Recreation Department – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
It’s June and summer’s just around the corner. Our long-awaited adult volleyball and basketball leagues open on Monday-Tuesday, June 14th and 15th, so registration has closed out. Our summer programs for adults and children start later in the month, with most for children starting on Saturday, June 26th or Monday, June 28th after schools close for the summer. Our camp programs, which are full, have an active waiting list. Spots will be added as local (Nassau County) health guidelines are updated.
We invite all to spend an enjoyable summer at our park and pool.
Conservation Society – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
Centennial Gardens looks beautiful and is open daily 12-5pm. Stop by for a relaxing visit and/or consider volunteering to adopt a garden and take care of it. Check out our magnificent Floral Park Centennial Gardens facebook page, created by the very talented Ann Moynagh, and the Gardens website at fpgarden.org, maintained by Steve Koste, for the latest amazing photos and updates.
Department of Public Works – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
As Nassau County has completed the Plainfield Ave. repaving, line striping is scheduled to begin tonight. This will include Don’t Block the Box markings on the corners of Elizabeth Street and Plainfield, and Magnolia/Woodbine Court and Plainfield. The right turn lane from Plainfield to Woodbine Court will also be remarked. Thanks to DPW and Superintendent Ginnane for all the coordination work that has enabled this project to proceed quickly and smoothly.
Beautifying Floral Park are now hanging flower baskets on Jericho Turnpike, hung by our DPW crews. Coming this week to Tulip and Covert Avenues will be their bright and colorful baskets, too. Enjoy spring in our business districts.
Chambers of Commerce and Our Businesses – Trustee Lynn Pombonyo
The latest Covert Fire Restoration update, sent out by Building Superintendent Renee Marcus on May 25th, is posted on our Village of Floral Park website and Hillcrest facebook page. In addition, Floral Park and Covert Avenue Chamber of Commerce members have received email copies.
Work has continued on ten of the eleven fire-damaged businesses as designated facades, walls, ceilings and other irreparable building pieces are removed.
The construction drawings for 43-61 Covert Avenue have been approved, and a permit will be issued as soon as that property owner has finalized contractor selection for the rebuilding project.
With respect to 41 Covert, there are no plans on file at this time and Superintendent Marcus’ office will continue to work with that property owner to establish direction and make some constructive progress.
Meanwhile, outdoor dining is in full swing at many of our restaurants that have created new, beautifully decorated spaces. So, celebrate the beginning of summer by SHOPPING AND DINING OUT LOCAL in Floral Park and Stewart Manor!
Fire Department – Trustee Archie Cheng
Chief Pat McAllister gave his year-end report to the Board on May 18th. He reported that there were 167 members consisting of 99 firefighters and EMS, 26 past and present chiefs, 3 honorary chiefs, 12 probationary members, 28 associate members and 2 chaplains. During the past year, there were 1,209 total calls which included 876 EMS calls, 112 Fire Calls, 322 auto accidents, 41 hazmat related calls, 28 carbon monoxide incidents, and 3 Mutual aids to other towns.
As I stated last year, most calls for assistance average about 1.5 to 2 hours in duration. That works out to approximately 2400 hours or 100 full days of time volunteered by our members, not including drills, meetings or other training. That truly is a staggering amount of time. We all know what a tough year our Fire Department endured with COVID and 4 major fires and we again want to thank all of our volunteers for their dedication, community service and professionalism.
Yesterday, was a step towards normalcy. The Department commemorated Memorial Day with a Fire Department apparatus caravan parade as well as a short marching parade complete with the American Legion, Police and Fire Department’s color guards and the Fire Department’s marching band. The parade was viewed by many of our residents and all appreciated that our long standing Village’s remembrance of Memorial Day had returned.
Beautification Committee – Trustee Frank Chiara
Our wonderful volunteer Floral Park Beautification committee, which was revitalized back in 1995 by Chairperson Mr. Corbett, currently spearheaded by Ms. Donna Sanchez with many assistants, was busy over the last few weekends planting over 3,000 plants around our Village. These volunteers not only plant these flowers but also maintain them throughout the season. They are a dedicated group of volunteers who take joy in seeing the beauty of their hard work bloom, adding to the aesthetics of our Village. If you see them watering or planting around town, please take a moment to THANK them for making our Village look beautiful! Thank You Donna and all the volunteers for making our Village look so nice!!
Building Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
The Floral Blvd reconstruction project is in its final stage. The base coat is complete, sealing in the entire milled pavement. Manhole covers and water valves are currently being adjusted in preparation for the finished paving. Weather dependent, it may be paved later this week or early next week. Residents will be notified when the paving will occur. Please use caution during the paving of this road. Once again there will be road closures and detours in the area while this is occurring. This work is near completion and the road has already shown a noticeable improvement. Thank you for all the patience our residents have exhibited while this work is being performed.
Once this road is totally complete, our Police Department will do a traffic and speed assessment to determine if any adjustments are needed to ensure a safe environment on and about this roadway.
The Villages sidewalk program, which inspects our sidewalks for any poor or hazardous conditions, will be occurring in the West End, starting June 2. If notified of any needed repairs, residents will have 20 days to hire a contractor or have the worked performed by the Village. If the Village performs the repair, residents will then be billed. Residents who opt to hire their own contractor require a Village permit to perform the work. Please contact the Dept. of Buildings at 516-326-6320 with any questions or concerns regarding this program.
Starting June 2, 2021, a small number of permit fees will be adjusted. There will be slight increase to the plumbing, pool, ARB and special use applications as well as for certificate of occupancy searches. Updated applications with the new fees will be available online June 2, 2021. These increases are necessary to keep up with the expenses for processing these applications and will be comparable to the fees from other area communities.
Police Department – Trustee Frank Chiara
Tonight we were happy to recognize and promote to Detective, Floral Park Police Officer Robert King. Officer King has been serving our community as a dedicated Officer for 24 ½ years. He is a well-trained Officer with a strong work ethic, who has protected our community while performing his duties admirably. He has been living in the Village for 50 years, where he and his wife are currently raising their two children. Congratulations Rob on this well-deserved promotion. We are confident that you will be an excellent Detective. We wish you all the best in your new position and have a safe career.
We would also like to thank and recognize all the other fine candidates that presented themselves to us during this process. We are very fortunate to have such well-trained and dedicated Officers in our Department, making our decision for advancement very difficult. Thank You!
Once again, the Police Department would like to remind all our residents to drive safely and obey the traffic regulations. Especially during this season, our streets are filled with our children moving out and about. Please keep all safe by avoiding speeding and obeying the traffic regulations.
This weekend on Saturday, June 5, 2021, the annual Belmont Stakes Race will take place. Although it is not a Triple Crown, we do anticipate an increase in traffic and visitors to our community. Please enjoy the day and be careful while moving around the Village.
Floral Park Library – Trustee Jennifer Stewart
The Library continues to welcome the warm weather with an array of fun activities for residents of all ages. Some of these activities are; Chefs of d’future with their Father’s Day cupcake decorating, teen yoga on the library lawn along with virtual chair yoga. Family Pre-school hour is a particularly fun event for the youngest of our readers and their caregivers. June 9th will feature an online course called “How to Manage Your Paperwork Without Losing Your Mind”, register online at floralparklibrary.org or at the reference desk in the library.
The Tween Spot received an impressive addition this past week when the sign created by children’s librarian Kelly Fernandez was displayed in the nearly completed “Tween Spot”.
The Library is also a nominee in the Best of Nassau County Contest 2021 as BEST PUBLIC LIBRARY! To vote, please register at islandnow.net/contest2021. You can vote daily until July 2. Thank you for your support!
Pool Department – Trustee Jennifer Stewart
Minor repairs to the pool are expected to be completed by the end of the week and then the pool will be ready to be filled for the Summer 2021 season. We continue to wait for updated guidance from the NYS DOH regarding capacity. As of now we still must operate under the 2020 guidance which calls for limiting capacity, therefore we will begin the season with two sessions; we are, however, beginning the season with most of our programs. Many programs are filling up so get your applications in as soon as you can. Looking forward to seeing everyone at first splash on June 13th!
Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald
Last Monday, Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo, Trustee Frank Chiara, Building Superintendent Renee Marcus, Village Administrator Gerry Bambrick and I met with members of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD) to discuss the Belmont project. Floral Park has met with both ESD and Senator Kaplan’s office to discuss the project a number of times since 2019 and the Village’s proposal for various mitigation measures. We are waiting to hear back from them and have been updating the neighbors on the dead ends on an almost daily basis.
June is graduation month. In addition to the upcoming public school graduations, I would like to congratulate those students from Floral Park who are graduating from St. Francis Prep, Chaminade, Archbishop Molloy, Sacred Heart Academy, The Mary Louis Academy, Kellenberg Memorial High School and the 2 young adults, and a very special young man from Holy Trinity Diocesan High School.
Yesterday, we celebrated with a Memorial Day Parade in the Village and it was a great success. It was nice to see everyone back at Memorial Park to participate in the live service. For those of you who are civic minded, there will be a Flag Retirement Ceremony hosted by the American Legion on Friday, June 4th at 7PM at the Recreation Parking Lot. The American Legion has received a couple of thousands of pounds of American flags. It is a very interesting ceremony and thanks to all who have properly disposed of their used flags as they will properly be retired. Thank you.
