Council approves changes to commissions and boards

It was a night of continued change for Glen Cove City Hall as the City Council unanimously voted to appoint more than a dozen new residents to open positions on the city’s boards, commissions and agencies during a council meeting on Jan. 14. 

Among the big changes was a near complete overhaul to the Planning and Zoning Boards. In the Planning Board, the city council appointed three new members and named existing member John DiMascio as the new chairman of the board. Meanwhile, in the Board of Zoning and Appeals, the City Council chose to only keep Chairperson Teri Moschetta and Charles Chiclacos. The council also opted to implement staggered terms for the BZA, which means three seats would up for reappointment at the end of 2020, with the other four up by the end of 2022.     

“That’s the way the charter states the board should be, but we’ve strayed from that over the years,” City Councilwoman Marsha Silverman said. She also thanked residents for applying to the board positions. “It’s great to get in some new blood in the city.” 

Another key appointment that the City Council made during the meetings was that of the new city attorney, Greg Kalnitsky. Kalnitsky, 33, previously served as an attorney in the City of Long Beach’s government for seven years, which Tenke saw as very promising, given that Long Beach is the only other city government in Nassau County. Kalnitsky will official begin his new job on Jan. 22, and unlike his predecessor, Charles McQuair, Kalnitsky will serve as a full-time attorney for the city. 

“I look forward to working with the mayor and city council and advising them on their day-to-day business,” Kalnitsky said. 

Although Tenke and McQuair have clashed multiple times in the past, with Tenke trying to fire him in 2017, the two departed on amicable terms, as Tenke thanked McQuair for his years of service to the city. But not every replacement ended without incident. During the Jan. 14 meeting, former City Clerk Tina Pemberton, who had served the city for 12 years, criticized Tenke for her termination. Pemberton said that while she kept asking Tenke for updates on whether she would keep her position under his new term, she did not find out until she received a letter about her firing on Dec. 24. Pemberton also alleged that the new clerk, Gaspare Tumminello, will earn a higher salary than she did despite previous attempts at asking for a raise. 

“After all the years we worked together, how could you just send a letter over the mail,” Pemberton asked. 

Tenke said he would not discuss personnel matters publicly.