The Floral Park Board of Trustees bade an appreciative farewell to outgoing Mayor Dominick Longobardi at a meeting last Wednesday.
Longobardi, who was first elected as the village’s mayor in 2017, did not run for re-election in the March 16 elections, citing the tradition of stepping down after two terms in the Citizens Party, of which he is a member. Before his election, Longobardi had been a Floral Park trustee since 2009 and served as a deputy comptroller for the Town of Hempstead.
Trustee Lynn Pombonyo discussed Longobardi’s sense of humor and impact on Floral Park residents.
“With about 16,000 residents and many more business owners here, I bet almost all of us can tell a story, many very humorous, I’m sure, about how Mayor Longobardi, or Dom, has been there for us and touched our lives in truly significant ways,” said Pombonyo.
Succeeding Longobardi is Floral Park Trustee Kevin Fitzgerald, who ran unopposed for the position and received 434 votes. Fitzgerald, who is also a member of the Citizens Party, praised Longobardi’s handling of obstacles like the coronavirus pandemic.
“During the past four years, he was able to keep all the things we cherish about Floral Park the same while adapting to the changing world around us, and there were some significant changes,” he said.
Longobardi thanked the village’s staff and volunteers, reflecting on his time in office with gratitude.
“There isn’t a person here who doesn’t care, who doesn’t work hard, who doesn’t try their best every day to make this the most special place it can be. We are so lucky to have the people working here that we do,” Longobardi said.
“On top of that, we have a phenomenal group of volunteers who come in as members of this community to act on committees and do the things that they have to do to make Floral Park what it is — giving their input, taking their time, taking their time from their families — without any remuneration or anything to them, just because they care and they want to do what’s the right thing for Floral Park and guide it toward the future.”
Longobardi reminisced on the beginning of his term and expressed special thanks for the Fire Department, which is currently recruiting new members.
“When I became mayor, the first thing I got to do was swear in the new chief. While he’s been by my side every step of the way, that night was very special, not only to me but to my mom and dad,” Longobardi said. “All of the Fire Department — everything that you do, day in and day out, you’re there, night and day, training, doing the things you have to do to make sure that everybody is safe and protected.”
While the second half of the meeting was dedicated to the heartfelt tributes, the board also made some announcements and adopted a resolution regarding the school speed zone on Plainfield Avenue. The zone will now run from Vandewater Avenue to Tulip Avenue. The posted speed will be 20 mph during school hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The board also announced that the Floral Boulevard reconstruction project will continue on April 1. Completing the concrete work, drainage installations and the repaving of the entire boulevard will be the final phase of this project. Residents will be notified of any closures or detours during this phase.
Additionally, Trustee Archie Cheng announced that 3TC, the contractors working on the Third Track Project, has been shut down temporarily by the MTA due to two incidents in Mineola that raised safety concerns. The first incident was demolition that trapped workers inside a structure. The trapped individuals had to escape through a window, but there were no injuries. The second incident involved the electrocution of a worker when a crane hit high voltage lines. That worker is in the hospital in serious but stable condition.
Cheng also said that sound and retaining wall construction behind the homes on Charles Street has been delayed. The current plan is subject to date changes. During a complete track outage on the weekends of April 24 and June 10, there will be
drilling and the installation of support posts. About a month after that, the installation of the actual sound and retaining wall will begin, and it is set to be completed in mid-August.
