Mayoral positions in four out of the nine villages in Great Neck are up for election in March, along with trustee seats in six of the area’s villages.
The seats of Russell Gardens Mayor Steven Kirschner, Thomaston Mayor Steven Weinberg, Great Neck Estates Mayor David Fox and Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy will all be voted on in elections on March 18. The four villages with mayoral races will also have trustee races along with the villages of Kensington and Great Neck Plaza.
The first day to file indeindependent nominating petitions for the elections is Feb. 3, and the final day to file is Feb. 10, according to the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials.
All terms are for two years.
Great Neck Plaza has two open trustee seats – those held by Gerry Schneiderman and Lawrence Katz. Both have said they will run for re-election.
Great Neck attorney Jonathan Stein recently announced he intends to challenge Schneiderman and Katz.
Stein, who said he decided to run in November but didn’t announce it publicly until early this year, criticized the current Great Neck Plaza leadership in a recent interview, saying they had failed to adequately address the number of empty storefronts in the village and put “Band-Aids” on issues.
Stein also appeared before the village board in early January, saying he was concerned with the parking issues Great Neck Plaza faces.
Schneiderman has been a trustee since 2000, and served as chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals from 1982 until 2000. Katz has been a trustee since 2012, and served as a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals from 2010 until 2012.
Village of Great Neck Plaza Justice Neil Finkston’s spot will also be up for election.
Great Neck Plaza trustees each receive $10,000 a year in salary, Great Neck Plaza Clerk and Treasurer Patricia O’Byrne said.
The mayoral and trustee positions in the other villages with upcoming elections do not receive a salary.
In Kensington, Alina Hendler and Darren Kaplan’s trustee seats will be up for election, said village Clerk and Treasurer Arlene Giniger.
Giniger said both Hendler and Kaplan have said they will run, but have not yet formally submitted their petitions.
In the Village of Russell Gardens, the seats of Kirschner and two trustees – Martin Adickman and Jane Krakauer are open, village Clerk and Treasurer Christine Blumberg said.
Blumberg said both Adickman and Krakauer have been trustees for a number of years. Kirschner would be serving his second term consecutive term as mayor if elected. He also served as mayor from 2003 to 2009, and has been a trustee for two decades. Adickman has served on the board since 2003. Krakauer has served since 2009.
Two trustee spots are open in Saddle Rock – those for trustees Mark Collins and David Schwartz – as well as the seat for mayor, currently held by Levy, said village Clerk and Treasurer Hinda Goldman.
Collins has been serving as trustee since 2005 and Schwartz has served since 2011.
Besides the mayor’s spot, Great Neck Estates will see elections in two trustee spots, held currently by William Warner and Sidney Krugman, said village administrator Kathleen Santelli.
Thomaston will see three elections as well, one for the mayor’s spot, held by Weinberg, and two trustee spots, held by Gary Noren and Jill Monoson, village administrator Barbara Daniels said.
