Seeking to improve the village

Village of Cedarhurst Deputy Mayor Ben Weinstock has been involved in local government since he was 19-years-old and as deputy mayor, he serves as the senior trustee and the person who will fill in for Mayor Andrew Parise if he’s not available.

Weinstock, a two-term incumbent, is running uncontested for another 4-year term on Tuesday. He served as the Village of Cedarhurst attorney from 1989 to 1994, then as trustee until 2003 when he was appointed deputy mayor by Parise.

Upon graduating from Yeshiva University and Brooklyn Law School, Weinstock began working at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek law firm in Uniondale where he currently serves as the co-chair of the real estate department. He is also an adjunct professor at Hofstra Law School and New York Law School.

Currently, Weinstock is the chairman on the committee for the handicapped, village historian and is actively involved with the sewage treatment consolidation program. “We’re dealing with the consolidation on a regular basis,” he said. “About 30 to 40 percent of the work is done but they (Nassau County) have challenging installations still ahead of them.”

The Nassau County sewer consolidation project is in progress on Peninsula Boulevard and will connect the Inwood substation with the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant in East Rockaway. Weinstock said they are working during the day instead of at night on Peninsula because of the residential neighborhoods but when the workers approach commercial areas, the county will look into working at night to alleviate traffic.

To cut costs for snow removal next year, Weinstock said the village is looking to possibly purchase used equipment since a large portion of their snow budget was spent on outside contractors. The village could be reimbursed 75 percent (nearly $43,000) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the December blizzard.

Streetscape improvements are also planned this year throughout the village and will be paid for by grants. Weinstock said the benches in the village park would be replaced since they were damaged during snow removal as well as new streetlights and improved sidewalks. “We want to improve the look of our village,” he said.