n For the first time in 20 years, voters in the Village of Rockville Centre elected a new mayor, Mary Whalen Bossart, and two new trustees, Chuck Joyce and David Krasula who ran on her Concerned Citizens slate. This came after Euguene Murray announced in March that he would not seek another term as mayor and would step down after the village election in June. His fellow Home Rule party trustee and deputy mayor, Wayne Lipton, also said he would step down after completing his term in office.
The Residents' Voice party countered with a slate headed by current trustee Andrew Karamouzis in a bid for mayor. Suzanne Murphy Sullivan ran again for her trustee position and political newcomer Ralph Bumbaca also vied for a trustee seat.
Attorney William Croutier, Jr. ran for village justice on both slates, filling a vacancy created by Village Justice Robert Williams' retirement.
n Doreen Cordova and Mary Koppinger vied for one seat on the school board as trustee Meg Koch retired. Cordova won. "Mystery man" last minute candidate Charles Kelleher was elected to the library board with write in votes.
n Nassau County Legislator Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin) was challenged but prevailed over Republican Christian Browne who waged an aggressive campaign in the 5th District. Voters returned Town of Hempstead incumbents Kate Murray, Donald X. Clavin, Jr. and Mark Bonilla to office.
n Crime, reports of gunplay and a murder in June thrust the village's West End into the headlines. Although the murder remains unsolved, police and village officials were optimistic that crime in the area would subside as they met with community members to hear their concerns and ask for their cooperation, as they stepped up enforcement efforts. By year's end the focus would shift to the revitalization of the affordable housing in the area. Mo Vaughn and Tom Suozzi unveiled 175 newly-renovated apartment units at 40 Maine Ave. and the Rockville Centre Housing Authority officially broke ground on a $33 million, two-year project to make over the 154-unit complex at Old Mill Court.
n The controversy and litigation over the Signature Place/Darby Drugs site continued as real estate developer AvalonBay Communities purchased the 7.1-acre site in early December and is expected to develop 349 high-end rental apartments there. A few weeks prior to that announcement, the Rockville Centre Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appeal a decision by the Second Judicial Department of the Supreme Court's Apellate Division that gave the go-ahead for the 349-unit rental complex. On Sept. 18, a panel of judges denied the board's previous appeal of the July 2006 ruling by Supreme Court Judge Bruce D. Alpert in favor of Chase Partners LLC, the New Jersey-based developer that had been in contract to purchase the property and develop an $85 million luxury complex on the site. In his ruling, Alpert said Chase's project complied with the village's zoning code at the time and he criticized village officials for what he said was an intentional delay of the project in an attempt to change code requirements and deny permission to build. The village also currently faces a $25 million lawsuit for damages from Chase. And Darby Drugs, the owner of the site, which had lost a suit against the village, has also decided to appeal that ruling.
n South Side High School's Lady Cyclones varsity soccer team celebrated winning a fourth consecutive New York State Class A girls' soccer championship, prevailing over Pittsford Mendon 4-2 in Cortland, NY to complete a perfect 21-0 season.
n Vacancies at the top levels of village government continued until late in the year. Steven DeClue, the superintendent of Rockville Centre's Building Department retired in January. His position was filled on an interim basis by Thomas Domanico until the village installed Dan Cassella at its Nov. 26 meeting. Frank Quigley was sworn in as Village Administrator on Dec. 17, at the board's final meeting of the year. He will officially start Jan 2, and Village Comptroller Michael Schussheim, who had stepped in as Acting Village Administrator, will end his double duty and return to his position as comptroller.
n Over vehement objections from neighbors of South Side High School, the Rockville Centre Board of Education voted to accept the offer of a gift of artificial turf and lights for the high school's athletic field from the Rockville Centre Athletic Council. The neighbors formed The Rockville Centre Quality of Life Council and filed an appeal with the New York State Commissioner of Education. They simultaneously filed an Article 78, a petition to the Supreme Court of Nassau County, seeking a determination that the school district acted arbitrarily and capriciously in indicating they would accept the gift. The case was dismissed with a finding that the proposed project is a replacement in kind, a Type 2 action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, and has been determined not to have significant impact on the environment.
n At an Aug. 2 briefing session, the Village of Rockville Centre slammed Rapture nightclub owner Jeffrey Rumman's appeal seeking renewal of a business license that had been denied by the village when it expired on Feb. 28. Trustees called for the immediate closure of the once bustling night spot at 222 Sunrise Highway. Since Rapture came to the village in July 2006, police had visited the club on numerous occasions, routinely issuing Rumman and his employees tickets for violations of village code, including maintaining a disorderly premise, overcrowding and serving alcohol to minors. There were numerous reports of violence starting in the club and spilling into the streets and nearby parking lots.
n The revived RVC Pride Beautification Committee attracted a number of volunteers from the village who organized and defined projects at several meetings during the year. The group held the first annual Rockville Centre Beautification Day in November with over 100 people cleaning, planting and generally sprucing up designated areas in the village. More events are planned. Anyone wishing to join the committee and participate can visit the village web site at www.rvcny.us and click on the RVC Pride banner at the lower right hand corner of the home page.
n The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Golden Jubilee Mass on June 3 at St. Agnes Cathedral; Temple B'nai Sholom and the Shiloh Baptist Church celebrated centennials. And there were changes in some of the village's houses of worship as Dr. Robert Gunn was installed as the pastor of the United Church of Rockville Centre. Judith Naimark joined the congregation of Central Synagogue as its cantor after William Wood retired, and Msgr. Robert Guglielmone was appointed as the new rector of the St. Agnes Parish, after Msgr. James Kelly retired in June. Bishop William Murphy was elected chair of the United States Conference of Bishops' Domestic Policy Committee.
n The village continued improvements to its infrastructure with significant electric service upgrades. A new substation will permit Rockville Centre to import 15 megawatts of electricity for less money than it can be produced at the village power plant on Maple Avenue. The village can currently import up to 29 megawatts of inexpensive hydropower generated by Niagara Falls from the New York Power Authority. And twenty new circuit breakers will be added to the Electric Department's current distribution system, allowing the village to reconnect many of its distribution cables onto single circuit breakers that will increase the system's reliability and make troubleshooting easier. The village also tackled another aspect of the infrastructure on four major north-south roads with repaving projects on Forest, Centre, Morris and Burtis avenues.
n Villagers in the news included Amy Schumer, who was one of the "Last Comics Standing," in the prime time NBC reality show, Billy Donovan whose University of Florida Gators captured their second consecutive NCAA basketball title, and local indie rock band Show me Action, whose members, Alex Lipton, Danny Rocco, Jack Donoghue, Jack Tangney and Peter McGaughey are all South Side High School graduates, was the runner up in the MTV U Best Music on Campus Woodie Award for 2007.
