Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo

Police Department

Our Floral Park Police Department, always up-to-date with training and protection and law enforcement strategies, is now in the initial stages of the implementation of the Body-Worn Camera Program. These cameras are worn by Officers and enable the recording of specific occurrences in which the Police are involved. This important program is in place for the New York State Police and the New York City and Nassau County Police Departments.

Following intensive training for those FPPD Officers who have become departmental turnkey trainers, in-house training and implementation have commenced for the first pilot group of Officers. The process will be ongoing until the program is in use throughout the entire Department. Thus far, Officer feedback has been positive.

The Department’s Motor Carrier Safety Unit or Truck Inspection Detail continues to be busy and productive, focusing on Plainfield Avenue. In June, 13 truck inspections were conducted, 38 violations were issued, 5 trucks and 1 driver were taken out of service, and 1 vehicle was towed. Looking back over a three-month period covering April to June, 36 inspections have taken place, 149 moving/equipment violations have been issued and, on these inspections, trucks and drivers have been taken out of service and vehicles towed. Our Motor Carrier Safety Unit performs a valuable service in promoting the safe operation of trucks in our Village and on Plainfield Avenue, in particular.

Also, in the area of law enforcement, North Tyson Avenue residents have made FPPD aware of repeated illegal parking on that street so, year to date, FPPD directed patrols have issued 22 parking violations. Resident reporting has been vital.

Our Police Department has seen an increase in reports of check fraud recently, specifically, checks that have been mailed and, instead of going to the intended recipients, are stolen and “washed.” Washing checks removes the payment information, replacing it with fraudulent payees, payment amounts and signatures. This is a serious crime, and FPPD Detectives, the Nassau County Police Department and the U.S. Postal Service are now investigating. If you are a victim of check fraud, Commissioner McAllister urges you to file a Police Report. This enables the Police to track common elements and trends in these crimes, and zero in on those responsible. As always, our FPPD needs and appreciates the cooperation of our citizens in reporting crimes promptly and accurately.

Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses

For the past month, we have been enthusiastically celebrating our BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY PUBLIC GARDEN award recipient, Centennial Gardens and Bird Sanctuary for the second year, and our BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, Floral Park Library for the third year.

Now it’s time to honor some of our businesses who are also the BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY, all of whom are proud members of at least one of our Chambers of Commerce.

Our congratulations go to:

BEST FITNESS FACILITY OF NASSAU COUNTY, Legacy Strength on Jericho Turnpike, who has also been the BEST in prior years. Check out their website and you’ll see why. Founder Joey Olivio is a Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce member. BEST DOG GROOMER OF NASSAU COUNTY RUNNER UP (that’s 2nd Place), Jo-Mar Grooming & Boarding on Covert Avenue.  Owner Cathy Grasman is our Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce Vice President. BEST HOME ORGANIZER OF NASSAU COUNTY RUNNER UP, Stow & Behold Professional Organizers in Stewart Manor. Founder and CEO Tina O’Keeffe is a member of both the Covert Avenue and Floral Park Chambers of Commerce.  And BEST ROOFER OF NASSAU COUNTY HONORABLE MENTION (that’s 3rd Place), F&F Roofing Company on Jericho Turnpike. President Mark Giugliano is a Floral Park Chamber of Commerce member.

Please celebrate our award-winning businesses by utilizing their BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY services. You may read about all of the BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY winners by visiting the Blank Slate Media Newspapers website at: archive.theisland360.com/contest2023

We will continue to announce additional, local BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY winners as we find out about them. In the meantime, enjoy summer as you SHOP AND DINE LOCAL in Floral Park and Stewart Manor.

Conservation Society (FPCS)

Thanks to all who visited Centennial Gardens on the evening of Friday. June 23rd. The weather stayed clear, and just over one hundred of us enjoyed being surrounded by nature’s beauty, listening to the music of the famous Hambones, taking chances on amusing raffles, and having a fun time with friends and our very talented and dedicated FPCS volunteers. Check out the Garden Party photos, as well as the colorful photos of all our amazing Gardens activities, on the Floral Park Centennial Gardens Facebook page (designed by Garden Party Coordinator Extraordinaire Ann Moynagh).

The Garden Party was a wonderful way to welcome summertime and memorable Village events including the concerts at Memorial Park and on the Library lawn, and a very special Sunflower Fest celebrating Delanie Fekert, hosted by the Fekert family, the Delanie Fekert Foundation, and our Floral Park Knights of Columbus. These are truly best days in Floral Park.

Trustee Frank Chiara

Library

On Thursday evening, July 13,2023, the first of two concerts on the library lawn took place.  Pat Farrell and the Cold Spring Harbor Band performed the best of Billy Joel tunes to an energic crowd.  The band had attendees on their feet rocking to many of the well-known songs.  It was a perfect night for the concert and a very enjoyable evening for all.

A shout out of thanks to the Town of Hempstead for providing their show mobile stage and to Pat Eren, Library Director, along with the library staff for putting this concert together.

Save the date for the second concert on the library lawn.  It will take place on Thursday, August 10^th at 7 pm.  ‘Bobby sings Bobby’ will be there to entertain the audience.   In theevent of rain, the rain date is Thursday August 17^th at 7pm.  Check out the library’s website at https://www.floralparklibrary.org/ for the many upcoming events in the month of July.  There are scheduled activities throughout the month for all age groups.

New front entrance doors have been installed and are handicap accessible. Thank you to our DPW staff for assisting with this installation.

Fire Department

For the month of June stats for our volunteer fire department is as follows:

110 calls for service;

5 mutual aid calls to assist our neighboring communities; and

89 ambulance calls, 73 responded by NYU Langone and 16 responded by our Rescue Company.

The fire department is continuously training, even during these hot summer days, to ensure their preparedness.   Thank You for always being ready, willing and able in providing these essential services to our village.

Have a safe and fun summer!

Trustee Jennifer Stewart

Department of Public Works

Our Department of Public Works crews are out and about the Village all day, every day performing all types of tasks that keep our beautiful Village safe and clean. In recent weeks DPW Highway has swept all roads, crews performed road repairs with hot patch, filled pot holes in various locations, replaced aging and faded street signs, and striped Carnation Avenue after the new paving.

The DPW Parks team maintained and weeded all our pocket parks and Village parking lots. Hanging baskets and flowers were watered, rose bushes and lilies were planted in Kramer Park. The Tree Department trimmed and maintained trees throughout the Village.

The Maintenance crew continuously cleans and maintains all our Village buildings.  At the Library, they recently tiled the bathroom floor in the basement after some water damage occurred, installed new front doors and primed and prepped the rear doors for painting.

In just the last week, the Sanitation crews picked up over 80 tons of household waste, 16 tons of paper and 9 tons of glass/plastic recyclable materials.

Road Projects

Recently the following roads have been paved:  Carnation Avenue between Floral Parkway and Verbena Avenue; Verbena Avenue between Carnation and Rose Avenues; Hawthorne Avenue between Bryant Avenue and the city line; Bryant Avenue between Emerson and Hawthorne Avenues; Harvard Street, Lexington Street and Nassau Streets all between Tulip Avenue and Magnolia Avenue.

The Road Reconstruction Project for both Clayton Avenue and Hinsdale Avenue officially began today. Last week, I, along with Deputy Mayor Pombonyo and Superintendent Kevin Ginnane, met with our village arborist, the tree contractor and the road project engineer to re-visit the trees along Clayton Avenue.

In an effort to save as many trees as possible on Clayton Avenue, Supt. Ginnane’s crew pulled the curbs last week so the engineer and the arborist could get a better look at the tree roots and make a better-informed decision about which trees would not have to be taken down. Through this effort, it appears that one less tree will need to be taken down. While the number one may seem insignificant, the saving of even one tree is important.  Today approximately 5 trees were cut down on Clayton Avenue. I visited there this afternoon, everything appeared to be working in a professional manor. Many thanks to Deputy Superintendent Joe O’Grady for his watchful eye over this project. The tree crew will pivot to removing trees on Hinsdale Avenue once complete on Clayton and then the reconstruction project will occur in the same order.

All residents will be kept informed throughout these projects and we are hoping for a seamless transition to two beautiful, safe, new roads.

MTA/LIRR

Thanks largely to the non-stop efforts of Village Administrator Bambrick, the Village is inching closer to having the MTA hold up its end of the Memorandum of Understanding that both parties entered into at the start of the Third Track Project. We hope to have more detailed information in the near future. Along the same line, senior officials from the MTA have told the Village that the Floral Park Station renovation will be a part of the next five-year capital plan beginning in 2025 through 2030. This is exciting news for all who use the LIRR for work and entertainment.

Two days ago,  I entered a complaint regarding lights under the station that are out of order, as a private citizen, using my personal email address. Yesterday, I received an email from the MTA Customer Engagement Team explaining that my report had been shared with their technicians and an inspection would be forthcoming. Please visit MTA.info and scroll to the bottom to ‘contact us’ to lodge your complaint.

Trustee Michael Longobardi

Building Department

Centennial Hall plans have been submitted to the county for a site-plan approval.  The permit for demolition of the existing building has been issued and that work is expected to start soon.  The Covert Avenue fire property is expecting to start the foundation work shortly and that demolition work is completed.  The building located at 266 Jericho Turnpike is currently being cleaned out and is expected to take several weeks. Once completed, an engineer will evaluate the structure.  Taco Bell is finalizing all permit and Health Department signoffs and will open once staffing is completed.  The Multi-purpose Rink’s surface issues with the paint have been reviewed by the manufacturer’s representatives and the contractors.  Methods to fix the issues have been proposed and are under review.

A reminder to residents that all permanently installed air conditioning and heat pump units require a permit and have zoning requirements regarding the placement of the outdoor units.  Permits must be filed prior to installing these units.  Please call the Building Department for assistance or information regarding the allowable placement areas.

Pool and Recreation

In the District 29 tournament, congratulations to our 12U Division Ladies’ Softball team and our Junior Division Ladies’ Softball team: both are 2023 District 29 Champs!

It is hard to believe but we are already at the half-way point in the pool season.  Come down to cool off and enjoy the pool with neighbors and friends. Tomorrow night, Wednesday, July 19th, is Roll-Back Night with D&J refreshments. On Sunday, July 23^rd, is Residents’ Day and on Friday, July 28^th , is a guest favorite with top your own Sundae Night.  Summer activities are going well in the park with tennis, basketball, volleyball and more.  Come down and enjoy some great events with your neighbors and friends!

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

Many of us have been talking about the airplane noise as we relax in our backyards and living rooms. It is a part of life here living a few miles from several major airports as well as increased flights due to summer vacations and our open windows in the summer adding to the noise we hear.  In the Town of Hempstead, there is a Town-Village Aircraft Safety and Noise Abatement Committee, known as TVASNAC.  Its mission is to promote health, safety, and quality of life for the residents of the Town of Hempstead by reducing aircraft noise.

Floral Park is fortunate to have our resident and neighbor, Andrew Weiss, on this committee working for this goal.  This committee, on behalf of the residents, advocates its concerns to the FAA, as well as NY/NJ Port Authorities, to find ways to reduce aircraft noise flying over our communities.  This committee meets once a month and is currently going around the Town of Hempstead to meet in different communities and discuss the issues with the residents.  I have talked with Andrew Weiss and Floral Park plans to host one of those meetings in the Fall here at Village Hall.  These meetings will help educate residents on what the committee does, issues they are fighting for on our behalf, and discuss any questions you may have. The date for the Floral Park meeting is to be determined soon.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald

Thank you Trustee Longobardi for the update on the TVASNAC Committee and that there will be a Committee meeting on Monday, July 31^st at Valley Stream at 7:00 pm.

Speaking a little further on the MTA and the upgrades to the Floral Park Train Station, the MTA will be here sometime in the Fall looking through train station to see to what degree of upgrades are needed and include their recommendations and proposals for the 2025-2030 Capital Campaign which hopefully be approved at that time.  Aesthetically, the station needs a facelift.  Infrastructurally, if you look at the bottom there is a lot of rebar showing which is not going to last forever.

Thank you to Brandon Duffy of the Herald Courier for attending this meeting.

The next Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.