Friday, November 25, 2016
Vol. 76, No. 46
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
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Residents voice concerns at Hicksville rezoning discussion BY GARY SIMEONE
An 8-0 season led the Levittown swim team to becoming the 2016 Conference 3 championship team. The team also currently ranks fifth in the Division A county championship meet held at the aquatic center at Eisenhower Park. During the conference meet, MacArthur High School senior Rachel Greene set the district dive record of 161.32, exceeding the 2015 record of 144.75. Division Avenue sophomore Hyzell Lim also set a new record in the 100meter butterfly during the county meet. Jamie Alvino, Alyssa Bourquin, Grace Connors, Victoria Coloma, Angelina Fazzino Rachel Greene, Hyzell Lim and Alicia Renda qualified for individual events at the county meet.
7-11 robbed at knife point
Nassau County Police are investigating an armed robbery of a 7-11 store in Bethpage on Sunday, November 20, at 2:20 am in Old Bethpage. According to detectives, an unknown male subject entered Seven Eleven – 758 Old Bethpage Road, displayed a knife and demanded money. The 25 year old male victim complied with an undetermined amount of US currency from two cash registers. The subject then slashed the victim on the neck
and both arms. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. The subject fled on foot northbound on Old Bethpage Road. The subject is described as wearing a mask, gloves and a gray hooded sweatshirt. Detectives request anyone with information regarding this crime to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
The Hicksville Downtown Revital-ization meeting that was scheduled for Thursday, November 17th in the Hicksville High School cafeteria was so crowded that the meeting had to be held in the school’s gymnasium. Over six hundred people showed up to offer their input and voice their concerns over the proposed zoning changes for downtown Hicksville. Executive Director of Vision Long Island, Eric Alexander moderated the event. Oyster Bay Town Councilwoman, Rebecca Alesia and Hicksville Chamber of Commerce President, Lionel Chitty were also in attendance. In June, members of the Town Board announced a plan to divide the existing Hicksville downtown central business district into three new zoning districts surrounding the Long Island Rail Road station. The plan calls for a mix of multifamily housing, offices and a variety of retail uses. “The purpose of this meeting is to get each and everyone of you in this room to see what you want for this community,” said Councilwoman Alesia. Residents were concerned about certain aspects of the project including the timeline, construction costs and increased traffic in the area as a result of the project. One resident asked about the increased number of cars in the downtown area as a result of the project, saying that the area was already overwhelmed with traffic congestion at all times of the day. Alexander said that his hope for
the outcome of the rezoning project is that with more people in the area that they will take advantage of the LIRR and hopefully walk to local businesses instead of driving their cars. “I think this will give people a reason to be outside walking around in the downtown area,” said Alexander. “This is not an auto oriented development and I don’t anticipate a lot of driving in the area. We re trying to bring back that downtown feel to the area.” Another resident said that with the proposed amount of living space the project calls for it will cause a traffic and parking nightmare. “It’s going to be adults paying the rent and of course they’ll have cars. How is this going to effect the parking situation in the downtown area?” “We are not trying to exacerbate an already complex parking situation,” said Chamber of Commerce President, Lionel Chitty. “We have already worked it out with developers so that there will be enough available space for people to park and they won’t come in and totally disregard our parking signs.” School district impacts was another topic brought up at the meeting with residents wanting to know how the district would be effected by the increased number of people living in the developments. Edward Williams, said he has been a Hicksville resident since 1989 and that this redevelopment project is way overdue. “Nothing has changed in this area for the longest time,” said Williams. We should have started this thing years ago, we’re way behind the eight ball on this.”
Top notes for 18 high school muscians PAGE 6 Division Ave. hosts “Pink Out” game PAGE 3