Polls will be open for the Village of Lynbrook election on March 19.
Mayor Alan Beach and Deputy Mayor Hilary Becker have been locked in a hotly contested race for mayor. Beach is part of the New Vision Party, with incumbent Trustees Ann Marie Reardon and Robert Boccio. Becker formed the Preserve Lynbrook Party, which includes trustee candidates Antoniella Tavella and Steve Ligouri. Lynbrook businessman David O’Neill was recently confirmed to appear on the ballot, and is running independently for trustee.
Here is a closer look at all of the candidates:
Alan Beach
Robert Boccio
Boccio, 46, was appointed trustee by Beach in December 2017, filling the role that was vacated when Beach became mayor and appointed Becker as his deputy.
Boccio has lived in Lynbrook since 2005. He has experience in public service dating back to the 1990s, and he is a partner at the Garden City-based law firm Vigorito, Barker, Porter & Patterson LLP, primarily handling medical malpractice defense cases.
He also teaches at Columbia University, and has served as a member and chairman of the village’s Board of Ethics and Board of Zoning Appeals and as an assistant village prosecutor. In addition, he previously worked in former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration and ran unsuccessfully for Lynbrook mayor in 2007. He is involved in many youth sports programs locally.
Like Reardon, Boccio said his main focus, if re-elected, would be to strengthen the tax base.
On development in the village, he said, “To attract appropriate development, we must take a multi-faceted approach that includes focusing on public safety, continual village beautification and enhancement of infrastructure with respect to roads, parking and our train station.”
Steve Ligouri
Ligouri, 62, is a lifelong Lynbrook resident, and he and his wife, Elizabeth, raised their children Steven, Caitlin, Margaret and Jack, in the village.
He served for 12 years on the village’s Architectural Review Board, for which he was chairman, and he is a commercial insurance broker for Marsh & McLennan Companies.
Ligouri said he was disappointed in how the Cornerstone project was handled, and said he decided to run for trustee to help create a more transparent, accountable government.
“I am running for office with the hopes to use my real-world business experience to tackle the problems that face our village,” he said, “which include expanding access to the village board through an open-door policy, cutting taxes, stopping major tax cuts to big developers, and stopping the Cornerstone project once and for all.”
Antoniella Tavella
Tavella, 45, has been active in the Lynbrook community for nine years. She was among the founders of the Lynbrook Community Alliance, which helped stop a gun range and spa that was proposed for the downtown.
Tavella and her husband have raised three children in the village, and she has worked in accounting, consulting and project management for 25 years.
She said the lack of transparency over the proposed gun range — and later the Cornerstone — inspired her to run for trustee. Her goal, if she were elected, would be to provide open, honest government that residents could rely on, she said.
“I want to preserve our village for future generations, which includes standing up against big developers who plan to fundamentally alter our way of life, damage our schools, hike our taxes and harm our village,” she said.
David O'Neill
O’Neill, 51, has lived in Lynbrook for 45 years and graduated from Lynbrook High School in 1985. He owns Great Bay Realty & Peak Research, which handles title insurance for real estate transactions. He previously owned Village Car Service and All Metro Mortgage.
O’Neill has attended village board meetings for several years. He also provided free transportation for attendees of Lynbrook High’s prom when he owned the car service, and he coached Lynbrook Titans lacrosse for 10 years.
O’Neill said he was inspired to run because he believes he can bring change to the village, including its decisions on who can build projects and which new businesses would be right for the downtown.
“We need to look for new businesses to open here in Lynbrook, which will bring people here, and in turn will help our existing businesses thrive in today’s challenging economy,” he said.