One thing just about everyone in our community can agree on is that the Great Neck parks are a jewel, contributing immeasurably to the quality of life we enjoy on the Great Neck Peninsula. But that is not to be taken for granted and depends significantly on who we elect to the Great Neck Park board to make decisions about policy, spending, what gets developed and what gets preserved, programming, and also how responsive to the community – or segments – the parks administration is.
The upcoming election, Tues., Dec. 14, is particularly important because there is an open seat left by retiring, longtime Commissioner Robert Lincoln. His departure leaves a gaping hole in terms of experience, expertise and energy he has brought during 21 years (seven terms). He deserves the appreciation of our community for his stewardship and leadership that has kept our park district the treasure it is.
And now we have five credible candidates seeking that office. The campaign has done what positive, issue-oriented campaigns should: bring out wonderful ideas that can be pursued regardless of who is the victor. (There should be ranked-choice voting in order to select a candidate that truly represents a majority.)
Choose we must. And I will share my process.
Two of the candidates bring special skills, but are too narrow in their focus.
Gary Aquilon, who emphasizes over and over his experience working 20 years for the Park District, is focused almost entirely on workers – laudable but he is not running to be the Workers Representative and doesn’t seem to have the perspective of park users or what goes into the business and policy aspects of overseeing a municipality.
Vanessa Tamari, who brings experience as an attorney litigating insurance defense and managing a real estate investment portfolio and engagement in schools as co-president of North Middle’s PTO and on the Shared-Decision Making committee, focuses on safety in parks facilities and promises to inspect facilities regularly. Her campaign literature lists on her agenda Mommy and Me classes; after-school sports and sports clinics; health, art and gardening courses for seniors; educational programs (ecology, gardening, tree planting); recycling; indoor recreation center; festivals, fairs and social gatherings; sailing and boat rides; fiscal responsibility without compromising quality of service; reaching out to community; increasing involvement of local restaurants and businesses in events. But she appears overly focused on using her school ties as the foundation for her effectiveness as a park commissioner and overly oriented to that segment of the park community. Again laudable but too narrow.
Grace McGirr, a fourth-generation, lifelong Great Necker, has a BA in marketing and management and MBA in management and HR, brings a professional background in hotel group sales and as an associate at Goldman Sachs along with community service that includes serving on the Parkville and E.M. Baker PTOs. An advantage or disadvantage is she is almost too invested in the park district because her husband, Will McGirr, has worked for the district for 32 years and is presently supervisor of Parks (she asserts that there would not be any conflict of interest, but one wonders how often she would have to recuse herself on a three-person board). Her innovative ideas are to get more funding for the parks through grants (except that usually means you can’t restrict programs or facilities to park district residents) and more use of renewable energy like solar to reduce costs while enabling facilities to be open longer and later.
Victoria Goodman has longevity in the park district and is an avid user of facilities so has that knowledge and appreciation of the jewel that is our parks and greenspace. She brings a business background but as she admits, she would be learning the substantial complexities of running a $20 million municipality (regulations, worker issues, facilities and yes, the political and policy side of engaging with residents).
Asked to list her major issues, Goodman’s response strikes me as pro forma: “heightened security and supervision in the parks; greater recycling efforts; planting and gardening clubs, including ‘private’ space for our apartment-dwelling residents; segregated (and gated) dog and pet areas and runs; transformation from wood chip playground platforms; greater recreational and entertainment offerings; instructional activities and organized sports for all age groups; volunteer ‘squads’.. Of course, cost is also paramount to all initiatives, so a comprehensive review of each line item in the budget is well advised and something that must be pursued.” She comments that she sees the parks “as extensions of our backyards. So, it’s not only what we have to say and offer, but also the method of contact and how we reach each resident. Hand in hand with my ‘Love Where You Live’ mindset is the need to actually give our residents meaningful understanding of what it is we have for them to take advantage of, and then to make sure it is convenient and affordable for them to do so.”
I have to go with Dorothy Feng for many reasons, starting with her background: she actually has a BA in Recreation and Hospitality Management, an MBA in Marketing Management from St. John’s University and an academic diploma in Data Analytics from NYU, professional experience as the owner of a small commercial real estate company and a real estate broker and community service as co-president of the Parkville PTO and co-president of the Great Neck Chinese Association. But what makes her stand out is how she has already demonstrated her commitment, energy and enthusiasm, her studious approach to the weighty issues that confront such an important municipality and the most intense and well-thought-out agenda.
The issues Feng lists go beyond labels and cliches, but are backed by considerable thought. Among them: look for ways to establish an indoor recreation center; addressing parking (biggest revenue generator for the district) and commuter issues; looking into the feasibility of alternative sources of revenue that include optimizing underutilized park district spaces; more income generating programs; green space revitalization (perhaps developing new neighborhood parks); and revitalizing the Park District Advisory committees “to draw upon the talent and expertise of community while providing another channel of communication and transparency with residents.”
She would improve upon the wide array of programs (Farmers Market, concerts, boat rides) and add new ones: activities for after-work hours, teen programming, more activities on the waterfront and health and wellness programs.
Importantly, Feng is sensitive to the difficult balance between a municipality using limited tax dollars to subsidize programs so they are available to more people vs. user fees.
Altogether, she offers a list that shows she has put a lot of thought and effort into her campaign which I believe would carry over into how she would serve as Parks Commissioner. Feng has the most checks on my list.
(I recommend viewing the League’s Park Candidate Forum, online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVqsShD5O3g.)
The park district election is Dec. 14 from 1 p,m. to 9 p.m. Information on polling places is at https://www.gnparks.org/571/Elections-of-Commissioners.
