The Garden City News (2/19/21)

FENCING TO THE PLAYOFFS

Both the boys and girls fencing teams at Garden City High School will be heading to the playoffs, as high school sports work through a modified season. See pages 62 and 63

Auditor gives thumbs up to Library financial statements

BY RIKKI N. MASSAND

At its meeting held Monday, February 8 over Zoom, the Garden City Public Library Board of Trustees heard positive comments from its auditor on having clean financial statements.

Auditing firm PKF O’Connor Davies provided an “Unmodified Opinion” -the highest level of assurance -- on the Library’s financial statements.

The statement was delivered by H. Chris Kopf (partner) and Senior Manager Melissa Szot. The professionals presented information about the firm’s examination of Garden City Public Library’s audited financial statements and supplementary information for the fiscal year that ended May 31, 2020 (the 2019-2020 fiscal year).

PKF O’Connor Davies

noted how Library and Village Finance administration worked within appropriate accounting policies and fairly presented the Library’s financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). The auditing firm encountered no difficulties in conducting the Library audit last year, and no journal entries were proposed

See page 61

BY RIKKI N. MASSAND

At its meeting on Tuesday, February 23rd, the Garden City Board of Trustees will review a Police Reform Plan that was formulated in compliance with an Executive Order of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.

The Governor’s order required all municipalities with police forces to review the operations and culture of the departments, to determine the needs of the community and address any issues of racial bias that are identified.

Currently the Garden City Police Department consists of 52 swornin officers and 14 full-time civilian employees. The department is comprised of the Patrol Division, Detective Division, Community Policing Unit and GCPD Traffic Enforcement. The department also has parttime parking enforcement staff and school crossing guards, and the GCPD oversees volunteer Special Police Officers.

The Village of Garden City Committee on New York State Police Reform held its meetings on October 6, October 21, November 4 and November 18 of 2020. Garden City’s Police Reform Collaborative Committee consisted of a representative of each of the village’s four property owner associations; a bureau chief from the

Village files suit against MTA over giant poles

BY MEG MORGAN NORRIS

The Village of Garden City has filed suit in Nassau County Supreme Court, challenging the actions of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Long Island Railroad in installing 93-foot metal utility poles on the south side of the railroad’s right-of-way. The poles are part of the LIRR’s third track development.

According to court papers, the Village has accused the defendants of willfully disregarding the state’s environmental review process when it decided to relocate the poles from the north side to the south side. The village has asked the court to order the poles to be removed and that a supplemental environmental impact study be completed.

The defendants are expected to respond on February 25th

A WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

Signed or unsigned?

In this week’s issue we have fifteen letters to the editor and four opinion articles, so there’s a lot of interesting reading.

We do our best to publish nearly all letters to the editor because we believe this is the public’s forum. (We have rejected a couple of letters in the last month that contained erroneous medical claims, as well as a few unsigned letters.)

We actually receive several letters a month that are unsigned, so we’ve started suggesting to those writers that they can instead comment on our web site without having to sign their name.

We received an email this week asking us to also require names to be signed in comments left online, which we are hesitant to do.

For better or worse, most newspapers that allow online comments don’t require names and because of that the comments left tend to be less polite than ones in signed letters to the editor.

Right now we have some automatic filters (spam and profanity) because we simply don’t have the resources to monitor comments around the clock.

And we do reserve the right to remove comments after then have been posted, if they are especially egregious. But again, we are not able to monitor comments in real time.

We are curious whether other readers believe we should be more heavy handed in moderating our online comments, and/or require verifiable names to be used.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: Editor@GCNews.com

Financial appetite of St. Paul’s

To the Editor:

According to the village facts sheet published periodically by the Village of Garden City, the entire St. Paul’s tract of 48.6 acres, along with the building that was constructed in 1871 (making it 150 years old) was offered for sale to the public in the autumn of 1992 and purchased in 1993 at a price of $8.5 million with the tax rate of 6% to be paid over 20 years.

The total cost was the principal of $8.5 million+ $5.355 million in interest which brings it up to $13.855 million in total expenditures.

The purchase of St. Paul’s resulted in the village taxpayers paying an average assessed property tax increase of $1317.03. Since the initial the purchase, the taxpaying public have been coerced into spending millions of dollars more culminated in maintenance fees, attorney fees, consulting fees, engineering fees and architectural fees.

I believe that the additional cost, not including our initial purchase in 1993, is about $6 million to $7 million, meaning that the total cost to date is close to $20 million with no solution and no feasible plan in sight. Question is: Do we want to continue spending our limited resources and are limited tax dollars on this insatiable white elephant?

If my numbers are wrong in anyway I am asking for the village to clarify, show and publish the appropriate corrections.

Bob Orosz

To the Editor,

Still waiting

On February 3 in a hand-delivered letter, the WPOA Firehouse Committee reached out to the Mayor and the Board of Trustees urging them to uphold their fiduciary duty by obtaining the due diligence documents noted below. Additionally, the Committee appealed to the Board to postpone any action or expenditure of funds regarding PKAD design plans until a newly constituted Board of Trustees is seated in April, following the March 16 municipal election.

No substantive response was received from the Mayor or the BOT addressing the content of the February letter.

The WPOA Firehouse Committee, formed by the Western Property Owners Association in the fall of 2019 to provide community input regarding the Village’s plan to upgrade Station 2, has encountered obstacles from the very beginning. It wasn’t until March 2020 that our Committee was granted the opportunity to enter the firehouse and inspect its conditions. The Committee was never given the opportunity by the Trustees to review changes in the design plans for Station 2 prior to the BOT approval of a change order in July 2020 that may likely increase the cost of demolition, and ultimately the reconstruction of the firehouse to over $10,000,000 according to the outside architect, PKAD, whom the Trustees hired on a no-bid basis, without an RFP or competitive selection process.

Since August 2020, the Committee has requested documents from the Trustees including (1) Needs/Risk Assessment for Fire Station 2, (2) Village-wide Master Plan for the Fire Department and (3) Apparatus Assessment/Survey of built-to-specification fire engines/ trucks. The Committee believes that these due diligence documents must be developed where necessary, and reviewed BEFORE the expenditure of more Village funds on costly design plans. To date the Committee has still not been provided with the documents, and has yet to be granted a meeting with the Fire Chiefs to discuss the design plans.

The Committee has volunteered countless hours and, with the services of Committee member Cosmo Veneziale, a renowned architect, presented a detailed restoration plan for Station 2 as an alternative to the demolition-rebuild designs from PKAD. This plan preserves an iconic firehouse while also saving taxpayer money. The Committee presented its alternate plan to the community first at a

CAP: It’s time to set the record straight

SUBMITTED BY THE COMMUNITY AGREEMENT PARTY CANDIDATES

The following article is submitted by the Community Agreement Party candidates who are also sitting members of the Board of Trustees.

In this article we would like to set the record straight regarding all the misinformation that has been communicated by the opposition that is meant to imply that your current Board of Trustees (BOT) are not representing the best interests of you, the Garden City residents – nothing is further from the truth.

We encourage you to visit gardencitycap.org/your-board-of-trustees to read about all of your BOT’s accomplishments including containing your annual tax increase to less than the 2% cap and the recent affirmation of the Village’s Triple A credit rating by Moody’s.

Now let’s provide you with the true facts to the misinformation you have may have unfortunately read about in this paper and/or on social media. The candidates who currently serve

on the BOT are not able to cover every instance of false attacks, but we will summarize the most significant ones below:

Casino

• Our BOT is responsible for conducting its due diligence when considering any legal agreement including this long-term renewal of the license agreement with the Casino for the use of land and building owned by the Village.

• The BOT is obligated to consider all of our 22,500 residents in its assessment, not only the residents of the 175 households who are members of this club.

• As the Village recently announced, discussions on the renewal are very active and ongoing, being led by Trustee Hyer.

Poles

• As to the fourteen 93-foot-tall utility poles, the BOT and every resident empathizes with the impacted residents who live near the poles.

See page 38

FABGC: Only path to transparency

SUBMITTED BY FOR A BETTER GARDEN CITY

The CAP (Community Agreement Party) candidates’ article on the Open Meetings Law last week startled many and led the publisher to add an editorial note. The denial of a serious transparency problem by all five CAP candidates ensures that, if they are elected, the secret deliberations of the Board of Trustees will continue.

At a recent CPOA meeting, Trustee Minuto dismissed transparency as a “tagline,” and he is quoted as saying “unless someone can point to a specific circumstance then I honestly don't know … where that concept of non-transparent comes from.” When asked at a recent EPOA meeting about the transparency issue, Trustee Hyer asserted that all information is on the Village Website.

As residents who have been reading this newspaper are aware, there have been multiple instances of significant decisions being made by the BOT in secret, with no public deliberations. Contrary to Trustee Hyer’s statement, the information that residents are enti-

tled to is not on the Village Website.

Here is a recap of significant decisions made by the Board of Trustees with no public deliberations:

In an 8-0 vote on January 17, 2019, the Board of Trustees engaged PKAD Architecture and Design to “do an evaluation of Station 2 for replacement and/ or construction of a new Fire Station 2.” Was there any public deliberation about how this firm was chosen for what appears to be a no-bid contract? Are we to believe that this was a conclusion reached independently by all eight trustees without any discussion?

With the looming loss of a commercial tax base (loss of Lord & Taylor and Sears, devaluing of office space as people work remotely), and the anticipated increase in residents’ taxes resulting from it, the decision to award a no-bid contract is irresponsible.

We now know that the Board of Trustees has PKAD drawing up plans for demolition and new construction, and $342,000 has already been spent on these incomplete plans. It is not clear

See page 59

New Price Manhasset Waterview 5Br, 3.55 Stately Brick Colonial w/ separate in-law suite $2,286,000

Beds/2 baths 60x100 $969,000

Gracious 6 bdrm 4.5 bath home Convenient to LIRR and center of town $1,299,000

Colonial, 3 Brs, 1.5 baths, mint condition, completely updated throughout $839,000

2021 Brand New Construction - 4348 sq. ft. Stunning 5 BR, 4.5 Bath Colonial with room for pool $2,495,000

Not Pictured: William Breslin, Michael Fedor, Robert McMahon, Joseph Pentrancosta, Tara Rice

Stephen Baymack

Stephanie Cullum Manager/ Assoc. Broker

Patricia Aprigliano Deirdre Albertson Susan Bashian Laura Baymack

Andrea Bharucha Suzanne Blair Liz Breslin Barbara Chmil Roberta Clark Arlene Conigliaro

Christopher Conners Kate Crofton Denise Donlon Bill Eckel Atticka Ellis Lisa Fedor

Laura Fitzgerald Laura Giacini Tara Iori Nancy Giannone Pamela Goeller Karen Guendjoian

Maribeth Quinn

John H Russo Theanne Ricci Laura Rich Elise Ronzetti Sharon Redmond

Angela Linda Sambus Cathleen Fennessy Whelan Patricia Savella Viviian Tener Kathleen Thornton Mary Weille

Louisa Pironi

Barbara Moore Patricia O Grady Julie O’Neill Rita Paiewonsky

Or Mayer

Monica Kiely

Roseanne McMahon Cheryl Adams McAuliffe Jayne McGratty Armstrong Chris Martocci Sean McCoyd

Spacious Estates Colonial Mid-Block, 4 Bdrms/2.5 baths

Lg FR w/FPL 60x110 $1,275,000

New Listing 30 Spruce Street Open House

Saturday, February 20th 12-2pm

This beautiful split style home has been meticulously maintained throughout and features an open floor plan layout with an updated eat-in kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops that flows nicely into the dining area and the living room with a fireplace. The second floor boasts a primary bedroom suite and 2 additional nicely sized bedrooms that are serviced by a full hall bathroom. The lower level has a family room that is serviced by a powder room and provides access to the 2 car garage and the backyard. The basement level boasts a sizable recreation area, an office, laundry area and storage space. Perfectly situated mid-block the home is conveniently located near the school, park, shopping, transportation and the Long Island Railroad station. The location, overall condition and low taxes make this a unique opportunity.

Offered at $949,000

Please stop by the open house or call us for a private showing.

Stephen Baymack

Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker Mobile: 516.216.0244 sbaymack@coachrealtors.com

Laura Baymack

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Mobile: 516.537.3050 lbaymack@coachrealtors.com

Elegant and spacious in a prime, mid-block location!

Beautiful brick Colonial with three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, detached twocar garage with deep private back yard. Meticulously maintained, this home features hardwood floors with great everyday living and entertaining spaces. Welcome guests into the foyer which opens into a substantial living room with a wood-burning fireplace and a formal dining room ideal for gatherings large and small. The eat-in kitchen is appointed with granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Off the living room, a sunlit family room with a powder room. On the second floor, the spacious primary bedroom suite includes a full bath, two additional bedrooms and a full hall bath. A partially finished basement level encompasses a rec room, laundry/utility room and storage.

Are you thinking of selling your home?

Let Jen Sullivan guide you. Whether you are downsizing or searching for your dream home, allow Jen’s experience and results to work for you.

Jen Sullivan

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

182 Seventh Street

Garden City, NY 11530

jennifer.sullivan@compass.com

M: 516.361.7190

Jen

A gathering of RYLARians celebrating at the end of a summer retreat before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rotary Youth Leadership Team Thrives Despite Pandemic

Next Monday, February 22 at 7 p.m.,

The Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club and guests will gather on Zoom to greet several senior leaders of Rotary’s Youth Leadership team RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program.

Several of the Senior Leaders will report on how RYLA is surviving and thriving during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our Club supports and sponsors the world-wide (RYLA) program and its mission. Run by students for students RYLA is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where kids can develop their skills as leaders and build their confidence while having fun.

Begun in Australia in 1971, RYLA has expanded all across the globe. Its mission is to teach our future leaders how to handle obstacles they will face in the real world. RYLA participants learn the values and benefits of leadership, motivation, goal setting and decision making while developing confidence and self-es-

teem.

Past RYLA students have spoken of how the RYLA experience has helped them to learn how to exchange ideas and work together while having so much fun. Many have developed lasting friendships and say they have learned lessons in life they could not have experienced anywhere else.

Traditionally, high school sophomores throughout our District 7255 apply for Spring RYLA in Riverhead. Summer RYLA is a two-week away conference. Next Monday, the RYLA seniors will tell members and guests how they addressed this schedule this year of the pandemic. Our Club encourages participation from sophomores from both Garden City and Mineola High Schools. Parents of sophomores who would like information about how their students may register for future RYLA may join us on Monday at 7 p.m. to hear members of the RYLA team tell of their experiences and may call Diane Marmann, Club president, at 516-742-8340 to receive the link or for more information about RYLA.

WE ARE OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK FOR LUNCH AND DINNER Sun -Thurs 11:30-9pm Fri & Sat 11:30-10pm

Grimaldi’s Family Meals Are Back!!

Available January 4 through April 3 for lunch and dinner, Take Out Only

FAMILY MEAL #1 - $30 PLUS TAX

One 18” Pizza with choice of Spinach and Artichoke Dip Or Grimaldi’s Mixed Salad & Complimentary 2 liter bottle of soda

FAMILY MEAL #2 - $40 PLUS TAX

One 18” Pizza, One Order of Penne alla Vodka, Choice of Spinach and Artichoke Dip Or Grimaldi’s Mixed Salad & Complimentary 2 liter bottle of soda

FAMILY MEAL #3 - $45 PLUS TAX

Two 18” Pizzas with choice of Spinach and Artichoke Dip Or Grimaldi’s Mixed Salad & Complimentary 2 liter bottle of soda

FAMILY MEAL #4 - $80 PLUS TAX

Two 18” Pizzas, 1/2 Tray Chicken Parmigiana & Complimentary Bottle of Cabernet OR Pinot Griegio

*Additional Items May Be Purchased at Regular Menu Price. Toppings Available for Additional Cost. May Not Be Combined with any other coupon, discount, offer or Groupon. Prices Do Not Include Tax or Gratuity, Available for Take Out, No Substitutions*

DURING LENT

Antipasto/Tomato & Mozzarella

Assorted Pinwheels

One Large Calzone per Table with side of sauce

Unlimited Pizza with Toppings

You must wear a mask to and from the tables. Thank you for your cooperation Now Accepting Reservations For Parties of 6 or More

A $25 fee will be applied if canceling within 3 hours of reservation.

TAKEOUT & DELIVERY

SUNDAY - THURSDAY 11:30-9

FRIDAY & SATURDAY 11:30-10

Garden City Real Estate Market Information

RECENT REAL ESTATE SALES IN GARDEN CITY

The information about the homes and the photos were obtained through the Multiple Listing Services of Long Island. The homes presented were selected based solely on the fact that they were recently sold.

Long Island Sales Data From One Key MLS

Nassau County Median Sale Price

Sold price: $999,000

Date: 01/04/2021

Style: Colonial 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths

Lot Size: .23 acres

Total taxes: $20,301

MLS number: 3253685

The Seller’s Team: Arlene Conigliaro, Coach Realtors Fennessy Associates

The Buyer’s Team: Tracy Lin, Daniel Gale Great Neck

Custom English Brick Mott Colonial in the Charming Mot Section...Very large Living room W/wood burning Fireplace and Beautiful wood shelves and beautifully decorated to classic interior, Banquet sized Formal Dining Room w/plenty of light,State of the market Kraft Made Cabinetry Bosch Appliance , Quartzite Counters and Table Size Quartzite Island for 4..Bedroom off the Kitchen and NEW full bathroom. 2 Additional ensuite bedrooms ..very large master w/plenty of closets and Bathroom. Great outside patio and plenty of outside property to surround this Classic English Colonial NEW 1 Car garage, New roof and much more! 101X100 private prop.

152 Meadow Street

Sold Price: $798,000

Date: 01/6/2021

Style: Colonial

4 bedrooms, 2 full baths

Total taxes: $15,033

Lot Size: .13 acres

MLS number: 3251219

The Seller’s Team: Maureen Taylor, Coach Realtors of Willistons

The Buyer’s Team: Angsavanee Touthong, AA Realty First

2.5 Bath Colonial! Modern Open-Concept Kitchen and Family Room With Sliders Leading Out to Patio Make Entertaining Easy Inside or Out! Close Proximity to Park, Train and Bus. All in Award Winning Garden City School District. You Won’t Want to Miss This One!

124 Brook Street

Sold Price: $1,200,000 Date: 01/04/2021

4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 1 half bath Style: Split level

Total taxes: $19,700

Lot Size: .2 acres

MLS number: 3250352

The Seller’s Team: Peter Owen and Linda S. Murray, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

The Buyer’s Team:Peter Owen and Linda S. Murray, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

Beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath completely renovated Split Level with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths on the second floor and gorgeous Mastersuite with large bath and walkin closet on 3rd floor. Living Room, Formal Dining Room, a beautiful, large Eat in Kitchen. Basement level fully finished with wet bar. The large private yard and patio are easily accessed from sliding doors in the kitchen. The oversized property (60 x 146) features mature plantings, gazebo and large patio.

real estate agencies This informational page is sponsored by Douglas Elliman

Houses featured on this page were sold by

Real Estate

Community Club to offer “Life Through Art” class

The Art Department of the Community Club of Garden City and Hempstead is now offering its wellreceived art class, Life Through Art, for all budding as well as seasoned artists. This is a six-week workshop starting, Thursday, March 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is offered only to members of the Community Club. If you have ever had the desire to draw or paint, there is no better time than now to do so. During these challenging times of COVID, many of you have been isolated from family and friends, and there is no better outlet than being creative in a safe environment in the company of fellow artists. We opened our class in the fall with much success as we look forward to the upcoming workshop in March. Our art class lends itself well to the current situation, since tables are kept socially distant and we all wear masks. Painting is very therapeutic and the camaraderie that develops while learning lasts forever.

Arleen Rueth Urban, PSA, who has been teaching pastel and basic drawing for many years at the Community Club, welcomes those who wish to draw or paint in any medium. Beginners interested in learning the basics of drawing techniques from the right side of the

brain will soon advance to painting their subjects in pastel or pencil. Those already engaged in other painting mediums will be exposed to further developing their painting and drawing skills to another level of expertise. Observation of good composition, color techniques, and determining values will be learned. Arleen is also a professional portrait artist. Her pastel pantings of people homes and pets have graced the homes in Garden City, as well as throughout the country, for decades. She works from photographs, which simplifies the experience for her clients by saving them hours of posing. Photographs will be used in class as well, enabling students to choose a favorite subject for their paintings, whether it be a landscape, still life or portrait.. Last year, Arleen formulated two art exhibitions on line through the Village Art Club of Rockville Centre. “Art in Isolation” and “Art Burst 2020” were huge successes in the art world. All students will be invited to participate in any upcoming cyberspace exhibitions that may occur this year

Arleen is a true believer that art is the only entity in life that actually improves with age. If you are reading this paragraph, you most likely have a

hidden talent or desire that needs to be explored. Her classes are fun, entertaining, and productive. She will demonstrate the art of pastel painting at the very first class on March 4. If you are interested in learning more about this class, registration, fees or portrait commissions,, you can call Arleen at 516 352 6798. If you are interested to learn more about the Community Club of Garden City, its art department, and all it has

to offer, you can contact Arline Palmer, art director, at 516 747 1926. Be sure to register ASAP since space is limited due to our current limitations. Remember that this year’s “newcomer” is next year’s “Rembrandt”. It’s time to explore the positivity of creativity as you begin to enjoy all that may have gone unnoticed prior to taking “Life Through Art” with Arleen Rueth Urban PSA.

informed about your community with a weekly subscription to our newspapers.

With current events, announcements, restaurant reviews, puzzles, and much more, there’s always something for everybody to enjoy!

“A Garden City Home” By A.J. Rueth PSA

“Snow Baby” by A.J. Rueth PSA

Spectacular Christmas Hour of Music at Cathedral

Dougherty (flutist), Henry DeVries (pianist & organist) and Mary Maguire (Club president).

BY KATHY MCCORMICK

On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, the Music Department of The Community Club, presented its annual Christmas Hour of Music, featuring Kristine Dougherty on flute, and Henry DeVries, on piano and organ.

This wonderful holiday program was a live performance, held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. Both performers have given us spectacular programs over the years and this one was no different. What was different about this year, was that we were honored to have opening remarks by Dean Michael Sniffen of the Cathedral. His remarks were quite meaningful and we thank him for being so gracious, and taking time out of his busy schedule. Mary Maguire, Club President introduced the performers. The program included   Allegro from Concerto in C, Jesu, Joy Medley, Andante, My Selfe, Ballade, Holiday Songs for Flute and Piano, Andante Sostenuto,

Stille Nacht, The Nutcracker and Christmas Carols.

Kristine Dougherty holds a Bachelor of Music degree in flute performance, from the North Carolina School of the Arts and a Master of Music degree in flute performance from the Mannes College of Music. Kristine studied with Linda Chesis, Keith Underwood, Judith Mendenhall, Philip Dunigan and Sandra Miller.

Henry DeVries is a cum laude graduate of Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, New Jersey majoring in organ performance. He studied organ with Eugene Roan, harpsichord with James Jones as well as voice and choral conducting with James McKeever.

Mary Maguire concluded the program by wishing all a very healthy, and peaceful Christmas and New Year.  If anyone is interested in joining the Community Club please contact our club office at 516-746-0488 on Tues., Wed., or Thurs. between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 21st 12-1:30pm

Charming Cambridge Colonial located in the sought after western section of Garden City. The first floor of this home has a formal living room with wood burning fireplace and a spacious dining room with beautiful inlaid wood floors. There is also a powder room and an updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances. The space has beautiful flow perfect for entertaining family and friends.

The second floor has a primary bedroom and large second bedroom with ample closet space and a full hall bath. There is a walk up large and bright bonus space on the 3rd floor. This home has central air conditioning, newer roof and heating system. The property size is 43x96 providing a backyard area with a patio. The basement is unfinished with a laundry area and storage. Close to transportation, shopping and Edgemere Park with super low taxes! The possibilities are endless to make this house your home!!!

Offered at $788,000

R.E. Salesperson

917.952.8852 joneill@coachrealtors.com

Kristine

Compass welcomes Michael Meule!

After 6 years in the Long Island real estate market, I’ve made the move and joined Compass, a technology-driven real estate company. Fusing the best of a brokerage and startup, it will allow me to elevate my business and provide you with the best service possible. Whether you’re interested in residential, commercial, or investment real estate in the Long Island, Brooklyn or Queens real estate markets, you can contact me today to set up an appointment. On top of every detail of real estate transactions, I can be your guide through the buying and selling process. I always make myself available for clients.

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson michael.meule@compass.com

M: 516.713.8177

O: 516.408.2231

“My wife and I cannot thank Mike enough for the care and concern he took throughout the entire process. He quickly understood what we were looking for and guided us in the right direction. Never once did we feel like he was looking out for anything but the best house for us. He was also able to answer every question and concern no matter what time of day or night. A true professional and we were lucky to have him as our agent! “ - Nicholas S, Copiague

Diligence. Professionalism. Integrity.

Truck hits bridge

On February 10th a truck trav eling southbound struck the Cherry Valley bridge. The oper ator was charged with disregarding bridge clearance signs and unin sured operation.

Forged check

Upon investigation of a sub ject attempting to cash a forged $9,200 check at TD Bank, on February 10th Garden City Police arrested a 60-yearold male for four counts of possession of a forged instrument, attempted grand larceny, and identity theft.

Drug arrest

As a result of a traffic investigation on Washington Avenue on February 10th, Garden City police arrested a 44-year-old male for two counts of possession of a controlled substance (Heroin, Xanax), improper plates, unregistered auto, and passing a red light.

Carbon monoxide leak

Garden City Police and firefighters responded to a residence for a carbon monoxide leak on February 11th. The area was deemed safe. No injuries were reported.

Serious accident

Garden City and Nassau County Police responded to a serious vehicular accident involving a pedestrian that occurred on February 11th at 6:00 p.m. on Commercial Avenue. According to detectives, while attempting to cross Commercial Avenue, a 70-year-old male was struck by a vehicle traveling eastbound. As a result of the collision, the pedestrian suffered multiple trauma injuries to his body and was transported to a local hospital. The male driver, 50, remained at the scene. The vehicle went through a brake and safety check. The investigation is ongoing. GCFD provided extra lighting during the investigation.

Suspicious powder

Officers responded to the Garden City Library on February 11thwhere white powder was found inside a book. NCPD Emergency Services responded to the scene. Upon investigation, the book did not appear to be hazardous and was removed from the scene.

Phone scam

On February 11th resident received a phone call from a man

claiming to be his son who said he was in an accident in another state and required money to be wired to him for bail. The resident realized it was a scam after being in contact with his real son who stated he was not involved in an accident. There was no monetary loss.

Eleven suspen-

As a result of a traffic investigation on Ring Road on February 12th, Garden City arrested a 21-yearold male for allegedly driving with 11 license suspensions, driving southbound in the northbound lanes, improper plates, unregistered vehicle, and uninsured vehicle.

Just a box

Officers responded to Franklin Avenue on February 12th for a suspicious box at a bus shelter. Upon investigation, the box was determined to be rubbish and was disposed of.

Vehicle damaged

A vehicle’s rear quarter panel was reportedly damaged while parked in Parking Field 8 on February 12th.

Overweight truck

On February 13th a truck company was cited for the operation of a large tractor trailer on Old Country Road while 25,000 pounds overweight as well as violations for an unsecured roll off container, a diesel leak, and defective tires.

SWATting incident

At 6:03 p.m. on February 13th, GCPD received a phone call from a man who stated he had just shot his brother inside their Garden City residence. Officers immediately responded. A perimeter was established and GCPD officers were eventually able to enter the residence and determine all occupants in the home were uninjured and were apparently victims of a “swatting incident.” The investigation is ongoing as to the origin of the false report.

Vehicle entered

Garden City Police investigated a report on February 14th of a vehicle entry on Kingsbury Road. There was no loss reported.

Find your place with the Laura Carroll Team

My team and I specialize in working with first time home buyers and bring a keen sense of the neighborhoods of Central Nassau County, with a focus in Garden City and Rockville Centre. Let’s achieve your real estate goals. Source:

Garden City Market Insights

Total Single-Family Sales for January 2021 & January 2020

Laura Carroll Licensed Real Estate Salesperson laura.carroll@compass.com M: 917.370.5354

Kerry Flynn

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson kerry.flynn@compass.com M: 914.772.6169

Adrienne McDougal

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson adrienne.mcdougal@compass.com M: 516.662.3872

Whitney Sardelis

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson whitney.sardelis@compass.com M: 773.263.5869

Christina Hirschfield

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson christina.hirschfield@compass.com M: 516.805.0703

Danielle Nero Licensed Real Estate Salesperson danielle.nero@compass.com M: 516.206.6501

Colin Stewart Licensed Real Estate Salesperson colin.stewart@compass.com M: 917.405.9280

Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of misinformation shared recently as a part of the challenges to the Community Agreement candidates. Some of this may be due to lack of knowledge of what has actually happened; some might be lack of any previous involvement in Village workings. Either way, the Community Agreement Party believes that correct information is critical for all residents. Below are some specifics that have caused concern.

FICTION FACT

Community Agreement Party

“Current trustees are now suddenly calling themselves the Community Agreement Party”

Bruce Chester, FABGC Estates candidate

“It seems like it’s just a marketing plan that they want to be known as the Community Agreement party.”

Terry Digan FABGC Central Candidate FABGC Zoom event, February 3, 2021

Resident Volunteers

“We need a return to the practice of using the expertise of residents through the use of board-founded committees.” FABGC platform

In fact, the “Community Agreement Party” is a specific designation that has been used every year for Trustee candidates selected through the POA facilitated process.

Resident electors from each village section meet and designate candidates for village public office to run with other designees on a slate of candidates under the banner of the Community Agreement Party, an independent body under NYS election law that has traditionally fielded a slate of candidates for GC Village public offices. Such candidates traditionally have been selected under the terms of the Community Agreement. It is not a “marketing plan”. Again, some basic understanding of how the Village works should be required of a Trustee.

There has never been a departure from the practice of using the expertise of residents. Every board and commission in the Village is comprised of resident volunteers. This includes Architecture Design and Review; Recreation; Ethics; Library; Environmental Advisory; Planning; Zoning. Each consists of experts from their respective fields who donate their time and perspective to Village issues and decisions. Each committee has regularly scheduled meetings that are all open to the public.

As another example, the BOT recently approved a “Traffic Calming Study” to be done on Cathedral Ave, as the result of a resident-expert committee.

Village Knowledge

“Who hires the Village Administrator?”

Terry Digan (central candidate) “Cosmo, can you answer that? I don’t know the answer.”

Cosmo Veneziale (mayor candidate) “I don’t know the exact particulars. I don’t know.”

Audience question and FABGC candidate response, FABGC Zoom event, January 27, 2021

Regarding the Casino - “The Trustees have not responded to our request for a single meeting in person. Complete silence.”

Resident Comment , Jan 7, GC News.

As the most senior Village paid position, this selection is a key responsibility of the BOT.

The Village Administrator is a paid position. When the position is open, candidates are interviewed and selected by the Board of Trustees. As the most senior Village paid position, this selection is a key responsibility of the BOT and the most important personnel decision the BOT must make.

The Casino lease has been extended until 2022 to allow for continued discussions. Trustees have been involved in discussion and review of the current facility to allow for a fact based discussion on the state of the building and how to move forward. Please see comments in the GC News from Trustees and Casino Board, both confirming the progress that has been made.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Mark Hyer

The right information matters. Vote for your Community Agreement Candidates.

Bob Bolebruch, Candidate for Mayor

Steve Makrinos, Candidate for Trustee from Western POA

Rich Catalano, Candidate for Trustee from the Estates POA

Yvonne Varano, Candidate for Trustee from the Central POA

Mark Hyer, Candidate for Trustee from Eastern POA

Village Hall is open. Office hours are 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Visitors are required to wear a face covering, maintain social distancing of six feet and sign in to a Visitor’s Log outside of the office they are visiting. Furthermore, while multiple people can enter Village Hall, only one person will be admitted into each office space at a time and are asked to abide by employee instructions.

Important information about your drinking water

Garden City Water Customers are receiving a notice because testing of our public water system found the chemicals perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and 1,4-Dioxane in your drinking water above New York State’s maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 ppt for PFOA/PFOS and 1 ppb for 1,4-Dioxane. The MCLs are set well below levels known to cause health effects in animal studies. Therefore, consuming water with PFOA, PFOS or 1,4-Dioxane at the level detected does not pose a significant health risk. Your water continues to be acceptable for all uses.

The Village of Garden City has submitted, and the New York State Department of Health (Department) has issued, a deferral to the Village of Garden City. When a public water system is issued a deferral, the water system agrees to a schedule for corrective action and compliance with the new MCLs. In exchange, the Department agrees to defer enforcement actions, such as assessing fines, if the water system is meeting the established deadlines. We are required to update the Department and the Nassau County Department of Health each calendar quarter on the status of our projects. If we do not meet the agreed upon deadlines, the Department can resume enforcement. Residents will be receiving a mailer from the Village this week that details our progress of 1,4-Dioxane remediation, among other water-related projects like the water tower.

Grievance Day, Board of Trustees meeting and public hearings

Please be advised that the Assessor has completed the Assessment Roll of the Incorporated Village of Garden City for the year 2021, and filed with the Village Clerk Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, New York, where it was available during business hours until the 16th day of February 2021. Please be advised that all complaints/grievances had to have been filed by the 16th day of February 2021.

On February 23, 2021, between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. the Assessor and at least a majority of the members of the Board of Trustees, constituting the Board of Review, will meet via Zoom, for the purpose of hearing complaints in relation to assessments. All complaints/ grievances will be heard by appointment only. Those who filed their complaints/ grievances by February 16 may email Village Clerk Karen Altman at kaltman@ gardencityny.net for a Zoom link and an appointment time.

LIRR tracks near the intersection of North Avenue and Roxbury Road

• One 35-foot pole will replace a 30-foot pole on the south side of the LIRR tracks near South Avenue, just north of a parking lot between Euston Road and Nassau Boulevard

• Terry Digan

• Bruce Chester

Trustee (One-Year Term):

• Mary Flanagan

How Many Candidates Can I Vote For?

Choose One:

Mayor (Two-Year Term)

Choose Three:

Trustee (Two-Year Term)

(The three candidates with the most votes will become Village Trustees)

Choose One:

There will also be a Board of Trustees meeting via Zoom beginning at 8:00 p.m. Residents who wish to obtain the meeting link must email Village Clerk Karen Altman at kaltman@gardencityny.net no later than 3:00 p.m. on February 23. Three public hearings are being held during this meeting regarding the following:

• A Proposed Local Law Amending Chapter 193, Article XIV of the Village Code Entitled “Prohibition Against Parking Non-Operational Vehicles in Residential Districts.”

• A Proposed Local Law Adding Chapter 69, to the Village Code Entitled “Storage of Construction Materials and Construction Equipment on Residential Property.”

• The Village’s “Garden City Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan” with regard to New York State Executive Order 203.

The proposed Local Laws and the Village’s “Garden City Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Plan” can all be found on the Village website, http://www.gardencityny.net, under “Village Notifications and Alerts.”

PSEG Work

PSEG Long Island will install two new underground cables that will provide additional capacity to nearby blocks to improve reliability during times of peak electrical consumption. One underground cable will start from an overhead pole near the corner of North Avenue and Roxbury Road and travel underneath the LIRR tracks to a new manhole located near the corner of South Avenue and Roxbury Road. A second underground cable will travel between overhead poles near Nassau Boulevard and just west of Roxbury Road. Two replacement poles will be installed at the following locations:

• One 45-foot pole will replace a 40-foot pole on the north side of the

Each pole will connect to the existing overhead distribution infrastructure via an overhead wire. The project is expected to start the end of February. PSEG Long Island does not anticipate any planned power outages related to this project. If a planned outage is necessary, all affected customers will be notified in advance. Customers with questions about the project can contact PSEG Long Island Customer Service at 1-800490-0025, Monday - Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

2021-22 Budget Work Sessions

The Board of Trustees will hold 2021-22 Budget Work Sessions via Zoom beginning March 9, 2021 between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Here is the full schedule:

• Work Session 1 - March 9, 2021

• Work Session 2 - March 18, 2021

• Work Session 3 - March 24, 2021

• Work Session 4 - March 30, 2021

FAQs about March 16 Village Election

When is the 2021 Village Election?

The Village Election is taking place on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Where Can I Vote?

In-person voting is taking place at Garden City Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue. Absentee ballots are also available.

What Time Are Polls Open?

Polls are open 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.

Who Are The “Community Agreement Party” Candidates?

Mayor (Two-Year Term)

• Robert Bolebruch Trustees (Two-Year Term):

• Rich Catalano

• Mark Hyer

• Yvonne Varano Trustee (One-Year Term):

• Stephen Makrinos

Village Justice (Four-Year Term)

• Allen S. Mathers

Who Are The “For A Better Garden City” Candidates?

Mayor (Two-Year Term):

• Cosmo Veneziale Trustees (Two-Year Term):

• Tom O’Brien

Trustee (One-Year Term)

Choose One:

Village Justice (Four-Year Term)

Can I Only Vote For the Candidates Who Live In My Section of the Village?

No. Residents can vote for candidates, village-wide. The positions of Village Trustee and Village Mayor are Village wide positions under state and local law and all persons, regardless of where in the Village the voter resides, can vote for any candidate for these positions.

Absentee ballot information

The Board of Elections provides the Village with a listing of residents who are permanently disabled. When the ballot has been finalized, the Village automatically sends those residents absentee ballots. All other residents have the option of requesting an Absentee Ballot Application for one of the several reasons listed on the Application, including, but not limited to, if they are out of the Village on Election Day, have a temporary illness, or under the Governor’s Executive Orders, they do not feel comfortable coming out of the house to vote due to concerns of contracting COVID.

If they do want an Absentee Ballot, they must fill out an Absentee Ballot Application, which is available in both English and Spanish on the Village website under “Business Office.” This form needs to be filled out and either mailed to the attention of the Village Clerk, Karen Altman, at 351 Stewart Avenue, or dropped off to her attention at Village Hall. Residents can also request the form via email at kaltman@gardencityny.net or, if they do not have access to a computer, they can call 465-4051. It will be mailed to them unless they want to come to Village Hall to pick it up.

The last day for the Clerk to receive applications for absentee ballots to be mailed to a qualified voter is March 9, 2021. The last day for the Clerk to mail absentee ballots to qualified voters is March 10, 2021. The last day for the Clerk to receive personal applications for an absentee ballot from the

See page 34

Mayor Theresa Trouvé

If you’re worried about your taxes: Vote for competitive bid contracts. Vote for professional volunteer committees before paying high-priced consultants.

Vote For A Better Garden City.

Our candidates have advised, managed, and traded collective budgets worth well over a billion dollars. They look forward to supporting the Community Agreement and doing everything they can to be fiscally responsible while maintaining the heritage of the town we love. They’re completely committed to working alongside our POA’s and our residents to solve the many issues that face our village. Learn more at fabgc.org

Cosmo Veneziale Mayoral Candidate

Tom O’Brien Eastern Trustee Candidate

Bruce Chester Estates Trustee Candidate

Mary Flanagan Western Trustee Candidate

Terry Digan Central Trustee Candidate

Read Aloud at Garden City Middle School

Garden City Middle School’s Team 6C participated in their latest read aloud of Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This was the 2019 Global Read Aloud selection. Before reading chapter one, the students worked with partners to navigate the author’s website. Teachers created a scavenger hunt doc and students worked collaboratively to complete the task. Photo courtesy of Garden City Public Schools

Preparing

Infrastructure

Aggressively  pursued  remedia>on  of  1,4-­‐Dioxane  and  PFOA/PFOS Increased  the  amount  of  annual  road paving

Replaced  aging/failing  water  tower Installing  LED  lights  throughout  the  Village Modernizing  Village  communica>ons  and computer  systems Looking  at  various  alterna>ves  to  address speeding  in  the  Village

Began  the  process  of  considering  poten>al uses  for  the  St.  Paul’s  complex

EPOA seeks Junior Ambassadors

The Eastern Property Owners Association is seeking applications for candidates to be considered for Junior Ambassador positions for the years 2021–2023. This program is designed to introduce high school sophomores entering their junior year to Village government through participation in EPOA meetings, attendance at government meetings and promoting civic participation in our community. This is an exciting opportunity for students to become involved in local affairs and to learn about our unique form of local government.

The Junior Ambassador program is designed as a two-year commitment encompassing junior and senior years. Preference will be given to students who reside in the Eastern section of

Garden City and whose families are dues paying members of the EPOA. The application itself details the responsibilities of the position. Students who attend Garden City High School may obtain an application from the Social Studies Department office or on the EPOA website.at www.gcepoa.org. High school sophomores who attend private school may obtain an application from the website. Completed applications can be mailed to EPOA, P.O.Box 7525, Garden City, N.Y. or submitted to contactus@gcepoa.org.

All interested sophomores are encouraged to apply. The deadline is Thursday, April 22, 2021. A brief interview will be conducted as part of the interview process.

Newspapers

Safety  &  Security #2  safest  village  in  New  York  State;  13th  safest  in  the  na>on Enhanced  ambulance  service  at  no  cost  to  residents Increased  number  of  police  officers  from  48  to  52 Support  of  volunteer  firefighters  has  increased

Finances  &  Legal

Maintained  coveted  Aaa  ra>ng  from  Moody’s which  highlighted    “strong  fiscal  management” Historical  budgetary  increases  generally  below  the

Reduced  Village  workforce  from  325  to  265 without  a  decline  in  services Enacted  legisla>on  to  restrict  the  development  of Built  a  new  senior  center  with  input  from  residents   Upgraded  Community  Park  with  3  turfed  baseball  infields  and turfed  mul>purpose  field  with  input  from  local  organiza>ons Upgraded  many  of  the  fields  and  equipment  of  our  local  parks Upgraded  pool  facili>es  for  kids,  seniors  and  disabled  persons Working  with  Library  Board  on  renova>on  of  the  Library   Working  with  the  Casino  on  a  long-­‐term  solu>on  that  will benefit  all  residents

DISCOVER THE FINEST IN SENIOR LIVING

The Bristal Assisted Living has been serving seniors and their families in the tri-state area since 2000, offering independent and assisted living, as well as state-of-the-art memory care programs. We are committed to helping residents remain independent, while providing peace of mind that expert care is available, if needed. Designed with seniors in mind, each of our communities feature exquisitely appointed apartments and beautiful common areas that are perfect for entertaining. On-site services and amenities include daily housekeeping, gourmet meals, a cinema, salon, plus so much more. Discover a vibrant community, countless social events with new friends, and a luxurious lifestyle that you will only find at The Bristal.

n Plumbing repairs

n Drain cleaning

n Heat repairs

n Installation of appliances

n Installation of toilets & sinks

n Water filtration systems

We pride ourselves on having the most professional and qualified plumbers in Nassau County. Neat clean and courteous.

Jean McCormick sings Broadway

BY KATHY MCCORMICK AND LYNN MCGUIRE, CHAIRPERSONS

The Music Department of the Community Club of Garden City and Hempstead will be presenting a program of Broadway songs, on March 18, at 1:30 p.m. at the Garden City Casino. All are welcome and all coronavirus regulations will be observed. For the selection of music for this program Jean has chosen songs from the movies of Arthur Freed.

Jean is a graduate of Hofstra University who has had the opportunity to perform all over the world. In

the U.S. she has toured with different musicals taking her from Alaska to Florida. Jean has also appeared at Tokyo Disney, The National Theatre of Taiwan, and has spent many happy years singing on ships, while traveling through The Mediterranean and Europe. The new venture for Jean and a colleague is the development of shows for cruise ships and theme parks. Jean has played Mrs. Cratchit in Christmas Carol up in Rochester the last few years except of course 2020.

For those who are not familiar with Arthur Freed, he worked for more than 20 years at the MGM Studios. The Freed Unit , as it was known, produced some of the most memorable movie musicals of all time. His team was responsible for, among others, Singin’ in the Rain, The Bandwagon, An American in Paris, Easter Parade, Meet Me in St. Louis, Annie Get Your Gun and On the Town. When you think of the magic touch of MGM, what you’re probably thinking of, is the magic touch of Arthur Freed. Please join the Community Club for this special musical presentation. There will be no refreshments following the program. Anyone who would like to learn more about The Community Club and its wonderful programs, Fine art classes can contact the club office at {516} 746-0488, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Adelphi discussion: Business in post-pandemic era

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing business and education to go online, Adelphi University will hold a panel discussion on Tuesday, February 23, “The Digital Transformation of Business in the Post-Pandemic Era.”

The virtual event, which runs from 3 to 5 p.m., will cover the impact of the pandemic on global business as well as the world of work resulting from an increase in the use of technology.

Panelists Jessica Kowalski from Amazon Web Services, Alexandru Oanca from Salesforce Services, Karam Kapur from Colgate-Palmolive, Gaia Dempsey from Metaculus and Mark Schlesinger from Broadridge Financial Solutions will take part in the discussion. A question and answer session will follow as well as a networking

event for students and faculty to meet with individual panelists in virtual breakout rooms.

“The pandemic presents challenges and opportunities in global business unlike any other time in modern history,” said Gita Surie, a professor at Adelphi's Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. “We’re delighted to have such a distinguished group of experts to help address this challenging topic.”

The event is sponsored by the Elizabeth and Allen Don Center for Innovative Technology and Decision Sciences -- part of Adelphi's Robert B. Willumstad School of Business -- and Ridgewood Savings Bank.

The panel discussion is open to the public, but registration is required. To register, please visit bit.ly/au2-23-21.

Get rid of your unwanted items by placing an ad for them in our Classifieds! We have reasonable rates, and you’ll have prompt results! Call our Garden City office at 294-8900 for rates and other info.

Jean McCormick

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: Editor@GCNews.com

From page 2

September WPOA meeting and again, at a December Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees in which members of the GCFD, and representatives of PKAD and Cameron Engineering were in attendance. The Board of Trustees does not appear to have given any consideration to the Committee’s restoration plan. By continuing to engage PKAD to present design plan revisions at a future BOT meeting, the Trustees are pressing on with a no-bid contract of $342,000.

The WPOA Firehouse Committee continues to urge the Board of Trustees to obtain and review due diligence documents for Station 2 such as a Needs Assessment and Master Plan, and to consider community input and alternatives that will help determine the best next steps for Station 2. The Committee also advocates that the Trustees (a) end the excessive use of no-bid contracts and (b) welcome the participation of concerned residents and community groups instead of being obstacles to their involvement.

The WPOA Firehouse Committee Remy Bernardo, Maureen Dellacona, Stephen Gorray, TJ Michon, Carl Russo, Cosmo Veneziale, Nick Vernice and RoseAnn Vernice

Transparent, not perfect

To the Editor:

For A Better Garden City (FABGC) candidates have committed to being transparent, not to being perfect. When you are transparent, someone looking for it will find some imperfections and things they don’t agree with. But, I think my neighbors are smart enough to not believe the rhetoric, fear mongering, and selectively cut videos without verifying for themselves.

If you find yourself reading someone else’s account of an event or if you find yourself watching a clipped version of a video, be skeptical. People who peddle misleading caricatures and partial truths know that we are generally too busy to go look for the source. People who peddle deceptive and accusatory attack ads know that if they mention the existence of a video, our natural inclination is to believe instead of verifying and just think “someone wouldn’t distort the truth if there was video, I could easily go check the video”.

For several weeks now, FABGC candidates have been addressing resident concerns, taking questions virtually, and then posting the full video on YouTube and Facebook. Residents have used those meetings and recorded videos to get to know the FABGC candidates better. The CAP candidates have combed through the hours of video to find a couple of minutes that they could take out of context and try to make Mary, Cosmo, Tom, Terry and Bruce look bad.

Well neighbors, if past performance

is an indication of future results, expect more of that from the CAP candidates. There are probably a couple minutes out there, but be skeptical. Transparency has a price and FABGC is willing to pay it. The incumbent trustee candidates have demonstrated repeatedly that they are not. You can expect more of the transparency (and maybe the occasional answer you disagree with) from the FABGC candidates, but I hope to see you there getting the answers you deserve.

John Cantwell

Voter suppression: Omissions & actions

To the Editor:

This Board of Trustees frequently laments that our citizenry does not participate or attend meetings; however, they are affirmatively denying residents their primary opportunity to implement a positive impact on the operation of the Village. Village leadership has made the regretful decision to hold the bare minimum number of poll hours proscribed by New York State Village Election Law 15-104(3)(b). Rather than rising to the occasion and implementing risk reduced election procedures for March 16th, the current BOT is again doing the absolute least required of them. Unfortunately, now, during an ongoing once-in-a-century pandemic, the BOT’s omission to expand voting procedures for the March 16th election will adversely impact villager’s health and have the effect of suppressing voter turnout.

Now, in an unprecedented move intended to further hinder residents from ensuring their vote is cast on time, village counsel, who acts at the direction of the BOT, has made the unilateral, and uncompromising direction not to accept ballots delivered through Village Hall’s mail-slot. This slot is embedded in a sandstone wall and set just outside of Village Hall’s entrance doors. This mail-slot is used for taxes, bills, as well as any and all village correspondences inclusive personal or sensitive of documents for the Village Clerk.

I have always been taught that at its core, the role of an attorney is to be a problem solver; however, rather than seeking for solutions, our village counsel, at the behest of the BOT and incumbent CAP candidates made the hardline decision to not do anything at all. Knowing USPS has been atypically behind schedule during Covid-19, that ballots must be received by March 16th, and most people (myself included) procrastinate; village leadership is counting on villagers not to vote by mail. By refusing to permit any drop off location other than with the clerk during her business hours, the current BOT is proactively restricting how villagers can timely cast their ballot.

Nassau County currently has a 7.5% positive test result rate for Covid-19.

See page 26

Bringing fresh perspectives to Board, respecting Community Agreement

SUBMITTED BY VILLAGE TRUSTEE CANDIDATES

YVONNE ROGOWSKI VARANO AND RICH CATALANO

There is a right way to implement change and we believe that we have chosen the right way. This year’s Community Agreement Party has nominated two new Board of Trustee candidates - Yvonne Rogowski Varano who would replace Teresa Trouvé, the current Mayor from the Central Property Owners’ Association and Rich Catalano, who would replace Brian Daughney, from the Estates Property Owners’ Association.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of eight individuals, two representing each section of the Village. Each year four members of the Board come up for re-election. Every other year a new Mayor is elected. Every year there is an opportunity for each and every citizen of Garden City to apply to be a Trustee of the Village.

We have respected our Village’s unique structure of governance and applied to represent the residents of Garden City on the Board of Trustees

through our Property Owners’ Associations. Both POA nominating committees, after extensive deliberations, put us forth as candidates for Trustee from their section. Combined there are a total of 22 resident volunteers on the nominating committees of the Estates POA and the Central POA. There were other highly qualified individuals who also put in applications so that the nominating committees had choices. The opposition candidates chose not to submit any of their names to the POA’s for consideration and this has now led to a very divisive political campaign and opened up the real possibility that we may not have equal representation from the four sections of the Village.

We have not “been in power for decades” (a quote from an opposition candidate) but are simply residents that are looking to make a difference in a community about which we are both passionate. It is not always easy to find volunteers that are willing to put in the time and effort required to run a village

See page 40

CPOA: Varano addresses complicated issues openly, with expertise

SUBMITTED BY THE CENTRAL PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Being a lifetime resident of Garden City does not automatically qualify one to become a Village Trustee. If that were the only criteria there would be hundreds of applicants. Folks who have lived in the village for 5, 10 or 20 years could be well qualified. However, what is absolutely necessary, we believe, is that a candidate for Trustee should have a demonstrable record of volunteerism and service to the Village. So, although Yvonne has lived in Garden City her whole life and enjoyed a successful career in finance, she has volunteered in so many different ways over the past 20 years, her commitment to the betterment of the Village is beyond reproach. Those who know her and have served with her, and there are many, hold her in high regard and have recognized her leadership abilities, empathy and collaborative work philosophy. Thus, it is clear that Yvonne Rogowski Varano is the best candidate to represent the CPOA as Trustee.

As an example of Ms. Varano’s efforts to reach solutions to structural and financial problems, while serving as President of the PTA, she fought to keep our District Coordinator of the Music and the Arts on staff, an important and favorite activity throughout

the Village. When the school district’s Superintendent’s Proposed Budget eliminated the position in 2014, she instinctively knew this could be the first step in downscaling the District’s wonderful music and arts programs. Ms. Varano then “rolled up her sleeves” and worked diligently with the superintendent, BOE and Executive Committee of the PTA to find a way to keep and fund the position and still be within the 2% tax cap. These skills and experiences will serve her well when facing the challenges, the Board must address this year, including finding the best solution for the Edgemere Firehouse and other pressing issues. She will always look for the right solution for the community, while balancing financial considerations.

Additionally, Ms. Varano has experience with complicated budgetary matters having served as 1st Vice President of Budget for the PTA just as the 2% tax cap was being adopted. She spent much of her time in this position unravelling what this impactful change would mean for our school district, making presentations and fielding questions and concerns at every school’s PTA meeting. Significantly, Ms. Varano has always been committed to open communication and helping people to understand the important issues and how they will impact residents and the community.

Hypothetically, if 1,000 residents vote in-person, statistically, around 75 of those in-person voters will be infected with Covid-19, whether they are aware of their infection or not. The proposed in-person voting process is set up in Village Hall’s 15’x15’ lobby. All voters will be using the same pens and booths after standing outdoors in a line snaking out in the winter’s evening. Provisional ballots should be offered upon request to any individual waiting on a line to vote. Those ballots should then be accepted via an outdoor dropbox so residents can quickly, safely, and easily cast their vote.

Village leadership has had over a year to prepare for this event; however, they did not. Why has our village government not worked as the state or federal governments had to implement voting procedures to reflect an ongoing health crisis? Because those who have been elected by a minority fear the vote of the majority - they do not want you to vote. Will you?

Ryan Torino, Esq.

Endorses Hyer re-election

To the Editor:

I am writing to endorse Mark Hyer, the candidate for Trustee in the East. Over the past ten years, I have gotten to know Mark very well in his roles as a Director of the EPOA, as a Village Trustee, and also on a personal basis. I believe Mark is highly qualified to represent the Eastern Section on the BOT as a result of his direct and long term involvement with the multiple issues that the Village faces. In both his roles w/ the EPOA and the BOT, Mark has developed a thorough understanding of the issues facing the Village and he has been highly responsive to his constituents in the East. Mark has conducted himself very professionally and projects the right temperament towards the Village’s residents as well as with the overall Village Board.

Additionally, as our BOT representative to the Fire and Police Departments, Mark is uniquely qualified. Mark was a volunteer firefighter in Garden City for many years, rising to the rank of Captain, and Mark’s professional career was as a NYC police officer where he rose to the rank of Sergeant, assigned to numerous senior functions. Mark has also served on the all important Village’s Finance Committee.

I believe Mark has the proven skills, the experience, the dedication and the temperament to represent the Village residents and the East at this difficult time for all municipalities.

Karl H Schmidt

Mark Hyer is dedicated To the Editor:

With all the noise around the upcoming election and the candidates, I felt

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

compelled to share my views about some of our current trustees and my direct interaction with them.  In 2018, still fairly new to the Village and not knowing where else to turn, I reached out to the Eastern Property Owners’ Association (EPOA) on behalf of myself and other residents of East Drive to help resolve a sidewalk dispute which had been ongoing. The EPOA and, in particular Mark Hyer, quickly assessed and favorably resolved the issue for the residents of East Drive.

Over the past couple of years, I have become involved with the EPOA, attending meetings and volunteering for committees.  At every EPOA meeting we receive updates from the trustees who provide valuable information regarding various initiatives, projects and other items impacting the Village.  In addition, they field countless questions and address other issues which are raised by residents, all on a volunteer basis.

Prior to attending EPOA meetings I did not appreciate the sheer scale and scope of issues our trustees get involved with or the amount of time they dedicate.  Whether it was dealing with the MTA’s idling trains, working with/ challenging the utility companies on their work plans, helping the residents of East Drive and other areas to resolve their sidewalk issue or the countless other things we never hear about.   Our trustees represent our Village and work tirelessly to make Garden City a great community.

I support my East trustee, Mark Hyer and the Community Agreement Party in the upcoming election on Tuesday, March 16th from 12 PM to 9 PM at Village Hall.  Mark’s experience is invaluable and his dedication to our Village and its residents is unparalleled.

Bruno Cerrone

Misleading Community Agreement ad

To the Editor:

As the FABGC candidate for Mayor, I am against Garden City looking to hire paid firefighters. After additional reflection and thought, it is obvious that the combination volunteer and paid fire department was no longer working for our village. The savings our village realized from moving to an all volunteer department are significant.

I am committed to keeping taxes as low as possible, as are all the FABGC candidates. This is why eliminating no bid contracts and calling for a needs assessment before getting plans for a $10 million firehouse have been at the forefront of our campaign.

The comment referenced in a recent ad in the GC News was part of a larger comment encouraging a full internal investigation after personally meeting the family recently displaced from their home by the Hilton Ave fire as part of my ADRB work. I was moved by their story. The full video of the interview

can be found on fabgc.org if anyone is looking for more context rather than a scare-monger’s summary. I encourage everyone as well to join our Zoom meetings or watch the hours of footage from our prior Zoom meetings. We have been answering all questions in accordance with our commitment to transparency. This is what Garden City residents deserve.

As to the ad itself, by the 5 members of the so-called Community Agreement Party, including three sitting board members, FABGC’s five candidates find this extremely disappointing, but not unexpected. The ad reeks of threats, intimidation and scare tactics. It is an attempt to scare voters, especially our elderly residents, into nullifying their right as americans to vote their conscience freely and without threats or intimidation.

As to the Volunteer Firefighters, we are further displeased that these five CAP candidates; Bolebruch, Makrinos, Cantalano, Tarano and Hyer would disparage them. To state that they would quit in mass under any circumstances, volunteers and neighbors who swore an oath to protect lives and property, is a smear upon these fine individuals. We are especially disappointed by candidate Trustee Hyer. Are the 5 CAP candidates suggesting Trustee Candidate Hyer, a volunteer firefighter himself, is going to quit if he doesn’t get 100% of what he wants? The five FABGC candidates demand that CAP immediately apologize to the Volunteers and residents. CAP candidates should be better than that. We know the Volunteers are. Cosmo Veneziale

Questions on parking, firehouse

To the Editor:

As a resident of the Mott Section for 50 years I would like to direct a few questions to Trustee Mr. Mark Hyer.

The handicap parking spaces on 7th street.  What really happened?

Did the Board of Trustees choose to fight a request to put 2 (or more) spots on 7th street?   Did this cause any outside parties to join with a village resident to fight for those spaces?  Next came a lawsuit.  What was the cost to the Village of Garden City and its taxpayers of fighting and eventually losing that suit?

Now that we have lost the suit does that mean anytime the Village repairs or works on any GC parking lot it must be ADA compatible or must be made so?

The Firehouse and Village Volunteers.  First I want to thank all that volunteer including Mr. Hyer to keep our village safe.

Is it correct or even remotely correct that we need $10 million dollars in renovations to the western fire station?  I believe you signed an ad in the GC News where it implies the volunteers are threatening to quit if a paid fireman

comes back or they do not get the firehouse they demand.  Mr. Hyer are you threatening to quit if you do not get the firehouse you want?

With a very important election coming up I hope to get a timely answer to my questions.

George Evans

Tradition needs to be restored To the Editor:

Tradition needs to be restored: that is why I am running for Trustee.

I love Garden City…I have lived here for my entire life. It was special place for my six siblings and me to be raised by our parents Jerry and Lucille O’Brien and for me to raise my family. My wife Donna Murphy O’Brien was raised here as was her mother Eileen Murphy. There are so many kind and generous people in our town and we are fortunate to have wonderful friends …many lifelong. I have been active in the Village as a coach of many teams, as a Trustee of St Joseph’s Parish and Member of its School Board.

Over the past few years, we have lost some of what has made this village such a special community with a series of consequential actions or inactions by our Trustees which have been negative for our Village.

• How does it feel to live in a place where the Trustees not only deny a request for handicapped parking on Seventh St but “go to the mat” legally fighting it only to lose and pay over $110,000 of taxpayer funds to fight our own disabled and physically challenged residents?

• How does it feel to live in a place where 100 ft tall light poles like in a prison yard are erected across the street from our homes (my mother’s house included) by the MTA without any objection at that time by our Village Trustees?

• How does it feel to live in a place where village decisions are often made behind closed doors and residents who want to speak or ask questions are treated with disrespect?

• How does it feel to live in a place where our Board of Trustees voted unanimously to eliminate the Garden City News as our town newspaper of record because they were unhappy with how their government actions were being reported?

• How does it feel to find out that our village trustees approved the sale of village parkland in Franklin Court, without public discussion only to have to purchase the property back and pay more for it?

• How does it feel to have our trustees pay $342,000 for architectural plans for what is estimated to cost our village taxpayers $10 million for the demolition and renovation of the Edgemere Firehouse on Stewart Avenue, without

The A.T. Stewart Exchange Consignment Shop

some pie on these colorful dessert plates.

BY MELISSA JAEGER

I was looking for something interesting or fun to write about for this week. And I came up with the fact that it’s Great American Pies month! What could be better than that?! Except maybe national Ice Cream Day (sorry, not until July!) Apparently, this observance was started in 1990. To truly enjoy, you’re supposed to spend the month tasting different pies every day. I’m game for that assignment! My personal favorite is apple. Believe it or not, February is actually cherry pie month. Remember: the month is about enjoying them – baking, sharing and eating them!

I know a lot of you are asking, what does this have to do with the Exchange? We have a nice selection of silver plate serving pieces, cake (and pie) plates and dessert plates. There are over 1,500 National Days. Start enjoying this one.

Just a reminder that we are open late on Wednesdays until 6:00 p.m. It’s a great chance to shop in peace and quiet, for those of you who work. We get newly consigned merchandise almost every day!   Not comfortable with coming into the shop? Please shop online and come to the Exchange to pick up. I continue to update the TGCHS website with photos of our newest merchandise! Be sure to check out www.tgchs.org or go to our online store at: stores.myresaleweb. com/at-stewart-exchange. We also post photos on the AT Stewart Exchange Facebook and Instagram pages.

When you do come into the Shop, please follow our established sanitizing protocols and social distancing rules to keep everyone safe. Please, now more than ever, wear your mask. We’re wearing ours. And please use our hand-sanitizer when you enter the shop. And, to

keep you feeling safe while shopping, we just purchased an air purifier.

Unfamiliar with the Exchange Consignment Shop? We are housed in The Garden City Historical Society (TGCHS) Museum on 109 Eleventh Street (in the basement of the building). All the proceeds from the Shop sales directly benefit TGCHS. In addition to our best sellers – jewelry (costume and fine), lamps, mirrors and crystal (Waterford, Baccarat, Tiffany) -- we take/accept silver, pocketbooks, china, furniture, artwork, and collectibles. All items are in new or nearly-new condition.

Up until nine months ago, we did consignments by walk-in. With the virus, we have had to take measures to safeguard our customers, consignors and volunteers. Having appointments helps to keep down the numbers of people in the Shop at any point in time and reduces wait-times to consign. Consignments are now done Wednesday through Friday, 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. by appointment ONLY, so please call (516)746-8900. Unsure if your items are appropriate to consign? Email photos to store@ atstewartexchange.org and be sure to include sizing info. Please be sure items are cleaned and polished, ready for sale.

All the profits from the Consignment Shop support the maintenance and upkeep of TGCHS Museum. Thanks to your generous support, work on the outside of the Museum continues.

The Shop is located at 109 Eleventh Street.

Shop Hours: Tues–Fri: 10:00–4:00 p.m., Wednesday til 6:00 p.m.; Sat: Noon–4:00 p.m.

Please call (516) 746-8900 For more information.

GCHS seniors selected for All-Eastern Honor Ensembles

Molly Madigan

Enzo Cupani

Garden City High School seniors Enzo Cupani and Molly Madigan have been selected for NAfME 2021 All-Eastern Honor Ensembles. Nearly 1200 students across 11 states applied to be part of the festival, and according to NAfME, 719 of the finest musicians earned acceptance.

Enzo will participate in the 270-member All-Eastern Mixed Chorus while Molly is among only 120 performers in the All-Eastern Treble Chorus. This year’s event will be held virtually in March and will still feature the same excellent opportunities as in years past. Students will hear from keynote speakers, attend master classes with professional musicians, rehearse with conductors, network and practice audition skills. NAfME has announced that in light of the virtual format, students will individually record their performance from home and the recordings will be edited together for an April 23 concert that coincides with the

Conversational, opinionated, wordsmith?

57th NAfME Eastern Division Virtual In-Service Conference.

Both students have earned many musical achievements. Enzo performed in the All-National Mixed Chorus in January and has participated in All-State and All-County in previous years. He is involved in the high school’s vocal jazz ensemble and chamber choir, as well as theatre productions, and is a member of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra outside of school. He has been singing since seventh grade and plans to major in music and industry at Syracuse University next year. Molly is a member of the high school’s chamber choir, concert choir and vocal jazz ensemble and performed in All-State the past two consecutive years. She has also participated in All-County and has been singing since the fifth grade. She plans to study music education in college.

We’re looking for writers in our community to compose articles on local topics, opinions, reviews, worthy places to visit on Long Island, and even pieces of fiction. We aim to feature at least one new article and writer each week in our Discovery magazine section.

Email submissions: editor@gcnews.com

• Attach article and any photos (1MB), along with your name and contact info.

• Articles must be between 1,500 - 3,000 words. • Each writer will be reimbursed a stipend of $25.⁰⁰

Photos courtesy Garden City Public Schools

Garden City High School

Senior Spotlight: John Scarlata

John has spearheaded numerous fundraising endeavors that made a difference to many families in need. He is also a dedicated student and athlete and is actively involved in his school and community.

Last spring, John coordinated a food drive for the INN in Hempstead. He raised more than $4,000 in donations from friends, neighbors, teammates and

family members and was able to purchase groceries and provide a monetary contribution to the facility. He continued his work with the INN over the summer and took on the role of an ambassador, assessing needs and communicating with residents. He volunteered his time providing pickup service from community donors as well as vendors and restaurants across Long Island, and also participated in curbside food drives and helped organize food at the INN.

John’s charitable efforts have extended into the current school year. He led the Class of 2021 in a Thanksgiving food drive that garnered 15,000 lbs. of food for the INN, as well as a Holiday Coat Drive in December that yielded 700 coats. He arranged for free laundering services of the donated items and also purchased brand new coats with $1,000 raised by the senior class.

In addition to his philanthropic dedication, John has served as varsity track and field team captain and is a member of the varsity soccer team with a variety of athletic awards and accolades to his name. He is a Principal’s List honoree and plans to attend Fordham University after he graduates.

Submissions are from staff, students, or parents. To nominate a GCHS senior, please contact Assistant Principal for Guidance and PPS Mandi Stefankiewicz at stefankiewiczm@gcufsd.net.

Village treasurer honored by NY state association

Irene Woo, treasurer for the Village of Garden City, has been recognized as a Credentialed Municipal Finance Officer (“CMFO”) by the New York State Society of Municipal Finance Officers (“NYSMFO”) for achieving its high educational, experience and participatory requirements.

Ms. Woo has been employed by the Village of Garden City in her current office for more than five years and has been a member in good standing of the NYSMFO for over five years. She received a plaque and pin denoting this

accomplishment.

The Credentialed Municipal Finance Officer Program, launched in 2006, aids municipal finance officers in improving job performance and recognizes the professionalism of the municipalities’ finance office. Stringent education and experience requirements must be met before this prestigious designation of Credentialed Municipal Finance Officer is awarded. Qualifications of applicants are reviewed and approved by the NYSSMFO CMFO Committee.

ATTENTION STUDENTS!

We invite you to send details of your academic achievements, along with your name and contact info, to editor@gcnews.com for a chance to be featured in our paper!

Submissions from students of all ages are welcome!

John Scarlata

2021 Eastern POA Scholarship

It is with pleasure that the Eastern Property Owners Association of Garden City announces that it will once again award a $1000 scholarship to a graduating high school senior who resides in the Eastern section.

The candidates, or their family, must be dues paying members of the EPOA. They must be currently attending public or private high school and plan to attend college full time in the fall. The

focus of this scholarship is community service. Candidates may obtain an application from the Garden City High School Guidance Office or on the EPOA website at www.gcepoa.org. Should you have a question, you can call Barbara Garry at 248-1486.

All interested eligible seniors are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is Friday, April 16, 2021

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The Washington (and Albany) political merry-go-round

BY BOB MORGAN, JR.

A few notes on the Washington scene, followed by some thoughts on the New York State nursing home scandal.

While I believe that President Trump’s actions (and particularly inactions) on January 6 were reprehensible, I’m basically comfortable with the Senate acquittal verdict. There was a serious question over whether impeachment extended to former officeholders and also substantial issues as to whether the conduct alleged by the House actually amounted to “incitement” of an “insurrection”. I am perhaps most happy that the trial, and indeed, the nasty last few months following the election, are substantially behind us.

This may be a bit of a minority view at present, but my thinking is that Mr. Trump’s second impeachment will be a nothingburger from a long-term political standpoint. And I say this notwithstanding Mr. Trump’s eruption as this is written against Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

The next federal election is almost 20 months away and there will be plenty of new and important issues and developments between now and November 2022, much less 2024. The impeachment will most likely be down the memory hole by 2022. Only rabid partisans will care by then, and their votes will already be in the bank. Obviously, January 6 will be in the conversation if Mr. Trump attempts to come back as a presidential candidate in 2024, but just as one part of a larger debate.

I also don’t think that their impeachment vote will matter much for most senators. On the GOP side, the pro-conviction votes were mostly Senators who already positioned themselves as mavericks or who are not running again in 2022. Almost all of the 43 pro-acquittal senators are from safe states, and their biggest fear is being primaried from the right. Similarly, a vote for conviction was mostly a no-brainer for Democrats, who mostly come from states where Mr. Trump is deeply unpopular. Even the marginal state Democrats will be able to point to enough nasty film clips of the Capitol to justify their vote.

So I’m just not seeing impeachment as mattering much going forward.

Turning to New York State, the state’s politics have been roiled by furor over Governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of hospitalized COVID patients and his administration’s order in late March requiring that nursing homes accept these patients. The order was not rescinded until May. It is now pretty clear perhaps 15,000 individuals contracted COVID in the nursing home and later perished. The New York attorney general, Letitia James, a Democrat and generally an ally of Mr. Cuomo, recently reported on a survey of nursing homes indicating a severe underreporting of these deaths. It now turns out that in August a top aide to Mr. Cuomo, Melissa DeRosa, admitted that the number of nursing home casualties were being withheld in part because of political reasons.

Mr. Cuomo proffers numerous reasons why the March order and lack of candor made sense. The transfers were required by federal guidelines, although they did not occur in many states. The nursing homes were already staffed with personnel who had contracted COVID. There was a “toxic political environment” created by former President Trump and a possible federal investigation at the time the information was withheld. His staff was overworked.

Of course, Republicans have seized on this issue, but so have a number of Democrats, who vow investigations and even to strip Mr. Cuomo of his emergency powers during the pandemic.

Ordinarily, you might give the governor a break on this. The pandemic was extremely hard to deal with, and there was a well-founded fear of hospitals being overwhelmed, even with additional potential capacity like military hospital ships. The political problem for Mr. Cuomo, however, has been the sanctimonious nature of his overall pandemic response, including writing a book lauding his leadership and constantly claiming that his strongly pro-lockdown policies are just “following the science”. It’s still early, but he just might face a difficult journey if he seeks a fourth term.

The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the Garden City News or its publisher.

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Renovations at Adelphi University Center

Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin recently took a tour of the newly renovated Ruth S. Harley University Center at Adelphi University on January 22. Also present for the tour were Joseph Battaglia, director of project management and assistant vice president; Jim Perrino, executive vice president of finance and administration; Maggie Yoon Grafer, associate vice president of external relations and chief of staff; and Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan.

Do you have a ser vice to adver tise?

Our Service Directory is sure to bring results. Call 516-294-8900 for rates and information.

Enjoy the amazing Wyndham life-style offered by this stunningly renovated open floor plan condominium Exotic Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Floors - Designer Kitchen with Gorgeous Imported Italian Granite and Top-Shelf Profile Stainless Appliances - Expansive Custom Closets - Spa Baths! All finishes using the highest quality materials available Call Today and Live Wyndham in Style!

Offered at $955,000

PAT S H R O Y E R

Co-Owner/Associate Broker

Office: 516-944-3870 Mobile: 516-236-9201 Email: PatShroyer@optonline net

The Welcoming Club of Garden City

What's New?

Have you signed up for Miles for Meals yet? Registration is open and ends March 1! Sign up now and get your t-shirt for this two-week virtual run/ walk/cycle challenge taking place April 5–April 18 to support the INN. Additional information for the event can be found on the club's Facebook page.

Put your knowledge to the test! Tickets are on sale now for two nights of Couples Virtual Trivia on Friday, 3/5 and Saturday, 3/6 both beginning at 8:30 p.m. Enjoy a fun night to socialize with friends, meet some new people, and participate in a little friendly competition, all in the comfort of your own home! Tickets are $40 per couple and include an hour-long professionally run trivia game, custom GC tumblers, dessert for two, entry into our Grand Raffle, and a chance to win the winning prize!

It's not too late to sign up to join a lively virtual discussion about The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett on Tuesday, 2/23! If you'd like to attend, please email WelcomingClubBookClub@ gmail.com.

The club is hosting a FREE virtual meetup group open to all moms who have had a baby within the last 12 months. We will be offering guest speakers and a variety of health consultants. Come connect with other moms to share experiences, tips, concerns, and learn from each other. It’s a great way to build friendships while still practicing social distancing efforts. If you are interested in joining, please email welcomingclubtoddleractivities@gmail.com for information on the next meetup.

Coming Soon

Interested in adding a new dish to your repertoire? The club is planning two virtual cooking events in late March: one for couples and the other for ladies only. Please keep an eye out for more details including the delicious menu items in the coming weeks!

Follow Us!

Facebook: The Welcoming Club of Garden City

Instagram: @gcwelcomingclub

Join A Group

Book Club: Enjoy a good book amongst friends. The book club meets every 6 weeks to discuss the page-turner of choice. For upcoming book club events, please email WelcomingClubBookClub@

gmail.com.

Craft Club: The craft club is a great way to meet with friends and get crafty. No experience necessary. We meet every few months to create a seasonal craft. If you are interested in joining, please email GCCraftClub@gmail.com.

Supper Club:  Bring your significant others out for this one! This is a great way to make new friends as a couple. You will be paired up with 3-4 other couples to set up a rotation of dinner events. Host your new friends at home or head out to try local restaurants. Please email GCSupper@ gmail.com for more information.

Bowling Club:No experience necessary! We are looking for new faces to join our Wednesday league. Occasional pacers are welcome. Anyone interested, please contact Ellen (Diller05@aol.com) Carol (santa060@yahoo.com) or Liz (mcdea@ aol.com).

Bunko: This simple dice game is usually played in a group of 12. It is a great way to meet people and make new friends. The game is easy to learn and fun to play. If you are interested, please contact WelcomingClubBunco@gmail.com.

Toddler Activities: A great way for you and your little ones to make new friends. Activities include stroller walks each week around our beautiful village and a visit to the park. We also set up playgroups with kids of similar age. Please email welcomingclubtoddleractivities@ gmail.com for more information.

Golf: Golf lessons at Cherry Valley Club are always a big hit! Golf pro Ed Kelly helps us GCWC ladies improve our golf game. If you are interested in reserving your spot for the fall 2020 session, email WelcomingClubGolf@gmail.com.

Tennis: Tennis lessons and group play begin soon! We play at the Garden City Community Park courts behind the pool. All levels welcome, groups will be formed based on experience. Spots are limited so please contact WelcomingClubTennis@ gmail.com to reserve a spot for the 2020/2021 season!

Come join the fun and make a difference! We invite you to join the club! For just $37 a year you will have access to lots of great events and many fun members-only clubs and events. Complete the easy online membership form today at www.thegardencitywelcomingclub. org in the “Join” section of the website. While you are there, browse the site for lots of great information about the club.

Advertise in our papers!

If you own a business or have a service to provide, we’ll create professional advertisements to promote it and help you be seen by thousands of local readers! Call 1-516-294-8900 to inquire!

WPOA seeks applicants for officers, directors

The Western Property Owners Association (WPOA) Board of Directors is seeking applicants for positions as Officers and Directors. While these are volunteer positions, the benefits, in terms of learning how your local government operates and being a part of your Village government system, can be very uplifting. As a director, you can help bring events for families to the Western Section.

To date, the WPOA has received several applications, and those candidates will be contacted. In addition, the WPOA would like to extend the invitations for additional candidates to apply. There are a number of open positions particularly in the areas of Programs/Publicity, Membership, Recreation and Playgrounds, Finance and Taxes, Police/Fire and Safety and Technology. The WPOA President works with incoming directors to choose a position that fits their area of interest.

If you’d like to have some additional information before applying to

the Board, you can contact RoseAnn at ravernice@optimum.net.

WPOA terms of office begin in April 2021. Any resident of the Western Section of the Village who is interested in seeking office or joining the WPOA Board of Directors can submit a letter of interest and a resume to: RoseAnn Vernice, President, Western Property Owners Association, PO Box 7976, Garden City, NY 11530 or by email to ravernice@optimum.net.

The deadline for submission of applications is Monday, March 1, 2021. Applications will be reviewed by the Nominating Committee, and interviews will be conducted, as needed. The Committee will present its nominations at the April WPOA General Meeting.

The Western Section of Garden City is bordered on the north by the main line of the LIRR, on the east by the west side of Tanners Pond and Edgemere Roads, on the south by Cambridge Avenue and on the west by Jefferson Street.

FOR SENIORS fyi

Garden City Senior Center Open

Garden City Recreation and Parks’ Senior Center is now open.

Our hours will be 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We will be practicing social distancing so no exercise or group activities will take place at this time Anyone visiting the Center will be required to wear a mask during their visit.

Adult Art Class at Cluett Hall

The Garden City’s Department of Recreation and Parks will offer an adult art class this fall. This 10-week program will teach the beginner as well as the advanced student the art of painting portraits and landscapes/ still-life in pastel from photographs. Arleen Rueth Urban, the instructor for this program, is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America.

Classes will be held Fridays beginning February 12 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in St. Paul’s Cluett Hall. The cost of this program will be $140. Please note: Masks must be worn during class and each participant must fill out a COVID survey sheet before each class to attend. This class is open to adult residents who reside in the Inc. Village of Garden City.

The first lesson includes a portrait and landscape demonstration.

education you need to make big decisions with confidence.

At that time, a supply list is provided. Demonstrations will be available as needed throughout the program. Each student will receive the individual attention required as they move at their own pace and level of expertise.

To register for this session, please visit the Recreation and Parks office at 108 Rockaway Avenue. If you have a password, you may register online at gcreconline.gardencityny.net.

Senior Exercise with Felicia

Recreation and Parks is pleased to announce that senior exercise with Felicia began the week of October 26. Due to COVID restrictions, this program will no longer be a drop in program. Participants will need to pre-register, wear masks and fill out a COVID form, and space will be limited.

Classes will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. In order to attend a class, you must pre-register. You may pre-register up to two days before the class you want to attend by calling the Senior Center between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 385-8006. For a Monday class, you may call the Friday before. Space is limited.

DAR learns history of Mardi Gras

On a Zoom meeting conducted on February 13, members of the Garden City based Colonel Aaron Ogden Chapter NSDAR learned about the history of Mardi Gras. Chapter Regent Carla Hall D’Ambra chaired the meeting, with Chapter Librarian Marjorie Musil introducing the speaker, Kay Alpaugh, regent of Vieux Carré Chapter, LSDAR, and a national vice chair of the America 250 Membership Taskforce.

Using an online slide presentation, Mrs. Alpaugh explained the history of the Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans, which has its roots in the Catholic liturgical calendar. By 1699, settlers arrived in the area from France, and by the 1700s, balls were being held in New Orleans. The famous “ Fat Tuesday ” celebration is the last day of two-week Carnival season, being the day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The balls were sometimes forbid -

den by early Spanish governors, but under American rule this changed.  Secret groups began to organize in order to hold the celebration. The first was the Comus organization in 1857, and followed by more, such as the Knights of Momus in 1872 and the Proteus Krewe in 1882. There are now 47 such societies or “ Krewes,” and several run by women such as “ Iris.” These groups helped the celebration become more beautiful and elaborate. The Balls are an important part of the Debutante season in New Orleans, with men wearing elaborate costumes and the women ordering gowns which can take up to a year to custom-produce. According to Mrs. Alpaugh, “ there is something for everyone.”

The floats for which the parade is famous were originally placed on wagons with wooden wheels. A few still use these traditional vehicles. Alpaugh’s slides featured some of the elaborate invitations and posters produced to publicize the different Balls. These, along with the pins produced by different Krewes, she noted, are highly sought-after collector items.

With Mardi Gras cancelled this year due to the pandemic, residents decided to adapt and decorated their homes in an elaborate manner instead, calling them “ house floats,” in what may be the start of a new tradition of “Yardi Gras.”

Regent D’Ambra thanked Mrs. Alpaugh for her presentation, and noted that Mrs. Alpaugh is the sister of Colonel Aaron Ogden Chapter Registrar Nancy Mettz, as well as being an associate member of Colonel Aaron Ogden Chapter.

For information on joining the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, contact colaaronogdennsdar@gmail.com.

Adelphi to screen film about last segregated school

On Thursday, March 11, Adelphi University will present a screening of “ Secrets of the Hollow: Last Disintegrated School, ” a documentary about then-future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall’s effort to end segregation in New York schools. The virtual screening, part of Adelphi’s Great Minds, Great Conversations series, runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Produced by Adelphi 1985 graduates and sisters Alicia M. Crow and Alice T. Crowe, the film looks back at the civil rights activist’s visit to Hillburn, New York, in 1943 to assist striking parents in the community bring an end to segregation at Brook School, the last segregated school in New York, more than a decade before Marshall’s landmark Brown v Board

of Education case in 1954. The documentary is narrated by Chuck D, 1984 Adelphi graduate and 2012 honorary degree recipient, founder of the rap group Public Enemy and an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

After the screening, Jacqueline Jones LaMon, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Adelphi, will engage Alicia and Alice in a conversation about the film. The documentary has been screened at the Pan African Film Festival 2020, Yonkers Film Festival 2019, Ogeechee Historical Film Festival at Georgia Southern University, and the Queen City Cinephiles Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The event is open to the public, but registration is required. To register, please visit bit.ly/AU3-11-21.

The Mayor's Update The Office Cat

From page 20

applicant or the applicant’s agent is March 15, 2021. Upon receiving a personal application, the Clerk will deliver the absentee ballot to the applicant, or his agent. Whichever method is used to submit the Application and obtain the ballot (i.e. via mail or personally), the Village Clerk must receive the ballot itself no later than the close of polls on Election Day.

Overnight Parking

As a reminder, on-street overnight parking without a permit is prohibited between 2:00 – 6:00 a.m. in the Village. Permission may be granted to residents for special situations, including construction, medical caretakers, disabled vehicles and guests (Cherry Valley

apartment residents: guests only).

Permission is NOT granted for commercial vehicles, taxi and livery vehicles, Hamilton Place and 2nd Street, between Franklin and Hilton Avenues, and insufficient room in a driveway (not a valid reason for permission).

Permission is granted for a period not to exceed 12 calendar days per year. The maximum number of consecutive days is limited to six days. Abuse of permission or improper filings will result in the suspension of privileges for one year. The site, which does not require any prior registration, is available to residents directly at www.gcnyparking.com. If there are any questions or special circumstances, contact a Police Department Supervisor at 465-4100.

From page 16

Carbon monoxide incident

On February 14th Garden City Police and Firefighters responded to a residence for a CO alarm activation. Assistance was rendered without incident.

Excessive speed

On February 14th a motorist was charged with excessive speed on Rockaway Avenue at 1st Street and driving with a suspended license.

Multiple violations

A motorist was charged with excessive speed on Stewart Avenue at Coventry Place and driving with a suspended registration. Another motorist was charged with driving a commercial

vehicle on Stewart Avenue in a no commercial vehicle zone as well as driving with a suspended license.

Shoplifting arrest

On February 16th Garden City Police officers arrested a 48-year-old male for the alleged theft of multiple items from CVS. He was charged with petit larceny as well as a fugitive from justice due to an outstanding Probation Warrant from Connecticut.

Unemployment fraud

Between February 10-16 Garden City Police investigated nine reports of victims’ identities being stolen to file false unemployment claims.

Kay Alpaugh, special guest and presentation speaker

Alice T. Crowe

Alicia M. Crowe

From page 26

a needs analysis/assessment and without any public deliberations, competitive bidding, or an RFP, while also being at odds with the wishes of the local Property Owners’ Association?

• How do you feel about having “no-bid” contracts being awarded by our current Trustees, and the overcharging of two our town’s traditional non-for-profit organizations, The Andy Foundation and the Jay Gallagher Tournament because of the high cost increase?

• How do you feel about GC Casino members hearing that the town was considering selling or leasing this priceless community facility that has served our residents for over 125 years? The deed for this land clearly reads that it is to be used for recreational use only for our village, and the Casino is still awaiting a long term lease agreement from the Board of Trustees.

It does not feel like Garden City. This is why I decided to run for Trustee for the Eastern Section with a group of outstanding individuals – all working…. For a Better Garden City.

In my role as a Trustee, I will draw upon my leadership capabilities and management background as an Executive with global Technology and Management firms, and my role on several not-for-profit boards of directors to serve all in the community with transparency and thoughtful and sound consideration of issues. I ask for your vote for all the qualified and good people who have been nominated with me….. Cosmo Veneziale, Mayoral Candidate: Terry Digan, Trustee Candidate for the Central Section, Mary Carter Flanagan, Trustee Candidate for the Western Section; and Bruce Chester, Trustee Candidate for Estates Section so that we can restore tradition in our village.

Tom O’Brien Trustee Candidate for the Eastern Section

What I want to accomplish as Trustee

To the Editor:

I would like to provide some further background on my candidacy for Village Trustee and what I would like to accomplish if I was elected by the Village residents on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.

As previously published in this paper, I am a recently retired as an audit partner, most recently serving as co-lead of the KPMG’s Global Audit Methodology Group. I became a CPA in 1984 and have close to 40 years of experience in the accounting field including working with governmental entities.

I currently sit on the boards of three not-for-profit entities and have experience with board governance from being an audit partner. As I considered all of the significant issues facing the

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Email: Editor@GCNews.com

Village, I submitted my resume to the Estates Property Owners’ Association as I believed that my financial background could be beneficial to the Board of Trustees and, more importantly, the residents of the Village.

I would like to use the balance of this letter to discuss my positions on the major issues facing the Village.

• Water remediation - As the residents are aware, there is a new standard for the maximum level of 1-4,Dioxane adopted by New York State in July 2020. It is first-in-the-nation standard and the new limit is one part per billion. This is a very important project for the Village with total capital costs in excess of $40 million to install the equipment necessary to reduce the level of 1-4,Dioxane in our water to below the new limit. Of that amount, 60% is to come back to the Village in the form of grants from New York State. I plan to monitor this project closely as to timetable and also as to the ultimate cost – ensuring that the promised grants are received timely and the project is completed as soon as possible.

• Village Fire Station No.2 (Stewart Avenue and Edgemere Road) – On this topic, I think we have common ground in the Village in that we all want to ensure the safety of our residents and to make sure that Fire Station No.2 is meeting the needs of our dedicated volunteer firefighters. Whether the solution is to renovate the existing firehouse or construct a new one, I will carefully evaluate the pros and cons of both options and make a determination as to what I believe is in the best interest for the safety of our residents and our dedicated volunteers.

• Garden City Casino – Based on the Village’s recent announcement, it appears that these negotiations are making very good progress regarding a renewal of the license agreement between the Village and the Casino.

• Paul’s – Everyone in the Village wants to have resolution on this historical building. I believe most residents would prefer an adaptive reuse – but they need to know four things - 1) what will it be; 2) how much will cost; 3) how will we pay for it; and 4) how much will my taxes go up. We need to be crystal clear with the residents on all four items and develop a financially feasible plan that the majority of the residents will support. I commit to work with the other trustees to aggressively move the decision process forward in 2021 with the objective of identifying the best possible adaptive reuse and to have this proposed solution presented to the residents for consideration as soon as possible. All five of the Community Agreement Party candidates support having residents provide significant input into this process and also to hold a referendum once a plan is developed.

• Poles – While the other issues are

very important, no issue has caused more heartache to a group of our residents than the installation of the fourteen 93-foot-tall poles. These residents have had to deal with the removal of all the trees and vegetation along the track, all of the inconveniences of the ongoing construction, and the installation of 14 very tall utility poles from Tanners Pond Road to Whitehall Boulevard. The Village has just filed a lawsuit against the MTA. LIRR, LIPA and PSEG. If I was elected, this will be one of my highest priorities and I would want to immediately meet with our counsel, along with the other trustees, to get regular updates on the litigation. I will work as hard as I can to find the best possible solution for these residents.

• Enhancing the Village’s operations - The current trustees have done a remarkable job limiting tax increases over the past decade – usually less than 2% cap - not easy accomplishment when salary and benefits exceed 50% of the budget and, of course, I want to continue that practice. All organizations are quickly embracing the digitization of their operations, governmental entities tend to move slower, but I want our Village to move as fast as the private sector in this regard. I would also like to establish a GC 2030 committee to focus on a long-term strategic vision for the Village and the types of investments that will be necessary to maintain our unique quality of life. As to RFPs, a contract should only go outside the RFP process when it is in best interest of the Village such as when the amounts insignificant, service is needed urgently or there is a unique skill set required. This reasons for not having an RFP should always be transparent to the residents when such a contract is approved at a board meeting.

• Enhancing our communications with our residents – I believe all of the trustees want to make improvements with communications. I have recommended that we hold of semi-annual town hall meetings where the residents can listen to a summary of all the major projects ongoing and have an open forum for questions. I believe this is a better forum to provide this information than the monthly board meetings; which I also encourage all residents to attend. In addition, our website could be more user friendly; there is a lot of information on it but not all of it easy to find; it simply needs to be modernized. Long-term we need to have a functional mobile app since we all know that is where the world is headed. For example, one day, your Garden City app would push Village alerts to your phone, and you can have your library card and pool pass readily available.

• Our environment – Sustainability is personally very important to me. All organization are moving quickly to reduce their carbon footprint including

my former employer KPMG that plans to be net-zero carbon by 2030. This is another area where governments are usually slower to react and I want our Village to be a recognized leader in this area. I want to expand the participation of residents on our Environmental Advisory Board in order to lay out a plan as to how to can reduce the carbon footprint of the Village and its impact on our environment.

I applied to the Estate POA for the trustee position because I wanted to give back to the Garden City community and I believe that serving as a Village trustee was a great way to so given my financial background – in my humble opinion, all governments could use more CPAs.

You have my commitment that I will be steward of every one of your tax dollars while also working to improve the quality of the services that the Village provides to its residents; with the objective that Garden City continues to be this incredible and wonderful place to live and raise a family.

Rich Catalano

Supports FABGC

To the Editor:

I continue to be amazed by the dedication that FABGC ( For A Better Garden City) has to our village. The members of FABGC have an impressive list of credentials and bring a broad array of experience from a variety of professional backgrounds. Garden City will benefit greatly from their passion, fresh ideas and new perspective on all matters important to GC residents. I’m happy to support FABGC on March 16th!

Anne Butler

Supports Hyer for trustee

To the Editor:

I am writing in vigorous support of the nomination of Mark Hyer for East Trustee on the Village Board of Trustees (BOT). As chair of the 15-member Independent East Nominating Committee, I had the pleasure of interviewing and nominating Mark for this position. Before I speak to Mark’s experience and qualifications, I’d like to provide information about the Independent East Nominating Committee and how I personally became involved as a committee member.

The Nominating Committee is comprised of fifteen volunteers who reside in the Eastern section of the Village. Each member is appointed to a three-year term and there are five new members on the committee each year. I applied for the Nominating Committee in 2018, after being an active member of the Eastern Property Owners Association (EPOA) for approximately two years. This is my third and final year on the committee, and it has been my honor

See page 39

IN MEMORIAM

Ronda Gallucci

Ronda Gallucci died peacefully early morning Friday, February 12, 2021 with her husband of nearly 50 years beside her.

Raised in Rantoul, Illinois, Ronda attended The University of Illinois where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Speech Correction in 1971. During her final semester she met Raymond Gallucci and they were married that summer. The newlywed couple moved to Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey serving our country. They eventually settled in Garden City, where they would raise their family. Ronda enjoyed a 37-year career dedicated to serving children at Lakeville Elementary School in Great Neck,  as a speech-language pathologist. After retiring in 2010, they moved to Greenville, South Carolina, to be closer to their son and family. The past ten years, Ronda and Ray served in various ministries at North Hill Church while also enjoying all that South Carolina has to offer.

Ronda enjoyed traveling, hosting family for holidays, had a passion for antiquing (defined as the act of collecting meaningful old treasures to bring home to friends and family), practicing hospitality by opening her home and heart to anyone, and most importantly homemade desserts made by anyone other than herself. Ronda’s laugh could brighten a room and she never met a stranger. She was full of encouraging words for anyone she came in contact with.

Ronda was predeceased by her parents Leo & Viola Nichols and is survived by her husband, Raymond, her brother Tom (Judy) Nichols, her sons Paul (Robyn) and Mark (Kristin) and four grandchildren Sara, Timothy, Clayton and Matthew. She also leaves behind many dear sister and brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins who were very important to her.

Later in her life Ronda began volunteering for the Renewal program at Miracle Hill Ministries and the Shepherds Gate Program for addicts getting their life back on track and going to work. Her passion for glorifying God through work led her to drive women to and from their jobs on a daily basis for years. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to this program that gets women back to work and back on track in their lives.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and teacher and will be greatly missed by all who loved her.

A Memorial Service will be held 11:00 am on Saturday February 20, 2021 at North Hills Church 4952 Edwards Rd, Taylors, SC 29687.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Miracle Hill Renewal Center, PO Box 2546, Greenville, SC 29602 in her honor.

IN MEMORIAM

Margarita Sanchez Halikias

Margarita Sanchez Halikias passed away peacefully at her home in Manhattan on January 29, 2021. She was 85 years old.

Margarita was born in Barcelona, Spain on January 11, 1936.  She spent her childhood in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War.  She attended Sacred Heart School in Barcelona before going abroad to study at Sorbonne University in Paris and the London School of Economics.

As a university student in Paris, Margarita’s life changed by a chance sighting at a cafe. Tom Halikias, an officer working at the American Hospital of Paris, saw Margarita sitting with classmates at a cafe as he walked by. He immediately asked the maitre d’ to introduce him which the maitre d’ agreed to do in exchange for American cigarettes.  Tom returned with a carton of cigarettes from the PX. On April 1, 1959, Tom was introduced to Margarita and they were married four months later on August 14, 1959. They had their daughter Katherine in Paris in 1961 and then in 1963 moved to

Garden City,  where their family grew to include Thomas and Jason. In 2007, Tom and Margarita retired to Manhattan.

Margarita was an active tennis player at the Garden City Casino and Cherry Valley Country Club and was a Silver Life Master Bridge Player. She was also a Nassau County Supreme Court Interpreter for Spanish and French.

If you were a friend of Margarita's, she considered you family and you knew the mischievous twinkle in her bright beautiful eyes.

Margarita is survived by her three children and their families, which include ten grandchildren. Katherine and David Montgomery, MD and their children Margarita (Nina), Caroline (Cece), William, Sophie and Thomas. Jessica and Thomas Halikias and their children Charlie Ann and Hudson Rose. Lisa and Jason Halikias and their children Jason, John and James. Margarita is predeceased by her late husband of 50 years Thomas D. Halikias, DDS, her mother Generosa Sanchez-Pueyo, her father Leon Sanchez, her brother Ricardo Sanchez and her twin sisters who passed before her birth, Rosa and Isabella Sanchez-Pueyo.

A family graveside service was held at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in New York on Saturday, February 6, 2021. Margarita is alongside her husband Tom. Arrangements were handled by Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel of Manhattan.

A future gathering will be arranged when appropriate. Donations in Margarita’s name may be made to the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute of New York City or a charity of your desire, thank you. Family may be contacted through Katherine Halikias Montgomery at 511 Heights Road, Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450.

Have you lost someone?

If you would like to post an obituary for a loved one, simply send a short biography of them with (if desired) their photo, details of their funeral/visitation services, and/or any donation requests to editor@gcnews.com, or call our office at 516-294-8900 to inquire.

Ronda Gallucci

Margarita Sanchez Halikias

IN MEMORIAM

Marianne DeMarco Leone

Marianne DeMarco Leone of Garden City  passed away peacefully on February 11, 2021. Marianne was an active member of St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church for 43 years.

She was born to Julia and Albert DeMarco of Queens in May of 1942. She married Gabriel Leone of Queens in June of 1965. Gabe was a larger-than-life defense attorney and Marianne was a loving homemaker for almost 30 years.

Marianne and Gabe raised their beautiful family in Garden City; all three of their children went through the public schools of Garden City.

After Gabe’s passing, Marianne joined the workforce. She worked at A&S Department Store, FiServe in Melville, and finally at Astoria Federal.

While Marianne enjoyed the corpo-

rate world, her number one devotion was to her family. She was a fantastic cook and avid Jeopardy fan.

Marianne leaves behind her loving family; daughters Annemarie Leone, Dina Moody (Joe), and grandchildren Matthew, Lindsay, T.J., and Tyler, all of Garden City; her son, Andrew (Meaghan) of Boston, M.A., as well as Marianne’s loving sister Theresa Vranka (Larry) and her niece and two nephews.

Mass of Christian Burial was held on Tuesday, February 16th, 10 am at St. Joseph’s R.C.C. Mass was followed by a private graveside service.

In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to the Scleroderma Foundation at www.scleroderma.org.

Funeral arrangements entrusted to Fairchild Sons Funeral Home of Garden City, NY, 11530.

Have you lost someone?

IN MEMORIAM

Jerome Steven Keenan

and ran his own financial planning firm and was a proud 25-year veteran of the 42nd Infantry Division of the United States Army National Guard.

Jerry, no stranger to the finer things in life, loved hosting parties, traveling, and spending time with his family in his own slice of heaven on Earth in Hampton Bays.

Jerry is survived by his four children, Patricia Sharp (John), Kathleen Yoo (Ed), Maura Slavens (Johnnie) and Tara Keenan-Thomson (Brian); his nine grandchildren, Jennifer (Jared), JP (Kelly), Jillian, Jackson, Jessica, Julia, Jordan, Emma Rose, and Kathleen; and many other loving family and friends. He was preceded in death by his sister, Gloria; his brother, Jack, and his nephew, John.

If you would like to post an obituary for a loved one, simply send a short biography of them with (if desired) their photo, details of their funeral/visitation services, and/or any donation requests to editor@gcnews.com, or call our office at 516-294-8900 to inquire.

If you like to for a loved one, simply send desired) services, and/or editor@gcnews.com, inquire.

Jerome “Jerry” Stephen Keenan, 82, of Hampton Bays, Long Island, passed away on February 11, 2021, at his home. He was born on November 26, 1938 to the late Margaret and John Keenan in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Bayside High School, graduating class of 1952. Jerry established

Viewing services were held from on February 18th, at R. J. O’Shea Funeral Home, Hampton Bays. Funeral service will be at 10:30 am on Friday February 19th, at the Church of St. Rosalie, 31 East Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays. Burial services immediately following at Calverton National Cemetery in Wading River.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations be made to Sage Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ elders www.sageusa.org.

Jerome Steven Keenan

CAP: It’s time to set the record straight

• The facts of what transpired with respect to the unfortunate installation of this poles by the MTA/LIRR have been well publicized at board meetings and in this paper.

• This matter resulted in a split vote to commence litigation against the MTA/LIRR that was filed last week.

• Now that the lawsuit has commenced, we plan to meet regularly with outside counsel to closely monitor this litigation.

Village Fire Station No.2 (Stewart and Edgemere Road)

• Based on an independent assessment by a third party that has participated in building over 50 fire stations, as well as the expertise of our volunteers who serve this community, the BOT believes that our dedicated volunteer firefighters need an improved facility to better serve residents in the Western and Estates sections of the village and to accommodate necessary fire apparatus – both now and for the future.

• There has been no decision made as to whether the current Fire Station No.2 should be renovated and expanded as proposed by the Western POA Firehouse committee, or a new firehouse (that resembles the current one) should be constructed as initially suggested by the Village’s engaged architect.

• To be absolutely clear – NO decision has been made for the construction of a $10 million firehouse as alleged by the opposition.

St. Paul's

• The BOT has taken decisive action to stabilize the building from further damage, which has provided the Village with time to make the best possible decision for the future of St. Paul’s.

• The annual maintenance cost of the building is less than $4,000 annually; not a “a million dollars annual drain” as alleged. This amount does not include the costs of the recent capital project to stabilize the building.

• The five candidates of the Community Agreement Party are all of the opinion that given the magnitude of this matter, a resident referendum should take place once a financially feasible proposal has been determined with input from the residents.

• To be absolutely clear – NO decision has been made to construct anything at St. Paul’s for any amount of money – i.e., not $80 million, not $100 million as alleged by the opposition.

Cathedral Nursery School

• The BOT sought to address an improper and illegal use of the cottages that was only meant to be a “temporary” accommodation until the school found a more permanent location.

• The school administrators were advised multiple times over the many

years that they needed to find an alternative location.

• Recognizing the importance of the school to Village residents, the BOT approved several extensions and was willing to grant an additional extension to facilitate a smooth transition to another location

• Unfortunately, the administrators of the school were unable to find alternative location and the school was closed.

Jay Gallagher Lacrosse Tournament

• The Village cannot arbitrarily charge one organization a different rate for using Village fields without providing the same rate to other organizations.

• We believe that requested increase in rent for use of the fields by Village could have been passed along to the teams participating in the tournament by nominally raising the team entry fee, if the organizers wanted to maintain the same level of contributions to charities.

• As such, the BOT does not believe that this tournament ended solely because of the requested adjustment to the field rental.

Handicap parking

• Request was originally made by Mr. Kelly at a Village Traffic Commission meeting in April 2017.

• Board retained a well-recognized civil engineering firm to evaluate 7th Street parking and parking lots 7N and 7S as per the request received.

• As to the required number of handicap parking spots, the Village had more parking spots in those two lots than are actually required.

• The Traffic Commission initially wanted to add the three parking spaces on 7th Street as well but after consulting with an experienced senior executive from the civil engineering firm, he advised the Traffic Commission and the Village Board that “Based on the physical deficiencies along 7th Street, it would be our recommendation that no on street parking spaces should be provided for along 7th Street, since no portion of the surrounding areas comply with the accessibility guidelines”.

• Based on his view of the accessibility guidelines, the cost to comply would have cost potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• When Mr. Kelly appealed this decision and sued the Village, the BOT hired a new law firm that specializes in these types of matters to get a second opinion and additional guidance. This law firm had access and a relationship with the persons from the Federal Government who had actually written the PROWAG regulations.

• The Village’s new counsel, with these experts, were able to advise the Village that it could accomplish the goal of getting the three spaces on 7th street without incurring costly construction

work as originally envisioned.

• Once this information was presented to the BOT, it immediately agreed to implement the three spaces on 7th Street. We regret that we did not receive this advice initially and that there was the delay in getting to the final solution.

• Our Village has been very supportive of Mr. Kelly and his Mobility group. When they requested that we increase the number of parking spots at the pool we immediately did so. In addition, we added a new entrance for individuals with disabilities to enter the pool.

RFPs

• Personal service contracts are not required to have an RFP as the opposition candidates know and have stated in public. This is appropriate when the service is needed urgently, the amounts are immaterial or when a service requires a very specific skill.

• The vast majority of the Village’s contracts are subject to RFP or public bidding requirements– approximately 84% of personal service contracts were subject to an RFP in fiscal year 2020. The PKAD contract of $340,000 was not subject to an RFP given that the BOT concluded that PKAD had a specific skill set as it relates to its consideration of Village Fire Station No.2.

We hope above summary exposes the misinformation that has been communicated by the opposition over the past months and we thank you for taking the time to read this rather long list.

We recognize that there are certain residents supporting the opposition who

believe that their voices have not being heard. The BOT is committed to work with these residents and to address their specific concerns.

From now until election day, we plan to focus our discussions with the residents on the significant differences between the Community Agreement Party candidates and the opposition and our plans for the future of our Village. We believe our candidates bring an unmatched combination of:

• Trustee Experience – the Mayor and two trustees with 18 years collectively

• Fresh Perspectives - from two new trustees

• Independent-minded - accountable to each and every resident

• Financial Expertise

• Respect for the tradition of our Community Agreement and Property Owners’ Associations.

Be sure to vote for all five Community Agreement Party candidates (the undersigned plus Yvonne Varano and Rich Catalano) on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 in person at Village Hall or by Absentee Ballot.

Visit our website www.gardencitycap.org to learn more about the candidates and the upcoming election.

Sincerely, Community Agreement Candidates who currently serve on the Board of Trustees Bob Bolebruch, Candidate for Mayor Steve Makrinos, Candidate for Trustee from Western POA Mark Hyer, Candidate for Trustee from Eastern POA

to serve the East and the Village as a Nominating Committee volunteer. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing several candidates over the last three years, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished and the candidates we have nominated to these important Village roles.

The Nominating Committee operates under the EPOA Procedures for Nominations of Village and School District Officers. Each member of the committee takes seriously his or her duty to impartially consider all candidates and nominate the most qualified candidate for the role. The primary purpose of the Nominating Committee is to ensure that all candidates are interviewed in the same impartial way and given fair consideration.

This year, the committee was tasked with interviewing candidates for two open positions: East Village Trustee and East School Board Trustee. The committee advertised the openings in this newspaper, on the EPOA website and social media accounts, and by posting on several community pages on Facebook. Each member of the Nominating Committee was asked to prepare questions ahead of the scheduled interviews and maintain an open mind during the interview process. After thorough interviews and careful consideration, the thirteen committee members present for the interviews unanimously voted to re-elect Mark Hyer to a third term as Village Trustee. Nominating Committee procedures provide that anyone in the Village may challenge the committee’s nomination by petitioning the chair in writing and supplying the names and addresses of fifteen residents of the East who support the challenger’s candidacy. The Nominating Committee did not receive any such challenges to Mark Hyer’s nomination. Nor were there any challenges at the EPOA Resident Electors’ Meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, which was announced by mail ten days in advance to all resident electors of the East.

Mark’s experience and qualifications are unparalleled and make him the ideal candidate for Village Trustee. His twenty year career on the NYPD, which included managerial positions in law enforcement and administration, helped him develop relevant experience in union issues, personnel supervision, operations management, budgeting, purchasing, contract review, and construction. Since his retirement from the NYPD, he has sharpened these skills in the private sector, including eight years working as Director of the Security and Telecommunications Department at North Shore LIJ. He currently works as a security consultant, but acknowledges that being a Village Trustee is a second full-time volunteer job. As

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

current East Trustee, Mark serves on the Board of Police Commissioners and as Public Works Liaison. He sits on the Committee to Fill Vacancies on Boards and Commissions and has previously chaired the Traffic Commission and served on the Finance and Audit Committee. He is also a 17-year veteran of the Garden City Volunteer Fire Department, having achieved the ranks of lieutenant and captain. He demonstrates a thorough knowledge of Village operations and appreciates the weighty responsibilities of safeguarding taxpayer money, handling personnel and union matters, operating under Village policies and procedures, and acting as local legislator. Mark attends every EPOA meeting and provides clear, candid, and accurate information to residents about all village affairs. Mark is committed to working hard for all Garden City residents and is very responsive to resident concerns. I can personally attest to this. In 2018, when a friend and I began petitioning the Department of Parks and Recreation and Environmental Advisory Board to stop using pesticides on Village parks and playgrounds, Mark was supportive of our activism and eventual success. When that same friend and I began writing an environmentally-focused monthly column in this newspaper, Mark was responsive whenever I brought our concerns and suggestions to his attention. He and the rest of the BOT responded swiftly when they first became aware of the troubling levels of 1,4-dioxane in the Village water supply, and the BOT immediately shifted their focus from considering plans for St. Paul’s to remediating Village drinking water by installing EPA and DOH approved AOP treatment systems on all Village wells. Moreover, Mark is responsible for researching and recommending the new ambulance service that staffs a full time, 24/7 EMT and paramedic. Before the BOT adopted this more efficient service, Village medical calls were aided through Nassau County and required two Garden City police officers to drive and accompany the ambulance. Mark supports the current “Monster Pole” litigation, he supports a referendum vote on St. Paul’s, and he absolutely supports adherence to NYS Open Meetings laws. He deeply cares about the residents of Garden City and is committed to upholding the Community Agreement, which he describes as “the backbone of a great community like Garden City.”

In last week’s edition of this newspaper, I saw an ad for the opposing group, “For A Better Garden City.” The ad stated that the group is committed to working with the Property Owners Associations, but as chair of the Independent East Nominating Committee, I have my doubts about this claim. If these challengers were committed to working with the POAs,

why did they not participate in the nominating process conducted by each POA’s Independent Nominating Committee, which operate, as they have for over 100 years, to ensure impartial interviews and fair consideration of all candidates? The opposing group’s refusal to participate in a nomination process powered by resident volunteers like myself, who are genuinely committed to community service and finding the most qualified candidates to lead our beloved community, tacitly demonstrates their unwillingness to work with other Village volunteers. On March 16th, vote for the slate that will work for all village residents, not just those who agree with their special interests. Vote for proven leadership, experience, and dignity. Vote for Mark Hyer and The Community Agreement slate of nominees.

Colleen Ciullo

Go Fund St. Paul’s

To the Editor:

Having been a resident of Garden City for quite a number of years I have witnessed the Village’s management of the Saint Paul’s school and campus, a unique and historical asset of Garden City and in fact, the entire of Long Island.

Its history and its relationship to the settlement of Long Island goes well

be set up so as to allow the entire New York metro community, rather than simply Garden City residents the opportunity to contribute to the preservation of Saint Paul’s.

I’m fairly certain that there are many residents in New York and specifically Long Island that would love to be able to be a financial resource to the preservation of the historic Saint Paul’s school and campus.

Terence Tener

Shovel your walks!

To the Editor:

As a resident of Garden City there is no reason for people not to shovel their walkways and fire hydrants. You all need to be responsible. I am a 54 year old Nurse Practitioner that needs to walk my dog and get to work. Most of you don’t. Be respectful of those who have too. Shovel your walks!

Mary Pizzingrillo

Vaccine appointments

To the Editor:

This tip may help people trying to secure vaccine appointments at Walgreen’s. After registering, stay up until midnight when new appointments open for the following day or days. We were successful with this.

Jane Horn

Sign Up

beyond Garden City; it includes the entire New York and metropolitan area. While I could easily expand on that thought I’ll keep this letter brief.

Given the very likely interest in the preservation of Saint Paul’s by a community much larger than Garden City, I would like to put forth the idea to the town fathers that a “Go Fund Me” page

CPOA: Varano addresses complicated issues openly, with expertise

From page 25

Yvonne has also spent countless hours on the field coaching children. When the Centennials were looking for coaches, she stepped up as a head coach for intramural boys and girls soccer. While working full time in the City and raising her three children, she took the time to coach three different soccer teams. She was always fair and encouraging and in the younger grades, believed strongly in equal playing time. For several years she was a grade co-coordinator, running blind drafts to select teams. One of the biggest compliments

she was paid was by a parent who thanked her for making her daughter fall in love with soccer.

There are many more examples of the contributions Yvonne has made to the community...service on the Citizens Budget Review Committee (currently in her third year) and serving as a member of the St Joseph’s Parish Council, just to name two. Importantly, when you decide who to vote for...make sure you go with the candidate who has a proven record of service...Yvonne Varano. She will represent and listen to each and every citizen in Garden City.

Bringing fresh perspectives to Board, respecting Community Agreement

page 25

without pay. It takes a truly committed person. I think you will find that in both of us. We are both retired from our financial careers and are ready to buckle down and get working on day one to make a difference in our Village.

Yvonne has said “This is something I have been thinking about for a longtime. I put a tremendous amount of thought into the time commitment, the important decisions that would need to be made, and the positive impact I could have on the Village. I will give this new volunteer position the same dedication that I have given to all the other leadership positions I have held in the Village. People that have volunteered with me know that when I take on a task, I am in 110%. I will strive to listen to and represent all residents of the village and approach all decisions with the same meticulous research and analytical skills I have used throughout my career.” Yvonne has a long record of volunteering in the village having volunteer for the CPOA, the Garden City PTA, Centennials, GCAA, St. Joseph’s church and the Girl Scouts just to name a few. Her professional background is in finance having retired as a Managing Director from a major financial services firm.

Rich is a recently retired audit partner from a Big Four accounting firm and has extensive board experience both as a partner and by serving on three not-

for-profit boards. Rich has said “Like many residents we moved to Garden City because of its many unique qualities – it is a beautiful, safe community with a vibrant downtown, great schools and wonderful sports and recreational programs As a Trustee, I will work hard to preserve all that our Village has to offer. I will bring my knowledge of sound governance and finances to the board. My overall approach with regard to every decision that comes before the board will be to build consensus to arrive at the best possible decisions for the residents of our Village. There are currently no CPAs on the Board of Trustees nor are any of the other candidates a CPA. I believe that my accounting background will complement the backgrounds of the other Trustees and you have my commitment that I will be steward of every one of your tax dollars while also working to improve the quality of the services that the Village provides to its residents.”

Over the past eight years, 7 out of 8 positions on the Board of Trustees have been turned over to new individuals. We are not aware of any time in the history of the Village when five individuals with no trustee experience took complete control of our Board of Trustees.

We believe that we can bring fresh perspectives to the board as we work collaboratively with the other trustees who have the experience of overseeing the complex operations of our Village.

Familiar face joins Locust School as interim principal

The Garden City Public Schools has appointed James Curran as the interim principal of Locust School, effective as of Feb. 22. He will take on the responsibilities currently held by Dr. Jean Ricotta, who is leaving the district after 13 years to move out of state.

Since 2005, Mr. Curran, a Rockville Centre resident, has held numerous interim administrator roles in the district, including a six-week-long interim

principal position at Locust in 2013. He also served at the district’s middle and high school levels and has provided consultant services for curriculum and staff development. Earlier in his career, Mr. Curran was principal at North Shore Middle School for more than two decades, prior to which he served as director of occupational studies in the North Shore Schools. He has many years of experience as an elementary and high school teacher as well.

Mr. Curran has participated in many national educators’ conferences and is a member of the Association of Supervisors and Curriculum Development. Locally Mr. Curran was actively involved in the Nassau County Middle Level Principals Association serving as president for three years. He holds a Master of Arts Degree from Hofstra University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John’s University and a Professional Diploma from Queens College.

“I am pleased to announce that Mr. Curran will be returning to Locust,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kusum Sinha said. “He has come through for our district many times before and is already familiar with our programs and procedures. We are thankful to have him on our team and I am certain he will help us carry out a smooth transition.”

From

James Curran

Photo courtesy of Garden City Public Schools

Stratford highlights Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words

Stratford School paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in special ways before and after his Jan. 18 day of remembrance. All students and staff members participated in numerous activities that brought awareness of Dr. King’s impact and messages.

On Jan. 15, all classes tuned in for a virtual schoolwide read aloud of “ Martin’s Big Words ” by Doreen Rappaport, presented by Principal Eileen Vota. Students then contributed to a schoolwide collaborative art project coordinated by art teacher Ashley Howard. They each designed a unique hand to be placed onto a large outline of a heart and dove in the hallways of Stratford. Students traced and colored their hands and chose an inspiring word that was related to the story. Each hand represents the individual student, but when put together, shows school unity.

On Jan. 21 and 22, each grade had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Rappaport directly via PTAsponsored virtual sessions. The author discussed the process of writing, and specifically, the research she did for “ Martin’s Big Words. ” She visited a museum where she read Dr. King’s speeches, letters, interviews, biographies and autobi -

ography, taking notes on what he said. She discussed the book’s pages, which feature two components: her own words as well as quotes from Dr. King. She also explained how she developed the book’s title based on a quote from Dr. King and shared the picture collages by illustrator Bryan Collier.

Another book written by Ms. Rappaport features Wilma Mankiller, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and is illustrated by Linda Kukuk. The quest for background information was an adventure that included a trip to Oklahoma, where the author met with Ms. Mankiller’s husband. She currently has books about other influential individuals in the works as well.

Ms. Rappaport shared her experiences as a writer and the steps involved in publishing a book. She noted that she usually prepares between four and six drafts and emphasized that a book has a theme from which writers must decide what to include. She also stressed the importance of accepting critiques from editors. Students had opportunities to ask questions via the chat feature, as they have been exploring the world of writing themselves and continue to build upon their skills.

Photos courtesy of Garden City Public Schools

Students shared their own words inspired by Dr. King. Paper handprints were combined to form murals that demonstrated school unity.

Students tuned in for virtual visits with author Doreen Rappaport on Jan. 21 and 22.

Stratford students enjoyed a virtual read aloud of Doreen Rappaport’s “Martin’s Big Words.”

It’s What’s Happening for Young Adults at the Library

Message Cards for Patrons

When you check out a book at the Garden City Public Library over the next few weeks, you might get a surprise message card created by one of our teen volunteers! Message cards have been placed like bookmarks in books throughout the Children’s, Young Adult, and Adult Departments to send positive messages and brighten the day of patrons who check them out. This community service program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library. Thanks to the tween and teen volunteers who helped make message cards for the program and to the Friends of the Garden City Public Library who funded the program. Make sure to stop by the Library and check out a book to see if you get a message card from one of our teen volunteers!

Teen Mystery Book Display

For the Winter-Spring 2021, take a "Mystery" book wrapped and decorated by our Teen Volunteers! Tweens and teens are encouraged to take home one of our wrapped “mystery” books that are on display for a surprise read. Will your "mystery" book be a total dud or will it become your new favorite book? The only way to find out is to take a chance and take one of our “Mystery” books home! Books are free for patrons to take home. Patrons can take home more than one wrapped "Mystery" books. Books can be any genre, target reading ages 12–18, and were published within the last two years. The display and books will be available as books last. Books have been wrapped and decorated by teen volunteers in Grades 6–12 and were donated by Young Adult Librarian Laura Giunta. Thanks to the tween and teen volunteers who helped make our display possible.  Make sure to stop by the Tweens and Teens Room to take home one of our mystery books!

Teen Ornament Tree Display

Stop by the Tweens and Teens Room to see our Teen Ornament Tree! Each month, the tree will be decorated with new ornaments, created by our teen volunteers! The theme for February is hearts, and each volunteer decorated three wooden heart ornaments using acrylic markers for the tree. This community service program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library. Thanks to the tween and teen volunteers who helped make our tree display possible and to the Friends of the Garden City Public Library who funded the program. Make sure to stop by the Tweens and Teens Room to see the decorated heart ornaments and stop by next month to see what new ornaments are on the tree!

Tree Ornaments for Community Service

Earn community service by paint-

ing ornaments for the Garden City Public Library’s Tweens and Teens Department’s Tree Ornament! Each volunteer will receive 3 ornaments and a set of paint pens to decorate their ornaments at home. Paint pens must be returned to the library. These ornaments will be used to decorate our new ornament tree each month!

To participate, please register online via Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl. org) at 10 a.m. on the following dates:

• Shamrock Ornaments: Register 2/23. Ornaments must be submitted by 3/4

• Egg Ornaments Register 3/23. Ornaments must be submitted by 4/1

Registrants will be asked to pick up their ornaments at the library in order to participate in this community service program. Volunteers must return 3 decorated ornaments and their set of paint pens in order to receive community service. Volunteers will receive 2 hours for every 3 ornaments they submit, at the discretion of the Tweens and Teens Department. This program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library.

Teen Advisory Board Meeting

The next meeting of the Teen Advisory Board is Tuesday, March 9, 5 p.m.–5:40 p.m. The meeting is for Tweens and Teens in Grades 6–12. We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. Please register via Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl. org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration begins on Tuesday, March at 10 a.m. Registration ends two hours before the start of the program. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom one hour before the start of the program.

If you are interested in helping to come up with some virtual programming ideas or social media outreach ideas for tweens and teens in Grades 6–12, consider joining the Teen Advisory Board Online applications are available at https://www.gardencitypl. org/teen-advisory-board-application/  Applicants should be in Grades 6–12.

Teen “Nailed It!”

Dessert Decorating Challenge

Join us for a virtual meet-up, Teen “Nailed It” Dessert Decorating Challenge on Thursday, March 11, 5 p.m.–5:40 p.m. Try to decorate four cupcakes or four cookies based on a surprise challenge before time runs out! Registrants will be asked to have four plain cupcakes or four plain cookies prepared before the start of the program and also have decoration supplies available, such as frosting, icing, food dye, sprinkles, fondant, and candy. Registrants will be given the theme for the challenge at the start of the program and will then have 20 minutes to decorate their cupcakes or cookies based on the challenge. This program is for

tweens and teens in Grades 6-12 only.

We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. Please register via Eventkeeper (www. gardencitypl.org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration begins on Tuesday, March 2 at 10AM. Registration ends two hours before the start of the program. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom one hour before the start of the program.

Teen Crafternoon: DIY Masks on Zoom

Join us for a virtual meet-up, Teen Crafternoon: DIY Masks on Tuesday, March 16, 5:00 p.m.–5:40 p.m. Registrants will be asked to pick up their craft kit in advance in order to participate in this virtual craft program. Please note that an iron or dryer must be used to set color after coloring the mask. This program is for tweens and teens in Grades 6–12 only.

We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. Please register via Eventkeeper (www. gardencitypl.org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration begins on Tuesday, March 9 at 10:00 a.m. Registration ends two hours before the start of the program. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom one hour before the start of the program. This program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library.

Tweens and Teens Dungeons and Dragons

Join us for a virtual meet-up, Tweens and Teens Dungeons and Dragons on Thursday, March 18, 4:30 p.m.–6 p.m. Learn how to play the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons by participating in one of our monthly Dungeons and Dragons Meetup! Beginners are welcome! Each meet-up will feature a new self-contained, one-shot adventure and players will be assigned premade characters to play as.

We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. For more information about Zoom, visit their website at zoom.us. Mobile users should download the Zoom app onto their device before the start of the meeting. Please register via Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl.org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration begins on Tuesday, March 9 at 10 a.m. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom one hour before the start of the program.

Teen Games: Among Us on Zoom

Join us for a virtual meet-up, Teen Games: Among Us on Tuesday, February 23 at 4:30 p.m.–5:10 p.m. and 5:20 p.m.–6 p.m. Grab some snacks and join us as we play the popular game Among Us! Registrants will need the Among Us game downloaded on either

their PC/laptop or mobile device in order to play. Patrons can sign up for only one of the two 40-minute sessions. This program is for tweens and teens in Grades 6–12 only.

We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. Please register via Eventkeeper  (www. gardencitypl.org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration begins on Tuesday, February 16 at 10 a.m. Registration ends two hours before the start of the program. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom one hour before the start of the program.

Tween Watercolor Craft on Zoom

Join us for a virtual meet-up, Tween Watercolor Craft on Thursday, February 25, 5:00 p.m.–5:40 p.m. Join us on Zoom as we paint with watercolors on canvas! Registrants will be asked to pick up their craft kit in advance in order to participate in this virtual craft program. This program is for tweens in Grades 4–7 only and is a joint program with the Children’s and Young Adult Departments.

We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing for this virtual program. Please register via Eventkeeper (www. gardencitypl.org) to participate in this virtual program. Registration began on Tuesday, February 16 at 10 a.m. Registration ends two hours before the start of the program. Registrants will receive an email with the login information to Zoom 1 hour before the start of the program. This program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library.

Message Cards for Community Service

Earn community service by creating positive messages for Garden City Public Library patrons! Each volunteer will receive 10 message cards to color, decorate, and write positive or library/ book themed messages. These message cards will be placed in books throughout the library in order to brighten the day of the patrons who check them out. Messages will be placed in books in all three departments, including Children’s, Tweens and Teens, and Adult Reference.

To participate, please register online via Eventkeeper (www. gardencitypl.org). Registration began Tuesday, February 2 at 10 a.m., and is ongoing until April 2 and more slots will be added as message cards become available, so check Eventkeeper regularly. Volunteers can sign-up for one slot at a time and can only sign up for an additional slot after submitting their message cards.

Registrants will be asked to pick up their message cards at the library in order to participate in this community service program. Volunteers must return 10 completed message cards in order to receive community service.

It’s What’s Happening for Young Adults at the Library

Volunteers will receive 2 hours for every 10 message cards they submit, at the discretion of the Tweens and Teens Department. This program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library.

Mystery Books for Community Service

Earn community service by wrapping and decorating books for the Garden City Public Library’s Tweens and Teens Department’s Mystery Book Display! Each volunteer will receive a bag of 5 books to wrap at home; the paper used to wrap the books should then be decorated by drawing, coloring, and writing positive or library/ book themed messages. Volunteers must provide their own wrapping supplies. Volunteers should not use regular wrapping paper unless they are able to still draw, write, or color somewhere on the paper they are using to wrap. These books will then be used as part of our Tweens and Teens Mystery Book Display, in which tweens and teens can take a mystery book home with them – to keep as a gift!   To participate, please register online via Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl.org). Registration began Tuesday, January 26. Registration is ongoing until March 26 and more slots will be added as books become available, so check Eventkeeper regularly. Volunteers can sign-up for one slot at a time and can only sign up for an additional slot after submitting their books. Registrants will be asked to pick up their bag of books at the library in order to participate in this community service program. Volunteers must return 5 decorated and wrapped books in order to receive community service. Volunteers will receive 2 hours for every 5 wrapped and decorated books they submit, at the discretion of the Tweens and Teens Department.

Attend a Program in February and March for Community Service

Earn community service by participating in a Garden City Public

Library Tweens and Teens program in February and March! In order to receive community service, volunteers must participate in the program and then fill out a survey reviewing the program. Each volunteer will receive 1 hour of community service for every completed survey they submit, at the discretion of the Tweens and Teens Department. Surveys will be emailed to program registrants only after the program is completed and they have attended the program. To participate, volunteers must register online via Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl.org) for each program they wish to attend separately.

Social Media Challenges for February

For the month of February, participate in our social media challenges to earn community service credit! February’s challenges are as follows:

• Art: Create a piece of artwork that incorporates a heart or hearts in some way

• Writing: Write a poem, story, or essay about love, whether it be about romance, friendship, family, or any other type of love you can think of

• Food: Make a Valentine’s Day treat

• Question of the Month: What fandom do you love the most and why?

• Reading: Read a book by a black author for Black History Month

If you participate in the challenges, earn community service credit by submitting so we can share it on our Facebook and Instagram pages!

Submit for the Art, Writing, Food, and Question of the Month Challenges here: https://www.gardencitypl.org/ social-media-submission/ .

Submit a 300 word book review for what you read for the Reading Challenge here:  https://www.gardencitypl.org/submit-a-teen-review/

Grab and Go Bags

Stop by Garden City Public Library and grab one of our craft kits or prizes during the month of February! The Tweens and Teens Department is part-

nering with the Children’s Department to provide fun Grab and Go bags with extra crafts and prizes from previous programs for patrons to take home. Bags are on a first come, first serve basis and are available from February 1 to February 28 while supplies last. Patrons should only touch what they plan to take. Only one bag per patron per visit. This program has been funded by the Friends of the Garden City Public Library.

Volunteer Teen Reviewers Needed

Would you like to be a reviewer for the Library? Need community service hours? Then become a Volunteer Teen Reviewer. This program is for tweens and teens in Grades 6–12. The Library is looking for teen reviewers to review books and media in the YA collection as well as digital content, such as ebooks and audiobooks, available on Nassau Digital Doorway. There might be a book you've already read in our physical or digital collection that you can write a review on!

• Browse the physical collection here: http://encore.alisweb.org/

• Browse the digital collection here: https://nassau.overdrive.com

• Submit a review here: https:// www.gardencitypl.org/submit-a-teenreview/

Reviews will be used to update the Tweens and Teens Library Review Page (https://www.gardencitypl.org/ category/teen-reviews/) as well as update our social media pages. Reviews are subject to approval by the Young Adult Librarian. Please make sure to follow the guidelines for reviews in order for the review to count toward community service.

Teen-Created Social Media Content

Earn community service by submitting a photo, video, or other content for us to add to the Library's Tweens and Teens Facebook and Instagram pages! Ideas for submissions include book reviews, artwork, poetry, short stories, personal essays, photos of food you’ve cooked or baked, or any

other creative idea you have for content. Not all submissions will be used on our social media and submissions including photos of people are not allowed. Submit social media content here https://www.gardencitypl.org/ social-media-submission/ .

Follow Tweens and Teens on Facebook and Instagram

Follow Garden City Library’s Tweens and Teens on Facebook and Instagram! The Young Adult Department has been using both social media platforms as a tool to post updates, announcements, digital resources, ebook recommendations, and more during this time of social distancing.

Here are the Facebook and Instagram pages for the Garden City Public Library Tweens and Teens Department:

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/ GCPLTweensTeens

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/ GCPLTweensTeens

If you're interested in participating and want to learn when new virtual events will be happening for tweens and teens (Grades 6–12), or if you have any questions, email Young Adult Librarian Laura Giunta at https://www.gardencitypl.org/young-adult-department/ contact-the-young-adult-tweens-teensdepartment/ .

Teen Advisory Board Applications Now Available Online

If you are interested in helping to come up with some programming ideas or social media outreach ideas for tweens and teens in Grades 6–12, consider joining the Teen Advisory Board Online applications are available at https://www.gardencitypl. org/teen-advisory-board-application/  Applicants should be in Grades 6–12. Email Young Adult Librarian Laura Giunta at https://www.gardencitypl. org/young-adult-department/contactthe-young-adult-tweens-teens-department/   if you have any questions.

Do you own a local business?

The Garden City News, Bethpage Newsgram, Mid-Island Times, Jericho-Syosset News Journal & The Syosset Advance! Along with Blank Slate Media Papers: Port Washington Times, Manhasset Times, Roslyn Times, Great Neck Times, New Hyde Park Herald Courier & The Williston Times!

News From the Children’s Room

February is Library Lover’s Month!

Going to the Library has always been a fun event. What’s better than going into the building and losing yourself in an entire room of books - can’t you just imagine what fantasies you can fulfill?  So much to explore!   Should we go to space today? Solve a mystery? Laugh out loud?  Read some historical fiction? Read a magazine? The library is an adventure, and I for one, Love the Library!   So, if you are looking for a warm and friendly place to “come in from the cold” why not show your appreciation for National Library Lover’s Month, and visit the Garden City Public Library or check out a library book online?

February is Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their role in U.S. history.   Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”    Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. The Children’s room has many books and biographies honoring African Americans and the history of their struggles.   Some of those books include:     “Dream March: Martin Luther King, Jr. & The March on Washington” by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson,  “Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History” by Vashti Harrison, “28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed The World” by Charles R. Smith Jr., “Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier” by Bo Smolka,  “Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad” by Louise Chipley Slavicek, “A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story” by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, “Rosa Parks and The Civil Rights Movement” by Terri DeGezell, and “The Tuskegee Airmen” by John M. Shea.  Read all about these celebrated leaders of Black History. https://www.history.com/topics/ black-history/black-history-month

Early Winter Programs & Events in the Children’s Department

We have been planning for Winter/ Spring programs which include: February 1, 2021 - March 1, 2021     (Pre-recorded video)  10:00 a.m.–10:40 a.m. PREMIERE OF A TIME FOR KIDS WITH A VALENTINE’S CRAFT. Registration on Eventkeeper at www.gardencitypl.org is required to get a craft, and began  January 19 at 10 a.m.  All crafts must be picked up in advance

of the program beginning January 19.

The craft will be led by Miss Karen in a pre-recorded video.  A separate registration is required for each child.   Only those children registered will get a craft.  In addition, the taped program will be available for multiple viewings until March 1, 2021 with no registration necessary.

February 3, 2021–March 2, 2021

(Pre-recorded video) 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.

FAMILY ZUMBA

This fun family program will get you up and moving. It is for children, tween, teens and their families. Join Liana from LI Fit Moms for Zumba. This pre-taped program will be held via Zoom. It will be available for multiple viewings for one month after the premiere date. No registration required.

February 23, 2021

As long as supplies last BAGGED MYSTERY PRIZES!

The children’s room has a selection of Mystery Prizes that they have bagged to grab and go!  This is located in the children’s room outside of the Librarian’s office.   Please feel free to come in and take one to go!  This program is for children in preschool and  Grades K–5.  Remember, “no peeking” - you get what you get.  One per person, per day.  Supplies are limited

March 24, 2021, 4:00–4:45 PM MAKE A SPRING CRAFT WITH MISS BARBARA & MISS DONNA

This program is for Children in Grades K–5  Registration is required on Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl. org) beginning March 9 at 10 a.m. with a separate registration for each child.  The program will be held outdoors on Library grounds.  Crafts will be distributed prior to the start of the program.  Rain date is March 25.  Each participant should bring a mat or towel to sit on.

March 31, 2021, 10:30–11:15 a.m.

COLOR YOUR OWN SPRING-THEMED BAG WITH MISS BARBARA & MISS DONNA

This program is for pre-school children (ages 2–5 not yet in kindergarten).  Registration is required on Eventkeeper (www.gardencitypl.org)  beginning March 16 at 10 a.m. with a separate registration for each child.

The program will be held outdoors on Library Grounds.   Bag & Crayons will be distributed prior to the start of the program.  Rain date is April 1 at 10:30–11:15 a.m.  Each participant should bring a mat or towel to sit on.

The

Kordes K

orner

John Ellis Kordes

PhotograPhy history

The above photograph was taken in September 1938 during the “Great New England Hurricane.” They didn’t start giving these storms names until the 1950s. They called it that because of the path the storm took staying over the water as it headed north paralleling the coast with the eye passing over eastern Long Island and then racing through Rhode Island and New England. In an age before satellites and radar, it caught everyone off guard. It was devastating. Eastern Long Island in particular was hard hit as places like West Hampton were almost wiped away. It forever changed the shoreline in those areas. Hundreds of people died and there was massive property damage all over New England. I’m not sure exactly where the above photo was taken but the road is quite wide and I’m sure this scene was repeated all over Long Island. Mother Nature, every once in a while, can really hit us hard. She always has and always will!

February 19, 2021

Discovering Death Valley’s Treasures

BY KAREN RUBIN, LAINI MIRANDA, DAVE E. LEIBERMAN & ERIC LEIBERMAN

TRAVEL FEATURES SYNDICATE GOINGPLACESFARANDNEAR.COM

In the quest, so very popular in these days of coronavirus, of finding open spaces to become renewed, revitalized, revel in nature and contemplate one’s place in the universe, there is no better place than Death Valley National Park, spanning California and Nevada.

Our four-day trip to Death Valley has an overlay of planning that goes beyond planning for hiking in a vast desert: the coronavirus pandemic. It impacts our route, where we stay (an Air BnB at the outskirts and the Ranch at Death Valley in the park, having double-checked their COVID19 protocols), how we organize food and water to take with us (and ice chest) to cut down on the need to eat out.

And our itinerary is designed to pack as much as possible from such an expansive landscape into such a limited time.

With an eight-hour drive ahead of us, we calculate when to depart in order to get to Death Valley in time to begin our exploration. With meticulous planning and organization that the Army would be proud of, we pull away from Sonoma at 5:39 am, taking an interior route, east toward Tahoe, then south, passing the eastern side of Yosemite National Park.

The fall scenery all along the way is breathtaking, going from wilderness, through these little Western towns and ranches.

We pass the ski resorts at Lake Tahoe, where the road takes us up

As dramatic and stunning as the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are, they are even more fun to play on © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

to an altitude of 8,000 ft. and temperatures as low as 19 degrees, and by the end of the day, down to 275 feet below sea level at Death Valley. As we drive out of Tahoe, we watch the thermometer ticking up a degree every mile, until reaching the 80s. Actually, the weather is quite cool and comfortable for Death Valley, which is the hottest place on the planet, with ungodly temperatures that reached 130 degrees this summer, but can also get frigid in winter. Our visit, in October, is actually a terrific time.

Laini plots our route so we would stop at Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Preserve, in Lee Vining, California, where we have a picnic lunch. The first sight of Mono Lake from the highway above is astonish-

ing: a stunning, ethereal scene with its brilliant aquamarine color and striking tufa formations.

California created the reserve to protect these spectacular “tufa towers,” calcium-carbonate (limestone) spires and knobs formed by the chemical interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Covering 65 square miles, Mono Lake is ancient - over 1 million years old and one of the oldest lakes in North America. “The extremely high salinity and alkalinity of Mono Lake has created a rare ecosystem, supporting a complex food chain of green algae, brine shrimp and alkali flies, and more than 80 species – one to two million - migratory birds.” (www.parks.ca.gov) (Highway 395, 13 miles east of

GOING PLACES NEAR AND FAR

Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California, 760647-6331, www.parks.ca.gov ; also www.monolake.org).

We stop off at Carroll’s Market (probably the last one we will see), which actually gets high ratings on Yelp, to buy a dozen gallon jugs of water.

After a long flat stretch with mountains in the distance, we drive the winding mountain road (make sure you have a full tank of gas), entering the park at Panamint Springs. We stop at the Father Crowley Vista Point for the view over Rainbow Canyon, a colorfully striped canyon created by ancient volcanic activity. Nicknamed “Star Wars Canyon”, it’s where the military practices Star-Wars type of flying. The wind today is so intense, it practically throws us over.

(Nearby is Darwin Falls, a seeming oxymoron in this desert place, quickly turning from a gravel canyon to a lush oasis of cottonwoods and willows, creek crossings, and finally 20-foot waterfalls, a twomile roundtrip hike, which we have marked down for a return visit.)

We stop at the historic Stovepipe Wells Village – like something out of a Western movie – that links back to the very beginning of tourism in Death Valley. In fact, long after mining gold, borax and talc had collapsed, tourism has been the enduring enterprise in Death Valley.

Herman William “Bob” Eichbaum effectively invented Death Valley’s tourism industry here, believing its “beauty, mystery and history” would

Continued on next page

Discovering Death Valley’s Treasures

Continued from previous page

attract tourists. In 1925, Eichbaum built a 38-mile toll road over Towne Pass and 20 tent-style bungalows, a restaurant, general store and filling station. He opened the Stovepipe Wells Hotel in 1926. Just a few months later, the luxurious Furnace Creek Inn was opened by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, setting off an intense rivalry. Most enthralling is that both places are still around and give you this sensation of stepping back in time. (Open yearround, deathvalleyhotels.com, 760-7867090).

It’s only a short drive from the village to reach Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, a little after 4 pm, giving us at least one hour before sunset. We have just enough time to play on the dunes and watch the colors (and temperature) change with the setting sun. People bring cardboard sleds, using the sand like snow.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes is an extraordinary setting: sprawling over 14 square miles, ringed with mountain

peaks, the contrast of colors, shapes, contours is just stunning.

In late afternoon, the sand is cool enough to take off shoes and feel remarkably soft granular sand on toes. We climb the dunes –as much as 150 feet high- wowed in the colors of the golden hour as the sun descends. All the pure joy you had playing in a sand box when you were four comes bursting through.

The best time to visit is the early morning or late afternoon; on a dawn hike, the notes say, you might see tracks of nocturnal animals and if you hike at night in the warm months, they warn, be alert for sidewinder rattlesnakes (I’m still thinking about the tracks of nocturnal animals).

We drive on, reveling in the scenes of the road disappearing into the far distance, headed to our Air BnB, with the intriguing name, Designed to Death, in the small town of Beatty, about 20 miles outside the park’s eastern border (Las Vegas would be about 1 ½ hours beyond). Though the name evokes Agatha Christie, it is breathtakingly beautiful, cozy luxury with a bit of a

Western vibe– easily explained because the hosts are interior designers and the house is a showplace for their talent.

We are here for too short a time to fully enjoy all the 1,200 sq.ft. three-bedroom, two-bath vacation home affords. We thoroughly enjoy the large open kitchen (we’ve brought all the fixings for dinner and breakfast), dining room, living room, that opens onto a 900 sq. ft. deck with hot tub.

Rhyolite Ghost Town

The next morning, we pack up quickly and head out early morning with a plan to stop off on our way into Death Valley to visit an actual ghost town, Rhyolite.

It is so fascinating to try to piece together what this town might have been like and to realize how big it was – most surprising, really (especially when you see the context) is what’s left of a hotel and casino. A casino! “100 years ago, Rhyolite was the largest city in southern Nevada with more than 10,000 residents. Yet after only a decade, the town became a ghostly remnant of

A GREENER VIEW

BY JEFF RUGG

During the past year, we were often told to listen to or follow the science. Well, I am happy to report that there is more and more scientific evidence to support the idea that everyone would be better off watching birds. You can watch them at a feeder while you are sitting on the couch, or you can go to a park to see them.

Studies from England, Los Angeles and Spain indicate that the closer you live to a park and the more contact you have with nature, the better your mood, psychological well-being, mental health and cognitive functioning scores will be. In short, watching birds is good for you,

and you don’t even need a note from the doctor to do it. For those interested in the mental health aspects of birding, the book “Bird Therapy” by Joe Harkness will be helpful.

Because so many people stayed home this last year with nothing to do, many people started bird-watching. The sale of bird seed, feeders, houses and birdbaths helped bird-supply stores stay afloat. You can continue watching birds in the comfort of your home, but if you want to go to a park, bird-watching is easy to do while social distancing. In fact, being slightly farther apart helps people to talk less, which allows you to hear more birds. On the other hand, birding alone can be wonderful.

February is National Bird-Feeding Month, as noted by the National Bird-Feeding Society. If you want to feed birds, use one of the most preferred seeds: black-oil sunflower, sunflower chips, nyjer and white proso millet. Small finches, such as goldfinches and pine siskins, prefer sunflower chips and nyjer (also called thistle, even though it is not a thistle). Larger finches such as house finches, purple finches and cardinals prefer black-oil sunflower seed. White proso millet is preferred by ground-feeding birds such as doves, juncos and sparrows. Chickadee and nuthatch species that grab a seed from a bird feeder and fly away to eat it elsewhere prefer sunflower seeds. There are seeds that are unattractive

itself” – a classic boom and bust story, with all sorts of lessons about the transitory nature of success in the span of history. It is tremendously exciting to wander about these ruins, so dramatically set.

It is one of several ghost towns that are scattered through Death Valley, “the silent ruins of broken dreams.”

Next: Hitting the Highlights of Death Valley National Park

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to birds. Red milo is a seed few birds will eat, unless all the other seeds are gone. Seed blends with large amounts of red milo will get knocked out of the feeder as the birds search for the seeds they prefer, making a mess and creating a weed problem.

Not only does science say you should watch birds, but you can also help scientists help the birds you are watching. Scientists can’t be everywhere, so you can be a scientist.

The Great Backyard Bird Count that the Cornel Lab of Ornithology operates took place Feb. 12-15, and you could do it from the comfort of your living room if you wanted to. It is an annual fourday period when bird-watchers create a snapshot of where birds are across the continent. Anyone can be a bird-watcher for those four days. A “backyard” can be anywhere you happen to be -- a schoolyard, a local park, the balcony of a high-rise apartment or a wildlife refuge.

The highest number of each species seen on any of the days could be recorded online at https://www.birdcount. org. While you are there, check out the photo contest page to see some great photos.

By comparing the results from year to year, we all can learn migration patterns of birds and see long-term population trends and the year-to-year changes.

The Great Backyard Bird Count website can help you prepare for a trip

to the backyard or wherever you choose to watch birds. The site is full of tips of all kinds, including information on bird identification apps for your phone.

The results of each Great Backyard Bird Count survey are displayed on a variety of maps. You can easily see the distribution pattern of any bird species. You can also see the same map change over time as the bird’s mapped distribution changes over the years. You can compare your sightings with everyone else’s in your state.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@ greenerview.com.

COPYRIGHT 2021 JEFF RUGG DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE

BY CLAIRE LYNCH

Last summer my friend, Sharon, and I decided to take an art class just for the fun of it and to expand our horizons. The pandemic was ongoing so the class was virtual. Sharon and I met in her garage where on a long table we placed our tabletop easels, our canvasses, paints, brushes and cleaning materials. I had brought along my laptop and Sharon got hers from her living room. At eight feet apart we were socially distant so we turned on our laptops and connected to the art class.

Within the first few minutes I liked the art teacher because not only was she knowledgeable but she had a good way of explaining things. Our instructor told us about some famous artists - Picasso, Van Gogh, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Monet and more. I like all of their works but some of them are so intricate that I knew grasping their techniques would be way beyond me. I understood the concept of “less is more” but these accomplished artists seemed so complicated, so complex.

Monet and Picasso are two personal favorites and then she mentioned the American painter Augustus Dunbier. I hadn’t heard of him before. It turns out that Dunbier was born on a farm in Polk County, Nebraska, during the famous blizzard of 1888. Augustus Dunbier became Nebraska’s most prominent and widely traveled artist in the early to mid-20th century. He studied in Europe, returned to the U.S., to Omaha, and summered each year in Flagstaff, Az.

Working until the year before his death at age 89, Dunbier did oil paintings of landscapes, still lifes and portraits in a style that’s been described as Impressionism. Looking at a still life of a vase Dunbier had painted I wondered and marveled at the talent he had. “Still Life with Blue Vase” is the one my art teacher showed us that day and is one of his famous paintings. It strikes me as simple but elegant.

Dunbier also gave private paint-

ing lessons in Omaha and our teacher told us something Dunbier had told numerous students of his - to “not paint what you see.” As one of his long-time students, Jane Scott, wrote about his field trip teaching methods: “When we arrived at the landscape spot that we had chosen, we would each set up, and Gus would stop at each easel to see that everyone got started right.

“I still remember many of the comments Gus would make as we painted. ‘You want to paint the mood of the day,’ Gus would say. ‘Painting is like music, you need to orchestrate it. If it’s a rainy day, paint the silvery effect of the day. If it’s a sunny day, paint the warm effect of the light. Don’t paint what you see … It’s a matter of attitude, you manipulate the colors in order to create the mood.’” (Augustus Dunbier, Exhibition Catalog, Museum of Nebraska Art, April-June, 1994).

The suggestions that Dunbier gave Jane Scott and other students were inspiring. His words sounded simple but adding the special effects was hard. I tried to absorb some of the techniques Dunbier had used that our teacher was describing but of course doing that virtually was a real challenge. So I decided that another day, after our class was over and our paintbrushes had been put away, I would look up more about the various paintings by Augustus Dunbier.

He died on September 11, 1977, in Omaha. Many of his paintings are still exhibited and displayed in museums all over. Dunbier, who is of German descent, impressed me because his works of art looked simple at first but when I looked further, the colors were vivid, the shading was just right and the lighting was so effective.

Augustus Dunbier’s daughter-inlaw, Lonnie Pierson Dunbier, and artist Marcia Kmack published a book in 2000 titled “Augustus W. Dunbier: Paint for the Love of Color.” Lonnie Pierson Dunbier and Marcia Kmack say that between abstract expressionism and the modernist movements, Dunbier fell

somewhere in between.

By the end of Dunbier’s career the majority of his landscapes, which added up to be over 1,000, were painted in Nebraska, where he celebrated his love of the hills and trees, lakes and rivers, farm scenes and cityscapes. His paintings of winter on the prairies in Nebraska were especially popular with people. He called it the “Great Out-ofDoors,” which was probably, according to his son, Roger, his father’s “favorite four-word combination.”

Dunbier’s love of Nebraska didn’t distract him from visiting places all over North America and going back to them again and again. He painted the mountains of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. He admired and painted the coasts and harbors of Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon and California. Also the deserts of New Mexico, Mexico and Arizona. From 1956 to 1970 Dunbier spent all except two winters painting landscapes in and around Tucson and Phoenix.

Sharon and I started painting and we had some laughs as we went along since we both felt out of practice. I’d looked forward to taking the virtual art class because drawing and painting

aren’t my strong suits. After the class was over we took our time putting our things away and talked about what we got and what we found confusing. It was good to compare notes. Sharon is a much better artist than I am but still, learning something new was fun.

In the next few days and weeks I kept thinking about Augustus Dunbier and how talented he was as an artist. I like his tip about not painting what you see in front of you. It encouraged me to look beyond what I was seeing whenever I was sketching, drawing or painting with watercolors or oil paints.

Sharon wasn’t bad as a painter but my painting, a still life of a bowl of fruit, wouldn’t end up in any museum, that’s for sure. We did hang them up in her garage - for posterity’s sake.

Seniors Obsess Over ‘Maximizing’ Their Social Security

BY TOM MARGENAU

“I want to make sure we maximize our Social Security payments.”

“I am very concerned that we will make a wrong decision and leave Social Security money on the table.”

“My wife and I both took our benefits at 62. We are now in our 70s. Everyone I talk to says we made a huge mistake by starting our benefits early. I am so worried that we did something stupid.”

“I see programs on late-night TV that say there are hidden secrets to getting the most out of our Social Security checks. What are they?”

“I planned to take my benefits at my full retirement age. But my financial planner says that would be a huge mistake. He wants me to wait until age 70 to start my benefits. Now I am so conflicted!”

These are little snippets from just five of the dozens of emails I get every week, sometimes every day, from senior citizens who are worried sick that they are losing out on Social Security benefits or making decisions that result in dramatically reduced monthly checks from the government. And in almost all the cases I encounter, their worries are unfounded.

So, where did this national obsession with “maximizing” one’s Social Security payout come from? I have some ideas I will share in a minute. But first, a little bit of history.

I started working for the Social Security Administration in 1973. And my mentor was a guy who was with the agency almost from its inception in 1935. He retired in about 1980, and I retired in 2005. And in all those years, neither one of us ever met a Social Security recipient or a potential beneficiary who worried one little whit about getting the most out of his or her monthly benefits. “Maximizing” one’s Social Security was just not part of the lexicon. The majority of seniors signed up for their retirement benefits at 62. Some waited until 65 (the full retirement age for the first six decades of Social Security’s existence). A few people, and I mean a VERY FEW, waited until age 70 to start their benefits. So, what happened? Why do today’s senior citizens lose sleep over an issue that didn’t seem to bother their parents and grandparents? I can think of a couple reasons.

First of all, in the late 1990s, some unintended loopholes grew out of a new law that allowed senior citizens over age 66 to work without any reduction in their benefits. Those loopholes became known as “file and suspend” and “file and restrict.” They have been discussed ad infinitum in this column and will not be explained here again, other than to say that, in a nutshell, they allowed retirees to collect dependent spousal benefits on a husband’s or wife’s Social Security record while delaying their own benefits until 70.

Congress eventually recognized that

these loopholes violated a basic tenet of the program. What tenet? Well, benefits to spouses have always been classified as “dependent” benefits. In other words, to claim benefits as a spouse, you had to prove that you were financially dependent on the other spouse in order to collect benefits on his or her Social Security record. But the loophole was allowing people who were the primary wage earner in the family, and frequently quite wealthy people, to claim benefits as a “dependent” of the other spouse.

So, about five years ago, Congress closed that loophole. Or to be more precise, they immediately closed the fileand-suspend provisions and put a time clock on file and restrict. Anyone who turned 66 before January 2020 could still jump through the spousal benefit loophole. (And because there are still some people out there who turned 66 before January 2020 who haven’t filed for Social Security benefits yet, the loophole is still technically open.)

Anyway, that loophole introduced the term “maximizing your benefits” into the Social Security lexicon. And even though the loophole is almost closed, the term lives on -- mostly on the internet. All you have to do is type “maximize Social Security” into Google or any other search engine and you will get hundreds, if not thousands, of hits.

And the second thing that happened to make seniors obsess about “maximizing” their Social Security is that financial planners discovered a new and huge market: greedy geezers! They lured them into seminars with come-ons like this one I got in the mail not too long ago: “You could be missing out on thousands of dollars in Social Security benefits!”

Of course, there is nothing wrong with getting advice from a financial planner. I just have problems with planners who use cheap gimmicks to lure naive and unsuspecting seniors into their front doors.

So, for these reasons, the term “maximizing your Social Security” became the catchphrase for a generation who, 40 years earlier, was chanting, “Make love, not war!” Now they are crying, “Make money, not love!” I mean, who needs sex, drugs and rock-and-roll when you can have a bigger Social Security check, right?

And how do you get that bigger Social Security check? Well, as I mentioned earlier, if you are one of the lucky few to have turned 66 before January 2020 and haven’t signed up for Social Security yet, you might be able to use the file-and-restrict loophole.

But what about the rest of us? Well, the only real maximizing strategy there is boils down to one word: “Wait.” Conventional wisdom has it that the longer you wait to file for benefits, the better off you will be. So, wait until your full retirement age to get 100% of your benefit rate. Or, better yet, wait until 70 to get up to 132% of your benefit. In many “maximiz-

ing households,” the husband waits until age 70 to file for his retirement so that his wife will one day get higher widows benefits.

But that’s not necessarily always good advice. There may be a variety of reasons why you could be ahead to take your benefits earlier. For example, because of other income we had, my wife and I both started our Social Security at 62. We are now in our mid-70s, and we have never once regretted that decision.

Here’s a suggestion. Spend $10, and get my little Social Security guidebook

called “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” There is a fact sheet in the book called “When to Take Your Social Security Benefits” that will help you decide what to do.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has a book with all the answers. It’s called “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” You can find the book at creators.com/books. Or look for it on Amazon or other book outlets. .

OREAL ESTATE WATCH

Understanding the mentality of sellers, investors and buyers

ver the years as one is ensconced in the real estate business, those of us who act and conduct ourselves in a professional and transparent manner are constantly learning, absorbing and educating ourselves to expand our knowledge to better serve our clients.

This in turn becomes an extremely valuable asset and tool that we use to assist, guide and share with our sellers, investors, purchasers and tenants of residential and commercial properties.

Those who choose this path of becoming educated and wiser through careful listening while practicing and performing our business to become quite adept at understanding how our sellers and buyers and even investors think and sometimes go about their pragmatic, systematic and in-depth process of selling and purchasing. Their method of tradeoffs and fine tuning the approach to their sale and/or purchase may be similar or quite different.

However, while sellers are determining and figuring out their prices and proper marketing being tantamount to luring the most qualified purchasers they are also relying on us as experts to providing them information backed up by accurate facts.

Some rely on their “feelings” as to what they believe their property is worth or the better way by requesting the more accurate and actual comparable sales over the previous 6 months by receiving a well laid out value analysis of as little as 10 to up to 80+ pages by their potential listing broker. This will compare what is available on the market, what is under contract, what is sold (most critical) and what has expired or withdrawn and released as they were most likely overpriced!

The buyers are determining and learning the key points to figuring out their budgets and getting qualified with a lender and this should be the first step. Moreover, I would suggest that prior to making any offers, the buyer should be astute, smart and methodical enough to ask their agent to provide them with this information providing the most accurate and valuable data also with comparable sales for the pre-

vious 6 months in the towns that they are considering residing in.

This in turn will provide a basis to go by and provide a better idea of prices comparing what is on the market.

BY PHILIP A. RAICES

A buyer should always try to ascertain how long a property has been on the market; the longer the number of days on the market (DOM) the greater the chance that the home is overpriced right from the beginning of their listing, which will vary between 5-10+% or more of the actual final sale price.

The exception might be the current market that shows prices continuing escalating and those fortunate enough in selling in an upwardly increasing market, with strong demand, historically low interest rates with low inventory.

However, many will wait way too long and then try to time the market as it is turning downward resulting in less than stellar results and less money in their pockets at closing. This example is very similar to the stock market, where there are losers that enter the market too late and who then run scared and sell short and contribute substantial sums to the winners who are more knowledgeable and in sync with the market.

My belief is that luck equals timing and it surely isn’t an exact science, but when greed and/or fear takes over the mindsets of many, we lose perspective and a sense of reality and become euphoric, thinking things will continue to go higher and that is where losses occur.

One must be prepared to sell, while at the same time become as knowledgeable as possible as to the trends to what is going on in the market, avoiding scare tactics and “doom and gloom” scenarios.

One must be as realistic and sensible as possible, while using as much common sense as possible; and you know my thoughts on “common sense, if you

follow my column. There is a terminology called, “tailgating the market” whereby a seller’s property is not priced correctly and seems to always be above where the buyers are purchasing. Then the purchasers ricochet off those homes to other places because the prices and/or locations have more value and are more desirable. So all those overpriced sellers are doing is helping everyone else sell their homes. As the seller reduces their price, so do other sellers as well as buyers whose expectations have changed in the value and worth of those homes.

As I have conveyed in previous columns “sellers feelings” are generally not relevant or realistic to market values. However, when one or more sellers become more realistic to what their price should be via listening to their broker’s analysis and recommendations, the market reacts and then many other “smart” sellers begin lowering their asking prices to be in line with what today’s values are within that current market environment.

This in turn creates more activity, leading to offers and acceptances resulting in more closings. However, feelings by purchasers are many times much closer to reality because many have done their homework and more research than their agents or sellers have. In the end, sometimes they actually become the best individuals who should be in the business.

Most information is more attainable today, compared to 25 years ago when information was much more proprietary and not easily available to sellers and purchasers. I remember way back when we use to receive our weekly listing inventory books from MLS and we couldn’t wait to scour and search out the new inventory.

Looking back it was a much, much slower process, no different than comparing our old forms of pager communications and dial phones and today’s high tech instantaneous cell phone

communication technology, using Face Time, Skype, and Zoom, IM and texting. One must be fast on their toes and be able to service and truly understand the seller and buyer and to do our best in servicing their “needs and wants.” It is critically important especially in our Covid-19 Pandemic environment to truly develop a clear and concise understanding of how they “tick” and think to be as successful as possible in helping sellers, buyers, investors and even renters in today’s fast paced market

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 39 years experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S.). He will provide you with “free” regular updates of sold and new homes in your town via the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island (MLSLI) or go to http://WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com and you can “do it yourself (DYI) and search on your own. For a “FREE” `15 minute consultation, as well as well as a “FREE printout or digital value analysis of what your home might sell for in today’s tumultuous Covid-19 pandemic market without any obligation or “strings” attached. He can also provide a copy of “Unlocking the Secrets of Real Estate’s New Market Reality, and our Seller’s and Buyer’s Guides for “Things to Consider when Selling, investing or Purchasing your Home.

You can email or snail mail (regular mail) him with your request or ideas, suggestions or interview you for a specific topic and a Q & A for a future column with your name, email and cell number. He will email or call you back and respond to your request ASAP as long as he has your complete name, cell, email and/or full home or business address. Again, for a “FREE” 15 minute consultation, he can also be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@ TurnKeyRealEstate.Com to answer any of your questions and concerns in selling, investing, purchasing, or leasing residential or commercial property.

BY CHARLYN FARGO

Servings: 4 (1 1/2 cups each)

1/4 cup apricot jam

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons canola or avocado oil

12 ounces green beans, trimmed 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Whisk jam, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili-garlic sauce in a small bowl. Set aside. Toss pork with cornstarch in a medium bowl until no cornstarch remains at the bottom of the bowl. Heat oil in a large flat-bottom wok or cast-iron skillet

over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the pork, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in green beans, and continue to cook, stirring often, until well coated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from heat, and add scallions and sesame seeds. Toss to combine. Sprinkle with more scallions, if desired. Per serving: 387 calories; 27 grams pro-

tein; 29 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams fat; 74 milligrams cholesterol; 3 grams fiber; 12 grams total sugars; 473 milligrams sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian with SIU Med School in Springfield, Illinois. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com or follow her on Twitter @NutritionRD.

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AUCTIONS

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WANTED TO BUY

Competitive Pay Rate •

• All Shifts & Locations

Deputy Village Clerk Treasurer/Court Clerk, F/T position, Great Neck, NY

A/R, A/P Accounting and/or Bookkeeping experience. Able to work independently and in team environment. Position requires high interaction with the public. Applicants must possess some techsavviness; proficient in Microsoft Office Programs and knowledge of SEI Courtroom Program; Municipal experience a +, Candidates with verifiable, administrative/clerical experience will be considered. Sal+ Benefits commensurate with experience. Candidates submit their resume to: jobs@russellgardens.com

Become a Medical Office Professional online at CTI! Get trained, certified & ready to work in months! Call 855-543-6440 (M-F 8am-6pm ET)

LOOKING TO BUY!

Estates, Oriental items, Gold, Silver, Costume Jewelry, Dishes, Flatware, Watches, Clothing, Old Photos, Coins, Stamps, Records, Toys, Action Figures, Comics, Art and Furniture. Immediate Cash Paid Call George 917-775-3048 or 718-386-1104

TOP CASH PAID: ESTATE CONTENTS ALL OBJECTS OF ART JEWELRY, ETC. Please call 718-598-3045 or 516-270-2128

www.antiqueassets.com

your

you

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Many excellent references. Call 516-971-3242

CLASSIFIEDS Call 294.8900

AUTOMOTIVE

***AAA*** AUTO BUYERS

$Highest$ Ca$h Paid$ All Years /Conditions! WE VISIT YOU! Or Donate, Tax Deduct Ca$h.

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Call LUKE 516-VAN-CARS

516-297-2277

AUTOS WANTED

Advertise in our newspaper!

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

VACATION RENTAL

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE WANTED

HOMES WANTED

JUNK CARS BOUGHT

DRIVE OUT BREAST CAN-

CER: Donate a car today! The benefits of donating your car or boat: Fast Free Pickup 24hr response Tax deduction Easy to do! Call 24/7: 855-905-4755

Place an ad for anything you need in our classifieds section!

Call 294-8900 for rates and information.

If you own a business or have a service to provide, we’ll create professional advertisements to promote it and help you be seen by thousands of local readers! Call 1-516-294-8900 to inquire!

ATLANTIS, BAHAMAS TIME SHARE RENTAL

July 3-10, 2021

Corner Premium 1BR Unit, Bldg 7

Sleeps 4

On the Atlantis Marina

7 nights, $2,000 Call: 516-742-3176

Roslyn Office space for SubletIMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY

Location: 1400 Old Northern Blvd. 2nd Floor, Roslyn NY 11576. Total approximately 700 sq feet. Two large interior offices, one about 250 sq feet and the second approximately 450 sq feet. Offered for rent at $1100 (per month). Within a large office suite on the top floor of a beautifully maintained building. Perfect for attorney, financial professional, or as a Long Island satellite office. INCLUDED: Shared kitchen, conference room, elect/ac/heat, common area cleaning and elevator. furnished (optional). Plenty of parking. Contact: Lisa Sicurelli, lsicurelli@ambabstract.com or call 516-626-0900.

PROPERTY OF THE MONTH FOR SALE

HISTORIC SARATOGA SPRINGS

OUT OF TOWN REAL ESTATE

STUART FLORIDA FOR SALE BY OWNER

Gated Community

Beautiful 2,441 sq.ft. home on small scenic lake w/screened lanai.

3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath

Two car garage

Large lush plot w/185’ frontage.

Award winning golf course and clubhouse w/gourmet dining and social activities.

Gym, tennis, pickle ball, pools, dog park.

Mixed ages.

10 mins to Hutchinson Island

Ocean beaches/downtown Stuart restaurants and shops. 30 mins to PBI

$170,000/ $2,500/mo fees.

Info/pictures call 516-551-1905

NO BROKERS

Are you a professional?

Our Professional Guide is sure to bring results. Call 294-8900 for rates and information

Well maintained colonial style dwelling with open floor plan

• 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath

• Attached 1car garage

• Approximately 1800 sq ft.

• Located in a very desirable HOA Community w/ pool.

• Less than a 1/2 mile to historic Saratoga Race Course and Downtown Saratoga

• Fantastic rental property (Track season, NYC Ballet and Polo tournaments)

Values are on the rise !!!!

Get a head of the increasing spring market Prices !!!!!

List Price $489,000

Photos available upon request

Call Jack 516-840-8616

Legacy Real Estate

GARDEN CITY HOME WANTED

Family seeks home in Garden City, up to $1 million (cash transaction). Avoid costly listing broker fees/open houses deal directly with buyer and attorney.

Please leave message for John: 516-522-0544

SERVICES

JACK’S CUSTOM FRAMING

We can frame anything! Quality Care & Workmanship Thousands of frames to choose from!!

Over 30 years in business! 92 Covert Ave, Stewart Manor 516-775-9495

WE HAVE THE HELP YOU NEED

HHA, LPN, Nurse’s Aide, Childcare, Housekeeping & Day Workers. No Fees to Employers. Call Evons Services 516-505-5510

-DO YOU HAVE A SERVICE to advertise? Our Service Directory is sure to bring results. Call 2948935 for rates and information.

SERVICES

ATTORNEY

STEPHANIE A.

D’ANGELO, ESQ.

Elder Law, Wills & Trusts

Asset Preservation, Estate Planning, Probate & Estate Administration/Litigation 901 Stewart Ave, Ste 230 Garden City, NY 11530 516-222-1122

www.dangelolawassociates.com

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

AMBIANCE

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

*Handyman & Remodeling

*Kitchen Installations

*Furniture Assembly

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*Minor Electrical & Plumbing

28 year GC Resident Lic & Ins H18E2170000 Call BOB 516-741-2154

FREE ESTIMATES

Extensions, Kitchens, Baths, Basements, Carpentry Work, Porticos, Siding, Dormers, Stone, New Construction & Conversions, Mason Work, Stone.

Insured. Please Call 516-581-9146

HANDYMAN

Careful & Reliable

Covid-19 Conscious and Safe Serving GARDEN CITY and surrounding area since 2003

Repairs & Installations of all types

Carpentry, Moldings, Lighting and More 35-yr Nassau Resident References Lic#170101

Phone/Text Friendly Frank: 516-238-2112

Email: Frankcav@optonline.net

LAMPS FIXED $65

In home service. Handy Howard. 646-996-7628

MADE IN THE SHADE

CUSTOM WINDOW TREATMENTS

Blinds, Shades, Shutters, Draperies

Top Brands at Discount Prices! Family owned & operated www.madeintheshadensli.com 516-426-2890

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Free Estimates

Fully Licensed & Insured #H2219010000

Boceski Masonry Louie 516-850-4886

SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

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a solar plus battery storage system. SAVE money, reduce your reliance on the grid, prepare for power outages and power your home. Full installation services available. $0 Down Financing Option. Request a FREE, no obligation, quote today. Call 1-888-871-0194

HEALTH SERVICES

CNA: MALE & FEMALE CAREGIVERS

Will provide proof of negative COVID test. Exp w/Dementia, Alzheimers & Parkinson patients. Caring and dependable. Driver references available. Derrick 917-363-8924

FAMILY CARE CONNECTIONS, LLC

Dr. Ann Marie D’Angelo PMHCNS-BC Doctor of Nursing Practice Advanced Practice Nurse Care Manager

Assistance with Aging at Home /Care Coordintion

Nursing Home & Assisted Living Placement PRI / Screens / Mini Mental Status Exams

Medicaid Eligibility and Apllications 516-248-9323 www.familycareconnections. com

901 Stewart Ave, Ste 230 Garden City, NY 11530

PAINTING & PAPERHANGING

MICHELANGELO PAINTING & WALLPAPER

Interior, Exterior, Plaster / Spackle, Light Carpentry, Decorative Moldings & Power Washing. Call: 516-328-7499

SERVICES

TUTORING

CERTIFIED TUTOR AVAIL-

ABLE Long Island teacher with 9 years of experience Masters Degree and NYS certifications in Childhood (1-6) Early Childhood (B-2) and Special Education. Available evenings, weekends and school breaks, including summer. Virtual or in-person. For more information call Caitlin 516-287-6304

LONG ISLAND TEACHER available to tutor ELA, social studies, special education, study skills, Living Environment, life skills, help with remote learning. Vaccinated with mask or over Zoom. Tailored to individual needs. Highly qualified Call LL 516-456-6849 CLEANING

PROFESSIONAL HOME & OFFICE CLEANING

You’re just one call away!! from a clean home or office. Thorough and Professional Cleaning at affordable rates! Call today for Free Estimate Anna: 516-360-8340 SERVICES

A & J MOVING & STORAGE: Established 1971. Long Island and New York State specialists. Residential, Commercial, Piano & Organ experts. Boxes available. Free estimates. www.ajmoving .com 516-741-2657 114 Jericho Tpk, Mineola NYDOT# 10405

DISH TV $59.99 for 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Call 1-800-609-9405

PASSION FOR SENIORS. CERTIFIED HHAS, Companions & Homemakers. 24 hour care available. Also Nassau locations. Trained in Dementia and Alzheimer’s care. Call 718850 -3400

Aidan P. Coyne of Garden City has been named to the Dean’s List at the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters for outstanding scholarship during the Fall 2020 semester. Students who achieve Dean’s honors at Notre Dame represent the top 30 percent of students in their college.

n

SUNY New Paltz announces its Dean’s List for the Fall 2020 semester, a recognition for students who excel academically and earn at least a 3.3 grade-point average in a semester with a full-time course load.

The Fall 2020 Dean’s List includes:

Alessia Bove, Juliette Kurta, Gabriella Montanaro, Emma Reifschneider, Zachary Reifschneider

n Nicole Ferraro of Garden City has been named to the Fall 2020 Dean’s List at The College of Saint Rose.

The Dean’s List recognizes full-time undergraduate students who complete a minimum of 12 graded credit hours and who achieve a semester average of 3.5 with-

College Notes

out a D, F, or Incomplete grade.

n

Drew DeAngelo, a resident of Garden City and a member of the Class of 2021, has been named to the Dean’s List at Providence College for the Fall 2020 semester. To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must achieve at least a 3.55 grade point average with a minimum of 12 credits.

n

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has named Cat Rodriguez of Garden City to the Dean’s List for the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. Cat is a student at the College of Arts and Sciences.

Students who achieve at a high level academically are recognized by the dean at the close of each semester. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, students must complete a minimum of 12 graded degree credits in that semester.

n

College of Charleston congratulates more than 2050 students who were named to the President’s List and Dean’s List for Fall 2020. The following Garden City stu-

dents were honored:

Alexa Lodato was named to the President’s List. Lodato is majoring in elementary education.

Dominique Dragotto was named to the Dean’s List. Dragotto is majoring in accounting.

n

Richard Marooney of Garden City has been named to the Dean’s List at Hamilton College for the 2020 fall semester.

To be named to the Dean’s List, a student must have carried throughout the semester a course load of four or more graded credits with an average of 3.5 or above.

Marooney, a senior majoring in economics, is a graduate of Garden City Senior High School.

n

The following Garden City students have been named to the University of Delaware Dean’s List for the Fall 2020 semester.

Elena DiChiara, Megan Seel, Maria Granato, Delaney Sugrue, Michael Malaszczyk, Jane GaNun, Jacqueline Andreuzzi, Lauren DeLuca, Liam Curtin,

Kiernan Monaco, Maria Flouskakos, Christian Genussa, Zoe Ehrhart, Anne Sullivan, Kelsey Macri, Thomas Allen, Mary Mulvihill, Vanessa Marchhart.

To meet eligibility requirements for the Dean’s List, a student must be enrolled fulltime and earn a GPA of 3.5 or above (on a 4.0 scale) for the semester.

n

The following Fairfield University students received Deans List Honors for the Fall 2020 semester.

Meegan Aneser, Elizabeth Brennan, Meghan Dealy, Maegan Emmert, Lauren George, Michael Greene, Erin Grueneberg, Claire Haggerty, Michael Handal, Caitlin Kenna, Faith Kenny, Margaret Manning, Joseph McNiff, Ashley Sproul, Sarah Walker, Jillian Winwood

In order to be placed on the Dean’s List, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours in a semester, have no outstanding or incomplete grades for that semester, and have attained a semester grade point average of 3.50 or better.

Robert Larocca named Chief Relations Officer

SterlingRisk Insurance, one of the nation’s top independently owned insurance brokerages, has announced the promotion of Robert F. Larocca to Chief Strategic Relations Officer. Larocca, a Garden City resident, began his career at SterlingRisk in 1999 and enjoys strong ties throughout the insurance community. He will retain his title of Executive Vice President and continue to report directly to SterlingRisk CEO David Sterling.

“It has been an honor to work with Rob for over 20 years,” observed Sterling. “He has directly contributed to the growth of our agency, playing a key role in achieving our vision and broadening our marketplace opportunities. As Chief Strategic Relations

Officer, Rob will utilize his experience to enhance and nurture our relationships with existing carriers, prospective carriers, the community, our clients, prospective clients, government organizations, our vendors, and all those who impact our success. Rob is a vital, essential asset within the SterlingRisk family and I know everyone joins me in congratulating him on this well-deserved promotion.”

Prior to joining SterlingRisk, Larocca held the position of Long Island Branch Manager for American International Group (AIG) after having served as Assistant Vice President at Johnson & Higgins. He began his career in 1991 as an insurance broker with Marsh & McLennan in New

Are you a professional?

York. A 1990 graduate of LIU Post, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in business.

Larocca is a supporter of many local and national organizations. He is a current member of The Nassau County Police Reserves and serves on the boards of RiskProNet, an international network of U.S. based Insurance Brokerages, and the Council for Insuring Private Clients (CIPC). A former board member of The Theodore Roosevelt Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Larocca currently serves on the board of directors for The Mental Health Association of Nassau County and Nassau County Law Enforcement Exploring. Our Professional Guide is sure to bring results. Call 294-8900 for rates and information.

Robert Larocca

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of formation of Comfort Cakes LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/24/20. Office: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 70 Roosevelt St. Garden City, NY 11530. Purpose: Any lawful purpose

GC 1154

6X 01/15,22,29,02/05,12,19

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of formation of Movie Making Mike LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/15/2020. Office Location: Nassau County. SSNY is designated as an agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail a copy of process against LLC to: 12 Main St, Westbury, NY 11590. Purpose: any lawful act.

GC 1155

6X 01/15,22,29,02/05,12,19

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of formation of MIND ALCHEMY NEW YORK LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 10-132020. Office located in NASSAU COUNTY. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC 2148 ISABELLE COURT, NORTH BELLMORE NY 11710. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

GC 1164

6X 01/29, 02/05,12,19,26,03/05

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of formation of SCRUB ESTHETICS LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 10-13-2020. Office located in NASSAU COUNTY. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC 2148 ISABELLE COURT NORTH BELLMORE NY 11710. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

GC 1165

6X 01/29,02/05,12,19,26,03/05

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of Formation of On The Ballpoint LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/11/2020. Office location: Nassau County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail

LEGAL NOTICES

LEGAL NOTICE

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF GARDEN CITY

GARDEN CITY, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

NOTICE OF SALE OF REAL ESTATE FOR UNPAID 2020 VILLAGE TAXES

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on March 19, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at the Village Hall, 351 Stewart Avenue, in the Village of Garden City, New York, pursuant to direction of the Board of Trustees of said Village, I, the undersigned, Treasurer of said Village, will sell at public auction the following described real estate in said Village together with any improvements thereon, to discharge the unpaid 2020 Village tax, interest and other charges which may be due thereon at the time of the sale. Such real estate will be sold subject to any unpaid assessments thereon levied by said Village prior to the date of such sale and any unpaid tax liens for years prior to 2020 purchased and held by said Village, and subject to the provisions of the New York State and Federal Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts, as amended, insofar as the same may be applicable to the owners of any said following described real estate. Purchasers will be required to pay the amount of their respective bids to the undersigned within ten days after the sale, pursuant to the provisions of Section 1454 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, as amended, and upon such payment shall receive a written certificate of sale describing the real estate purchased and the sum paid therefor. Please be advised that the Incorporated Village of Garden City intends to bid-in for any and all parcels to be sold at this year’s sale. Therefore, any and all tax liens sold at this sale will become village-owned tax liens.

Please be further advised that if the owner of any residential property is experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and files a Declaration of COVID-19 Related Hardship form (RP-1102-DS) on or before March 18, 2021, said sale shall be delayed until after May 1, 2021, pursuant to NYS Legislation adopted December 28, 2020, (2020 Sess. Law News of N.Y. Ch. 381 (S. 9114) (McKINNEY’S)

The following is a list or statement of the real estate upon which such 2020 tax is unpaid, with the amount of such 2020 tax, together with interest and other charges due thereon to March 19, 2021.

REPUTED OWNER

LEGAL NOTICES

Continued from page 57

GCHS duo takes screenwriting to web

Irene Woo, CPA, CMFO Village Treasurer

Garden City, New York February 19, 2021

The Incorporated Village of Garden City does not discriminate on the basis of disability for admission to, access to, or participation in its programs, activities or public meetings, and has designated Karen M. Altman, Village Clerk, as Disability Compliance Coordinator. Persons with a disability who wish to attend a meeting should contact Karen Altman at least 24 hours in advance of meeting at:

351 Stewart Avenue Garden City, New York 11530 (5l6)465-4051 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

GC 1174

3X 02/19,26,3/05

process to; 166 Oceanview Rd East Rockaway NY 11518-1021. Purpose: Any lawful purpose GC 1167 6X 02/05,12,19,26,03/05,12

NOTICE OF FORMATION

Notice of formation of Crab And Bull Provisions LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York SSNY on 10/20/20. Office located in Nassau County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to 227 lawrence St. Uniondale NY 11553.. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

GC 1168 6X 02/12,19,26,03/05,12,19

REQUEST FOR ARCHITECTURAL

SERVICES

The Garden City Union Free School District is requesting proposals for architectural services. For a copy of the request for proposal, please write to the Business Office at 56 Cathedral Avenue, Garden City, New York 11530 or call 516-478-1040. Proposals must be received in the Business Office no later than March 10, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. GC 1175 1x 02/19

Garden City High School seniors Sarah Fetherston and Ryan Murphy have created and recently unveiled an eight-episode web series titled “Lockdown” that portrays a variety of real-life issues and critical topics for teens. The project was a year and a half long venture that engaged both students in all aspects of film production. Now that it is complete, they are working to bring awareness of its themes by sharing the series with others.

“Lockdown,” which is viewable on YouTube at https:// www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVFMyqfyFSp-iX7CL-u6oPNsg6Dhc5dbV, tells the story of 11 teenagers in an active shooter situation at their high school. The inspiration for the premise came after Sarah participated in a lockdown drill and began thinking in depth about it. She and Ryan, both actors with a passion for theater and music, brainstormed storylines and discussed character personalities and underlying messages. Woven into the context are subjects such as gun control, mental health, abuse, LBGTQ and abortion.

“We wanted to foster a community where teens are comfortable talking to parents about their issues,” Sarah said.

lyrics, and their shared goal was to portray each character’s experiences through songs. They are both talented singers in numerous school choir ensembles as well as All-County and performed the music themselves, using GarageBand software to record and edit.

Both teammates’ behind-thescenes work for this project was preceded by many moments in the spotlight. They have each held leading roles in school productions including “Mamma Mia,” “High School Musical” and the “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Outside of school, they were in the Long Island Theatre Workshop’s productions of “Rent” and Ryan took the stage in “Spring Awakening.” In addition to their success as vocalists, Ryan plays the piano, tuba and guitar and Sarah plays piano and guitar.

“We really wanted to talk about what people are going through and not romanticize it.”

Sarah and Ryan began writing during the spring of their sophomore year and took on the vast array of jobs and responsibilities with enthusiasm. The duo held the reins in writing, directing, filming and starring in the episodes, and recruited friends and theater classmates to join the cast. Preproduction filming commenced in the fall of their junior year, and they started officially filming at Garden City High School in January of 2020, not knowing then that they were wrapping up just in time with the pandemic about to strike in March. Despite the shutdown, they were able to continue their progress throughout the spring. They found creative ways to supplement scene components with voiceovers and home features, and put much attention into the editing process using iMovie.

In addition to writing the scripts and holding cast roles, Sarah and Ryan created their own original soundtrack and delved into the world of music composition. They each started their music writing differently; Sarah concentrated on the chords while Ryan developed

Sarah and Ryan found the entire experience of the web series to be immensely valuable and took different highlights from it.

“Writing the music was my favorite part,” Ryan said. “Now I’m writing a lot more and it’s become one of my biggest hobbies.”

“As an actress, I’ve always been focused on myself whereas being a director you’re focusing on everyone else,” Sarah said. “That’s really changed my perspective as an actor, seeing the big picture.”

Sarah will be using the series for her Girl Scout Gold Award and recently presented it to her theater arts class. She and Ryan are also exploring the prospect of having their videos incorporated into the health curriculum.

The duo discovered a passion for screenwriting in the seventh grade, when they started developing characters for fun, motivated by a popular television show. They have since written feature films together along with several pilots, with “Lockdown” being their first full production. They both aspire to study musical theatre in college and plan to continue to collaborate, given their ability to work well together and complement one another’s skills and strengths.

Sarah Fetherston and Ryan Murphy on set during filming last year. Photo courtesy of Garden City Public Schools

FABGC: Only path to transparency

From page 3

when that decision was made or whether it was unanimous, and the WPOA Firehouse Committee is being stone walled from any involvement in this process that is ongoing and taking place without regard to the Open Meetings Law. Do you really believe the Board of Trustees has not decided to demolish the Western Section Firehouse? Who pays over $300,000 for plans they do not intend to use?

And why is the Board proceeding with the most costly option (demolition rather than renovation) when residents are faced with increased taxes as a result of the shift away from commercial properties? Would it have been too much to ask that residents be informed before such a large expenditure of funds was made to a consultant which was given a no-bid contract?

Unanimous Vote to Silence Garden City News Without Public Discussion

In an 8-0 vote by the Board of Trustees on January 17, 2019, the Garden City Life was added as official paper of record with a statement that the Garden City News would be dropped as the

official paper and village departments would stop providing information to the Garden City News. Where was the public deliberation? Are we to believe that this was a conclusion reached independently by all eight trustees without any discussion? Residents asked for an explanation at the meeting, but the Board of Trustees did not respond. In fact, to date, CAP candidates Bolebruch, Makrinos and Hyer have provided no explanation whatsoever for their decision despite being asked repeatedly.

Secret Deliberations About Casino

Nowhere on the Village Website can any deliberations be found about the Board of Trustees’ decision not to offer a long-term lease to the Casino. Residents have heard from our Mayor that this has been discussed for years, and we have heard that there were preliminary discussions with the Garden City Hotel, which is owned by Fortuna Realty Group, a real estate development company. Short term lease extensions have been signed by the Mayor, so clearly there have been discussions. The mention of an RFP and one trustee’s statement that the restriction on the deed can be changed raises a ques-

tion of whether a lease or sale of the land is being considered by the Board or Trustees. FABGC cannot imagine an argument that discussions about ending a long standing community organization and the sale or lease of this village asset would fall under any exemption to the Open Meetings Law, as discussions regarding real estate are exempt “only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof.“ https://www. dos.ny.gov/coog/openmeetlaw.html

The Franklin Mews Land Sale, where the Board of Trustees was required to buy back property due to their failure to comply with the Open Meetings Law, was costly not only in terms of taxpayers’ money, but also in terms of loss of community trust. This failure in our local government began when the deputy mayor - the candidate who is leading the CAP slate - joined the Board, and it has only gotten worse during his tenure. While we all recognize that mistakes can be made, what we have here is a continued pattern of secret decision making. It is a direct threat to our continued governance under the Community Agreement, and it must be addressed.

A vote for FABGC on March 16th is a vote to return transparency to our local government and to preserve our historic Community Agreement. The FABGC candidates – Cosmo Veneziale, Mary Carter Flanagan, Bruce Chester, Terry Digan and Tom O’Brien - bring a breadth of experience to the Board of Trustees, a deep commitment and respect for our Village, and the courage to speak up.

If you share the concerns of FABGC, please consider joining this effort by emailing info.fabgc@gmail.com and visit our website fabgc.org. You can also contact our outreach contacts and your neighbors: Cosmo Veneziale, Mary Carter Flanagan, Tom O’Brien, Terry Digan, Bruce Chester, Mickey Paxton, Donald MacLeod, Effie Campbell, Deidre Orr, Arlene Chianese, Betsy Lenhart Andromidas, George Salem, Rich Corrao, John Cantwell, Charlie Kelly, Sivan Chapman, Josh Chapman, Mike Ryder, Molly Fiedler, George Evans, Michele King, Glenn King, Nancy Trabulsi, Kerry Koslo, Jonathan Martin, Bill Kavan, Remy Bernardo, Amy McGoldrick and Neil McGoldrick.

Police reform plan to be discussed at hearing

From page 1

District Attorney’s office, clergy members and a defense attorney active in the county.

Over the course of several recent Village Board meetings, Garden City Mayor Dr. Theresa Trouvé has commented on the strategic planning and county-level discussions where she, along with Garden City Police Commissioner Kenneth Jackson, have met with officials and, when called upon, offered local perspective.

Early this month Mayor Trouvé noted the approach to comprehensive reviews “of existing police force deployment strategies”.

“On June 12, 2020 Gov. Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 203 which directed local governments and entities with police agencies to perform a comprehensive review of cultural police force deployment strategies, policies, procedures and practices and to develop a plan to address the particular needs of the community served by that police agency, and to promote engagement to promote the force’s trust fairness and legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color,” she explained at the February 4 Board meeting.

According to Mayor Trouvé the proposed Reform Plan will enable the Garden City Police Department to “continue in its robust, community-oriented policing strategies while enhancing efforts to avoid racial disparities in policing.”

“In accordance with the mandates of Executive Order No. 203 with the guidance provided by New York State, the draft plan was published on January 22, 2021 and made available to the public; it is posted on our village website. I would advise all residents and community members to read the full Plan and documents as it is an important effort, as Garden City has responded very strongly so far,” she said. The village website has information on how residents can provide feedback on the Police Reform Plan to village administration ahead of Tuesday’s public hearing. The mayor said that if in reading the Plan residents felt that there were police aspects overlooked or other items for consideration, “then we would like that dialogue to go on with the entire community.”

The Village’s Plan notes that the GCPD’s as well as other Nassau County village and city police departments’ reform plans will parallel many of the Nassau County Police Department’s Reform Policies and Procedures.

Commissioner Jackson serves as a representative in Nassau County’s Police and Community Trust Initiative (PACT), so he remains in touch with many other regional police departments on a regular basis. PACT has met a total of 12 times since June 24, 2020, including on the day of the first Village Board of Trustees’ meeting in 2021, January 14. The PACT schedule saw two meetings per month since last June.

Jackson also participated when PACT

held joint meetings with the Nassau County Collaborative Task Force and a Nassau County clergy group.

Over his long career in law enforcement, Jackson has had extensive experience from his beat in New York City to working in Nassau County and years of leading the Garden City Police Department.

Commissioner Jackson is currently executive director, and was previously the president of the Nassau County Municipal Police Chiefs’ Association. That organization met multiple times with Nassau County Police Commissioners Patrick Ryder “to discuss issues raised by the various community council forums which Commissioner Ryder attended,” as Garden City’s Police Reform Plan acknowledged.

Training in de-escalation

Sections of the plan as proposed will include chapters on Police Officer recruitment and training, which includes De-Escalation; Implicit Bias Awareness training; Hate Crime training in compliance with New York State guidelines; Mental Health trainings and more.

De-Escalation training, for which the Nassau County Police Department provides an eight-hour course, includes the following principles: active listening, impartiality, speaking persuasively, the concept of verbal judo for effective communication, and techniques on remaining calm and in control of situations.

The GCPD’s Police Reform Plan notes that although police recruits will receive extensive de-escalation training in the academy there is a limit to what can be taught and learned in a controlled environment; the novice GCPD officers will be assigned to shadow an experienced police officer based on their length of service in the GCPD. The village’s Police Reform Plan states: “it is with these field training officers (FTO’s) where new police officers witness real-world application of de-escalation techniques and the benefit it provides to both the officer and the individual. These new officers also get to see how experienced officers interact with individuals from diverse communities and gather their trust and respect. These FTO’s play a critical role in the shape and future of the recruit and of the department as a whole.”

As a result of the Police Reform Collaborative the GCPD contracted with PoliceOne -- an additional police training resource to supplement training provided by the Nassau County PD and the GCPD’s own certified training officers. Another supplementary resource to aid in De-Escalation training for officers was noted as the Police Manual Daily Training Bulletins.

In-service training

courses

All GCPD officers will partake in a new in-service police training curriculum which the Nassau County PD

Police reform plan to be discussed at hearing

From page 59

formulated. Its lessons will include legal updates in accordance with Executive Order No. 203, Civil Rights Law 79-p, a review of the Use of Force policies “reaffirming the definition of reasonableness and necessity, misuse of force, use of force reporting and priority of life discussion.” Other trainings for officers will include procedural justice, “ethical and moral courage and the duty to intercede/intervene” as well as fundamental crisis intervention, indicators of emotional stress, communication and treatment and recovery resources. Another category of training covers implicit bias, implicit preference, explicit or conscious preference and confirmation bias.

Village Trustee Mark Hyer is a retired, 21-year veteran of the NYPD. He addressed the Eastern Property Owners’ Association audience on Thursday evening February 11 and said “I think we are on the right track with where we are with this Police Reform Plan.”

“We went through a thorough process and a lot of work went into it -- we looked at everything in the GCPD policies and made some changes. It is the right thing to do in looking at our local police practices. This initiative has the right timing for us to look at it. There will be the hearing February 23 and after that, with the village receiving public input, this document is a collective product that Garden City will submit to Albany,” Hyer said, noting that at the state level the individual Police Reform Plans have been tied to funding for municipalities.

At the EPOA meeting, a resident asked Hyer why there was not a standard Police Reform Plan document with guidelines for villages or municipalities to adopt, and why Garden City had to spend the time and effort to create its own unique Police Reform Plan.

Trustee Hyer explained that while New York State Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Laws are standard across jurisdictions in the state, the Village has its own municipal code and regulations which are enforced.

“I think when it gets down to the villages they want to ensure that policies and how the local police departments do things are uniform. The state wants to make sure officers receive training in de-escalation, bias incidents and things like that. I believe the idea is for the Police Reform Plan to exist to actually make sure police departments are doing what the governor expects to be done in different communities and departments and to make sure there are no inherent biases or discrimination going on,” Hyer said.

The GCPD”s Police Reform Plan includes a section on its Use of Force Policies, including the Use of Physical

Force and the Use of Deadly Physical Force. After the issuance of Gov. Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 203 the GCPD’s Use of Force Policy was updated to comply with new legislation and best practices. It is attached with the Police Reform Plan and is also posted on both the Village’s and the GCPD’s websites.

The Police Reform Plan section on Use of Force states “in all cases it is the duty of members of the police department to protect human life and provide for the safety of the community. Force is authorized when reasonably believed to be necessary: to effect a lawful arrest or detention; to prevent the escape of a person fleeing from police custody, or in defense of one’s self or another.”

For the GCPD, all Use of Force incidents are reviewed to ensure de-escalation techniques were utilized if possible in the situation. The GCPD Reform Plan states “the success of de-escalation training and practices is gauged through the review of Use of Force reports and heeding suggestions from the community.”

A member of the Garden City Police Department must be able to clearly explain their reason for their Use of Deadly Force, stating the external circumstances that formulated his or her decision to utilize deadly force, “as well as the factors that led to the conclusion that the member’s life, the life of another member of the police department, or the lives of the public were in imminent peril and the use of deadly force was reasonable and necessary.”

A modification and update in the works is for use of the new police academy at Nassau County Community College, noted to be “in the center of the county of the diverse community college. The Nassau County PD and NCCC will partner and implement cross training with students in regard to implicit bias awareness and community engagement.” The GCPD Plan explains that the Police Academy at NCCC will help to improve Use of Force training because it will allow for more role-playing drills and more hands-on-training.

The Garden City Police Department has prohibited the use of the carotid restraint as a compliance technique as well as any application of pressure by officers to a person’s throat, windpipe, neck or blocking the mouth or nose of a person “in a manner that may hinder breathing or reduce intake of air” -- such acts by officers are prohibited, “unless deadly physical force is authorized.”

Other sections of Garden City’s proposed Police Reform Plan cover Law Enforcement-Assisted Diversion Programs (LEADS) including resources and alternate prosecutions offered by the Nassau County DA’s Office; language and policies on Procedural

Justice, Vehicle Stops, “Communitybased Outreach and Conflict Resolution” as well as “Problem-oriented and Hot Spot Policing.”

The Police Reform Plan’s section on Implicit Bias Training for the GCPD explains that ensuring relationships between the police and community based on trust can be assisted and achieved through respectful language, thoughtful and intentional dialogue, and consistent involvement “both formal and informal” during community engagements. While one police training videos titled “Every Contact Matters” was referenced to offer guidance to police officers in their interactions with community members, and another for the Middle School demographic on civil rights and hate crimes, “HateCrossing the Line” the GCPD Plan noted the Nassau County PD Community Affairs Unit’s role in training video productions, specifically “in regard to implicit bias.” The Plan details that in response to community concerns NCPD Commissioner Ryder learned about during police reform stakeholder meetings, NCPD Community Affairs is currently working to produce a new video titled “Respect and Responsibility.”

Once it’s complete the new instructional and educational video will be shown to County PD and GCPD members during their in-service training “and it is expected to be widely publicized in schools and on social media platforms,” according to Garden City’s Police Reform Plan document.

A section of the Plan titled “Systemic Racial Bias and Racial Justice in Policing” outlined GCPD Policy No. 341 on Community Relations, “to promote positive relationships between department members and the community by treating community members with dignity and respect and engaging them in public safety strategy development and relationship-building activities, and by making relevant policy and operations information available to the community in a transparent manner.”

The section on Racial Bias notes that racial profiling “undermines the efforts of law enforcement by causing a loss of respect for the law and a loss of credibility for the police department.”

Tickets for minor offenses

One of the related GCPD law enforcement strategies put forward in the Police Reform Plan “to

reduce racial disparities” is the issuance of Court Appearance Tickets/ Summonses in lieu of arrest for some minor offenses, where appropriate. This Plan modification and update noted that offenders would be released from the scene instead of being transported to GCPD headquarters for processing, as “this minimizes the length of time in custody and, as per New York State Bail Reform Law, no bail is collected.”

In his update during the EPOA meeting last week Trustee Hyer delivered the GCPD’s statistics for January 2021: there were 22 arrests made; 1,417 police calls resulting in 61 case investigations. In January there were 100 “aid cases” with ambulances called on-scene; 1,798 parking summonses issued by the GCPD and 941 traffic/moving violations for drivers. Twenty-three cars had to be impounded. The GCPD reports 62 traffic accidents in January.

Identity theft increasing

“I get all the reports on calls that the police respond to, and at this time the hot topic and concern is identity theft. The amount of identity theft cases coming through the GCPD is incredible. From credit to people requesting unemployment benefits and Social Security in someone’s name there are a lot of issues. Please take a look at your bank statements and check with Social Security for a statement -- make sure everything checks out okay and the information is current to yours -- it can happen from receiving those scam phone calls. How many times can there be calls to tell you your car warranty is expired? But people are giving the scammers information, and they can go to town,” Hyer said.

Former Eastern POA President Christine Mullaney says fraudulent phone calls had come to her from people claiming to be representing Amazon, seeking her purchase information and personal data. Trustee Hyer said in the case of anyone suspected to impersonate Amazon representatives, call back Amazon directly and report the call to their fraud detection division.

Another East resident commented that with tax season approaching, some con artists will call people and state that they are from the IRS. He told the EPOA audience, “the IRS and Social Security will never call you -- never, ever believe that phone call you are receiving. They will only contact people by mail.”

Auditor gives thumbs up to Library financial statements

as financial documents were reviewed (no uncorrected misstatements). There were no auditing disagreements with the GCPL management as the work proceeded. The preliminary reviews took place the week of July 20, 2020 and fieldwork by the firm was conducted July 20 to 24. The GCPL audit report is dated January 2021.

“We conducted the audit with the audit’s objective of attaining reasonable but not absolute assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We do that by testing various transactions and the scope, and we went through and were directed on the evaluations of significant aspects of Library operations to reduce risks to an acceptable level. We did focus on account balances and not transactions, and we looked at financial statements as a whole,” Kopf said.

At the beginning of fiscal year 20192020 Garden City Public Library had a total Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) liability -- money going to retired Library employees -- of over $7.360 million; it ended the fiscal year with OPEB liability of $8.386 million -- a net change of over $1.025 million. This was attributed to a Service Cost of $243,203; Interest of $225,763 and “Changes of assumptions or other inputs” of $713,288. Benefit payments by GCPL totaled $156,366.

PKF O’Connor Davies’ Melissa Szot explained that the largest change ($713,288) is based on actuarial assumptions and falls out of the library administration, GCPL Board or Village Finance control. The audit firm explained that the discount rate used to calculate total OPEB liability was decreased from 3.1% to 2.5% effective with the end of last fiscal year; the May 31, 2020 measurement date. Szot says this is an inverse relationship between the discount rate and total OPEB liability.

“That caused a significant increase in the liability of $713,288. The most important figure would be in the Benefit Payments Line of $156,366 -- the current OPEB period costs for the library,” she

said.

Kopf said that “in a perfect world” GCPL would have seen an operating loss in 2019-2020 of $42,933. Though it is not a part of the Library’s financial statements the firm reviewed GCPL’s schedule of revenues, expenditures and projected changes to Library Fund Balance for additional analysis, as according to PKF O’Connor Davies that fiscal schedule “was derived from and relates directly to the underlying accounting and other records used to prepare the financial statements, or to the financial statements themselves.”

The firm’s opinion for GCPL’s audit explains that the information for the schedule of revenues, expenditures and changes to fund balance was fairly stated “in all material respects, in relation to the financial statements as a whole.”

“When you adopted the Library budget you anticipated the use of approximately $43,000 of your prior year’s surplus in order to balance the budget. During the course of the year (June 2019- May 2020) you did modify the budget but you did not modify the use of your Fund Balance. Instead of utilizing almost $43,000 of your Fund Balance, GCPL actually generated a surplus of about $185,000 last year -- bringing the total Fund Balance to approximately $309,742. How we did that was Revenues did come in slightly under budget by about $3,430 (2019-2020) and Expenditures came in under budget by $231,518 generating that Budgetary Surplus of $228,088,” Kopf said.

GCPL Expenditures for last fiscal year were budgeted to be $3.395 million and the Actual Expenditures were about $3.164 million. Revenues for 2019-2020 were originally budgeted to be $119,670 but the Actual was $116,240.

Szot explained that overall the Revenues included about $13,000 under fines and forfeitures, offset by $6,000 in Interest earnings which came in higher than anticipated with the original budget.

“The $231,518 was the Library’s savings for the year and a large portion of it -- $103,000 -- came with new library

materials and related costs. There was also the delayed start of the Securitas contract (library security guard) which did not occur until July 2020 due to COVID-19 closures. The Library budget increased for the fiscal year but the money had not actually been spent. The other GCPL savings were $52,000 in Personnel Services and in Employee Benefits, $55,000. This was due to staffing changes as well as savings in parttime library help that was not needed due to the COVID-related closure,” Szot said.

The Library Fund Balance at $309,742 including approximately $71,000 in Restricted Fund Balance, which involves monies restricted by third parties for a specific use. The Library also has $50,929 in Assigned Fund Balance, which is what GCPL allocated for the 2020-2021 budget in order to balance its budget. Szot said this will be the difference in 2020-’21 Budgeted Revenues and 2020-’21 Budgeted Expenditures. This allocated Fund Balance left GCPL with Unassigned Fund Balance for last fiscal year of close to $187,000, available to be spent on Library-related purposes, as the auditors explained.

In its opinion the audit firm noted that Library management omitted the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) that U.S. GAAP requires to be presented for auditing, to supplement the financial statements. Although that material is not part of GCPL financial statements, PKF O’Connor Davies noted it is required by GASB -- the Governmental Accounting Standards Board -- which considers it an essential part of financial reporting “for placing financial statements in an appropriate operational, economic, or historical context.” Szot said the MD&A is a required part of basic financial statements, ”but it is practice for libraries not to include one in their basic financial statements.”

The firm also noted that its positive opinion on the GCPL financial statements was not negatively impacted by that missing piece of information from 2020. Kopf said many smaller entities do not provide an MD&A document when

their audits are occurring.

“It really does not change the overall opinion from Unmodified. We just state that it was not included,” he said.

Library Director Marianne Malagon asked the audit firm to explain how in the process, GCPL administration went forward with the Library making its own report and all material was in compliance with the auditing. “The Board does not want to appear as if we (GCPL) chose to not submit our own MD&A,” she said.

Szot said the MD&A, typically provided in a narrative format, is used to describe an overall view of financial management at an organization occuring during a fiscal year and “what caused the Surplus and any Original Budget-to-Actual Budget variances.” She was planning to provide Library Director Malagon with an example of an MD&A but one was not presented prior to the firm’s opinion being delivered.

Library Board Chairman J. Randolph Colahan noted how the Surplus is due to closures brought about during the onset of the pandemic shutdowns in March 2020, through the end of the fiscal year (last May 31). He believes years from now the MD&A could explain this situation clearly if Library financial data is reviewed then, in a time well “post-pandemic.” He asked the firm if they recommended that the Library not develop an MD&A, but Kopf said “we recommend that everyone does it if they have the time.”

“It gives the Library the opportunity to try and explain its Budget variances that may appear in your financial statements. It can be useful to make the financial statements more user-friendly -- explaining items verbally with the current year versus the numbers as outlined in accounting,” he said. Library Board Vice Chair Peter D’Antonio then commented that he believes the MD&A is unnecessary as it would not change the outcome of the audit and financial statement analysis.

GCHS Boys Fencing finishes regular season 7-3

The GCHS Boys Fencing team fished the season this past week with a 7-3 record, finishing in 4th place for the regular season, as they head into the playoffs. This past week, the boys had a tough meet, losing to the regular season champions, Syosset High School, 19-9. The saber squad contributed 5 wins and the épée squad added 4 more. Saber was led by junior Alex Pasqualina with 2 wins, and 1 each from senior captain Grant Scarangella, and juniors Thomas Crowe and Nicholas Michael. Épée was led by senior co-captain Sean Maas with 2 wins, and 1 each from senior co-captain Ryan Bradley and sophomore Michael Siragusa.

On Thursday, February 11, the boys finished off the regular season against Cold Spring Harbor High School with an 18-9 win. It was an unusual meet in that the GCHS juniors were not allowed to compete because of a mandatory quarantine during a contact tracing exercise, effectively removing four of the nine starters. Furthermore, the CSH squad did not

have any foil fencers, and had to unfortunately forfeit the nine foil matches of the meet. With that as background, the épée squad went 5-4 led by the senior co-captains Sean Maas and Ryan Bradley, who both had 2 wins each, and senior Aidan Rosenblatt with another win. The saber squad had a new recruit in foil captain senior Andrew Burns who filled in for some of the missing juniors. Andrew contributed 2 wins along with senior saber captain Grant Scarangella, who added a win along with freshman Patrick Bohn who recorded his first win in competition – congratulations Patrick! The foil squad was credited with 9 wins due to forfeiture and the credits were provided to sophomores Andrew Pinou, Eric Hartmann and Michael Siragusa.

Congratulations to the team and to Coach Oliver for another successful season. Next up is the Team Nassau County Playoffs starting on Tuesday, February 23 when the boys take on the #5 seed, Oyster Bay. Good luck boys!

Sophomore Epée Michael Siragusa (left) gets the point against his opponent from Syosset

Junior Foil Joe Armstrong (left) lunges for the point against Syosset

Senior Epée Co-Captain Ryan Bradley (left) scores the point with a full extension against CSH

Senior Saber Captain Grant Scarangella prepares for his match against CSH

Senior Epée Co-Captain Sean Maas (left) finds his target against Syosset

Junior Saber Alex Pasqualina (left) scores the point from down low against Syosset

GCHS Girls Varsity Fencing heading to playoffs

On Wednesday, February 10, the girls travelled to face Syosset and earned a decisive 17-10 victory. The squad took a 6-3 lead in the first round. By the end of the second round the score was 12-6 in favor of GC. That round included a run of five straight bout wins, two in saber and a foil sweep. In the third, after saber went 1-2, junior foil captain Sophia Ortiz won the 14th bout to secure the victory. The 17 wins were earned as follows: Saber by senior co-captain Riley DeGearo (1-2), sophomore Alexa Andron (2-1), junior

Kiley Brunning (2-1); Foil by Sophia Ortiz (3-0); juniors Melissa Ng (1-1) and Kaitlyn Fuoco (2-1), and sophomore Amanda Pinou (1-0); Épée by senior Captain Fran DiStefano (1-1), junior Iyaa Kalra (1-0) and sophomores Dian Wakeman (1-1) and Cate Rovelli (2-1).

As a result of the victory, the girls finished the season with a 7-4 record and in 4th place out of 12 competing teams. The team is playoff bound and will fence Jericho in the quarterfinals at home on Monday, February 22. Best of Luck!

Junior Foil Captain Sophia Ortiz closes out her third win

Senior Co-Saber Captain (right) with a powerful and attack.

Sophomore Cate Rovelli (right) wins her second bout.

Senior Captain Fran DiStefano (right) fencing epee.

Junior Iyaa Karla (right) won her epee bout.

Sophomore Amanda Pinou with a comeback victory

Junior Melissa Ng (right) scores in foil.

Junior Kiley Brunning (right) beats her opponent for the touch.

Dian Wakeman (right) scores a touch in epee.

GC RECREATION AND PARK NEWS

Adult Art Class at Cluett Hall

The Garden City’s Department of Recreation and Parks will offer an adult art class this fall. This 10-week program will teach the beginner as well as the advanced student the art of painting portraits and landscapes/still-life in pastel from photographs. Arleen Rueth Urban, the instructor for this program, is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America.

Classes will be held Fridays beginning February 12 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in St. Paul’s Cluett Hall. The cost of this program will be $140. Please note: Masks must be worn during class and each participant must fill out a COVID survey sheet before each class to attend. This class is open to adult residents who reside in the Inc. Village of Garden City.

The first lesson includes a portrait and landscape demonstration. At that time, a supply list is provided. Demonstrations will be available as needed throughout the program. Each student will receive the individual attention required as they move at their own pace and level of expertise.

To register for this session, please visit the Recreation and Parks office

at 108 Rockaway Avenue. If you have a password, you may register online at gcreconline.gardencityny.net.

Garden City Recreation’s Saturday Gym Program for Grades 2 to 5

Garden City Recreation and Parks is pleased to announce that this winter the Recreation Staff will conduct a four week gym program on Saturdays for children in grades 2–5. This program will consist of organized games and activities in a supervised setting.

Note: Children must wear a mask to participate and bring a signed Covid form to each session. Children must bring their own water bottle clearly labeled with their name. Parents will not be allowed in the gym during the session. Drop off and pick up will take place on the west side of the fieldhouse (drive up). Once the children are in our facility, they will not be allowed to leave unless picked up by an adult. Please be prompt. Space is limited for this program.

The registration fee for this program is $40. This four-week program will begin on February 6 and will run in St. Paul’s Field House according to the

following schedule:

Grades 2–3: Saturdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

Grades 4–5: Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Sneakers must be worn for any activity in the field house and only water is allowed in the facility.

Please visit the Recreation and Parks Office at 108 Rockaway Ave. with a $40 registration fee made payable to the Inc. Village of Garden City, or, if you have a password you can register online at www.gcreconline.gardencityny.net.

After School Fieldhouse Program for Kindergarten and 1st Grades

Garden City and Parks will offer a four week after school program in St. Paul’s Fieldhouse for children in kindergarten and 1st grades beginning the week of February 9. This program will consist of organized games and activities in a supervised setting.

PLEASE NOTE: Kindergarten is now filled. Children must wear a mask to participate and bring a signed COVID form to each session. Children must bring their own water bottle clearly

labeled with their name. Parents will not be allowed in the gym during the session. Drop off and pick up will take place on the west side of the fieldhouse (drive up). Space is limited for this program.

The registration fee for this program is $40. To give everyone a chance to join this program each child may register for only one day per session. This four week program will begin on the week of February 9 and will run in St. Paul’s Field House according to the following schedule:

1st Grade: Wednesdays or Fridays from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

Sneakers must be worn for any activity in the field house and only water is allowed in the facility.

Note: Once the children are in our facility, they will not be allowed to leave unless picked up by an adult. Please be prompt.

Space is limited. Please visit the Recreation and Parks Office at 108 Rockaway Ave. with a $40 registration fee made payable to the Inc. Village of Garden City, or, if you have a password you can register online at www. gcreconline.gardencityny.net.

Scanmefor fulldetails

83ThirdStreet,GardenCity,NY

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Claudia Galvin Manager

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Stephen Ripp

Kathleen Higdon Meredith Krug

Cecile Raoult Lynn Puccio

Joseph Scianablo Cheryl Trimboli Scott Wallace

Patrick Gibbons

Kathleen Roberts Julia Mastromauro Rosado

Daureen Hausser

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smart home (ˈsmärt \ ˈhōm)

Whatever home means to you, we’ll help you realize your vision.

At Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, we want to understand what moves you. Whether you’re buying or selling, expanding or downsizing, we’ll get to work and find what you’re looking for.

Let’s get started.

Garden City & Wyndham Resale Office 102 Seventh Street, Garden City, NY 516.248.6655 | danielgale.com