On March 11, filling the vacancy of John Regan, Jay Hernandez was appointed Commissioner to the Manhasset Park District, which operates all parking facilities. According to Hernandez, The Town of North Hempstead, based on certain bylaws, is able to assign a substitute commissioner to fill the remainder of the term. Hernandez will carry on the role through the end of the year until new elections resume in December.
Hernandez was pleased to take on this new role in which he works alongside two other Commissioners Mark Sauvigne and David Patterson. Not only has Hernandez been a resident of Manhasset for the past 20 years, having raised his two college daughters here, but he’s been a constant commuter in town with a familiar, friendly face. He has also been an active member of the Civic Association. He has been president of the Swarthmore Vanderbilt Club and has been on their board for many years.
“I’ve always taken an active interest in Manhasset,” said Hernandez. Due to his busy career, Hernandez spent a lot of time traveling for business endeavors. Most recently, his semi-retirement has freed up more time which he plans to dedicate to bettering the town and its parking situation. “I am looking forward to giving more of my time to give back to our community,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez was a banker for thirty five years working internationally in structured finance and trade finance seeking out new business opportunities. He also has his own portfolio of real estate properties that he’s been building up over the last few years, which he plans to focus his time managing them. “I own various properties throughout NYC and Long Island,” he said. “I buy properties, rebuild some of them, while others I choose to keep.”
The Parks District meets twice a month with a professional staff of seven employees hired to run the daily operations.
The most difficult issue, according to Hernandez, is that Manhasset is adding a lot of homes which means more commuter spaces are needed for new residents. “One of the draws to Manhasset, even when I moved here 20 years ago, was the convenience of the railroad line,” he said. “For those who start their day in the later part of the morning, they struggle to find an open parking space. The options are to either take a taxi, get dropped off, or get to work much earlier – the options aren’t great. We are always looking for ways to create more parking spaces, but there’s only so much we can do to the existing space in town already. We don’t want to compromise the beauty of the town.”
Hernandez added that this role is still new and he’s still learning what’s going on, but he looks forward to contributing and improving the Manhasset Park District.
