A standing-room only crowd packed into the Helen Glannon room at the Bryant Library last Tuesday night for swearing-in ceremonies of Roslyn Village Board of Trustee members.

On March 16, all incumbent trustees were re-elected. Mayor Janet Galante, Deputy Mayor Nolan Myerson and Trustee John Durkin were re-elected to two year terms, while Trustee Louise McCann was elected to a one-year term. Ms. McCann had been selected by Mayor Galante to fill the vacancy created when former Deputy Mayor Marlene Freeman relocated to New York City.

But the elections were not without some suspense. Prior to the election, there were no announced candidacies against the incumbent trustees. However, election night saw a mayoral write-in effort for Craig Westergard, chairman of the Historic District Board. Mayor Galante was re-elected with 140 votes, but Mr. Westergard received 94 write-in votes, the most successful such campaign in recent village history.

Village officials acknowledged that they knew about the write-in campaign for Mr. Westergard only the day before the actual election. Concerning the write-in vote, Mayor Galante would only say, "I'm very glad there is someone who will want this job when I'm ready to retire."

On Tuesday night, Mayor Galante listed her administration's accomplishments, while also announcing a $57,000 grant from the state for both a community room in the village hall to be used for future elections and to make the building handicapped-accessible.

Noting that Roslyn, founded in 1643, represents the oldest settlement in Nassau County, the mayor asked its citizens to "work together for a common goal." More specifically, she listed "beautifying" private property and the downtown district and urged participation on Arbor Day and Memorial Day events.

The mayor also claimed that four years ago when her administration first took office, "there was no thought on where the village would be in the future."

In addition to no Arbor Day or Memorial Day events, Mayor Galante said there were "no garbage pails...on the sidewalks," no wooden benches and plants to "enhance the streetscape" of downtown Roslyn.

Most of all, the mayor praised the village's new master plan. That plan has been challenged by LCS Realty in their ongoing struggle to build in downtown Roslyn. But as the mayor happily noted, recent New York State Supreme Court decisions has upheld the master plan as the legal document to determine commercial development in the village.

The mayor also noted efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to do dredging work in Hempstead Harbor. She thanked Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta (who was in attendance) and the county legislature for passing Grist Mill renovation funding. She also thanked both State Senator Michael Balboni for an additional $100,000 grant for Grist Mill educational purposes and State Assemblyman David Sidikman for a $20,000 road repair state grant.

In his comments, Deputy Mayor Nolan Myerson reiterated that the village "desperately" needs new parking spaces. Without being specific, he said there was an "underutilized" area in the village currently owned by the Town of North Hempstead that could be used as a parking facility.