Former Southampton Village administrator honored with bench

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Southampton Village dedicated a sidewalk bench to former Village Administrator Jim Van Nostrand for his retirement.

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Southampton Village Administrator Jim Van Nostrand may be retiring on November 27, but his presence will continue to be felt at village hall well into the future in the form of a teak bench out on the sidewalk.

Southampton Village presented Mr. Van Nostrand with the bench, and an assortment of other gifts, at his retirement party, which was held at the Four Seasons Caterer Southampton on Hill Street on November 6. Mimi Michel-Guerra and Eileen Musarra organized the party, he said.

Mr. Van Nostrand was shocked when the village gave him the bench.

“It made me cry,” Mr. Van Nostrand said, adding that the only other plaque in Southampton Village that bears his name is in the Southampton Village Police Department. “I was totally surprised and did not expect it.”

Mr. Van Nostrand, who lives in Manorville, has worked as the administrator for the village for 13 years, and worked for Citicorp, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Forst & Silverblank custom builders in Bridgehampton, among other corporations and East End building supply companies. Since announcing his retirement, he has been training Steve Funsch, who will absorb Mr. Van Nostrand’s duties as well as those he had as treasurer.

Mr. Van Nostrand noted that he may still help out as a consultant while the village works on its budget, the elections and large contract negotiations.

The benches, which are sold to the public through a village program, cost $1,000 each and are made of teak wood, Mr. Van Nostrand said. The village purchases the benches from Hildreth’s of the Hamptons, located on Main
 Street in Southampton.

Ms. Michel-Guerra said that donations from the party attendees paid for the bench.

“It was the most viable gift idea as far as memorializing him,” Ms. Michel-Guerra said, adding that he also received a digital Nikon camera.

At his retirement party, Mr. Van Nostrand was also presented with proclamations from Mayor Mark Epley and Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman. Mr. Van Nostrand said that he was honored by their gestures.

His son, Chris Van Nostrand, traveled to Southampton from New Jersey to celebrate his father’s retirement.

“My son was proud of me, and said it was a real honor,” Mr. Van Nostrand said. “It’s nice to have your son feel proud of you.”