Tulum Tacos And Tequila Opens In Mineola

The Mineola Chamber of Commerce had a great time at the ribbon cutting for Tulum Tacos and Tequila located at 230 Jericho Turnpike. Chamber board members, elected officials and representatives from the village, town, county, and state, were there to welcome Nicolas Geeraerts to Mineola. The ceremony was followed by samplings from their delicious menu. When you go, I hear that the Spicy Margarita is something you must try!

— Submitted by Lou Panacciulli, President, Mineola Chamber of Commerce

Lakeville Estates Civic Association Welcomes State Senator Jack Martins

Chris Shroyer

editors@antonmediagroup.com

Bill Cutrone and the board members of the Lakeville Estates Civic Association recently welcomed State Senator Jack Martins to speak at the Manhasset-Lakeville Firehouse in New Hyde Park. Martins, the former eight-year Mayor of the Village of Mineola, has been servin State Senator since January 2011.

While touching on an abundance of topics, Senator Martins was adamant when addressing the potential municipalization of the Long Island Power Authority. Founded in 1985, LIPA owns the electric transmission and distribution system which serves all of Long Island and extends to the Rockaways. LIPA released a municipalization statement explaining their position regarding the potential change.

“After a past riddled with mismanagement and failure after failure for Long Island communities, now is our moment to reimagine LIPA, end corporate control and abuse of our energy systems, and realize the benefits of public power and full municipalization: real accountability, reliable service, affordable power, and a commitment to our transition off harm fossil fuels.”

As this problem has been on the plate for quite some time, hearings have and are bein held regarding potential legislation and the production of a specific report. However, with the report being delayed, the prominent hearings and decision deadline has been postponed to November. Martins expressed to the civic association to “get concerned” about their cost of energy, and not have to worry whether the lights will be on or not.

Floral Park Conservation Society Garden Party

On June 23, the first official Friday of summer, residents kicked off the season at Floral Park’s award-winning Centennial Gardens with a fundraiser benefitting the Floral Park Centennial Gardens and Bird Sanctuary.

The event featured live music, adult beverages, bring-your-own-picnic baskets, and great community camaraderie on the longest Friday of the year.

— Submitted by the Floral Park Conservation Society

Congestion pricing was another topic of discussion State Senator Martins insistently touched upon. As soon as April 2024, New York City could be charging E-ZPass motorists driving south of 60th street as much as $23 to access that area of Manhattan. The goal of this plan is to reduce gridlock traffic in the city by promoting commuting via mass-transit. Supporters of this bill say that these changes will reduce traffic in Manhattan by more than 100,000 vehicles a day. Janno Liber, the MTA’S chief executive officer, said during a May media briefing that “congestion pricing means less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets, and better transit.” Martins conveyed an unfair nature to this bill while addressing LECA members. He asked the question, “Why 60th street?” When no one could answer, he explained to the Long Islanders that the northernmost accessible, free bridge into Manhattan coming from Long Island is the

59th Street bridge, or Queensboro Bridge. As such, this bill could also be targeting people driving into the city from Long Island, he said.

After Martins spoke to the group for an hour, the floor was open for a Q&A from members who submitted their inquiries prior to the meeting. One resident expressed their concern regarding the potential new housing bill proposed by Governor Hochul. The bill proposes local towns to increase the housing capacity by three percent over three years or have heir ability to reject development projects revoked. The Governor also added that New York suburbs with transit hubs, which includes a large portion of Long Island, to be required density as high as 50 units per acre in a half-mile radius of the station. Although that bill appears to be dead, a sense of unease nevertheless remains on Long Island.

Mineola Memories

The Chase

BY JACK GARLAND

Of all my Mineola memories, I will have to admit that I did not experience this one first hand. I wish I could have been there, but I had heard the story so often that it seems like I was actually present.

At the time, the pastor of Corpus Christi Church was Monsignor Edmund Fitzgerald. I would surmise that many of the parishioners viewed him according to the image he projected from the pulpit: that of a serious, frugal, conservative, strictly-business type of individual. However, we were fortunate to be acquainted with the other side of his personality and we considered him to be a friend of the family as well as our pastor. When he would come over to visit a couple of times a year, he would “loosen up” and entertain us for hours with fascinating stories and hilarious jokes. The family members disregarded protocol and usually referred to him as “Father Fitz.”

On one particular occasion, he requested that my father see him at the rectory regarding some sort of church business. Dad was a member of the Holy Name Society and this brief discussion probably had something to do with a raffle, a future event, or whatever.

In those days, the rectory was a stately old house on the east side of Willis Avenue, exactly opposite the end (or, if you prefer, the beginning) of Garfield Avenue. The property was enclosed with a chain-link “Cyclone” fence. A gate located right at the sidewalk opened up to a winding walkway that was lined with hedges and led up to a large front porch.

THE CHASE continues on page 10