Mailbag

Letters to the Editor: East Rockaway, Lynbrook

March 7-13, 2013

Posted

Gaffney would be welcome addition to team

To the Editor:

I am glad that we have an energetic young mother so engaged in our community like Theresa Gaffney running for Village Trustee. It gives me hope in East Rockaway’s future. Theresa will be a welcome addition to Mayor Francis T. Lenahan’s team.

Gaffney has constantly rolled up her sleeves to help East Rockaway and its neighbors. As president of the Village Foundation, she spearheaded funding for the annual Stars & Stripes Festival through donations. Since she took over planning with Lenahan, we’ve had a fantastic summer event at zero cost to the taxpayer. Her leadership also helped bring two pieces of sacred steel from the World Trade Center to East Rockaway’s Memorial Park for our community to reflect on for decades to come.

As president of the non-profit Village Foundation of East Rockaway Inc., and in response to Hurricane Sandy, Gaffney and her board organized a massive drive to provide relief, aid and assistance to our community. This effort raised over $30,000, which was promptly reinvested in our community in the form of a gift card program for people affected by the hurricane. By purchasing the gift cards through St. Raymond’s School, there was a benefit for our school children as well.

As trustee and now president of the East Rockaway Library Board and, with the help of a dedicated staff, Theresa ran a temporary library out of the Charles H. Formont Senior Center and oversaw the rebuilding of the library after the hurricane. The library was back up and running, just 14 weeks after Sandy. A new central desk, carpeting, mold treatment for books are just some of the new features at the library.

As a wife and mother of two children, Theresa is invested in our community’s future and, if she is elected, I am confident she will contribute vastly to Lenahan and the Village Board’s efforts to keep our village moving forward.

Billy F. Kouvatsos
East Rockaway

 

Judge Siegel qualified for the job

To the Editor:

One of the most important elected officials in East Rockaway is someone everyone hopes they never meet in an official capacity, and that’s Village Justice Steven Siegel.

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