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Board spotlight

Margaret Cunzio

Director, Rotary Club of Pleasantville

“There's something powerful about sitting in Board of Legislators meetings after spending the previous night on a fire call. It reminds me exactly who we serve.”
Margaret Cunzio
Margaret Cunzio at the Rotary table at the Pleasantville block party

Margaret Cunzio joined the club in 2023 and sits on its board as a director. Most of Pleasantville knows her as the Westchester County Legislator for District 3, which covers North Castle, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow, and as vice chair of the Board's Public Safety Committee. The club knows her as the member who shows up early to crack thirty dozen eggs.

Firefighter and Legislator

In the middle of the pandemic Margaret completed more than a hundred hours of training, earned her Firefighter 1 certification, and joined the Thornwood Fire Department as an interior firefighter. She wanted to understand the challenges facing volunteer first responders from inside the firehouse rather than from reports. That experience shaped her legislative record: equipment grants for six District 3 fire departments, expanded property tax exemptions for volunteer firefighters and EMS, and lithium-ion battery safety legislation.

Other work has come from lived experience too. Living with food allergies herself, she co-sponsored the Food Allergy Restaurant Safety Act, which passed unanimously and requires allergen training for restaurant staff across the county. Having personally transported more than 270 rescue animals from the Outer Banks to new homes in Westchester, she authored the county's Dog Anti-Tethering Law and worked with the District Attorney to strengthen the Animal Abuse Registry.

Service runs in the family

Her cousin, former Pleasantville Superintendent of Schools Dr. Donald Antonecchia, is an honorary member of the club, and the two of them greeted every guest at the 2026 Pancake Breakfast. A fellow member put it this way after her guest talk to the club in March 2026: she has a full schedule as a County Legislator and volunteer firefighter, and still has time to show up for ribbon cuttings, ceremonies of observance, and a cafeteria kitchen on a Saturday morning.

In pictures

Margaret in turnout gear with a rescue dog in a red sweater in front of a fire engine
Firefighter and animal rescuer, both at once.
Margaret in the cab of a fire engine at night
In the cab with Thornwood Fire Department.
Margaret Cunzio and Bill Flukes at Generous Pour
With Bill Flukes at Generous Pour.
Margaret hauling a trash can under the Generous Pour tent
Generous Pour 2026: somebody has to take out the trash.
Margaret with an interviewer on Wheeler Avenue during the street fair
Street fair day on Wheeler Avenue.
Margaret Cunzio and Ralph Esposito in matching Hudson Valley Fermented shirts
With Ralph Esposito at Hudson Valley Fermented 2024.
Margaret Cunzio in Thornwood Fire Department turnout gear at an emergency scene with police and firefighters
On scene with Thornwood Fire Department.

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