_________________ BALDWIN ________________
HERALD Your Health
Diabetes & Weight Management
Inside VOL. 29 NO. 51
Community shows up for toy drive
Kids compete for physical fitness
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DECEMBER 15 - 21, 2022
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Artist captures all the colors of Walt Frazier
Poor Rupert meets ‘Clyde’ at MSG By ANDRE SILVA asilva@liherald.com
Courtesy MSG Network
THE ARTIST KNOWN as Poor Rupert, who also goes by ‘Chris,’ is originally from Baldwin but now lives in Freeport. He did an acrylic painting of Walt Frazier on birch wood panel to honor him and raise money for charity.
The local street artist Poor Rupert displayed his painting of former Knicks superstar Walt “Clyde” Frazier last month. I n S e p t e m b e r, F r a z i e r became the first person to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a broadcaster. To honor him, the Knicks and the MSG Network presented him with a one-of-akind painting by Poor Rupert, titled “Twice is Nice,” on the
court at Madison Square Garden before a game between the Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 26. “I was in a haze on the court, and really nervous, but when I got to meet him in person, it was amazing,” said Poor Rupert, 41, who also goes by “Chris.” “As soon as he walked in the door, he knew my name, complimented me on my work, and we started signing the prints.” Poor Rupert, who is originally from Baldwin but now lives in Freeport, created a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Town board approves long-awaited Baldwin development By ANDRE SILVA asilva@liherald.com
Baldwin residents have waited for almost a decade to see the Downtown Revitalization Initiative come to fruition in the form of new development, and last week they received welcome news. The Hempstead town board gave its approval Dec. 7 to Breslin Realty’s The Grand At Baldwin — a four-story, 215-unit, mixed-use, transit-oriented apartment complex that will be built on the southeast corner of Sunrise Highway and Grand Avenue, across Sunrise from the Long Island Rail Road station.
Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé said that this is the first major project that the board has approved within Baldwin’s mixed-use overlay district, a centerpiece of the downtown initiative. “After more than three decades of promises, it is encouraging to see that the Town of Hempstead is heeding the demands of Baldwin residents by taking this important first step toward downtown revitalization,” Mulé said. “I am hopeful that today’s long-awaited victory will serve as a major catalyst for getting shovels into the ground and elevating Baldwin as a beacon of community-driven
F
or once we are not going backward.
ERIK MAHLER
president, Baldwin Chamber of Commerce smart growth in our region.” Baldwin Chamber of Commerce President Erik Mahler said the development’s completion would give the Baldwin business community an increased customer base as well as and an aesthetically pleasing modern building in the center of the community. He said he
believed it would take six months or more for Breslin Realty to file building permits and get shovels in the ground to begin construction. “For once we are not going backward,” Mahler said. “We haven’t seen a development of this scale in Baldwin probably in my lifetime.” Justin Breslin, vice president
of Breslin Realty, said at a chamber meeting on Oct. 12 that it would take four to six months of planning to create architectural drawings, and another three months to secure building permits. David Orwasher, chief development officer for Breslin Realty, said he estimated that construcCONTINUED ON PAGE 14