Carol Crupi, Valley Stream village trustee candidate

For the past nine months, Carol Crupi has been the unofficial leader in the fight against the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new flood maps, which put parts of Valley Stream into the high-risk flood zone. Now, Crupi is looking to take her activism to the next level and hopes to win a seat on the village board.

The Gibson resident has been one of the most outspoken members of her community, but she said she believes she can have an even stronger voice as an elected official. When she requested information about elevation spot checks that were recently conducted in the village, she was told the information would only be released to village officials. That’s when Crupi decided to run.

Crupi has lived in Valley Stream for 35 years, and has resided in Gibson since 2006. “It’s a great place to live,” she said. “I love living in Valley Stream.”

However, Crupi is concerned about a “downward spiral” of the community, particularly the amount of vacant stores. She noted that Rockaway Avenue, the village’s downtown, is not thriving the way it should be. And the empty storefronts on Gibson Boulevard are a blight on the community, Crupi explained.

She also wants to see the village do more to crackdown on illegal apartments in the village, which, she says, adds students to the schools that everyone else has to pay for. Crupi said she wants to look for ways to save the village money, such as entering into purchasing cooperatives with other municipalities. “Little things sometimes add up to a big number,” she said.

Additionally, Crupi wants Village Hall to be a welcoming place for all citizens of Valley Stream. She said anyone who comes in should have an assurance that they are being listened to.

At the center of her campaign is the FEMA issue, as the new maps left thousands of homeowners with four-figure insurance bills. She is proud of the accomplishments the residents have made since the first meeting of about a half-dozen homeowners last May at the Gibson train station. “I think FEMA realized residents weren’t going to sit back and pay,” she said. “They started to see some discontent.”