Hendrick Reveals State of the Village at Board Meeting

A night before President Barack Obama issues his State on the Union address in Washington, Lynbrook Mayor William Hendrick issued his State of the Village address at Monday night’s Board of Trustees Meeting.

The hour-long speech focused on village economics and future building plans. as well as communication and housing.

“We are fortunate to live in one of the nation’s finest villages,” Hendrick said.

Hendrick acknowledged that the 2009 recession hit the area hard and still presented major challenges. However, the board is confident that Lynbrook commerce is rebounding.

“We feel that Lynbrook and the south shore of Long Island will recover sooner than the rest of the nation,” Hendrick said. “It’s a prediction based on the interest in Lynbrook and the people that want to build. We’re very proud of that.”

The village ended 2011 with over a $3.6 million surplus, according to Hendrick.

“Our auditors cited this as being attributed to ‘good fiscal government',” Hendrick said. “That’s very impressive for us.”

Lynbrook used only 44 percent of its maximum taxing power and exhausted only 15 percent of its debt limit when compared with other New York State municipalities in 2011. This makes Lynbrook a relatively low taxed and low debt community, with approximately 22 percent of its tax revenue coming from commercial properties, according to Hendrick.  

Those current commercial properties could soon have company. Three different businesses are currently interested in occupying the Mangrove A letter of interest was recently signed for the Marriott Hotel to “begin the process” of their acquisition of the property, according to Hendrick.

Hendrick did not reveal the other two businesses that have interest. Currently, the market value of all properties in the village totals over $2 billion, Hendrick said.

Despite the success that the Mayor detailed, he also spoke of financial challenges facing the village and ways to conserve.

“[These] include finding more efficient ways to deliver services, delaying planned projects, and extending the life of equipment and vehicles where we can,” Hendrick said.

But the theme of fiscal conservatism shouldn’t be confused with a lack of activity. Hendrick relayed goals for 2011 that include improving Sunrise Highway streetscapes and persuading Regal to on Merrick Road into a “first class, modern entertainment center.”

“In 2012, we will continue to face similar challenges as 2011,” Hendrick said as he closed his address. “We will continue to provide a high quality of service needed for our community...to the residents, it is my honor to repeat to you that the state of the village is in excellent condition.”