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Sneak preview of museum artifacts
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Vol. 23 No. 19
MAY 6 - 12, 2021
Cheaper, cleaner water State approves $4.9M grant for Western Nassau water utility By PEtEr BElfiorE pbelfiore@liherald.com
New York state officials announced early last month that $48.9 million in grant, interestfree and low-cost loan funds had been approved to help water authorities defray the costs of maintaining clean d r i n k i n g w a t e r, including a $4.9 mill i o n g r a n t e a rm a rk e d f o r t h e Water Authority of We s t e r n N a s s a u County, which covers Elmont, North Valley Stream and Floral Park. The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation board of directors approved the funding after a review of various water infrastructure grant proposals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on April 8. The Western Nassau Water Authority had applied for an emerging contaminants grant to help it combat the potentially dangerous perfluorooctanoic, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic, or PFOS, acids at one of its water treat-
t
Courtesy Franklin Square Historical Society
local history, now on display In an event years in the making, members of the Franklin Square Historical Society — from left, President Paul Van Wie, Vice President Nancy Youngfert, past President Philip Munda, Theresa Munda and Museum Director Patricia Galaskacut — cut the ribbon at the Franklin Square Museum, on Naple Avenue, on April 28. Munda was the museum’s first visitor, and the general public will be invited to view its artifacts of local history in the near future.
Traffic safety improvements are under way in Elmont By NAkEEM GrANt ngrant@liherald.com
Long-awaited traffic safety improvements are coming to Elmont. New signals will be installed at several intersections, including Dutch Broadway at Diamond Street; Glafil Street and Dutch Broadway at Willow Lane/Lawrence Street; Elmont Road and the Cross Island Parkway ramp, and on Elmont Road at the St. Boniface RC Church
driveway, just north of Dutch Broadway. There a fence will also be installed to encourage pedestrians to cross at the new signal. “To me, this is the end of a long project that many of us have been advocating for,” said Mimi Pierre-Johnson, a civic activist, of Elmont. “So much work has been done in that area, and I’m super-excited about the new installments there.” In addition, left turn arrows will be added at northbound
Elmont Road at Baylis Avenue; southbound Elmont Road at Atherton Avenue; eastbound Dutch Broadway at Nor th Fletcher Avenue; and eastbound and westbound Dutch Broadway at Harriet Street and Tuxedo Drive. On the eastern portion of Dutch Broadway, two driver feedback devices — which alert speeding drivers to slow down — will be installed east of the WalContinued on page 3
ment facilities. The grant is intended to pay for installation of a new granular activated carbon, or GAC, filtration system to remove the two contaminants from the water supply at the authority’s Station 44. Installation of the filters at the facility was completed at the end of last summer, according to Water Authority Superintendent Mike Tierney. “It’s performing well,” he said of the filtration system. “It’s a big output well, and Elmont, Valley Stream and South Floral Park are in good shape in that regard.” Station 44, the water authority’s largest, comprises four wells, Tierney said, and was selected first for installation of the GAC system because it services the most customers. While Tierney was appreciative of the funding, he said it would only pay for a fraction of the overall effort to remove
he money would help reimburse the Water Authority of Western Nassau County for the installation of carbon filtration systems.
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