Arlene Giniger, village clerk and treasurer of Kensington, dies at 63

Janelle Clausen
Arlene Giniger, the village clerk-treasurer of Kensington, had served the village for 10 years. (Photo courtesy of the Village of Kensington)
Arlene Giniger, the village clerk-treasurer of Kensington, had served the village for 10 years. (Photo courtesy of the Village of Kensington)

Arlene Giniger, the Village of Kensington’s clerk and treasurer, died last Thursday, village officials announced this week, marking a “sudden and unexpected” loss. She was 63.

The cause was not known.

Giniger, a Kew Gardens resident, had served in the post since 2008, when Susan Lopatkin assumed her current role as mayor.

“It’s a loss to our village,” Lopatkin said late Tuesday night, recalling how the two of them “came in exactly the same time” and “kind of grew into the job together.”

Lopatkin added that Giniger was competent, effective, loyal and “very good at her job.”

Joe Gill, the clerk-treasurer of the Village of Great Neck and a fellow member of the Long Island Village Clerks and Treasurers Association, recalled Giniger as a woman who fought for her residents and against the consolidation of villages and policies aimed at encouraging it.

“One of her concerns was the state wanting to dissolve villages and combine, and I know that Kensington was quite happy being their own little village,” Gill said late Tuesday night. “So she was really a defender of the village in that regard.”

Patricia O’Byrne, the village clerk-treasurer at Great Neck Plaza, said she feels “really sad” about Giniger’s death. O’Byrne would periodically speak with Giniger over the phone, she said, and found her to be “always helpful” and “really lovely.”

“I don’t have a bad thing to say about her,” O’Byrne said on Wednesday morning.

Lopatkin said on Tuesday night that Giniger said she wasn’t feeling well and left her last meeting early. The cause of death is unclear, as no autopsy has been performed, but Lopatkin said Giniger had no prior health issues.

“We are very saddened,” Lopatkin said. “Extremely saddened.”

It was unclear if Giniger has any immediate survivors.

In an email sent to village residents on Monday, the Kensington Board of Trustees said Melissa McComb, the deputy clerk, would “be transitioned to be our main village clerk and treasurer” and that they are “immediately seeking to fill the position of deputy village clerk.”

“During this difficult time, we would greatly appreciate if you would refrain from contacting village hall unless it is an urgent need for the next two weeks,” the email reads. “Village hall may also be closed occasionally to allow us to work uninterrupted as needed.”

The email goes on to thank residents for their cooperation and says officials “do not have information at this time regarding memorial services for Arlene.”

Editor’s note: This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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