Flower Hill swears in new board trustee

The Island Now

When former Flower Hill Mayor Elaine Phillips announced her run for state Senate, Frank Genese was asked about possibly filling the open trustee seat, he said.

“Immediately, I said absolutely,” Genese said. “I’ve been helping out the village in a number of roles, and when they heard an opening might be coming up, they reached out. And I knew it was another way to give back to the community I live in.”

Genese, a Flower Hill resident for 15 years, was sworn in on Dec. 5, filling the seat of Bob McNamara, who was appointed mayor after Phillips’ Senate win.

Genese, an architect, joined the village’s architectural review board in 2013, after serving as the Munsey Park village architect consultant for 11 years.

When a seat on the village’s planning board opened, he filled it.

“Wherever there is a need for help in the village and the government reaches out asking for my help, I jump at it,” Genese said. “I am very community committed, so I am always looking to get involved.”

After only one meeting, Genese has already been appointed to a search committee to a find a new building inspector, with James Gilhooly retiring. 

“I’ll help Bob in whatever way he needs to transition,” he said. “I really don’t have a whole lot of experience, but I’ve been helping Bob as an adviser on how to restaff the village.”

McNamara said Genese was “the perfect fit” for the open trustee seat.

“When we were thinking about this, we felt like he would be great,” McNamara said.

Genese also serves as commissioner of the Town of North Hempstead’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

After working for the Queens Library as the vice president of capital and facilities management and as the vice president of D&B Engineers and Architects, Genese began working at N2 Project Management, a division of N2 Design + Architecture in Port Washington.

N2 Project Management provides management services, advising and representation of owners building new projects.

For 10 years, Genese was an adjunct professor at the New York City College of Technology, teaching architecture classes, as well as financial analysis classes, construction management and project management classes.

While teaching, he also worked as the senior director of facilities and operations at the college.

Genese earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in architecture from the University at Buffalo.

Genese said now that his daughter, Rebecca, and son, Matt, are grown up, he has more time to focus on volunteer roles within the village’s government.

“I have a lot of ideas, but I really need to kind of see what Bob’s direction is going to be before I formulate any ideas,” he said. “But I do want to continue improving the village’s infrastructure, making sure every road is up to date, and I am concerned with public safety. I want to make sure the village is well protected and safe.”

As the newest member of the board, Genese said, he will “sit back” initially to see where McNamara and other senior trustees lead the village.

“I’m going to work with everyone and when I have ideas, I’ll bring them to the table,” he said.

Having lived in Flower Hill for 15 years with his wife, Carol, Genese said he’s always been impressed with how well the village government functions.

“It’s a great village with a lot of opportunity to improve and I am happy to have the opportunity to give back to the residents to make it an even better village. It’s always been an efficient, transparent government and that’s important for me. Residents should know exactly what’s going on.”

By Stephen Romano

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