Rafe Lieber, a 26-year resident of the Village of Great Neck Plaza, was appointed to a trustee position at the village's Nov. 7 board of trustees meeting. Unanimously supported by the mayor and the board, Mr. Lieber was sworn in by Plaza Mayor Jean Celender at the start of the meeting.

Noting the large turnout to witness Mr. Lieber's swearing-in, Mayor Celender said that her new trustee has "worked on virtually every level of government," including stints with United States Congressman Gary Ackerman, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman. Mr. Lieber currently serves as the chief of staff to New York State Senator Craig Johnson.

Mayor Celender also said that, "Aside from Rafe's work in government, he has been very involved in the Great Neck community where he served as a member of the board of directors of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce and the Great Neck Arts Center." Mr. Lieber has also been a member of the Great Neck Rotary as well as the New York State Urban and Community Forestry Council and the Long Island ReLeaf (a local environmental advocacy group).

The mayor spoke of Mr. Lieber as "a student of government for over a decade," and she said that he is "looking forward to bringing his experience to improving the quality of life for the residents of the village; he has vowed to be a tireless advocate for his constituents and will work to make sure the Plaza continues to remain the best place to live in Great Neck."

Mr. Lieber is thrilled and proud of his new appointment, stating: "I would first like to thank Mayor Celender and the village board for believing in me. I have been proud to call Great Neck Plaza my home for most of my life and I am very much looking forward to serving the people of this community as a trustee. I am ready and excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work on issues related to traffic and parking, noise abatement, community planning and of course sound fiscal management."

Rafe Lieber, his wife Jennifer, and their 20-month-old son Joseph live in Great Neck Plaza, right around the corner from where he grew up.

Mr. Lieber replaces the late Joel Liebowitz who died a few months ago. Mr. Lieber will hold this appointment until the village's March elections, when he will have to run for his own seat.