North Hills voters will see two familiar names on their ballot during Tuesday’s election.
Incumbent Trustees Elliott Arnold and Phyllis Lentini, who have served on the village’s board since 2005 and 2003, respectively, are both running uncontested for another four-year term.
Village residents can cast their ballots between noon and 9 p.m. at North Hills Village Hall on June 17.
Both Arnold and Lentini emphasized that they were a team. The pair said they wanted to run again to continue serving the village and because the village’s current board worked well together.
“The mayor and the board work very well together. They’re always looking to do more for the village,” Arnold said, a sentiment Lentini echoed.
If reelected, Arnold said he hopes to use his next term to improve the quality of life in the village and increase amenities available to residents.
“My main objective in this next term is to do whatever I can to keep improving the village and making it look like the nicest village on Long Island,” Arnold said.
Lentini said she would use her next term, if reelected, to work hard to solve any problem that came up in the village. She said she was motivated to join the board initially after her husband, John Lentini, a past mayor of the village, passed away in 2002.
“I decided I wanted to be a part of what he was in the middle of at that point,” Lentini said. “That’s what made me run, and here I am. I just love it.”
During her most recent term, Lentini said she was most proud of her work pushing to keep the village’s shuttle between the village hall and the Manhasset LIRR station during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring residents who continued to work in the city could commute conveniently and renovating the village’s park.
“The park’s surface was starting to wear, and some of the swings weren’t looking as nice as we would like them to have,” she said. “I worked with the superintendent of buildings and one of the other trustees. We met with the surface resurfacing company to redo the surfaces of the playground and we made a beautiful new design on the surface while bringing all the equipment and landscaping up to date.”
Lentini said she also worked with the board and the village’s clerk to renovate village hall offices, update the village maps and guide the village into a cable franchise agreement with Verizon, a process she said involved a slew of meetings.
“We renovated the working space for all the employees because it was very outdated,” Lentini said. She said the new changes account for changes in technology, provide additional filing space and new desks and cubicles.
Outside of her work with the village, Lentini said she’s active in her parish, the Church of St. Mary’s in Manhasset, and spends her free time with her eight grandchildren.
Arnold cited his work as helping to resolve any issues with the village’s condos or between condo residents and private homeowners, working to improve traffic conditions in the village, digitizing all old files in village hall and ensuring the village is well maintained as his primary accomplishments during his last term. He said he also supported the continuation of the LIRR shuttle during the COVID-19 pandemic and the park renovation that Lentini talked about.
“We do a lot to make sure that traffic signals are working,” Arnold said. “We put in maximum speed signs.”
“I was also involved with [updating] all the computer systems in the village hall,” he continued. “It was a big job redoing all the files and putting them on the internet.”
Now retired, Arnold previously ran a life and health insurance agency for roughly 50 years. Outside of his work in the village, Arnold said he volunteers and fundraises for the Viscardi Center.
He said that what has always driven him to run for the board is his commitment to community service and work within the village, including the village’s condos.
“Doing something for the community meant a lot to me,” Arnold said. “A lot of people run into little everyday problems with traffic and, you know, just different problems that come up. I also wanted to help the condos deal with any problems that came up with the residents.”
“I think it’s good to be always there, helping the village, and helping anyone in it when they have problems in the village,” he continued. “It’s a beautiful place to live, and I’m very proud that I’m able to help.”
Even though it is an uncontested election, both trustees emphasized the importance of voting and asked constituents to support them.
“I think by now, if they know me, they know that I – and we – have always done the right thing and the constituents of the village first,” Lentini said.
“It’s an obligation to vote,” Arnold said. “It’s good to show if a lot of people recognize what we’re doing and are behind us.”
All North Hills residents looking to cast a ballot in the election must be registered to vote with the Nassau County Board of Elections.
