Vinny Ang retires after two decades

When Vinny Ang became the village clerk of Valley Stream on April 1, 1991, he never expected it to be the job he would retire from. “One year turned into just about 20,” he said from his Village Hall office, the walls noticeably bare, on his last day of work, Dec. 28.

Ang, 54, was one of more than a dozen village employees to take a state retirement incentive. But he was not an ordinary village employee — he was their boss, and answered only to the village board.

In the 1991 village election, Ang ran the campaign for George Donley, who successfully unseated John DeGrace as mayor. Ang said he and DeGrace later became very good friends. Donley asked Ang to be his village clerk, and Ang said he reluctantly accepted, agreeing to do it for only a year.

But Ang stayed, and he served under three mayors — Donley, Jim Darcy, who was elected in 1995, and Ed Cahill, who took over in 1999. As village clerk, Ang was in charge of the day-to-day operations of Valley Stream. He led the Board of Trustees meetings, calling the agenda items and taking the minutes. He served as the village’s receiver of taxes and emergency coordinator. All department heads answered to him, and he oversaw 350 to 550 employees, depending on the time of year. “You’re kind of like the operations manager of the village,” he said.

There were a lot of other responsibilities, too. Ang attended numerous meetings, such as the Business Improvement Committee and Chamber of Commerce, explored grant opportunities and coordinated the annual Fourth of July fireworks event at Firemen’s Field. During his first year, he also served as clerk to the zoning and planning boards. Back then, the village board held four meetings a month — two work sessions and two business meetings — and the crowds were far bigger. He estimates that he has attended at least 700 Board of Trustees meetings in his 20 years.

Getting to run the village, Ang admits, has been pretty cool. “I was born and raised in Valley Stream,” he said. “It’s my hometown. My whole life has been here.”

Ang spent the first 11 months of his life living on South Drive in Gibson, before his family moved to Hendrickson Avenue, where he still lives today. He attended Wheeler Avenue School for kindergarten, then went to Blessed Sacrament School through eighth grade. He said there were about 50 students per class back then, but they became like a second family. For ninth grade, Ang went to Memorial Junior High School and is a 1974 graduate of Central High, like his five siblings.

He studied history and psychology at Baruch College, but also took some public administration courses. Before he became village clerk, Ang was the owner of a pet store on Rockaway Avenue, and later Central Avenue, Valley Stream Pet Center. Soon after becoming clerk, Ang left the pet store to devote his time to the village.

It’s about the people

Ang said the best part about being village clerk was being able to help people. If anyone called with a problem, he said he would look for ways to help them. Often, he said, these issues were simple — someone’s garbage didn’t get picked up or a tree needed to be trimmed — and he would simply call the appropriate department and get it taken care of. What can seem like a small problem, he said, are real quality of life issues for residents and every concern needs to be taken seriously.

“When you help them and fix it for them, that’s the best part of the job,” he said. “Too many people in government forget that your purpose is to serve. That’s the job you took.”

The best decision Ang said he ever made was about a person, and it was on his first day on the job. When he started 20 years ago, an employee of Village Hall came into his office and said she was supposed to be his secretary. But, Ang said, she admitted to him that she really didn’t know stenography and would understand if he found someone else. Nonsense, Ang responded.

That person was Barbara Cassidy, who was Ang’s secretary for his entire tenure as village clerk. She’s “like my right arm. The best decision was keeping her right there,” he said pointing to her desk right outside of his office.

Ang praised all his employees at Village Hall. “Their hard work made me look good,” he said, “so I have to give a lot of credit to them.”

The one downside of the job, he said, was that he couldn’t become friends with many of the employees. While they were great people, Ang explained, was still their boss.

Long-time on the job

At 20 years, Ang is believed to be the longest-serving clerk in the 85-year history of the village. Jack Gathard was second at about 12 years. Typically, Ang said clerks changed each time a mayor did, if not even more frequently. “I’m the Waldinger of village clerks in Valley Stream,” he said, referring to Henry Waldinger, the village’s first and longest-serving mayor.

But, he admits, village clerk is a hard job and while it was a difficult decision to retire, it was time. “There are hundreds of jobs in this village that I could have done for 30 or 35 years,” he said. “This job doesn’t lend itself to longevity.”

Valley Stream, in terms of population, is one of the three largest villages in New York state. He said it was tough to go anywhere — the supermarket, a restaurant — without being asked some question about the village or for help with a problem. But, he said he always took the time to listen. Even on vacation in Aruba, Ang said he was once recognized by a resident while coming out of the ocean in full scuba gear.

Ang said he is willing to help with the transition for the next village clerk, likely to be appointed after the village election in March. He also said he will be available to run the election if needed, another responsibility of the clerk.

Deputy Mayor Joanne Antun said in the interim, Deputy Village Clerk Bob Fumagalli will lead the agenda at the board meetings. And the village will keep running, she said, a testament to Ang’s management skills. “As with any savvy manager,” she said, “I’m sure he has transferred that information to his team.”

Antun said that she respects Ang’s decision to retire, and that he will be missed at Village Hall. Those sentiments were echoed by Barbara DeGrace, who as chief of staff for Assemblyman Bob Barra worked with Ang on the downtown revitalization project. “He is the consummate professional, and really has a keen understanding of the complexities of what needs to be done for Valley Stream’s downtown,” she said. “I hope his knowledge and experience will continue to be utilized as this project moves forward.”

Wishing him well

Ed DeLucie, one of about a dozen trustees Ang worked with, called the now-retired village clerk intelligent and devoted. DeLucie said the two worked well as a team, and that Ang put many ideas of his into action, such as the tree planting program, anti-graffiti initiative and police booth for the village’s west end. “As both an ex-trustee and a longtime resident,” DeLucie said, “I believe that all of the people of Valley Stream owe Vinny a debt of gratitude for being a diligent and dedicated public employee who always put Valley Stream first.”

The two were friends both in and out of Village Hall. As a pair of New York Yankee fans, they often spent time together watching games. Ang and DeLucie’s family often vacationed together, as well.

Ang and Village Justice Bob Bogle went to Blessed Sacrament together, just a grade apart. “It was really terrific working with somebody who I knew literally in elementary school,” Bogle said. “Back then, as he is now, he always was a go-to guy who had the answers to your problems. He’s pretty much irreplaceable in my mind.”

And Chamber of Commerce President Debbi Gyulay said she will miss Ang at the monthly networking meetings and at other chamber functions. “He was supportive of anything related to Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce,” she said. “We especially appreciated his professional planning of the July 4th fireworks. He organized everything so well; he made a difficult job look easy. The Chamber and I personally thank him for his years of service to the village and wish him all the best on his future endeavors.”

For his successor, whomever that turns out to be, Ang had a few words of wisdom: “You have to be a patient person — a must,” he said. “You have to have compassion. And you have to always remember that the residents are still the employers.”