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Floral Park Board of Trustees meeting reports April 16

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    • Village Board Members and the New Fire Chief Staff sworn in on 4/16/24

    Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo

    Police Department 

    Our Police Department continues its excellent policing, and service to our schools and community.

    On a Friday night in early April, an individual barricaded himself in a building on Jericho Turnpike in Bellerose Terrace. The Nassau County Police quickly took control of the situation with many of its resources including special operations and the County helicopter. NCPD continuously contained the situation at the Bellerose Terrace location.

    Throughout the evening, our up-to-date FPPD radio system enabled our Police leadership and Officers to remain in contact with NCPD and monitor that Department’s communications, as Lieutenant William Doherty remained in direct contact with his NCPD counterpart.

    Simultaneously, special events involving many of our students and families were taking place at the Floral Park-Bellerose School and Village Hall. Although the NCPD activities remained contained, FPPD patrols, working with Sergeant Brian Naughton, monitored the school area and tunnel, as well as Village Hall.

    The night ended safely as NCPD captured and arrested the perpetrator, and all remained safe throughout. We thank Commissioner Stephen McAllister, Lieutenant Doherty, and our Officers for their vigilance and ongoing, precise communications with NCPD, the Floral Park-Bellerose School District Administration, and the Village Board.

    Other recent policing activities have included the FPPD Motor Carrier (or truck) Detail. March’s morning of truck inspections along Plainfield Avenue were conducted by Sergeant Naughton and Officer Christie Softy. A total of six inspections was conducted, and 46 VTL violations were issued. Two vehicles were towed for safety violations (improper load securement, tire violations and unsecured hazardous materials).  A third truck was impounded because the registration was expired, the driver had a revoked license, and the truck had two unsafe tires. Throughout the inspections, the Officers reported that many local residents expressed great appreciation for their presence in the area and for FPPD’s attention to the truck traffic on Plainfield Avenue.

    On a recent Superintendent’s Conference Day in the Floral Park-Bellerose Schools, two of our American College of Surgeons/Stop the Bleed instructors, FPPD Lieutenant Doherty and Detective Christopher Timm, conducted the program for over fifty School District employees. Teacher aids, clerical, custodial and cafeteria staff, and bus drivers participated in this life-saving Stop the Bleed training.

    On Saturday, April 27th, the FPPD will once again sponsor the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Between 10 AM and 2 PM, you are encouraged to drop off your unused and expired prescription drugs at FPPD Headquarters (at the corner of Village Hall). A Police Officer and Floral Park Lions Club representatives will be there to assist you and distribute helpful wellness materials. It is dangerous to keep unused prescription drugs in your home. Please keep your family and friends safe by participating in Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27th.

    Conservation Society and Centennial Gardens

    For the third consecutive year, Floral Park’s Centennial Gardens and Bird Sanctuary has been nominated as the Best Public Garden of Nassau County (now for 2024) by Blank Slate Media and our Herald Courier newspaper. Our Centennial Gardens has won this prestigious award in 2022 and 2023.

    Let’s do it again in 2024 by going to: archive.theisland360.com/contest2024 . At the Best of Nassau County site, look for the first category, Arts & Entertainment, then Public Garden. You’ll see our Centennial Gardens and Bird Sanctuary listed, then vote. And you can do it daily, so please vote again and again for our precious Gardens up until May 24th.

    Visit the Gardens often too, and see why we are the Best Public Garden of Nassau County for the past two years!

    Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses

    It’s a busy time of year as our Floral Park and Covert Avenue Chambers of Commerce have welcomed new businesses to Floral Park and Stewart Manor, as well as new Chamber members.

    All businesses are invited to join Chamber meetings, but be sure to register first.

    The Covert Avenue Chamber will meet at BC Bistro on Jericho Turnpike on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 PM. The guest speakers will be Warren Hance and Kate Tuffy of the Emma, Alyson and Kate Hance Family Foundation. This important, local nonprofit organization promotes self-esteem and confidence building for girls and women of all ages with its renowned Beautiful Me program. The annual Hance Family Fun Day and 5K Run/Walk Races will take place on Saturday, May 18th. See the meeting details at: covertavenuechamber.org

    The Floral Park Chamber next meets at Cara Mia on Tulip Avenue on Thursday, May 2nd at 6 PM. Network with our business owners and learn about all the exciting opportunities in our Village. Register at: floralparkchamber.org

    Enjoy the spring sunshine, and SHOP AND DINE LOCAL, especially at our new businesses, right here in Floral Park and Stewart Manor!

    Trustee Frank Chiara

    Library

    We are half way through April and there are lots of planned activities and events taking place in our Floral Park Library:

    Details on these and other scheduled events can be found on the library’s website at www.floralparklibrary.org .

    Blank Slate Media is conducting its 10th Annual Contest of “Best of Nassau County” for 2024. Our Village of Floral Park Library has been voted the “Best” for 3 years in a row.  We are going for number 4! To vote you can go on the Library’s Website at www.floralparklibrary.org and click on the display banner to register your vote.  You can also go to www.archive.theisland360.com/contest2024  to place a vote for our library and for other Floral Park treasures. You can vote daily to make it happen for the 4th year.

    Fire Department

    Tonight, we had the honor of hearing Chief Brian Hamerman’s final Floral Park Fire Department report as the Chief of the Department.  He reported that the Fire Department is in good standing with 158 volunteer members.  This year, the Department responded to 1,389 incidents.  The Volunteer Members dedicated 2,456 hours to training in preparation for a variety of incidents they may face.  Our Fire Department is ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Chief Hamerman during his tenure was able to have the LOSAP contributions increased to the current max, benefiting its members and very importantly, encouraging more individuals to volunteer. He moved to have a new training center built and with the assistance of his staff, he was successful.

    He performed honorably as the leader of the Department. His positive, professional, and self-assured demeanor made it easy for the members to have confidence in his ability to lead the Department.

    His volunteer service to our community dates back 23 years.  Chief Hamerman is a volunteer firefighter, a leader, a mentor and a friend to many in the Department. He is a perfect example of what it is to be a volunteer, serving and giving back to his community.

    Thank You Chief Hamerman and also a special thanks to his family for supporting him while he volunteered his service to our Village.

    Tonight, the new Fire Chief Staff was sworn in:

    Support local journalism by subscribing to your Blank Slate Media community newspaper for just $50 a year.

    Congratulations to our new Chiefs.  We wish them all the best and a safe tenure.

    Trustee Jennifer Stewart

    Thank you to the Floral Park Little League for inviting us to participate in the Little League Parade and Festival. Thank you to all the volunteers who make our Little League such a wonderful place for our children to grow and play ball. Well done to fellow Trustee Mike Longobardi for his perfect ceremonial first pitch! I wish all players, coaches, Board members, and parents a wonderful season.

    4VS

    The one show I would like to highlight this week is the Community Spotlight. Our neighbors to the West, Bellerose Village are celebrating their Centennial Anniversary this year and 4VS diligently put together a wonderful testimonial. I encourage all of you to watch and wish them a Happy Centennial Anniversary.

    DPW

    Our beautiful veteran banners are being hung along Tulip Avenue, South Tyson and Elizabeth Streets, with the remainder to be hung prior to our Memorial Day Celebrations. A big thank you to Village Clerk Susan Walsh for all her work on this amazing project.

    Additionally, all Village buildings have been cleaned and maintained, and the Village Hall bathroom is being refurbished. Our Sanitation Crews collected 65 tons of household waste, 8 tons of paper, 5 tons of plastics and glass as well as 14 tons of bulk rubbish. The Highway Department has swept all roads, filled pot holes on the south side and Remsen sections, milled and paved the Stewart Street/Terrace Avenue cut-through; all snow equipment has been cleaned and thankfully stored for the season. The Parks Department is continuing to clean up all Village Parks; a beautification project has begun in the Woodbine Parking Lot, and the three flags have been replaced at Centennial Gardens.

    This past Wednesday, the Board met at Memorial Park to celebrate Arbor Day 2024 with a ceremonial planting of a beautiful Red Maple near the Plainfield Avenue and Tulip Avenue intersection.

    As you heard as we moved the agenda, the Village has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the CSEA Supervisors Unit through May of 2027.

    LIRR/MTA

    Yesterday, the LIRR/MTA informed the Village that there will be no train service between Floral Park and Hempstead for the weekends of April 20th and 21st as well as April 27th and 28th. We expect some trains to be idling in and around the Floral Park Station. As always, please reach out to the MTA/LIRR at MTA.info with questions and concerns.

    Trustee Michael Longobardi

    Building Department

    Construction continues at the former Centennial Hall site as the walls and supports have started to rise.  Projected timeline for the project is approximately 12 months.  Permits are issued and construction is expected to start on the Covert Avenue fire property pending the IDA the Mayor outlined tonight. The Architectural Review Board held a meeting on March 27th to review the aesthetics of the proposed houses at the subdivision at 32 Orchid.  Since the plans are all within code requirements and the developers were receptive to the changes the board proposed to help blend it with the character of our village, the subdivision has been approved. The next meeting of the Architectural Review Board will be Wednesday at 8 PM at the pool building.  Among the applications will be the proposed restaurant at 99 Covert Avenue and a review of some basic modifications to the plan.

    If you are planning any construction or renovations to your commercial or residential property, please reach out to the building department for help and guidance.  They have a wealth of knowledge and information on building code requirements and safety factors, which are an extremely important part of any of your renovation or improvement undertaking.

    Recreation and Pool

    Little League is open.  This past Saturday, our little leaguers along with coaches and family marched through town to the recreation center for the Opening Day Parade and Ceremony starting our 2024 little league season.  While the weather did not fully cooperate, it was a great opening day and great to see so many turn out for a fun family event.  I had the honor of throwing out the first pitch to open the season; thank you for that. Thank you to the American Legion color guard for leading the parade, Floral Park Fire Department for participating, Floral Park Police Department for organizing and securing the parade route and, most important, the league board and coaches for all their tireless dedication to the kids and little league to make the parade and season happen every year.

    This week the annual summer recreation booklet 2024 has been published.  This book has a list of everything from summer programs at the park, to pool information, registration forms, special event nights at the pool, calendars and more.  The book is available on the Village website at fpvillage.org, in the pool building lobby, and it has been posted on various social media pages.  There is a QR code you can scan to have full access to the book.  The pool building is open 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM Monday to Friday for information and registration.

    Town-Village Aircraft Safety & Noise Abatement Committee (TVASNAC)

    The next meeting will be at 7:00 PM on Monday May 20, 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 meeting, Mayor Fitzgerald announced the retirement of Village Clerk Susan Walsh. On behalf of the current and previous Board Members he thanked her for her time, energy, and commitment that she has devoted to the Village and the class she brought to every event held at the Village during her tenure. Wishing her good luck in retirement and expressing gratitude for her service, she was presented with a large bouquet of flowers.

    As a response to the approval of the Host Community Benefits Agreement between the Village of Floral Park and The Hillcrest of Floral Park LLC (owner of property located at 41-61 Covert Avenue) Mayor Fitzgerald made the following announcement:

    As previously reported, the owner of the Covert Avenue fire property, The Hillcrest of Floral Park LLC, received the Nassau County approvals required in order for the Village to issue the building permits. We look forward to this project getting under way and, most importantly, we look forward to its completion which will be a positive addition to the Village for years to come.

    Several weeks ago, the Village was informed that The Hillcrest of Floral Park LLC would seek financial assistance in connection with their financing of the project through the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (IDA).  Financial assistance through the Town of Hempstead IDA involves granting the owner relief from sales taxes and building materials and also involves Payments-in-Lieu-of Taxes (PILOTs) in place of the payments of real property taxes by the owner.

    There is limited ability by local governments within these laws, such as the Village, to oppose granting tax benefits by the IDA to the property owner.  Nonetheless, the Village Board, administration and the special counsel that the Village hired for this matter (Spellman, Gibbons, Pollizi, Truncale & Trentacoste, LLP) worked over the last several weeks to secure a Host Community Benefits Agreement to protect the revenue for the Village that could be anticipated from this project and which will be necessary to pay for the property owner’s fair share of Village services going forward.

    Under this proposed Agreement, in addition to the PILOT payments that the Village will receive from the Town of Hempstead IDA, we will receive payments directly from the property owner. These combined payments will roughly equal over the term of the PILOT the Village tax payments projected for this property.  In this way, under the Host Community Benefits Agreement, this project can move forward towards completion while, at the same time, this development will bear its fair share of the costs for essential services it receives from the Village.

    While there may be some debate as to the positive and negative aspects of these IDA projects on the larger county-wide level, in the Village Board’s opinion there is very little question that, for the community in which the IDA project is located, there are very real costs for providing essential services to the development.

    The Town of Hempstead IDA will be holding a hearing at the Floral Park Village Hall to take comments on The Hillcrest of Floral Park LLC’s IDA Application as a whole on April 30th at 10:00 am.

    This afternoon I reached out to NYRA on behalf of the Northend Civic Association and the NYRA Director of Community Affairs will be at the Northend Meeting on Thursday, April 18, 2024. I also reached out the President of the Westend Civic Association who will send an email out to his members reminding them of the event. I’m sure NYRA will be back many times over the next couple of years to update the community of what is going on with the track. I also wanted to mention that demolition of the Grand Stand did begin.

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