Our Condolences – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
We send our sympathy and love to the extended Longobardi family for the March 17th passings of both Mrs. Annette Giaccone and Mrs. Louise Longobardi. Annette is the mother of Mrs. Denise Longobardi, our Mayor’s wife. Louise is the wife of longtime resident Dominick Longobardi Sr., and the mother of Mayor Dominick Longobardi and former FP FD Chief Michael Longobardi. These two very special grandmothers will be missed.
Thank You – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Thank you all for coming out to vote in Tuesday’s election. It is an honor for Mayor-elect Fitzgerald, Trustee Chiara and me to serve you for two more years, along with Trustee Cheng.
Recreation Department – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Spring is coming to the Rec Center, Pool and Centennial Gardens. Basketball has returned to the park. Under new guidelines, ten may play full court and six or three-on-three, half court. Spectators should wear masks. We expect to open volleyball soon. Park-goers should carry their 2021 resident leisure passes or 2020 pool passes.
Floral Park Little League will begin its 2021 season with an auto parade traveling through all four areas of the Village on Saturday, April 17th. Following the parade, an exciting pitch, hit and run contest and homerun derby will take place at the park, all adhering to Little League protocols, following CDC and Board of Health regulations.
Looking farther into the spring, we hope to open the pool on time and are awaiting updated CDC and Board of Health regulations for the 2021 season.
Conservation Society – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Conservation Society volunteers, the Parks Department, Department of Public Works and Con-Kel Landscaping are getting Centennial Gardens ready for an April 1st opening. Over 500 guests visited the Gardens on Thanksgiving weekend 2020 before it closed for the winter, and we look forward to all 500 and more returning for 2021. Our Gardening For Kids winter/spring recreation program class for those ages three through ten begins at the Gardens this Saturday, March 20th. Lots of fun exploring nature for all!
Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce and Our Businesses – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
As you know, the Architectural Review Board (ARB) approved the design for the building which will replace ten of the businesses that sustained severe fire damage on September 27th. The new design is one story high with similar architectural features as other businesses on the Avenue. Our Building Department expects that the next round of construction drawings, including further structural details, inferior fixtures, utilities, code compliance, etc., will be submitted in the coming weeks.
The Building Department and the Department of Public Works have contacted the Nassau County Department of Transportation to determine if there are viable options to the chain-link fencing currently surrounding the fire properties and reconstruction area. To date, there has not been a response. Safety in front of the damaged businesses remains a high priority.
As we look forward to spring, please SHOP AND DINE LOCAL in the beautiful weather. Board approval for outdoor dining at our Floral Park restaurants was effective this past Monday evening, so enjoy!
Fire Department – Trustee Archie Cheng
Unfortunately, another fire badly damaged a home yesterday evening. Our Department, assisted by New Hyde Park, Stewart Manor, South Floral Park & Elmont were at the scene and again we bore witness to their bravery and commitment. This home was in very close proximity to neighboring houses and those neighboring homes did not suffer damage. The preliminary cause appears to be careless smoking. I urge all of our residents to practice fire safety, check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, be extremely careful when using open flames or cooking, purchase a fire extinguisher and have an evacuation plan in place in the event of fire.
Our Fire Department is actively recruiting new members. Training for new and long-time members has been curtailed due to the pandemic. Each of our five companies are anxiously looking forward to the reopening of Fire School this summer. This is a great time to join and become one of our greatest volunteers. Also, please remember that the Department is still in their fundraising season. Please contribute if you possibly can. Calls for the month of February: Rescue-82; Rest of Department-18
LIRR Third Track – Trustee Archie Cheng
If you have not heard already, 3TC, the third track contractors, have been shut down temporarily by the MTA due to two major incidents in Mineola regarding safety. The first incident was the demolition of an old structure while workers were still inside. The trapped individuals had to escape through a window. Luckily there were no injuries. The second involved the electrocution of a worker when a crane hit high voltage lines. That worker is in the hospital in serious but stable condition. Due to this shutdown, my updates tonight are subject to change. 3TC is planning to transport a new substation through Floral Park via Tulip and Covert Avenues to New Hyde Park next week. Bird netting is still scheduled to be installed underneath the newly modified Plainfield Avenue Bridge and intermittent lane closures will be necessary to facilitate this work. As of this date, the elevators have not been turned over to the MTA.
The long awaited sound and retaining wall construction behind the homes of Charles Street has also been delayed. The current plan, subject to date changes are as follows: During a complete track outage on the weekends of April 24 and June 10, there will be drilling and the installation of support posts. This work is planned to be done all day and all night. Approximately one month after that is completed, the installation of the actual sound/retaining wall will begin with a hopeful completion date of mid-August. Finally, the temporary poles on the Village side of the main line Right Of Way will be removed during the first half of April.
Floral Park Library – Trustee Frank Chiara
The Crew committee, in conjunction with the Library and the Rec Center is offering a children’s workshop, a series on social and emotional learning. It will be an interactive workshop tailored for children ages 6-8 years old. The focus will be on establishing self–management, relationship building and conflict resolution skills. The presenter is Theresa Stalewitz, a NYS School Psychologist. It will be held at the Rec Center in the pool building on Mondays from 4pm – 4:45 pm starting on March 29 thru May 24, 2021. Registration is required and due to the current COVID restrictions, a limited amount of participants will be able to attend each session. Masks are required and social distancing will be enforced. Registration and information on this program can be found at
FloralParkLibrary.org.
The Library is now busy planning outdoor lawn programs beginning in May. Please check the Library’s calendar of events for further information.
Floral Park Police Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
Tonight, we adopted a resolution to increase the area of the School Speed Zone on Plainfield Ave. It will now run from Vandewater Ave. to Tulip Ave. This resolution was adopted to increase safety on Plainfield Ave., with the hope of avoiding any future accidents on this busy thoroughfare. The safety of our students attending Floral Park Memorial High School, Our Lady of Victory School and all of our residents is always a major concern of our Police Department and our Village Board. This resolution is one measure to address our concern. The posted speed will be 20 MPH during the school hours of 7am to 6pm. Thank you to Commissioner McAllister for moving this action along.
The New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative for our Village Police Department has been finalized and now, after the Board accepted it tonight, will be sent to Albany by April 1st. I would like to thank our Police Department, the Committee who assisted with the entire process and all the residents who have partaken. Your comments, questions and participation made it a valuable endeavor. This completed document illustrates how fortunate we are here in our Village to have our own well trained, community service Police Department. Our Police are committed to keep our community safe and are continually being recognized for doing so. We are one of the safest places to live in the country. Thank You to our Police Department, you have the Village’s support and the Village recognizes the tremendous value of your service to our community.
Building Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
The Floral Blvd reconstruction project will commence on April 1st. Completing the concrete work, drainage installations and the repaving of the entire Blvd. will be the final phase of this project. There will be periodic closures and/or detours during this phase. Residents who live on Floral Blvd will be notified of any and all changes to Blvd access. All Village residents will also be notified of any changes to traffic patterns on the Village website.
I would like to THANK all the residents who supported us, Kevin for Mayor, Lynn and myself for Trustee, by coming out to vote in Tuesday’s Village election. Your support is greatly appreciated and we are eager to continue our service to this wonderful community. Thank you to the Citizens Party for all your efforts and support with the election. Congratulations to Kevin and Lynn, I am looking forward to our continued partnership on the Village Board to keep the Village of Floral Park a great place to live and raise a family.
Thank You – Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Thank you to all of the residents for voting for Trustees Lynn Pombonyo, Frank Chiara and myself in Tuesday’s election. It is an honor to be elected Mayor and I look forward to continue working with you and the Board to the serve the Village.
Department of Public Works – Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Just a quick thing to report. At the last meeting, I reported that DPW is planting trees this Spring. If you would like a tree, please contact DPW at 516-326-6320 to be added to the list. Thank you.
Mayor Dominick Longobardi
This is my last meeting as presiding Mayor. Thank you to the citizens of Floral Park who voted in Tuesday’s election. Congratulations to Mayor – Elect Kevin, and Trustees Lynn and Frank on their election. The Village is in good hands. It has been an honor and a privilege to fulfill a personal dream of mine of being the Mayor of Floral Park. Floral Park is truly the greatest place to live. I have had the good fortune to work with the greatest team of Trustees anyone could ever work with. We faced many unforeseen challenges and we always stuck together. Floral Park is made up of so many phenomenal groups of volunteers who make Floral Park the special place that it is. They spend time away from their families with no remuneration to be firefighters, members of civic associations, and participate in the youth groups and countless other organizations and committees, all for Floral Park.
Thank you to all of the employees who work at the Village of Floral Park in all of its departments, and especially to the department heads for all of your contributions and dedication to the Village. You should be beyond proud of your service in all that you do. Floral Park has the best Police Department, Administration, Justice Court, Recreation Center, Library, Building Department and Department of Public Works anywhere. Thank you to the Floral Park Fire Department and to all of its Fire Chiefs and the Rescue Squad for caring for our residents, and especially for my family members recently. Thank you again to the best team of Trustees anywhere. Finally, thank you to my family – I have the greatest family – my two children, Krista and Nick and my wonderful wife, Denise who supported me and sacrificed for me so that I could live my dream. Thank you to all of my extended family – too many to mention, except my brother Mike, and my Dad, Dominick who both are here; and to my Mom, Louise, I love you and I hope I made you proud. Floral Park is truly the greatest place to live. Thank you.
