East Meadow
HERALD District unveils its ‘Unity Day’ mural
County amends Coliseum lease
Curran plans for restaurant recovery
Page 10
Page 4
Page 5
$1.00
NOVEMBER 26 - DECEMBER 2, 2020
VOl. 20 NO. 48
A crash course in confidence Lotus Fitness to host its first community event on Dec. 1 Meadow and Levittown, last D e c e m b e r. Ro u g h ly t h re e months later, however, he was Two small business owners forced to close by the coronaviare working together to host an rus pandemic, and he didn’t event geared toward women’s reopen until September. empower ment at For roughly a Lotus Fitness on year before he Dec. 1 from 7:30 to opened the fitness 8:30 p.m. c e n t e r, A h m e d The event, worked at New York dubbed Create ConSports Club in Astofidence with Positive ria, Queens, where Habits, is “an open he lives. Before that, discussion for he was a personal wo m e n t o c o m e trainer at Stony together as a comBrook Crossfit while munity and encourhe studied business age each other,” said at Stony Brook UniSamantha Trocchia, versity, from which who will host the he graduated in 2018. event with Lotus FitWhat separates ness owner Ahmed Lotus Fitness from Ahmed. Crossfit, however, is “A lot of women AhMED AhMED Ahmed’s intention feel unseen,” Ahmed Owner, to help people incorsaid. “They’re so set porate fitness into Lotus Fitness on taking care of their lives rather everyone else that than having it take they don’t have the time to take over their lives, he said. “I care of themselves, whether it’s opened it because I saw the effect at home with their family or it has on self-efficacy,” he said. with their boyfriend or their “When you see your hard work coworkers.” turn into results, you could have Ahmed, 24, a first-generation the confidence to pursue any of immigrant from Egypt, opened your other goals. I believe that I Lotus Fitness, on Hempstead Turnpike, on the border of East Continued on page 3
By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
W
Courtesy East Meadow School District
Bowling Green shows its gratitude Fourth-grade students at East Meadow’s Bowling Green Elementary School wrote thank-you notes to employees at their school that they delivered last Friday during a Thankfulness Walk. Students Jessica Isberto, far left, Antonio Chiarlitti and Marissa Martin gave their notes to school nurses Pauline Carlino and Renee Desimine.
Lending a hand this Thanksgiving Kiwanis hosts an alternative to its annual dinner By BRIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Every November, the East Meadow Kiwanis Club hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for senior residents and military families, drawing roughly 300 people each year. The club couldn’t host the event this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but members saw an even greater need to help feed the community, according to President Lisa Hallett. “Because of pandemic restric-
tions, we’ve had to come up with a lot of creative ways to continue helping the community,” Hallett said. Last Saturday, Kiwanians delivered meals to 70 East Meadow and Salisbury homes. Then, on Sunday, members set up a drive-through service at East Meadow High School and handed out 230 meals to residents. Each had turkey, stuf fing, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and gravy — a full Thanksgiving meal.
B&G Deli and Caterers, on Carman Avenue in Westbury, prepared all the food and gave the Kiwanis Club a discount. When the pandemic began to spread on Long Island in midMarch, Kiwanis members started raising funds for meals and delivering them to community members who needed them at McVey and Parkway elementary schools and W.T. Clarke High School, which had all closed. They delivered thousands of Continued on page 3
hen you see your hard work turn into results, you could have the confidence to pursue any of your other goals.