________ Franklin square/elmont _______
coMMUNiTY UPdATe infections as of May 24
9,145
infections as of May 17 9,143
$1.00
HERALD
Town celebrates Haitian Flag day
BBQ held at F.S. Senior center
concert coming to rath Park
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Vol. 23 No. 22
MAY 27 - JUNe 2, 2021
Bringing issues to the surface Advocacy group Voices for Elmont keeps people in the know together during discussions about the Belmont arena project, according to member Jon Focusing on Johnson. issues ranging from “We wanted to potholes to speedkeep people in the ing cars on popular k n o w o f w h a t ’s roads like Dutch going on in Broadway, commuElmont,” said Johnnity group Voices son, who is also for Elmont aims to president of the advocate for the Elmont Cardinals community in difSports Club. “It’s ferent ways. very engaging. PeoVo i c e s fo r E l ple need to have a mont, which complatfor m to be municates primariaw a re o f wh at ’s ly through the app JoN JoHNSoN happening in their WhatsApp, formed Voices for Elmont community, so we in 2019, and has hope to be strong in since sought ways our endeavors of to promote community service reaching more Elmont resiand activism via local partner- dents.” ships and consensus building. Johnson said that while the T he g roup initially came Continued on page 13
By NAkeeM GrANT ngrant@liherald.com
W
e wanted to keep people in the know of what’s going on in Elmont.
Courtesy Town of Hempstead
Tying the knot at Town Hall Town of Hempstead Clerk Kate Murray, left, officiated the wedding of Elmont residents Robert Conti and Solletticia De Leon on May 13 at Town Hall.
Residents gather to celebrate Eid with exotic car show By Nicole AlciNdor nalcindor@liherald.com
From April 12 to May 12, Muslims observed Ramadan, a holy month during which they fast from sunrise to sunset. When Ramadan ends, many Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr, or Eid, an occasion for special prayers, family visits, gift-giving and charity that takes place over one to three days. On May 16, in honor of Eid, dozens of residents gathered at the Masjid Hamza mosque and
Islamic community center in Valley Stream to take part in an exotic car show and toy giveaway called Toys 4 Eid. One of the organizers of the event, Hamza Akram, of Elmont, a 23-year-old congregant at Masjid Hamza, said he aimed to create a children-friendly event because, typically during Eid, there aren’t many children-oriented events, but mainly celebrations for adults. “I wanted to hold an event where kids can actually have fun and enjoy their Eid, and we
ended up having over 40 exotic cars out on display, and plus we gave close to 2,000 toys away to children,” Akram said. “Ever since I was a kid, I always used to look forward to celebrating Eid and receiving toys from my parents. Eid is a time where all your loved ones come together and celebrate. The Toys 4 Eid event has made Eid even more exciting, because I was able to look forward to giving back, and I got to put smiles on the faces of kids.” Shumaila Noor, the adminis-
trator and outreach coordinator of Islamic Circle of North America Relief — a nonprofit charity organization in Valley Stream that works with Masjid Hamza — said the event was organized to create unity dur-
ing the Eid holiday. “We organized this car rally a n d t o y g ive - aw ay e ve n t because we wanted to help lowincome families to celebrate during this time,” Noor said. Continued on page 12