Friday, July 21, 2017
Vol. 93, No.44
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Homestead mural PAGE 28 n Babes against cancer PAGE 47
Traffic Commission to consider changes to Parking Field 5 BY RIKKI N. MASSAND
of belonging over the 2016-2017 year, with the goal of improving students’ self-perceptions also while improving science, grit and learning strategies,” she said. Minutes before the comments from Dr. Appiarius, Dr. Feirsen updated the community on the district being appointed lead agency for T.R.E.K. staff development held through teacher centers for faculty members of several districts, including GCUFSD. “The benefit to us as being the lead agency is because we would be lead agency and do
At its Thursday, June 15 meeting the Garden City Traffic Commission accepted the Central Property Owner’s Association request for a parking study and survey for the vicinity of St. Joseph’s and village parking Field 5. The configuration of building tenants’ permit parking in Lot 5 is the subject of the study, as well as a longtime concern for St. Joseph’s parishioners who also use the lot. A first step for the village is new signage on Fifth and Sixth Streets and clearer indications for parking areas in Lot 5, following a police department study and officers’ observations. Gerry Kelly, the WPOA’s president, attended the June 15 Commission meeting primarily for the request for handicapped spaces on Seventh Street in the village’s shopping hub. But he spoke about the Lot 5 study because he’s one of many residents, parishioners of St. Joseph’s, who have gotten ticketed for parking their cars in the permit section of the lot. A lack in signage and times for heavy parking demand for the parishioners created a difficult situation. “It is very lightly noticed that you can park your vehicle in the wrong place. Parishioners of St. Joe’s are saying this issue stems from hours and scheduling of services. If you are going to a morning funeral mass and you are coming out a while later you’d get a ticket. It is something we found out over years and years. There could be a possible solution to change the spaces allotted – people that go to St. Joe’s must be cognizant and we must notify the police force of the issue, or we need a paradigm that we can work with. People who park there should not be penalized for attending worship,” Kelly explained to the Commission. Addressing the parking by realigning permit parking and public, two-hour parking spaces was a suggested solution, as were signage improvements and providing the police with church services’ schedules. First Pat DiMattia, the CPOA liaison for the Traffic Commission, commented on what was discussed at the June 13 CPOA meeting. In anticipation of the two discussions on Field 5 that week, she had forwarded a slideshow compiled by the Ryan family, parishioners at St. Joseph’s and Garden City residents, to both the Commission members and the CPOA Board of Directors. “We did not get tonight’s agenda until just before the CPOA meeting (two days prior). The extent of what we at the CPOA have seen is the analysis that indicated three consecutive rows, count-
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Garden City Swim Team “B” is having a splashing season this year. On Saturday, July 15th, the team competed against Hempstead and won with a score of 202 vs. 115. On Saturday, July 22nd, the team will meet at home against Lynbrook. See pages 34-35
Student engagement survey sets school initiatives BY RIKKI N. MASSAND Since the 2015-2016 school year the Garden City Union Free School District has surveyed students in an effort to gauge their engagement within the schools. According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen, who will retire from his post on July 31, children in grades three through 12 have been given the Panorama Survey. “We were asked to engage our community in a survey, and we take those surveys very seriously and act on the results to improve our product,” he said on July 6.
At the board of education’s meeting that night Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Dr. Maureen Appiarius spoke about two academic years’ since the survey was initiated and explained a “sense of belonging” most students in Garden City Public Schools have. But she said more needs to be done to make students feel connected. “Despite responses that input a strong sense of belonging, the fact that even a few students were not able to report a sense of belonging was a great concern. That really drove that component of the survey construct and each school prioritized a sense
Garden City High School presents Class of 2017 awards PAGES 48-50 Friends of Music Outstanding Achievement awards PAGES 40-42