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Friday, September 18, 2020
Vol. 80, No. 38
SCHOLAR ARTISTS AT SYOSSET HS
Legislative meeting focuses on homeless shelter in Jericho BY GARY SIMEONE
Three Syosset High School students have been named as Long Island Scholar Artists for their excellence as practicing artists and academic achievement. Above, Evan Chang, Scholar in Music. See page 14 for additional winners.
Volunteers needed for Oyster Bay harbor cleanup
Residents are invited to participate in the Fall Oyster Bay Harbor Cleanup, scheduled to take place between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 3. This environmental cleanup is co-sponsored by the Town of Oyster Bay, Friends of the Bay and the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association. “We are asking volunteers to roll
up their sleeves and work at a socially-acceptable distance with our employees to rid local beaches and shorelines of debris,” said Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Richard Saladino. “Countless amounts of paper, food, plastics and other trash are discarded on beaches or dumped overboard from recreationSee page 14
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A legislative hearing took place last week concerning the proposed homeless shelter at the Hampton Inn location in Jericho. County legislators attending included Rose Walker and Arnold Drucker (D – Plainview), along with Nancy Nunziata, Nassau County commissioner of the Department of Social Services, and Deputy Director Lorraine Baum. Nassau County had previously announced plans to put 80 homeless families into the former hotel, which is located at 120 Jericho Turnpike. The transitional move is currently caught up in the court system as the Town of Oyster Bay announced plans to sue the County based on the violation of local zoning codes. At the hearing, Legislator Walker who is chair of the Health and Social Services Committee, said that planned emergency shelter had caught a lot of people offguard and was seemingly approved out of nowhere. “Nassau County did not notify any elected officials municipalities or residents when they decided to turn the former hotel into an emergency homeless shelter,” said Walker. “It is the goal of our committee to educate our residents on the facts, and I must say that the lack of transparency has been troubling to me.” The current provider of the shelter, a non-profit called Community Housing Innovations, is renaming the former hotel into the Jericho Family Support Center. Alexander Roberts, executive director of Community Housing Innovations, said that the primary goal is to get the families the help they need and to get them back into permanent housing. “It’s a tough situation in the Town
of Oyster Bay because it’s hard to find affordable housing, and these families with school-aged children are not getting the help they need,” said Roberts. He said that there are currently 44 homeless shelters located in the County, and that 40 of them are in predominantly minority communities, including the villages of Freeport, Hempstead and Uniondale. “Not one of these towns received advance notice to residents of the community that homeless shelters were being placed in their towns,” said Roberts. “There is not a chance that given the option, any of these communities would have welcomed in or supported a homeless shelter.” Legislator Arnold Drucker said he was outraged and disappointed in the lack of transparency by the County to notify local officials about the shelter. “I think we can all agree that this whole process, which dates back to 2017 with this provider, was woefully flawed,” said Drucker. “No one is more outraged and disappointed than me that I had to first learn about these plans at a school board meeting. That being said, I support this plan, which will offer life-affirming and life-saving essential resources to help families get back on their feet in the harshest economic downturn of our lifetimes.” He said that was important to examine the facts rather than listening to inaccuracies, half-truths and innuendo. “There is only one conclusion, and that is that we need to support these unfortunate families and provide them with the robust and comprehensive services to facilitate their return as contributors to our communities rather than have them languishing in their present inhumane conditions.”
32 Syosset Natl. Merit Semifinaliest PAGE 8 Town honors POWs, MIA veterans PAGE 3