Бывший мэр Грейт-Ник Плейза Тед Розен рассказывает о своем долголетнем служении общине и развитии центра

Great Neck Plaza Mayor Ted Rosen’s place in the community began long before his election in 2020, and even before he was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 1985. In 1984, Rosen was part of a group of Great Neck Plaza citizens who formed a unit of the Nassau County Auxiliary Police. The Great Neck Central Auxiliary Police oversaw the communities of Great Neck Plaza, Russell Gardens and Thomaston. When the original chief was preoccupied with fire department matters, former Mayor Alan Gussack asked Rosen to take over the unit. “I became the chief of the Great Neck Central Auxiliary Police and stayed with that just about the better part of 20 years,” Rosen said. According to Rosen, he always had an interest in politics. “Before I became a trustee, in 1984, I ran for the State Senate,” Rosen said. “I was not successful, but learned a lot.” Those lessons reaffirmed Rosen’s desire to stay in government. “In 1985, one of the members of the board passed away and the mayor appointed me to take over his seat, and that’s how I got involved in the village,” Rosen said. Rosen served as Trustee from 1985-2000 and was then appointed deputy mayor from 2000-2020 under former Mayor Jean Celender. Read More: Kensington Mayor Jeff Greener moves up the ranks Rosen’s former involvement with the Auxiliary Police instilled in him the importance of maintaining public safety in the Great Neck Plaza community, especially because it does not have its own police department. “Maintaining public safety is certainly one of the most important things that we can do in government, and we take it very, very seriously,” Rosen said. Professionally, Rosen is a practicing attorney to this day. The mayor graduated from New York University Law School in 1971 and started practicing for a large law firm in 1973. “I did litigation, and then I went to a small law firm, also just doing litigation, mostly commercial litigation, business-related litigation,” Rosen said. “And then several years thereafter, I started my own practice.” Additionally, Rosen became an arbitrator for the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers in the early ‘80s. The most important issues for Rosen in his time as trustee and now as mayor have been maintaining the vitality of Great Neck Plaza’s downtown area, along with renovating and updating infrastructure, especially sidewalks. “It’s very important for communities that have downtowns to have active, vibrant downtowns,” Rosen said. “It’s a challenge because times change. Shopping patterns change.” As for the sidewalks, Rosen explained that years ago, the village was paved with brick sidewalks. Although this was visually appealing, the brick sidewalks were not compatible with large trees with roots that grow outward. “Now, we’ve learned over the years, the answer is you’ve got to have trees that are what we call ‘sidewalk-friendly’ trees, where the roots grow down,” Rosen said. Great Neck Plaza’s summer concerts and promenades are part of Rosen’s effort to maintain the downtown area’s vibrance and vitality. “Our concerts are on Tuesday nights, and the rain date for most of them is the following Thursday,” Rosen said. “We have concerts every Tuesday through Sept. 1., and that’s in Firefighters Park.” For the promenades, the Business Improvement District closes off one street a week for nine weeks on Wednesdays, and encourages that block’s businesses and restaurants to stay open later and offer outdoor dining. “If you really want to take advantage of everything, you come to our concert on Tuesday, go to the promenade on Wednesday and then the park district, I believe, has concerts on Saturday night and Sunday night, so there’s plenty of things to do,” Rosen said. Rosen has lived in Great Neck Plaza with his wife Nancy since 1974, raising their two now adult children, Melissa and Seth. Rosen and his wife also have a granddaughter Freyja, and the couple resides in the Wyngate section. After living in the community for over 50 years, Rosen’s greatest point of pride is Great Neck Plaza’s diversity. “We have people from many different backgrounds,” Rosen said. “I think that’s a very positive thing about Great Neck.” In his free time, Rosen loves to watch sports, explore the rest of Long Island, go out with friends, and travel with his wife. Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct minor factual errors.