Baldwin
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HERALD
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Vol. 27 No. 41
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Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
oCToBER 8 - 14, 2020
$1.00
‘A boatload of restrictions’
Cleaning up a local pond
Former Oakwood Beach Club property to be auctioned off
Baldwinite Kevin Harrison joined his son, William, in pulling debris out of the water at the Lofts Pond Cleanup on Sept. 26. Story, more photos, Page 10.
of decades ago, there was a waiting list to become part of the club. Then membership declined The former site of the Oak- and the board opened up the club wood Beach Club in Baldwin is to anyone in the community and going up for auction on Oct. 14. some neighboring towns, like Nassau County Legislator Oceanside. Then, in 2011, the Debra Mulé, a Democrat from facility closed, and the property Freeport, whose sustained damage district includes from Tropical Baldwin, hosted a Storm Irene. The Zoom meeting on f o l l ow i n g ye a r, Sept. 17 at which Hurricane Sandy residents and forbrought more mer Oakwood destruction, and Beach Association t h e s i t e t o d ay board members appears dilapidatdiscussed the fate ed. of the property, a Before closing, once popular and the club offered bustling exclusive members beachbeach club with a dEBRa Mulé side activities and picturesque view Nassau County amenities, includof Baldwin Harbor. legislator ing pools that have The proper ty, since been filled in. Mulé said, at 8 MilAbout 10 years ago, burn Ave., is currently owned by roughly 200 families belonged to a man who bought the tax lien a Oakwood. number of years ago, and who At the meeting, local resicur rently owes more than dents said they would like to see $500,000 in tax liens. The proper- the site turned into green space ty was handed over to Maltz Auc- for the community to use, but tions and is to be auctioned off noted that restrictions present at a minimum of $1.15 million, obstacles. according to the Maltz Auctions Stuart Lang, one of the last website. presidents of the organization, Former board members said that when they joined a couple Continued on page 4
By BRidgET dowNEs bdownes@liherald.com
i
t’s going to take some real out-of-the-box thinking to solve this problem.
Bridget Downes/Herald
Community votes ‘no’ on $158 million school bond referendum By BRidgET dowNEs bdownes@liherald.com
Baldwin School District residents voted down the district’s $158 million capital improvements bond referendum on Oct. 1. At a school board meeting, trustees accepted the results of the vote: 874 “yes” votes and 1,046 “no” votes. The referendum, titled Innovation 2020, was originally scheduled for March, but the
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The first virtual Relay for life
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
coronavirus pandemic caused school officials to postpone it. The bond would have helped fund a multi-year capital improvement plan, for which school officials have been collecting input from the community over the past four years. The proposed projects, which included renovating decades-old facilities, would have also been funded by grants, state funds and the regular school district budget. “The people spoke to a sense
of reality of the current economic condition,” said Jeff Barkan, co-president of the South Baldwin Jewish Center. “We all have wish lists. I know I want to upgrade my house and make it the most attractive on my block, but I also know that it functions perfectly as it is with basic repairs and upgrades to systems as needed. My point is that there is a balance between what you want and what you need, as well Continued on page 3