Voters to decide 10 trustee seats in three Great Neck villages

Joe Nikic

Voters will go to the polls next Tuesday to decide 10 mayor and trustee seats on three Great Neck village boards, with only the Village of Lake Success seemingly headed for a major shake-up on its board.

While races in the villages of Great Neck, Kings Point and Lake Success are uncontested, Lake Success Mayor Ron Cooper said he would not be running for re-election because he and his wife would be spending more time in Florida.

Lake Success Trustee Adam Hoffman was the lone candidate to file to run for Cooper’s post.

“I’ve been a trustee for last 12 years and I was interested in giving back to my community,” Hoffman said. “I’m dedicated to the village and I care about my community and I want to do what’s right for our community.”

Hoffman touted his record of serving as the village’s golf commissioner and finance chair for the past 10 years.

Cooper backed Hoffman for his mayoral run.

“I believe he will be a terrific mayor and I look forward to having him as my mayor now as a resident,” he said.

Village Administrator Patrick Farrell said if Hoffman is elected mayor, then the board would need to appoint someone to his trustee seat.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Lam, Trustees Fred Handsman and Alan Mindel, as well as Village Justice Howard Boris, are all running for re-election to their respective seats.

Hoffman, Lam, Handsman, Mindel and Boris are running on the Village Party of Lake Success line.

Mindel previously served on the village’s Planning Board and currently serves as the liaison between the Board of Trustees and Planning Board, as well as serving on the environmental commission.

He said he was proud of the work of the Planning Board has done and of the impact developments have had on the village.

“I think we have some of the better developments that come through the Great Neck villages, not just residentially but also commercially,” Mindel said.

He said he believed residents should vote for him because he tries his best to “represent them properly.”

Boris, a 40-year Lake Success resident, began serving as the village justice since 1989 after four years as the assistant judge.

He said he was proud of how the village’s court operates.

“What I’m proud of is that our court is known as a good court,” Boris said. “We try to treat people with respect and I think that’s important because most of them come in angry.”

Efforts to reach Lam and Handsman were unavailing.

All board seats are two-year terms and the village justice’s seat is a four-year term.

The village mayor and justice are paid $3,600, while trustees are paid $1,800.

Residents can cast their ballot at Village Hall, located at 318 Lakeville Road, on June 21. Polls will be open from noon until 9 p.m.

In the Village of Great Neck, incumbent Trustees Barton Sobel and Norman Namdar are running for re-election.

Sobel and Namdar are running on the Great Neck Greater Village Party.

Village trustees are paid $4,800 annually.

Sobel was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2010 after former Trustee Edna Guilor stepped down.

He said his experience on the board, having served on both the previous regime under former Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and new regime under Mayor Pedram Bral, makes him a good candidate for the board.

Sobel said he has put a lot of time and effort into plans for the construction of a footbridge between the southern end of Essex Road and northern side of Wooleys Lane, something that residents have been pushing for in the village.

He said he has worked with the engineering consultant company H2M, Village Clerk-Treasurer Joe Gill and Great Neck Park District officials on details of the landscaping and maintenance for the footbridge.

“This is something that people are really looking forward to in the village and why not?” Sobel said. “I think it will be a great improvement and a great thing.”

Kreitzman appointed Namdar, who had served on the village’s board zoning appeals for nine years, to fill former village Trustee Mark Birnbaum’s seat when he was elected village justice in 2013, which had one year remaining on his term.

Efforts to reach Namdar were unavailing.

Residents can cast their ballot at Village Hall, located at 61 Baker Hill Road, on June 21. Polls will open at noon and close at 9 p.m.

In the village of Kings Point, incumbent Mayor Michael Kalnick, Deputy Mayor David Harounian and Trustee Sheldon Kwiat are all running unopposed for re-election.

Kalnick, Harounian and Kwiat are running on the Taxpayers Party line.

All board seats are two-year terms.

Kalnick is seeking his 18th term as Kings Point’s mayor, having previously served as trustee and deputy mayor.

He touted his experience as mayor as why voters should vote him back to his seat.

“I wish to utilize my extensive experience as Mayor of Kings Point to ensure that the community continues to thrive and remains a great place to raise a family, the cornerstone of its reputation as one of the best places to live in America,” Kalnick said. “I take pride in that recognition and give my unwavering commitment to protect this ranking and vow to maintain the excellent quality of life our residents expect and deserve.”

He said he was “pleased” with the board finding a way to decrease taxes for village residents this year.

“Along with my colleagues on the Board of Trustees, we are pleased to have reduced village taxes in the current fiscal year,” Kalnick said. “We continually work hard to provide residents with the finest services, which includes a village police force that is now aided by a sophisticated video surveillance system at all entrances and exits to the village.”

Harounian is seeking his seventh term on the board, while Kwiat is seeking to extend his more than 30-year stay on the board.

Harounian said he enjoys serving the Kings Point community and hopes to continue doing so.

“I have embraced my solemn responsibility as a public servant to protect and enhance our beloved village and the quality of life afforded to residents today and for future generations,” he said. “This includes a fast response by our village police force and fire and ambulance services, as well as roads that are well-maintained and promptly cleared in all weather conditions – to name just of few of the services provided to our residents.”

Kwiat said quality of life issues and property values are among his “top priorities.”

“In my commitment to public service, I expect to carry on as chairman of the village’s Architectural Review Committee, where we give freely of our time to maintain the peaceful surroundings enjoyed in the village and strive to protect residential property values in our reviews and assessments of proposed projects,” he said.

Village trustees are unpaid.

Residents can cast their ballot at Village Hall, located at 32 Steppingstone Lane, on June 21. Polls will open at noon and close at 9 p.m.

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