By: Christopher Collora and Beth Wallach
The candidate said her two main goals are to clean up the town and cut taxes. "I've been wanting to run for a while," said Williams-Avila. "It just seems like the whole community is falling apart." She said the village is at the point where she's upset enough to do something about it. "This is my home town and it's really upsetting to see it look the way it does. As far back as I can remember, it's never looked this bad -- never."
According to Williams-Avila, a home town connection combined with business experience makes her the best candidate for the position. "I was born and raised in East Rockaway. My family is from East Rockaway and I know the concerns of the citizens," said Williams-Avila. Her parents, Bill and Olga Williams, have been East Rockaway residents for 50 years, and she is a graduate of East Rockaway High School. She also earned an advertising and communications degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology and a paralegal certificate from Hofstra University.
Married with two children who attend East Rockaway High School, she has been involved in many community organizations including the PTA, East Rockaway beautification society, and an adult leader of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She is currently a member of the Leonberger Club, and is employed as an accounts receivable manager for a $6 billion freight forwarding company. Experienced in business management, budgeting and fiscal responsibility, Williams-Avila said, "I know how to get things accomplished and handle difficult situations. I budget a $6 billion company every day."
With significant tax hikes hitting the village the last two years, reducing taxes is high on her agenda. "It is an understandable goal with the economy going the way it is." She also stated her strong opposition to a proposed controversial check cashing business in the village. "I am totally against the check cashing business. I don't think it should be in our village."
Should she be elected, cleaning up the white cannon at Talfour Boat Basin, which she said is in pieces on the ground and "looks terrible," is one project she's eager to accomplish. Another is to see the boat basin and the vacant lot at the former site of the East Point Inn revitalized. "There's an awful lot of things that need to be fixed in the town," she said.
"I love East Rockaway and it is a passion of mine to make this community the best community it can possibly be. Right now I think these are serious times and it calls for a serious person to step up to the plate and I want to do that."
Recipe for change: Former chef Jack Tobin makes bid for village trustee
By Christopher Collora and Beth Wallach
Jack Tobin, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and a resident with deep family roots in East Rockaway, is running for a village trustee position. Who said cooking and politics don't mix? A candidate with the Unity Party, Tobin said his years of experience in management, budgeting and labor negotiations make him the ideal contender.
Tobin is running because he doesn't like the way things are going in the village. "I feel that the politicians of East Rockaway are more concerned with their own interests than the interest of their citizens," said Tobin, "and I would like to change that." Not a career politician, Tobin, who said he "doesn't owe anyone favors," is keeping a promise he made to himself-- to run for public office if ever afforded the opportunity.
His main goals are to improve community safety, make the village more fiscally responsible, stop the proposed check cashing business from coming into the village, and make village hall more receptive to the citizens.
Safety is a big priority for the candidate, who graduated from South Shore High School in Brooklyn. "We still have streets in East Rockaway that don't have stop signs or street lights. The street where the public library is doesn't have a cross-walk. These are issues I've voiced to the village office and have gotten no answers at all."
With taxes up 23 percent over the last two years, Tobin said his relatives, many of whom have lived in the village for 40 years, are struggling to pay them. "The taxes are killing them. The tax rate is high and the services are just not what they used to be."
Graduating from the culinary institute in 1987, Tobin was the executive chef at the Islandia Marriott, the place where he developed most of his business acumen. "I ran a tight ship. My food cost was always under the limit that they set. Our labor cost was supposed to be 12 percent [of the budget]. I was usually around 10 percent" A 500-room hotel, a restaurant with capacity for 250 people, 24-hour room service and catering facilities for up to 7,000, said Tobin of his years at the Marriott, "That's a lot of money that I managed and a lot of money that I looked after."
Even in his volunteer efforts, food is never far away for the chef turned political candidate. The married father of three is a dedicated worker for Meals on Wheels, a not-for-profit organization that delivers healthy meals to the homebound. On the home front, Tobin's family parish is St. Raymond's Church, and his children are enrolled at St. Raymond's School.
Hoping to bring fiscal accountability to the village, Tobin believes part of the responsibility of a trustee is to serve the best interest of East Rockaway when it comes to services and how the people are treated. He said one of his biggest concerns about the village's current elected officials, is the lack of response he's experienced when trying to cull information.
One example cited was a water problem that was plaguing his block last year. He said the storm sewers never worked properly, and as a result, in the winter a 25-foot long sheet of ice builds up in front of his house, and in the summer, floods and standing water are the norm. "Everyone on the block signed a petition for the village to do something about it, "said the Unity Party hopeful. "We got back a letter saying that they were going to look into the problem and alert us when a solution was reached." Nearly one year later, Tobin said village officials never got back to them, and when the issue was raised again, impatient residents were told they were still looking into it.
"If you ask them, why are you raising our taxes, they don't tell us. These are things that every citizen should be allowed [to know]. If you can question the president, why can't you question the administration of East Rockaway?"
Tobin said the residents of East Rockaway are in need of basic principles, such as freedom of speech and holding government accountable to the people. He feels letting the citizens of the village know what's going on in their own government is fundamental.
In gathering signatures on petitions that would allow him on the ballot, he said one constant theme among residents is that they don't know what's going on in village hall. "They go to town meetings and can't get answers. That's unbelievable. We can't get information from East Rockaway officials. I don't think that's a good thing."
