Grasso a village board shoo-in

Vincent Grasso is running unopposed for a one-year seat on the Valley Stream Village Board of Trustees. The special election will be held on Tuesday.

Grasso was appointed to the board in January by Mayor Ed Cahill to fill the seat formerly held by Guido Cirenza. The deputy mayor died in early October at age 85, after 14 years of service to village government.

In his two months on the board, Grasso said, he has been learning the position and has spent much time with the mayor and his fellow trustees. “They’ve been fantastic,” he said. “They’ve taken me under their wing and spent a lot of time explaining the details of the job.”

He said he has also spent a lot of time meeting village residents, and has recently been going door to door. Grasso said he has learned the “holy trinity” of services people want — garbage pickup, street repairs and plowed snow.

This has to be accomplished, he said, without overburdening the residents. “Obviously everybody wants their taxes kept low,” he said. “It’s a balancing act, and we’re working on it.”

Grasso, executive director of the Nassau County Bridge Authority, which manages the Atlantic Beach Bridge, said he has experience in budgeting and dealing with an aging infrastructure. He is also familiar with contract negotiations. The village is currently bargaining with its employees, while the bridge authority completed a new deal last year.

The 37-year-old has lived in the village for 12 years. He and his wife, Mary, have a 7-year-old daughter, Isabella, who attends the William L. Buck School. Grasso’s wife grew up in the village, and they live in the home in which her father grew up.

Grasso, a Democrat, is running on the United Community Party ticket, which holds all five seats on the village board. The coalition government consists of two Democrats, two Republicans and one Conservative, representing all areas of the village.

Cahill said that Grasso has been a welcome addition to the village board. “He’s adjusted very well,” Cahill said. “He’s a very intelligent, articulate young man.”