Great Neck Village Board seat still vacant

A seat remains open on the Great Neck Village Board, as newly re-elected Mayor Ralph Kreitzman declined this week to appoint anyone to the position vacated by trustee Mark D. Birnbaum, who was elected village justice last month.

Instead, Kreitzman said Wednesday that he held off on that and other appointments "for a number of reasons."

The meeting was the first substantial one since last month's election, which featured a surprise write-in campaign that threatened the incumbents, who had been uncontested.

Civic activist Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar, who helped coordinate the write-in campaign, wrote asking the board to request that the state invalidate the election due to what she said were problems with voting machines and other issues.

Gilliar's request was not taken up by the board Tuesday night, and Kreitzman said Wednesday that her request had no bearing on his decision to hold off on the trustee appointment.

"We're still thinking about his [Birnbaum's] replacement," said Kreitzman, who offered no comment on Gilliar's letter.

Meanwhile, the board set July 16 for public hearings for several proposed laws, including one that expands on the village's current peddling and soliciting law.

Also on July 16, developer AvalonBay is scheduled to present a more formal request to build luxury apartments at 240 East Shore Rd., a dilapidated property that currently houses old oil tanks, Kreitzman said.