From the Desk of East Williston Mayor: Bonnie Parente

November 2025

This month, our Village staff have taken an inventory of the condition of our public spaces so that we know what needs the most urgent response in the spring. There is some damage to our ball fields from motorized vehicles and damage to our tennis and pickleball courts and nets due to misuse and individuals not taking the time to put the nets away after use. If you have children with motorized vehicles, please let them know that riding on our turf fields is causing incredible damage that is costly to repair. Please also be reminded that if you utilize our courts, please return the nets to the storage units and try to leave the property in at least as good or better condition than you found it.

We have had some blustery conditions the past few weeks. When branches fall on our public roads and sidewalks, please contact the Village Hall. If a street is blocked overnight and you cannot reach someone, this warrants a 911 call. If branches fall on your property, pushing them into the street is not the proper way to discard them and just perpetuates the problem.

You may also have experienced discolored water this past week. This stems from the need for our DPW to open several hydrants in order to do a water pressure test for our Fire Department. If successful, this will assist in improving our Fire Department ISO rating. If our rate improves, you may be able to ask for a reduction in each of your respective homeowners insurance policies. So please bear with us with the discolored water as this may end up being beneficial in the long run.

On a more positive note, this month we celebrated our veterans and look forward to our annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. The following week we light the Village tree and welcome Santa Claus to the Village Hall and Fire Department. There will be live dance performances, a concert, and hot chocolate & cookies. Flyers are included here with date and time details.

Moving on the exciting and fun things to look forward to, we are only weeks away from 2026, our Centennial year. Our celebration kicks off with an Interfaith Mass on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 7 pm at the Community Church of East Williston, who also recently celebrated their 100th anniversary. We hope everyone will join us on January 14th. On February 28th, all are welcome to the Reminiscing Breakfast and Living History Interviews at Village Hall and on March 14th we will host LIRR Historian Dave Morrison. On April 23 we will commemorate the Centennial at a Gala where we will display the items being gathered for the time capsule that will be buried on the Village Green on April 25th. We will culminate these celebrations at the Car Show on May 16th where we will highlight our history by enjoying classic cars.

Our local Rotary Club is honoring our 100th celebration next year with a Peace Pole, placed on the Village Green with greetings in eight different languages. We are putting it out to our residents to determine the most representative languages for the pole. During the month of December, please stop in the Village Office and write your recommendation and place it in our language suggestion box anonymously. In addition to English, we are looking for seven other languages that represent the residents of East Williston.

To all the students out there that have even an inkling that you might consider a career in law, please join us for the next Village Court Experience on December 4, 2025. There’s no commitment. I guarantee if you show up once, you will want to come back. We have received such positive feedback from all who have attended. The evening starts promptly at 6:30 pm with a brief presentation from a guest speaker, and then an opportunity to participate in the court process.

The day after Thanksgiving, the elves transform Village Hall into a holiday wonderland which includes a special mailbox that goes straight to the North Pole! Santa responds to all letters he receives in the mailbox before Friday, December 19th. Please encourage your children to participate in this cherished tradition!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

~ Bonnie Parente, Mayor of East Williston