Massapequa Park Village will have three of its board members running for re-election on March 18, all unopposed.
Mayor Daniel Pearl, Deputy Mayor Tina Schiaffino, and Trustee Christine Wiss will be on the ballot, with the three saying that the current board works well together and they would to see it continue.
The mayor was first appointed as a trustee in 2012 and continued to serve in that capacity until he was elected mayor in 2020. He said becoming mayor during the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult. The village was listed as a hot zone, which Pearl said caused local businesses to suffer.
“We worked hand in hand with them to allow them more access,” the mayor said.
Pearl said infrastructure projects and upgrades to roads and village buildings have been focal points of his tenure. He said he wants to continue what the board has done into his next term.
When Pearl isn’t running the village, he serves as the commissioner of sanitation for the Town of Oyster Bay. He said he trusts his village board and staff to assist him when he is working as commissioner.
Schiaffino said she is happy about how the five board members have contributed to the village.
“I’ve really enjoyed the way our board has worked together,” she said.
Wiss agreed.
“I believe we are all proud to be a part of this board,” she said.
Schiaffino has served on the village board since 2010 and has been the deputy mayor since 2021. She said that the village has supplied the community with multiple events that have taken off in recent years.
The village has hosted Park After Dark for three years, which closes the streets on select dates and opens it up to community members, vendors, and live music.
“We address the needs of the community,” Schiaffino said. “When it comes forward, we meet, we talk, and we try to adjust whatever needs to be adjusted.”
The deputy mayor also serves as territory supervisor for Hallmark.
Schiaffino was initially appointed as a trustee when James Altadonna Jr. was the acting mayor. Altadonna joined the Town of Oyster Bay in 2013, making Jeff Pravato the mayor until he, too, joined the town board in 2019.
Teresa Spinosa then took the position, becoming the first woman mayor in village history. Pearl defeated Spinosa in the 2020 election.
Wiss has been a trustee on the board since 2020, previously serving on the village’s beautification committee and zoning board.
She said that the board has improved a wide variety of things throughout the village and that continuing to be financially responsible is something that she would like to see going into her next term.
Wiss has served as the deputy comptroller for the Town of Oyster Bay for over a decade and has been in government for the past 26 years.
Voting for all three districts throughout the village will be held at the Village Hall, located at 151 Front St., Massapequa Park, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
