_________________ BALDWIN ________________
CommUNItY UPDAtE Infections as of June 20
4,146
Infections as of June 13 4,142
HERALD Pull Out
$1.00
Vol. 28 No. 26
Dance studio builds community
Youth unites for Juneteenth march
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JUNE 24 - 30, 2021
Pet store owner charged over sick puppies By CrIstINA ArroYo roDrIgUEz carroyo@liherald.com
Cristina Arroyo Rodriguez/Herald
AN sPCA VolUNtEEr with one of the dogs that was found neglected in the Puppy 4 U pet store in Baldwin on March 15, after a 911 noise complaint.
Puppy 4 U LLC owner Pecardy Delone was charged last week with violating agricultural and markets law for allegedly selling or offering to sell diseased animals from an unmarked store front at 760 Merrick Road in Baldwin. On March 15, Nassau County police received a 911 call about a noise complaint at the pet store. When the officers arrived and were let in by the landlord, not the business owner, they found 11
puppies ranging in age from 6 weeks to 3 months with a variety of health issues, including parasites, malnourishment and coughs, officials said. After an investigation, police determined that the Puppy 4 U corporation failed to properly vaccinate and deworm the animals; provide adequate confinement, ventilation and social distancing for them; or follow required cleaning measures for enclosed spaces. According to Article 26, Continued on page 16
Pandemic drives Baldwin housing demand, and prices, up By mAtt HUgHs With suburban houses in high demand in the greater metropolitan area because many renters have fled New York City amid the coronavirus p a n d e m i c, h o u s i n g p r i c e s across Long Island have been increasing for several months now, including in Baldwin. E r i k M a h l e r, ow n e r o f Mahler Realty and a former Chamber of Commerce co-president, said housing prices were already trending upward before the pandemic, but Covid-19 made them “explode.” Most homes that Mahler has sold
recently have been on the market for only a few weeks or less. Massoud Fazeli, a professor of urban economics at Hofstra University, said, “In the past year, suburbs gained at the expense of big cities as the fear of pandemics hurt densely populated cities and many people demanded more space as they spent more time at home. Small city apartments became less attractive.” Anthony Atkinson, an agent with Weichert Realty in Baldwin, said that home prices in t h e a r e a h ave s t e a d i l y increased. The pandemic, he said, helped accelerate that
I
n the past year, suburbs gained at the expense of big cities. mAssoUD FAzElI
Professor, Hofstra University growth, but not at the same rate as in other counties across the state. Baldwin saw a peak of 52 houses sold last December, and 20 to 30 more houses were sold per month in the first few
months of 2021, according to redfin.com. Most of the houses sold for 8 to 10 percent more than what they were worth the previous year. The upward trend in prices is in line with what the U.S. experienced throughout the latter half of 2020 and into 2021, but across the country, the median house price rose by 23.1
percent. Meanwhile, over the past year, the median house price in Baldwin rose by 9.5 percent, and in Nassau, by 8.5 percent, according to market data compiled by the Multiple Listing Service. Despite solid growth in the county, Baldwin and other communities in Nassau are not seeContinued on page 4