When Nancy Riterato took the job of village clerk for the Village of North Hills, she didn’t expect to be on the job for nearly 30 years.
But she nearly reached that point before retiring last week after more than 28 years on the job.
“I never thought I would ever, ever be here for as long as I was,” Riterato said.
When she applied for the job – which she said she didn’t expect to get – she had just graduated from Queens College with a bachelors degree in elementary education.
A friend tipped her North Hills was looking for a clerk-treasurer.
Riterato had taken business law and accounting courses, and as a mother with two children, the 9-to-4 hours suited her. She had graduated cum laude from Queens College having received an offer for a scholarship to earn her masters degree, so she said she didn’t envision staying in the job for long.
There was no deputy clerk or anyone else to show her the ropes when she started working in the administration of former North Hills Mayor Lowell Kane. So, she said, it was an “initiation by fire.”
Riterato said she immediately got involved with the Long Island Clerks and Treasurers Association, serving as its secretary for many years and eventually as its president.
While in her position, she earned her certification as a registered municipal clerk at Syracuse University through the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
She said she also often attended seminars of the New York Council of Mayors to learn how to run village elections and for other aspects of her job. She said she found those seminars “invaluable” to her work and enjoyed the opportunity the seminars provided for networking and the chance to form friendships with other treasurers and clerks.
“I’ve really come a long way in learning things,” she said.
After Kane, Riterato served iwith two other mayors – John Lentini, who held the position for 13 years before his death while serving in office and Marvin Natiss, who’s been in office for the past decade.
Riterato said working with Natiss had been “very interesting” but it’s the changes that occur in village government itself that has held her interest for her nearly 30 years.
“I think what’s kept me here is it’s never been boring. The laws are constantly changing. Policies are constantly changing, so there’s the challenge of keeping up with how it’s done,” she said.
The North Hills Village Board showed its appreciation for Riterato’s service by presenting her with a necklace at last Wednesday night’s board meeting.
“She spent 28 years as a dedicated employee of the Village of North Hills. Obviously we’re sorry to see her retire, but we wish her well on her retirement,” Natiss said.
The funniest incident Riterato recalled during her tenure occurred when Lentini, who had been a village trustee, was running for mayor, she said. His opponent was out to discredit Lentini’s record and directly attacked her as part of his administration during the campaign, she said. He even threatened to fire her and other village department heads if he was elected.
A candidates debate was to be held in Village Hall on a Saturday and Lentini asked Riterato to be present in case he needed quick access to documents, she said. She came to Village Hall casually dressed in shorts and a tank top, intending to stay in her office. But at one point, she went to the ladies room and when she came out, heard Lentini’s opponent sounding off about her in the village board chamber.
“Tank top and all, I went into the room and stood behind him shaking my head,” she said.
She doesn’t recall if she drew any laughs, but she said, “I like to think that’s part of the reason he lost.”
In her retirement, she and her husband, Russ, a retired New York Transit Authority engineer, plan to move to Sarasota, Fla, where she said she plans to enjoy cycling, reading and going back to school.
“I love learning. One of the things I’m going to pursue is taking courses in colleges down there,” she said.
Although she’s looking forward to retirement, she said leaving her position and the friends she’s made in North Hills is a bittersweet experience.
“It’s a career. It’s a life. It’s a family,” Riterato said. “My life has been this job. It really has.
