Voters on Tuesday will be voting on contested commissioner positions in the Garden City Park Fire and Water District and in the New Hyde Park Fire District.
New Hyde Park resident Peter Chimenti, who has served in the Garden City Park Fire Department for 34 years, is challenging Commissioner Augustine Carnevale, a New Hyde Park resident who is serving in his 12th year as a commissioner in the Garden City Park Fire and Water District.
New Hyde Park resident Stephen Derenze is challenging current Commissioner Michael Dolan, who is seeking his second term in the New Hyde Park Fire District.
Garden City Park Fire and Water District commissioner terms are for three years while New Hyde Park Fire District terms are for five years.
Chimenti has known Carnevale for more than 34 years but is now opposing Carnevale because he feels it is a time for change.
“It’s time to get new blood in there,” Chimenti said.
Chimenti, who is a former Fire Chief of the Garden City Park Fire Department, said his previous experience will make him a successful commissioner.
“My experience as a firefighter, my positions as a leader and manager, and my integrity, are the qualities needed to be an effective commissioner,” Chimenti said.
Chimenti retired from the NYPD as a sergeant in 2006 and now works for the MTA’s Department of Security as a special inspector.
“I’m not naive to how businesses operate,” Chimenti said.
Carnevale, who currently works for Ready Mix concrete in Brooklyn, said he wants to complete the work he has already begun.
As commissioner, Carnevale said he refurbished five of the six water pumps in the district with new filters, something he said is vital.
“Long Island water is particularly susceptible to contaminants,” he said. “I think we’re ahead of the curve.”
In the next three years Carnevale plans to refurbish the final water pump, he said, something he expects will cost around $2 million.
“I really care for this community,” Carnevale said. “It’s important to have clean drinking water.”
He said the district purchased two new fire trucks and two new ambulances during his tenure.
Chimenti said he wants to scrutinize the way the district purchases new equipment.
“I want to keep costs down while also buying the highest quality equipment,” he said. “I have a lot of new ideas to work with the district.”
The election will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 9.
Residents who are registered voters and live within the Garden City Park Fire/Water District area, which includes parts of Manhasset Hills, parts of New Hyde Park, parts of Mineola, parts of North Hills, parts of Roslyn, parts of Williston Park, parts of Albertson and parts of Garden City can vote at either Denton Avenue School at 1050 Denton Ave. or at Garden City Park Fire Department headquarters at 2264 Jericho Turnpike.
Derenze, who is currently a police officer in Floral Park, said that the New Hyde Park Fire District is not living up to its potential.
“I don’t think everything is being done that could be,” he said. “More mobile technology should be implemented, information on-hand such as computers for chiefs to help them when they’re on calls.”
Dolan, who has served in the New Hyde Park Fire Department for 46 years, said that the district requires more transparency.
“Having meeting minutes posted on the website is no longer an exception, its an expectation, which is why in doing so, is truly the best interest of the district residents and taxpayers, and for the Board of Fire Commissioners as well,” Dolan said in a letter submitted to Blank Slate Media by his daughter, Deirdre Dolan.
Dolan said in his letter that he has worked to reduce high water hydrant rental fee costs by bringing together neighboring fire commissioners.
Derenze said that he still believes the district is paying too much for its water and plans to change that going forward.
“I want to redo the rates the district has to pay,” he said. “It’s too high.”
Derenze has worked in the New Hyde Park Fire Department for 32 years and has worked in EMS since 1982 and as a part-time paramedic since 1991.
“I think my experience in the fire department, working with emergency medical services and the police department brings me the education I need to serve as commissioner,” Derenze said.
Dolan said in the letter that he obtained free smoke detectors donated by the Nassau County Firefighters’ Museum and Education Center to be donated to senior citizens.
Dolan, who served in Vietnam, and his son, Michael Dolan Jr., were arrested in mid-July 2012 for allegedly stealing the smoke detectors. The charges were later dropped by the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.
Nassau County Supreme Court Judge James McCormack said there was no evidence that Dolan had taken the 65 smoke detectors from the fire department for his own personal gain and eventually returned most of the smoke detectors to the museum.
“To set the record straight, first assumptions can be false, going forward, we need to learn to separate facts from opinions,” Dolan said in the letter. “Facts are provable, objective and clear which is why in every court, from criminal, civil and appellate, have all ruled favorably on my behalf, based on sound legal ground, not technicality.”
Dolan said in the letter that if re-elected he would “move forward in his efforts to do more with less, protecting taxpayers from waste and mismanagement of valuable district funds.”
The election will be held from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Registered voters of the New Hyde Park Fire District, which covers certain portions of New Hyde Park, can cast their vote at the New Hyde Park Fire District headquarters at 1555 Jericho Turnpike.
