By Sam Nahmias
I have been a resident of the Lawrence community for nearly two decades. My wife and I are raising our three beautiful children, all of whom have lived in Lawrence since they were born. Our friends live in Lawrence and we love our community. I have seen how good Lawrence can be and only want the best for the residents of our village.
In my career in the private sector, I have had the opportunity to be a leader, heading up corporate research for firms such as The Economist, Forbes, and Starbucks Corporate, before starting my own research firm 20 years ago. I have been fortunate to build and run a fruitful and rewarding business, that I have since stepped away from. I now want to apply my business skills to give back to the community.
When I took over as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the NCBA (Nassau County Bridge Authority), it was a turnaround story. The authority needed a serious overhaul with declining revenues, fiscal losses, an outdated toll collection system, obsolete technology, and crumbling infrastructure. In a short period of time, we refinanced our bonds (saving $1.1M in interest), renovated the toll plaza, and most importantly, entered the long-awaited partnership with the MTA to bring EZ-Pass to the bridge.
In my role in State and County government, there is constant interaction with all levels of government, working with our County Executive, our Presiding Officer, our State Senator, our Assemblyman, the Legislature, Council representatives, local mayors, OEM (Office of Emergency Management) and even the Governor’s office. Leading a major infrastructure requires working with many elected officials across party lines to serve in the best interest of the roughly 15,000 daily commuters.
Lawrence faces challenges similar to the NCBA. The 2024 election is about electing a chief executive to run the Village. I plan on running the Village like the best businesses that are accountable, fiscally responsible, fully transparent, and create value for shareholders (the residents). We are going to balance our budget, eliminate our deficits, and reduce traffic congestion. We will leverage considerable relationships and contacts throughout Nassau County to keep Lawrence residents safe and secure. I will ensure that decisions are made in a timely fashion, putting the community’s interests first.
My running mates and I have come together as three unique individuals who have different areas of expertise, ample time to dedicate to the Village’s affairs, and most of all a shared vision to build a better Lawrence for ourselves and for our children.
Shared Love, Communal Responsibility, And Hakoras Hatov
By Aaron Felder
When you love and cherish something, someone, or some place, most people have a natural desire to take extremely good care of that thing, person, or place. Sometimes that care and attention can be achieved through our own direct daily involvement or oftentimes we rely on other stewards or caregivers, whom we trust have our best interests at heart, to protect and nurture that which we love. Over the last several years, I have been asked many times to run for Trustee of our village by countless residents who are my friends, family, elected and appointed village officials, and neighbors alike. However, I never felt any pressing need to do so since there were other wonderful, selfless, and extremely capable candidates who proactively volunteered for this role and ultimately served or continue to serve our village and community with responsibility, commitment, and distinction. As of a month ago, however, there was still a noticeable paucity of potential candidates to fill the roles of Trustees which are going to be needed in light of the decision of two of the present Trustees to either not continue in that role after this term ends or to run for other positions in public office. As such, I was recently approached again by current and former Village of Lawrence Board of Trustees members as well as concerned citizens to step up and try to fill that void for the benefit of the community and to foster continuity of government and its success.
I was born in Far Rockaway, NY nearly fifty years ago and my parents moved from Far Rockaway to Lawrence in 1977 with me, my older sister, and my older brother, all of whom still reside in Lawrence today along with their families. Lawrence has been my home for practically my entire life. Civic duty and responsibility to community has been engrained into my chinuch from an early age and I literally grew up surrounded by the walls of Lawrence Village Hall. I watched my father, who should live and be well in good health, C. Simon (Shimon) Felder, serve our citizenry here in Lawrence in virtually every capacity that was available for him to do so. My father was a member of the Lawrence Civic Association, served for many years as a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees; as a Trustee, Deputy Mayor and Police Commissioner, and ultimately as our Mayor. He afforded us the benefit of his balanced judgement, creative, wide ranging communal service, and thoughtful, caring, and visionary leadership in his more than thirty years of service to the community. He gained the respect and admiration of both the residents and employees of the Village of Lawrence as well as all of those he made contact with throughout his journey of volunteerism on behalf of the community that we all love. He began that journey at a time when he felt there was not adequate local governmental representation for, what was then, the fledgling Orthodox Jewish community in our village. He hoped to spread awareness of that segment of the population’s needs and effectuate needed change with regard to zoning matters, the eiruv, the need for and subsequent proliferation of new shuls to accommodate our growth and our religious freedoms, and a myriad of other quality-of-life initiatives. With Hashem’s help and guidance, he accomplished his goals most successfully and altruistically. My older brother, Joseph B. Felder, served our village as a member of the Parks Commission. My older sister and brother-in-law, Suri and Robi a’h Flegmann, were extremely instrumental in the building of Bais Medrash of Harborview as well as Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island. Finally, I served as a volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician responding to 911 calls for many years in my role as an active member of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department. More recently, I was asked to join and was subsequently appointed by our current Mayor to serve a five-year term as a member of the Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals to address the ever-changing housing needs of this vibrant and growing community. All of us, in our pursuit for meaningful and impactful public service, stand on the shoulders of giants who have sacrificed their time, energy, and resources, to this diamond of a community and I appreciate and have learned so much from them. Of course, we each approach our mission with our own unique set of talents, skills, experiences—both personally and professionally—and ideas for the future, and I welcome the opportunity to work together with fellow board members and to listen to each other and to all of you, the people, to implement the very best policies and decisions to further benefit the wonderful residents of Lawrence. I hope, with your support and siyata d’shmaya, I am able to do the same as my predecessors have done in my potential role as Trustee and continue my father’s and other’s legacy of ensuring that the government of Lawrence always remains resident-centric, first and foremost. Your needs have to always be the primary focus in determining how we shape policy and direct the spending of taxpayer dollars in all matters. Of course, that will mean keeping a very close eye on the board’s fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities to ensure the business side of village affairs runs smoothly as well, while doing what is right for us all.
On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, you will all have the opportunity to vote for the candidates that you feel will best represent your needs, desires, interests, and be your voice in our local government. While these are elected positions, they are certainly not paid positions and those who serve are truly doing so out of a sense of deep shared love for the community and for all the residents who call Lawrence home. Therefore, the least we can all do is to take the time to show up and vote. To that end, I respectfully request that you all help me help you by voting accordingly.
There is a famously quoted phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and I could not agree more. I am who I am today, in large part, because of the relationships I and my family have forged with the residents of this village throughout my life over the past five decades. I want to continue to work to make Lawrence as best as it can be for all of us and for the next generation of Lawrencians. I feel I owe this to all of the extremely dedicated men and women who have nobly served our village before me. I, like all of you, love the community we all continue to build together and one which has given me and my family so much in return. Sadly, as I write this, our eternal homeland is once again under attack. We are all united in our thoughts and tefillos that are laser focused on the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael, a swift end to this conflict, and hope for and belief in everlasting peace with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days. May we all be zocheh to be living in Israel soon enough on a permanent basis. In the meantime, and with your support and involvement, I humbly wish to continue to have the opportunity to further give back in this new role as Trustee and to be able to show my hakoras hatov to some of the greatest people in one of the most special communities in Chutz La’Aretz in my opinion. Thank you in advance for giving my candidacy your favorable consideration, we have so much to be proud of, and I very much look forward to what lies ahead iy’H for all of us together. I can be reached via email at afelder5@gmail.com with any comments, thoughts, concerns, or questions.
The Village of Cedarhurst Will Expand Parking Capacity at 68 Washington Avenue
The Village of Cedarhurst is delighted to announce the planned expand of parking at 68 Washington Avenue. The purchase and development of this property marks a significant milestone for the Village as it allows for the much-needed expansion of Parking Field #10, more than doubling is current capacity.
With the growing demands of our vibrant and bustling village, the need for additional parking facilities has become a top priority for us. The acquisition of this property serves as a proactive solution to address this pressing issue, offering residents and visitors a more convenient and accessible parking experience.
As the Village continues to grow, this project is a testament to the dedication of the Mayor Benjamin Weinstock’s and Village Trustees’ forward-thinking urban planning and their unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of the Village’s residents and visitors alike. Mayor Weinstock said, “We are delighted with this opportunity and eagerly anticipate expanding our parking field. The Village has wholeheartedly embraced this unique opportunity, knowing it will bring significant improvements to our village for both our residents and visitors.”
Thanks to Deputy Mayor/Assemblyman Ari Brown for introducing the idea and to Samuel Nahmias, the prior owner, for financing this purchase, which enables the Village to move forward. Nahmias emphasized the importance of parking for community growth, stating, “We are all part of this large, vibrant, and growing community. In order for a community to grow, parking is an essential component, so it became clear to me during a variance application that the Village would be better off with this property.”
Together, we look forward to a brighter future, where this expansion will serve as a testament to our shared dedication in making Cedarhurst an even better place to live, work, shop, and play.
