Judges Overturn Ruling, Revival Party Off Ballot

A panel of four judges in Brooklyn's Supreme Court Appellate Division reversed last week's decision that kept Manorhaven Revival Party candidates on the ballot for the June 15 election, despite a missing notarized signature on the application necessary to run.

The Thursday decision, which knocked mayoral candidate Giovanna Giunta and fellow Revival Party candidates Dorit Zeevi-Farrington and Mark Lazarovic off the ballot, leaves the three with only one choice — to run as write-in candidates. All three candidates have confirmed that they will still try to unseat the Environment Party candidates — incumbents, Mayor Michael T. Meehan and Trustee Brendan P. Fahey along with running mate Patrick B. Gibson — despite not being listed on the ballot.

"I can't believe that we were brought to court," Giunta said. "They are trying to deny Manorhaven residents an opportunity to effect real change. The mayor and his friends are so afraid to lose control and their grip of the village. They have had us removed from the ballot on Election Day for what my attorney calls a hyper technicality."

In response to the court's decision, Mayor Michael T. Meehan said, "The victory is not mine in as much it is a victory for the people. The opposition has been exposed as incompetent and not responsible to the requirements of the law."

The Village of Manorhaven elections will take place on Tuesday, June 15, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Manorhaven Village Hall, located at 33 Manorhaven Blvd.

The following are bios supplied to Port Washington Patch by the candidates:

Environment Party — on the ballot

• MICHAEL T. MEEHAN was elected Mayor in 2008 and is seeking his second term. He is a member of the Board of the Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District and served seven years on the Manorhaven BZA prior to his election. He is a Port Washington native and has resided in the "Beach Haven" section of the village for 11 years. Meehan graduated from St. Peter's School, Weber JHS and Schreiber HS. He attended SUNY Oneonta, following graduation from Sullivan County CC. A former U.S. Naval Reservist, he recently retired from the U.S. Postal Service, after 25 years at the Port Washington P.O. He is married with three children, all of whom presently attend or graduated from Port Schools.
• BRENDAN P. FAHEY is also seeking his second term on the Board of Trustees. A resident of the "Orchard Beach" section, he has lived in the village for 21 years. Fahey is a U.S. Navy veteran and former U.S. Naval Reservist. He served on the Manorhaven BZA for many years before being elected Trustee. For the past 20 years, he has been employed by the Town of North Hempstead Highway Department. He is married with one daughter, a graduate of Schreiber High School. 
• PATRICK B. GIBSON has been a village resident for the past nine years and proudly claims "Manhasset Isle" as his home. Gibson has been a member of the Manorhaven BZA for the past two years. He is Chairman of the "Manorhaven Light Party," which has successfully sponsored the candidacies of Trustee John DiLeo and Trustee Rita DiLucia. He pursued his higher education at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and later received an MBA degree. He is an executive for a NYC-based communications firm. Gibson is married with three sons (ages 7, 5 and 4) all of whom attend St. Peter's School. 

Manorhaven Revival Party — write-in candidates

• GIOVANNA GIUNTA, the mayoral candidate, is a lifelong Manorhaven resident and her family has lived here since 1956. She is the owner and co-founder of a local transportation company and has previously worked at St. Francis Hospital as a nurse technologist with 15 years experience with hospice and geriatric patients. She studied early childhood development and is currently a substitute para-professional in the Port Washington School District. She has two children in the school system.
• MARK LAZAROVIC, a candidate for trustee, has resided in Port Washington for over 36 years and has lived in Manorhaven for 10 years. He is a builder, developer and general contractor with more than 42 years experience. He was a member and Chairman of the Manorhaven Architectural Review Board from 2005 to 2008. He has an engineering and economics degree from the Polytechic Institute of NYU. His seven children all graduated from Port Washington schools.
• DORIT ZEEVI-FARRINGTON, a candidate for trustee, has lived in Manorhaven for three years. She was a First Lieutenant in the Israeli IDF Services and among the first women logistics officers. She received a BBA in Finance and Economics from Baruch and an MBA from NYU's Stern School of Business. For 10 years she was First Vice President and Director of Trading Research, Instinet Corporation. Currently, she is the president and co-founder of three yacht charter companies that travel throughout New York harbor and the Long Island sound. She has one daughter in elementary school.

The candidates were asked to answer a few questions to give voters a better sense of who they are and what they stand for. The questions and answers are as follows:

Port Washington Patch: "What is your vision regarding Manorhaven in the next 10 years from an economic and aesthetic perspective?"

Environment Party: The village must enhance the character of its residential neighborhoods while fostering sensible development of its commercial districts. First, we must ensure that any development maintains our Village's traditional, maritime feel. Second, we must actively foster commerce, using grant money and architectural design guidelines to improve the appearance of commercial areas and decrease vacant storefronts. Third, we must develop public amenities for residents. We envision the Morgan's Dock property as a functioning village dock with mooring fields. Giving residents mooring rights would significantly increase residential property values. We are also working on beautifying the Village Preserve, creating a pedestrian connection to the Bay Walk. We are excited to imagine residents walking along the bay and stopping to shop or eat at our local businesses.

Manorhaven Revival Party: The three of us would love to see a beautiful village that has a new face: well kept roads adorned with trees, a new village dock and park at Morgan's Dock, thriving small businesses on Shore Road and Manorhaven Boulevard, a dog park, a restored Conservation Park by the Senior Citizens Center. Even more exciting, we would love to see a New England-style village with a beautiful waterfront and thriving wild life, where the residents preserve and celebrate the village's long-forgotten nautical heritage. Basically, a great place where young and old can enjoy living in.

Patch: What do you see as the biggest issue and biggest challenge regarding the Village of Manorhaven? And what do you plan to do about each of them?

Environment Party: The biggest issue in the village right now is the controversy concerning the cell tower. We are all angered by the tower's presence in a residential neighborhood. The most important task is to address this issue responsibly, without endangering the village's finances. The mayor has assembled an expert legal team, commissioned a proper survey of the property, and retained a structural engineering firm. These professionals continue to advise the mayor and the Board of Trustees. By avoiding rash action, the village has kept the tower from being completed without creating a risk of litigation that would cause catastrophic costs for village taxpayers. Now the mayor is negotiating with the developer to move the tower out of our village.

The greatest challenge facing Manorhaven residents is high property taxes. The economy is in a bad way, and the effects of this are everywhere. In better days, the village received significantly more revenues from state aid, mortgage tax sharing, and sales tax sharing. Economic conditions have significantly decreased these revenue sources. The village needs to pursue its mission of improving our community and its infrastructure, but it needs to do so in a way that doesn't increase the burden on our taxpayers. The Meehan administration has worked diligently to secure federal and state grant money and to administer village finances prudently in order to keep improving our infrastructure without creating further hardship for our taxpayers.

Revival Party: We believe the non-responsive and non-communicative government at Village Hall makes life unpleasant for some residents and hard for others. We will change all that by establishing a responsive, ethical and transparent government, by creating an open and communicative atmosphere in Village Hall where residents' opinions and ideas are heard, where well-analyzed initiatives and improvements are undertaken and where community events that bring people together are planned and executed.

The burdening influence of outside groups is another serious issue we currently face. We are thrilled to say we are in no one's pocket and will guarantee this stays as such.

Protecting our sewer pump station that services the 6,500 residents of this village is a third issue we must address immediately. The pump station has been threatened by the construction of the cell phone tower adjacent to it (less than 20 feet away). This is the most major concern at this time as any breakdown or interference of the maintenance of the pump station will jeopardize the health and welfare of the entire Village of Manorhaven as the pump station is the command center of our sewer waste system. As elected officials, we will aggressively pursue all legal options to have this situation rectified.

In conclusion, the simple step of changing mayor and trustees will effect good change and bring about ease in conducting the village's affairs.

Patch: What are three goals you would like to accomplish in the next year, if elected?

Environment Party: First, we will continue to responsibly represent the village in negotiations with the cell tower developer in order to move the tower out of the village. Second, we will continue revitalizing the commercial corridor on Manorhaven Boulevard and Shore Road. We secured grant money to incentevize business owners to improve storefronts. We will also complete the Manorhaven Rain Garden Project, using grant money to provide for streetscape improvements, including permeable pavers, rain gardens, and plantings. This project will beautify the village while making it more environmentally friendly by reducing stormwater runoff — the largest source of water pollution in suburban America. Third, we will continue repairing and repaving village roads, as we have done on Matinecock Avenue and Hickory Road.

Revival Party:

Giovanna Giunta: We will establish a responsive, ethical and transparent government in Village Hall where no back room deals are permitted. We will create an open and communicative atmosphere in Village Hall where residents are welcome to stop by, convey their concerns and share their ideas for improvements. Alongside that, I will reinstate the long forgotten monthly newsletter.

We will undertake neglected projects and special initiatives to make life in the village more special for the various constituencies. These projects will include improving drainage throughout the village, ensuring street safety, creating the long-awaited dog park, restoring the preserve by the Senior Citizens Center and rebuilding Morgan's Dock into a village dock and park.

Mark Lazarovic: We will protect our sewer pump station that services the 6,500 residents of this village that has been threatened by the construction of the cell phone tower adjacent to it (less than 20 feet away). We will eliminate the burdening influence of external special interest groups who do not have the village or the residents' best interest and well being as their motivation. We will enhance the beautiful waterfront environment that makes Manorhaven so special as well as preserve and celebrate the long-forgotten nautical heritage of our village.

Dorit Zeevi-Farrington: We will scrutinize the village budget and verify it is proper and adequate for the needs of the people. All budget items will be reviewed, compared to other villages and thoroughly analyzed. Any inflated budget item will be realigned and frivolous expenses will be eliminated in order to keep our taxes down.

We will explore and evaluate ideas to halt stagnation and facilitate economic growth.

We will recreate Village Hall as a well-run place where government does not waste residents' time or resources and where all residents are treated fairly, efficiently and expeditiously.

Port Washington Patch reminds you to vote on Tuesday, June 15.