Valley Stream remembers Ed Cahill

View more photos from the dedication ceremony here.

Last Sunday, exactly one year after his death, a memorial outside Village Hall was dedicated to former Mayor Ed Cahill, with more than 140 people gathering to honor the man who led the village for 11 years.

The memorial was dedicated by the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce, which received donations from many area residents and businesses. The chamber’s vice president, Jules Rabin, who led the planning for the monument, said he wanted to do something for an “extraordinary man.”

Numerous speakers shared their memories of Cahill, spoke of the man he was and talked about why the memorial is so important to Valley Streamers. Cahill’s friend James Darcy, a Hempstead town councilman and former mayor, said before the dedication ceremony that he did an Internet search for Edward Cahill. He came across Cahill’s obituary, as well as information about numerous others with the same name. “Nowhere was there the essence of our Ed Cahill,” Darcy said.

The memorial is a permanent tribute to Cahill’s dedication to the village and how much he cared for the residents, Darcy said, adding, “This simple stone will ensure that the memory of Ed Cahill will never get lost on the information superhighway.”

Cahill died last July 31 after a battle with brain cancer. He was first elected to the village board in 1995, and became mayor in 1999 when Darcy stepped down to join the State Assembly. Cahill won a full term that March, and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He was 82 when he died.

Mayor Ed Fare described Cahill as a humble man who probably would have been a bit embarrassed by “all the fuss” about him on Sunday. Fare said that Cahill worked hard to improve Valley Stream, specifically focusing on its parks. He noted that village employees held Cahill in high regard, and many of them attended Sunday’s dedication.

Joanne Antun, who succeeded Cahill until Fare’s election in March, highlighted Cahill’s strengths as a leader, noting his service in the military and as a police officer. Antun was a village trustee during Cahill’s administration. In fact, he appointed her to his seat on the village board when he became mayor in 1999.