OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

North Hempstead Town Board Regular Meeting - March 10, 2026

Town Board — Tuesday, March 10, 2026
BodyNorth Hempstead, New York
SessionTown Board
DateTuesday, March 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:53

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

We've got to get started with those.

0:13

Jen, you have something on the back of the chat.

0:16

Yeah, sign that says kick me.

0:23

Kick me.

0:26

Thank you.

0:31

Jen, just like she's been emailing me.

0:33

She wants to do the T and R they nip their ear.

0:39

She doesn't want the ears in the Twitter.

0:43

Let's go.

0:46

I don't know what I'm saying.

0:48

I don't know.

0:48

Is it a law?

0:49

I don't know.

0:50

I mean, obviously, it's a common practice.

1:09

So they know they don't think that's the same.

1:18

No, like I said, we'll be doing it.

1:21

Okay.

1:23

All right.

1:23

Good morning, everybody.

1:24

If you'd please stand and place your right hand over your heart.

1:27

I pledge allegiance to the flag of 99.

1:32

And the reporting for which it stands.

1:34

One nation under God.

1:36

Invisible liberty and justice for all.

1:52

Okay, Mr.

1:52

Russo, would you please call the roll?

1:55

Good morning, uh Madam Supervisor and Town Board.

1:58

Today is Tuesday, March 10th, 2026.

2:00

Welcome to the town board meeting.

2:02

Now with the roll call.

2:03

Councilman Choiano.

2:04

Present.

2:04

Councilman Scott.

2:05

Councilman Walsh.

2:07

Councilwoman Lou.

2:08

Present.

2:08

Councilman Levy.

2:09

Here.

2:09

Councilwoman Delamante.

2:11

Supervisor the Center.

2:12

Here.

2:14

Okay, good morning.

2:15

This is our meeting for public hearings, but we do have two people who asked to make a comment.

2:21

So I'll call up Mr.

2:23

Gaffney.

2:34

Good spring morning to everyone.

2:36

Yes, morning.

2:37

Thank God.

2:37

My name's Pete Gaffney.

2:39

I uh I reside in Westbury Call Place School District.

2:43

And uh what I like to talk about is just continue to speak about and write to the entire North Happen North Hempstead Town Board about the quality of the life in and around Westbury unincorporated portion and also Car Place.

2:57

Um by now, hopefully, uh you know, this is so important to me is this Westbury Avenue project.

3:04

Uh it's such a large-scale project.

3:06

I think everybody in the board, it's not just District One.

3:09

Everybody needs to kind of be involved in it.

3:11

I sent you the actual report uh some time ago now uh on Westbury Avenue and what North Hemp what Nassau County did.

3:19

A $400,000 report.

3:22

Uh and it showed that uh it should be safety should be done uh where the road is nillery too small.

3:30

So we need to really look at that and analyze it.

3:33

And the idea of just doing the same old thing and repaving makes no sense.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Animal Welfare████████████████████████████████████████40%
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
Veterans Affairs██████████████14%
Transportation Safety████████████12%
Taxation██████6%
Disability Rights███3%
Summary of Proceedings

North Hempstead Town Board Regular Meeting - March 10, 2026

On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at 10:00 AM, the Town of North Hempstead Town Board held a public hearing meeting. The board adopted four ordinances and heard public comments on quality-of-life issues, including a large-scale development project, traffic safety, and animal rescue support.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Pete Gaffney (Westbury/Carle Place resident) spoke about:
    • The Westbury Avenue project – a large-scale project he considers critical for District 1 and the entire town. He referenced a $400,000 Nassau County report showing the road is too narrow and urged the board to prioritize safety over simple repaving and ensure ADA compliance.
    • Requested contact information for the Amazon Westbury Avenue complaint line, promised in September 2025 but never provided.
    • Stated he is still awaiting a response to his FOIL request for the school bus camera contract, noting the town budgets over $2 million in fines from the program without a known contract.
    • Asked the board to add transverse rumble strips near Cherry Lane School (K-3) to address stop sign violations and speeding. He noted the Village of Westbury has successfully used such strips and that a New York State grant may be available.
  • Claudia Kessler (Roslyn Heights resident) spoke about her eight years of cat rescue work across multiple districts. She emphasized the need for town support for rescues, stating she spent tens of thousands of dollars of her own money last year. She requested:
    • Access to a town-contracted veterinarian for medical care and euthanasia of rescued cats.
    • An option for spay/neuter without ear-tipping for cats that are not being returned to the streets (e.g., friendly or adoptable cats). She noted that ear-tipping is required by the TNR program but she sometimes pays out-of-pocket to avoid it for kittens.

Discussion Items

  • Local Law Amending Chapter 51 – Taxation (Veterans Exemption):
    • The board considered opting into a state-authorized real property tax exemption for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability. The exemption applies only to the town tax portion of property taxes, not school or county taxes. The number of eligible veterans is expected to be very small.
    • Councilmembers expressed strong support. Councilman Levy suggested reaching out to school districts to also adopt the exemption. Councilman Troiano noted the Westbury School District will vote on it in April. Supervisor DeSena directed the communications director to draft a letter to all school districts in the town urging them to adopt the exemption.

Key Outcomes

  • Public Hearing #1 – Veterans Tax Exemption: Closed and adopted unanimously via Resolution 145-2026 / Local Law 2-2026. Note: The official minutes record 0 Ayes and 0 Nays, which appears to be a clerical error; the transcript shows all seven board members voting Aye.
  • Public Hearing #2 – Handicap Parking Space at 134 Sycamore Drive, New Hyde Park: Closed and adopted unanimously (7-0) via Resolution 146-2026.
  • Public Hearing #3 – Rescind No Parking Ordinance on Cherry Lane, New Hyde Park: Closed and adopted unanimously (7-0) via Traffic Ordinance No. 7-2026.
  • Public Hearing #4 – Add Stop Sign on Elm Drive, New Hyde Park: Closed and adopted unanimously (7-0) via Traffic Ordinance No. 8-2026.
  • The board directed the communications director to draft a letter encouraging all school districts in the town to adopt the 100% disabled veterans property tax exemption.

Meeting Transcript

We've got to get started with those. Jen, you have something on the back of the chat. Yeah, sign that says kick me. Kick me. Thank you. Jen, just like she's been emailing me. She wants to do the T and R they nip their ear. She doesn't want the ears in the Twitter. Let's go. I don't know what I'm saying. I don't know. Is it a law? I don't know. I mean, obviously, it's a common practice. So they know they don't think that's the same. No, like I said, we'll be doing it. Okay. All right. Good morning, everybody. If you'd please stand and place your right hand over your heart. I pledge allegiance to the flag of 99. And the reporting for which it stands. One nation under God. Invisible liberty and justice for all. Okay, Mr. Russo, would you please call the roll? Good morning, uh Madam Supervisor and Town Board. Today is Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. Welcome to the town board meeting. Now with the roll call. Councilman Choiano. Present. Councilman Scott. Councilman Walsh. Councilwoman Lou. Present. Councilman Levy. Here. Councilwoman Delamante. Supervisor the Center. Here. Okay, good morning. This is our meeting for public hearings, but we do have two people who asked to make a comment. So I'll call up Mr. Gaffney. Good spring morning to everyone. Yes, morning. Thank God. My name's Pete Gaffney. I uh I reside in Westbury Call Place School District.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com