On March 17, Mayor-Elect Kevin Fitzgerald and Trustees Lynn Pombonyo, Archie Cheng and Frank J. Chiara and the Village of Floral Park staff paid tribute to retiring Mayor Dominick A. Longobardi.
Longobardi was elected mayor for two consecutive terms and elected Trustee prior to that for four consecutive terms serving and leading the Floral Park Board of Trustees for a total of 12 years.
Longobardi’s family and many residents and businesses were in attendance in person and virtually to recognize the Mayor for his lifelong dedication to his family, the Village of Floral Park and its residents and businesses culminating in a legacy of a collective community making Floral Park a great place to live and raise a family.
Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald (Mayor-Elect)
Deputy Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald addressed Mayor Dominick Longobardi. As this is your last Board meeting as Mayor I would like to take a few minutes to look back on your term. It is often said that it is not the destination but the journey; I think that there is no better way to describe your term as Mayor. During this memorable journey not only have we been through a lot together, which I will remember as a learning experience on a whole host of topics – some Village-related, some personal. I will fondly remember the numerous laughs we shared. However, I do believe that most importantly during the past four years you were able to keep all the things we cherish about Floral Park the same, all while adapting to the changing world around us. You were able to adeptly and successfully tackle significant unforeseen challenges that have faced this Village. Floral Park is certainly a better place because of your services.
In closing, I would like to say thank for allowing me to be a part of this truly unbelievable ride, thank you and your family for your time, efforts and personal sacrifices that you made on behalf of Floral Park and its residents, and lastly, thank you for your friendship. It is a priceless commodity that I will always treasure. Thank you Mr. Mayor.
Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Dominick, tonight we are here to honor you, salute you, recognize you, thank you, express our love and best wishes to you, and so much more. You have been a passionate advocate, strong force, skilled leader, and cherished friend in Floral Park for your entire life. With about 16,000 residents and many more business owners here, I bet almost all of us can tell a story, many very humorous I’m sure, about how Mayor Longobardi or Dom has been there for us and touched our lives in truly significant ways.
Personally, I go back thirty years exactly, to 1991, with Dominick and Denise and a spaghetti dinner that I think was held in Centennial Hall. Time brings many amazing surprises through the years of coming to Floral Park, first to visit, for wonderful events and adventures to later working with Trustee Longobardi as he fiercely supported our students, schools and education, and many joyful moments with Nick and Krista at the Floral Park-Bellerose School and Floral Park Memorial, then Scranton. And now, many of us have been blessed to be there as Dominick’s and Denise’s family grew up.
One never knows where she will end up. Dominick, sitting beside you at this dais for the past six and a half years is something I never could have imagined in a million years, but would not trade for anything.
To the Village Board and this entire Village, you are a great leader and cherished friend. You and former Mayor Kevin Greene have promised to return to the back of this room on the first and third Tuesday of every month to sell popcorn, possibly throwing it at us if you think we deserve it. We’ll welcome you with lots of smiles.
We wish you, Denise, Nick, Krista and your Dad, also known as “The Original,” this. May your beautiful extended family be blessed with all you have given us. We will lovingly remember Annette and Louise. You will all hold a special place in our Village, our lives and our hearts always, God bless.
Trustee Archie Cheng
Between the Floral Park-Bellerose School Board, the Sewanhaka Central High School Board and our Village Board, I have had the honor and pleasure of representing the residents of our great village for approximately 24 years. I have worked with School Board presidents who worked hard and accomplished great things. But, I have also worked with school board members who wanted to be president merely for the title. I am happy to say that our present Mayor is one that worked hard and accomplished great things.
Our Village has been blessed to have Dominick Longobardi for our Mayor the past 4 years and as a Trustee since 2009. Dom exemplifies what it takes to be a leader. He is civic minded, has business acumen, is engaged in many different organizations, has demonstrated his ability to understand the pulse of the village, to reflect on issues and select the right and best course of action, and then to roll up his sleeves and put in the hard work required to achieve his vision and truly represent our village’s residents. But more importantly, he has the ability to work together with our ‘Type A’ personalities, to accept compromise and work towards consensus and implement ideas. He may not necessarily agree with a board decision, but has always been willing to accept that decision because it is based on our collective experience and the differing viewpoints we all bring to the table.
Dom, it has been a pleasure and an honor to have worked with you these past 5 plus years and my best wishes to you and your family.
Trustee Frank Chiara
Thank you Dom for all that you have done and I am sure will continue to do for our Village. Over your many years of service, you have contributed so much to our Village and by doing so along with all of your leadership skills, the Village is a great place to live and raise a family. As you often mentioned, while growing up in the Village, it was always your dream to be of service and become the Village’s Mayor. We are so very fortunate that your dream came true.
Your passion and commitment to the Village is always so apparent whenever you speak of the Village, even though we often try to cut you short. There is no better spokesperson or cheerleader that our Village could have. Your knowledge of the history of our Village along with your life experiences is so invaluable to our community. I know you will continue your service to our community and be here for us by unselfishly sharing your wisdom and expertise.
Every team has a leader, guiding the team through its ups and downs. You are a proven leader, always permitting your team to offer opinions, listening to them before putting a plan in place. Your leadership style is a very successful method to accomplish any goal and what you have accomplished here within the Village is a testament to that.
I have been very fortunate to be mentored by you. Your welcoming way always made me feel that I was an integral part of a great team. You guided me and allowed me to grow into this Trustee position. Known affectionately as the “Baby Trustee”, I may not be willing to give up this title. But as your “Baby Trustee” I will never be able to THANK YOU enough for sharing and nurturing me and showing me the best way to serve our community.
You have provided this Village Board and our Village with a strong foundation and with this foundation we will continue to move in a positive direction, to keep this Village a great place to live and raise a family.
My family and I myself cannot thank you, and your entire family, enough for all the service you have provided to make this a wonderful Village community. Thank you for your friendship!! God Bless You and Your Family!!
Susan Walsh, Village Clerk
Mayor Longobardi, may I add that on behalf of the Building, Court, Fire, Library, Police, Public Works, and Recreation/Pool Departments, we wish you, Denise and your entire family all the best and that you will be sorely missed.
Gerard Bambrick, Village Administrator
Thank you Dominick, it has been a pleasure working with you. You did a great job!
John Ryan, Village Attorney
Thank you Mr. Mayor. It has been an honor and a privilege. Great job – I wish you the best.
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, and Floral Park is designated as one of the safest places to live. Special thanks to Police Commissioner Stephen McAllister for his leadership and to your entire Police Department who serve and protect us every day. 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. One of my proudest moments as Mayor was the first time I swore in the new Fire Chief, my brother Michael. The training and professionalism of our all-volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Rescue is incredible and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you to Pat Eren and the entire Library staff for the wonderful services that you provide to the residents of the Village. The Floral Park Library is a gathering place and is part of the heart of our community. Thank you to Renee Marcus, Superintendent of Buildings who recently joined our team a little over a year and a half ago. Renee and the Building Department have accomplished so much in modernizing and improving services to the residents and businesses of Floral Park, guiding and assisting them in caring for their properties, homes and businesses to provide a safe and beautiful neighborhood. A very special thank you to Kevin Ginnane, Superintendent of the Public Works Department and to all of his staff for the excellent services that they provide to the residents of Floral Park. “Not only does Kevin keep the lights on, Kevin personifies what it is to be a true public servant. Kevin is the one who visits the residents and helps take care of solving all of the issues day in and day out. Thank you.” Thank you to Mike Derby, the Village Assessor for a great job, and to my staff that I work closely with every day for always being there for the residents no matter what they need. Thank you to Village Clerk Susan Walsh for your dedication and for always going the extra mile to make sure the residents are cared for and that the Board has all that it needs every day. And to Gerry Bambrick, our Village Administrator. “Gerry, this Village would not run without you. Gerry puts in countless hours day in and day out to ensure that everything is running smoothly. You are tireless in your dedication and no detail is missed, and I thank you”. Special thanks to John Ryan, Village Attorney, whom I have known and worked with for over thirty years. I cannot thank you enough for offering legal advice always in the best interests of the Board of Trustees and for the Village of Floral Park first and foremost.
Thank you again to the best team of Trustees anywhere. To Dr. Lynn, thank you for being one of the finest public servants that I have ever had the pleasure to work with and for all of the work that you do in Floral Park, including providing the best Recreation and Pool services. Thank you to Recreation Commissioner Kurt Meyfohrt, Pool Director Tom Dillon and the staff for all that you do. To Trustee Archie Cheng, for your unbelievable contributions to the Board working with the Fire Department, Rescue and the MTA and LIRR Third Track officials and contractors every day. To Frank Chiara, thank you for all that you have done working with the Building Department, the Library and most recently the Police Department continuing the tradition of making Floral Park the best it can be. Finally, to Mayor-Elect Kevin Fitzgerald, congratulations! “You and I have worked closely together on so many important issues. We created so many wonderful things and had to handle so many surprises on a daily basis. We addressed the Third Track, Superstorms, and the Covid-19 Pandemic. You spearheaded the Belmont Redevelopment Project Committee, a tremendous undertaking and I am so grateful to you for that. Together, we were able to move Floral Park forward with new roads and businesses, new trees, landscaping, and building developments all while maintaining the family atmosphere and unique charm and character of this beautiful Village we call home. You have been an amazing Deputy Mayor and I know that Floral Park is in good hands under your leadership as its new Mayor.”
There is no greater place to live than Floral Park anywhere. It is a family more than a Village. And 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, who both are here tonight; 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.
