61.0°,
Light Rain Murray, Howard, Sepe run unopposed
Croutier also unopposed for Justice
Mayor Francis X. Murray, Deputy Mayor Nancy Howard and Trustee Michael Sepe, along with Village Justice William Croutier, Jr., are all running unopposed in this year’s election.
The mayor and trustees are each running for their second term. Four years ago, Murray ousted incumbent mayor Mary Bossart, and Howard and Sepe unseated Trustee David Krasula and defeated newcomer Michelle Sewell, who was running with Bossart and Krasula.
The trio of RVC United Party candidates kept many of the promises made during their last election. Among them was cleaning up the downtown, refurbishing the ball fields and repairing the village’s aging infrastructure.
“The results are clear — more roads have been done in the last four years than in any time in Rockville Centre’s history,” the three candidates wrote in response to emailed questions from the Herald. “Three of our four water towers have been completely refurbished and painted, and the next year the fourth will be done. We have updated our fleet of trucks, including four new fire trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks and electric utility vehicles.”
The current board, which also consists of trustees Edward Oppenheimer and Emilio Grillo, also oversaw the renovation of Maple Avenue, which took many months and involved work from nearly every level of government.
Parking has long been a problem in the village, and the three candidates addressed that. One of the first things Murray did upon taking office was to make parking free in the village after 6 p.m., which he says helped encourage more businesses to move to the village and increased the occupancy rate from 82 to 99 percent. However, it’s made the village a victim of its own success.
“Currently, we are working with an engineering firm to redesign two of our parking lots — Lot 9 behind El Mariachi and Lot 4 behind Churchill’s, which are in a horrible state of disrepair,” the candidates wrote. “This will improve the safety and aesthetics and provide 38 additional spots. We are seeking grant money to pay for this project.”
