Uncontested village election set for East Rockaway on Sept. 15

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Polls will be open in East Rockaway for a special election on Sept. 15 as Trustee Tim O’Hagan runs unopposed.

O’Hagan was sworn-in as a village trustee in June 2019 after former Trustee Theresa Gaffney stepped down from the position. Because he took over in the middle of the term and was appointed, O’Hagan must run to complete the term.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Charles H. Formont Senior Center, at 6 N. James Street, adjacent to Village Hall. With lingering concerns over the coronavirus, the village is following guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting equipment as recommended by the Nassau County Board of Elections, and taking other safety protocols.

O’Hagan grew up on Woods Avenue, and was heavily involved in the village’s sports programs. As a child, he spent many weekends playing in the basement of Village Hall with other athletes as part of the village’s Basement Recreational Program.

He continued to be involved in the Recreation Department as he got older, and was named its co-director in 2007. In that position, he worked with then East Rockaway High School Athletic Director Dom Vulpis to implement the Mayor’s Conference on Youth, in which district students met with village officials to discuss programs they would like to see in the village.

O’Hagan also served on the village’s zoning board until he accepted the trustee position, and coached high school and college-level sports teams for more than 20 years. For his efforts, he was inducted into the Molloy College Hall of Fame, was named Coach of the Year, and All-Metro Coach of the Year and won two East Coast Conference championships.

In 2014, he opened a restaurant — EGP Gastropub on Long Beach Road in Oceanside — and a second location opened in Island Park last year.

Community involvement is a family affair with the O’Hagans: Tim’s wife, Kristen, was elected to a trustee position on the East Rockaway Board of Education last year.

When first appointed a village trustee, Tim said, he hoped to work with his colleagues to attract more businesses to East Rockaway while protecting taxpayers.

“It’s been a tremendous place for me to live,” he said of growing up in East Rockaway, “and I couldn’t be more proud to be one of the trustees.

 

Melissa Koenig contributed to this story.