Cedarhurst candidates are running unchallenged

All three incumbent Village of Cedarhurst candidates are running unopposed in the March 19 election.
Mayor Benjamin Weinstock and village Trustees Ari Brown and Israel “Izzy” Wasser are up for re-election. All terms are four years.

Weinstock, 65, who has served as village’s mayor since 2015, also works as a real estate attorney. He first got involved in working for the board when he became the villages attorney in 1988. He became a trustee in 1994 and was the deputy mayor from 2003-15. Weinstock succeeded Andrew Parise who died in February 2015.

Making his case on why he should be re-elected, Weinstock pointed to how hard he and the board works. “This board is dedicated to this village and it’s residents,” he said. “Ari (Brown) and Izzy (Wasser) spend hours around the village checking if the garbage was picked up, how the streets are looking.”

Wasser, 48, became a trustee in 2015 after serving on the zoning board from 2014-15. Weinstock pointed to how he and Wasser have been involved in what the village is calling the “Paving the Way to Better Driving” restoration project on Central Avenue that got under way on Feb. 23. It also includes Chestnut Street and Washington and Maple avenues. The second phase of the project, which will include the final re-pavement on the road, is set to begin in mid-April, Weinstock said.

Brown, 51, grew up in Franklin Square before he moved to Cedarhurst with his family in 1991. He served on the village’s zoning board from 1998-01 und, a position that fit his qualifications with his background in construction. He eventually became a trustee in 2001. He highlighted the work he and the board did to have new, technologically advanced parking meters installed beginning in 2016 as one way of improving village life. “The new meters turned out to bring in more revenue to the village,” Brown said. Previously, the village collected nearly $1.8 million in parking meter revenue and fines. The generated revenue is now roughly $2 million.

In nearly 20 years on the board, Brown considers his biggest accomplishment being the privilege to work with his fellow board members. “My proudest accomplishment during my time on the board is being able work alongside fellow members that always aim to better our village, he said. “Our board is unique, we never fight with one another. I don’t think other village boards can say that.”

Brown also noted that he and the other trustees view the village residents as more than just constituents. “We always try to make ourselves available to the people and we view them as family,” Brown said.

Voting is from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19 in Village Hall, 200 Cedarhurst Ave. in Cedarhurst.