Voters will decide one mayor, one village justice and four trustees between New Hyde Park and Floral Park in elections next week. But with no contested races, the only drama left may be the turnout.
In New Hyde Park, two trustee seats are up for election, and both incumbents, Richard Coppola and Donna Squicciarino, are running. In Floral Park, Mayor Thomas Tweedy, Village Justice Douglas Hayden and Trustees Lynn Pombonyo and Dominick A. Longobardi all look to retain their seats.
The election is March 18, and polls for both villages will be open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. The polling place for New Hyde Park is Marcus Christ Community Center on Jericho Turnpike.
Floral Park has polling places at its pool building and two firehouses. A person’s polling place varies based on where he or she lives, but district election maps are available on the village’s website.
All four Floral Park candidates are running a joint campaign as members of the Floral Park Citizens Party, a non-partisan village political group.
Tweedy said he is seeking a third and final term as mayor to oversee the completion of construction on the village pool, which required a number of renovations due to its age.
“The reason I’m continuing is that we have a pool to complete,” he said. “Then I’ll go to the land of former mayors, wherever that is.”
Hayden, a former Nassau County assistant district attorney, has served as village justice since 1999. A graduate of Hofstra Law School, he now works as an executive vice president at a large insurance intermediary company, according to the Citizens Party’s campaign website.
Pombonyo, the former superintendent of Floral Park-Bellerose Elementary School District, is running her first race for trustee. She was appointed to her seat mid term by Tweedy to fill a vacancy.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when I asked and she said yes,” Tweedy said. “Lynn has such a great understanding of the village.”
Longobardi is the assistant to the sanitation commissioner of the Town of Hempstead and a lifelong resident of Floral Park, according to the party’s website.
In New Hyde Park, Squicciarino became just the second woman trustee the village’s history in 2013 when she was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Robert Lofaro upon his mayoral election, according to an article by Newsday. Prior to that, she had been serving as an accounting consultant to the village, the article says.
Coppola, a longtime firefighter, has served as a trustee for sixteen years, he said.
“I enjoy working for and serving the businesses and residents of New Hyde Park,” he said. “I try to be a problem solver and keep up the good work we’ve been doing.”
