District 2 - Siela A. Bynoe

Biography:

Siela A. Bynoe joined the Nassau County Legislature after winning a February 2014 special election. She is currently serving her fourth full term as the representative for the Second Legislative District, which includes the communities of Hempstead, Hicksville, Lakeview, Malverne, New Cassel, Rockville Centre, Uniondale, Westbury, and West Hempstead.

During her tenure, Legislator Bynoe has earned a reputation as diligent and innovative lawmaker with the ability to build bipartisan consensus for initiatives that benefit Nassau County residents.

Legislator Bynoe strongly believes that easy access to robust mental health resources must be a central component of efforts to address the most pressing issues facing our society. As an outgrowth of this philosophy, she secured passage of Clerk Item 440-18, a Local Law that requires County employees who frequently interact with the public to receive mental health first aid training. 

Building upon this advocacy, during the summer of 2020, Legislator Bynoe worked to secure unanimous approval for Clerk Item 151-20, which directed the County to convene a committee of law enforcement, mental health, and community stakeholders to study and recommend alternative police responses to mental health crisis calls. Guided by the findings from the study, Nassau County began integrating social workers into law enforcement responses to mental health crisis calls.

In 2014, Legislator Bynoe filed legislation that would have initiated an officer-worn body camera pilot program in the Nassau County Police Department. Although this effort was not immediately fruitful, Legislator Bynoe continued to advocate for the implementation of a permanent body-worn camera program. Spurred by the May 25, 2020 police-involved murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota - an incident that generated international outrage and sparked passionate demands for increased police oversight and accountability, Legislator Bynoe worked swiftly toward implementation of an officer-worn body camera plan, which launched in December 2021, as part of the County’s police reform plan. She continues to closely monitor the implementation of this program and other critical police reform initiatives.

During the most challenging initial portions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Legislator Bynoe secured emergency passage of legislation that waived penalties charged Nassau residents who were late paying their property taxes due to economic hardship. She also initiated conversations that resulted in the establishment of dedicated COVID-19 testing sites at Long Island Federally Qualified Health Centers in Westbury, Hempstead, Elmont and Roosevelt/Freeport, and partnered with local houses of worship to provide testing resources at the height of the pandemic.

When vaccines first became available but were especially challenging to secure appointments for, Legislator Bynoe’s office fielded hundreds of constituent calls and spearheaded the creation of the County’s dedicated hotline to assist residents with COVID-19 questions and vaccination appointments. As supplies increased, Legislator Bynoe partnered with civic associations, faith community leaders and partners in government to register community members and go door-to-door in Hempstead and New Cassel with a multilingual team of volunteers and community stakeholders. The initiatives resulted in thousands of residents signing up to get their COVID-19 shots and was especially effective in connecting with hard-to-reach populations and communities of color that were most vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19 due to comorbidities and systemic disparities in healthcare access.

Legislator Bynoe’s passion for the environment has inspired the introduction of several legislative initiatives, including Clerk Item 408-19 which established Nassau’s reimbursement program for homeowners who install digital “smart sprinkler” systems to conserve our most precious natural resource and save money. This measure was complemented by Clerk Item 407-19 - the Ground Water and Public Water Supply Facts Report Law – a local law which requires the Nassau County Health Department to compile and publish an annual report on the state of the public drinking water supply to help local governments identify emerging contaminants and implement long-term regional water quality preservation and improvement strategies.

The water report law is one of many proposals that are consistent with Legislator Bynoe’s interest in good-government reforms. After discovering a loophole in Nassau County’s contract disclosure laws, Legislator Bynoe successfully led efforts to enhance transparency in procurement by introducing and passing Clerk Item 222-19, which requires vendor disclosure documents to be completed and filed prior to every contract award, renewal, or extension.

And, to prevent wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars – such as the County’s controversial decision to sell the former Long Beach Motor Inn for nearly $2.5 million less than the County initially paid for it - she co-sponsored and passed Clerk Item 77-20 - legislation which gives the Legislature final say on how much the County pays when acquiring a parcel through eminent domain or condemnation.

Legislator Bynoe currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Legislature’s Public Works committee and the Committee on Economic, Community Development, Labor & Transportation. She is a member of the Rules, Public Safety, and Planning, Development & the Environment committees.

MORE ABOUT LEGISLATOR BYNOE

Education, advocacy, and community service are constant threads throughout Legislator Bynoe’s life. After graduating from Westbury High School, she earned an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts from Nassau County Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Hofstra University. Guided by the life lessons of her formative years, Siela embarked upon an extensive career in the public, not-for-profit, and private sectors. 

In her role as a mortgage loan consultant and credit loan officer, she administered the bank's commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act. Next, she joined Long Island Housing Partnership, where she launched their Nassau County branch, secured $3 million in aid for first-time home buyers, and established herself as an advocate for affordable housing solutions on Long Island. Upon her transition to the public sector, Siela served as an Assistant Director of the North Hempstead Housing Authority before being named Executive Director of the Huntington Housing Authority. During her career working in housing, Siela helped to secure over $40 million to rehabilitate some of Long Island’s oldest affordable communities.

As a young professional, Siela followed in her mother’s footsteps as an adult student pursuing higher education. In 2003, while completing her Master’s degree in Public Administration at LIU Post, Siela was diagnosed with breast cancer. While receiving treatments, she persisted with her weekend classes and continued working full time during the week. She graduated in 2006 - two years after her final chemotherapy treatment.

After completing her studies, her focus turned to bolstering her volunteer service in her hometown. In 2008, she was appointed by the North Hempstead Town Council to serve as commissioner of the North Hempstead Housing Authority. Two years later, in 2010, she was elected to her first of two terms on the Westbury School Board, where she worked diligently to implement smart policies to manage costs, enhance educational offerings, and significantly increase graduation rates.

CONTACT LEGISLATOR BYNOE
If you would like to share your thoughts or concerns with Legislator Bynoe, please contact her office at (516) 571-6202 or SBynoe@nassaucountyny.gov. You can also follow the Legislator on Facebook for updates on issues impacting Nassau County and the Second Legislative District.