NCVOA’s Early Days

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For those who do not know the history of the NCVOA, here is a little primer of its earliest days —

In June of 1925, officials from four villages – Freeport, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre and Hempstead – including each of their presidents (that’s what village mayors were called back then) met mainly to discuss traffic problems — does that sound familiar. At the meeting, they had a presentation (also familiar) from a company that proposed adoption of three-color traffic signals to avoid some of those traffic problems. Importantly, they agreed that a close association of those and other villages should result from that meeting.

At the next meeting, the traffic committee issued its report and by-laws were adopted for the Village Officials Association of Nassau County. Significant among its provisions was its purpose — “the promotion of mutual community welfare” — and a provision that there were to be monthly meetings.

During the first year of the NCVOA:

Speakers at some of the meetings included the Deputy State Comptroller and a Deputy Attorney General.

The NCVOA president was appointed by the New York State Conference of Mayors and Other Officials (NYCOM) as a member of a committee to advice with the State Joint Legislative Committee on a complete revision of the Village Law.

Other topics discussed were problems of garbage dumping, a proposal to have town-wide incineration, County and other police matters and a joint sewer proposal. Amazing that those still are important matters for us 95 years later.

By the end of the first year, there were 14 village members, and monthly meetings were attended by as many as 30 to 35 village officials.

The first annual dinner was held on January 13, 1926 at the Pavilion Royal in Valley Stream. The Director of the Bureau of Municipal Research, the Secretary of NYCOM and a representative of the State Department of Farms and Markets spoke, as did the local assemblyman. Also, a gift of a purse of gold was given to the secretary of the Association. Well some things do change.