adults, who all participate in drills learning about fire service, will volunteer to be members of our Fire Department.
Thank You to all of these Explorers for participating in this program. Also special Thanks to our Fire Department staff, Post Director Lawrence Goerke, Post Chairman John Florio and the other post advisors for volunteering their time to put together this great program.
The Fire Department is happy to report that at last week’s fire council a new member for the Rescue Company was sworn in. Welcome Dane McCarthy and thank you for volunteering your service to our community.
On Saturday, May 20th, our Fire Department will be participating in the Hance Day events. Our Rescue Company will be manning a table for any first aid needs, as well as having our ambulance on site to address any issues with individuals participating in the Hance Family Day run. On Monday, May 29th, our Fire Department will be participating in the Village’s Memorial Day parade. The Department welcomes all residents come out to watch and show their support for all those Veterans who are currently serving and all Veterans who have honorably served our country. The Fire Department would like to thank all of our Veterans for their service to our country.
With Memorial Day being celebrated soon, I would also like to this opportunity to THANK all of our Veterans, those currently serving and those that have honorably served. We can never Thank you enough for all the sacrifice you have made to ensure that we continue to live in a safe, secure and free Country. Thank You, God Bless You and God Bless America!!!
Trustee Jennifer Stewart
Congratulations to Aiden’s Army and all who participated in the 13th Floral Park St. Baldrick’s Day event this past Saturday, well done on another successful event.
Public Works (DPW)
Last Wednesday, I took a tour of the DPW Garage and met many of the hardworking men in the garage. What an operation Superintendent Ginnane runs! The garage is clean, trucks are being repaired and he fosters an atmosphere of comradery.
My First School held its annual “Touch a Truck Event” which saw many local children come down to the Rec Center parking lot and climb aboard many of our gigantic DPW vehicles. We were fortunate to have a beautiful spring day and dozens and dozens of our youngest residents came out and had a great time. Many thanks to our DPW crew who answered all the kids’ questions and helped them honk horns for hours. You were truly wonderful ambassadors for our Village that day.
This week in the Highway Department, all roads were swept, signage was installed in the newly paved Creedmoor Spur parking lot, pot holes were filled, weeded tree pits along Jericho Turnpike and weeded and mulched tree pits on Tulip and Covert Avenues, flower boxes were also placed along Tulip and Covert Avenues. Barricades were placed and removed along Spooner Street for the St. Baldrick’s event. In the Parks Department, all parks and Village parking lots were maintained. Trees have been trimmed and new trees maintained by the Tree Department. Our Maintenance Department worked on readying the new space inside Village Hall for our NYU Langone EMS Crews and all village buildings were cleaned and maintained, repairs were performed on one of our Police Vehicles. Additionally, two new benches were ordered for Rotary Park that were damaged in a motor vehicle accident and will be installed before Memorial Day.
The Sanitation Department collected a little more than 125 tons of waste. Superintendent of Public Works Kevin Ginnane is working on solidifying a paving contract with National Grid regarding the work done on Verbena Avenue; this means that once the work is done, instead of National Grid paving a strip or filling in holes, they give the money directly to the Village and the Village will repave the road curb to curb, which will give the residents a street that will last longer and will be done according to our standards, not an outside utility’s standard. The Flowbird parking kiosk is operational in the Spooner Street Lot, parking is by vehicle plate number.
Four Village Studio (4VS)
Four Village Studio continues to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. I hope some of you have had an opportunity to see some of the look back shows. I had the opportunity to meet with Jim Green, 4VS Director, and some staff members and learn about the history of the station and how shows come to fruition. Jim Green, 4VS Director, has brought on a few new young people to mentor them in the industry and is always looking for more interested high school and college students. He can be contacted by email at 4vs@4vs.org.
MTA/LIRR
The Village was once again surprised to find out over the weekend that the work being done on the Cherry Street Bridge in Garden City was once again negatively impacting residents. Village Administrator Bambrick reached out to the MTA to advocate for our residents. Mr. Bambrick was told that the bridge was being waterproofed and no additional work was planned on the bridge at this time. Which, by the way, does not mean that no work will be done in the near future. At this point, Floral Park has not been informed of any planned work.
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.
Trustee Michael Longobardi
Building Department
The demolition project continues for the remainder of the Covert Avenue Fire property. They are awaiting the County and Fire Marshall approval for the new building so construction can start after the demolition is completed. Updated Centennial Hall paperwork has been submitted to the county for site plan approval. Weather is now cooperating and the final playing surface is being applied to the new multipurpose rink. This is expected to be completed next week.
If you are planning any home improvements or renovations, this is a reminder to reach out to the building department for help and guidance. They can help review your plans and advise what requires permits and what does not, as well as make suggestions that may help on your project and reach the best outcome to enjoy your home for years to come.
Pool and Recreation
Spring is here and our park is open 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week. Registration is now open for the pool as well as our summer recreation activities for teens and adults. Programs include morning sports, Arts and Crafts, Pre-School program, tennie-ball, adult volleyball, and adult basketball. All programs start Monday, June 26th. Registration is ongoing and there are still plenty of openings for these programs. Team Rosters can be dropped off between 4pm – 9pm Monday – Thursday and must be submitted by May 31st. Details are available in the Recreation/Pool booklet on the village website FPVillage.org or call 516-326-6336. Renovations to field six are almost complete and the field is on schedule to reopen next week. Thank you to Superintendent Kurt Meyfohrt and his team for all their hard work getting the park in great shape as well as cleaning and preparing the pool for opening at the beginning of June.
Tuesday, May 23rd at the Pool building at 7:30pm, Dr. Laura Hogan, certified health coach, and Antoinette Biordi, Certified Fitness Instructor, are hosting a 90-minute nutrition and fitness class covering a variety of topics to help achieve good health. The class is $40 per person and registration is required by May 21st. Details are listed on the village website on the pool/recreation page. I look forward to seeing everyone at our great recreation center; come out and join the fun this summer.
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Thank you to Glen Kozak, Vice President of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) for addressing the questions and concerns of the residents in the West End regarding the new fence that was recently installed on the Belmont Park perimeter. The Village appreciates NYRA’s responsiveness to the property needs and quality of life concerns of its neighbors in Floral Park.
On Monday, May 29, 2023, the Village will celebrate Memorial Day with its traditional parade ending in the ceremony at Memorial Park, where the Board will be joined by the Floral Park American Legion Post 334, FP Fire and Police Departments and many other organizations and guests. As I mentioned at the last meeting, at this year’s ceremony, Floral Park will be designated as a Purple Heart Village and will honor veterans who were recipients of the Purple Heart military decoration. I am happy to report that a number of Purple Heart Veterans are already slated to be honored at the ceremony. If you know of any veteran who has received the Purple Heart that you would like to have Floral Park include in the ceremony, please contact Village Hall at 516-326-6300 or the Floral Park American Legion. Trustee Stewart informed us about the Four Village Studio 25 Year Playback series. I had the opportunity to watch the Village’s 100th Anniversary Parade from 2008 and reminisce about the Village. There was so much enthusiasm and excitement at that parade and I hope that the Floral Park residents will come out on Memorial Day with that same energy to honor the men and women who gave all for the freedom of our great country and to honor our brave Purple Heart Veterans.
Thank you to Brandon Duffy from Blank Slate Media for attending this evening.
