Saltaire Greets New Trustee, FINS Super
Volume 49, Issue 2
By David Crohn

Saltarians have spoken, and the results are in and finalized: Robert Cox is staying on; John Zaccaro will be replaced by newcomer Pia Notaro Carroll.
Cox and Carroll received 110 votes each to Zaccaro’s 67. The fourth candidate, Frank Wolf, lost by a nose with 109 votes.
New York Yankee third baseman Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez received one vote, as did former Village Justice Jerry Leitner.
The results were posted in town and on the official Village of Saltaire website two weeks ago, but the swearing-in ceremony was delayed so that the town board of elections could wait to count absentee ballots, said Mayor Scott Rosenblum at this month’s Board meeting. None of the six absentee ballots expected to come in were counted.
Village administrator Mario Posillico said he hopes to have a public swearing-in ceremony, possibly this weekend. The town has up to 30 days to swear in its officials.
Observers have noted how close this election was compared to other years, in a town where uncontested elections are not unheard of. That there was essentially a three-way tie is almost unprecedented, said longtime Saltairian and Trustee Hugh O’Brien.
“One that was this close was pretty amazing, and I think that’s a tribute to the people who almost won, that they had a strong appeal,” said O’Brien.

Winners and Losers Speak Out
After hearing the results, Saltaire’s contenders offered comments on the past, present, and future of the village.
Notaro Carroll, a licensed clinical psychotherapist with no previous public office experience, said she looks forward to using her people skills to “reach out to the people and employees of Saltaire.”
Speaking at his last town meeting, on May 30, Trustee Zaccaro thanked residents and fellow board members.
“Your comments were very nice and made me proud to be here. Being a trustee is not easy. There are no easy decisions—someone always gets hurt,” he said.
The four-year trustee also denied rumors that he had stolen Kismet-dredged sand from the village. He said he bought a batch of it himself to fill a cesspool under his home and then donated a fifth of the purchase to the village.
The allegations, he said, were characteristic of politics in the village, where “negative campaigning [has] become commonplace. It makes it hard for people to want to become involved.”
Frank Wolf, no stranger to falling just short of victory, accepted his loss graciously. “I would have liked to win but it didn’t happen. I think I was and would again have made a fine trustee. Obviously, it was pleasing to have so much support,” said Wolf, who has lost by margins of nine and three votes.

FINS Head Addresses
Town Meeting
In other news, driving regulations and the ongoing management of Saltaire’s beaches emerged as highlights of the discussion as Fire Island National Seashore Superintendent Mike Reynolds addressed residents and Trustees at Saltaire’s board meeting.
Hired in early February, Reynolds, formerly chief of planning for Yosemite National Park, has been touring Fire Island introducing himself to the communities.
“I’m jumping in feet first, trying to get to know the communities’ concerns,” he said.
Responding to a question from the audience, Reynolds said FINS would soon review federal driving restrictions—complied with in Saltaire according to local mandates—in an effort to balance the often-conflicting needs of commercial and residential interests.
“It’s been a long time since we talked about how this works,” he said, adding that the FINS hoped to have revised regulations in September.
There has been a recent tightening of restrictions, with driving in June now limited to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends only, rather than all week long as before.
“It’s always been a matter of how best to phase driving in and out during the ‘shoulder seasons’” in late spring and early fall, according to Posillico.
Posillico commended the superintendent for his willingness to reach out to the communities and said the village looks forward to working with him.
“The village is overall very happy. He seems to be willing to work with the communities, which has not always been true in the past—decisions were sometimes made in a vacuum, so to speak.”