Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman was elected president of the Great Neck Village Officials Association at the group’s meeting last Wednesday night, shortly after ending his tenure as president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association.
Kreitzman, who was vice president of the group, switched positions with Village of Kensington Mayor Susan Lopatkin, who had headed the group for the past two-year term.
“I’m delighted to serve and honored to follow the great residents who have preceded me,” Kreitzman said. “Obviously we’re going to continue to do what we do best – to inform, educate and advocate for the villages.”
Kreitzman said the move fulfilled a promise he had made to Leonard Samansky, the long-time mayor of Saddle Rock who died in 2011.
Kreitzman said he had told Samansky he would seek the presidency of the Great Neck Village Officials Association six years ago, but had decided to wait until his tenure at the Nassau County Village Officials Association was finished to more fully commit to the position.
The group plays an important role in facilitating communication between villages on issues that affect the entire peninsula such as road projects, Kreitzman said.
“This is one peninsula. No village can serve its residents without looking at the entire peninsula,” he said. “We all rely on each other for something.”
Lopatkin expressed confidence in Kreitzman’s leadership of the group and said she was pleased with the work done over her two years in office, which included hosting speakers from the Long Island Power Authority, the Water Authority of Great Neck North and Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Dale.
“It was actually a very enjoyable two years. I thought that we had some wonderful speakers from all different aspects of the community and governmental life,” Lopatkin said.
Hurricane Sandy, which left much of Great Neck without power for nearly two weeks, demonstrated the importance of communication between villages, Lopatkin said, and foreshadowed one of the association’s upcoming initiatives – a peninsula-wide emergency management system.
