ABRAHAM ROOFING
Medals Awarded After 50 Years –
Ask About our Affordable Annual Maintenance Plan! “The Neighborhood Leader in Roofing Service!”
1-800-347-0913 Abrahamroofing.com
ROOFING GUTTERS LEADERS SIDING
Page B9
Vol. I No. XVIII | www.StandardLI.com | News@StandardLI.com | Ph.# 516-341-0445
SERVING THE FIVE TOWNS
JULY 22 - 28, 2011
FREE EVERY FRIDAY
Local Water Has Heavy Iron Levels
IRON CONTENT THREE TIMES FEDERAL LIMIT
ROCKAWAY TPKE. TRAFFIC PUTS MOTORISTS BETWEEN GRIDLOCK AND SNAIL’S PACE
By Scott P. Moore
Standard Staff Reporter
By Scott P. Moore Headache-causing traffic on Rockaway Turnpike during rush hour turns a one-mile stretch of the road heading into and out of Queens into a 25-minute gridlock. Residents and local businesses complained congestion from nearby roads and out-of-sync traffic lights have added to an already bad situation. From roughly 2:00 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. every Friday, Rockaway Turnpike (also known as Rockaway Boulevard in Queens) turns into a slow-moving snarl from West Broadway in Lawrence until Brookville Boulevard in Queens. The congestion encompasses Northbound and Southbound lanes, coming from traffic leaving Queens via the road and even more traffic entering from the Nassau Expressway. “The road is not accessible on Fridays or beach days,” said Mayor Martin Oliner of Lawrence, who said he owes his ten year career in politics to the traffic on Rockaway Turnpike when he became involved a decade ago in traffic legislation. Oliner said that nearby Queens County has not helped with traffic issues nor worked with Nassau County or the Village of Lawrence to alleviate the traffic. Residents and business owners on the roadway have experienced the traffic problems on a weekly basis. Terri Gatto, a Lawrence resident who works at Five Towns Inn on Rockaway Turnpike, said traffic on the road this year was much worse. “Friday afternoons are ridiculous,” she said. “Sunday, I was told, it was at a complete standstill.” Gatto said it takes the hotel’s airport drivers some 15 to 20 minutes to get from their location to John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, which is only a little over two miles away. The drivers, she said, have taken to more scenic routes around the traffic to try and save time, which has, in turn, still annoyed passengers. “It should be a 15 minute run to the airport… I don’t know what can be done about it.” She also said that she felt a new Lowe’s Hardware and subsequent construction have contributed to out-of-sync traffic lights, causing backups and delays. “The last few years has gotten worse. Fridays, it’s gotten bad,” said Jimmy Lane, who has worked at Five Towns Mini Golf & Batting Range on Rockaway Turnpike for 20 years. “Once they get past Brookville Boulevard, its alright… [Queens] knows what they do.” Lane also said the traffic cuts into business at the batting range, stopping potential customers from getting to the parking lot or, he suspects, simply staying away when rush hour comes around. Gatto and Lane both noted that the traffic lights between Peninsula Boulevard and Brookville Boulevard were out of sync with each other, sometimes contributing to delays and standstills up and down the road. Lane also said the owner of the mini golf course has complained for 10 years to New York City, Nassau County and “whoever would listen” and has almost given up hope on the traffic. “All I see is that traffic,” said Sunasia Turnbow, an assistant manager at Storage Post Self Storage on Rockaway Turnpike. Getting across the turnpike on her commute home to Far Rockaway sometimes takes her 10 minutes.
Children jump off of a dock at Hewlett Point Beach on Tuesday afternoon.
Photo by Scott P. Moore.
Beating the Heat in The Five Towns By Susan Varghese, Jordan Friedman & Scott P. Moore
This week’s hazy humidity and scorching temperatures in the high 90’s have sent local residents searching for ways to beat the heat. For some Five Towners, air conditioning and sprinklers have come to the rescue, and for others the beach is their personal oasis. “You don’t feel [the heat] here, you just don’t feel it here at all,” said Atlantic Beach resident
Kim Telano, who was sitting next to her friend Karen Gold on the beach. “When you go over that bridge you don’t have any problems in the world,” Gold said. “This is eternal vacation. I would tell everyone I love to just come here to feel what it feels like.” Lendel Jones, a representative for Long Island American Water, noted that water usage has spiked. “We are pumping more water —
CONTINUED ON P. A3
CONTINUED ON P. A2
DEMS PREVAIL IN REDISTRICT RULING By Jonathan Walter
Standard Staff Reporter
vorites.” As she strings the multi-colored beads together, Dominique and the rest of the group chat about everything from Adventure Land, bumper cars, to their extensive life experiences. The group’s head counselor, Rena Bronstein, smiled and added, “ I love doing projects with them – I’m such a kid.” Another camper, Eve, politely interjected, asking, “ Excuse me, Rena, can you make my bracelet a little looser?” Eve thought for a moment, and said, “ Oh, my favorite part about camp was learning how to swim here when I was littler. This is my first full summer.” Bronstein, a 20-year-old senior at the University of Delaware had started as a camper, was a counselor-in- training for three years, became an assistant counsel-
New York State Supreme Court Justice Steven Jaeger ruled against the Nassau’s Legislature’s controversial redistricting plan on Thursday afternoon. If Jaeger’s decision is upheld, any new redistricting plan could not go into effect until 2013 when the next round of legislative races take place. Nassau’s Republican controlled legislature voted 10-8 in May approving the plan, which would split The Five Town’s legislative representation from one legislator, Howard Kopel, to three legislators, splitting up parts of Hewlett, Inwood and Cedarhurst between three districts. “The Court concludes that there is no basis in the Nassau County charter itself, the legislative intent, the legislative history, or the established past practice of the Legislature to immediately adjust the 19 County legislative districts for the 2011 general election. [The charter requires] one threestep redistricting process to take place over the course of many months for implementation in 2013,” Jaeger said in his decision.
CONTINUED ON P. A3
CONTINUED ON P. A5
A local resident prepares for a splash as he goes down the water slide at North Woodmere Park pool. Photo by Jonathan Walter
CONTINUED ON P. A5
Living The Good Life at Day Camp By Susan Varghese
Standard Associate Editor
Giggles filled the room as the nine-yearold girls at Lawrence Woodmere Academy’s Summer Day Camp munched on their hand-made pizza bagels. Cooking class is almost finished, but time means nothing for some of the camp veterans. “I’ve been here since…like, nursery! It’s fun!” exclaimed nine-year-old Lia. Her best friend and fellow camper, Jessica agreed, “Everyday there’s something to do.” At LWA’s Summer Day, there are 600 campers, 200 counselors, 26 lifeguards (for their two heated pools) and five art studios. Everything for every camper is precisely scheduled, and around 11:00 a.m., it’s time for art class. Nine-year-old. Dominique, noted, “ I like everything here. There’s cool lunches – pizza, chicken patties and macaroni and cheese are my fa-
A study published earlier this March by Long Island American Water (LIAW) found levels of iron in tap water to be three times the maximum limit in and around The Five Towns area. The study found nearly 1 mg. of naturally occurring iron per liter in water of the study area. The limit allowed by both state and federal regulations is 0.3 mg. per liter. The study notes that New York State allows higher levels of iron in tap water when treatment has been applied to the water and justified by the provider, which the study states is the case for LIAW. The study noted 1 mg per liter being equal to about one second every 11.5 days. “It’s doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner. “It’s what we’ve been saying all along.” Lawrence has been at the center of a water problem for at least the last 20 years, according to Oliner and other residents. The study was conducted around multiple areas in
Best buds enjoying some leisure time at camp
B r e a k f a s t B 1 • C l a s s i f i e d s B 8 • E d i t o r i a l s A 6 • M o v i e s B 8 • S p o r t s A 8 • We a t h e r B 5