As a children’s sports coach, a former zoning board member and an alum of Manhasset Secondary School, Rich Dunphy has experienced various aspects of Plandome and the greater Long Island community.
Now, he’s applying what he’s learned about his fellow residents to his newest role: a trustee on Village of Plandome’s board.
“I feel like I do have my finger on the pulse of the village and the town – being from here, being involved in athletics and coaching,” he said.
Dunphy, an equity trader, was appointed to the Village of Plandome Board of Trustees on Oct. 20. He fills a vacancy left by former Deputy Mayor Don Richardson, who recently moved out of the village. Dunphy will also serve as Plandome’s liaison for the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee.
Dunphy participated in his first village meeting as a trustee on Nov. 10. He said he’s most excited to make decisions alongside people who share his love for the village, including board members he said he has known for the majority of his life.
“It’s a really, really good group of individuals that really care about this place. And I think it just would open my eyes to really sit here and be like, ‘OK, these are the guys involved with this village that we all love so much,’” he said. “Sitting next to them at board meetings excites me. I’m going to sit here and say anything we accomplish would be done by everyone on that board.”
Dunphy graduated from Manhasset Secondary School before earning his bachelor’s degree from Providence College in 1993. He then began working in equity trading in New York City – and has since been doing “kind of the same job” that he’s been doing for the last 30 years, he said. He currently works at Canaccord Genuity, a Canadian broker-dealer.
He and his family – his wife and their two children – moved to the Village of Plandome around 2011. Their son graduated from Clemson University last year and their daughter is a senior at the University of Georgia. Their son is also a Manhasset High School alum, while their daughter attended Sacred Heart Academy in Garden City.
Dunphy’s wife is a realtor for Daniel Gale – “so she works right here on Plandome Road,” he said. “She loves working with friends and relatives and neighbors and a lot of local people.”
He has been involved in the community for years, coaching children’s basketball and lacrosse teams for over a decade and serving on the village’s zoning board of appeals for approximately a year.
“I think I’m bringing to the table just somebody who’s energetic, somebody who wants to improve the village, somebody who wants to be involved in the beautification of the village, somebody who really wants to get to know their neighbors,” he said.
Dunphy will also serve as Plandome’s liaison for the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee, an “inter-municipal organization focused on addressing water quality and coastal issues with a coordinated, watershed-level approach,” according to the organization’s website. The role, like Dunphy’s trustee position, was formerly held by Richardson.
“I have big shoes to fill,” Dunphy said. “From what I understand, he was really hands-on. I hope to be as good as he was.”
Deputy Mayor Damien Quinn said Dunphy qualifies “on a great level” for the board. He said he considers Dunphy to be a friend.
“He’s a class guy beginning to end. I’ve known him a very, very long time – 20 plus years,” Quinn said. “We spent a lot of time together socially prior to this, because we’re village residents, and it’s a pretty small part of the world.”
Dunphy said he is focusing on learning everything he can from the board and residents.
“I’ve been receiving a number of emails and trying to just do my homework and figure out what the biggest issues are and the biggest hurdles,” he said.
He said he credits village clerk/treasurer Barbara Peebles for ensuring he has easy access to all necessary village information.
“I’ll tell you that the organization by Barbara Peebles on the board is just phenomenal,” he said. “She has given me the resources that I need. I need to basically educate myself on everything, so she gives me all the papers, all the pending issues.”
He said Peebles is “meticulous” about regularly sending out reminders regarding upcoming issues and votes.
“She’s really, really good and organized from that perspective, and that helps me streamline everything,” he said.
While he is still learning, he said he wants to improve the village’s beauty and maintain Plandome’s charm.
“I think it would be a good opportunity to really continue to keep the character of the village intact while making it a little bit better,” he said.
