New Hempstead Residents to Choose New Mayor on Tuesday

 By Sarah Morgenstern

Tomorrow is Election Day from, 9am to 9pm, in the village of New Hempstead, and residents are encouraged to get out to vote for either incumbent Abe Sicker or challenger Ari Fekete, who is a write-in candidate.

The election will take place Tuesday, March 15, at Village Hall, which is located at 108 Old Schoolhouse Road in New City.

Mayor Sicker and his Board of Trustees have served the community loyally and professionally for the past six years, when he moved from the city to the New Hempstead, said nine community rabbis in a letter to New Hempstead residents.

“Our concerns, no matter how big or small are always taken seriously and given the attention they deserve,” the rabbis wrote.

Mayor Sicker emphasizes his commitment to “low property taxes and fair zoning laws.”

Fekete, a businessman, who seven months ago, moved with his family to New Hempstead to get away from city life in Williamsburg, has never before been involved in politics.

“I run a few businesses, and I generally like to help people,” Fekete told Rockland Daily.

Fekete said he is running for mayor because he wants “all the different sectors in the community to have a liaison” in the village government, so everyone will have access to everything that is happening in the village, such as the provisions of building permits and expedited processes for emergency repairs.

The lack of quick permits for emergency repairs, he said can result in weeks of residents’ discomfort and thousands of dollars in further damages to homes that are leaking or otherwise damaged.

“I believe in complete transparency,” said Fekete who is not running with any trustees. “I just want to change the climate to unity, diversity, and equality.”

In particular, what bothers Fekete the most is when some people in communities get priority over others, who are not as well connected.

“I even told the rabbis who are backing me that they will not get priority over the people who did not support me,” said Fekete, who started a small shul in the basement of the home next door to his home, which he bought and rents out to the gabbai of the shul. “I am going to stand behind my word, and no one is getting priority.”