Syosset Advance (12/27/19)

STATE CHAMPIONS Syosset Chamber, officials praise outgoing president

BY RIKKI MASSAND

After three successful years serving as the president of the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce, attorney Charo Ezdrin’s term comes to an end on December 31. In January the Chamber will be led by its current vice president, Woodbury resident Maureen Nickel, the owner of BrightStar Home Health Care of North Shore, Nassau County at 136 Woodbury Road, Suite 203.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor and the members of the Town Board welcomed members of the New York State Class A Champion Jericho High School “Jayhwaks” Boys Soccer Team and honored them at a recent Town Board meeting for their amazing state championship win. Several weeks ago they travelled to Middletown, New York and won the Class A State Championship with a 3-1 win over Greece-Athena of Rochester. It was an amazing accomplishment and a triumphant way to conclude a memorable season. It was the school’s fifth state soccer title in their history. On hand from Jericho High School Soccer were Head Coach Dani Braga and Assistant Coach Jim Whelan, who combined to provide championship leadership and direction.

Free musical performances at libraries

The Town of Oyster Bay has announced that its Department of Community and Youth Services will be offering free musical performances during the month of January 2020 at local libraries throughout the Town. This is a continuation of the 2019-2020 Distinguished Artists Concert Series, which will continue to run monthly through

May 2020.

“The Town’s Distinguished Artists Concert Series has proven to be one of our most popular and enduring programs, as residents flock from all across the Town to see the free musical and dance performances scheduled each month for the enjoyment of our residents,” said Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino. “I invite

residents to take advantage of these four wonderful performances offered by the Town for free at local libraries throughout the month of January.”

Upcoming performances for January 2020 include:

• Sheri Miller – Honoring Women’s Voices in Music on Sunday, January 5, 2020 at 2 p.m.

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Nassau County Legislator Joshua A. Lafazan has seen Charo Ezdrin and the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce in both his time as a Syosset school board trustee (2012 through 2017) and as a young man growing up amidst downtown Syosset happenings. He provided the following reflection on Ezdrin’s time in the heart of downtown and as the heartbeat of the Chamber of Commerce:

“In order for a business community to thrive, you need a leader with limitless enthusiasm, passion, and optimism to champion the area. From the moment she took the oath of office, we had our optimist in Chamber President Charo Ezdrin. Charo believed, with every fiber of her being, that Syosset is amongst the very best places in the country to live and work, and that it was our obligation to never cease in our efforts to make it even better. Charo's departure leaves big shoes to fill, and it’s up to all of us to work diligently to further her legacy of supporting Syosset's business community.”

Ezdrin is not a Syosset/Woodbury native like Lafazan, but her choice to locate her law firm, Ezdrin & Woods, P.C. in the heart of Syosset next to the LIRR station at 93 Jackson Avenue brought her closer to local businesses, schools, and residents as well as Town of Oyster Bay officials.

Town of Oyster Bay Councilwoman Michelle Johnson took some time to comment on Ezdrin’s great local impacts during the downtown Syosset Holiday Spectacular on Sunday, December 8, organized by the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce. Johnson said the Chamber has grown and continues to grow immensely with Ezdrin as a driving force behind it.

“Charo has been an amazing friend to everybody in the Town of Oyster Bay -- all our residents and every person in government, on top of Chamber and business circles. We could

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Casino trip planned

The Catholic Daughters of the Americas of Hicksville will be hosting a bus trip to the Wind Creek Bethlehem casino (formerly Sands) on Tuesday, January 28.

The cost will be $43 per person, which includes the driver’s tip. There will be a $35 give back for slots play.

Please arrive at 8:30 a.m.  Return will be

approximately 8:30 p.m.

Parking: # 999 So. Oyster Bay Road (on the street in the dead end)

Reservations: Call Barbara at (516) 9355576

Please make checks payable to “CDA”. The first to pay is the first on the bus, etc.

See what's happening at your library!

From classes to lectures and concerts to movie screenings, there's never a dull day at your local library! Check this paper each week for fun and informative all-ages activities, all for free or cheap!

Jericho Middle School holds annual spelling bee

Ranya Parekh, Middle School ELA teacher and Spelling Bee coordinator Rosemary Scalera and Alison Tae.

Jericho Middle School held their annual spelling bee and Ranya Parekh was the winner and the runner up was Alison Tae. The winning word this year was “cauterize.”

Sixth-grader participants were Javier Linares, Mia Shu, Aaron Hsu, Amneet Kaur, George Thomas, Amanda Gimbel, Richard Xu, Mason Spector, Raeef Hoque, Ethan Yeung, and Chloe Yang.

Seventh-graders were Russell Green,

Lilly Horowitz, Kayce Lee, Madeline Shek, Gabrielle Shahaf, Ashley Zheng, Aisha Bandagi, Madeline Shek, Gabrielle Shahaf, Ashley Zheng, and Aisha Bandagi.

Eighth-graders were Brandon Luong, Lucas Chacko, Emaad Ansari, Neha Kamath, Vivek Kirpalani, Brendan Shek, Alison Tae, Sean Chae, Ranya Parekh, Akshara Keshri, Anika Singhal, and Janet Chen.

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Photo by Denise Nash

Syosset HS Chamber Singers perform at St. Patrick's Cathedral

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The Syosset High School Chamber Singers, under the direction of Kristin Howell, performed for a crowd of visitors at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Friday, December 13. It was the 20th anniversary of Syosset students performing at the historic cathedral.

The students were selected to perform as part of the Guest Choir Concert Series, which features top-level high school, college, church, cathedral and professional choirs from around the world. The Syosset Chamber Singers have been invited to perform for the past 20 years, making the performance an annual tradition.

Reflected 12th-grade student Dani Cherkis, “When we got to the cathedral, I was in awe of how beautiful the space truly was. I immediately was filled with joy and excitement. The way our voices bounced back to us after every break was so cool, it truly was something I had never experienced before.”

Prior to the performance in Manhattan, the Chamber Singers visited St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bethpage to spread holiday cheer by caroling for patients and staff.

“Starting the day at St. Josephs was so amazing,” remarked 11th-grade student Alexandra Donach. “It was so apparent that the patients were suffering, but seeing how they and the nurses smiled, and even cried because of how moving our songs were was so inspiring, and gave so much reason to why we do what we do.”

“I believe these experiences to be the most memorable for our students,” commented Howell. “Giving the gift of music is like no other. “

The Syosset High School Chamber Singers.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Eliassof

Looking for love for the holidays? Try the TOB Animal Shelter

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino and Councilwoman Michele Johnson with some “purrfect” new friends.

The Town of Oyster Bay’s Animal Shelter has announced that it will waive adoption fees for pets for the remainder of the year.

Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “Residents interested in making this a ‘purr-fect’ holiday season can adopt cats or dogs free of charge at our shelter throughout the month of December.  Our dedicated shelter staff is ready to assist residents find the right companion for their family.”

Through December 31, general adoption fees of $84 per pet will be waived. All usual adoption services will be provided, including the spaying or neutering of the animal, vaccination and microchipping.

“Our animal shelter has a wonderful reputation of providing great care to the pets temporarily housed there while waiting for their new homes,” Councilwoman Michele Johnson said. “Come on down to make a new ‘fur-ever’ friend this holiday season.”

The Town of Oyster Bay Animal Shelter is located at 150 Miller Place in Syosset. The shelter is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

To view photos of some of the animals available for adoption, or to link to the shelter’s Facebook page, visit the Town’s website, www.oysterbaytown. com or call (516) 677-5784 for more information.

Long Island Blues Winter Hockey special tournament

The Town of Oyster Bay has announced that the 10th Annual Town of Oyster Bay Long Island Blues Winter Classic will take place on Saturday, January 25.  This special event showcases LI Blues hockey players with special needs enjoying a game they love verse three other teams from the tri-state area.  The public is welcome to attend and admission is FREE. The tournament will consist of six games that will take place throughout the day between the four teams.

“The LI Blues is an inspiring hockey program in which children and young adults with developmental disabilities play ice hockey in a wonderful setting,” said Supervisor Saladino. “This LI Blues organization brings all the fun of playing ice hockey to athletes with special needs, and this Winter Classic Tournament is the perfect way to highlight their inspirational stories. Three other teams, the Connecticut Storm, the New Jersey Dare Devils and the Nova Cool Cats will be participating and the Town welcomes these teams to the Town of Oyster Bay.  We invite residents to come to this event and cheer on the LI Blues.  Their com-

mitment and dedication to the sport is uplifting.”

“The LI Blues organization is pleased to again be partnering with the Town of Oyster Bay to present the LI Blues Winter Classic,” Skip Theiss of LI Blues Special Hockey said.  “We are very proud of our program which adapts the game of hockey to make it fun for players with special needs.  The LI Blues Winter Classic is an outstanding piece of that program and we are thrilled to have it at the state-of-theart Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center.”

The LI Blues Winter Classic is just one of the many special events held at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center.  The facility offers public skating sessions, and serves as home to hockey clubs, figure skaters and special events throughout the year.  The Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center is located at 1001 Stewart Avenue, adjacent to Bethpage Community Park.

For more information about the LI Blues Winter Classic and other programs at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center, please visit www.oysterbaytown.com or call (516) 433-RINK.

Registration for 2nd NSPC Health Science Competition Opens

Registration for the second Neurological Surgery P.C. Health Science Competition (NSPC HSC), a program of the Center for Science Teaching & Learning (CSTL), is now open at www.cstl.org/nspc. Last year the competition drew teams from 38 Long Island high schools and 50 prize winners shared $80,000 in score-based awards.

Created to foster interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs, applications for the 2020 competition must be received by no later than 12:00 p.m. (EST) on April 30, 2020.

A$25 non-refundable registration fee per team applies to all entries. The NSPC HSC is available exclusively to Nassau and Suffolk County high school student teams, the competition’s finals will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

Health and science careers are in high demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that healthcare related occupations are expected to generate 2.3 million new jobs through 2024, representing faster employment growth than any other industry.

“As leaders in the medical

profession,” notes Michael H. Brisman, M.D., an attending neurosurgeon and chief executive officer of Neurological Surgery, P.C. (NSPC), “we must focus on inspiring and motivating young people to take interest in STEM education and pursue careers in health and science. This is especially important with the high demand for healthcare and medical science positions, locally and nationally.”

Student teams will be judged in one of five categories: Behavioral Sciences; Biology –Medicine/Health; Biology – Microbiology/Genetics; Health Related Biochemistry/Biophysics, and Bioengineering and Computational Biology. The five first place winners in last year’s competi-

Last year, Michael H. Brisman, M.D., CEO, Neurological Surgery, P.C. (NSPC), at right, received an award from Kevin Sanders, Center for Science, Teaching & Learning (CSTL), acknowledging NSPC’s sponsorship of the nation’s first competition for high school students to focus on STEM/health science. The 2019 competition finals were held at LIU/Post in Greenvale.

tion were: Feyi Rufai of Roslyn High School in the “Behavioral Sciences” category, Alessi Demir of Manhasset High School in the “Biology – Medicine/ Health” category, Michael Lawes of Elmont Memorial High School in the “Biology Microbiology/Genetics” category, Jason Sitt of Lynbrook Senior High School in the “Health Related Biochemistry & Biophysics” category, and Christopher Lu of John L. Miller Great Neck North High School in the “Bioengineering and Computational Biology” category. Each winner received a $5,500 prize. The exact breakdown of prizes can be found at www.cstl.org/nspc/hscprizes/.

“The young people who

were part of the first competition,” observes Dr. Brisman, “were brilliant and inspiring. Their understanding of medicine and health-related subjects was impressive. These students are exactly what we need to address the high demand to STEM, health science, and healthcarerelated jobs here on Long Island and across the nation. The first NSPC Health Science Competition exceeded our goals in terms of the number of schools and students who competed. I believe the 2020 competition will further motivate both those who participate and others, who observed these innovative young people, to pursue their interest and careers in healthcare and related sciences.”

For more information about the NSPC Health Science Competition (NSPC HSC), competition rules, and deadlines, please visit www.cstl.org/nspc or call (516) 764-0045

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Philadelphia Offers Treasure Trove of History, Heritage, Culture

BY KAREN RUBIN TRAVEL FEATURES SYNDICATE GOINGPLACESFARANDNEAR.COM

Philadelphia is a jewel box of unique and spectacular, even life-enhancing attractions, a treasure trove of history, heritage, culture that glitters particularly during the holidays. The holiday splendor is eye-catching and warms the heart, but any visitor still has to make time to experience first-hand at least some of these iconic places. I manage to bookend my holiday merrymaking with a mix of art (Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Magic Gardens) with history (Independence Hall) with heritage (National Museum of American Jewish History) with science and enlightenment (Philly is the hometown of one of our most enlightened inventors, Ben Franklin, and so I end this visit with the Franklin Institute.

Barnes Collection

We spare no time once we drop our luggage at The Roost East Market, park the car in the garage, but grab an Uber to race over to The Barnes Foundation. The Barnes Collection is one of the world’s greatest collections of impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modernist paintings, with especially rich holdings in

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Philadelphia Offers Treasure Trove of History, Heritage, Culture

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Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. Assembled by Dr. Albert C. Barnes between 1912 and 1951, the collection also includes important examples of African art, Native American pottery and jewelry, Pennsylvania German furniture, American avant-garde painting, and wrought-iron metalwork. In fact, we are told, Dr. Barnes has the greatest collection of Renoir anywhere – 181 of them acquired by Dr. Barnes between 1921 and 1942 that you actually see (as opposed to museums that keep most of their collections in storage). Plus 69 by Paul Cézanne; 59 by Henri Matisse; 46 by Pablo Picasso; 21 by Chaim Soutine; 18 by Henri Rousseau and the list goes on and on, as you walk from gallery to gallery to gallery.

The building complex is new, but the gallery rooms re-create the rooms and how Dr. Barnes displayed his art, intentionally juxtaposing masterworks by Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso next to ordinary household objects – a door hinge, a spatula, a yarn spinner; a French medieval sculpture displayed with a Navajo textile; African folk art with Modigliani and Cubists. Dr. Barnes called these dense groupings of objects from different cultures, time periods and media his “ensembles.” He meticulously crafted the ensembles to draw out visu al similarities – even the source of inspiration. He meant them as teaching tools, essential to the educational program Dr. Barnes developed in the 1920s.

“He believed you could as likely learn

about how to do surgery wandering through a hospital as art wandering through a gallery – you have to be taught how to see, what to look for,” a docent explains. “He wanted people to appreciate how culture influences art.”

She adds, “He wasn’t an artist himself.”

In fact, she relates, 10 years ago, Central

High School (Dr. Barnes grew up in a working class family in Philadelphia), came across his school books. “He got A’s in everything but art.”

At the Barnes, you experience these masterworks in the most intimate manner, as if visiting a home (albeit a mansion). We are exceptionally lucky to visit when the museum is not at all crowded (actually we are there until closing) – I even get to have some of the art completely to myself. It is very comfortable to view – many of the rooms (and they seem to go on forever, one after another) are small and there is seating in each one, with guides to the artwork at hand. But you should try to take a docent tour. At one point, the docent pulls up a photo of Henry Matisse, sitting on the very bench and gazing at his own painting in that very room.

In every room, you are astonished to see art that is amazingly familiar –because they are so famous: Georges Seurat’s “Models” (the basis for “Sunday in the Park with George”); Vincent van Gogh’s “The Postman”; Paul Cezanne’s “The Card Players”; Edouard Manet “Laundry”; Pablo Picasso “Acrobat and Young Harlequin”, and a plethora of Renoirs – so many, you get a sugar high. Every gallery takes your breath away, and for that moment, the art, the masterpiece, is yours.

And then there are the surprises –the art and artists you “meet” for the

first time. I fall in love with a Van Gogh country scene I have never seen before. There is a wonderful painting of Dr. Albert Barnes (1872-1951) by Giorgio de Chirico (1926), which makes you wonder more about who he was to have assembled such an astonishing collection. Dr. Barnes was born and raised in working-class Philadelphia, earned a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and went on to study chemistry in Germany. After starting his own business and making a fortune in pharmaceuticals, he began collecting art.

“Dr. Barnes believed that art had the power to improve minds and transform lives,” the notes read. “In 1922, he established the Barnes Foundation as a school for learning how to see and appreciate art. He had a gallery built in Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, to house his growing collection. He held classes in the gallery so that students could learn directly from the artworks.”

In 2012, the collection was moved to Philadelphia, to a building designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architecture. The collection gallery replicates the original gallery building in Merion.

The Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130, 215-278-7000, www.barnesfoundation.org.

Choosing a uniquely different New Year’s resolution!

BY CLAIRE LYNCH

New Year’s Eve is upon us and it’s the perfect time for getting together with friends and relatives and making some new memories.

In talking with several friends of mine about their New Year’s Eve memories, my friend, Joey, recalled a prank he pulled years ago when he was a kid.

Joey says, “My best New Year’s Eve was that of 1999. I was nine years old at the time and I worked together with my dad to pull off what I considered the greatest prank in history. A few minutes before midnight I synced up a wrist watch with the countdown on TV. My dad pointed me in the direction of the breaker which was in our garage and showed me the lever to pull which would cut all power to the house.

“Now I don’t know if you remember the hype but the year 2000 was supposed to destroy all of our computers and technology sending us back to the Stone Age.

“So as the moment grew closer, I watched the seconds tick by on my wrist watch. It soon became apparent that I wouldn’t need it since I heard all of my relatives inside counting down 10, 9 , 8 … 2, 1! I pulled the lever at the perfect time and everything went dark. The first thing I heard was my aunt shouting, ‘Oh, my God, it hit! Y2K hit!!’

“I was only going to leave the power off for 10 seconds or so but the lever was stuck and I couldn’t get it back up for about two minutes, during which the whole time I heard my family freaking out. Then eventually they all

looked outside and started to wonder why our neighbors still had power. Thinking back I really wish we would have recorded this, I probably could have won some big bucks for having the funniest video!”

Last year on New Year’s Eve my family and I were invited to a New Year’s Eve party at my brother, Peter’s, house and several other relatives also attended the party. The younger kids were allowed to stay up until 10 p.m. so they grabbed their party hats and blowers and were definitely in the New Year’s Eve spirit.

In chatting with my nephew, Luke, who was eight then, I asked him what New Year’s Eve was all about. Smiling, he said that it was one big party, that’s why all of the relatives were over.

I tried defining it, tried summarizing it which is hard and tried explaining why the adults always end up singing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve and what the words mean which was even harder to do.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne? …”

It’s an 18th-century Scottish ballad and basically the speaker is asking whether old friends should be forgotten, as a way of stating that obviously one should not forget one’s old friends. It seems a bit old fashioned but I told Luke that it has been a popular song to sing on New Year’s Eve. It’s tradition after all.

I told Luke a few of my New Year’s resolutions - to eat in a healthier way, to

lose some weight and to listen to other people better - and I asked him what he wanted to commit to do.

After he asked what the word “resolution” meant I explained that it means to “decide firmly on a course of action.” Luke got that then he said that he wanted to think about his options for a few minutes so he went off to get a soda.

I figured that he would get sidetracked after getting his soda but then again Luke does take things seriously. A half hour later he came up to me and said that he has a good idea. “For your New Year’s resolution?” I asked.

Nodding, he said that his New Year’s resolution was to be more patient which I thought was pretty nice because it showed me that he had really given it some thought. We got off the serious subject of making New Year’s resolutions and had fun partying with everyone else.

In terms of resolutions for the New Year, I was speaking with my cousin, Elaina, and her husband, Matt, and they said that they want to rent an RV and take their young kids camping out West next summer.

They added that the kids are old enough now, at eight, 10 and 12, to appreciate a trip like that. They want their first stop to be Mount Rushmore in South Dakota to see the faces of the four presidents - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln - etched in stone.

Jerry, Jr., was so excited about seeing that monument and checking out the interactive exhibits inside the museum that he was counting the days

Who Ushers In the New Year First - And Last?

If you want to be among the first to welcome the New Year, your best bet is to head to Kiritimati, or Christmas Island. Located in the Indian Ocean, Kiritimati is the world’s largest coral atoll and is the first inhabited landmass west of the International Date Line.

The first major city to celebrate the New Year is Auckland, New Zealand. Because New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, it is summertime and their celebrations include outdoor concerts and, as with most other major cities, a stunning fireworks display.

And if you happen to be wondering about who is the last to ring in the New Year worldwide, those who live in Honolulu, Hawaii, in Adak, Alaska, in Papeete, Tahiti, and in Pago Pago, Samoa are the last.

In 1904 a New Year’s Eve party was held in New York’s Times Square to commemorate the opening of the New York Times headquarters. Today nearly 1 million people converge on the city’s center to watch the infamous New Year’s Eve Ball drop down Times Square’s 77-foot flag pole.

It starts its decent at 1 minute until midnight and, when it has dropped, two tons of confetti are released on the crowd below. The confetti includes messages from people around the work that talk about their hopes, their dreams and their goals that have been left on the New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall at the Times Square Information Center. If you aren’t able to join the revelers, leave a message online and you can watch your message swirl around with all those in Times Square on New Year’s Eve!

until they were going to leave for their trip. Matt had been to Mount Rushmore as a child but Elaina and her three children have never seen it.

They want to continue on to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, to Sedona, Arizona, and to Santa Fe, New Mexico. They want to see the red rocks and canyons of Sedona, check out the hiking trails and swim in Oak Creek, and go kayaking down the Verde River. In Santa Fe, they want to hit all of the tourist attractions plus go camping.

Usually they vacation much closer to home so making this New Year’s resolution to do something different is something they are really looking forward to.

My friend, Scott, said that his New Year’s resolution is for him and his wife to get on a plane and visit their daughter and her family in the Seattle area.

“It’s been too long since we’ve gotten together at their place so I am going to make it happen,” Scott said. “Usually they fly to Long Island to see the relatives but for a change I want to see them in their own home.”

My friend, Cathie, always says that it’s a happy New Year if she can take in an animal that needs a loving home. She doesn’t care if it’s a cat or a dog. Cathie tries to place animals in their forever homes whenever she can and over the course of 30 years or so she has really made a difference.

She knows that there are many more out there but Cathie has an extroverted personality and in that nice way of hers she has persuaded many prospective pet parents to take in the “new additions” to their families.

Then Cathie teaches them how to take care of their new pets if they need any advice or tips. She follows up in the weeks and months ahead to be sure that everyone is happy.

As was the case with many of the people I spoke with about their New Year’s resolutions, I have decided that I want to be more adventurous. I want to travel more, meet new people and increasingly open my heart and my mind to new experiences.

I want to rescue a cat and a dog and show them what a safe and stable home is. I want to play fetch with the dog, and yes, with the cat, too! I want to give them special names, names that are memorable and suiting their personalities.

Like my brother, Gregory, I want to spend more time walking and hiking in 2020. I am someone who reads and writes a lot so I enjoy every chance I have to go outdoors and be surrounded by nature.

When walking I don’t need a pedom-

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Working Women, Stay-At-Home Moms And Social Security

BY TOM MARGENAU

Sometimes I will write what I think is the most harmless and innocuous column about a Social Security issue -- and then all hell breaks loose! It happened again recently. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column in which I explained that a workingwoman will generally be paid her own Social Security benefit first. Only after that will they will look to her husband’s record to see if she can get any additional benefits. Well, that triggered a whole host of emails, some of them quite angry. Here is an example.

Q: I can’t believe how Social Security discriminates against women like me who were forced to work in order to maintain a certain standard of living. It’s a travesty that these lazy women who never worked a day in their lives and who got to stay home and let their husbands take care of them get essentially the same benefits that I do. I know a lady from our church who never worked a day in her life, and she gets Social Security from her husband -- and I get squat! What’s wrong with this picture?

A: Wow! There is some anger there -- on a whole lot of levels. I’m not even going to touch your sentiments about stay-at-home wives and mothers. I’ll let someone more versed in women’s issues deal with that. But I will discuss your concerns about Social Security. And I think the best way I can do that is to once again share this story about my mom and the lady who lived next door to us.

I grew up in a small town where you could find rich folks in big houses living very near to poor folks occupying much more modest dwellings. And that was true of our neighborhood. My dad was a janitor struggling to make ends meet. My mother had to work to help pay the rent and keep enough groceries on the table to feed me and my three siblings.

Just behind our house and across the alley was a big home owned by the vice president of a local bank. His wife, even though she had a degree in journalism, never worked outside the home once the first of an eventual brood of six children came along.

My brothers and sister and I got along famously with the children of the banker and his wife. We were always playing games, shooting baskets or just hanging out. On the other hand, our parents rarely spoke. I guess the economic and educational gulf between them was just too great to foster any kind of meaningful relationship.

And that gulf only widened later in life between my mom and the neighbor lady after both of their husbands died. Sadly, most of the friction and resentment came from my mom’s side of the alley. And much of it had to do with Social Security.

Because my mom had worked most of her life, she received her own Social Security retirement benefit. The widows rate she was due on my dad’s Social Security account was only slightly higher than her own, so she did get a small bump in her monthly checks from my dad’s side of the Social Security ledger.

Across the alley, the neighbor lady received no benefits on her own Social Security account, but she did get a rather substantial widows benefit from her deceased banker husband. It was more than my mother received from her combined accounts.

And this peeved my mother to no end. Sadly, she lived the rest of her life bearing deep resentment -- partly to her neighbor and partly to the Social Security system that allowed what she perceived to be this injustice to happen. I can still hear her griping: “THAT WOMAN never worked a day in her life. And there she is in that big house, getting more money each month from the government than me, a woman who worked hard all her life just trying to make ends meet!”

After I started working for the Social Security Administration, my mom carried on with her rants about the supposedly broken system and asked me “to do something about it.”

Of course, there was absolutely nothing that a brand new SSA employee could do about this situation. Besides, the laws that govern the payment of Social Security benefits are written by Congress, not by bureaucrats. Still, I tried to mollify my mom by discussing the rationale behind the rules with her. I explained that Social Security was not set up to work like regular pension programs. It always was (and still is today) a social insurance program intended to accomplish larger goals for society.

I used to ask my mom: “If you think things are unfair, what do you think we should do about it? Should we take widows benefits away from our neighbor because you don’t think she deserves them?” My mother might get a nasty little gleam in her eye with that thought. But she always eventually admitted that the neighbor was due her widows benefits.

My mom would counter with this: “I think I should get my own full Social Security benefit AND my own full widows benefit. After all, I worked and paid for my Social Security, and Dad worked and paid for his Social Security!” On the surface, it seems like a valid point. In fact, I’ve heard thousands of workingwomen make the same argument to me over the years.

But here is the flip side of that coin: If working women can get their own retirement benefits and full spousal benefits, shouldn’t working men be offered the same? In other words, every single

working person in this country would get his or her own Social Security benefit, and at the same time, everyone would also get a spousal benefit from his or her husband or wife.

Let’s be realistic. The system was never set up to do that. And it never could do that. Where in the world would the money come from to essentially pay double benefits to everyone in the country?

The truth is Social Security spousal and survivor benefits have always

been classified as “dependents” benefits. They are meant to be paid to a lower-earning (or nonearning) spouse who was financially dependent on the higher-income spouse. They were never meant to be paid to everyone as some kind of add-on marital bonus to their own Social Security account.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has the answer. Contact him at thomas.margenau@comcast.net COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM

GOING PLACES, NEAR & FAR....

Philadelphia Offers Treasure Trove of History, Heritage, Culture

Continued from page D2

From here, we go to a family gathering at the mega-popular Zahav Restaurant (the Uber driver can’t believe we are getting in there since lines are usually around the block), an award-winning restaurant which elevates Israeli cuisine to gourmet status. The small plates menu is designed for diners to sample the variety of cultural influences on Israeli cuisine, from Eastern Europe to North Africa, from Persia to the Mediterranean. “Creamy, nutty hummuses, sizzling skewers of meat grilled over hardwood charcoal, and laffa breadar,  the soul of Zahav, baked to order in a wood-fired Taboon.” (237 Saint James Place, 215-625-8800, zahavrestaurant.com).

I spend the next day immersing myself in the sights and sounds of Philadelphia’s holiday activities (see: Holiday Happenings Give Visitors to Philadelphia Even More to Enjoy)

Independence Hall

I’m out of The Roost East Market apartment hotel at 8:30 am for a delightful 15 minute walk down Market Street to the Independence Hall Visitor Center to get a timed ticket for a tour of Independence Hall. They start distributing tickets at 8:30 am and I get a ticket for the first tour, 9:20 am (the ticket is free; you can pay $1 for advance reservations online, www.nps.gov/inde/ planyourvisit/independencehalltickets. htm). That gives me enough time to watch a short film in the Visitor Center and visit the “Great Essentials” exhibit of original printed copies of the three founding documents signed here at Independence Hall: the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and Constitution. Another interesting artifact: the Syng inkstand, believed to

be the silver inkstand in which the 56 Founding Fathers dipped their quills to “mutually pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor” in the cause of independence.

We gather in a room and learn that we have come from throughout the United States and the world.

“Government as we recognize it, was invented inside Independence Hall,” the Ranger tells us.

The building, in Georgian style architecture which manifested symmetry and order, is on the original site; the foundation was laid in 1732, the year George Washington was born.

The founders, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, would have called the building the Pennsylvania State House. All three branches of colonial government were housed here.

“Delegates representing 13 diverse colonies, speaking with a variety of accents, met here, who would have been more familiar with London than Philadelphia. What united them was how disturbed they were how the King and Parliament was treating the colonists. It was the end of the French & Indian War (The Seven Years War), which gave the British victory and control over most of North America, but the Crown imposed new taxes to pay for the war.

We are ushered into a room that would have served as Pennsylvania’s highest court.

“The Magna Carta spelled out the rights of British citizens – no man above law; trial by jury of peers; attorneys would be gathered at one table and colonists could gather and watch the trial. Colonists inherited numerous rights.” But grievances grew – taxation without representation – and the colonists saw their rights being whittled away by the British crown.

We enter the very room where the Continental Congress brought together delegates from 13 free and independent states. “We don’t know for sure but we think they were probably seated by geographic area.” As they gathered to consider their grievances with the crown, shots were fired at Lexington and at Concord, “the shots heard ‘round the world.” The War for Independence officially began.

July 8 1776, the bell in the steeple announced the first reading of Independence. (You can see the Liberty Bell with its famous crack now housed in its own pavilion.)

The visit, coming at such an auspicious time in American history, is like going back to ground zero of the founding:

At the start, colonists were deeply divided. The delegates met for a year before Thomas Jefferson penned the words, “All men are created equal endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”

“That was one of the most profound and inspiring statements in human history. That government derives just power from the consent of the governed,” he said.

The War for Independence lasted eight years - France and Spain aided; the Dutch provided financial support. But the War for Independence also was a civil war that divided communities and even families. Ben Franklin’s own son, Sir William, was the Royal Governor of New Jersey, and remained a loyalist. He left America for England. (You can also visit the marvelous Ben Franklin Museum, housed below where his house would have been.)

The powerful words, “All men created equal” presented a paradox, even to the Founding Fathers, many of whom were slave owners from states where the economy derived from slavery. Despite Abigail Adams’ exhortation to husband John Adams to “Remember the ladies,” women’s rights were not even a consideration. “The Declaration is a document of promise,” the Ranger reflects. “Lincoln mentioned the Declaration of Independence in his Gettysburg Address; suffragettes Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Frederick Douglass & Martin Luther King Jr. all drew on the Declaration. We are exhausted from becoming independent, but work had just begun.”

The Articles of Confederation which set up the United States’ first government “was more like treaty of 13 independent countries, with 13 armies, 13 currencies. In less than four months, it was replaced with a central government under the Constitution.”

We see the chair used by George Washington, which has carved into it a rising sun. James Madison and

After visiting the exhibition at the National Museum of American Jewish History devoted to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, take a selfie with “Notorious RBG” herself © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Philadelphia Offers Treasure Trove of History, Heritage, Culture

C ontinued from page D5

Alexander Hamilton argued and debated over making of three co-equal branches of government; they compromised over representation of large and small states; compromised over the power and function of the presidency.

“George Washington called it the ‘miracle in Philadelphia.’ But they knew they could not predict the future. So the Constitution was designed to change, with provision to amend it.”

Plan your visit, get itinerary suggestions at Independence National Historic Park, 215-965-2305, www.nps.gov/inde/ planyourvisit/index.htm

The tour takes about a half-hour, and I am trying to pack a lot into one day. I decide to forgo a tour of Congress Hall and the Libertay Bell to race over to the National Museum of American Jewish History because I spot a banner showcasing the special exhibit, “Notorious RBG” which is only on view through Jan. 12. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is one of my heroes.

Notorious RBG at NMAJH

“Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” at the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) is the first-ever museum retrospective of the Supreme Court Justice-turned-pop-culture-icon. The special exhibition traces a career that traveled from trailblazer to pop-culture icon, exploring the roots of her precedent-setting role on the nation’s highest court, as well as her varied roles as a student, life partner, mother, change-making lawyer, judge, and women’s rights pioneer.

Even though I had seen the excellent “Notorious RBG” documentary and the superb “On the Basis of Sex” film (written by her nephew) which formed the

basis of the exhibit (photos, home movies), there was still so much to learn, and the artifacts, and explanations.

The second woman—and the first Jewish woman—to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg acquired the “Notorious RBG” moniker after a series of fiery, record-breaking dissents she gave from the Supreme Court bench in 2013 around the Voting Rights Act. Then-NYU law student Shana Knizhnik was inspired to create the Notorious RBG tumblr, referencing rap star Notorious B.I.G. (In homage to Notorious B.I.G., the exhibition section titles are inspired by his lyrics.)

Based on the  New York Times bestselling book of the same name by Knizhnik and Irin Carmon, the visually rich and entertaining exhibition explores RBG’s legacy through archival photographs and documents, historical artifacts, contemporary art, media stations, and gallery interactives. It presents not only the Justice’s writings, opinions, and interviews, but also the whimsical yet powerful world of Notorious RBG memes, fan art, and parody – from a cartoon action figure named Wrath Hover Ginsbot to renderings of the Justice’s likeness on t-shirts, nail decals, and even as tattoos. (Clearly, Justice Ginsburg has always had a sense of humor, which was at the essence of her long-time relationship with her husband, Marty).

NMAJH’s location on Independence Mall provides an ideal backdrop for exploring Justice Ginsburg’s story and the circumstances that brought her to the Court. It places the Justice’s story at the very location where the United States was founded and the US Constitution established the Supreme Court. In fact, just diagonally across from NMAJH is the National Constitution

GOING PLACES, NEAR & FAR.... GOING PLACES, NEAR & FAR....

Center, (constitutioncenter.org).

Established in 1976, the National Museum of American Jewish History is the only museum in the nation dedicated exclusively to exploring and interpreting the American Jewish experience, going back 360 years.

NMAJH, a Smithsonian Affiliate, was originally founded by the members of historic Congregation Mikveh Israel, which was established in 1740 and known as the “Synagogue of the American Revolution”.

NMAJH , 101 South Independence Mall East at the corner of Fifth and Market Streets, www.NMAJH.org 215.923.3811.

Next: More Philadelphia Treasures: Magic Gardens, Franklin Institute

A  Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package  includes overnight free parking and perks, and is bookable

at Greater Philadelphia’s official visitor website,  visitphilly.com, 800-537-7676 where you can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages.

© 2019 Travel Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit goingplacesfarandnear.com,  www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karenrubin & travelwritersmagazine.com/ TravelFeaturesSyndicate/ Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar. wordpress.com & moralcompasstravel. info. Send comments or questions to FamTravLtr@aol.com. Tweet @ TravelFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook. com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Visitors to The Barnes Collection see the “ensembles” that Dr. Barnes created to inspire the viewer to look at art differently © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com

Choosing a uniquely different New Year’s resolution!

C ontinued from page D3

eter or any way to measure my steps. I just want to walk and walk and inhale the beauty of the world around me. I want to enjoy the four seasons and when there is an especially perfect day weather wise, I want to appreciate it for what it is and not take it for granted. With my nieces and nephews, I want to use this time in my life to encourage and support them. I want to tell them to work hard in school, to be themselves and to reach for the brass ring as far as their hopes, aspirations and goals are concerned.

I have 17 nieces and nephews, each one with different personalities and different talents and it is my goal to always

recognize their interests. One niece of mine who is nine years old enjoys performing on stage in her school plays. She can be quite the ham but she likes performing so much that I can possibly see a future actress there.

Another niece enjoys reading and telling stories, and she has got some imagination. She’s very creative when she makes up her stories. One nephew of mine is a big surfer in the summertime. He likes catching the perfect waves and riding them for as long as he can.

Sometimes when we sit around telling family stories and comparing notes I see a certain resemblance in them. In my nephews I see the habits of my father and grandfathers. In my nieces

I occasionally see certain characteristics of my mother and grandmothers - a smile, a tilt of the head, a smirk or a certain sense of humor that comes out when I least expect it.

Another New Year’s resolution that I have for 2020 is to tell the stories of my parents and grandparents, to tell my great big extended family things they may not know about their relatives. I want to pass down information and anecdotes for the younger kids, for the younger generation to know.

After I tell them these family stories I want to write down as much as I can. I will be as concise as possible but I will do my best to make their personalities come out. My ancestors certainly had their quirks and their flairs. As far as I

am concerned, making my family history come alive is key.

For 2020 I wish you happiness, health and prosperity! Happy New Year, everyone!

REAL ESTATE WATCH

Are you looking to upgrade or downsize?

BY PHILIP A. RAICES

Just as a side note, the letter that was mailed in to me back in early November by a subscriber, was accidentally shredded and I would appreciate it if you could resend it in to me at my office address located at the end of my column.

Are you in a situation whereby you are not sure whether or not to upgrade and purchase a larger home in a better location for your growing family or then again, staying and enlarging your current domicile and add as many of your “wish list” “bells and whistles” as you always wanted?

You obviously must weigh the pros and cons in considering this very important decision. Have you been searching for a new home and due to the historically low housing inventory, choices being slim and limited in what you are looking for in a “dream home”? Is the S.A.L.T. tax another issue in your decision making, because you want or would like to pay as close to the ten thousand dollar maximum deduction as possible or is this not a factor?

Are you looking for a move-in, mint and diamond condition new home or will you consider a fixer-upper that has more space than you currently have and/or a more desirable location? Which will be easier to do, to keep looking and hope that something will pop up during the winter months when there is much less competition from other anxious and hungry purchasers searching for a similar property?

These maybe challenges, but they can be minimized and solved if only you

have a carefully laid out plan; as I always say, “if you fail to plan, then you may plan to fail.”

You need to look at the expense of moving as opposed to staying in your current home, figuring out your budget to renovate and upgrade your current home. Will you want to or can you stay in your home in one area and be comfortable enough, while you start and finish the renovation in the other section; and then stay in the finished area while you do the other half?

pay off in the long run. If you have younger children you probably will be staying in the home for at least twenty years or more, since people move after their children finish college, unless student debt keeps them in place.

Moving would seem the easiest way to go, only if “all the stars lined up in a row” and the timing (luck) was perfect and you could find that elusive home that meets almost all your requirements.

But the sixty four thousand dollar question is when will that happen? I always advise my clientele to figure out what’s most crucial on their “needs list” and realize and go through what they are willing to trade-off, that maybe can be added at a later time once they move in. Sometimes it’s also, “champagne tastes and beer pockets.”

One must have the available money as well as first and foremost, the letter from your lender that you are qualified to purchase and at what price point. Maybe you can calculate how you might stretch your budget just a bit to secure the home you really need and want, anticipating the additional expense will

Those that secure higher paying jobs would have the opportunity to move out sooner and either rent (which I absolutely don’t recommend), but figure out every angle to ascertain what you would need to do to have your children become a homeowners). Some banks are allowing the rollover of student debt into a fixed mortgage for thirty years! However, I would be very sure of your career position and path before considering that move.

Downsizing comes about when the expense and responsibilities are way to great to consider staying any longer, especially if your home is larger than is necessary at the present time.

Cutting costs is always a good idea; but for those who are healthy and can afford to stay in place and don’t mind the chores and upkeep; then staying put in familiar surroundings is a positive reinforcement and sometimes keeps you in a healthier physical and mental state of mind. We are creatures of comfort and familiarity and don’t necessarily like change. It all depends on so many variables and it comes down also to, “whatever floats your boat.” Today, many are living much longer, have part time jobs or are still

running their businesses and continue to reside on Long Island, which also is contributing to the lack of housing inventory. Although more individuals and families are exiting New York than are relocating here; those that can afford to stay, I believe, have a lifestyle that is quite complete, beneficial and of excellent value, with the world class Jones Beach and others, outstanding parks, entertainment, shopping, restaurants, wineries, and of course, the Big Apple NYC!

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S.). He will provide you with “free” regular updates of sold and new homes in your town via the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island (MLSLI)or go to WWW.Li-REalEstate. Com as well as a “free” value analysis of what your home might sell for in today’s market without any “strings” attached. He can also provide a copy of “Unlocking the Secrets of Real Estate’s New Market Reality or Our Seller’s or Buyer’s Guides for “Things to Consider when Selling or Purchasing your Home. Just email or snail mail(regular mail) him with your request with your name, email and cell number and he will send it out ASAP. For a consultation, he can be reached by Cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate. Com to answer any of your questions or concerns.

Wordsmiths Wanted

The “Writer’s Corner” column in our Discovery section is open to submissions from writers of articles on local topics, as well as opinions, reviews, personal experiences, humor, worthy places to visit on Long Island, and even fiction. E-mail submissions: editor@gcnews.com

• Attach article and any photos (1MB), along with your name and contact info.

• Articles must be between 1,500 - 3,000 words. • The writer will receive a stipend of $25.⁰⁰ for each accepted article.

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INVITED ESTATE SALES BY TRACY JORDAN

Looking to sell items from your home?

Consider doing an Online Auction!

Online Auctions reach more interested buyers than tag sales and can often sell for more than what you would make at an estate or tag sale.

Invited Estate Sales by Tracy Jordan can do both! You can sell your items online reaching potential buyers locally or globally as well as hosting a private sale from your home! Let us guide you on what items to put in auction including furniture, housewares, decorative items, jewelry, collectibles, coins, artwork and anything else you may no longer want or need. Our services can help you to maximize your selling experience whether you are selling 1 item or 500 items. We are a one stop service for all your needs when you are moving or selling a property! Selling, donating, discarding and cleaning out services can be done to meet your time frame with minimal stress.

Estate and Tag Sales Online Auctions Cleanout and Moving Services Home Staging Services Appraisals

Contact for more info: info@invitedsales.com or Call: 516-279-6378 to schedule a consultation or receive more information. www.invitedsales.com

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What’s

Dear Carrie: I’d like to set up an educational fund for my new grandchild. I understand the tax benefits of a 529 account but am also interested in gifting appreciated stock. What are your thoughts? -- A Reader

Dear Reader: Congratulations on your new grandchild! I also applaud your generosity. What a fortunate child to have such a supportive family.

You’re also wise to weigh your options. A gift of appreciated stock can be a great way to fund education. On the other hand, as you mention, a 529 account has several advantages, but it only accepts cash, not stock or other assets.

As is so often the case, the devil is in the details. Regardless of whether it’s you or your grandchild who ultimately sells the appreciated stock, that person may be hit with a tax bill that can include federal capital gains tax and, potentially, net investment income tax and state taxes.

New rules under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 mean that gifting appreciated stock to a minor is far less attractive than in the past. In a nutshell, assets owned or sold under a child or grandchild’s name can be hit with tax rates faster and higher than assets sold by a parent or grandparent.

As a Grandparent, You Have a Few Ways to Gift the Stock

1. You can gift the stock in kind and have it sold under the grandchild’s name. This used to be a common strategy under old tax rules. As we’ll discuss below, it’s not as effective as it used to be.

2. You can sell the stock and gift the after-tax proceeds to your grandchild. This can make sense if you would pay lower taxes on the sale than your grandchild would. New tax rules can result in a child or grandchild’s tax liability being higher than that of a grandparent.

3. You can make a gift of the stock to your grandchild at your death. This takes advantage of a step up in basis, which means paying no taxes on any appreciation on the stock. In this way, you can make a larger gift, but the downside is you won’t be around to see it.

A big part of your decision, therefore, will be based on the difference in the total tax burden for you versus your grandchild in selling the stock. In addition, you’ll want to weigh the pros and cons of placing college funds in a custodial account versus a 529. Let’s take a closer look.

A Few Tax Basics for the Grandparent

When people sell stock in a taxable account, they may have to

BY CARRIE SCHWAB-POMERANTZ

pay capital gains taxes on any appreciation from the sale. Whoever owns the stock is also subject to income taxes from dividends paid out when holding the investment.

The capital gains tax rate is based on how long the stock has been held. Appreciation on stock held for one year or less is taxed at ordinary income tax rates where the highest federal tax rate is 37% (2019).

Long-term capital gains (LTCG), on the other hand, are taxed on the appreciation of stocks that had been held for more than one year and sold. Federal LTCG rates vary from zero to 20% based on income.

(When you gift property, your grandchild assumes your holding period. So, your grandchild doesn’t need to wait another 12 months to sell the stock to be eligible for LTCG rates.)

Note that single individuals with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) more than $200,000 and married filers with a MAGI over $250,000 will also owe an additional net investment income tax (NIIT) -- sometimes called the Medicare surtax -- of 3.8% on top of LTCGs.

What You Need to Know About the New “Kiddie Tax” Laws Kiddie taxes are special tax rules on investment and other earned income of minors. A main goal of gifting appreciated stock to someone like a grandchild or child is to shift the taxable appreciation of that asset from a presumably higher tax rate (yours) to a lower tax rate (your grandchild’s). In the past, this strategy worked great. You could pay less in taxes to Uncle Sam, and your child would get a bigger gift -- a win-win.

All of that changed, however, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. Under this legislation, a minor child’s investment income over a certain limit ($2,200 for 2019) is taxed at the trust tax rates rather than the child’s or parent’s tax rate. LTCG rates increase to the highest rate (20%) for a child/grandchild after just $12,950. The 3.8% NIIT is added on top of this for a total of 23.8%.

Just for the sake of comparison, in order for you to hit this 23.8% LTCG tax rate, you would need to make over $434,550 as a single filer or over $488,850 as a married couple filing jointly. So it’s quite possible that the 23.8% rate could apply to your grandchild selling the stock while a lower 15% LTCG rate could apply to you. Or your LTCG rate could be 20%, and your grandchild’s LTCG rate could be 15%.

In Any Case, the Main Take-

away Is That the New Kiddie Tax Threshold Makes Gifting Appreciated Stock to Your Grandchild Less Attractive Than in the Past Understandably, the new rules have caused some consternation for a number of families, and there have been several legislative proposals to roll back or modify the kiddie tax rules. We’ll have to wait and see what ultimately happens, but for now the 2017 legislation holds.

Don’t forget about state taxes and other potential liabilities. The strategy of gifting rapidly appreciating property removes the future appreciation of this property from your estate and allows you to make the gift when tax values are relatively low.

While the current (2019) federal top marginal tax rate on LTCGs is 23.8%, taxpayers also have to pay state and local income taxes on their capital gains income. The state tax rate can vary from zero percent in states such as Florida and Nevada that don’t levy an individual income tax to as high as 13.3% in California. So where you and your grandchild live may be another variable to consider.

Also, ask your tax and financial advisor about other taxes that could come into the picture including gift taxes, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) or increased taxation on Social Security benefits. Another consideration is that your gift could impact your Medicare premiums, since they are based on your income from the prior year.

With a Custodial Account, Your Gift Might Not Be Used for Education

If you decide to gift your grandchild the stock (as opposed to cash), you’ll likely place it in a custodial account. Using a Uniform Gift to Minors Account (UGMA) or Uniform Trust to Minors Account (UTMA) gives you control over the assets but only until the age of majority (usually 18 to 21, depending on the state).

At that point, though, you have to understand that your grandchild has full rights to spend the money any way he or she wishes. In other words, your grandchild might decide to use the money for a car, not college, and you have to be comfortable with that possibility.

Is a 529 Plan a Good Option?

Now let’s look at a 529 plan. I’ve written about 529 plans extensively in the past, and I believe they provide a great tax-advantaged way to fund an education. In fact, they are the most popular education savings plan for savvy families for good reason. But as I mentioned above, 529 plans can

only accept cash.

Still, the proceeds of the stock sale could ultimately be used to fund a 529. A grandparent- or parent-owned 529 has lots of pros including the following:

-- Provides for more control over the gift to ensure that it’s is used for education.

-- Can be more advantageous if applying for need-based financial aid in the future.

-- May be eligible for a state tax deduction.

-- Offers tax-free growth on qualified distributions.

That said, remember that 529 accounts are specifically designed for education costs. If you want your grandchild to be able to use the funds for something else, a 529 account may not be the best choice. Withdrawals from a 529 that are considered nonqualified are subject to ordinary income taxes and a 10% penalty.

Your Gift Can Combine the Best of Both Approaches

Rather than an either/or decision, you could open both a 529 plan and a custodial account, possibly funding different accounts in different years. In the future, a UGMA/UTMA could be used to cover expenses for your grandchild not covered by the 529 (like clothes, a car, summer camp or flights home from school).

Gifting As Part of an Inheritance Could Allow for a Bigger Gift

Taking a completely different tact, you should understand that a gift of the appreciated stock at your death results in a step up in the cost basis, potentially greatly reducing the tax liability. This can

be an option, especially for older grandparents closer to the end of their retirement who might be able to make a larger gift of the appreciated stock as part of their estate.

Next Steps

As you can see, finding the best way to fund a grandchild’s education can be complicated business. There are lots of moving parts, so it’s important to consider all your options before making a decision. Most of us will do well to work out the specifics with a tax advisor and financial planner. These experts can help you refine strategies such as the timing of the gift and tactically combining a 529 plan with a custodial account. Who knows -- you may be able to give more to your grandchild than you think!

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Certified Financial Planner, is president of the Charles Schwab Foundation and author of “The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty.” Read more at http:// schwab.com/book. You can email Carrie at askcarrie@schwab.com. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, legal or investment planning advice. To find out more about Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CHARLES SCHWAB & CO. INC. (MEMBER SIPC) DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS. COM (#1119-9DLK)

NOTICE OF SALE Supreme Court

Nassau County WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, DBA, CHRISTIANA TRUST, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT AS TRUSTEE FOR CARLSBAD FUNDING MORTGAGE TRUST, Plaintiff -againstDONALD H. GABIS, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated August 21, 2018, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at (CCP) Calendar Control Part Court Room of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Dr., Mineola, NY on January 7, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. premises situate, lying and being at Syosset, Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, State of New York, bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the Westerly side of Humphrey Drive, distant 200 feet Southerly from the corner formed by the intersection of the Westerly side of Humphrey Drive and the Southerly side of Edward Drive; being a plot 50 feet by 193.77 feet by 50.12 feet by 190.35 feet. Section: 15 Block: E Lots: 14 and 15 Said premises known as 15 HUMPHREY DRIVE, SYOSSET, NY

Approximate amount of lien $378,945.94 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. Index Number 002012/2014.

CHARLES CASOLARO, ESQ., Referee

David A. Gallo & Associates LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 99 Powerhouse Road, First Floor, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577

File# 7254.8525

SYO 4328

4X 12/06,13,20,27

NOTICE OF SALE Supreme Court Nassau County

THE BANK OF NEW YORK

MELLON AS TRUSTEE FOR CIT MORTGAGE LOAN

TRUST 2007-1, Pltf.

vs. GIRJADAYAL GAYADIN

A/K/A GAYADIN

GIRJADAYAL, et al, Defts.

Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered April 24, 2078, I will sell at publication auction on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. in the Calendar Control Part (CCP) Courtroom of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Dr., Mineola, NY prem. k/a 45 Adams Street, Oyster Bay, NY a/k/a Section 27, Block 1, Lot 203. Said property beginning at a point in the Southerly side of Adams Street, which said point of beginning is 179.76 ft. Easterly from the intersection of the Southerly side of Adams Street with the Easterly side of Lexington Avenue; and from said point of beginning; being a plot 62.50 ft. x 157.23 ft. x 62.21 ft. x 163.26 ft. Approx. amt. of judgment is $807,112.69 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Index #000093/14.

KEVIN GLYNN, Referee. COHN & ROTH, 100 East Old Country Rd., Mineola, NY. #98037

Attys. For Pltf., SYO 4330 4X 12/13,20,27,.01/03

NOTICE OF SALE

Supreme Court Nassau County MANUFACTURERS AND TRADERS TRUST COMPANY, A/K/A M&T BANK, S/B/M HUDSON CITY SAVINGS BANK, Plaintiff against MELISSA WILLIAMS, et al Defendants

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered February 8, 2019, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at CCP (Calendar Control Part Courtroom), in the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, N.Y. 11501 on January 14, 2020 at 11:30 AM. Premises known as 2 Joan Court, Woodbury, NY 11797. Sec 15 Block 175 Lot 82. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land with the building and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Woodbury, Town of Oyster Bay, County of Nassau and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $849,624.64 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provi-

sions of filed Judgment Index No 5816-14.

CHJNY469

Alan Gerson, Esq., Referee Fein Such & Crane, LLP, 1400 Old Country Road, Suite C103, Westbury, NY 11590

Attorney (s) for Plaintiff (s). SYO 4332

4X 12/13,20,27,01/03

NOTICE OF SALE Supreme Court Nassau County HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE HOLDERS OF DEUTSCHE ALT-A SECURITIES MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2007AR3 MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-AR3, V. PETER BOUDOUVAS, ET AL.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated March 08, 2018, and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Nassau, wherein HSBC BANK USA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE HOLDERS OF DEUTSCHE ALT-A SECURITIES MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2007AR3 MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-AR3 is the Plaintiff and PETER BOUDOUVAS, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the CALENDAR CONTROL PART (CCP) COURTROOM OF THE SUPREME COURT, 100 SUPREME COURT DRIVE, MINEOLA, NY 11501, on January 28, 2020 at 11:30AM, premises known as 9 LONDON ROAD, SYOSSET, NY 11791: Section 12, Block 356, Lot 12 and 33:

ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING NEAR HICKSVILLE, TOWN OF OYSTER BAY, COUNTY OF NASSAU AND STATE OF NEW YORK

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 14596/2013.

James J. Keefe, Esq. - Referee RAS Boriskin, LLC 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff.

SYO 4335

4X 12/27,01/03,10,17

Night fishing permits for non-residents available

The Town of Oyster Bay has announced that the Parks Department will begin to offer a night fishing parking permit to non-residents, effective January 1, 2020.  In order to obtain the permit, a non-resident must be sponsored by a current Town resident who has already obtained a night fishing permit.

Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino stated, “As the popularity of night fishing on Long Island has continued to flourish, the Town’s will begin to offer a new, non-resident night fishing parking permit.  This parking pass, which must be displayed on dashboards while parking in Town lots where night fishing is permitted, will allow non-residents to night fish at four different locations in the Town of Oyster Bay throughout the year.”

Non-residents will be able to obtain a night fishing parking pass by submitting a $50 fee and being sponsored by a current Town resident who has obtained a night fishing permit.  Each resident with a current night fishing permit will be able to sponsor one non-resident, and will be held

responsible for the non-resident’s decorum while using Town facilities. Permits are available through the Town’s Parks Department, located at 977 Hicksville Road in Massapequa. Night fishing hours are 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at select facilities.

Night fishing is permitted at the following locations throughout the Town, during the following dates:

• January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020

• Harry Tappen Beach in Glenwood Landing

• Theodore Roosevelt Beach in Oyster Bay

• Centre Island Beach in Bayville

• April 2020 through December 2020

• TOBAY Beach

Night fishing parking permit does not substitute any additional requirements of New York State in regards to night fishing. Parking pass must be displayed on dashboard and fisherman must carry corresponding wallet identification card. For further information, contact the Town’s Parks Department at (516) 797-4128.

Syosset Chamber, officials praise outgoing president

From page 1

not do so much without her and all her hard work and efforts -- without her, I don’t think we would be half as much of what we are here in Syosset/Woodbury. Charo is an amazing woman and we thank her for everything that she does. I am sure that (Maureen Nickel) who replaces her as the Chamber president will perform just as well in the same capacities and we know Charo will be there every step of the way to help the Chamber onwards,” Councilwoman Johnson said.

This week New York State Senator Jim Gaughran, who opened his office this year in Syosset at 485 Underhill Boulevard, commented on the pleasure of working at the local level with Ezdrin.

“I continue to be thrilled when working with the Syosset Woodbury Chamber and being at its meetings and events throughout 2019. I wish outgoing president Charo Ezdrin all the best in her next steps -- we all thank her for her dedication and work for the chamber,” he said.

On December 10, Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker, who was re-elected this November, commended Ezdrin in a letter reflecting on her three-year tenure as Chamber president. He joined Ezdrin, Councilwoman Johnson, State Senator Gaughran and several Town of Oyster Bay officials for festivities at the Holiday Spectacular as they welcomed hundreds to Syosset’s downtown.

“Charo Ezdrin’s leadership of the Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce has been marked by an approach that emphasizes community building, collaboration and innovation. During the last three years, I have been delighted to witness the growth of signature Chamber events such as the Syosset Woodbury Street Fair. I was also

pleased to support her advocacy for brick-and-mortar improvements to our community by providing financial support for a multi-million-dollar streetscape that will enhance the Jackson Avenue business district.

“Most importantly, Charo is a champion for the individual small business owners that form the backbone of our cherished Syosset and Woodbury business community. By doing so, she has helped countless entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. We should all be grateful to her for opening the doors of opportunity for so many people,” Legislator Drucker told the Advance and News-Journal.

Syosset Woodbury Chamber Board member Alan Goldberg, president of Water Solutions of Long Island, reflected on the last three years with Ezdrin as Chamber president. Goldberg has worked with her and several other chamber directors as he is chairman of the Syosset Woodbury chamber’s Membership Committee, co-chair of its Networking Committee and served dutifully as chairman of the Syosset Street Fair Committee in 2019, and will do so again for the upcoming October 2020 Street Fair.

“Three years ago Charo was appointed president of the Chamber. She reached out to me to join her on the board in an effort to grow the Chamber membership and bring monthly networking events to engage our members and bring value to their memberships. Charo has been a cheerleader for our organization and has allowed key members to implement programs, like MapToons, Member-hosted networking Mixers, and Member-Hosted general meetings. She has championed "Shop Local" and supported our small businesses, using the services of many of our members both personally and in her business, she leads by example,”

Goldberg said.

“Her positive attitude and outward personality have lent to an excitement over the past three years of her tenure and consistent growth. I thank her for her service and am proud to have worked with her,” he commented.

Ezdrin’s immediate predecessor as Syosset Woodbury Chamber of Commerce president was Chanbir Kaur, vice president and branch manager of BNB Bank at 8191 Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury. On December 12 Kaur was host of the Chamber’s ‘Holiday Toast’ at her BNB Bank in Woodbury, as she has for several years in a row. Kaur, who was Chamber president in 2015 and 2016, took time out to comment on Ezdrin’s carrying of the Chamber torch over the past three years.

“I’ve got to give it up for Charo -- she has put in a lot of hard work and phenomenal efforts. I brought our Chamber to be financially strong and she has kept it strong but she also went further and brought in more members and volunteers which is a huge plus. Charo has taken it to the next level,” Kaur told the Advance and News-Journal.

At the Holiday Spectacular, Ezdrin welcomed a crowd of over 300 people and announced that this was a climactic third year celebrating the season as Chamber president, just across the LIRR tracks from her Ezdrin & Woods, P.C. law office at 93 Jackson Avenue.

“Syosset/Woodbury has been so welcoming to me and to all local Chamber businesses -- I love to be a part of this neighborhood year after year. I want to thank everyone for all your graciousness and support. Our new president-elect is Maureen Nickel and I know that our Chamber will be wonderful hands with her leadership. And I want you to know how much our elected officials support our Chamber just as the community always supports our businesses. We should only continue to grow and get better and better -- I am proud of what we do and as it’s evident today, with our hard work and organizing led by Frank Urso for this amazing holiday event. I can’t wait to watch and listen to our wonderful entertainers in the community! Thank you one and all for supporting us,” Ezdrin said.

Free musical performances at local libraries in January

From page 1

in the Hicksville Public Library.

• Bay Big Band – Pop Goes the Bay Big Band on Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. at the Farmingdale Public Library.

• Just 60’s - The Stories…The Songs! on Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. in the Massapequa Public Library.

• The History of Rock & Roll – A

Trip Down Memory Lane Featuring the Music of the 50s, 60s, and 70s on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. in the Hicksville Public Library.

The Distinguished Artists Concert Series is sponsored by the Cultural and Performing Arts (CAPA) Division of the Town of Oyster Bay’s Department of Community & Youth Services. For further information, please call (516) 7977900 or visit www.oysterbaytown.com.

Town honors Syosset HS cross country runners

Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino with members of the 2019 Nassau County Champion Syosset High School Cross Country Boys and Girls teams. The girls team was led by Individual County Champion Emily Berg (front row, fifth from right) and the boys team was led by Individual Champion Justin DePinto (back row, fifth from left). Also on hand for the special occasion from Syosset High School was Drew Cronin, Director of Athletics, PE & Recreation, who helped to provide championship leadership and direction along with the dedicated coaching staff.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino proudly welcomed members of the 2019 Nassau County Champion Syosset High School Cross Country Boys and Girls teams to Town Hall and honored them for their amazing county championship win. Supervisor Saladino remarked how winning the Nassau

County Championship was an amazing accomplishment and a triumphant way to conclude a memorable season.

Supervisor Saladino presented the teams with commemorative signs to display at their school, as well as citations for the staff and parchment certificates for every team member.

January readers events at Syosset Public Library

Adult Winter Reading Club

Interested in winning a new NOOK tablet? Join the Adult Winter Reading Club! Visit the Readers' Services Desk on the second floor to register and receive your Adult Winter Reading Club Bingo card. In-person registration required.  Open to SSD residents 18 years or older with a valid library card. Details are available at the Readers’ Services Desk and on the library  website www.syossetlibrary.org

Evening Book Discussion

Tuesday, January 14 at 7:30 p.m.

“The Library Book” by Susan Orlean Led by Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers’ Services LibrarianFree. No registration required.

Advice, support and fun at Long Island Children's Museum

Long Island Children’s Museum rolls into 2020 with programs to support children and their grown-ups. LICM, in partnership with Cohen Children’s Medical Center and Kohl’s Cares, launches Healthy Kids in the Kitchen this week, allowing little chefs to make healthy dishes and get active as they stretch, jump and learn new exercise moves. Parents and caregivers can share a cup of coffee and conversation this week as they discuss children’s sleep challenges. The week wraps up with the Museum’s annual “Surrounded by STEM” weekend, allowing visitors to take part in hands-on activities and demonstrations, while meeting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) professionals .

Polar Bear Pals

Tuesday, January 7 through Friday, January 10 from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Winter is here! Create a friendly polar bear pal to keep you company this winter season!

All ages. Free with museum admission

stART (story + ART)

Thursday, January 7 from 11:30 a.m. – noon

Join us each week as we read childhood classics and introduce new favorites; followed by a take-home, book-inspired craft. This week we’re reading reading “Snowball” by Nina Crews. After the story create a picture of snowy winter trees to take home!

Ages: 3-5. Fee: $4 with museum admission ($3 LICM members).

Kid Chat

Wednesday, January 8 from 10:15-11:15 a.m.

Little chefs use real cooking tools (with some help from adults) as we make healthy and yummy, kid-friendly snacks from start to finish. As they make their treat, kids gain experience measuring ingredients, following directions and building their vocabulary. Learn about healthy eating and fun ways to stay active with a new exercise activity every week! This week we’re making an allergy-friendly treat: TwoIngredient Banana Pancakes. This program made possible with the support of Cohen Children's Medical Center/ Kohl’s Cares.

Ages: 3 to 5. Material Fee: $5 with museum admission ($4 LICM members)

STEM Explorers: Surrounded

by

Stem

Saturday, January 11 and Sunday, January 12 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Put on your thinking cap and investigate the worlds of science, engineering, technology and math! Join the Green Teens in a weekend filled with hands-on activities and demonstrations by STEM professionals. STEM Explorers, powered by Green Teens.

This program is made possible with the support of National Grid.

Ages: 3 and up. Free with museum admission.

Splish Splash, Animal Baths

Saturday, January 11 at 3 p.m.

Join us in the Yellow Studio in the Feasts for Beasts gallery to learn what goes into the care of LICM’s animals. Join our Animal Program Educator to observe animal bath time.

All ages. Free with Museum admission.

Messy Afternoon

Afternoon Book Discussion

Tuesday, January 28 at 1 p.m.

In Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris

Led by Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers’ Services Free. No registration required.

Events are held at the Syosset Public Library, 225 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset.

For information, please call 516-9217161 ext 239 or email: Readersservices@ syossetlibrary.org

All events are wheelchair accessible Books are available at the Circulation Desk one month before each program.

Join in guided conversation where mothers and other caregivers can have open dialogue and socialize with one another as their child plays in the TotSpot area. Coffee and light refreshments are available. Space is limited to facilitate conversation flow. This month's topic: Please Go to Sleep!: Struggles and Strategies.

Music and Movement

Wednesday, January 8 from 11:30 a.m. – noon

This weekly workshop capitalizes on children’s innate curiosity about rhythm and sound. Enjoy creative movement exercises and interactive sing-alongs that get little bodies moving to the rhythm.

Ages: 5 and under. Fee: $4 with museum admission ($3 LICM member

Healthy Kids in the Kitchen

Friday, January 10 from 11:30– noon

Saturday, January 4 and Sunday, January 5 from 3:30-5 p.m.

We’ll be up to our elbows in oobleck, clean mud and slime … and we hope you’ll join us for the type of artistic activities that everyone loves, but not one likes to clean-up after. Except us! Ages: 18 months – 4 years. Free with museum admission.

All activities are held at the Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Avenue, Garden City, NY. For the safety of our visitors, Adults are not permitted in the Museum without children; Museum visitors under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday from 10 am.-5 p.m. and most school holidays. Museum admission: $14 for adults and children over 1 year old, $13 seniors, FREE to museum members and children under 1 year old. Additional fees for theater and special programs may apply. For additional information, contact 516-224-5800.

24 Merit Lane, Jericho

Sold Price: $1,068,000

Date: 12/11/2019

4 beds, 2 Full/1 Half baths

Style: Split # of Families: 1

Lot Size: 103x124

Schools: Jericho

Total Taxes: $19,032

MLS# 3172327

Sold Price: $1,200,000 Date: 11/01/2019

5 beds, 4 Full baths Style: Split # of Families: 1

120 Colony Lane, Syosset 71 Hazelwood Drive, Jericho

Schools: Jericho

Total Taxes: $24,348

MLS# 3124789

Sold Price: $745,000

Date: 09/05/2019

4 beds, 2 Full baths

Style: Split # of Families: 1

Lot Size: 68x100

Schools: Syosset

Total Taxes: $17,855

MLS# 3137168

Sold Price: $710,000

Date: 12/12/2019

4 beds, 2 Full baths

Style: Split # of Families: 1

Lot Size: 73x127

Schools: Syosset

Total Taxes: $17,792

MLS# 3155094

135 Colony Lane, Syosset