Town Councilwoman Rebecca Alesia Returns

This November, to the Oyster Bay Town Council,  enabling her to keep the seat she was appointed to in February. Alesia replaces Rose Marie Walker, who had been elected to the Nassau County Legislature. 

Syosset Patch spoke to Alesia recently about the election and topics of interest that are coming before the town board.

"It was very, very exciting," Alesia said of winning the election. "It's an incredible feeling to know you actually make a difference."

The Plainview resident who is an attorney and a mother of a three-year-old son, said now she's ready to get back to "business as usual" at Town Hall. She said a big priority will be "trying to do our best to spend everybody's tax dollars responsibly and conservatively."

While she was absent for the recent town board vote to approve a budget with a 3.5 percent tax increase, she said she supported the measure.

"The town is in incredible financial shape, in order to keep it in incredible financial shape, we need to have basically a cost-of-living adjustment," Alesia said. "The price of everything has gone up, the price of gas…take for example, the price of gas, it takes more for the town to get the trucks out to pick up garbage, to plow the streets, everything."

She added that a three-and-a-half percent increase is about $31 a year to the average homeowner.

"I'm not saying it's nothing. I have a kid at home, my husband and I both work, but to keep our town in the same shape, providing the same services… I'm ok with a cost-of-living adjustment," she said. 

In topics of interest to Syosset residents, she said she looks forward to seeing the . Alesia indicated that now that the land south of the tracks has been transferred to the town, the job will go out to bid in the next couple of months: "I believe you're going to see actual work, shovel in the ground, in the spring," she said.

As for the CERRO wire property -- Alesia said the case with the proposed mall developers has its next court conference scheduled for December first, and since it is in litigation, she said she couldn't comment at the moment.

Another item of interest regarding development has been recent news that a Jericho-based developer, Michael Dubb, is interested in property owned by Charles Wong on Old Country Road in Plainview. Alesia said she's a fan of Dubb's projects.

"We will have community involvement in the Town Board process, so it will be something the neighborhood has input in and can live with," Alesia said. "I think we need it in Plainview, to increase our tax base."

On other topics, Alesia added she would like to continue the trend of land conservation in the town and continue to have the town involved in low or no-cost quality-of-life programs, including the skating rinks and Music Under the Stars.

The election Alesia just won is for one year, to complete what would have been Walker's term. Alesia will have to run for office again next November, for a full, four-year term.