Seize the chance to move Valley Stream forward

The voters of Valley Stream have spoken, deciding to stay with the leadership of the United Community Party, which has dominated village elections since 1995. We congratulate Ed Fare, who will become the new mayor, as well as Vincent Grasso, on his re-election as trustee, Dermond Thomas, who will also join the village board, and returning Village Justice Bob Bogle.

Two weeks ago, we endorsed Fare. He earned our nod because of his seven years of experience on the village board and his clear, defined plan to improve the community. But that endorsement doesn’t give Fare a free pass for the next four years. We expect him to live up to his promises and to the expectations of the community. We expect him to take seriously the great responsibility he will have as leader of the local government. We expect him to listen to people, to work well with others and to always act in with residents’ welfare in mind.

In short, we expect him to move this village forward. Fare will have several important orders of business when he takes office at the beginning of the month:

-He will have to give up his trustee seat with another year remaining in his term. He expects to appoint someone to fill the vacancy until next year’s election. We want Fare to find someone who brings something different to the board than the other trustees, and someone with the same desire to do right by the community. We would also like to see all areas of the village represented on the board, and hope he will consider someone from the under-represented west end.

-He must move quickly to appoint a new village clerk, who will be responsible for running the village’s day-to-day operations. We hope he can find someone like Vinny Ang, who has been accessible, has kept the best interests of Valley Stream in mind and has been responsive to residents’ concerns.

-The flood map issue is not going away. Every day it seems to become more apparent that the methods used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to draft the new flood maps were flawed. Fare and other village officials must continue to put pressure on federal officials, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and FEMA representatives, to provide relief for residents from four-figure annual insurance premiums. Valley Stream has no history of coastal flooding. It’s time that the flood maps and insurance rates reflect that.

-It’s ridiculous that in order to open a new business on Rockaway Avenue, a business owner needs a parking variance. The downtown shopping district is block-to-block storefronts, and very few places have their own parking lots. The businesses share on-street parking and municipal lots on the side streets. The village code needs to recognize this and eliminate this onerous regulation.

-We’d love to see a day every year devoted to Valley Stream. The village needs an annual celebration, something like the East Rockaway Huckleberry Frolic, the Lynbrook spring festival and the West Hempstead, Bellmore and Merrick street festivals. It should be a day featuring vendors, a chance to interact with local businesses, with entertainment, food and activities for children — something no Valley Streamer would want to miss. Perhaps the village could partner with the Chamber of Commerce, or build on Envision Valley Stream’s Art in the Park event on the Village Green.

-It’s time to overhaul the village’s website. It has had the same look for many years and is difficult to navigate to find upcoming events or learn about elected officials. Grasso has been on the board for 14 months, yet his picture hasn’t made it onto the village officials page. We’d like to see Fare devote some resources to making the website a valuable source of information for all.

We commend both the United Community Party and the Citizens Independence Party for running a fairly clean campaign, avoiding personal attacks and sticking to the issues. We’re glad that Valley Stream residents had a choice and made their voices heard.

With the election now behind us, we look forward to good things in the next four years and are confident that Fare, along with Thomas, Grasso, Trustee John Tufarelli and a soon-to-be-named colleague will build on the success of the Cahill years and lead Valley Stream to good times.