A Peek At Spring Fashion Trends. Page B1
Vol. I No. I | www.StandardLI.com | Ph.# 516-341-0445
SERVING THE FIVE TOWNS
March 18-24, 2011
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Massive Budget Cuts Ahead for Nassau
Keeping The Five Towns Clean Is No Cheap Proposition BY SUSAN VARGHESE STANDARD ASSOCIATE EDITOR
There’s a cost to cleanliness in the Five Towns, and it’s a whopping $17 million a year, according to the 2011 budget for Sanitary District No. 1. The budget appropriates $6,500,000 towards salaries and wages alone, and $2,685,000 for health insurance. The district is spending an additional $4,525,000 a year to dispose of trash, one million of which is spent on recycling. That means on average, the 120 sanitation employees are getting paid $54,166, and receive a minimum of $11,187 in health insurance benefits, for an average salary and a benefits package of $65,353 (which assumes the other $1,342,500 is health insurance (50%) is being spent
HEMPSTEAD’S KATE MURRAY: No New Taxes for 2012 Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray announced that she is crafting a budget that will freeze all town taxes for 2012. “I am working with my colleagues on the town board, and will present a tax-freeze budget that is accountable to taxpayers later this year. We will be able to do this because we have adhered to the simple yet profound Boy Scout credo, ‘Be Prepared.’” “Budgeting during an economic crisis is not easy,” she said. Murray asserted that controlling the town’s discretionary costs, as well as preparing a multi-year fiscal plan and adjusting budgeted amounts such as mortgage recording revenues for the current economic downturn have resulted in budgets that have earned the highest available Wall Street credit ratings (Aaa, Moody’s Investor Service; AAA, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services). Furthermore, Murray’s administration has rejected reliance on “one-shot” (non-recurring) revenues to balance budgets and scrupulously CONTINUED ON P. A5
Layoffs and Salary Freeze for Police and County Workforce
on retirees). Salvatore Evola, the district’s treasurer, said that the salaries and wages are accounted for through the 120 employees in Sanitary District No. 1 which is comprised of laborers, mechanics, the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, and the office staff. The $2,685,000 for health insurance covers every employee and retired employee CONTINUED ON P. A2
BY JONATHAN WALTER STANDARD STAFF REPORTER
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano may be on his way to becoming the next Chris Christie as fallout from the county’s conflict with the Nassau County Interim Fi-
Spring begins Sunday, March 20th and some lucky Five Towners already are sprouting Spring flowers on their lawns, like these pretty purple ones in Woodmere. Standard Photo by JC Chan
Local Residents Feeling the Heat from Rising Gas and Fuel Oil Prices BY JC CHAN
ple don’t buy, I don’t buy. I take a bicycle.” Mayor Andrew J. Parise of Cedarhurst is concerned and doesn’t know at this moment how the rapidly increasing gas prices will impact the village budget in meeting municipal and other costs to run the government. He stated that the village buys its gas from the local stations but gets it tax free. The village saves about a dollar a
STANDARD STAFF REPORTER
Gasoline prices have broken the four dollar barrier in the Five Towns. At the Shell gas station on Peninsula Blvd and Mill Road in Hewlett, the price for premium gas has reached $4.01 as of Wednesday. The lowest gas price can be found at the Sonoco station on Rockaway Turnpike and Buena Vista in Cedarhurst, going for $3.63 for regular and $3.83 for premium as of Wednesday. Long Islanders can expect to pay more than the national average. The average regular gas price on Long Island is $3.76 as of Wednesday March 16th. A month ago on February 14th the average was $3.39, three months ago it was $3.27, six months ago, $2.77, and a year ago on February 14, 2010 was $2.90. Cindy Roter, a biology teacher at the Queens School of Inquiry and a resident of Woodmere seethed as she filled the tank of her Toyota RAV 4 at the Sunoco gas station on the corner of Mill Road and Peninsula Blvd. She doesn’t see the ongoing turmoil in Libya, parts of North Africa, and the Middle East as the only reason why prices at the pump have shot up so drastically since the end of February. “We knew it was coming because speculators have to get their fair share of the market,” Roter said, squeezing the last few drops in her Toyota. “The speculators work on fear.” Jose Rebas of Far Rockaway was fueling his truck at an adjacent station and said, “We can
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Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano nance Association (NIFA) sets up a showdown with public workers. Mangano’s proposed $121 million in budget cuts includes $60.5 million in layoffs and salary concessions from public employees. Mangano was required to come up with a plan to balance the county’s $2.6 billion budget after New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Diamond ruled this week CONTINUED ON P. A2
Five Towns Gridlock: Broadway and Franklin Avenue in Hewlett BY SUSAN VARGHESE STANDARD ASSOCIATE EDITOR
do nothing, everyday it is going up. I have to drive every day; I spend a lot of money on gas.” Despite the rising costs of running a taxi business, Frank Masters, one of the operators of the Cedarhurst Taxi Association decided against raising prices for his long-time customers even though business is slower than usual. “We’re having like an economic tsunami, but you can’t hurt the customer.” Masters said. “When is it going to stop?” The price of crude oil has increased $15 per barrel since mid-February when the average price per barrel was at $88.58, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA also project-
ed that the national average retail price for regular-grade gas would be $3.56 in 2011, up from $2.78 in 2010. Gasoline prices in the US are expected to rise, and may continue to rise during the peak driving season from April to September. Zvi Friedman, proprietor of a privately owned Citgo station on Central Avenue in Woodmere used to buy gas to fill his tanks in the past for $20,000 to $25,000, now the price is upwards of $35,000 to $40,000. “It’s double the money,” he said. “People’s mentality is that if it is cheaper, they will use more gas, then we can buy and sell more gas, if it’s expensive, everything stops. Peo-
Consider quick errands a thing of the past, as the traffic on Broadway and Franklin in Hewlett worsens. Officials say there are no plans now to alleviate the problem. Often referred to as one of the many “choke points” in The Five Towns, the intersection of Broadway and Franklin Avenue has no turn lanes, turn signals, or even walk signals for pedestrians. Traffic in the mornings and late afternoons on Broadway often backs up deep into Woodmere towards Hewlett and into Hewlett going West. The same problem occurs also on West Broadway, particularly Eastbound towards Hewlett.
Ellen Getrell, library employee and pedestrian, recalled two instances where she’s almost been hit my oncoming traffic. “I’ve almost gotten hit more than once— cars just whip around the corner,” Getrell said. In December 2009, a Hewlett traffic study was done which identified various areas of traffic and congestion, but no action was taken. The traffic study suggested alternatives such as restriping a turn lane, which had an estimated cost of $225,000 and making the streets one way, which would eliminate left turn conflicts, but would have an estimated cost of $175,000. CONTINUED ON P. A5
C l a s s i f i e d s B 6 • E d i t o r i a l s A 8 • E v e n t s B 2 • M o v i e s B 2 • S p o r t s B 5 • We a t h e r A 5