Nassau Legislature’s newest member has officially been sworn into office.
Uniondale Democrat Olena Nicks took office March 10 after winning the Feb. 25 special election to represent the county’s Second Legislative District.
“The first few days have been great,” Nicks said, who added that her biggest priorities were cutting down on wasteful spending, improving housing access and being a visible, helpful resource in the community. “I’m working alongside my colleagues, learning the ins and outs of the role and what we can do to deliver more for our first responders and the residents of Nassau County.”
The Second District, which includes Westbury, New Castle, and Uniondale, was previously represented by Democrat Siela Bynoe. Bynoe, who had held the seat since 2014, left the seat partway through this current term when she was elected to the state Senate in November. Nicks will hold the seat until November, at which point she plans to run for office in Nassau’s Fifth Legislative District due to redrawn maps.
Prior to winning the seat in February, Nicks has been a president and trustee of Uniondale Public Library, second lieutenant of Uniondale’s Fire Department, treasurer of Uniondale’s community land trust, and co-president of the community council.
“My focus is going to be housing,” Nicks, who has worked to increase housing access in Uniondale for years, said of her priorities. “It’s going to be ensuring that we’re at least trying to come up with a solution for the homelessness issue, making sure that we’re focusing on our social services and those that are getting cut,” she said, adding she’d be looking to work with local non-profits to remedy housing issues and would look to how she could help fill the hole the closure of Safe Center Long Island will create.
Nicks said her other primary focuses in office would be supporting the community’s first responders, cutting down on wasteful county spending, and general fiscal responsibility. She said she was already looking into reducing the spending county officials use on outside legal counsel and exploring ways to refund residents for improperly collected fines from red light cameras.
She said another of her priorities was becoming a visible, well-known resource in the community who residents can count on for reliable information. Her first community event is a March 18 tax assessment grievance workshop at John J. Byrne Community Center from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“We have plans to start more town halls so that we’re more visible in case residents can’t make it to the legislator building,” Nicks said. “We understand, especially in the communities that I serve, information being disseminated has always been an area of contention. We want to make sure that residents are heard and get the necessary information that’s going to affect them.”
Nicks said she looks forward to continuing to meet her constituents and working to serve them during her time in office.
