Incumbent trustees James Versocki and Mark Sobel are running unopposed in the Village of Sea Cliff’s election on Tuesday, March 18.
Versocki, who is running for his third term, said he has been involved in discussions over the village’s water supply. Sobel, who is running for his second term, said he prioritizes environmental issues.
Versocki moved to the village in 2010. He said he has always been involved in the community and previously served on the zoning board. However, he didn’t run for trustee until 2021.
“I really wanted to give back more to the community,” he said.
Versocki serves as the village representative on the Water Authority of the North Shore.
“That is something that I’ve dedicated a lot of time to in my term, and I’m very hopeful that that process can conclude during the next term,” he said.
Versocki is one of six representatives in the region, with others representing Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Roslyn Harbor, Glen Cove and Old Brookville.
Versocki said he has been “involved in understanding the water supply” since 2017 when he served on a community nonprofit looking to enhance the water. He said he is able to apply the skills and information he learned there to his current position at the water authority.
Outside of the village, Versocki is a labor and employment attorney and the chairperson of the North Shore school board’s legislative action committee.
Sobel moved to Sea Cliff in 2013. Even before he assumed his role as trustee in 2023, he attended each village board meeting and volunteered in the community.
“Always, what I wanted to do was help people,” he said.
Sobel said he is a retired union president for the letter carriers in Queens and that he is “used to elected positions.”
He said his priority is the environment, aiming to protect the village’s shoreline. Sobel said he is a member of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor and represents the village as a liaison in the state’s Climate Smart Communities program.
In his next term, Sobel said he hopes to expand his work with the state program. He said the village can earn “points,” which would qualify it for larger grants in the future.
Outside his work with the village, Sobel said he runs the Sea Cliff Arts Council, which offers art programs, including music, theater, acting, writing, drawing and painting.
Sea Cliff, Sobel said, is a “special place.”
“This board is not only the most active, but it’s the most caring,” he said.
Versocki said the “biggest focus” of the board’s work next term will be upgrading village zoning codes. Mayor Elena Villafane, who is also running unopposed for reelection this month, said the codes have not been considered “holistically” since their adoption in 1979.
The Sea Cliff election will be held on March 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Department of Public Works, located at 66 Altamont Ave. For more information, visit www.seacliff-ny.gov.
