Residents will vote in a heavily contested election in Manorhaven on Tuesday as candidates vie for mayor and two open trustee seats.
Trustee James Avena is running for mayor against former Mayor Gary Pagano, who served from 1992 to 1998.
Four candidates, including one incumbent, are competing for two trustee seats.
The candidates include Barbara Ruemenapp, Kenneth Kraft, Roy Smitheimer and Priscilla von Roeschlaub, the incumbent.
Mayor Giovanna Giunta and Trustee Kevin Gately are not running for re-election.
All candidates promise change as the village board confronts the issue of whether to allow development along the waterfront.
Pagano, of the Above Board Party, said one of his reasons for running for mayor is to change the “dysfunctional board.”
“I feel that the Village of Manorhaven has reached a tipping point,” Paganon said in a statement. “It is the most densely populated village in NYS. The builders and developers have had too much influence over the village government for the past decade. Had I not entered the race, my opponent would have run unopposed. His positions are clearly in opposition to our platform and the voters need a choice. I could no longer stand by idly, while the village’s quality of life continues to deteriorate towards the point of not return.”
Pagano said if elected he plans to reinstate an effective snow removal plan and eliminate the alternate side of the street parking now in effect for four months in the winter in favor of emergency parking plans.
Avena, of the Manorhaven Residents Party, said if elected he plans to ease parking problems, including limiting alternate side parking to snow emergencies, institute an effective snow removal plan, fully staff code enforcement, buildings and public works and make sure that they function at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness, and repair and maintain the infrastructure needed for the dense population.
“I want to put the discord that has become commonplace in our village’s politics behind us and move forward with our residents for a better Manorhaven,” Avena said. “This negative, self-serving energy is harming our beautiful village’s reputation and prevents our government from operating effectively.”
Running alongside Pagano, Ruemenapp, a founding member of the Manorhaven Action Committee, a village civic group, said she is running for trustee because she wants to improve the village and save the waterfront.
“The residents of Manorhaven deserve a decent place to live,” Ruemenapp said. “This village has had interference from outside interests that have overbuilt and overburdened our aging infrastructure. Its time for the residents to have representation that will consider their concerns and protect their interests.”
Smitheimer, who is on the same party line as von Roeschlaub and Avena, said he’s running because he believes he has the right experience to serve as Manorhaven trustee and has extensive experience in municipal operations.
“I know how to make government run, I know how to take visions, have a target and meet that target,” said Smitheimer, deputy director of the Town of North Hempstead Business and Tourism Development Corporation.
Smitheimer served as Port Washington police commissioner from 1996 to 1998 and was a founder of the Port Washington Business Improvement District where he served for more than 24 years.
Von Roeschlaub, who is a retired real estate broker, said she believes she has the knowledge and experience to serve another two-year term as trustee.
If elected, Von Roeschlaub said, she’d like to “create a more beautiful village,” including enhancements to Manorhaven Boulevard and a thriving commercial district, with high quality shops and restaurants.
Kraft, on the Proactive Party line, said if elected he would like to create a “workable village board,” which he said has been lacking.
“It’s been like a gridlock, nothing can get done,” Kraft, a retired Nassau County police officer, said. “And the only people that suffer are the people in the village.’’
The village of Manorhaven will hold elections on Tuesday, June 21, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall.
In Sands Point, incumbent trustees Lynn Najman and Peter Forman as well as Village Justice Alyson Adler filed for re-election and will run unopposed.
The trustees are running for two-year terms; Adler is seeking a four-year term.
The Village of Sands Point will hold elections on Tuesday, June 21, from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall.
