________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Remembering Edward Tutak
Carey football makes its return
Itgen’s founder dies at 88
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MARCH 18 - 24, 2021
Vol. 23 No. 12
Calling for code enforcement in Elmont By MElIssA KoENIg mkoenig@liherald.com
Melissa Koenig/Herald
First in line Franklin Square Lidl Store Manager Tom Regan honored Melissa Wetenkimp, of Fire Island, for being the first person in line at the store’s grand opening ceremony on March 10. Story, more photos, Page 3.
A ‘vessel’ for survivors
F.S. man helps boxers with brain injuries recover By NAKEEM gRANT ngrant@liherald.com
When former professional boxer Michael Corleone, of Franklin Square, opened his gym, Kayo Boxing, in West Hempstead in 2018, his goal was to help others become wellrounded individuals through boxing. Over the past month, his gym has attracted attention thanks to one of its boxers, Lorenzo Thom-
as. Thomas, 26, was hit in the head in by a stray bullet in Hempstead in August 2013. He was taken to NYU Langone Hospital–Long Island, in Mineola, and survived despite having suffered a traumatic brain injury. After starting rehab that October, he returned home in December, but many of his motor functions were affected. His mother, Stacey Tucker, said Thomas had to relearn simple things such as walking and talking.
“He tried to do many different things as part of his recovery,” Tucker, of Roosevelt, recounted. “He tried playing the piano, the guitar, but then he decided to take up boxing a few years ago.” Tucker said that Thomas, who lives in Suffolk County, looked up numerous boxing gyms on Long Island before he stumbled on Kayo Boxing in 2019. Corleone acknowledged Continued on page 10
Walking along Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont earlier this year, Brian McHale counted more than 50 ads for businesses and services hung from utility poles and street signs — against Town of Hempstead code — in the quarter-mile between the Cross Island Parkway exit and Plainfield Avenue. So McHale posted photos of the signs — which advertise real estate firms, SAT tutors, boxing classes, junk-removal services — and the damage that have done to street signs on an Elmont community Facebook page, calling the thoroughfare a “complete littered mess,” with Nassau County and Elmont signs “crooked and covered in graffiti” and the sign for Belmont Park showing “signs of fire damage from years ago.” “It’s just shameful,” McHale, of Floral Park, told the Herald, noting that he had contacted Hempstead officials about the problem for years, but nothing had been done under the past three administrations. “I don’t think they fine anyone,” McHale said, with Virginia Amato, of Elmont, adding that she was “constantly picking up” the half-eaten food and dog feces that people leave on Biltmore
How to report a violation Residents, business owners and property owners who see signs that violate the law can call the Hempstead Town Building Department Code Enforcement Officers at (516) 538-8500 Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. After hours, reports can be filed with the Department of Public Safety at (516) 5381900. Avenue. Now, the two are again calling on town officials to do more to enforce town code, which states that it is illegal to litter or hang solicitations on “fences, trees, utility poles, or similar supporting devices or to vacant or unoccupied structures.” Anyone who litters in the town can face a $500 fine or 15 days of jail for each offense, both of which can be repeated every day that the violation continue, and the town can levy a $250 fine from any business owner or individual found responsible for illeContinued on page 16