_________________ bellmore ________________
your HEALTH body / mind / fitness
and MAY 18, 2023
HERALD
with a focus on:
looK INSIde
Your Health Mental Health
Vol. 26 No. 21
For full election results from Tuesday night, visit lIHerald.com
A barbecue for lag B’omer
Sending cookies to Africa
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MAY 18 - 24, 2023
PFY celebrates 30 years of pride LGBTQ organization looks ahead to what still needs to be done By JoRdAN VAlloNe jvallone@liherald.com
Courtesy Tawni Engel
PFY, THe oRgANIzATIoN previously know as Pride for Youth, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and gearing up for Pride Month in June. It serves Long Island at Bellmore and Deer Park locations.
As PFY is gearing up to celebrate the month of pride in June, and the LGBTQ community in general, this year it is also celebrating its own history, as 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the agency, which was the first of its kind in a suburban setting in the United States. PFY, which formerly stood for Pride For Youth, is now known simply by its acronym, because a grant allowed the organization to expand the
reach of its services, and it now provides lifelong assistance to anyone who identifies as LGBTQ on Long Island and in Queens. The Bellmore-based organization was founded 30 years ago as an offshoot of the Long Island Crisis Center, Tawni Engel, the associate executive director of the crisis center and PFY, explained, because its founders recognized the need for services for LGBTQ individuals. The crisis center operates a 24/7 hotline for people with Continued on page 8
Liberty seeks water rate hike, angering advocates, officials By JoRdAN VAlloNe jvallone@liherald.com
More than 100,000 customers across Nassau County’s South Shore communities may face a steep increase in their private water bills if Liberty Utilities’ planned rate hike is approved. S o m e 1 1 3 , 0 0 0 re s i d e n t s between the Five Towns and Seaford receive private water — sometimes paying up to 1,300 percent more for water than Town of Hempstead Water Department customers. Liberty Utilities, which took over operations from New York American Water in January of 2022, filed a notice with the New
York State Public Service Commission on May 5, seeking a cumulative 34.2 percent rate hike across Nassau County. When Liberty purchased the water company, it agreed to a two-year rate freeze, as previously reported in the Herald. If approved by the state, the proposed rate increases of 42 percent and 39 percent in the Merrick and Lynbrook service areas, respectively, would take effect next year. Liberty is seeking the increase to offset the cost of “necessary plant investments, high tax burdens, the installation of advanced metering infrastructure, proposed low-income
and arrearage management programs, and a fee-free program for electronic payment of Liberty NYW invoices,” according to the filing. The company added that the rate hike would help cover the cost of 17 new jobs that were created at its Merrick offices, as well as “the implementation of a low-income program” to provide aid to certain customers. Customers in the Lynbrook service area, also referred to as Service Area 1, could see an $18.32 increase per month on their water bills. This service area includes dozens of surrounding communities. In the Merrick service area, which
encompasses Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa and parts of Levittown, customers’ monthly bills are projected to increase by $15.74. The fight for public water in several Town of Hempstead communities has been a long and challenging one. Dave Denenberg, a former Nassau County legislator and co-director
of Long Island Clean Air Water & Soil, or LICAWS, an advocacy group that has been fighting for the cause, said Liberty’s request is not surprising. “History keeps repeating itself for residents abused by a private water monopoly,” Denenberg said. Private water companies, he added, “always promise Continued on page 10