Junior mayors tour Valley Stream

After winning an essay contest, two sixth-graders toured the village with Mayor Ed Fare last week, as per a Valley Stream tradition in which students learn about the duties of the mayor the day after Thanksgiving.

Damiana Barrera and Bryan Francese, both 11, sat down in an exclusive interview with the Herald to discuss what they’d learned, and if they would decide to run for the office someday.

“I think it would be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work,” Damiana said.

Bryan wasn’t so sure about his mayoral future.

“Yes and no,” he said. “Yes because I’d like to keep the civilians that are in my town happy, but no because I’d actually like to spend time with my family and not just stay in the office.”

The essay contest included nearly 100 entrants from schools in Valley Stream. Damiana was selected from Brooklyn Avenue Elementary School and Bryan became the first-ever student to participate from the Shaw Avenue Elementary School in the six-year history of the event.

Touring the village

The day began in Fare’s office, where the honorees were given detailed itineraries and had the chance to see what it was like to sit in the mayor’s desk chair. After a quick photo session, they bid their parents farewell and got down to business.

The first stop was a visit to the Arlington Avenue Department of Public Works yard, where the children learned lessons about the many tasks sanitation workers tackle daily. On the way there, Fare explained that residents in Valley Stream throw away 48,000 pails of garbage per week, and that every single spec of it needs to be weighed.

Upon getting to the yard, the two honorary mayors were handed orange safety vests and gloves, and enjoyed some hot chocolate and donuts. The children were then given the opportunity to test their truck-weighing skills by using the department’s computer system.

The stop was special for Bryan since his mother, Christine Jurcsac, and father, Frankie Francese, work for the sanitation department. “My favorite part was the sanitation,” Bryan said, “Because basically my whole family works there and I’ve never weighed a truck before.”

After learning the ins and outs of the weighing station, Damiana and Bryan operated the dumping mechanism on one of the trucks and were given a ride in another.

The next stop was to construction site of the new village courthouse on Rockaway Avenue. Fare explained the many functions the building has served since its construction in 1926, including when it operated as Village Hall in the first 20 years of its existence.

Inside, the students donned hard hats as Maintenance Supervisor Jimmy Neil took them on a tour through the building and explained the various phases of its construction. Fare noted that the tentative completion date for the project would be in early 2017.

From there, Fare drove the children to the Village Pool. Damiana and Bryan were fascinated by the drained swimming pools and the winterized version of the facilities. Village employee Eugene Boening showed them a room that houses the filters and chemicals as well as a place where he stores all of the plants for the winter.

“My favorite part of the day was when we went to the Valley Stream pool,” Damiana said. “Because we rode in the little car and then we got to the park and the guy gave us plants.”

The final stop was the Community Center, where the children sat down to lunch and met back up with their parents.

Though neither of them ruled out becoming mayor one day, they both have plenty of aspirations. Damiana hopes to be a veterinarian, a teacher or a scientist, while Bryan said he’d like to be the CEO of a company.

“The most interesting thing I learned about was how Mr. Fare manages a lot of stuff,” Damiana said, “and how everyone listens to him and makes sure they do everything correct for him.”