The Nassau County Village Officials Association (NCVOA) elected Jean Celender, mayor of the Village of Great Neck Plaza, as its second vice president for 2017–18 at the annual meeting on June 29 and named the Honorable Ralph J. Kreitzman, former mayor of the Village of Great Neck, executive director.
The NCVOA represents 64 incorporated villages with more than 450,000 residents, and as second vice president, Celender will play a vital role in establishing NCVOA policies and directing the organization’s efforts on behalf of village residents throughout Nassau County.
Along with Mayor Celender, Village of Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy was installed as president, Village of Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand as first vice president and Village of Sea Cliff Mayor Edward Lieberman as treasurer.
The NCVOA Executive Committee selected Kreitzman to replace longtime Executive Director Warren Tackenberg, who recently announced his plans to retire at the end of 2017. Kreitzman and Tackenberg will serve as co-executive directors during the transition period.
A resident of the Village of Great Neck, Kreitzman is a longtime public servant, having served as trustee, deputy mayor, member of the Architectural Review Committee and chair of the Village of Great Neck Planning Board. He was mayor from 2007 to 2014. He also was a director of the Water Authority of Great Neck North and president of the Great Neck Village Officials Association.
While mayor of the Village of Great Neck, Kreitzman served as NCVOA president for two years and was a member of the executive committee of the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM). With more than 590 municipalities and 7,000 local officials, NYCOM advocates for city and village interests in the state legislature and with state agencies.
Kreitzman currently serves as vice chair of the Water Authority of Great Neck North, a director of the Town of North Hempstead Community Development Agency and a member of the Great Neck Board of Education Building Advisory Committee.
He has been associated with the Manhattan-based international law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP for the past four decades, having served as associate, partner, past chair of the worldwide Real Estate Group and is currently senior counsel. He has been active in New York City and State bar associations, authored articles and has lectured on real estate and related areas of law and municipal matters.
