Memorial Day Remembrance – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has invited all County residents and businesses to join in two Memorial Day moments of silence to honor those in the military who have died in service to our country. The County Executive has asked that municipalities, police and fire departments sound their horns and sirens for fifty seconds at noon and 6pm. That will signal a noon and a 6pm moment of silence in remembrance of those in our armed forces who have given their lives in service to our country.
Fire Department – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Chief of Department James (Jep) Dodson was recognized and thanked for his service.
A very special event took place on Friday, April 15th, the Good Friday Annual Keith Fairben Memorial Blood Drive, hosted by the Knights of Columbus in conjunction with the Floral Park Fire Department. Floral Park native, Keith Fairben, the son of Diane and former Floral Park Fire Chief Kenneth Fairben, was a paramedic with New York Presbyterian Hospital and a First Lieutenant in our Reliance Company Firehouse on Holland Avenue. Keith Fairben passed away with hundreds of other 9/11 First Responders at the World Trade Center. He is honored every year at this Good Friday Memorial Blood Drive, with 274 pints of blood donated in 2022. Thanks to Knight Joe Pelletiere, former Fire Chief Joe O’Grady, and numerous dedicated volunteers for spearheading this important event and service to others in need. Most of all, thanks to those who donated blood, the gift of life.
On April 27th, our Fire Department responded to a house fire on Depan Avenue. With some mutual aid support, the fire was extinguished quickly, limiting damage to one corner of the house. Thanks to our Chief staff and all the volunteer firefighters from Floral Park and our mutual aid partners for protecting lives and property.
And, to do that, our Fire Department volunteers participate in constant training. To further enhance that training, tonight, this Board approved a training area inside a large piece of Village property at the end of Mayflower Place. There, our firefighters will train on hose line and rope deployment and other important skills. Fire will not be utilized in this training area, and loud equipment, speakers and sirens will not be used after the early evening hours.
Department of Public Works – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
The LED installation on the Floral Parkway side of Centennial Gardens has been completed. The new lights beautifully brighten the brick path and surrounding greenery, casting a picturesque glow encircling our Gardens.
Trees throughout our Village are in beautiful bloom at this time of year, and the Mayor will proudly tell you about them in his report.
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
The Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce has a new service feature for businesses, organizations and the public. It’s called Jobs Board – Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce Classifieds, and users have many choices. You can post job openings, services that you provide, and services you are seeking. Check out the website to see the postings at covertavenuechamber.org, scroll down the page to the Jobs Board, check out the ads, and add your own to it.
The Floral Park Chamber is getting ready for their street fair on Sunday, June 12th, 1pm on Tulip Avenue. All of our businesses, organizations, and not-for-profits are invited to participate in this happy return of another popular event. Go to the floralparkchamber.org website or email info@floralparkchamber.org to reserve your business’ or organization’s space. Do it soon, June 12th is only five weeks away, and mark your calendars.
Conservation Society – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Many hands have joined together to prepare Centennial Gardens for a beautiful summer and two special, upcoming events. The first will be the return of the Hance Foundation Family Fun Day (after two years) along with their famous 5K, one mile and pee wee races on Saturday, May 14th. Races begin at 9am.
The second event will be the return of the Conservation Society’s Garden Party (also after two years) on Friday evening, June 10th, 5-8pm. Kick off the Belmont Stakes weekend at our very own Gardens.
Thanks go to hundreds of hardworking volunteers, Village of Floral Park staff and others including the Conservation Society, the monthly weed-out groups, the Hance Family Foundation, Chaminade High School, scout troops, residents, businesses, and the Parks Department, the Department of Public Works, and Con-Kel Landscaping for making the Gardens come alive. Check out the fabulous Floral Park Centennial Gardens facebook page for Gardens news, photos, event details, and enjoy!
Building Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
Update on Centennial Hall: I would like to provide an update on the Centennial Hall project and its next steps.
The original plan was for the developers, the Friedman Group, to keep the existing foundation and the exterior wall structures in place while removing interior partitions to build a new infrastructure containing 18 apartments of 18,000 square feet. The developer has been soliciting pricing from contractors ever since the permit approval back in October of 2019. Due to the onset of COVID, the pricing of materials and labor have become increasingly expensive and availability scarce. Once final pricing was established the developer’s investment and banking team determined that the cost was too high for this type of work. The engineers determined that the structural capacity of the existing walls and foundation were questionable and there were too many unknowns due to the age of the building and because the building has been unoccupied and exposed to unconditioned temperatures over the years.
The developer’s team is now coming back to the Village with a new proposed plan. This plan now calls for the removal of the entire existing structure and to build a new structure that will ensure the building meets the proper codes and eliminates dealing with any unforeseen conditions from the original building. This new plan is now for 27 new apartments at approximately 27,000 square feet.
Because of these changes to the plans, the developer will now have to present on May 11th to the Zoning Board of Appeals. This entails a request for a variance from the required minimum parking spaces, the minimum size of apartments and the maximum building height. If the zoning variances are approved, the developer will then have to present to the Architectural Review Board (ARB) for the aesthetics of the building and site plan approval. Once the plans have been approved by the ARB, the developer’s team will put together full construction documents that will be filed with the Building Department for a final code review. While ensuring that all requirements are met, our Building Department has been and will continue to work with the developer to move this project along. We are all looking forward to the movement and completion of this project.
Police Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
Trustee Chiara, the Mayor and Board congratulated Police Officer Joseph Lauria on his promotion to the rank of Sergeant. Trustee Chiara stated that “the promotion was well-deserved as Joe is a highly decorated officer and a role model to his fellow officers. Joe will lead by example and will be a great Sergeant. Congratulations and have a safe career!”
The Floral Park Police Department would like to alert our residents to an upcoming event, the Hance Family Fun Day 5k Run. There will be street closures on the morning of Saturday, May 14, 2022 for the safety of the participants. The route with start-up times will be posted on the Police Department’s website.
Floral Park Recreation Center & Pool – Trustee Jennifer Stewart
This past Saturday I was so happy to attend St. Baldrick’s Day at Trinity Restaurant. Once again Mr. Bob GaNun, Master of Ceremonies did a wonderful job facilitating the event, honoring Aiden Binkley and raising money for researching childhood cancer. Thank you to Trinity Restaurant for once again hosting this event, our own FPFD for a rousing parade of trucks to get things started, the Binkley Family, Town of Hempstead Legislator Tom Muscarella and Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll for their show of support, the Local 3 Sword of Light Pipes and Drums Band for their beautiful performance, the Our Lady of Victory Drama Club members who sang the National Anthem, the volunteer shavers and all who participated. It was another great event.
Saturday April 23rd saw the familiar call of “Play Ball” at our Recreation Center. After an enthusiastic parade, the first softball pitch was thrown out by News 12 Weekend Meteorologist Meredith Garofalo and the first baseball pitch was thrown out by our very own Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald. Thanks to Little League for a fun filled day. The Village Board wishes everyone a wonderful season.
There are many activities at out lovely recreation center including tennis and a variety of exercise classes. Park staff is working hard to prepare for the summer and all the wonderful programs we offer.
The pool saw its first facelift of the new season two weeks ago with full caulking replaced around the main pool. We are already reaping the benefits of the maintenance contract. The pool office is open and taking membership registration. Don’t miss out on what is sure to be a wonderful summer at our pool. Opening day is June 3rd!
Summer employment is still available at our pool and park. Please visit fpvillage.org for applications.
Floral Park Library – Trustee Michael Longobardi
The Teen Study exam cram program is a study program where teens in grades 6 – 12 can find a quiet space from 3:30pm – 5pm on certain days of the month to study and review for their exams. Days and times are posted on the website.
The Library Urban Explorers group recently visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. This group visits various sites of interest and history in New York. It is very interesting and open to anyone eager to tour historic sites and places of interest in New York.
Thank you to Janet Romano and the Friends of the Library for another successful lawn sale this past month.
On Monday, May 9th at 1:30 pm, West Side Story will be shown on the new 86” movie screen. Popcorn is included. The library is hosting a defensive driving class on Thursday, May 12th from 10am – 4pm. These and many other events are listed on the library’s website: www.floralparklibrary.org.
Four Village Studio (4VS) – Trustee Michael Longobardi
Shows running this month include Healthcare Aware, The Author Corner, Antique Road Test, Uncorked and others. Please visit www.4vs.org for dates and times as well as the complete list of shows.
Mayor’s Report – Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Following up on the Deputy Mayor’s report, the Village celebrated Arbor Day recently and planted a new tree on Floral Boulevard. As a Tree City USA for more than 25 years, the Village has a Tree Committee and spends more than $2 per capita on its trees as part of the Arbor Day Foundation rules. The Village plants 240 – 250 trees per year and cares greatly for its trees throughout our Village. Unfortunately, PSEG recently damaged trees on Plainfield Avenue to an unacceptable level. The Village pursued this issue with PSEG and negotiated a resolution. PSEG will be planting 30 new trees on Plainfield Avenue and will fully pay for the removal of the damaged trees and the new trees. While we were unhappy to lose these trees, we believed it was best for the future health and beauty of the streetscape. Thanks to DPW Superintendent Ginnane and Administrator Bambrick for their work on this.
The Village is very serious in its care and maintenance of its tree inventory and if it is determined that individuals have damaged Village trees, the Village takes action and has those responsible make restitution to repair and replace the tree at their cost.
On Sunday, I attended the Floral Park Fire Department’s Explorers meeting with Trustees Frank Chiara and Mike Longobardi. Thank you to ex-Chief Florio and Firefighter Goerke for the terrific work they do with the young fire volunteers. The membership is growing and it is great to see the next generation of firefighters in Floral Park being trained. Thank you.
Before I make a motion to close this part of the meeting, I would like to thank Brandon Duffy who I see on Zoom from Blank Slate Media and Felix Procaccia who is here from Just the Facts Media. Thank you.
