Lofaro Sworn in as New Hyde Park Mayor

“For the first time I see my name listed as a former mayor and so I know it’s official and I am so thrilled to be here tonight,” Dan Petruccio quipped Monday night, having officially put his mayor’s gavel away in exchange for the one-night title of master of ceremonies for the Village of New Hyde Park’s annual installation ceremony, which were being held at the William Gill Theater on the second floor of village hall.

“It’s a new era in the village and my wife likes to say this all the time to me, that ‘change is good’ and so we have change and change is the natural order of things,” the theology teacher at nearby Chaminade High School continued. “We’ve talked about God’s Providence but part of what God created is a world that changes continuously and part of that is a step in a different direction tonight with a new leader and a new mayor who I’m thrilled to call a dear, dear friend, who I am confident is going to lead this village for as many years as he decides to do it and a team behind him and with him that is second to none.”

That new era began Tuesday with Petruccio handing over the reins to his deputy mayor, now new village mayor Robert Lofaro.

“You are blessed to have had a wonderful mayor, Dan Petruccio, who’s handing off a great, great, great tenure during his term to Bob Lofaro, who has big shoes to fill, but is going to fill them very, very well,” Nassau County Clerk Maureen O’Connell said. “He has the knowledge, the experience and most importantly, the love and dedication of New Hyde Park.”

“Thank you very much and I promise this will not be an emotional speech,” Lofaro said after taking his oath. “I made sure I did all the crying when Dan left the meeting. Maybe it’s going to be the last time I tell the story about us getting involved in village government because they think that story’s been played out, however we have to create a new story.”

Village justice Chris Devane was the first one sworn in to his new term on the bench by associate justice Robert Morici, a prerequisite for installing the other officers.

“Dawn, my clerk said to me ‘Geez, you haven’t aged a day in the last 10 years as opposed to the village board who look considerably older’,” Devane quipped about it being the fourth time in the last 10 years that he has installed the trustees and mayor, before continuing tongue planted firmly in cheek: “Bobby actually came to me the night of the election. He came to me and said ‘how is it possible that you and Dan worked so well together over the last 10 years?’ Well, basically Dan said ‘it’s your court, do whatever you want, I said ‘that’s the way it worked’ and Bobby said ‘well, I want to continue that, but I don’t know if you know a little bit about me, people say I’m a little bit of a micromanager, I’m not but we’re going to do things a little differently: on court night, Tommy Gannon’s going to set up a video conference at my house and every decision that comes through, you have to check with me’.”

He later quoted one of his court reporters as to his reasons for still coming to work at an advanced age: “this isn’t work, this is family.”

The familial theme continued through the night as both reelected trustees Donald Barbieri and Lawrence Montreuil thanked members of the village staff for their work and support.

“This government does not work without the help and support of everyone who’s sitting in this room. We’re also cognizant of the fact that it couldn’t happen without your help, so thank you very much,” Barbieri said to those staff members in attendance.

“Thank you all for yet another load of confidence in our team and for the inspiration that you all give us that makes it so important,” Montreuil, the new new deputy mayor, said after being sworn in. “Our job is really made easy by the brilliant staff we have at village hall here; it really is a great operation run by great people.”

Attendees at the meeting may also have noticed Reliance Engine Company from Floral Park parked outside with Capt. Brian Hammerman in attendance for Lofaro, a 30-plus year member of the department.

“What you learn is there’s a certain bond you develop with individuals and these gentlemen, many of them were at the wakes of my mother and father, my brother, we’ve been together through good times, bad times, hurricanes, snowstorms, these are my family and I do appreciate you all coming tonight,” Lofaro said. “We have a number of priorities that we want to continue: we want to keep our taxes stable, we want to continue our road projects that began in 2001 – we started around 18 miles and we have 25, 27 miles of road, we have plenty of road left to do – we want to continue to make Jericho Turnpike as safe and pedestrian friendly to our residents, business owners and visitors, we want to continue to make sure the Long Island Railroad, their plan for a third track, if it is to be done or pursued is done with a design that is helpful to the village and does not disturb our quality or life, and we also want to make sure that property use is done in keeping with the character of our suburban community. We also want to make sure your garbage is picked up, your streets are plowed and your parks are here for you and your children; this is our mission.”

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