Friday, August 16, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 33
$1 30 Berry Hill
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Legislator rallies local students over summer BY RIKKI MASSAND
who are riding them in a dangerous fashion and make it a misdemeanor for anyone over the age of 12 participating in the ride-outs. “For a first time offense, we would impose a fine of $100 on the parents of children over the age of twelve who engage in this type of behavior,” said Ferretti. The legislator said that there has been an increased number of calls from aggravated motorists to the local police department about the ride-outs, but that there is lit-
Syosset High School Class of 2012 graduate, former Syosset Board of Education trustee and current Nassau County Legislator Joshua A. Lafazan is running for re-election this fall in District 18. He was first elected to public office on the school board at age 18, and Lafazan was the second youngest public servant to be elected in New York State. At 23 years old, in November 2017, Josh Lafazan became Nassau County’s youngest-ever legislator upon his election to the County Legislature. At age 25 now, he inspires 75 high school and college interns to collaborate at his campaign office inside the Plainview Shopping Center at 393 South Oyster Bay Road. The dozens of high school and even middle school interns on the Lafazan campaign trail and canvass teams for 2019 work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Each week, Tuesdays and Thursdays are set up as times for college student interns to cover the in-office programming and outreach. But on Saturdays all summer long, it’s “all hands on deck” as every young person involved in Legislator Lafazan’s re-election bid gets to work instead of hitting the beaches or water parks, playing video games, cruisin’ around the mall or relaxing in their precious down time before the school year. “Our team of interns are showcasing that young people are never too young to make a difference. I founded this internship program to give young people the opportunity to serve their community, and I’ve been so impressed with the tenacity, compassion, and intellect they have shown. At 25 years old, I have to be the person to give young people a shot, and I’ll always be a champion for breaking down barriers to entry for young people. I love my job, and hope that I will have the privilege of serving another term come Election Day,” Lafazan told the Advance and News-Journal last week. His county legislature seat represents Syosset, Woodbury, Laurel Hollow, Brookville, Mill Neck, Muttontown, Lattingtown, Locust Valley, Glen Head, Bayville, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, and Cove Neck. Among the interns he has working in Plainview Shopping Center and canvassing the local communities, about 26 students are from Lafazan’s hometown of Syosset and another 20 are students from Jericho. The mass of young people inside the campaign office refer to the groundbreaking young legislator as “Josh.” Many commented that they decided to spend this summer getting the word out about him, and the importance of civic engagement and registering to vote in the 2019 election. Social media has helped several of these local students and their parents discover who their local-level elected officials are, and some students say they have peers in school who did not know they lived with the Town of Oyster Bay and that there were local legislators, senators and others representing their hometowns. Some of Lafazan’s summer interns will be eligible to cast a vote by the 2020 Presidential Election, now just 16 months away. He also has
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Chase Serota, campaign manager; with Josh Samuel, Sr. Roslyn HS, Legislator Joshua Lafazan, Lily Molesky, rising Jr. North Shore HS, and Jasbina Sabharwal, rising jr. Plainview-JFK
New bills will help curb bike ‘ride-outs’ BY GARY SIMEONE A dangerous trend for kids has emerged this summer riding their bicycles and scooters on some of the County’s major thoroughfares. They are called ride-outs, where kids bait drivers on the road by darting in and out of oncoming traffic and swerving at the last minute to avoid collisions. As a result of these so-called ride-outs, Nassau County legislators have proposed two separate bills to help curb the trend of this dangerous type of activity.
County Legislator John Ferretti Jr, who represents 15th district, said that the proposed bills would raise the required helmet age to 18 and impose penalties for kids who are participating in these rideouts. “The first bill is really a result of the increase in bicycling accidents nationwide,” said Ferretti. “There have been seventeen deaths alone in New York City this year from people riding a bike.” The second bill would allow police to confiscate and impound bicycles of people
Syosset Woodbury inducts officers PAGE 2 Environmental topics at Town Hall event PAGE 4