Dan Nachmanoff was honored as the first ever “Friend of the Parks” by the Great Neck Parks District in 2001 for his service in helping to preserve and enhance local open spaces.
Now, the longtime Great Neck public servant is ready to take that relationship to the next level.
A former Village of Russell Gardens mayor, Nachmanoff is one of four candidates running in the Great Neck Park District election on Dec. 13 to replace retiring commissioner Ivar Segalowitz.
“I’ve always interested myself in the affairs of this community,” Nachmanoff said. “I’m living here 40 years. I raised three children here, seven grandchildren, all of which used park facilities.”
“My history is in local governments,” he added. “I know about budgets. I know about grants. I know about unfunded mandates. I know about laws that change regularly. I’ve had to deal with that for years. I don’t think any of the other candidates have had that kind of experience.”
Aside from serving as mayor of Russell Gardens until 2002, Nachmanoff has served on the Russell Gardens Board of Trustees and was president of the Great Neck Village Officials Association. He also served as the Nassau County director of inter-governmental affairs.
“I helped the parks district in many ways,” said Nachmanoff, who is a retired dentist. “When I was president of the Great Neck Village Officials Association, that represented all of the nine villages in this community, the park district was anxious to have the Cohan House landmarked and to get the last piece of waterfront property adjacent to Steppingstone Park. I helped to get that.”
For his role in that project, Nachmanoff was awarded by the Great Neck Parks District Board of Commissioners with a plaque and was named the first ever “Friend of the Park.”
“This award has only been given twice,” Nachmanoff said.
Aside from personal accolades, however, Nachmanoff believes the best attribute he would bring to the commissioner position would be his experience in local government.
With a district, which includes 20 park venues, 49 full-time employees and a $15 million budget, Nachmanoff said his viewpoints as a resident of one of the park district’s southern districts would also be quite valuable.
“We have never had a candidate or commissioner from this area of Great Neck,” he said. “We have our own interests and our own parks. We need some representation. The area that I’m talking about represents about a third of the tax revenue for the park district.”
During his campaign, Nachmanoff has spent ample time listening to the concerns of residents and many of the ideas put forth by his opponents.
Some ideas put forth such as getting more villages to join the park district, the construction of commuter parking garages in various villages are not realistic, Nachmanoff said.
“It’s not a time for big capital projects,” Nachmanoff said.
Instead, he would like to focus on continuing the work of the current crop of commissioners, who Nachmanoff said have done an admirable job of reducing spending and keeping district taxes low.
“I think the park district does very well,” he said. “I think the commissioners that are there are very knowledgeable and very careful about how they spend the taxpayers’ dollars.
“I just want to continue doing what they’re doing,” he added, “and offer my insights into ways to improve the park district, reduce costs, possibly raise revenue and hold the line on taxes,” Nachmanoff said.
Nachmanoff also plans to keep the infrastructure of the district in strong working order.
“Right now the residents of this community are very happy with our park district,” Nachmanoff said. “We have good fields, great tennis. We have a fantastic pool set up and fantastic ice rink with hockey and all sorts of things in addition to a marina, a wonderful venue for concerts, a summer venue in Great Neck House.”
All of those attributes are the reason why Nachmanoff would like another opportunity to serve his community.
“I see an opportunity to be of service,” he said. “The community of Great Neck has been very good to me. I grew up in the Bronx on concrete sidewalks and I never thought I would have the opportunity to live in this kind of community, this kind of caring community. I’ve always wanted to give back to this community.”
The park district is comprised of all Great Neck Villages and unincorporated areas with the exception of Great Neck Estates, Harbor Hills, Lake Success, Saddle Rock and University Gardens.
