When Anthony Vaglica was a member of the New Hyde Park Fire Department, he received awards for saving the lives of two unconscious residents.
Now Vaglica is running for New Hyde Park Fire District commissioner with a promise to save money and make the Village of New Hyde Park a more affordable place to live.
“If elected the main thing that I would do is go out there and like no one has done in the past, try to put money back in the pockets of the taxpayers,” Vaglica said. “None of the fire district board members as far back as 30 years have ever tried to do that.”
Vaglica is challenging New Hyde Park Fire District Commissioner Rick Stein in the Dec. 13 election.
One of Vaglica’s goals if elected is to find a way to lower the fire hydrant rental fees imposed on the district by the Water Authority of Western Nassau County, which he said total more than $400,000 a year.
“There is no reason why we have to pay that kind of money for rentals,” Vaglica said. “The first thing I want to do is sit down with board of the Water Authority of Western Nassau County and ask how are we going to cut this in half? I am at least going to try very hard to cut it in half, or if I can get it cut by 30, 20 or even 10 percent.”
Vaglica said he would look into ways for the state to help pay for the rental fees by reaching out to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.
Insurance costs for the district also account for more than $500,000 of the $3.2 million budget, something Vaglica says he also plans to address if elected.
“I don’t know how it’s broken down, but that sounds like a crazy number to be paying for insurance,” Vaglica said. “I myself live in New Hyde Park and I pay $20,000 to live here and that is ridiculous. How about all the elderly that really can’t pay it? Every dollar at that point counts for them.”
A New Hyde Park resident since 1974 Vaglica first joined the New Hyde Park Fire Department in 1985, climbing the ranks to become elected as deputy chief in 2000 and taking over as chief in 2005. His is married to his wife Tina and has four children.
“I was always following fire trucks when I was young,” Vaglica said. “I’ve always enjoyed being a firefighter. I put my heart and soul into that place.”
Two of the awards Vaglica received on duty was for saving two people. Vaglica said he doesn’t consider what he did a big deal.
“It was like any other call you have as far as a rescue call,” Vaglica said. “In my eyes I was just doing my job. The medal means nothing.”
Vaglica was also given a service award for helping to put out the sunrise fires at the East Pine barracks in 1995, and for one for helping for five days at ground zero following the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Recently Vaglica put up $6,000 of his own money to help pay for new uniforms for the New Hyde Park Memorial freshmen, junior varsity and varsity football teams.
Vaglica said he left the New Hyde Park Fire Department in 2008 to devote more time to his family, work on his construction business and make improvements on his house.
He is the owner of V.A.R. Home Improvements inc, which he started in 2004. His business does construction on stoops, roofs, bathrooms, and extensions.
After years of working on his house and business he decided to run for commissioner because he felt the time was right.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a few years, and I felt that this is the perfect time to do it,” Vaglica said. “It being that I’m caught up, after working on building my house for the last two years. Before I had no time to commit, but now everything is done and I have plenty of time on my own. I’m the type of guy if I commit to something I commit 100 percent. I also work in the village so if anything happens at the fire house I can be right there.”
Along with working towards cutting costs on fire rentals and health insurance, Vaglica would like to work on internal issue such as getting rid of part-time workers and only have full-time workers.
“I’d like to streamline the employees a little more and get a 12-hour shift schedule where there is somebody at the fire houses 24 hours a day.”
Vaglica is a member of the New Hyde Park Dad’s Club, as well as a contributor to the Gladiator’s Fund, Sons of Italy; Cellini Lodge, and the Nassau County Firefighters Operation Wounded Warriors.
“With the ongoing support and positive reinforcement I have received from both community members and firefighters alike, I pledge to be a valuable voice for the New Hyde Park Fire District and its residents while on the board,” Vaglica said.
