New Hyde Park elects newcomer to board as incumbents sweep in Floral Park

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New Hyde Park elects newcomer to board as incumbents sweep in Floral Park
Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald, center, Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo, left, and Trustee Frank Chiara, right. (Photos courtesy of the candidates)

Newcomer Iram “Eve” Sheikh was elected to a two-year term to the New Hyde Park Board of Trustees Tuesday night.

Sheikh will take over from outgoing Donna Squicciarino, who has served on the board since 2013 and did not seek re-election.

Sheikh ran on a ticket that included incumbent Trustee Rainer Burger, who was re-elected to a two-year term Tuesday.

Sheikh received 136 votes while Burger received 175. Three write-in votes were submitted, according to village officials.

In Floral Park, Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald, Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo and Trustee Frank Chiara were re-elected to two-year terms while Village Justice Douglas Hayden was re-elected to a four-year term.

Fitzgerald received 343 votes while 331 were cast for Pombonyo, 346 for Chiara and 338 for Hayden.

Sheikh has been a resident of the village since 1996 and is a pharmacy manager at Vitality. Her previous village experience includes the cultural committee.

Burger, who was originally from Floral Park but has lived in the village for more than 30 years, works for AECOM Tishman, a construction and design firm. Before getting involved with construction consulting, Burger served in the U.S. Air Force and retired in 2020 with the rank of colonel.

He has also been involved in the community as a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 298.

The trustee first joined the board in 2018 after being appointed following the death of Trustee Donald Barbieri.

Fitzgerald, who has been a Floral Park resident since 1999, was first appointed to the village board in 2011 and was made deputy mayor in 2016 after James Rhatigan’s death.

He first got involved in village government as a member of the Third Track Task Force, fighting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s plan for a third Long Island Rail Road track in the mid-2000s.

Pombonyo, who was first elected to the board in 2014, previously served as the superintendent for the Floral Park-Bellerose school district. She also holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Seton Hall University.

She is currently the liaison to the village’s Fire Department, DPW, Hillcrest Civic Association, the Floral Park and Covert Avenue Chambers of Commerce and the Coalition of Resources for Education & Wellness Committee.

Chiara, a chief detective investigator in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for over 35 years, was elected to his first term as a trustee in 2017 and has been a Floral Park resident for over two decades.

He is the liaison to the village’s Police Department, Building Department, West End Civic Association, Beautification Committee, New Resident Committee, Coalition of Resources for Education & Wellness Committee and the Conservation Advisory Council.

Hayden, a lifelong village resident and former Nassau County assistant district attorney, has served as village justice since 1999. His father, Thomas, served as mayor from 1983 to 1987. Professionally, he works at Garden City-based Wright Insurance Group as president.

 

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