By the end of November six of the Floral Park police departments most senior officers, two lieutenants, two sergeants and two officers, will be retiring.
“This represents over 200 years of police experience in our village,” Trustee Archie Cheng said. “In a department our size rarely does this much turnover occur.”
Current officers in the department are poised for opportunities of advancement in rank and the board has already begun conducting interviews to fill the positions, Cheng said.
Police officer John Wilson was promoted to the rank of Sgt. by the village Board of Trustees at a meeting Wednesday night.
“It has been a pleasure to watch you through the last 28 years working for our village,” Cheng said.
Wilson’s promotion comes as the 33-member department is going through a process of retiring and hiring.
Five of the 18 unanimously passed agenda items from Wednesday’s meeting involved the police department. In addition to Wilson’s promotion, letters of irrevocable resignation from Lieutenant Mike Suppe and Sergeant Ronald Gagliano were accepted.
Termination pay was ratified for retired police officers Lt. Michael P. Reid, Sgt. Joseph Oswald and officers John Crilley and John Marrinan.
Lt. Reid previously served as the department’s commissioner from 1993 to 2010.
“We did lose a number of our senior police personnel this week,” Mayor Dominick Longobardi said. “I want to thank all of those gentlemen who are leaving and for those that are moving up, I know they will be learning from the expertise of the people who are there.”
The hiring of four police officers selected from the Nassau County Civil Service Commission’s List was also approved.
The officers are Anthony Siragusa, Kelly Murphy, Michael Bauer and Mark Puleo. Nimfa Wolfe was also hired as a full-time, neighborhood aide in the police department.
The first phases of construction for the Long Island Railroad third track expansion is about to begin at South Tyson Avenue, Cheng said. A supporting struck for a new bridge for the track expansion will be erected where the Hempstead and Ronkonkoma branches diverge.
Phase one of the project will concentrate on the opening of the east side of Tulip Avenue and the west side of South Tyson.
Some 22 total parking spots will be eliminated in the area as a result of the construction. Contractors will provide 30 spots to those with a village under railroad parking permit at the Storage Post at 50 Carnation Avenue, Cheng said.
Phase one is expected to be completed in approximately four months, Cheng said.
