Lenahan announces bid for mayor

Village Trustee Francis T. Lenahan, Jr. has announced that he will run for mayor on the East Rockaway Village Pride Party line in March of next year. His platform, he said, is three-pronged: cutting taxpayer-funded, highly paid administrators; overseeing the responsible growth of the village; and implementing an overall village tax cut which will benefit every homeowner.

“On the Village of East Rockaway’s payroll, there are numerous individuals making salaries that need to be examined,” he said. “Couple those expenditures with the payments the village must make to the New York State Pension system for its employees’ retirement annuities, and that means serious money. The savings, he said, will be redirected to benefit every individual homeowner in the form of a village tax cut.

Lenahan said that his platform also calls for a comprehensive plan for “measured, carefully-directed expansion, one which ensures that East Rockaway maintains its unique character and terrific quality-of-life in the face of inevitable growth.

“I remain steadfastly opposed to bringing any large-scale apartment complex to Ocean Avenue,” said Lenahan. “While Mayor Sieban’s untimely and tragic passing this summer put the rental apartment plan that he advocated on the back burner, it’s clear to me that in order to make certain this misguided plan is never considered again, our village must elect a mayor who understands that Ocean Avenue in East Rockaway is not, and will never become, Queens Boulevard in Woodside.” Lenahan said that the village can encourage local investments while responsibly managing growth at the same time.