Mayors for a day take a tour of the village

What does the mayor do? Two sixth-graders from the William L. Buck School took a stab at it when they submitted essays in the village’s Mayor for a Day competition, and won a tour of Valley Stream on Nov. 27.

“This is our fifth year now for Mayor for a Day, and I like the program because, of course, I’m a teacher,” said Mayor Ed Fare, who teaches a technology course at Central and South high schools. “I’ve always found, when the kids come and participate, they become civic-minded — they go back to their classrooms and talk this up to everyone, and that lets people know what the village does.”

Lanna Andux and Isaiah Allen were selected this year, and given a full tour of the village by Fare, who explained the day-to-day responsibilities of the position. The day started at Village Hall, where the kids received a detailed itinerary that included stops at the Sanitation Department, the courthouse under construction at 195 Rockaway Ave. and the village pool.

After a thorough test of the mayor’s chair, Lanna and Isaiah bid their parents goodbye. Department of Sanitation Supervisor Brian Leavey met them at the Arlington Avenue yard, where the kids received yellow safety vests and learned about the facility’s safety protocol.

Leavey demonstrated the process of weighing each truck while the mayor explained the financial importance of accounting for every ounce of garbage. Lanna and Isaiah were then able to operate the scale themselves with the office’s computer system. Over hot chocolate and donuts, the mayor showed the kids all of the village’s sanitation and snowplow routes. The mention of snowplows invited an impromptu look at the work currently being done to prepare for the upcoming snow season, just outside the sanitation office. The kids got to see how plows are maintained and readied for winter after the previous season’s wear and tear. The detached plows sat in the garage near the sanitation office as they were cleaned and repaired.

The next stop was Bismark Avenue, where a tree-stump grinder was on site to clear the spot where a tree was taken down. Fare explained that a new tree would be planted, per village policy when a tree is cut down. Village workers handed out earplugs and protective eyewear before firing up the massive machine. The mayor stopped the operator halfway through the stump to show how the blade chipped away at the wood.

Lanna and Isaiah donned hardhats for a tour of the ongoing construction at the village’s planned courthouse on Rockaway Avenue. Contractor Jim Neal led a tour of the building, which once housed Village Hall and is being renovated to have the feel of a courthouse from the 1920s, when the building was constructed.

Next up, maintenance worker Eugene Boenig led a tour of the pool and the recently renovated playground at Kay Everson Park. The kids tried out the playground’s equipment before getting into a golf cart for a tour of the pool facility. Lanna and Isaiah, who are both pool members, were struck by the contrast of the winterized facility, with its empty pools and areas cleared of furniture, and how they are used to seeing it. Boenig took them through the maintenance area, which houses the pool filters and chemicals.

Before the day’s wrap-up at the Community Center, Fare made a quick stop to show the kids the 9/11 Memorial. He explained that the village acquired a portion of a steel beam from the rubble of the World Trade Center, had it fixed on two brick pillars resembling the Twin Towers, and situated the beam so that it points directly toward 1 World Trade. Fare showed the children this year’s addition — two saplings that the village acquired from a tree that survived the destruction at ground zero.

“There’s a lot of symbolism,” Fare said.

The students reunited with their families for lunch, where they discussed what they saw. After lunch, the Herald held a formal press conference with the honorary mayors to see what they learned.

Press conference

Lanna and Isaiah agreed that their favorite part of the day was touring the courthouse. Seeing firsthand what goes into a building renovation inspired them to want to return to the site after construction is finished, they said.

“You could see how it is before they were doing the construction, and then when it’s done — I can see the before and after,” Isaiah said. “It was a cool experience.”

Lanna said that after seeing things up close, she thought the mayor’s job was interesting. “I like it,” she said. “It’s hard work, but it pays off.”

Neither sixth-grader ruled out a mayoral candidacy, but they do have other careers in mind. Lanna said she’s interested in geology and the culinary arts, although she’s not sure what she wants to pursue.

Isaiah said he wants to be a professional football player or a veterinarian, but is open minded. “When you see what he has to do, and all the things he has to take care of and remember, that sounds hard, but at the end of the day it’s still a really fun job,” Isaiah said of the mayor. “Maybe when I get older I can become the mayor, and then remember that I did this.”