Bulzomi Seeks More Approachable
Government For North Hempstead
By Betsy Abraham
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 said 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.”
Bosworth Touts Town Initiatives
By Rich Forestano
While seasoned in the political realm as a former Nassau County legislator, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth says she still feels new to the mantle she took up less than two years ago, running the fifth largest township in the United States. Bosworth squares off against Republican challenger Anthony Bulzomi of Carle Place on Nov. 3.
“The thing I see is that we have wonderful people in the town that care about education, that care about business, that care about making sure that they can raise their families here,” she said in an interview with Anton Media Group.
Bosworth touted the revitalization of the town’s veteran advisory committee in 2014; a task she called “an amazing experience.” The committee is comprised of veterans throughout North Hempstead who are skilled in veterans affairs.
The committee’s first project collected clothing toiletries last Christmas, which were brought to the Northport VA hospital for veterans.
Box drop-off sites are planned for Clinton G. Martin and Michael J. Tully parks, along with Town Hall.
“We wanted to make sure we were in touch with our veterans to see what they needed,” Bosworth said.
Bosworth feels the recent Town Veterans Breakfast earlier this month at Clinton G. Martin Park will aide the committee’s continued rebirth.
“Just getting the opportunity to that the veterans for all they’ve done,” she said. “We’ve done a great job getting initiatives and departments in order.”
The town’s building department drew ire from residents and community leaders leading up to Bosworth’s appointment last January. She pointed to the selection of John Niewender as the department’s commissioner as the first in many steps to getting the office on track. The search lasted six months to find former commissioner Kevin Cronin’s successor last year.
Bosworth said Niewender, of New Hyde Park, is “an incredible asset to the town.”
“We conducted an extensive search for building commissioner,” she said. “There was no one I felt that could do the job. But John has the respect of the people within the department and outside of it.”
Bosworth admitted the building office is still in transition, but contends “great changes have come.” She noted the appointment of an applicant advocate in Lauren Summa as one initiative that have set the building department on the right course. Summa handles red-tape issues with department applications and walks parties through the process in North Hempstead.
“Am I going to sit here and say ‘good news, the building department is fixed?’ Nope,” Bosworth said. “Will I say there have been really great changes? I will say that.”
Much like her opponent, Bosworth has been stumping for transparent government since she took office, spearheading the streaming of town board meetings on northhempstead.gov and uploading a digital version of the town budget prior to Election Day.
“I was committed to having the budget vote before Election Day,” Bosworth said. “We’ll do that as long as I’m there.”
Road repaving has been a recent undertaking by the town under its five-year capital plan, which recently completed projects in Albertson, Roslyn and Roslyn Heights. The $2 million road plan has additional projects scheduled for Port Washington, Great Neck, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park and Manhasset.
“It’s never complete because it’s an ongoing process,” Boswoth said. “This is something that is now in our capital plan every year.”
