Garden City Mayor, Trustees Begin New Terms

After swearing in himself for another four-year term, Village Justice Allen S. Mathers administered the oath of office to newly elected Garden City Mayor Brian C. Daughney, re-elected Trustees John A. DeMaro and Stephen S. Makrinos and newly elected Trustees Louis M. Minuto and Mark A. Hyer during the annual organizational meeting Monday, April 3, 2017.

Mayor Daughney had served as Trustee on behalf of the Estates Property Owners’ Association since May 2010. Most recently, he helped lead the efforts to renovate the Senior Center, the playing fields at Community Park and the pool facility. He has also advocated for changing and updating the Village’s financial and accounting systems and personnel, and controlling municipal employee costs.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Daughney highlighted new procedures and practices that will be considered under his leadership, such as reorganizing Board members into teams versus liaisons to focus topically rather than departmentally.

“The worst thing we can do is become complacent. We have to keep examining and assessing everything we do,” Mayor Daughney said. “Quite frankly, doing anything because it’s ‘always been done that way’ is not acceptable.”

Trustee Minuto, who was nominated by the Central Property Owners’ Association (CPOA) in January, replaces outgoing deputy mayor Richard V. Silver, who did not seek re-election. “As a lifelong resident of Garden City, Trustee Minuto said he looks forward to the “preservation of both the Village’s unique visual aesthetic and the fiscal responsibility that all residents expect from Village leadership.”

Trustee Hyer replaces outgoing Mayor Nicholas P. Episcopia in the East. He is a 17-year resident of Garden City and 13-year active member of the Garden City Volunteer Fire Department. “I am ready and willing to undertake the extensive responsibility and time commitment necessary to serve as a Village Trustee,” he said.

Trustee Makrinos begins his second, two-year term representing the West while Trustee DeMaro is serving the remaining year of Mayor Daughney’s unexpired term. He was first elected to the Board in 2011.

The new Board will hold its next meeting on Thursday, April 20. Among the topics to be discussed is a review of projects and priorities and targeted action deadlines.

“We are a Board, and we intend on working together to identify and solve, when we can, issues and problems. We may not all agree all the time but our goals are the same,” Mayor Daughney said. “The Mayor seat is an honor but we work together as a Board. There is no ‘I’ in Board of Trustees.”

Photos: Village of Garden City