Michael LoCascio, Valley Stream village trustee candidate

As president of the Valley Stream Lions Club and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Michael LoCascio says he is all about community service. That is why he is running for the Valley Stream Board of Trustees — to take that service to a broader level.

LoCascio said he is interested in improving the quality of life for village residents. He particularly wants to see the village’s downtown improved. While there are stores on Rockaway Avenue, LoCascio said, there is a lot of the same and a different approach is needed to attract people to the shopping district. He also called the vacant stores on Gibson Boulevard an “eyesore.”

The village also should do more for young people, LoCascio said. Simply put, he noted, Valley Stream’s youth need a place to go. “What do you do with these kids?” he asked.

LoCascio, who has lived in the Gibson section of Valley Stream for 36 years, said he feels his section of the village gets left behind. The former vice president of the now-defunct Gibson Civic Association said the current village administration does not communicate well with residents in that section, and cannot show what it has done for Gibson residents.

If elected, he would look to cut costs at the village level. LoCascio said he would want to review the level of staffing in the village and see if there are any duplications that can be eliminated. As a former police sergeant, LoCascio said he is familiar with budget management.

He also said he believes his career as a police officer — he worked for the New York City Police Department for 23 years — would make him an asset to the Board of Trustees. LoCascio said he would look for ways to do more to prevent crime with the village’s public safety departments, and keep a good relationship with the Nassau County Police Department’s 5th Precinct. There are real issues of crime, drugs and gangs that need to be dealt in a proactive way, he explained.