New Hyde Park has a new trustee and a new budget.
The village’s April board meeting saw a new face, Trustee Edward Quinlan, at the board table. Quinlan was sworn in Thursday after winning the March election with 257 votes. He ran unopposed, and filled the seat that had been held by Arthur Savarese, who stepped down at the end of the previous term.
“I am honored to serve as a trustee on the village board,” Quinlan said, thanking the mayor and his fellow trustees for welcoming him to the position. “I look at this as an opportunity to give back to a vibrant and involved community that has done so much for my entire family.”
The board also voted to approve the village’s 2025-2026 $7,962,002 budget, which is partially funded by a 1.65% tax levy increase. According to Village Clerk Rebecca Sheehan, that increase will be felt by the average village family as a $29.70 annual increase in property taxes.
This year’s budget was up $216,723 from last year’s $7,745,279 budget, Sheehan said. She added that healthcare benefits, salary increases negotiated through a collective bargaining agreement and increased cost of materials for building and vehicle repairs were some of this year’s primary budget drivers.
While speaking about the budget, New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane reviewed the three capital construction projects the village will be actively working on this year, including the village’s new community center, the new park on South 12th Street and improvements to the village’s Department of Public Works building. The mayor said all three projects will be completed across the next two years.
The board also heard a handful of public comments, ranging from questions on the budget, concerns on the recent appearance of a Scabby the Rat balloon within the village, requests for street improvements and complaints about trucks driving down narrower, side streets.
Multiple residents raised concerns on road safety, asking the mayor to add stop signs, one-way road markers, slower speed limits and prevent loud, large trucks from driving down side streets, where they are not supposed to travel.
Devane said his administration was aware of the issues, would work to address the concerns he was able to, and in some cases, was already acting to remedy them.
He also used the meeting to promote the litany of events that will take place in the village on April 26.
Alongside the village’s 100-year-anniversary celebration at 10 a.m. and Little League parade at 12 p.m., there will be a special dedication of the police booth at Jericho Turnpike and Lakeville Road in honor of Patrolman Benedict, a Nassau County Police Officer, who died in the line of duty in 1939, at 4 p.m. The ceremony is occurring in conjunction with the Police Department’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
“April 26 is a huge day in the village,” Devane said. He encouraged residents to come out to participate in the events.
