Westbury names former Nassau ADA Dana Boylan to succeed retiring village justice

Westbury will appoint longtime resident Dana Boylan as the new village justice, following the announcement that Thomas F. Liotti will retire after more than three decades in the position.

Boylan, 51, is deputy director of the Department of Human Services in Suffolk County, but also serves as an alternate member of Westbury Village’s zoning board and is a founding member and current board member of the Westbury Arts board.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity that Mayor Cavallaro has provided to allow me to serve in a different capacity than I have in the past,” Boylan told Newsday on Monday. “I hope to continue a legacy of being fair and impartial with respect to the types of cases, and really thoughtful about how we resolve matters that come before the court in the same way Judge Liotti did for 32 years.”

Mayor Peter Cavallaro said Boylan’s public experience and commitment to the community made her the right choice to take over for Liotti, 75.

“Dana is going to be a terrific judge,” he said. “Judge Liotti served very admirably in a dedicated way for many years and it’s very hard to replace that, but fortunately we have someone in the community that’s been active and she’s ready to take a step up to a more active, responsible position within the village government.”

The village justice position comes with a $15,000 annual stipend but no medical benefits, Cavallaro said.

Boylan received her law degree from Fordham University and her bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University. She began her law career as a Nassau County assistant district attorney from 2005 to 2018. After her time in the DA’s office, Boylan was director of Youth Services for Nassau County before taking her current role in Suffolk.

Boylan is also a member of the board of the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association, the state’s Association of Youth Bureaus and of United Way of Long Island, a nonprofit whose programs focus on health, education and financial stability.

She will take office Jan. 1 and will run for a four-year term in the village election in March.

Liotti, whose retirement is effective at the end of the year, said he is leaving because of medical issues but noted it’s time for a change.

“It’s time to step aside and make room for new blood,” Liotti said in a statement.