Trustee Lynn Pombonyo

Fire Department
It’s been a busy summer for the Fire Department, including July’s 123 total calls for assistance, 84 ambulance calls and four mutual aid calls. Recently, the Department responded to a smoke detector alert at a home where there was smoke in the home, and the owners were away. FPFD’s quick response and the working smoke detectors prevented any fire damage, making a big difference in the outcome. Please make sure your smoke detectors are working, too.

In September, the entire Department will spend four evenings at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy in Bethpage. There, they will engage in instructive, hands-on practice with interior attacks in structures similar to those in our Village and nearby. FPFD’s commitment to ongoing training is impressive and appreciated.

Thanks also go to our Kiwanis Club for recently honoring our Volunteer Fire Department and first responders.

Department of Public Works
DPW has been deeply involved in roadway projects and preparations for the opening of school. This includes the repaving of South Tyson Avenue (in conjunction with 3TC, the third track contractors), along with new line striping near our schools.

The Spooner Street and parking lot road reconstruction (with curb, apron and drain reconstruction) is under way. This complex project will take about sixty days. Because of the delayed start due to changes in the road contractor assigned to the job, subsequent projects on Hinsdale and Clayton Avenues will be delayed until the spring, more details to follow.

Conservation Society & Centennial Gardens
Our present and past Children’s Gardening Classes got together at the Gardens for an end-of-summer reunion picnic. There they delighted in the colorful flowers and greenery they had planted. Great appreciation goes to Mrs. Laura Trentacoste who envisioned, developed and teaches this unique Gardens program.

Our extended weekend hours of 9am to 7pm (or dusk, whichever comes first) will continue through September. Weekday hours remain at 12-5pm. Gaze at sunsets through the trees during our weekend twilight hours. This is truly the BEST OF NASSAU.

You can also enjoy it all on the Floral Park Centennial Gardens Facebook page, beautifully created by Ann Moynagh.

Chambers of Commerce
Celebrate Fall at the Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce Street Fair on Saturday, October 15th. It’s bigger and better than ever, so bring your whole family!

And make Floral Park and Stewart Manor your favorite places to stroll, SHOP AND DINE LOCAL this fall!

Best Wishes
We send our best wishes for great success and joy to students of all ages who are returning to school, those courageously entering military service, and all joining the work force. Please remember that we are always here for you.

Trustee Frank Chiara

Building Department
The Architectural Review Board (ARB) meeting for this month will be split into two sessions due to the number of cases and the complexity of the projects. Tentatively, the Covert Avenue project and other applications will be on Wednesday, September 21 and the Centennial Hall project along with others will be on Wednesday, September 28. The final agendas will be published on the ARB website next week.

Police Department
With our schools reopening, the Police Department would like to remind our residents that there are school speed zones by all of our schools. The speed limit in the school zones is 20 mph while schools are in session. Please drop off and pick up your children in a safe manner and observe all of our traffic regulations. Keep a watchful eye out for our children and drive safely.

Trustee Jennifer Stewart

Pool
Our 2022 Pool season officially ended today with the annual Senior Luncheon. The rain did not dampen the fun! Yesterday hundreds of members participated in the annual Last Jump at 5pm at the Floral Park Pool. So much fun was had by all. We look forward to seeing all our members back for Summer 2023! A huge thank you to our lifeguards and supervisors for an extraordinarily safe summer and to Pool Director Tom Dillon and Recreation Superintendent Kurt Meyfohrt for all they do to ensure a fun and safe summer for all members.

Recreation
Fall athletics are underway. I’d like to thank the representatives from all our leagues for a productive field usage meeting. A note to all, we expect construction to begin on the multi-purpose rink this fall, be on the lookout for notifications from your leagues. Thank you to all our coaches and managers who volunteer their time to mentor our youth through athletics. They are truly a gift to our community.

MTA/3TC
The Village Board along with Village Administrator Gerry Bambrick continue to engage with the MTA/3TC to ensure the promises made for restoration after this project are adhered to and to mitigate the negative impacts of any construction on our community. I encourage all residents with concerns to log into MTA.org, scroll to ‘Give Feedback” and leave your comments.

Trustee Michael Longobardi

Floral Park Library
At tonight’s board meeting the contract for the new ADA compliant ramp and main entrance to the Library was awarded to Aventura Construction Corp. This will be both a beautiful upgrade to the front of the building as well as improved direct access for all. Construction will be starting in the near future.

On August 22nd – 24th, a group of young children participated in the Library Civics for Kids. Children in grades 2-5 learned about the history of Floral Park, what civics are all about and took a tour of Village Hall. They learned about the Police and Fire Departments as well as how the administration of the Village functions. Thank you to Laura Trentacoste and Kathy Guidal for this great program for the kids. Thank you to everyone who works at Village Hall and my fellow board members for being there, making the kids feel welcome and helping to educate them about our Village.

This weekend, the Library will resume normal hours with 9am-5pm on Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sunday. Friday September 9th from 10am to 12 noon, the Library will host another shredding event in the continuing effort to fight identity theft. The maximum amount you can bring is 5 boxes.

The Friends of the Library Book Club has returned after the summer. They will meet the first Monday of each month. Thursday September 15th, the Library is offering a defensive driving course. This six-hour course is a great way to reduce your insurance rates. Other Library events include Pilates on the Lawn, Yoga, Chess Club, Knitting Group, Baby Club for babies 9-17 months, and Chefs of d’Future. Details for these and many other events are listed on the Library website: www.floralparklibrary.org.

Four Village Studios (4VS)
4VS currently has openings for High School Students, residing in the four-village area, to join the staff as television production crew members. No experience is necessary. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning about the technical positions and equipment used to create our programs. For nearly 25 years, local student staff members have gained invaluable experience in a real-world setting. This experience has assisted in college acceptance and post-graduation employment in the media industry. If interested, please contact the studio by email: [email protected] or call 516-326-1150. A new edition of the Floral Park Mayor’s report will debut Monday September 12th at 9:30pm and repeat on Thursday September 15th at the same time. As always, please visit www.4vs.org for the complete list of shows, dates, and times.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald

Downtown Revitalization Initiative
The Village is again making an application for the “Downtown Revitalization Initiative” grant for up to $10mm. By way of background, each year New York State awards $10mm to a community in each of the 10 state regions, one of which is Long Island. The basis for Floral Park’s application is centered on input from our Business District Advancement Committee (which consists of residents and business owners) and input from our outside consultant NV5.

Our three business districts are Jericho Turnpike, Covert Avenue and Tulip Avenue. This year, the Village is seeking community input via several avenues: 1) an e-mail blast going out this week to residents with a 20 question survey; and 2) a special meeting on September 13 at 8pm regarding the application, seeking information from the audience. I would like to thank Building Superintendent Renee Marcus and Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo for their hard work this past week, and as always, thanks to Village Administrator Gerry Bambrick. With the deadline soon approaching, we feel that Floral Park’s application will be a strong one inclusive of some concrete initiatives that can have significant value in increasing the viability of our business districts. We look forward to hearing from our residents and businesses in the next week to finalize the submission.

Belmont Racetrack
I am happy to report good news. NYRA passed a resolution to designate the Triangle located at the Crocus Avenue – Floral Park Bellerose School (FPBS) boundary area as an open space (not to be absorbed as parking). This will enhance the Belmont/Floral Park border by creating a buffer for the school near the playground and for the residents nearby. I would like thank the Franchise Oversight Board (FOB), Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, former FPBS Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Sottile, and Village Administrator Bambrick for helping to accomplish this. I would especially like to thank the residents on Crocus and Larch Avenues for having your voices heard throughout the process to better help the Board achieve and maintain quality of life in the West End.

Communications
Trustee Stewart mentioned the e-mail blasts being a key tool that the Mayor & Board of Trustees regularly use to keep residents, businesses and the public updated on current news in the Village. I am happy to report that over 3,000 residents have successfully subscribed for online notifications. Residents can read the most up-to-date bi-weekly Board Reports and other topical Village-wide news including the Building Department (BZA/ARB) agendas by visiting the Village website and/or by signing-up for personal notifications by going to the Village website: fpvillage.org, click on Quick Links: Important Notifications. The direct link is: https://fpvillage.org/notifications/

Thank you to Felix Procaccia of ‘Just the Facts Media’ and to Brandon Duffy, Blank Slate Media (on Zoom) for attending. It is appreciated.

*The full versions of the Mayor & Trustee Board Reports are available online at www.fpvillage.org.