Zolezzi looks back on job done, praises team

Richard Tedesco

When Mayor Nancy Zolezzi first ran for office 12 years ago, she never expected to have such a long-running incumbency.

“I expected to this for four years, possibly eight,” she said, sitting in the vestibule of the new East Williston Village Hall that became the reason for her seeking a third term in office.

Planning for the new structure that now houses a host of activities, from classes for yoga, zumba and knitting to reading clubs and arts and crafts workshops for children through the East Williston Public

Library, began six years ago. And Zolezzi wanted to help finish the job.

The previous building lacked handicapped access entrances and was so small that most documents were stored off-site, and the library needed to be unpgraded.

“I was not going to run for election four years ago, but we had this in the works and I wanted to see it through,” she said. ” Now we have a center that is used and being used by the community. Every day of the week, there’s something going on here.”

Zolezzi said she will leave office this month with a sense of completion with the new municipal building and the upgraded streets around the village as her legacy.

The reconstruction and expansion of the village hall was a complex project that required a great deal of planning and preparation, including the relocation of gas pipes by National Grid that ran through what is now the center of the building.

The village board made a point to use local contractors for the job, including Colonial Crafters as the primary contractor. National Carpet did the carpeting, Nassau window and Door did the windows and Framing Mantis framed the pictures – many of them vintage historical paintings and photos of East Williston locales – that adorn the walls.

“We were proud to use local contractors first,” Zolezzi said.

Village building inspector Robert Campagna executed the design of the building, which expanded the available space considerably. The project also included development of a master plan for the village which entailed interviews with East Williston public officials and residents, according to Zolezzi.

“It was a process,” she said. “I’m proud of it and I’m proud of the board.

Zolezzi credits the previous deputy mayor Frank Cashen for his part and Trustee Michael Braito who, she said, “pushed along this project.”

Zolezzi gives full credit to the village board members she’s had around her since taking office more than a decade ago.

“I think I’ve probably been one of the luckiest mayors on Long Island because our board is so smart,” she said.

Zolezzi praised outgoing Deputy Mayor James Daw, Jr., an attorney, for his legal acumen and Trustee David Tanner – who ran on a ticket opposing Zolezzi’s independent candidacy – as a “real gentleman” who has helped upgrade the ratings of the village bonds.

It’s apparent from Zolezzi’s involvement in other community organizations that he she hasn’t held the mayor’s job for the $2,500 annual stipend she’s received. She remains president of the Rotary Club and a member of the Chamber of Commerce who started the annual street fair with her long-time friend, Dr. Nancy Breitbart.

“I kind of did it on a dare,” said Zolezzi, who ran the show on alternate years with Breitbart for 20 years.

She is also active in her church parish at St. Aidan as a eucharistic minister.

Married for 33 years to her husband Joe, them originally lived in Williston Park and moved to East Williston 25 years ago.

There are more than a few East Williston residents who are grateful for the time she served and the legacy she built.

“Some mayors of a small village sweep the streets and leave the future problems to others,” said Bobby Shannon, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Willistons, who is currently running for a seat on the village board. “Nancy leaves East Williston with a bright future, a more beautiful, safer and economically secure community.”

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