Bethpage Newsgram 11-17-2017

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Friday, November 17, 2017

Vol. 77, No. 46

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY

Public forum held on downtown revitalization project BY GARY SIMEONE

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino (sixth from right) recently joined with Nassau County Legislator Rose Marie Walker (sixth from left) and New York State Assemblyman Michael Montesano (fifth from left) at the United Veterans of Hicksville Veterans Day Ceremony held at Hicksville Middle School. Supervisor Saladino along with members of American Legion Post 421, VFW Post 3211 and Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 417, came together to honor veterans of past and present for their service in protecting our nation’s freedom.

In the first in a series of planned public workshops on the Hicksville revitalization project, community members showed up at the William Bennett Community Center to voice their opinions on the matter and listen to suggestions on how to improve the downtown area. The meeting followed an organizational session that was held on October 31st, where State and local officials gave their input on how to best utilize the $10 million Initiative Grant the State Assembly awarded the Town of Oyster Bay in August. Members of the State’s newly formed DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) gave presentations on how to go about using the grant money. Several ideas were put on the table as part of the application including adding a downtown path near the train station, mini pocket parks in the area and a pedestrian Plaza for people to walk and shop.

“There are 3 million people who pass through the downtown area on a yearly basis and what we have found is that the majority of people are spending their money on parking in the area,” said one DRI official. “This area is a main hub between routes 106 and 107 and should be better utilized.” Susan Petrosillo, a Board member of the Hicksville Gardens Civic Association, said that she would like to see a cultural location such as a music recital hall placed in the downtown area. “It would be nice to add a cultural location where people can go and than have a place to go and get something to eat afterwards,” said Petrosillo. Hicksville Chamber of Commerce President, Lionel Chitty, said that the grant money should be used to build something that makes people want to spend their day in the area. The next DRI public workshop will be held on Thursday, November 16th at the Community Center from 7 to 9 p.m.

Joseph Saladino elected to Town Supervisor position BY GARY SIMEONE

In a heated race for the Oyster Bay Town Supervisor position, GOP candidate, Joe Saladino beat Democratic challenger, Marc Herman and two other candidates in last Tuesday night’s election. Saladino was originally appointed to the position in January, taking the place of longtime GOP Supervisor, John Venditto, who was indicted on federal corruption charges. Saladino was challenged by four different opponents for the position, including Herman, Bayville resident, John Mangelli, who ran on the Reform line,

Jonathan Clarke, an attorney who ran on the Progressive line and Robert Ripp who ran on the End Corruption line. There was a lot of back and forth mudslinging between the candidates during the election, particularly from Herman who sought to change the corrupt culture within the Town government. There was also talk of independent party spoilers who would put a dent in the election process but that did not end up happening. Saladino said he is happy to be past all of that and has a number of initiatives he is focused on as the Town Supervisor. “Some of the things I will be focused

on include the Grumman Navy plume situation, the revitalization project in downtown Hicksville and environmental initiatives such as our new single stream recycling program,” said Saladino. He said that he plans to quickly address issues such as cutting a significant portion of the Town’s debt, working on ethics reform and moved on hiring an inspector general to review Town contracts, standardize procurement and make recommendations to Town Board officials. “I am looking forward to representing all of our residents from the north shore to the south shore,” said Saladino.

Plainview resident, Louis Imbroto was elected as Town councilman after having been appointed to the position in March. Michele Johnson was re-elected as Town councilwoman and Massapequa Park resident, Thomas Hand was elected as councilman. “The voters of the Town of Oyster Bay want to see fiscal responsibility and preserving their suburban quality of life,” said Imbroto. “That’s what we ran on and were victorious on and we can’t wait to get back to work representing our Town residents.”

Painting the “paws-abilities” PAGE 15 Hicksville Board, students honored PAGE 10


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Bethpage Newsgram 11-17-2017 by Litmor Publishing - Issuu