Abinanti Looking to Return to Public Office in Mt. Pleasant

By Rick Pezzullo—

It’s safe to say being an elected public servant is in Tom Abinanti’s blood.

From Greenburgh councilman to Westchester County legislator to New York State Assemblyman, Abinanti has dedicated much of his adult life to being an elected official, and now, at age 79, he’s attempting to come full circle by returning to municipal, grassroots government.

Abinanti, whose 12-year Assembly run came to an end in 2023 at the hands of MaryJane Shimsky, has set his sights on unseating Mount Pleasant Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi, 72, who has held the seat since 2014.

“This is my passion,” Abinanti said during a recent interview. “I think people know who I am. I think I bring a lot that will benefit the community. I’m not just experienced in government. I’m also an attorney. I know how to use government to make things better for people. I plan on doing this to turn things around and bring along another generation that’s not currently involved. I can’t just sit on the sidelines and watch things deteriorate.”

Mount Pleasant contains three incorporated villages (Sleepy Hollow, Briarcliff Manor and Pleasantville) and four unincorporated hamlets (Hawthorne, Pocantico Hills, Thornwood and Valhalla).

Republicans currently hold a 4-1 edge on the Mount Pleasant Town Board, but Abinanti stressed he has always been able to govern effectively with colleagues from all political affiliations.

“I have a good reputation of being a strong Democrat but being able to work across the aisle,” he said. “I very much enjoy working with the community and trying to help people.”

Abinanti is focusing his campaign on three main themes: affordability, infrastructure and accountability.

He criticized Fulgenzi for not being transparent with town finances and creating budgets with high tax increases. He said too much money has been spent on unnecessary lawsuits.

“We want people to be able to continue to live here,” Abinanti said. “We have to deal with fiscal mismanagement. We have to find more non-property tax revenues.”

Saying town officials need to be more pro-active with planning issues, Abinanti said he favors imposing a short-term building moratorium.

“We need to do a study on what we want in Mount Pleasant. Bring in a professional planner and see what people want,” he said. “I think we need to have a vision to explain to the people of the town of what we can do better, and we can do better.”

Abinanti said the town also has to prioritize environmental issues, such as seeking solutions to flooding issues in Hawthorne, Thornwood and Valhalla.

“A lot of people think it’s due to uncontrolled development,” he said. “Developers need to commit to helping to solve the flooding problems. We have to save parkland. We need to set priorities. This is the kind of forward-looking changes we need to make.”

 

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