Candidates

Mary grew up in Garden City, and in 1998, moved back with her husband to raise their family here. Mary has lived in Garden City for a total of 44 years, and her three children; Emily, Matt and Caroline all graduated from Garden City High School, the youngest graduating in 2020.

After graduating from Garden City High School, Mary attended the University of Virginia and graduated with a B.A. degree, then went on to attend St. John’s University School of Law, where she served as Publications Editor of the Journal of Legal Commentary and graduated with a J.D. degree.

Following law school, Mary served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert G. Mahoney of the United States Department of Labor and then as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York and worked in private practice handling litigation matters. Since 2012, Mary has served as an Administrative Law Judge for the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board, where she presides over hearings addressing all issues related to workers’ compensation cases.

Mary’s volunteer work in the Village began at the Garden City Nursery School including serving as President. As Mary’s children grew up, she was both an assistant and head coach of her daughters’ lacrosse teams for many years. Mary was also a soccer coach; a Girl Scout leader, and a CCD teacher at St. Anne’s.

Originally published 3/11/22

Last year, it was the unprecedented voter turnout at our village election that gave me the opportunity to serve as your Trustee. Today, I ask that you turn out again for the important upcoming election on March 15th. It has been an honor to serve the residents of this wonderful village, and I have endeavored to improve engagement between government and residents, increase transparency, and bring to residents the representation they all deserve. I have had the opportunity to work closely and interact with many residents, and it has been great to see the talents and passions so many contribute to make our community such a special one. Building consensus and focusing on quality of life issues has been a priority for me over the last year. Creating an environment that encourages input from residents and engagement is essential for a better Garden City.

The work of improving transparency, communication and engagement has only begun, and I ask that you vote for me, Charlie Kelly, Bruce Torino and Larry Marciano so we can work together to keep our local government moving in the right direction.

https://www.gcnews.com/articles/vote-march-15th/

After attending Vanderbilt University and working for several years, Larry attended New York University’s Leonard N. Stern’s School of Business earning an MBA with an emphasis in Finance. He was awarded the distinction of Stern Scholar and Elected to the membership of Beta Gamma Sigma. Presently, he is part of the Adjunct Faculty at the New York University School of Professional Studies.

As a resident in the Eastern section for the last 24 years, Larry’s passion was coaching his daughters Celia and Olivia on the playing fields of St. Paul’s. While coaching Garden City Rams Lacrosse, Larry is now in his near-record 15th year of coaching GC Centennials Soccer. As Larry’s coaching responsibilities have tapered off since his children’s graduation, Larry has allowed himself to be recruited to help the Village with his unique business skills and continue to serve the Village as he has done for so many years in his coaching capacity

Originally published 3/11/22

Unity is the state of being united or joined as a whole. To me that term seems to take on greater meaning as we are now just a few days away from the Garden City Board of Trustees elections on March 15, 2022.

The Board of Trustees is meant to serve the citizens of Garden City. In my opinion, to properly serve their constituents, it is critical that the government listen to the commentary opinions of all of the citizens. One of the main goals of FABGC and us candidates is to provide a more open and inclusive government that welcomes an open dialogue with the residents. We are neighbors after all.

Citizens have welcomed the new approach to inclusivity ushered in by FABGC last year and have cited it as one of the most successful promises kept. These working committees exemplify the commitment to get the best residents as possible, regardless of affiliation, to contribute their expertise and time to the village.

This commitment to unity is core to our mission and no attack against the leadership of FABGC will cause the candidates to waiver from our commitment to the unity of our village and serving all residents.

https://www.gcnews.com/articles/commitment-to-unity/

Bruce A. Torino is a native New Yorker who received his B.A. degree from Earlham College and his J.D. degree from New York Law School. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in February 1978. Bruce is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Military Appeals, United States Tax Court, United States District Court [Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts].

Mr. Torino moved to Garden City in 1980 with his wife to raise their family. Bruce’s two sons, Ryan and Christopher, graduated from Garden City High School and participated in many of the Village’s recreation programs growing up.

In 1983, Bruce started his own firm, which has grown to 26 employees and specializes in litigation with an emphasis on the representation of corporations, insurance carriers and self-insured in matters pertaining to defense, liability, loss recovery and coverage issues. He is a frequent lecturer on slip and fall cases and has appeared on Good Morning America and Inside Edition discussing fraud cases.

In addition to Bruce’s years as Village Trustee, in 1995-1996 as CPOA president, he was at the forefront of making village residents aware of the impact to Garden City of downtown revitalization plans sweeping Long Island. Bruce advocated against proposals that he believed would have gutted our businesses on Seventh Street, negatively impacted our quality of life and substantially increased traffic on Stewart and Franklin Avenues.

Upon the conclusion of his time on the Fire Safety Committee, FABGC asked Bruce to continue supporting the efforts of the Mayor and Board in addressing the ongoing needs of the Village as Trustee. We are grateful that Bruce has accepted the challenge.

From the very first day after being elected, a Village Trustee should have the ability to identify issues that need to be addressed by the village, propose solutions, articulate the actions that must be undertaken to best resolve those issues, and perform a requisite needs assessment before any plan to execute on those ideas is implemented

In governance there is no such thing as on the job training. Village residents require and deserve a candidate for Trustee who understand the issues confronting the Village, professionalism to address what needs to be accomplished, and skills to communicate to the residents the proposed actions or reasons why an action cannot be done.

Prior to the March 2021 election when FABGC prevailed the temperament and quality of leadership within the Board of Trustees was in short supply. Resident questions or comments were limited to four minutes; their concerns were largely ignored and rarely answered. Many times, residents were disparaged or summarily cut off when seeking assistance from or addressing the Board. On core issues that came before the Board, their perpetual inaction on decisions by the Board were not explained.

Based on the voter turnout at the March 2021 election a majority of residents decided change was needed. The true litmus test is not whether a candidate has been put forward by a POA or FABGC – rather, the core consideration it is a candidate’s qualifications to effectuate positive change from day one.

The POAs should have no fear of an election that provides the voters with a choice and ability to select who they believe is the most qualified and deserving of their vote. Unless there are multiple candidates running it is not an election, but rather, a selection process that occurs. The American system encourages competition as it provides alternatives and better choices. Unfortunately, the POAs seek to deny the residents the ability to choose. There is no law, rule or regulation that give the POAs the right to solely determine who will be allowed to run for Village Trustee. The law that controls is the NYS Village Law.

The myriad of issues that confronts this village require integrity, transparency and communications with the residents was brought about and caused by the Village Trustees selected by the POAs. No the merely being on a POA nominating committee.

The failure of prior Boards selected by the POAs to address, for years, the lease issue with the Casino, the 3rd Rail Construction, the issuance of a six figure no-bid proposal for new a Firehouse and creation of a parking filed on Raymond court without explanation of the purpose or alternatives are consummate examples of failed leadership and hypocrisy.

The explanation given for why the village had to be sued for handicap parking spaces on Seventh Street is just another example in a long line of actions by the Board - saying no to a resident when in fact the only proper response should have been “how can we help?”. The mandate of the ADA is simple: those individuals who have disabilities have a right to reasonable accommodations. The hiring of experts and lawyers to deny a village resident what he is clearly entitled to, is regrettable, shameful, and costly to the village. The Board of Trustees in their relations with the residents should be as neighbors and consider how to help and not how to hinder.

The Board of Trustees on many occasions has use the phrase “money is cheap”. It is not. It is not their money to spend cavalierly. It is not their money to use as they see fit in the absence of clear articulation of the goal, conducting a needs assessment and an open discussion on how village money is to be spent.

The POAs continually, year after year, renominated and put forth the same individuals for election compounding the problems that faced the Village. Since the POAs did not act to correct the action of the trustees they put into office, it ultimately caused the residents to vote them out of office; in a landslide rejection of the POA candidates.

The village deserved better. The POAs should have listened to the residents. In failing to act the residents spoke in a loud voice at the ballot box. Yet again, the candidates put forth came out of the POA’s nominating committed. While the POAs claim to have listened,

Originally published 3/11/22

Distilled to its essence, an election should be about voting for the most competent candidate. It should not be whether the candidate’s affiliation has been with an organization that existed for two years or 100 years. Sears had a long history and was an industry leader as was Blockbuster dominant, but neither adapted to the changing times.

Competition is good, as is provides the residents the ability to choose for themselves who should be a trustee. As the Village needs competent experienced leadership choice permits the residents to make their own decision on who they believe is best for the job. The ability of the candidate to do the job of trustee should be the sole consideration each resident takes into account when casting their ballot.

On two prior occasions I took the oath of office to be a Village Trustee. An oath I took very seriously to exercise my individual judgment to do the best I can for the Village. Not just for the residents of the Central section or the CPOA that nominated me. Trustee Mary Carter Flanagan likewise took the same oath and has acted tirelessly in the best interests of the Village. Likewise, Charles Kelly and Larry Marciano, with whom I have every confidence in their ability, if elected on March 15th, will take the same oath and do the best they can for the Village.

Each of the candidates with whom I am running are independent and will follow their own counsel and upon taking the oath of office will exercise their individual judgment to act in the best interest of the entire Village. Rest assured, that is what I will do, and they will do, without favoritism nor malice, each will advocate for what they believe is correct and in the best interests of the Village.

https://www.gcnews.com/articles/vote-for-competency/

Charlie has been serving the residents of Garden City since the age of 9, delivering newspapers to over 100 homes in the Central section where he grew up. A product of St. Joseph’s school and Garden City High School, Charlie has a BA in Accounting, a MA in Sociology and a JD with Honors from Brooklyn Law School.

In addition to Charlie’s professional accomplishments, his record of community service is second to none. He has coached St. Joseph’s CYO basketball, both boys and girls, for more than a decade, as well as being a Co-Founder of the John M. Kelly Christmas Tournament which ran for 12 years at St. Joseph’s gym and raised thousands of dollars for charities. He coached both boys and girls GC Centennial soccer for many years and was a Manager of GC Little League baseball teams. Charlie is a longtime parishioner of St. Josephs Church where he served for many years as an altar boy in his youth. For the Village Government, Charlie is presently serving as Chairman of the Law and Rezoning Subcommittee of the St. Paul’s Committee and is Chairman of the Village of Garden City Board of Ethics. Lastly, Charlie was a Co-Founder of REVAMP, a group of concerned residents that felt the Monster Poles being installed by the MTA/LIRR with no opposition from the Village Government, would permanently damage parts of his beloved Village

Originally published August 2020

Long forgotten is the name of the agreement, community. Not “communities” agreement and certainly not “trustees” agreement. The intent was that the community agreement would help make the village a community.

Instead, the village trustees have used the power entrusted to them to further everything but the fellowship and caring required of a community. Using their unchecked power of unlimited tenure through rubber stamped re-nominations to pursue their own personal aims, they have created communities.

It is a board that, on one hand, poses as one hungry for revenue when seeking to destroy something (GC Casino, Cathedral Nursery School, etc.) while, on the other hand, increasing taxes and squandering millions of tax dollars, whether its over $100,000 in legal fees to defend their right not to put handicapped parking on 7th Street or “stabilizing” St. Pauls for two million a year or a runaway budget to expand a firehouse after laying off firefighters for budgetary concerns.

In pursuit of revenue, the trustees have turned to the Garden City Casino property which is owned by the village. First, the trustees actions regarding the Garden City Casino are not an act in furtherance of community.

In discussing the Casino at the August 13th meeting, the trustee who spoke could have been mistaken for a person giving a poorly drafted ill considered accounting report. There was no discussion regarding community, of the benefits of having the Casino in that location, no discussion of how its existence fosters community, no discussion of the vitality it brings to that corner of Sixth Street but simply a rote recital of the financial details that would lead anyone to want to put a McDonalds in there tomorrow.

Second, as the few of us who attend and speak at village trustees’ meetings can attest, the trustees will not respond to questions of those who care enough to attend and speak. This may be their most undemocratic attribute and certainly not in furtherance of community. Stony silence best describes their demeanors.

The Trustees seem convinced that if the inquisitor were as smart or as perceptive or as sophisticated as they perceive themselves to be, then perhaps a discussion would be appropriate. But not with the likes of us. It is a singularly undemocratic practice, to be either too regal to respond to questions of the taxpayers or too fearful of the citizens to respond to their questions even if the question is as simple as: Why did this Board unanimously vote to withdraw from the Nassau County Urban Consortium?

Why was there no one on the Board who, given this Board’s and village’s troubled history, could see that this was simply a new way this Board could reinforce the myth that the village does not welcome everyone? Only two years earlier this Board had paid over $5 million to plaintiffs’ attorney (and millions more, no doubt, to the attorneys representing the village) in the discrimination action – how could this history not be fresh in the Board’s mind? With the damage to the village’s reputation done again by this Board’s actions, how will it be cured?

Why did this Board fail to protect the Merillon Avenue community and sue the MTA, PSEG, LIPA and Third Track when they continued to build monster poles after the Board, in its April 8th letter, told them not to install any more and said “the promise to consider burying utility lines has also been ignored?” Why is the Board negotiating with the MTA about closing Tanners Pond Road for months without having them cure what you termed actions that would put the “LIRR/MTA in default of the MOU?”

Is it as simple as that MTA is “beautifying” the train stations in your “Nassau Boulevard and Stewart Manor communities” in exchange for being able to irrevocably damage the “Merillon Avenue community” where you don’t live and therefore, that’s an acceptable trade? Do you believe any taxpayer supports squandering two million dollars a year on St. Pauls for no progress? Having failed to make any progress on St. Pauls for so many years, why don’t you support a clean public referendum? Is it the same reason you do not answer questions at Board meetings? There will be no answers to these, or any other, questions posed at Board Meetings.

On a related note, while a searing look at this Board’s seemingly endless list of failures, the Town Crier’s call to “amend the so-called Community Agreement” (GC News, August 13, 2020) seems to be a halfway measure. Why have a Mayor who would spend part of her time to “manage the Board of Trustees?” Why keep the Trustees? Referring to them as “arrogant and unaccountable elitists” and then, in the same thoroughly researched and reasoned article, suggesting they be kept on seems inconsistent. The “Agreement” may be ended, the Trustees removed and all their power extinguished.

We may have real elections arising out of a real campaign and an accountable Mayor. None of this will come easy. The vested interests that coalesce around a $66 million village budget will not go quietly. The Trustees will not lightly give up their power. However, the continuation of an agreement like this requires the consent of the governed. These trustees have long since forfeited that although if you ask them how and why, be assured that they will not answer. Sweet Harmony.

https://www.gcnews.com/articles/long-forgotten/

Originally published 3/11/22

I am a candidate for Village Trustee in next Tuesday’s election. In this campaign, I have knocked on hundreds of doors, spoken to hundreds of residents and have been heartened by their responses. I have done candidate zooms, 7th Street Meet & Greet sessions and some great one on one conversations at our in-person events. In addition, over the years, I have submitted many letters to this paper and spoken at BOT meetings.

Long before there was a FABGC, I was dismayed by the all POA BOT’s lack of civility, absence of transparency and refusal to answer any questions I, or other residents, posed (see my 8/20/2020 GC News letter “Long Forgotten” for more details). Now, the Trustees elected last year from FABGC have transformed the BOT from a BOT that ignored residents’ questions and cut off comments to a BOT that now not only answers questions at meetings but also has added Meet & Greet Sessions where residents may attend and pose any question they wish. If the Trustees don’t have an answer, they get one and get back to the resident. What a transformation, especially for those of us who used to attend the all POA BOT meetings and have our questions ignored or responded to with “thank you for your comment.”

The addition of Committees, including the St. Pauls Committee on which I serve, has also brought residents into the policy discussions and enhanced the new transparency. This new civility, transparency and inclusiveness includes not only respect for residents at meetings but also respect for residents’ funds and the village’s reputation. In the first year with Trustees on the BOT from FABGC, any construction projects have required a study showing necessity and an exploration of alternatives (see e.g., Edgemere Firehouse).

Most important, the new Trustees have focused on bringing the community together, in part, by bringing back events like the Andy Foundation Sale to St. Pauls. I hope to be part of bringing back more community events to the village and adding new ones, especially for the children.

The return of civility, inclusiveness and community building will not be a short process. But, it is off to a good start and I hope to join the BOT in fostering and furthering that process. I ask for your support on Tuesday by voting FABGC.

https://www.gcnews.com/articles/return-of-civility/