Where has the Plaza current administration been during March, April, May, June,
and early July? Almost five months and nowhere to be found. Finally, they have
started to crank out some Constant Contact notices and have sponsored two Zoom
meetings, where they’ve given the floor to many other politicians and bureaucrats
who introduced programs that were created by other political organizations to help
in their respective jurisdictions.
But in our village, nothing. No home-grown created programs, no outreach to
residents, no merchant visitations, except that one of the current trustees whose
term is expiring created a photo-op, where, for the first time, she finally visited some
stores on Middle Neck Road in the hopes of boosting chances for re-election.
All they’ve done is to pass on information readily available on the internet and
some of the programs discussed have either already been discontinued or their filing
deadlines have passed. It’s still a continuation of all the years where nothing is heard
from our political leaders except when they feel threatened in their elected
positions. If not for the upcoming mayoral election on Sept. 15, there would
typically be no presence at all from any member of the current administration. We
deserve so much more than the poor judgment and lack of leadership that we have
seen for decades.
I’ve been suggesting initiatives that will help our residents and businesses recover
from the devastating impact of this horrible pandemic. I believe unusual
circumstances require unusual “out-of-the-box” solutions. As such, I will appoint a
volunteer health commissioner who would help our local assisted-living and
nursing/rehab facilities obtain on-site testing equipment to ensure a higher level of
protection than they have now, whereby tests are sent weekly to an outside lab for
analysis.
I would give local businesses a temporary preference when they seek to do business
with the village. I would propose a local law to award contracts for goods and
services to a vendor, other than the lowest responsible vendor, where that vendor is
located in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.
The current economic downturn being experienced by our village as a result of the
COVID-19 virus has adversely affected our local businesses. I feel there are an
overwhelming current need and a public benefit for our administration to spend our
tax dollars in our local economy. I feel that the award of contracts for goods and/or
services to companies outside the Village of Great Neck Plaza, at a time when the
village is experiencing difficult economic times, will just prolong negative local
conditions. We should take this step as a positive action to help our village begin to
move forward again.
Thanks to Gov. Cuomo, we now have a better chance to unseat this unpopular and
unimaginative administration. In his recent Executive Order 202.58, Cuomo has
mandated that voters can obtain absentee ballots by simply calling 482-4500
and asking that the ballot be mailed to them. The village cannot require anyone to
fill out any type of request form. If you encounter any problems, please call us at
516-660-3701. Once you have the form, please, in the box under the mayor label,
write in Leonard Katz and under the two trustee labeled boxes, write in Marnie Ives
and Robert Farajollah. For a picture with exact instructions about how to fill out the
absentee ballot, as well as to find out more about us and our plans and ideas, just
visit our website, revivegreatneckplaza.com.
Join us via Zoom for an online Town Hall meeting every Tuesday and Thursday
evening from 7–8 p.m. The link information to the event can also be found on our
website.
We will listen and respond promptly to all your concerns. We want to hear from you.
Call us at 516-660-3701. We will work to improve pedestrian safety, address our
parking problems, bring together the various stakeholders on projects to achieve
effective solutions for everyone involved, and begin to rent the empty stores in our
village. You’ve all waited a very long time for a chance to reverse the dramatic slide
in our village and now is your chance.
Remember to vote for change in September. Call for your absentee ballot, or come
to the Village Hall on Sept. 15 and let your voice be heard. Write in your vote
for my team, Leonard Katz for mayor, Marnie Ives, and Robert Farajollah for trustees,
to Revive Great Neck Plaza.
Leonard Katz 516-582-9610
Village of Great Neck Plaza
