Remembering Nicholas A. Farina

The late Nicholas A. Farina was remembered not only as mayor, former principal of the Number Five School and former head football coach at Lawrence High School, but for his friendly manner and love for Cedarhurst village.

“Nick always had a smile on his face and could never do enough for you,” said Patrick Pizzarelli, the director of Athletics for the Lawrence School District, at last Friday’s memorial outside of village hall. Farina died in January.

Roy Meserole, and Inwood resident, echoed Pizzarelli’s words by saying Farina was very friendly and loved the village very much. “He was very involved and he walked around the village every day to make sure everything was in order,” he said.

Mayor Andrew J. Parise organized the memorial and asked people who knew Farina to speak.

Besides Pizzarelli, Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz of the Stecher and Horowitz School of the Arts in Cedarhurst, former Mayor of New Hyde Park, Warren Tackenberg, the Chairman of Cedarhurst Business Improvement District, Steven Schneider and former trustee Harry Taubenfeld and Farina’s sons, Terry and Tom spoke.

“He was a mayor who was very supportive of the Cedarhurst business district, which flourished while he was mayor,” Schneider said. “He was very approachable and always ready to speak to anybody.”

Mayor Parise, a 1942 graduate of Lawrence High School, had Farina for civics. “It’s been like a father son relationship,” he said about his relationship with Farina. “He’s the reason I’m here and the reason I’m involved in village government.” Parise will also be well remembered as village trustees approved renaming Cedarhurst Park, Andrew J. Parise Park, at the Nov. 8 board meeting.

Farina’s son, Tom, told the audience he used to hate going to the store with his father because he would always stop and talk to everyone. “It was also kind of tough having your dad as the principal,” he said. “I saw him plenty of times throughout the day, even when I didn’t want to.”

Terry, Farina’s second son congratulated the Village of Cedarhurst for recognizing his father and more specifically, for recognizing public service. "Years from now, someone will be sitting here (at Village Hall) and not know who Nick Farina is but they’ll know that my dad was a good man,” Terry said getting choked up. “And that person will recognize that the Village of Cedarhurst places high value on public service.”

When Taubenfeld spoke, he said future residents would walk by the memorial and wonder about the man that the memorial was erected for.

“When Farina left Bucknell University and was on his way to law school, he stopped by Lawrence High School to see his former coach who asked him to stay and coach the football team,” he said. “He didn’t make it to law school and if he did, we probably wouldn’t be here today.”