Friday, April 17, 2020
Vol. 96, No.37
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Friends of STEAM PAGE 11 n Easter celebrated PAGE 25
Village budget includes $8.7 million in bonded projects
OPERATION FEED THE FRONT
BY RIKKI MASSAND
Inspired by the work of “GC Meals for NYU Winthrop,” the Cathedral of the Incarnation has begun a project to feed healthcare workers in hospitals across Long Island. More information about “Operation Feed the Front” can be found on page 4.
School district delivers special education services over distance learning BY RIKKI MASSAND One key area of instruction and services the district provides is within its Special Education programming, as occupational therapies (OT), physical therapies (PT) and speech services can’t take place at the school
setting. The shift to online, remote instruction due to the pandemic leaves a void of in-person interactions as special education students in the district often require one-on-one support. The school district took steps to address this over the last few weeks.
Within Special Education, the district held virtual Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings since school buildings closed effective March 16. Meetings allowed for productive discussion on students’ new experience of school services they require. See page 28
With two productive budget sessions in three days, by April’s end the Village of Garden City is primed to approve an adjusted municipal budget with cuts reflecting the pandemic and scrutiny over operations. Village Treasurer Irene Woo stated that there is no planned delay to the date the municipal budget must be approved and submitted to New York State by, which remains Friday, May 1 as of now. During the meeting Wednesday night, the public hearing for the budget approval was set for Tuesday, April 28, at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom (virtual and call-in) meeting. To participate in the meeting, instructions to contact Village Clerk Karen Altman will be posted on the Village’s website during the week, and the April 28 meeting will be publicly noticed in the newspapers. The total adopted budget covers much of “Scenario 1” discussed during Board work sessions held via Zoom meetings, April 2 and 13. The total budget as adopted would be $66.176 million for 2020-’21. In between this week’s Village budget work sessions, Woo sent the trustees an updated list of proposed Capital Projects including four projects trustees debated and were split, four to four, on: the Library HVAC and roof, Village Hall’s HVAC and the Public Works’ Yard roof. “Those four projects projects were added onto Budget Scenario 1 as bonded projects, which change Scenario 1 from a bonding amount of $6.4 million to $8.7 million. The proposed budget summary page would remain the same with the same 1.78% tax levy, no impact from those,” Woo said. The repointing of Village Hall’s exterior, presented as a DPW Capital Project March 10 with a hefty $1.515 million price tag, has also been included for the budget. On Wednesday night every trustee except for Deputy Mayor Robert Bolebruch supported ‘Scenario 1” as the budget option since it was amended. Trustee John Delany recommended that the Library’s HVAC and roof be allocated with bonding taking shape down the road since the Board heard information that neither will be a pressing matter in the next 12 months. “We can see how things work out as we move forward -- the See page 28
Real estate group makes donation to NYU Winthrop PAGE 6 Village, county confer over traffic on Cathedral Ave. PAGE 8