8 village elections, 8 uncontested races

Dan Glaun

Residents of the villages of Kings Point, Great Neck and Lake Success will head to the polls Tuesday, with incumbent trustees running in uncontested elections in all three villages.

In Kings Point, Trustee Ron Horowitz is running for re-election and Hooshang Nematzadeh is running for election for the first after being appointed last year. 

Village of Lake Success trustees Adam Hoffman, Gene Kaplan and David Milner are running for re-election, and in the Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman, Deputy Mayor Mitchell Beckerman and Trustee Jeffrey Bass are running for re-election.

There will be one shake-up among the uncontested races – Village of Great Neck Trustee Mark Birnbaum, who still has one year left in his term, is running uncontested for village justice. Kreitzman will appoint a successor after the election to serve out the remainder of Birnbaum’s term.

Residents can vote at their village halls – 61 Baker Hill Road in the Village of Great Neck, 32 Steppingstone Lane in Kings Point and 318 Lakeville Road in Lake Success.

In statements released by the Village of Great Neck candidates, Kreitzman, Beckerman, Bass and Birnbaum cited their reasons for seeking election.

“The trustees and I have embarked on a number of very important projects and I would like to help guide them to fruition,” wrote Kreitzman, citing major road repaving projects and ongoing efforts to rezone Middle Neck Road and parts of Steamboat Road. Kreitzman also touted the village’s upcoming consolidation of its sewer district with the Great Neck Water Pollution Control District, which he wrote would save the village money.

“I am running for re-election because I want to continue on as a member of the team that works so hard and in such a caring fashion to protect the safety of our residents, while maintaining the quality of life we have come to enjoy. Just witness the number of streets that have been repaved in an annual and methodical fashion,” wrote Bass in his statement. “Look at all of the trees that have been planted. All of this and much more while enjoying  AAA Bond ratings! I am proud to be working with my colleagues on the Board in caring for today and planning for our future.”

“Many people still ask me why I want to run again for the board of trustees given the time it takes away from your family and business.  My answer is still that I feel that a lot has been accomplished during my almost 12 years on the board, but there are many challenges that we, as a village are facing, that my experience will help resolve,” wrote Beckerman citing what he described as his efforts to monitor village finances and produce fiscally responsible budgets.

Birnbaum wrote that his experience as a public official, including stints on the board of zoning appeals and his ongoing role as Great Neck police commissioner, qualify him to be the village justice.

“After over 22 years as a Great Neck Village official I believe I am well qualified to be village justice,” Birnbaum wrote.

In an interview, Nematzadeh, who was appointed in October after the resignation of trustee Peter Aron, said his top priority was maintaining services while minimizing tax increases.

“I believe the most important issue is to maintain the quality of life,” Nematzadeh said.

Nematzadeh, who also serves as president of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce, is currently developing a mixed residential-retail apartment building in Great Neck Plaza. But, he said, such buildings are not right for Kings Point’s historic character.

“Those kind of properties should be concentrated in commercial areas,” Nematzadeh said. “The value of Kings Point is because of [its historic housing.] Because of history that it had, because of quality of life that it had.”

“I am truly enjoying the experience and I am grateful to the residents of Kings Point for the opportunity,” added Nematzadeh in a statement. “I also hope that my elections can inspire others in the Iranian American community to participate in the local governments functions.”

Lake Success’ candidates and Horowitz did not respond to requests for interviews.


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