Babylon Village deputy mayor announces retirement after 31 years in government

Babylon Village Board trustee and Deputy Mayor Kevin Muldowney will retire from his position effective Sept. 1. 

Dominic Bencivenga, a former Babylon school board member, will replace Muldowney, who steps down after 31 years. Mayor Ralph Scordino made the announcements during last Tuesday's board of trustees meeting via Zoom.  

“It was a great run,” said Muldowney, 76, who was paid an annual salary of $7,500. “We’ve done a lot to help the village.”

Muldowney, a resident of the village since 1972, was president of the Babylon booster club and helped out with the village’s beautification society. In 1989, after having discussions with the Better Babylon Party for an open trustee position, Muldowney ran and was elected. 

One of his first tasks as a trustee for then-Mayor E. Donald Conroy was to convert the street lighting system in the village to make it more efficient and economical, Scordino said. In the early 1990s, Muldowney, who had been a senior communications technician with Murray Hill, New Jersey-based-Lucent Technologies, installed the first computer system in Village Hall, but had to replace it due to the Y2K threats as the millennium arrived.

Under Scordino, Muldowney — who in 2002 assumed the role of deputy mayor — was tasked with overseeing the opening and operation of the village-owned E. Donald Conroy Golf Course. 

“The golf course and street lighting were major accomplishments,” Muldowney said.

Bencivenga, who has lived in the village since 1995, serves as the third vice president of the Babylon Lions Club and co-chaired the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan for the village and West Babylon after superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

“It really is an honor and a privilege to accept this appointment and to join this board,” Bencivenga said during the meeting.