Community Corner

Garden City Estates Announces Village, School Board Candidates

The Nominating Committee of Garden City Estates (Estates Nom Comm) voted to determine the nominees for candidates for Village Trustee and School Board Trustee.

The Estates Nom Comm will present at the Estates Electors’ meeting (Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. in Stratford School Auditorium) John DeMaro for Village Trustee candidate and Laura Hastings for School Board Trustee candidate.

In accordance with the Property Owners’ Association of Garden City Estates (Estates POA) Bylaws, the Estates Nom Comm met earlier this year to select a Committee Chairperson. They also met to organize, prepare, and recruit Estates residents for the available trustee positions expiring in 2013. After an announcement in the local village periodical, and after having the announcement posted on the Estates POA website (gcestates.org), they received and reviewed resumes.

Candidates were interviewed, and the Estates Nom Comm voted to select the Estates residents who will be the nominees for Village Trustee candidate in the Village Election in March, 2013, and for School Board Trustee Candidate in the School Budget Vote in May, 2013.

At the Tuesday, Jan. 15, Garden City Estates Electors’ meeting (8PM at Stratford School Auditorium), The Nominating Committee of Garden City Estates will place into nomination Mr. John DeMaro of 84 Wellington Road as the Estates Candidate for Village Trustee to serve a two year term, and Ms Laura  Hastings of 147 Euston Road as the Estates Candidate for School Board Trustee to serve a three year term.

John DeMaro lives with his wife Kim and their three children, Timothy (11), James (9), and Julia (7) in the Estates section of Garden City. John is a partner in the law firm of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, PC where he is chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and a member of the Litigation Department. Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, PC is a 55 attorney, full service business law firm located at RXR Plaza in Uniondale. John has been at the firm for twenty years.

John is an intellectual property attorney, recognized in the field for his work on complex transactional matters and dispute resolution. He represents and advises clients in connection with all conceivable intellectual property issues, including trademark, copyright, licensing, privacy, Internet, software, domain name, unfair competition, trade secrecy and technology-transfer matters. John supervises the firm's international trademark practice and advises clients regarding worldwide intellectual property matters. He has performed these services for national and regional clients. As part of his professional skills and experience, John’s responsibilities and skill set include building consensus, achieving agreement, and reaching resolution.

John is the current Village Board Trustee and is liaison to the Garden City Schools. He has interacted with all Village Board Committees and has directly served on the Traffic Commission and Public Works Commission. John is also former President of the Estates Property Owners’ Association. John has always given everyone an opportunity to voice their opinions and took those opinions into account when making decisions. He also previously served as Treasurer and Director, and was Chairperson of the POA Joint Conference Committee (JCC). He served on the Estates nominating committee and was also provided active leadership on the ad hoc facilities committee commissioned by the Garden City Board of Education to assess school facility needs within the district. John was also on the board of directors of the Garden City High School Student Aid and Scholarship Fund. He has been involved in fundraising for several charities including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has been awarded the National Multiple Sclerosis Leadership Award. John and his family are members of St. Anne’s parish. John is a provisional member of the Garden City Country Club.

John is actively involved in the New York State Bar Association's Intellectual Property section as well as the Nassau County Bar Association's Intellectual Property committee. He is a member of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Nassau County. John received his law school degree from St. John's University School of Law. While at St. John's, he served as the executive publications editor of the St. John's Law Review as well as the executive notes and comments editor of the New York International Law Review. John serves currently on the board of directors of the St. John's Law School Alumni Association (Nassau chapter) and is a class representative.

John received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany with a major in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration. While attending SUNY, John was employed for four years at the New York State Assembly. John’s continued professional education includes having taken postgraduate classes focusing on leadership and management at Harvard Business School.

Laura Hastings and her husband, Brad O’Neill, have lived in the Estates since 1996. Their two daughters, Katie and Emily have attended the Garden City schools since kindergarten. They are currently in their junior and freshman years, respectively, at the High School. Ms. Hastings is an attorney licensed to practice law in New York State since 1990. After clerking for the Honorable Thomas C. Platt, Chief Judge of the United States District Court in the Eastern District of New York, Ms. Hastings was a commercial litigator in the New York office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. She subsequently practiced at a Manhattan litigation boutique firm which has since merged into the firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP.

Laura has had a long held interest in education and has a strong desire to help the Garden City community continue to provide excellence as an education standard. From July 2009 through June 2012,

Ms. Hastings served on the Garden City School Board as the At-Large Trustee for the Central Section. During that time period she attended several POA meetings in both the Central Section as well as in the Estates. She served as member of the Board of Education’s policy committee as well as a member of the Long Island Regional Advocacy Committee. Laura will work diligently to maintain the high Garden City Community standards while certainly recognizing the values and needs of the residents. Before being on the Board of Education, Ms. Hastings was an active PTA volunteer serving on the

World Language Committee as well as on the site base team for Homestead. Before her children entered the Garden City Public School System, Laura was actively involved in the Garden City Nursery School, serving as their President as well as holding various fundraising positions. Ms.

Hastings earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School where she was valedictorian of the class of 1989. She earned her B.A. in American Studies from Yale where she was a Prince Fellowship Scholar and ran for the Yale track team.

The Estates POA and Estates Nominating Committee encourage all residents of the Estates to attend the Estates Electors’ Meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. in Stratford School Auditorium.

The Members of the Nominating Committee are:
Manuel Velez (Chairperson), Robert Bommarito (Assistant Chairperson), Rachel Cashwell, Tina Dimino,, Matt Genova, Phil Gullo, Allen Mathers, Jerie Newman, Greg Senken, John Skramko, Tom Stenson, Paul Van Valkenberg, Michael Ventre, Linda Wangner and Cathy Wood.

Submitted by the Estates Nominating Committee.

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