Mineola Mayor’s Message: Red Light Cameras and Portugal Celebrations

The following are the opening remarks of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss made during the public meeting of the Mineola Village Board on June 5, 2013:

Last month I had the honor of installing the officers of our chamber of commerce for the coming year. We’re extremely fortunate to have a group of business owners we have here in Mineola. Our chamber of commerce coordinates such events as our street fair and movie night in the park. I want to wish president Bill Greene and his team great success, I want to thank them again for all they do for Mineola; please support the local businesses here and shop locally.

I also installed the officers for the AARP this year, Dave Keith is staying on as president. I wish to thank the officers who are stepping aside and welcome those who are stepping up.

The Memorial Day Parade and ceremony was a huge success thanks to commander Carl Marchese and his team for a job well done and put together a fitting tribute to our veterans who have given their all for our country.

I wish to congratulate longtime Mineola resident Walter Hobbs for being inducted into the New York State Veterans Hall of Fame. Mr. Hobbs we thank you for your service, not only to our country but for everything you continue to do for our community; that recognition is certainly well deserved.

This morning I attended the Mineola High School senior awards ceremony. I had the honor of presenting the mayor’s citizenship award to Danielle Martinez McCormick, a well-deserving student who has done a tremendous amount of service to our community. Congratulations to all the recipients of the many awards and scholarships that they were given were certainly well deserved and we wish the Class of 2013 the best the world has to offer.

This weekend at Wilson Field is the annual Portuguese-American festival, it begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon, please stop by and enjoy the camaraderie and food of our Portuguese community.

Deputy mayor Paul Pereira has been selected by Nassau County as the Portuguese man of the year. This coming Monday, which is Portuguese Celebration Day, he along with many others from Mineola will be recognized for their contributions to our community. The festivities run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. again on this coming Monday at the executive building at 1550 Franklin Avenue. Please come down and congratulate the honorees.

On June 19 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nassau County Legislator Rich Nicolello will be hosting a child car safety seat check here at the parking lot at village hall. A member of the Nassau Traffic and Safety Board will be on hand to inspect your child car seats and make sure that they are installed in your vehicle properly. Car seats are required for every child under the age of seven. If you wish to ensure that your car seat is installed correctly, please call Rich Nicolello’s office at 571-6209 for an appointment.

Hurricane season has started. Although typically this area doesn’t have much of a concern regarding hurricanes until August, please review the hurricane safety information that’s been published to better prepare you, your families and your homes. I will be getting more information out to you in the coming weeks.

Lastly, Nassau County will soon be installing red light cameras at the intersections of Mineola Boulevard and Jericho Turnpike and Willis Avenue and Jericho Turnpike. These intersections were chosen by the county based on the number of accidents that were attributed to people running through red lights. We – ‘we’ meaning the village board – does not have control over the cameras or the tickets given out and according to state law, will not be able to share in any revenue gained from the summonses issued. Although no one likes to get red light tickets or any tickets at all, statistics do show there is a 40 percent reduction in accidents at intersections that have red light cameras and a 30 percent reduction in rear-end collisions at those intersections.

I’m concerned that the county ripping up our newly-paved roads since literally Jericho Turnpike is weeks old, the representatives from the county stated that the company contracted to install the cameras will use a boring method to install these cameras which will go from one side of the road to another underneath the roadway with little to no impact on the road surface. I will certainly keep you all informed as this project progresses.

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