Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Fire Department
October is Fire Prevention Month and our Floral Park Fire Department continues to focus on education. At the October 11th Floral Park-Bellerose Board of Education meeting, Chief of Department James Dodson spoke to the FPBSD Board, staff and residents about important fire prevention and safety measures. These included awareness of the flammable materials in homes and cars that burn very quickly, making an immediate escape from a burning structure critical to survival; keeping doors closed to insure that, should a fire occur, it will be contained; placing laptop computers on solid surfaces, allowing them to vent the heat, while placing them on beds or upholstery may prevent that from happening, instead, causing the heat to build up inside the machine; making sure that working, up-to-date smoke/carbon monoxide detectors are placed strategically throughout homes and businesses; and many more. Chief Dodson was thanked for his service and timely, important advice to all.
In October, FPFD also observed one of New York State’s required fire drills and evacuations in each of our four Village schools. After all our students exited the buildings quickly and safely, FPFD members met with them, announced the fire prevention poster contest winners, and discussed this year’s theme, escape planning from a house fire.
On Sunday, October 16th, Assistant Chief Eric O’Connor led fellow firefighters and rescue company members in Open House activities to promote greater awareness of fire safety and FPFD operations. Many families attended the Open House and toured our fire engines, ambulance and a police car. They practiced escaping from smoke in a fire department smoke house and using a fire hose to put water on a designated target; watched as our firefighters extinguished two car fires, then extricated trapped “passengers” in a car, with Rescue’s EMTs offering medical assistance; and many other informative, interesting scenarios. All the while, Trustee and Former Chief Mike Longobardi and his FPFD colleagues recruited community members who are interested in the fire service. That volunteer service is crucial in our Village, and we will continue to recruit vigorously. A highlight was a delicious barbecue, enjoyed by all. Thanks to our Chiefs and FPFD for educating us in addition to protecting us.
Go to fpw.org for more fire safety information, and remember the 2022 theme: Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape.
Department of Public Works
As the cold weather sets in, hot patching and certain road repairs are coming to an end.
Leaf crews are going throughout our neighborhoods collecting leaves on Village roads. All are reminded that leaves raked on private property should not be pushed into the streets. Rather, place them in clear plastic bags and put them out on the curb on your Sanitation Department yard waste day (which is the collection day opposite your recycling day). Professional landscapers, who remove leaves from our Village private properties, must take them away.
Fall is tree planting season so, in the coming weeks, new trees will be planted on the roads that have been reconstructed. There will also be Village wide tree planting at the curb lines. If you’d like a new tree, please call DPW at 516-326-6320.
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses
Thanks to all for coming out to enjoy this past Saturday’s Covert Chamber of Commerce Street Fair. Hundreds, and maybe more, spent a perfect autumn day visiting our businesses, spending time with family and friends, and SHOPPING AND DINING LOCAL. Thanks goes to our high energy Covert Chamber leadership: Rene Jorglewich, Cathy Grasman, Magdalena Chen, Nancy Millus and Anne Musso; the Village Hall staffs of Floral Park and Stewart Manor; the VFP and VSM DPWs; and the VFP and Nassau County Police Departments for making our long-awaited street fair happen again in a really big way.
For our business people in Floral Park and Stewart Manor, the next Covert Avenue Chamber meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, October 25th (check covertavenuechamber.org for the details). The Floral Park Chamber will network at a breakfast meeting on Thursday, November 3rd, 8am at the Bridge Community Church on Harvard Street.
And, for our children, the Covert Chamber is hosting its annual Treat Trail on Saturday, October 29th from 11am to 1pm. Follow the blue pumpkins on the Covert Avenue store windows, and get your allergy free treats. Then, when you complete your Treat Trail, see the Centennial Gardens invitation below…
Conservation Society and Centennial Gardens
…Our Floral Park Conservation Society invites all to Centennial Gardens for the always enchanting and popular Fairie Forest Festival from 1 to 4pm on the 29th. Follow the fairie trail, be amazed by all the magical stories, and collect fairie tokens. Refreshments at the end of the fairie trail. Be sure to wear your wings and costumes!
AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)
Thanks to Floral Park Library Director Pat Eren, the adult programs’ Ellen O’Brien, and the Friends of the Library’s very own Maria Tetro for their upbeat presentation about our library and its hundreds of exciting features for adults and children. If your organization is interested in this wonderful library talk, please contact our Floral Park Library to find out how you can make this happen.
Floral Park-Bellerose School District Applause
This is School Board Recognition Week in New York State. Our Village Board was proud to honor our School Board members, President Kierez, Vice President O’Donohue, and Trustees Trentacoste, Culotta and Peltonen, with a Proclamation commending them for their dedicated service to our children and significant contributions to our communities. We wish our School Board continued success and great joy in guiding our students as they create their futures.
Trustee Frank Chiara
CREW
On Tuesday 10/18/2022, Deputy Mayor Pombonyo, members of CREW (Coalition of Recourses for Education and Wellness) and myself attended a Seesaw program presented by the Sewanhaka High School District at Sewanhaka high school. The program offered a panel discussion on Raising Resilient and Responsible Teens for parents and guardians of the school district children.
The panel was put together and coordinated by Mr. John Kenny, Director of Alternative Education and consisted of a school psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, school counselor, parent volunteer and a very impressive student from the class of 2022. The panelists all presented themselves well on the topic of how to raise resilient and responsible teens. They spoke of some of the difficulties of being a parent and how a parent can model resilient behavior to their children. They offered suggestions on the use of cell phones and caution about some of the questionable websites that the teens maybe accessing. The panelists reflected on their own life experiences which made a connection with the audience. They were very informative and made sure that the parents were made aware of all the services available to their children.
We are very fortunate to have such highly qualified professionals and more importantly very caring individuals in all our schools that are educating and caring for our children. Thank you to Mr. Kenny and all the panelists for this very informative program.
New Residents Committee
I would like to send my compliments to the Covert Street fair organizers, the Street Fair turned out really nice, was well organized and was very enjoyable. The Covert Chamber and all who participated, including our DPW workers and our Police, did a fantastic job. The sunny skies contributed to the great day on Covert Avenue. Everyone that attended appeared to be having a lot of fun. It was a really fun event.
I would also like to THANK members of the New Residents Committee for staffing a table at the fair, offering a welcome and information on the Village to all who stopped by. Thank you to Anne Musso, Darlene Lanza, Lisa and Betsy Boutis for spending the day welcoming our residents.
Trustee Jennifer Stewart
Good evening everyone, thank you for coming out tonight.
Thank you to the Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce for a wonderful street fair. It was so fun to see so many residents enjoying all the street fair had to offer. Thank you to FPPD and DPW for their hard work and for coordinating their efforts with their Nassau County counterparts.
Thank you to Probational Firefighter Brendan Shanahan. Brendan is the second generation in his family to volunteer for the FPFD and we are grateful to him for volunteering to serve our community. Stay safe.
Recreation Center
Earlier in the evening the Board approved the purchase of a field conditioner. This is an important tool that the Recreation staff uses to keep the fields in game ready condition.
As our fall sports continue, they do so mindful of the disruptions that may occur as we expect groundbreaking on the new multi-purpose rink in the coming weeks, thank you to all managers, coaches, parents, and players for your flexibility during this process. Superintendent Kurt Meyfohrt and his crew painted pickleball lines on volleyball court B to allow for additional play there during the rink construction. Please keep in mind that outside of scheduled hockey games, the recreation center closes at dusk.
Unfortunately, the elevator in the Recreation/Pool building is not operational right now. Our elevator company has been in and is now waiting for a part, the hope is it will be fully repaired by the end of the week. Please keep that in mind if you are attending any meetings or events in the Recreation building.
LIRR/MTA
At this time, the LIRR and 3TC are adamant that they must have a vehicular gate at the Tunnel Street location where there previously was only a pedestrian gate. The Village continues to campaign for restoration of Tunnel Street to the way it was prior to construction. Please continue to log your concerns, comments, and questions at MTA.org, let the MTA/LIRR know your concerns about the vehicle gate and any other concerns you have, especially regarding safety.
Trustee Michael Longobardi
Floral Park Library
The Library has launched its new homepage for the website. The page provides easy to read links to many services provided by the library including the online database, links to museum passes, library catalog, newsletter and much more. Visit the website to see the new layout and all the library has to offer. Please click the link to sign up for library updates and receive emails about events and activities.
Construction upgrades are set to begin shortly on the library. These include the new ADA ramp and front entrances as well as a new roof. The library director and board are making plans to minimize any inconveniences during these projects. Please pay attention to signs and directions during that time as we work to upgrade access to the library.
Some upcoming events include Halloween Craft time, haunted theaters of Broadway stories, Halloween Storytime for 3 and 4 year olds, and Monday Movie Matinee: Death on the Nile. October 26th is trivia night; tickets are available and must be purchased ahead of time. Details for these and many other events are listed on the library website: WWW.FloralParkLibrary.org.
Four Village Studio 4VS
“Sandy: 10 Years after!” is 30 minutes of photos and videos that captured local damage and cleanup days after the storm highlighting all the hard work by our various village departments as well as our residents to restore our great village. It will debut Monday October 24th at 9pm.
The studio currently has openings for High School students residing within the four-village area to join the volunteer staff. Students age 15 or older can join the staff and learn how the studio operates while getting real hands-on experience as well as learn about a possible career in production. No experience necessary. Please call 516-326-1150 or email the studio if interested. As always, please visit www.4vs.org for the complete list of shows, dates, and times.
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Thank you to the Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce for hosting a wonderful Street Fair this past Saturday. It was well attended and special thanks goes to everyone in the Chamber, the Village staff and DPW, and the Police Department for all of their efforts organizing the Street Fair – it is not an easy feat. I would like to acknowledge all of the efforts of both the Covert Avenue and Floral Park Chambers of Commerce for their contributions to making the Village, its businesses and surrounding communities so strong and vibrant. Thank you for all that you do. We look forward to the Floral Park Chamber’s Tree Lighting and Winter Festival coming up in December.
The Village is still in discussions with the MTA/LIRR/3TC regarding the Tunnel Street gate plus a list of items related to the completion of the railroad projects in Floral Park. As I mentioned previously, Trustee Stewart and Village Administrator Bambrick are monitoring everything closely and are in daily contact regarding details to ensure that the commitments made to the Village are concluded positively.
I would like to commend Deputy Mayor Pombonyo and Trustee Frank Chiara for all that they do for the Coalition of Resources for Education and Wellness Committee (CREW). CREW is dedicated to coordinating village resources by and among the schools, police, and village departments focused on providing support and opportunities to the youth in our community. This committee may go “under the radar”, however, its mission and work are vital to our families and our kids. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Thank you to Felix Procacci, “Just the Facts Media” and Brandon Duffy from Blank Slate Media for attending the meeting tonight.
