One mayor just isn’t enough

See more photos from Mayor For A Day here.

Running a village of more than 38,000 residents sometimes requires a little help. That’s why Mayor Ed Fare picked two students to help him with his duties last Friday morning.

Through the third annual Mayor For A Day program, sixth-graders in Valley Stream schools were invited to submit essays answering the question, “What does the mayor do?” The winners, Ariela Hulsen, from the Brooklyn Avenue School, and Walter Hwang, of the Robert W. Carbonaro School, were invited to Village Hall to meet Fare and learn about his job.

But they spent little time at Village Hall. After greeting Ariela, Walter and their families in the lobby at 9 a.m., Fare took them to his office and then gave them a quick tour. By 9:30, the group was on the road in a silver Ford Crown Victoria, headed to the Arlington Avenue public works facility.

Fare had Ariela, who was riding in the front seat for the first leg of the trip, radio Sanitation Supervisor Wayne Mastrangelo to let him know they were on the way. When they arrived at the complex, Mastrangelo presented them with bright yellow vests and gloves. He also gave them copies of the most recent sanitation report — the same one the real mayor gets.

A garbage truck, fresh off its route, arrived at the facility. Ariela told truck 96 that it could pull onto the scale. Christine Francese, who works in the Sanitation office, showed her how to weigh the truck and enter the information in the computer.

Francese learned that the pair both live on the south side of the village. “Your garbage is being picked up today,” she told them, “so you might even be weighing your own garbage.”

The mayors headed outside and met truck 96 at the compactor. Mastrangelo showed them how to operate the controls, and Walter and Ariela emptied the truck. They then got a ride around the complex in a sanitation vehicle, joined by Mike Loquercio, Ariela’s cousin, a sanitation worker.