Politics & Government

Patch Chat: Mayor Talks Crime, Village Vacancies and Tony Cancellieri

Mayor Francis Murray addresses residents' issues in this exclusive Patch one-on-one interview.

RVC Mayor Francis Murray sat down with Rockville Centre Patch Editor Anthony Bottan for an exclusive one-on-one to discuss some of the issues facing the village in 2012. Residents submitted their questions to Patch, and we got you the answers.

Question: The on Sunrise Highway has been vacant for about a decade. What is the village doing to get it filled?

Mayor Murray: I've been very active with the broker who's there. I didn't announce this, but we've had three possibilities (to fill the space) already. Not to bash the prior administration, but we are pro-business and we are active in filling our vacant stores. There's not as many as there was before. There was a guy who wanted to put in a cultural arts center. He fell short on the investors. There was a guy who wanted to put a big restaurant in. He fell short. Then there was someone who wanted to put a night club in. That's not happening. There was another person who wanted to have a mix use, but none of them worked so far. Just yesterday, I found out there is a new broker there and he's bringing somebody to me next week, I won't disclose what it is, but there is activity. I will be meeting with that broker and we have really tried to fill that space during my first seven months in office.

Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Question: That's great to hear. What about the vacancies at the and at ?

Mayor Murray: With Harmon, there are three possible deals. Waldbaum's went bankrupt in that store, and Key Food came in and bought up the paper. We are pretty sure Key Food is going in there, which is wonderful. There's another big empty store on Sunrise Highway by; there are two people looking into that. Citibank is going out (of business) on the corner (of Front Street), we are pretty sure we'll have another bank coming in there. I'll do as much as I can do as mayor; I don't own the properties and I can't dictate to the owners or the people who rent these facilities. All we can do is talk to the brokers, let them know that we are very proactive in businesses coming to the village and we will help them as much as we can. The word 'no' is not around here anymore.

Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Question: Can you please detail what work Anthony Cancellieri did for the village during his three-month tenure?

Mayor Murray: There's many things he helped us with. He helped me in securing the people who will sponsor the entrances to the village. He brokered those deals. One is Hampton Hotel on the west end. Another one is Mercedes who will be taking on the east end along with South Nassau Hospital. Even though he's not here anymore, he's a resident and comes in and works for free. He will be guiding our new village administrator for free when Mr. Spadaro comes in. He will be working for free until March 19. It's not going to be March 19 when he gets here and starts learning about the village, he's going to hit the ground running. 

Tony Cancellieri helped me put Harry Weed and Chief Thorp in charge of the water department, saving us almost $200,000 a year in salaries. He went to every department, identifying its good and bad points. I have a 60-page report from him, which I'm in the middle of reading. I had a little influence on him as well. I have a vision on where I want this village to go, and he knows that and he helped me put that forward. He went and spoke with department heads, he's been talking to residents and business people. We came up with a plan where we are going after private foundations to help us acquire police and fire department vehicles. We are trying to get someone to sponsor a field, which will not be under the Molloy contract, to make another soccer and lacrosse field. We'll see, that's out there. We're trying to get someone to pay $1 million for it and then they'll have naming rights for it. That field would be up at the rec where the tennis courts are. That may not happen, but this is all what Tony does. He knows how to get a job done.

Question: Who is the next Village Administrator and why is he the right man to fill this job?

Mayor Murray: His name is Keith Spadaro. His comes from a good police background, where he's used to regimentation. I believe we really need that in our village administrator. His leadership skills are second to none. It's worked twice before in our village. Mr. Cancellieri was a police officer. Mr. Ron Watson was a police officer. Those are two of the best village administrators this village ever saw. I think it's a good idea to go forward with another one of these gentlemen.

(Mr. Spadaro was a commander in the NYPD's 20th precinct and also worked in the NYC Emergency Management Office. Spadaro was in charge of protecting some of the biggest attractions in the city — The Met, The Museum of Natural History, The Beacon Theater and Lincoln Center. He is also a Rockville Centre resident with a degree in law from New York University).

Question: Residents have voiced their concern about crime in the village and asked if the village could boost patrols in the West End. Is there any plan to hire more cops?

Mayor Murray: We have a great police force. With our vibrant downtown, some nights they are really stretched. We could use more police officers and that's why for the residents, I'm fighting this from Nassau County. Our Rockville Centre police force costs us about $8 million for approximately 52 members. We pay $6 million to Nassau County for its Headquarters Tax. It's absurd. We don't get what we pay for. We would like to pay as we go, and that would hopefully be about $1 million a year. We could put that extra $5 million into some fantastic use for our residents. We could save them money on their taxes and we can increase our police department to patrol the West End better because Avalon Bay is down there now, more people are down there and we need more of a presence there.

Question: Can you give us an update on where the village is in terms of beautifying the entrance ways to the village?

Mayor Murray: Just last week, Tony Cancellieri brought in two landscape designers. They are going to give us our designs for the new entrance signs for free, but I want more than that. We are going to have the money to do it. I asked them to redesign the entire landscaping of the entrance ways to the village. I want to irrigate it, have new trees, flowers and shrubs. I want it to when you come into our village going eastbound from Lynbrook, you go "whoa!" And the same way coming in from Baldwin and coming in off the parkway. It's probably a year to a year and a half away before it gets done. We are not letting this go. This is my baby. I want it.


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