RVC Village Board Candidate: Emilio Grillo

Four people will be seeking two seats on the Rockville Centre Village Board on Tuesday, June 18. The election is at-large, meaning the two candidates with the highest votes will serve on the board for four years. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Anderson Recreation Center on North Oceanside Road.

Emilio Grillo, a candidate for trustee, sent the following responses to Patch’s candidate questionnaire.

Tell us about yourself (age, town, profession, family, etc.)

My name is Emilio Grillo, I am 47 years old, and I am 14 year resident of Rockville Centre. I currently reside in the village with my wife of 18 years, Christine, and our three children Sophia, Isabelle, and Emilio, Jr. (Lio). My children attend South Side High School, South Side Middle School, and the Hewitt Elementary School, and we are members of the St. Agnes Parish.

I was born and raised in West Haven, CT, and I received my undergraduate bachelor's of arts degree in political science, cum laude from the University of Connecticut, in 1987, and graduated from St. John's University School of Law in 1990. I began my career as a prosecutor in the Kings County District Attorneys office, where I served for 6 years. I have been in private practice since 1998, and am currently a litigation partner in the New York City law office of Goldberg Segalla, LLP, where I concentrate my practice in business and commercial litigation.

Why are you running for the village board?

Throughout the course of my life, I have always remained active in my community and community service. My wife and I moved to Rockville Centre in 1999, to raise our family and we have remained involved in various community and charitable organizations from that time. Like many residents I truly feel that Rockville Centre is an exceptional community without equal, given the people, services and organizations that comprise our village. I have seen our village make great progress, but I have also had residents voice various concerns, regarding the current and future state of our village. I am confident, that if elected, I will be able to infuse our board with some new ideas, and help our village to fully evolve and become the best it can be.

What qualifies you to serve on the village board?

By working as an assistant district attorney for 6 years in Brooklyn, I obtained a substantial amount of experience in law enforcement, and continue to utilize those skills and experience in my current practice.  I have also had the privilege of serving as a village prosecutor, and deputy village attorney for our village since 2004. In addition to my prosecutor experience, I have remained active in various community organizations, such as the Rockville Centre Community Fund, the St. Agnes Parish, the Rockville Centre Soccer Club, and the Rockville Centre Little League. I have always been willing to participate and serve our community, and running for village trustee is further extension of my commitment and willingness to serve the people of our great village.

What is your opinion of the budget that was recently passed by the village board? Would you have done something differently with it?

The challenge to any budget is determining how to maintain the quality services that our village has at a reasonable cost. I believe that the current budget represents a step in the right direction, however, I believe additional improvements can be made. By focusing on the wealth of available state and federal grant money currently available to all municipalities, our village will be able to realize an influx of additional revenue to our village without placing an additional tax burden upon our residents. I do believe the current budget was prudent and well thought out, however, I believe we can do better, for our community and our residents.

What do you think of the current parking situation in the village? How would you address it?

Parking has and remains a major issue in our community given Rockville Centre's appeal to surrounding communities and residents, who shop, dine and visit our village on a regular basis.  In addition to the commerce of our village, many residents park in and around the Rockville Centre LIRR station, to commute to work in New York City. As such, parking has always remained a significant topic. While many folks have voiced various opinions regarding our parking situation, at the outset all proposals should be fully explored, and a complete cost benefit analysis be undertaken. As a former member of the mayor's parking committee, I have participated in discussions regarding refurbishing and re-configuring our existing parking lots to create additional parking spaces. I have also suggested incorporating the underutilized parking fields number 6 (Lincoln and South Park Avenue), parking field number 12 (Sunrise Highway and North Forest), into any parking analysis to increase parking capacity.

Do you have any ideas as to how to continue to attract business to Rockville Centre?

Our village is one of the most vibrant in all Long Island, and our downtown has become an a commercial hub given our proximity to New York City and the wonderful restaurants and businesses that exist here. We have seen additional business move into the village, however, I believe the key to attracting new business is to upgrade our downtown, and partner with various business owners to improve and upgrade our main thoroughfares. Our residential neighborhoods possess a unique and beautiful character, and our downtown should also have the same characteristics, to attract new business. In addition to upgrading downtown, I have also proposed waiving parking fees on the weekends, given the success of the current administration's elimination of parking fees after 6 p.m. in the village. By making our downtown more accessible, our village will not only be more attractive to consumers, but ultimately to businesses who choose to be established here.

Aside from those mentioned above, what do you think is the biggest issue facing the village?

I don't believe there is one issue facing the village but rather three. Taxes, parking and public safety. Everyone is concerned about rising costs and village taxes, and alternative means to secure non-tax revenue for our village and residents is the key to maintaining the level of services that we are accustomed to, at a reasonable cost. Village parking has and will always remain an issue in our village, given the large number of businesses that exist here, coupled with the large amount of village residents who commute to New York City on a daily basis. Lastly, although we have a fantastic village police department, recent criminal incidents in our downtown have made residents concerned and we need to insure that we continue to receive the quality service and staffing of our village police department to maintain public safety for our community and our residents.

What is the village’s greatest strength and weakness?

Our village's greatest strength are our residents, who take pride in our community and repeatedly show a willingness to participate and pitch in in moments of crisis. I don't believe another community exists, where residents tend to watch out for one another, and provide support for those in need, when the circumstances require it. Given the large number of charitable organizations that exist in our village, it seems that almost everyone is involved in one cause or another for the benefit of the community and the residents at large. Despite our residents community involvement, I believe that our greatest struggle, as with many villages, remains maintaining reasonable costs to insure that families are able to move into village and remain here for years to come.

If you are elected, what is the one thing you’d like to see accomplished during your term?

If elected I would like to see an upgrade and beautification of our downtown, as well as the perimeter access points of our village, to match the quality and character of our residential neighborhoods. By improving our downtown, it will not only enhance our businesses and individual property values, but also but make our community more attractive to potential new residents and businesses who choose to relocate here in the future.

Would you like to add anything else?

When I moved here with my family 14 years ago, I did so with some trepidation and concern, having grown up out of state. Over the years my family and I have come to thoroughly enjoy the wonderful people and benefits of our vibrant community, and we have fully invested in Rockville Centre. I am running for village trustee as I want to participate more fully in our community, and to ensure that the quality of life that we have all grown accustomed to is maintained for the years to come. By participating in this election and giving back to the community, I want our residents to know, that they will have someone who shares their same values, and goals to make Rockville Centre the best community it can possibly be.