Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo
Police Department
Our Floral Park Police are always there for our Village with information about crimes in the area and strong reminders about how to avoid being a victim.
First, as always, contact the FPPD via 911 if you witness a crime taking place. An immediate Police response will often interrupt the perpetrators and disrupt the crime, and the Police are often able to gather evidence in real time. Injuries to victims may also be prevented.
If you notice something suspicious indicating that a crime may be in progress or has recently been committed, dial 911 and report it. Immediate calls to our Police increase public safety and FPPD’s chances of catching perpetrators.
Do not fall for scams including individuals, impersonating businessmen or women, approaching or calling you to sell you goods or services and asking for cash, your credit card or personal information. Do not engage with these potential criminals and report such incidents to the Police promptly. Home improvement scammers have recently stolen money from residents who believed these criminals were actually legitimate businessmen.
And, a crime called check washing has returned to the area. Check washing occurs when your check is stolen, often from a mailbox or post office, and “washed” with a substance that removes the ink used by the payer. This enables criminals to rewrite and cash your now illegal check, payable to someone else, often for a large amount of money. FPPD is investigating the resurgence of this crime with the Postal Police. FPPD suggests one way to prevent check washing: write checks with a gel pen. The gel is not washable.
Now, as the summer comes to an end and you’re shopping and dining local on Tulip and Covert Avenues and Jericho Turnpike, take a moment to greet our Police as they PARK, WALK & TALK!
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses
Our Chambers of Commerce are welcoming two bright and beautiful businesses to Jericho Turnpike. The first is the glittering Mon Reve Events Venue, the perfect place for your most special celebrations, on the corner of South Tyson Avenue. The second is the colorful and appealing Floral Park Chemists, a pharmacy that also sells health, wellness and household items as well as toys and gifts. It’s a place to stop and shop just west of Plainfield Avenue.
The Chambers will both be returning to their monthly meeting schedules in September. On Thursday, September 12th at 6 PM, business owners and their staffs are invited to network with the Floral Park Chamber at BC Bistro on Jericho Turnpike. Learn about what our Chamber businesses are planning for the coming year. Meeting registration and more at:
Join our Covert Avenue Chamber for its first fall meeting on Tuesday, September 24th, 7 PM at Shintaro Asian Bistro on Covert Avenue. Learn all about what’s happening on Covert and join the planning for the Chamber’s fabulous Covert Avenue Street Fair on Saturday, October 5th. Meeting registration and more at: covertavenuechamber.org
And, as always, SHOP AND DINE LOCAL at the BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY in Floral Park and Stewart Manor!
Conservation Society (FPCS)
With all this summer’s sun-shiny weather, our Centennial Gardens and Bird Sanctuary is looking greener and more colorful than ever. Enjoy it all daily, noon to 5 PM, or simply walk/jog around the outside brick path at your leisure. It’s great exercise and you’ll have interesting views of the magnificent trees, bright flowers and unique birds who call the Gardens home or, at least, their summer home.
All are invited to join Richard Burgess, the Conservation Society volunteers, neighbors and friends at the first-Saturday-of-the-month Weed Outs. On September 7th at 9 AM, you can stop on the brick path and join our volunteer gardeners to weed for as long as you want – there’s pulling weeds, raking, clearing the soil, and other gardening tasks to keep everything beautiful. Some helpers even stop by on their walks for ten to fifteen minutes to lend a quick hand. Every bit helps to beautify our Floral Park treasure.
And, save this date on your calendar – Saturday, October 26th at 1pm at the Gardens for the annual Fairie Forest Festival. Hundreds of tiny people and things will appear in tiny villages for all to admire. Check out the magnificent Floral Park Centennial Gardens Facebook page for Festival details and more!
Trustee Frank Chiara
Fire Department
Our Fire Department answered 132 calls for service in the month of July. The fire companies responded to 35 calls, 97 total ambulance calls were answered, with NYU Langone responding to 84 calls and Rescue Company responding to 13 calls. The Department assisted our neighboring communities with 4 mutual aid calls.
I would like to thank our Volunteer Fire Department for responding to our residents needs this summer season. When most of us are on vacation our Volunteers always give of themselves for our community, assisting their fellow neighbors. We are very fortunate in this Village to have such a dedicated Volunteer Fire Department. Thank you to all for their time and service.
Library
Our Floral Park Library has been very active during the summer season, highlighted by two very popular and well attended concerts. Neighbors sat with neighbors and enjoyed the two performances. Thank you to the Library Staff for organizing and hosting these and many other events that bring our community together making it a warm, welcoming, resourceful space for all of our residents to enjoy.
On Friday, August 16th from 4 to 5 PM there will be a Teen Tie Dye Event for Grades 6-12. Participants will be able to create unusual backpacks just in time for their return to school. Just a warning this project can get messy!
On Thursday, August 29th from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM the library will be hosting a Pop-Up event for kids. They are invited to come and make their own stuffed animal. For children age 3 to Grade 2.
Details on these and other scheduled events can be found on the Library’s website at www.floralparklibrary.org .
As a reminder the library remains closed on Sundays for the month of August. The library will resume Sunday hours on September 8th. The Library will be closed on Monday, September 2nd for the Labor Day.
Enjoy the remainder of the Summer!
Trustee Jennifer Stewart
DPW
Our DPW Crews have been hard at work keeping our Village clean and safe, through all kinds of difficult summer weather, particularly last week as we encountered the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. Last week DPW crews first prepared for the tropical storm by clearing basins. On Friday, August 9th with high wind gusts the DPW Tree Crew responded to numerous downed limbs and two downed trees. Our crews did a great job cleaning up from Debbie. Having our own Village tree crew as part of the Public Works Department allows us to respond swiftly to storm related tree issues.
In addition to the weather clean up, our crews performed asphalt repairs on Larch Avenue, swept all Village roads, maintained all Village properties and parks, including planting 3 Crepe Myrtle Trees along Remsen Lane near the corner of Jericho Turnpike. The Maintenance Department repaired plumbing issues in Village Hall and constructed a new storage shed at the DPW facility for supply storage. They have also collected tons of household waste, recycling, and bulk pickup.
Under our paving agreement with National Grid the milling phase of this project has begun this week. Old asphalt is being ground up and removed in preparation for the paving phase which is scheduled to start the week of August 19th.
The road paving schedule under this project is as follows:
Cisney Avenue, from Covert Avenue to Gilbert Court. Orchid Court, Kenneth Court, Gilbert Court, Iris Avenue, Violet Avenue, Verbena Avenue all from Tulip Avenue to Carnation Avenue and Pansy Avenue (Crocus to Floral Blvd) Gladiolus Avenue (Mayfair Avenue to Atlantic Avenue), Daisy Avenue, Primrose Avenue (Mayfair Avenue to Floral Blvd) Mayfair Avenue from Pansy Avenue to Primrose Avenue and Crocus Avenue from Pansy Avenue to Primrose Avenue. The Holland Avenue Lot will be closed all of week for construction and will be paved the week of August 26th along with the Library Parking lot.
The following items are acceptable for e waste pick up or drop off at DPW:
- Computer towers and monitors
- TV’s
- Printers
DPW asks that you call 516-326-6320 to schedule curbside pick-up of e waste and prior to drop off.
Cultural Arts Committee
Due to weather, the Hokis Pokis concert was rescheduled from Friday, August 9th to Friday, August 23rd. Upcoming performances include Elvis performed by Tommy Walker on August 16th and City Stars and Big Band on August 30th. All performances start at 7:30 PM in Memorial Park. Bring a blanket or chair, this is a wonderful way to celebrate summer with your friends and neighbors. I would like to take a moment to thank Assistant Village Administrator Darlene Lanza as well as Ashley Siragusa for continually updating the residents via the website and social media of the changes which were made to our scheduled events calendar.
4VS
The 4 Village Studio held their Annual Staff Party on July 27th at RPM Raceway. A great time was had by all attendees. This week on 4VS, you can see Stephanie Larkin’s Community Spotlight with Girl Scout Troop 1239 Gold Award Candidates, Inspiring Stories with Bill Corbett Jr., featuring Krista Giannak (Blogger), Ghostwriter, Inspirational Speaker and Blind Skier, as well as Wes Houston Presents two episodes of Wes and Friends.
MTA/LIRR
Please be reminded that the dumpster located under the train tracks near the corner of Caroline Place and Carnation Avenue is only for the use of Long Island Rail Road employees.
On Wednesday, August 7th, the Village was notified of rescheduled switch work that would impact travel on the LIRR for the weekend August 10th and 11th and into the early morning hours of the 12th. The Village then proceeded to disseminate this information via our website, social media and email blast. If you do not get updated via email from the Village, please add yourself to our email list to receive notifications.
On Wednesday, July 24th, I, along with Mayor Fitzgerald, Deputy Mayor Dr. Lynn Pombonyo, Village Administrator Gerry Bambrick and former Mayor Dominick Longobardi travelled to Queens Borough Hall to speak at the MTA Bus Re-Design Plan Public Hearing and let the MTA know the Village of Floral Park is steadfastly opposed to their plan of bringing a NYC Transit bus into our Village.
As we listened to other speakers, dozens of people complained about the quality of the project and the plethora of ways the redesign would negatively impact their daily commutes, as well as the struggles they would have attending school, running errands, and visiting friends and family due to the changes this design project would create for them. In my follow up written statement to the MTA on Thursday, July 25th, I stated that the MTA should focus on repairing the issues brought to them by the NYC residents they serve and they can start by eliminating the proposed Q110. I would like to thank all residents that reached out to me and my colleagues on the Board indicating they submitted comments, along with our NYS elected officials Senators Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Jack Martins as well as Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Assemblyman Ed Ra. A special thanks to our Nassau County Legislator Scott Strauss who attended the hearing so that he could hear for himself all of the ways this plan is wrong and then submitted a powerful letter to the MTA Chairman Leiber as well as the MTA Board denouncing the redesign project. We thank Legislator Strauss and all our elected officials for their support.
My family and I wish all of you a safe and enjoyable end of summer season.
Trustee Michael Longobardi
Building Department
The site plan for 99 Covert Avenue has been approved and a building permit will be issued shortly for the construction of the new restaurant. The Covert Avenue fire property is awaiting their finalization of IDA funding which will determine the construction start date. Reconstruction of the fire property at 266 Jericho Turnpike is ongoing. Construction of the new apartment building at 1 Carnation Avenue is progressing and the 4th floor is currently being built. The pedestrian walkway connecting Tulip Avenue to the Spur Parking Lot is expected to be completed soon once the new fence and lighting is installed. A subdivision application has been received for 155 Beech Street and is expected to be on the October 23rd ARB agenda for review.
As a reminder, businesses are responsible to keep their adjacent sidewalks clear of weeds and debris. Signs or objects are prohibited to be placed on public sidewalks. These items obstruct the pedestrian pathway, create safety hazards, limit ADA compliance for clearance, and are visual impairments. Please remember to keep the sidewalks clean and clear.
Recreation and Pool
It seems like we just got the summer going and its already winding down. This week we are finishing up our morning sports, arts and crafts programs and primary recreation. Our new half day program was a great success this year as was the new youth volleyball program. Thank you to Angella Rella for proposing the new volleyball program and making it a success. We look forward to continuing these programs as well as expanding further next year. Floral Park Little League has completed its summer program. The men’s volleyball league has finished and congratulations go to Team Arps the 2024 winner. This week we are having our championship games in men’s basketball and women’s volleyball. Good Luck to all who are playing. Focus is turning to fall activities and fall registration for all youth, adult and senior programs which will be held on Tuesday, September 10th from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM in the pool building lobby. Registration for Senior Agility and Silver Sneaker programs will take place the same day from 10 AM – 2 PM.
Our Floral Park Swim Team won four out of the five swim meets they participated in this season. This past Thursday, the swim awards were presented in various categories from breast stroke to back stroke, to free swim, spirit, most improved and more. Over 60 awards were presented. Congratulations to all for a great season, it was a testament to all the hard work and commitment the team put in.
This week we are finishing up our All Day Pool Program as well as other popular programs, including Senior Fridays, Family Nights, early Bird Swim, and Night Owl. This Saturday, August 17th, we will begin limited pool hours 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Labor Day Pool hours are 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM with our traditional last swim at 5:00 PM. Hope to see everyone for one last jump in the pool. Tuesday, September 3rd, we will have our Senior Picnic from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC)
The next meeting will be held on Monday, August 26, 2024 at Town of Hempstead Town Hall, One Washington Street in Hempstead. If you want to make a noise complaint regarding air traffic, you can call 1-800-225-1071. You can also go to our Village website which has the links under the TVASNAC noise complaint contact information page on our home page.
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
I would like to thank Trustee Stewart for leading the charge with the MTA Bus Route
In her report she stated that hopefully the MTA listens to the many comments they received from local residents and elected officials, including where they should focus their attention and eliminate the need for the unnecessary Q110 coming to Floral Park. There is no purpose for this bus route. The MTA has other modes of transportation they should be utilizing.
