Though candidates are still collecting signatures, Joseph Byrne has announced that he will challenge two veteran Village of Maybrook trustees for two open two-year terms. James Barnett and Kevin Greany hope to maintain their positions on the village board.

Joseph Byrne
Byrne is running for village trustee, as he believes that a new generation of leadership is needed in Maybrook.

“We want to get younger, we want younger families in there and I believe our board kinda needs to resemble that,” he said.
Byrne’s family has lived in Maybrook for more than 30 years. During his time in Maybrook, he has grown close to many of the village’s residents.

“It’s one of those small villages where everybody knows everybody,” Byrne said. “I want to be in public service in some form. I want to serve the people that I love.”

Byrne has served the greater Maybrook community in a number of different capacities. He coached four years of Little League Baseball in Maybrook and served as a member of the Maybrook Zoning Board of Appeals.

Byrne has also been highly involved with the Valley Central School District, serving as a member of the board of education. In that position, he was the liaison to VC Dream, an alcohol and other drug prevention group run by students. Byrne was also the board’s liaison to the Orange County School Board’s Association. In addition, he was a member of the district’s audit committee.
As the secretary of the Valley Central Athletic Booster Club, he helped raise over $100,000 to bring back junior varsity and middle school athletics after they had been cut.

If elected village trustee, Byrne will try to keep taxes and expenses down while increasing the quality of life and services to residents. He hopes to revitalize downtown Maybrook and improve infrastructure, roads and parks. Byrne wants to bolster the parks and recreation programs by providing both traditional and non-traditional programs for children.

“We need outside the box ideas,” he said. “Whether it’s traditional, your baseball, your basketball, your soccer but also some type of non-traditional stuff. Programs where we can work with nonprofits that maybe give kids skills in coding or a foreign language. Some type of outside the box thinking to get kids involved in the community and give them something different than what we’re offering right now.”

James Barnett
James Barnett has served as a Village of Maybrook Trustee for ten years, helping to create a wastewater treatment plant as well as a new government center during that time.

He has also helped the village move along with Galaxy Limited, a potential industrial park on 70 acres of rail-side property in Maybrook that could support up to 880,000 square feet of industrial and commercial space. Barnett helped the village replace its fund balance, recuperating close to $500,000. With him on the board, the village has maintained its infrastructure such as sidewalks and roads.

If elected again he hopes to keep taxes reasonable. As a homeowner in Maybrook for more than 45 years he is concerned about keeping taxes low for residents. Barnett also wants to keep taxes low because of the financial difficulties many families are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another hope of his is for the Galaxy project to continue to move along as well as improving the town’s economic development and maintaining its infrastructure.

Barnett is highly involved in the Maybrook community. He has been involved with Maybrook Scout Troop 236 since 1985. The troop features an award-winning marching band who has performed in Washington D.C., Sandusky, Ohio and the New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. Barnett has guided 79 boy scouts to the rank of eagle scout.

“It’s been a delight to work with those young people over all these years,” he said. “I would like to think that that’s one of the joys of my life, working with the young people in our scout troop and our band.”

Barnett also taught CCD for over 20 years in the village and coached Maybrook Little League Baseball.

He cares deeply about the Village of Maybrook and hopes to continue to serve its residents.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege for me to serve the good people of the Village of Maybrook,” Barnett said. “I would love to continue to serve them if re-elected.”

Kevin Greany
Kevin Greany recently completed his twentieth year as a trustee in the Village of Maybrook, a position in which he has grown quite fond.

“I very much enjoy working for the people of the village,” he said.
During his tenure on the village board, he has helped with many of the same projects as Barnett. He helped create the wastewater treatment plant as well as the new government center. Under his leadership, the infrastructure has been maintained and village residents have plenty of sewage and water.

If elected, Barnett hopes to bring businesses to Main Street. He also hopes to see Galaxy finish its project.

“There’s about six warehouses to be built there that would come out on Henry Henning Drive, which would bring revenue into our village and finally help us with our taxes and create jobs in the village,” he said.

Outside of the village board, Greany serves on the committee for Maybrook Boy Scout Troop 236. He also coached and served as vice president of Maybrook Little League.

Greany’s number one concern moving forward is keeping taxes low. As a homeowner in the village, he knows how important that is.

“We’re gonna try to keep taxes down,” he said. “That’s our goal every year.”

Greany loves his job and hopes that he can continue to do it.

“I love doing the job for the people in the village,” he said. “I try to do the right thing all the time.”

Village of Maybrook trustee candidates have until Feb. 9 to submit their petitions to the village clerk. The Village of Maybrook election will take place on Tuesday, March 16 from noon to 9 p.m. at the Maybrook Senior Center.