Anthony Bulzomi wants to see change in the Town of North Hempstead and he’s ready to help make it happen. The Carle Place resident is running for town supervisor on the Republican ticket, saying he believes the town needs to be more approachable.
His first foray into local politics was a run for town council in 2013, and now he’s running again because he believes the town needs to do more and that he can “be there for the people.”
“I’ll work for the people,” Bulzomi said. “Whether it’s the building department, chambers, BID departments or county governments, I want to make myself available to all different levels of government to identify redundancies and to the residents to make it more friendly.”
If elected, Bulzomi said fixing the building department—to increase enforcement and make it more consumer friendly—will be his first priority. He will focus on not only curbing illegal housing, but also making it easier for residents to obtain permits to modify their homes.
“It’s not consumer or resident friendly,” said Bulzomi, who is a construction manager in New York City. “I know a whole slew of people who have had issues with getting permits and the inspection process. And from the enforcement standpoint there’s a tremendous problem.”
Bulzomi noted that he knows that money might be tight, but it’s important to prioritize enforcement and make sure the public knows that the town is making an effort when it comes to cracking down on illegal housing.
“You need to show people you’re doing something,” Bulzomi said. “We may be constrained financially but if the people don’t know what we’re doing, they think that we’re not doing anything.”
Bulzomi cites his years as a trustee on the Carle Place School District Board of Education as preparing him for the fiscal responsibilities that come with being town supervisor. He said working with the other trustees, he’s been able to achieve a zero tax levy for the Carle Place School District budget. If elected, he said he would cut costs by looking into shared services for the town with villages and the county to see where cooperatives could be formed for certain contracts or goods.
“It’s finding where the redundancies are,” Bulzomi said. “Where are we spending money unnecessarily?”
He also wants to focus on improving infrastructure and building up the town’s downtowns, in part with transit-oriented housing.
“Transit-oriented housing is needed. We don’t have enough affordable housing. Let’s look at the dead space and the property the town owns and consider that,” Bulzomi said.
If elected, he said he’d consider putting together a town Industrial Development Agency (IDA), or joining forces with the county’s existing IDA. Building up downtowns is something Bulzomi has experience in, as a member of the Westbury Business Improvement District. He’s also an active member of several other community organizations such as the Carle Place Civic Association, and is a former Westbury Fire Department volunteer.
Bulzomi is confident he can help the town be more approachable.
“I have a connection to the people,” Bulzomi said. “I want to increase lines of communication to the residents and be there for the people. Government needs to work with residents, not against them.”
