Friday, May 3, 2019
Vol. 79, No. 18
$1
SERVING PLAINVIEW, HICKSVILLE, AND LEVITTOWN
Artificial intelligence comes to Levittown
OPENING DAY
BY GARY SIMEONE
Hempstead Town Councilman Dennis Dunne (3rd left) attended the LSW Sports Opening Day Parade on April 13, at Duckpond Field in Wantagh. Councilman Dunne was joined by Levittown West Baseball President Anthony Tufano, Co-President Jim Albert and members Mike Hennely, Ralph Diez and Mike Roy; Levittown Pink Ladies coaches Christopher Marchetti and James Cordiner; Mike Nelson, Executive Director of the Levittown Island Trees Youth Council; Craig Sigel of Levittown; Nassau County Legislator John Ferretti; and Deputy County Clerk Kate Murray.
Assemblyman investigates LIRR salaries BY GARY SIMEONE New York State Assemblyman Michael Montesano has called for an investigation into a recently retired LIRR employee who collected nearly $350,000 in overtime compensation in 2018. “The fact that an employee of the LIRR acquired this kind of overtime salary in one year is troubling to say the least,” said Montesano. “Even more troubling is the fact that there is no doc-
umentation, timesheets or any proof that the work even took place.” Montesano said that the employee, Thomas Caputo, was a senior employee with thirty years on the job, working as a chief measurement operator for the LIRR. “He drove a special train car, (Advanced Track Geometry car,) maintaining the car and operating the specialized instruments. Because of his seniority, he was able to pick and choose the jobs
over other employees. He was able to stack his overtime pay over the last three years because of specific antiquated union rules.” According to the Empire Group, a nonprofit group that breaks down payroll payments of the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority,) Caputo made $344,147 in overtime payments in addition to his annual salary, bringing his total compensation to $461,646. See page10
The future has come to neighborhood Walmart store in Levittown after the store was recently upgraded with a sophisticated IRL (Intelligence Retail Lab,) last week. The 50,000 square foot store, located on Hempstead Turnpike, plans to use the Lab to make sure store produce is fresh for customer purchase. Ravi Jariwala, a spokesperson for Walmart, said that the cameras used in the Retail Lab will be different than regular store cameras in many different ways. “They’re quite different than the typical security cameras,” said Jariwala. “The IRL has AI-enabled cameras, among other technology and hardware, which will help with operational processes. The concepts we explore inside the IRL will be designed to simplify the shopping experience for customers and drive improvements in the business.” Business improvements will be focused on areas such as inventory and store operations, improving safety and cleanliness, create efficiencies and help save time, and create a more seamless experience for customers. “The AI will help with many aspects of how we operate our stores. The AI-cameras, weight-sensors in shelves, and other things of that nature, will help us better understand inventory levels, when shelves need to be organized, and when spills need to be cleaned up,” said Jariwala. The Lab will alert staff to when produce is not fresh, when shelves need to be cleaned up or when there are spills in the aisles of the store or other potential hazards. As for maximizing time, the IRL can will let store managers know when to open more registers so customers don’t wait in line or when shopping carts are low and need to be replenished. Jariwala said the reason the new Lab is being tested in this particular location is because of the proximity to the Walmart team and the high volume of customer traffic. “We believe the best place to test these new technologies is in an actual live retail environment so we can understand the real ways the tech benefits our associates and customers.”
Levittown’s best shine at SCOPE awards PAGE 10 Making a difference in Bethpage schools PAGE 9