________ Franklin square/elmont _______
CoMMuNITy uPDATe Infections as of April 15
8.785
Infections as of April 11 8,683
$1.00
HERALD
Friends Don’t Let Friends Overpay
DEADLINE APRIL 30TH
Medical costs for acid burn victim
Two horses die in Belmont barn fire
Page 4
Page 4
Vol. 23 No. 17
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
18/21 itc FG Demi Condensed
Sign up today. It on ly takes seconds. Apply online at mptrg .com/heraldnote or call 516.479.9171
Hablamos Español
Page xx
Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
APRIl 22 - 28, 2021
A bid for a cleaner world Bond act could bring big bucks for projects in Elmont, V.S. ■ Flood risk reduction
By PeTeR BelFIoRe pbelfiore@liherald.com
With the passage of New York’s Environmental Bond Act, officially known as the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, along with the state budg et earlier this month, communities across the state are potentially slated to gain access to roughly $3 billion in bond funding for various environmental and infrastructure projects should voters give final approval to the borrowing in November 2022. The money that would be provided through the act is intended for projects that fall into four broad categories, according to a report by Rebuild by Design, a community and engineering advocacy organization formed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. They are: ■ Water quality improvement
I
Christina Daly/Herald
The garbage truck of the future Spiro Kattan, deputy director of support services for the New York City Department of Sanitation, with the fully electric Mack LR garbage truck in Rath Park on Monday. The truck is one of only two currently operational in the world. Town of Hempstead officials announced that the town would be getting its own by the end of the year, as part of pilot program to explore the feasibility of switching its fleet to electric vehicles by 2040. Story, more photos, Page 2.
‘Ahead of the game’ on diversity Elmont School District shares its DEI plans By NAkeeM GRANT ngrant@liherald.com
As part of the Elmont School District’s goal to make classrooms more inclusive, district leaders rolled out their Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity plan on April 14. The plan, which was presented to parents and district residents via Zoom, has four phases (see box, Page 5) that incorporate teachers, administrators and parents as committee
members to drive and assess the program’s progress. “Our framework is based on some goals that are rooted in equitable, inclusive and diverse opportunities for all students to reach their highest potential,” said David Spinnato, the district’s director of technology curriculum. “Each phase of our plan builds on a previous stage, and it’s occurring concurrently.” The DEI plan, adopted by the school district in February, is
based on the State Education D e p a r t m e n t ’s “ c u l t u r a l l y responsive-sustaining education” framework, which pushes for equitable opportunities to help all children thrive. Dr. Wellinthon Garcia, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, said that the plan builds on the district’s accomplishments over the years. “Elmont is ahead of the game in regards to rolling this out,” Continued on page 5
Rebuild By Design estimated that the bond act has the potential to generate 65,000 jobs, and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky called the funding a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity t o i m p r o ve o r replace aging infrastructure in Elmont and Valley S t r e a m . Va l l e y Stream, Kaminsky said, could request funding for the replacement of its s ewe r s y s t e m s. “Valley Stream has been a community for well over 100 years,” he said, noting that some of its municipal infrastructure dates to its founding. “. . . It’s very rare for this kind of money to become available.” While the bond act outlines allowable uses for the funding, it would remain up to municipalities — villages, the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County — to identify need and administer the projects, Kaminsky said. Guy Jacob, a retired teacher
f approved by voters, the legislation would allow for $3 billion in bonds to be made available for environmental infrastructure projects.
■ Climate change mitigation ■ Open space land conservation
Continued on page 12