Happy 90th, Lenny!

It was a meeting of mayors as Mayor Mary Bossart, Rabbi Marc Gruber of Central Synagogue, left, and Deputy Mayor Chuck Joyce, right, dropped in on former Mayor Leonard Sandel and his wife Lenore on the occasion of Lenny’s 90th birthday. Bossart presented him with a certificate from the Village of Rockville Centre.

Long involved in civic affairs — including an eight-year stint as a village trustee and three years as zoning board chairman — Sandel, a World War II war hero, advocated for low and moderate-income housing for the elderly and needy and was known for his devotion to civil rights.

During his term as mayor, Sandel helped establish the village’s Guild for the Arts and also helped set up Rockville Centre’s first recreation center and the senior citizens

center that now bears his name.

When he announced in February 1983 that he would not seek a second term as mayor, in order to devote more time to one of the loves of his life, a monthly newsletter for senior citizens that he wrote, edited and published, Sandel was proud of Rockville Centre’s credit rating — A-1 — and its budget surplus.