With combined budgets rivaling the town’s in size, North Hempstead’s 26 commissioner-operated special districts are heavy on tax dollars but light on candidates for their upcoming elections.
Of nine district commissions with upcoming elections, only the Great Neck and Manhasset park districts have contested races.
In the other seven, incumbent commissioners are running unopposed to retain their seats, which some of them have held as long as 20 years or more.
Great Neck Park District
One of the contested races has a former Great Neck Park District employee, Chandev Perera, challenging Robert Lincoln, the incumbent commissioner under whom he worked.
Perera worked for the district from 1992 until March, when he took a job with the U.S. Tennis Association.
In a November interview, he touted his knowledge and first-hand experience working within the district. He also said he would advocate for a limit on the number of terms commissioners can serve.
“I see it from the point of view of having worked there and seeing the ins and outs of the daily ongoing of the park district,” Perera said. “I have an understanding better than anyone coming in.”
Lincoln was first elected to the commission in 2000 and his running for his sixth three-year term.
In that time, he said, he and the other commissioners have made the district’s government more transparent and led renovations to several district facilities.
“I believe that my experience has demonstrated a good track record. I am open and responsive to all residents of the park district,” Lincoln said in November. “I still work as hard as I did the first day I took office.”
The park district has a 2016 budget of more than $18.7 million.
Polls for the Dec. 8 election are open from 3-9 p.m. at the polling places for the park district’s four election districts.
Residents of district one, which includes the Village of Kings Point, Saddle Rock Estates and areas of the Village of Great Neck east of Middle Neck Road, north of Hicks Lane and west of Middle Neck Road, can vote at the Great Neck House at 14 Arrandale Ave.
Residents of district two, which includes areas east of Middle Neck Road in the Village of Great Neck and the unincorporated areas of the Town of North Hempstead south of the Village of Great Neck and north of the Village of Kensington, can vote at the E.M. Baker School at 69 Baker Hill Road.
Residents of district three, which includes the Villages of Great Neck Plaza, Thomaston and Kensington, can vote at the Great Neck Social Center at 80 Grace Ave.
District four includes the Village of Russell Gardens, unincorporated areas including the Great Neck Terrace Apartments, Lakeville, Upland, Lake Success Hills and Lake Success Manor, and the other unincorporated areas bounded by Great Neck Road on the north and west, Northern Boulevard on the south and Middle Neck Road to the east.
Residents of district four can vote at the Manhasset-Lakeville Company 4 Firehouse at 97 Jayson Ave. in Great Neck.
Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District
Manhasset-Lakeville Fire and Water District Commissioner Brian Morris is making an unopposed bid for a third three-year term.
Morris, a former chief of the Manhasset Lakeville Fire Department, said he is focused on the needs and safety of the residents of the district.
“We continue to provide water infrastructure improvement projects and to oversee the updating of the finest fire and rescue apparatus for the safety and protection of our residents and community,” he said in an e-mail.
The districts serve Manhasset and parts of Great Neck and North New Hyde Park. Their combined 2016 budget is about $17.7 million.
Voters can cast ballots at four Manhasset-Lakeville firehouses: Company 1 at 35 Bayview Ave. in Manhasset, Company 3 at 25 Prospect St. in Great Neck, Company 4 at 97 Jayson Ave. in Great Neck and Company 5 at 21 78th Ave. in New Hyde Park.
Manhasset Park District
The Manhasset Park District race pits incumbent David Paterson against Jesus “Jay” Hernandez, who is making his second bid for a commissioner’s seat.
Paterson touted the commission’s steps toward transparency, including an online incident reporting form, and its efforts to work with North Hempstead’s town government to enforce parking rules on Plandome Road.
“(I want to) make sure more people knew what was going on,” said Paterson, who is running for his second three-year term. “In the end, I work for them.”
Hernandez, who served a nine-month appointment on the commission and lost a race for a seat last year, said commissioners make too many decisions behind closed doors and could have a better working relationship with the town.
“(I) don’t care who gets the credit, (I) just (want to) get it done,” he said. “All I want to do is to serve Manhasset.”
The district has a 2016 budget of about $1.5 million.
Voters who live in the district can cast ballots from 12-9 p.m. at Manhasset-Lakeville Company 1 Firehouse at 35 Bayview Ave. in Manhasset.
Great Neck Water
Pollution Control District
Great Neck Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Steve Reiter has touted his efforts to ensure “the highest quality service at the lowest possible cost” in his unopposed bid for a second three-year term.
Steps toward that mission include his and the commission’s securing more than $2 million in state grants and overseeing the installation of a new micro-turbine cogeneration facility, which Reiter said helped prevent an increase in the district’s tax levy.
“We are the highest performing, most environmentally friendly sewer service in Nassau County because of the dedication of our team in constantly supporting and advocating on behalf of our residents,” said Reiter, a Village of Great Neck resident.
The district serves villages of Great Neck, Great Neck Plaza, Kensington, Thomaston and Saddle Rock as well as parts of Manhasset. It has a 2016 budget of just over $9 million.
District residents can vote to re-elect Reiter Dec. 8 from 3-9 p.m. at the Great Neck Social Center at 80 Grace Ave. or the E.M. Baker School at 69 Baker Hill Ave.
Garden City Park
Fire and Water Districts
Veteran firefighter Chris Engel is running unopposed for his fifth three-year term on the Board of Commissioners for the Garden City Park Fire and Water Districts.
Engel, a Garden City Park resident, said he is proud of the commission’s efforts to keep up with quickly changing fire and water technologies.
To that end, he said, the district recently started installing a system that will give automatic readings from customers’ water meters.
“I don’t buy for today, I buy for tomorrow,” Engel said. “Because I’m not going to be here forever.”
The districts cover Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, and parts of New Hyde Park, Mineola, North Hills, Roslyn, Williston Park, Albertson and Garden City. Their combined 2016 budget is about $7.3 million.
Voters can cast ballots from 4:30-9 p.m. Dec. 8 at the district headquarters at 333 Marcus Ave. in Garden City Park.
Roslyn Water District
Roslyn Water District Commissioner Michael Kosinski, the unopposed candidate for his eighth three-year term, is among the longest-serving incumbents up for re-election.
Kosinski has served on the commission since 1994 and is its current chair.
The East Hills resident said the commission’s most recent accomplishments include using reserve funds to pay for several infrastructure projects, including the installation of a new generator and the upcoming construction of a new booster station.
“We’re in the background working 24/7,” Kosinski said.
The district serves the villages of Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, East Hills, and parts of Roslyn Heights, Roslyn Harbor, Flower Hill, North Hills, Greenvale, Albertson, Glenwood Landing and Port Washington. Its 2016 budget is more than $4.5 million.
Voters can cast ballots for Kosinski from 4-9 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Bryant Library at 2 Paper Mill Road in Roslyn.
New Hyde Park
Fire District
Michael Bonura, another veteran firefighter, is running unopposed for a second full term as a commissioner in the New Hyde Park Fire District.
Bonura, the commission’s vice chairman, was first elected to his seat in 2008, when he won a special election after another commissioner left. His father-in-law, James Nagy, also sits on the board.
In that time, he said, the district has done its best to keep up with stronger state regulations that particularly affect its medical program. That and continued building maintenance needs led to a larger budget and a 9.73-percent district tax increase this year.
“That’s the difficult part, is trying to keep taxes as low as you can,” Bonura said. But at the same time you want make sure that you have the best equipment to get to the scene … .”
The district serves the Village of New Hyde Park and the unincorporated areas in North New Hyde Park. Its 2016 budget is just under $4.2 million.
Residents can vote to re-elect Bonura from 1-9 p.m. Dec. 8 at the district headquarters at 1555 Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park.
Shelter Rock Library
On Tuesday, the 40 voters who cast ballots in the Shelter Rock Public Library District gave unopposed incumbent trustee Dr. Tharakaram Ravishankar his second full five-year term on the library board.
Ravishankar, an endrocrinologist affiliated with North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset who practices in Glen Head, became the first non-white trustee in the library’s history when he was appointed in 2009.
The 37-year Roslyn resident retained the seat in a special election that year and won his first full term in December 2010.
Before taking his place on the library board, Ravishankar was a Herricks school board trustee in the 1990s and has been active in local community organizations.
Ravishankar touted his and the board’s efforts to build up the library’s programs for children and seniors, as well as its adaptation to technological changes.
“It’s a positive place for children and adults and senior citizens,” he said. “I’m very proud of being part of the library. It’s helping the community.”
The library, based in Albertson, has a 2016 budget of about $4.2 million.
Belgrave Water Pollution Control District
Belgrave Water Pollution Control District Commissioner Brian Levings is running unopposed for a sixth term.
Levings touted the commission’s infrastructure improvements, including replacing the district’s chlorination filters with new ultraviolet ones and the upcoming installation of a new outflow pipe.
“I’m looking forward to running again and keeping up with the plant and keeping our taxes down for our constituents,” said Levings, a Great Neck Plaza resident.
The district administers sewage services for University Gardens, Russell Gardens, western parts of Great Neck Plaza between Great Neck Road and Cuttermill Road and the unincorporated areas on the peninsula. It has a 2016 budget of more than $3.7 million.
District residents can vote to re-elect Levings from 3-9 p.m. at the Manhasset-Lakeville Company 4 Firehouse at the corner of Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Great Neck.
Albertson Water District
Albertson Water District Commissioner Howard Abbondondelo is running unopposed for a fourth three-year term on the board.
Former Mineola school board Trustee John McGrath ran against Abbondondelo in 2012, but the incumbent won in a landslide 377-26 vote. Abbondondelo also served as president of the Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners’ Association in 2014.
In a May interview, Abbondondelo touted the installation of new, larger water mains on McKinley Avenue, the digging of a fifth well and the installation of a new computerized meter-reading system as evidence the commission has prepared the district well for the future.
“We’re like the district of 2016,” he said. “I pride myself because we’re always on top of our infrastructure, and if we have any problems, we solve them.”
The district serves Albertson, Searingtown and parts of Roslyn Heights. Its 2016 budget stands at more than $3.1 million.
Voters can cast ballots to re-elect Abbondondelo from 3-9 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Albertson Firehouse, located at 100 I.U. Willets Road.
