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A ‘Supernatural’ kidney donation that he only had one kidney. “I was surprised,” Gruber said, “but my parents were more upset and shocked than Bellmore native Geff Gruber was 26 anything.” when he was surprised to learn that he Because he had had only 50 percent kidhad a rare kidney disorder: He had been ney function since birth, his lone kidney born with only one. Now 31, Gruber is the deteriorated over time. It had to work overrecipient of a donated kidney time, unbeknown to Gruber, from someone who only which eventually caused weeks ago was a stranger in scarring. Texas. Although he never felt “Pretty much the week severe symptoms, he began after the transplant, I was to feel dizzy and weak at fine,” said Gruber, who work last June. He went to underwent the operation late GEFF GRuBER the hospital and was put on last month at NYU Langone dialysis. Bellmore resident Health in New York City. “Then I couldn’t work “There’s minimal pain.” anymore,” he said. “Every Gruber said he lived an active lifestyle time you overexert yourself — going before he was diagnosed with focal seg- upstairs, running — you get winded very mental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS. He easily.” Finding a donor became even more was a landscaper and a bodybuilder. Doc- imperative: Gruber’s kidney had deteriotors first noticed a high level of creatine in rated too much to sustain itself, and he his blood, and a sonogram later revealed Continued on page 7
By ANDREW GARCIA agarcia@liherald.com
S
Courtesy Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
love for languages covers the halls ANGElINA lIx, AN eighth-grade Spanish student in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, stood with her “Live, Learn, Love Language”-theme poster for the World Languages Department’s annual poster contest. Story, more photos, Page 6.
upernatural saved my life.
JFK grad, first gay judge on N.Y.’s highest court, dies Merrick native ‘made an extraordinary impact’ on Court of Appeals By ANDREW GARCIA agarcia@liherald.com
Judge Paul Feinman, a Merrick native, John F. Kennedy High School graduate and the first openly gay member of the state’s highest court, died on March 31 of a blood disorder. He was 61. Gov. Andrew Cuomo nominated Feinman to the Court of Appeals in 2017, and he was confirmed by the Senate in June of that year. “It is a tremendous honor to be nominated to the Court of Appeals,” Feinman said in a statement at the time. After his death was announced, there was an outpouring of condolences from state officials and Feinman’s colleagues in the legal profession. “Judge Feinman was a bright, experienced and knowledgeable jurist who made an extraordinary impact on the Court of Appeals and the law of our state,” New York’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore,
wrote in a lengthy statement. “He was also a kind and gentle man who was loved by many,. Judge Feinman served with excellence at every level of our judiciary, and his broad experience, knowledge and wisdom earned him the respect and warm personal regard of his judicial colleagues. Judge Feinman was a meticulous, disciplined and humble jurist who weighed the legal interests at stake in each case with great integrity in order to arrive at the correct and just result.” “It’s often said that law reflects the morals of society, and Judge Feinman reflected the very best of New York,” Cuomo wrote in a statement. “The first openly gay person to serve on the Court of Appeals, he was a lifelong champion of fairness, progress, equality and justice — the very cornerstones of our state’s history and our country’s democracy. And just as importantly, he was a mentor, friend and role model to countless LGBTQ attorneys, helping to shepherd us out of
an era where being openly LGBTQ could mean disbarment and into an era where government embodies the public it serves. It was my honor to appoint him to the bench.” “I’m saddened to hear of the passing of Justice Paul Feinman,” state Attorney General Letitia James wrote on Twitter. “The first LGBTQ Court of Appeals Judge in New York, Justice Feinman was a trailblazer, and his legacy and inspiration to New Yorkers will live on.” Feinman was president of the International Association of LGBT Judges from 2008 to 2011, a former president of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association of Greater New York and a member of the National LGBT Bar Association. The LGBT Bar Association of New York wrote in a statement, “We are deeply saddened by the passing this morning of our dear friend, Judge Continued on page 4