_________________ FREEPORT _________________
HERALD Also serving Roosevelt
Good times on the stage
Craft fair is coming soon
MS-13 member sentenced
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Vol. 91 No. 30
July 23 - 29, 2026
$1.00
Revitalization of Brookside entrance begins By ANDREW FRANCIS afrancis@liherald.com
Deliah Roberts/Herald
Members of the Environmental Rotaract Club of Nassau County Long Island, from left, Michael Stanton, Christopher McBride, Sonia Dixon, Cheryl McBride, José Hercules Rivera and Michael Horowitz.
The Brookside Preserve, a nature sanctuary situated between Freeport and Baldwin known recently for its poor maintenance and deteriorating infrastructure, is getting a much-needed face lift from local volunteers. The Environmental Rotaract Club of Nassau County Long Island, along with Freeport High School’s Interact Club and other volunteers comprised a group of more than a dozen people who began work last week on the Brookside Preserve Beautification Project, hoping to make the park’s entrance more inviting and accessible to the community. On July 11, about 15 volunteers in total took to the Brookside Avenue entrance of the preserve to try to clear out some of the trash and unkempt foliage. The preserve, which encompasses more than 20 acres of woodlands and waterways, is home to numerous species of plants and animals, but has been in significant CoNtINuED oN pagE 10
Village of Freeport welcomes newest cop to its ranks By JuSTIN HABERMAN Intern
The Freeport Police Department added a new officer, Julia Failaa, to its ranks after she was sworn in during a ceremony at Village Hall on July 15. Village officials welcomed Failaa, alongside members of the department and her family, as she took the oath of office, marking the beginning of her law enforcement career. The ceremony recognized her academic achievements and the training that lies ahead before she begins serving the community. Failaa, a 2016 graduate of Valley Stream South High
School and a 2018 graduate of Nassau Community College, will complete police academy training before officially beginning her service in Freeport. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy explained how the village remains committed to maintaining a fully staffed police department, noting that the department has grown from 77 to 108 officers over the past decade. “We want to continue our ranks at 108, as we’re able to reduce crime and maintain safety for families, children and businesses,” Kennedy said after the ceremony. Kennedy added that the
T
rust goes two ways between you and the community. RoBERT KENNEDy Freeport mayor department’s expansion has been ef ficient because of investments in technology and community policing. He cited the village’s Operation Safe Streets program, which uses license plate readers to identify stolen vehicles, uninsured vehicles, stolen license plates and expired registrations, as an
example of one of its most efficient policing investments. According to Kennedy, the prog ram has resulted in around 1,500 impounded vehicles each year and has led to more than 200 arrests of wanted individuals. In addition, he pointed to the department’s use of body cameras for patrol officers, who are
also outfitted with tasers, saying the equipment and training a r e i n t e n d e d t o i m p r ove accountability and reduce the need for deadly force. Kennedy said crime in Freeport has declined by 56 percent over the past six years, chalking it up to the department’s officers and the village’s public CoNtINuED oN pagE 5