Meet the new Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, Jennifer A. Fava.
The current president of the New York State Recreation and Park Society, Fava will oversee the maintenance, staffing and program schedules of more than 20 town park facilities and the .
“Jennifer Fava brings to the role of Parks and Recreation Commissioner over 20 years of distinguished service in the parks and recreation field,” Supervisor Jon Kaiman noted, in a statement.
According to Deputy Supervisor Christopher Senior, the search to fill this slot was "rigourous," with more than 100 applicants vying for the spot.
Fava was a member of the Westchester Recreation and Park Society and the National Recreation and Park Society. As superintendent of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Yorktown, she boosted revenue by 20 percent over five years, and developed and managed a multimillion dollar budget, according to a Town of North Hempstead spokesman. In this position she coordinated the expansion of a townwide trail system.
Buildings Department News
More than 60 architects, developers, and real estate attorneys met Monday with Kaiman and North Hempstead officials to discuss fine-tuning the town’s Buildings Department to better serve both residents and industry professionals.
There, Kaiman announced the hiring of building department inspectors and clerical staff. He aims to hire more plans examiners and a new deputy commissioner. The industry experts at the meeting recieved a handout of proposed code changes and were asked for their feedback.
The meeting was held after a series of "brainstorming sessions" that will culminate with an April 30 conference on Building Departmen enhancements.
“The goal is to make the Buildings Department more user-friendly,” Supervisor Kaiman said. “We want people to invest in improvements to our community, but we also want compliance with our building codes.”
Coming off what the Supervisor called a “crisis” caused in part by a culture in which the codes were often interpreted differently or ignored, the Buildings Department came under restructuring with the ultimate goal of making it a national model.
“Supervisor Kaiman is sending a great message,” said Richard Bivone, Nassau County Chair of the Long Island Business Council, in a statement. “It’s the first time in my 27 years in the industry that I’ve seen any elected official reach out to the constituents to try to fix a problem. These meetings will go a long way to make it so that the public can go to the Buildings Department and efficiently conduct business.”
The Town has scheduled additional work sessions with industry professionals before a April 30 conference.
