Village of Lake Success Mayor Ronald Cooper on Monday announced the retirement of Lake Success Police Chief William Lang, who had joined the department in 1981 and became police chief in 2006.
“Chief Lang has served this village for 32 years and we thank him for his devoted service. He has led the department with great leadership and integrity and a grateful village wishes him and his wife Katherine a long and happy retirement, Cooper said in a press release after making the announcement at the Lake Success Board of Trustees meeting.
The board approved the promotion of Lt. Joseph Gardella to the position of chief of police, effective May 24, the day of Lang’s retirement.
Cooper said in the release that Gardella, who joined the department in 1990, “has earned this promotion by his leadership and dedication to the community. I look forward to working with him as our new police chief and wish him the best as he takes on his new duties.”
There will be a formal “Walk Out” ceremony for Lang’s retirement on May 23 at 1 p.m. in front of the Police Department Building at 15 Vanderbilt Drive.
Cooper said that on May 14, he, along with Deputy Mayor Stephen Lam and Trustee Paul Glantz, would be interviewing two sergeants applying for the vacant lieutenant position. The board will then introduce the new lieutenant at their June meeting.
The board also discussed the village board of appeals acceptance of an environmental impact statement for a long-discussed Jain Center religious facility on five acres of property in Lake Success
“An application has been pending before this village in one form or another since 1997,” Village attorney Peter Mineo said of the facility, which would serve members of Jainism, an ancient Indian religion with around 6 million global followers.
Both trustees Adam Hoffman and Gene Kaplan voiced concerns about the numerous false starts to fund construction of the center.
“What if there is an eyesore there for six or eight or 10 years, if they’re building it piecemeal as they come up with the funds?” asked Kaplan.
Hoffman said the center had never shown it had the funds to proceed before.
“Is there any type of guarantee we can have before they start that says they have enough money to build this place?” he asked.
Mineo responded, “No. You can’t impose requirements on them that they have to show you a financial ability to complete the project.”
The Jain Center of America built a temple in Elmhurst, Queens in 2005, and Mineo cited this as a possible reason why it has taken over 15 years for them to move forward on the project in Lake Success.
Mineo said he expects the application to come before the board of trustees for a final decision in September.
