Eileen Falk joins Great Neck Plaza BZA

Janelle Clausen
Eileen Falk, flanked by village officials, family and friends, was officially appointed to the Great Neck Plaza Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

Eileen Falk, the daughter of former Great Neck Mayor Stephen Falk, ascended to the position of zoning board member in Great Neck Plaza on Wednesday, two years after his death.

“This is happening on the second anniversary of my father’s death,” Falk, a resident of Great Neck Plaza since 1991, noted. “So it is an honor.”

Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender swears Eileen Falk onto the Board of Zoning Appeals. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

Falk, an independent real estate broker and insurance broker, previously served on the Historic Preservation Commission of Great Neck Plaza. She also worked on the Age-Friendly Citizens Advisory Committee, which works to improve the quality of senior living in the village.

“I’m glad to be involved,” Falk said in a later interview.

Falk said she also serves as the vice president of the CLASP Children’s Center in Thomaston, previously ran for parks commissioner and holds a master’s degree in public administration.

“We like to move up people who have done well and who we feel can continue to serve the village for years,” Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said.

“She has deep roots here,” Celender added, noting Falk’s broad background in real estate and healthcare. “[She] brings a lot of sensitivity about the community.”

This appointment follows the retirement of chairwoman Faith Cleary. Celender said Cleary served with great distinction, always studied the issues and set a great tone for the board to operate under.

Pamela Marksheid, who first swore Eileen Falk into the Plaza’s Historic Preservation Commission in 2013, and Falk, embrace after the swearing in ceremony. (Photo by Janelle Clausen)

The board of trustees also promoted Michael Deluccia, who first joined the Board of Zoning Appeals in early 2013, to serve as its chairman. He previously served on the Plaza’s Historic Preservation Commission. Eileen Falk was later sworn in as his replacement that year.

Filling Falk’s slot on the Historic Preservation Commission is Douglas Elliman realtor Mindy Greenberg, a lifelong resident of Great Neck.

She is a member of the Great Neck Historical Society, Long Island Board of Realtors and the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors.

“Your dad is smiling at you,” Celender said to Falk, before she went to sit back down at the meeting.

In unrelated business, the Plaza also announced the securing of grant money for repaving and signaled they would improve monarch butterfly habitats.

Share this Article