Nominating Committee Selects Nick Episcopia for Village Board

The 15-member Garden City East Nominating Committee has unanimously nominated Nick Episcopia, current deputy mayor from the East, to the village’s Board of Trustees for a new two-year term.

Episcopia, who was first elected a trustee from the East in 2005, expressed his interest in continuing to serve our village and the Committee agreed that he has done an outstanding job representing not only the interests of the East but of the entire village.

Nick currently serves as liaison to the Recreation Commission, chairman of the Public Information Committee and chairman of Mayor Watras’ Committee on St. Paul’s. He served two terms as liaison to the Library Board of Trustees, chaired the Vacancies Committee and the Traffic Commission (where he is currently a member), is a past commissioner of Buildings and served as liaison to the Garden City Chamber of Commerce.

As commissioner of Public Works, Nick was instrumental in the BOT’s adoption of institutional due diligence on contractors for projects of $500,000 or more. Having served several terms as Fire commissioner, he supported elimination of a paid management position, which restored management of the Fire Department to the volunteer chiefs where it legally belongs and supported the chiefs’ plan to reduce career firefighters’ overtime without sacrificing service.

As chairman of the Environmental Advisory Board, one of his first assignments, he worked with Garden City residents and officials from neighboring communities to formulate strategies to oppose the LIRR third track and spoke at the MTA’s “scoping sessions.” As a result, the Capital Review Board required full disclosure of the rail project’s effects on nearby businesses and residences.

Nick persuaded the BOT to retain a special consultant to measure emissions from boxes installed on rear yard utility poles by NextG to ensure that there is no level of danger to residents. He also supported the installation of sound mufflers on the NextG boxes.

Nick is a regular attendee at the monthly Nassau Village Officials’ Meetings, was the BOT’s representative at the NY Conference of Mayors’ two-day meeting in Albany on state legislation that affects villages, and has direct communication with officials of the Town of Hempstead regarding such issues as the HUB, Covanta, public transportation plans and zoning of the area to the east of the village that includes Roosevelt Field.

Working with other elected officials and the EPOA, he helped eliminate the proposal for a light rail system that would have cut through the East, and continues to attend presentations by the county’s consultant on HUB transportation proposals. He was especially involved with planning Garden City’s participation at the Hempstead Town Board’s environmental and zoning hearings on the original Lighthouse proposal that would have negatively impacted Garden City, and encouraged mayors of neighboring villages to participate as well.

From 1998 to 2005, Nick served on the EPOA Board, holding the positions of vice president and president. Nick and his wife, Dorothy, have lived in the village for 40 years and raised their two children here. Their daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren live in the East.

Members of the GC East Nominating Committee are Judy Courtney (chair), John Donachie, Matthew Durnan, Andrew J. Galligan, Jr., Jaime Gans, Maureen McConnell, Walter McKenna, Patrick McNamara, Ken Moody, Gerri Moratti, Ted Rechner, Robert H. Stark, Jr., Leo Stimmler, Matt Teri and John Wilton.

Additional proposals for nominations as village trustee may be made by petition filed with the corporate secretary of the EPOA at least 30 days prior to the January resident electors’ meeting and signed by not less than 15 resident electors.

Any nominating petition so filed shall, in addition, set forth the residence addresses of the signers, the names and addresses of the persons proposed for nomination for village offices and the offices for which they are proposed.

The filing deadline for the upcoming Jan. 21, 2014, resident electors’ meeting is Dec. 22. The corporate secretary of the EPOA is Debra Tennyson-Feinstein. Her address is 39 Clinton Road, Garden City.

Submitted by EPOA president Christine Mullaney