Franklin Square/Elmont
HERALD county celebrates veteran’s 100th
remembering sylvia Brocker
graduation plans still up in the air
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Vol. 22 No. 23
JUNE 4 - 10, 2020
L.I. begins to reopen F.S., Elmont business owners adjust to changes transitioned to reopening, and supporting major projects that leave a lasting impact will be mkoenig@liherald.com critical to building our economy Elmont and Franklin Square back,” Eric Gertler, acting combusiness leaders said their missioner of the Empire State downtowns were slowly coming Development Corp., said in a back on May 27, the first day of statement last week. “The BelLong Island’s Phase One reopen- mont Redevelopment Project ing of its economy, and they said will create tens of thousands of they hoped people would abide jobs and generate billions in new by social-distancing protocols to revenue to support Long Island ensure that the economy stays communities — and as the open. region enters Phase One, workThe first ers were back on phase allows for site today preconstruction and paring to resume wholesale trade construction in a companies to s a f e e nv i r o n restar t opera ment that protions, along with tects their retailers for curb- MohaMMEd rEfraN health.” side pickup only. Owner But Lisa DelIt also allows conliPizzi, a real Real Discount Outlet struction on the estate broker and B e l m o n t Pa rk president of the redevelopment project to contin- Franklin Square Chamber of ue. The project includes an Commerce, said that many local 18,000-seat arena for the New businesses had already reopened York Islanders, a 250-room hotel, in some capacity. Under Cuomo’s a community center and 350,000 executive order, curbside pickup square feet of retail space. Con- was already allowed as long as struction on the site was sus- orders were made online or over pended in March, when Gov. the phone and there was only Andrew Cuomo ordered a halt to one employee in the store fulfillall “non-essential” construction. ing them, according to officials “As Governor Cuomo said from ESD, the state agency that this week, New York has clearly Continued on page 4
By MElissa KoENig and scott BriNtoN
Peter Belfiore/Herald
NEarly 200 ElMoNt and Valley Stream residents marched through the streets on Monday night to protest police violence, one week after a police officer killed George Floyd in Minneapolis.
‘Our chance to talk’
Residents hold protest against police violence By MElissa KoENig, scott BriNtoN, PEtEr BElfiorE, roNNy rEyEs and darwiN yaNEs mkoenig@liherald.com
Nearly 200 Elmont and Valley Stream residents gathered in the parking lot across the street from St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church on Monday evening to create signs and share their thoughts about police violence against minorities before marching through the streets of Elmont and Valley Stream.
It was one of hundreds of demonstrations that sprang up across the country after a police officer killed George Floyd on May 25. Floyd, 46, an African-American man, died after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes before he stopped speaking or moving. In a video of the incident, Floyd could be heard saying he could not breathe and pleading for the officer to stop. The police, according to authorities, were responding
to a report of a man attempting to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a store. At the protest on Monday, comprised mainly of young people, residents held up signs saying, “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe” and “No justice, no peace,” and listing the names of black people killed by police, while passing drivers honked to show their support. “A lot of these people, it’s their first time protesting,” said Goldie Harrison, an Elmont resident who co-orgaContinued on page 6
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ife is different, and it’s scary.
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
HERALD
NO
Meet the school, library board candidates mkoenig@liherald.com
Nine Elmont and Franklin Square residents are running to serve on the Boards of Education and library boards. Two of the Board of Education races are contested, and members of the elementary school boards also have the opportunity to serve on the Sewanhaka Central High School District board.
The elmont races
In Elmont, incumbent Anthony Maffea is running to retain his seat on the Board of Education against challenger Simmonie Swaby, and Tiffany Capers is running for Karen Taylor Bass’ seat. Bass is not seeking re-election this year to spend more time with her family. Additionally, Elmont residents have the opportunity to re-elect Suzanne Schatz and Livingstone Young to the library board. Maffea is completing his 12th year on the board, and is the second-longest serving board member. When he first ran, he said, he wanted to get more involved in the community, which he moved to in 1999. He was already on the Elmont Dads’ Club, a Little League coach and a Cub Scout leader, so, Maffea said, joining the Board of Education “just seemed like the next step.” Since then, the board has implemented a STEM program, a robotics club and a Model United Nations program that was being run successfully at the high school level. “We’ve really made a hard push to educate the whole child,” Maffea said, adding that the Model UN program was “just something to broaden their horizons.” If he were re-elected, he said, he would like to expand the district’s extracurricular programs and create more rooms for computer labs. “I want to make sure that our kids are graduating with all the tools they need going forward,” he explained. Swaby, meanwhile, has lived in Elmont for 12 years and formed the Muscle Moms group in 2018 to promote civic participation. She also helped form the Elmont Community Task Force, which she describes as “a group dedicated to supporting causes that benefit Elmont.” She now serves on the Belmont Community Advisory Council and is the Den Leader for Cub Scout Pack 294. Professionally, Swaby is the treasurer
Maxine Yarczower
simmonie swaby
Tiffany Capersv
anthony Maffea
anthony Vellon
Diane Hansen
for Angels Over Alligator Pond, Inc, a nonprofit that provides resources to a community in Jamaica, where Swaby was born and raised. She has two children in the district, and said she has “a passion for education.” If she were elected to serve on the board, she said, she would want to expand on the district’s STEM programs, increase parent participation in the district and build on its “very good public education system,” saying she understands the needs of the students. Tiffany Capers is also running for the Board of Education in an uncontested race. She moved to Elmont in 1998 and has since served on the Elmont Association of Girl Scouts and various Parent Teacher Associations. Her daughter, Morgan, is now set to graduate from Elmont Memorial High School, and Capers said she sees the chance of being a Board of Education trustee “as a way for me to continue to support our Elmont students and serve the community.”
The Franklin square races
In Franklin Square, Diane Hanen and Anthony Vellon are running to fill the
seat left by Joseph Lewinger, who died from complications of the coronavirus on March 28. William Leder is also running for re-election unopposed, and Maxine Yarczower is running for the library board. Hansen has lived in the district for 28 years, and has served on the Citizens’ Budget Advisory Committee for the past 12. Additionally, she has served on the John Street Parent Teacher Association, was a Girl Scout leader and a religion teacher at St. Catherine of Siena. “I have been on many of these committees for a long time, so I have learned a lot,” Hansen said, noting that her youngest son is graduating from John Street School in June, so she will have more time to commit to the Board of Education. “Being a Board of Education member is a huge commitment, and now I have the time, along with the good base of knowledge, you need.” In a Meet the Candidates forum last month, she suggested that district officials work with parents to help them deal with technological issues and that the board create a liaison to the PTAs. She also said district officials should be responsible with what they cut to make
up for any cuts to state aid next year, and suggested they hold off on some expenses such as the replacement of a school bus and new textbooks. Her opponent, Anthony Vellon, has lived in Franklin Square for four and a half years and has two daughters in the district. Both Anthony and his wife, Marlin, are teachers in New York City and are members of the Washington Street School PTA. He decided to run for the Board of Education because he felt it was the best way to give back to the community with his skills and expertise in education. Vellon is an education administrator for the New York City Department of Education and previously worked as a district business manager, overseeing several school budgets that totaled nearly $150 million. Additionally, he has trained teachers and staff in de-escalation and restorative practices. “I truly believe that both my academic and professional background would be an asset to the Franklin Square Board of Education and all children in our community,” Vellon said, noting that he wants to work with community members to improve the schools “for the future of our children.” At the Meet the Candidates forum, he emphasized the importance of “educating the whole child,” social-emotional learning and 21st century learning skills. He also said that students need to feel like their cultures are represented in lesson plans, and suggested that district officials go through the budget to see where potential cuts could be made. “There’s not just one issue that school districts face,” Vellon explained. Finally, Maxine Yarczower is running unopposed for the Franklin Square library board. She has lived in Franklin Square for six and a half years, and has always attended the library board meetings, where she noticed a lack of community involvement. As a new board member, she said she would like to change that, noting, “I hope we, as a whole, can bring to the forefront just how valuable the Franklin Square Public Library is to this community.” Ballots for these races have been mailed out to all eligible voters in the Franklin Square and Elmont school districts. They must be signed and returned in the provided envelope by June 9 at p.m.
school budgets on the absentee ballots Franklin Square and Elmont residents have the opportunity to vote for three school district’s budgets by absentee ballot this year. The Franklin Square proposed budget for next year is just under $40.2 million and would enable the district to replace aging technology and support its STEM Discovery labs. The proposal is 1.72 percent larger than the current budget, and would be funded in part by a $29 million tax levy, a 2.33 percent increase over the current levy. It would be under the state’s 2 percent tax levy limit, and the effect on individual residents would depend on Nassau County’s assessment of their property. Elmont’s proposed $94.4 million budget includes a tax levy of just under $56.7 million, 0.1 percent smaller than the current levy. It would fund the replacement of school buses and classroom furniture, maintain the district’s programs and class sizes and finance new literacy and assessment programs for students. Under the Sewanhaka proposed $209 million budget, meanwhile, the district would invest $1.8 million in security enhancements at all five schools, with the installation of security vestibules, an electronic lock system and computer technology security improvements. The cost of these enhancements would vary by school, and would be part of a $5.7 million, or 2.8 percent, increase in expenditures over the current budget. To fund these increases, the district would collect just over $152 million in taxes, 2.7 percent more than it is collecting now. Ballots must be signed and returned in the envelope provided by 5 p.m. on June 9.
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
By Melissa Koenig
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Crime watCh
June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
Thefts
■ A victim reports that on May 18 between 10:47 and 11:47 a.m., an unknown male suspect stole a delivered package from his porch on Court Road in Franklin Square.
p.m., an unknown suspect stole a delivered package from his porch on Norfolk Drive West in Elmont. ■ A victim reports that between May 24 at 5 p.m. and May 25 at 4 p.m., an unknown suspect stole a bicycle from New Hyde Park Road in Franklin Square.
■ A victim reports that on May 22 at 1:29 People named in Crime Watch items as having been arrested and charged with violations or crimes are only suspected of committing those acts of which they are accused. They are all presumed to be innocent of those charges until and unless found guilty in a court of law.
Photos by Melissa Koenig/Herald
MohaMMed refran, oWner of the Real Discount Outlet in Elmont, said it has been difficult to tell people to maintain social-distancing guidelines and wear masks.
Businesses open in Phase One continued from front page
Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department/Facebook
MeMbers of the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department removed a car from a two-car crash that resulted in downed utility poles.
F.S. & Munson firefighters remove car from accident Members of the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department responded to a report of an auto accident at the intersection of New Hyde Park Road and Tulip Avenue on May 27. When they arrived, firefighters found a
two-car crash with utility poles and primary wires down that electrified the ground. PSEG representatives then responded, and repaired the damage. One person suffered minor injuries.
Franklin Square/Elmont
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MAIN PHONE: (516) 569-4000 ■ WEB SITE: www.liherald.com/franklinsquare or www.liherald.com/elmont ■ E-MAIl: Letters and other submissions: fseditor@liherald.com ■ EDITORIAl DEPARTMENT: Ext. 214 E-mail: fseditor@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4942 ■ SUBSCRIPTIONS: Press ”7” E-mail: circ@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4942 ■ ClASSIFIED ADVERTISING: Ext. 286 E-mail: ereynolds@liherald.com Fax: (516) 622-7460 ■ DISPlAY ADVERTISING: Ext. 249 E-mail: sales@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4643 The Franklin Square/Elmont Herald USPS 017066, is published every Thursday by Richner Communications, Inc., 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Periodicals postage paid at Garden City, NY 11530 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address changes to Franklin Square/Elmont Herald, 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Newsstand Price: $1 Subscription rates: $36 for 1 year within Nassau County. Out of Nassau County: $58 for 1 year. Copyright © 2020 Richner Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
promotes development. As a result, stores such as Garden World, in Franklin Square, and Barney’s Hardware, in Elmont, have remained open throughout the pandemic. Garden World, where the parking lot was full on May 27, is considered an essential business because it sells fruit and propane, according to co-owner Seth Fiddle. There are signs posted there reminding people to keep their distance and wear face masks. Fiddle said the spring rush at the garden store started early this season, in April, due to the shutdown, and there was a “pent up demand for gardening.” Donald Katz, the owner of Barney’s, said there were “very quiet days” in the beginning, but lately, more people have been willing to go to the store to pick up the items they need. And Mohammed Refran, owner of the Real Discount Outlet, in Elmont, said that continuing to operate has been “very, very tough.” He explained that he has had to learn a new way of doing business, and that it has been difficult to ensure that customers wear masks and maintain six feet of distance among one another. Cuomo has since issued an executive order allowing business owners to refuse service to anyone who isn’t wearing a mask. “Life is different,” Refran said, “and it’s scary.” Paul Sapienza, president of the Elmont Chamber of Commerce, said that other business owners were “going to get to learn what their new expectations are” as well, and added that he thought Long Island had met all of the metrics needed to reopen. To do so, the region needed to have a 14-day decline in hospitalizations, a 1-day decline in deaths, no more than two hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, 30 percent of hospital beds and ICU beds available, increased testing and a fleet of contract tracers. To begin the second phase of the reopening — which would allow
Garden World in Franklin Square is mandating that customers wear masks. professional services, finance and insurance, real estate and leasing businesses to open — the number of deaths, hospitalizations and new Covid-19 cases must remain stable or decline for two weeks. “As more regions of the state begin reopening,” Cuomo tweeted on May 26, “we are carefully monitoring health data to make sure that everything is going in the right direction. We rely on science and data to guide us — not emotion or politics.” He added that personal behavior would determine the success — or failure — of the reopening process. “The trajectory,” he said, “is decided by people.”
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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
Melissa Koenig/Herald
sewanhaKa superitendent JaMes Grossane clarified the district’s plan for graduation ceremonies at a virtual Board of Education meeting on May 26.
Sewanhaka superintendent explains graduation decision these ceremonies,” Grossane vowed. “There’s nothing more that we want to do than graduate our 2,000 seniors.” Sewanhaka Superintendent James To make that happen, Trustee Laura Grossane explained his decision to allow Ferone suggested parents reach out to high school seniors to graduate in indi- their local elected officials and say that vidual ceremonies at a virtual Board of they are in favor of having an in-person Education meeting on May 26, as Gov. graduation ceremony, saying, “I think we Andrew Cuomo’s executive order prohib- really need people to let the governor iting gatherings of more than 10 people know what the will of the people is.” was set to expire two days later. New Jersey Gov. Phil Mur phy He said he waited as long as he possi- announced on May 26 that school districts bly could before making an in the state can hold graduaannouncement about gradution ceremonies beginning ations, but felt that he on July 6, Grossane noted, should release the district’s so long as the district’s preliminary plan on May 21, “comply with social distancabiding by Cuomo’s current ing — ensuring the health guidance at the time. In a letand safety of all in attenter to parents, Grossane said dance.” district seniors would have New York State Senators the opportunity to get their have since sent a letter to diplomas at their respective Gov. Cuomo, asking him to high schools on June 27 and JaMes grossane, do the same in New York. 28. Families would be given Sewanhaka “The high school graduattime slots for their students’ superintendent ing class of 2020 hould be ceremonies, and only two permitted to embrace their family members would be successes and be fully recogable to accompany each graduate. nized as they embark on the next chapter A more traditional ceremony, complete of their lives,” the letter, which was with speeches and the reading of the signed by more than 20 State Senators, graduates’ names, he wrote, would be including Todd Kaminsky and Anna recorded and broadcast on the district’s Kaplan, reads. “The relationships stuwebsite. dents have developed with their schools, “This is not my choice,” Grossane told teachers and peers will forever be groundthe public at the Board of Education ed in their hearts, and we know you share meeting last week, “this is simply what with us a commitment to find a way for the order says, and we have to comply them to celebrate their final high school with that.” moments in a traditional, ceremonious But, he said, if the governor’s orders manner.” were to change, he would work to hold They added that they believe “a safe, another, more traditional ceremony for carefully-managed outdoor and in-perthe district’s high school seniors in late son” ceremony could be held, and urged July or early August. the governor “to find a way to allow this “We’ll move heaven and Earth to have to happen.”
By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com
w
e’ll move heaven and Earth to have these ceremonies.
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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Protests continue long after George Floyd is killed continued from front page nized the rally with Christine Rivera, “and not only do we need to bring awareness to the black lives who have been lost to police violence, but also give people an opportunity to protest and see what that’s like.” She added that she and Rivera “felt it was only right to organize something like this.” Harrison told the Herald that she wanted to increase awareness of the issue and “make some noise” in Elmont and Valley Stream. And that’s exactly what they did. During the protest, residents stood on a crate and shared their thoughts. Speaking through a bullhorn, Alicia Muñoz, an Elmont Memorial High School alumna, said she learned about the civil rights movement in school, and now she is “still fighting for the same cause.” “This is our chance to talk,” she told the crowd. “This is our chance to express our grievances to the world.” Muñoz said the goal of the protests is “human equality” because people should not die “over something as frivolous as the skin they were born in.” “This is our movement of unity,” she said. “We will not be silenced any longer.” Floyd’s death is the latest incident of police violence against black people in the United States, protesters said. In 2014, Michael Brown Jr. was fatally shot by a white police officer in Missouri, and in New York, Eric Garner died after New York Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold while arresting him. A video of the incident shows Garner saying 11 times that he could not breathe while laying face down on the sidewalk. In Floyd’s case, the officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with thirddegree murder and manslaughter. But protests against police brutality continued to sweep across the nation, in nearly 70 cities, according to The New York Times. Some had turned violent, as was the case in New York City last weekend. The ones held on Long Island, however, remained peaceful. On Sunday, a dozen demonstrators gathered in Brentwood, in Suffolk County, and hundreds gathered for a demonstration outside the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola on Monday night. It was sponsored by Young Progressives of Nassau County, Indivisible of Nassau County (formerly Indivisible of Rockville Centre), the Hempstead NAACP, the Freeport/Roosevelt NAACP, the Nassau County chapter of the National Action Network, the Anti-Racism Project and Americans of Pakistani Heritage. “People are fed up and disgusted with how things are, and how they keep repeating,” said Barbara Powell, an executive board member of the Hempstead NAACP, describing Floyd’s death as a “modernday lynching.” Malik Nadeem Abid, an ambassador to the United Nations and a Valley Stream resident, added, “We need a place to breathe. The people of America need a place to breathe and live a peaceful life. No police officer or law enforcement agent has the right to take anybody’s life.”
Photos by Peter Belfiore/Herald
Protesters held uP signs across from St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church.
ParticiPants made signs before they marched across Elmont and Franklin Square. Those in attendance emphasized that they wanted to keep the protest peaceful, and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder even took a knee to show his support for the protest. “People are here to speak their minds, and get their message across,” he said. “What happened in Minneapolis should never have happened.” He also noted that the Nassau County Police Department has a close relationship
with the communities it seeks to protect, and said he hopes people can protest peacefully. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran also tweeted that she was “horrified after watching the video of the death of George Floyd and hearing his cries,” noting that charges should be made to “ensure the accountability and justice all should expect in our nation.”
Although Chauvin was arrested, none of the three other officers had been charged as of press time. “This cruel act,” Curran continued, “does not represent the vast majority of police officers who, with professionalism and honor, serve and protect our communities. Nassau is committed to community policing because it works. Building trust works, and we always strive to do better.”
Photos by Brian Stieglitz/Herald
Nassau jail activists call for transparency By BRIAN STIEGLITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Activists for the rights of inmates at the Nassau County Correctional Center are calling on Sheriff James Dzurenda to provide daily updates on the number of Covid-19 cases in the jail and to release inmates with a high risk of contracting the virus. On April 24, activists first protested outside the jail in East Meadow for the same cause. Some held signs along the sidewalk and others honked from cars and drove passed the jail’s East Meadow Avenue entrance. Then, on May 20, the same group stood outside the county legislative building in Mineola and live streamed a rally calling for additional measures to be taken at the jail to protect inmates, correction officers and the community at large. Among the group were representatives of the Long Island Social Justice Action Network, New York Civil Liberties Union, New York Communities for Change and the Long Island chapter of New Hour for Women and Children. The activists said that the county never provided a space for members of the press or families of the incarcerated to ask questions about the jail in public. They are urging Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to add statistics about jail Covid-19 cases in her daily briefings about the virus and that such information also be posted on the sheriff ’s website. “They’re not just numbers, they’re our family members and our loved ones and they’re just as important as the people on the outside,” said Jayette Lansbury, a member of the Nassau County Jail Advocates and chair of criminal justice of the New York chap-
ter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Lansbury also criticized the use of “keep-lock,” or holding inmates in their cells for almost 24 hours a day to ensure social distancing and said that it “exacerbates already high levels of anxiety and depression.” In late March, Sherif f James Dzurenda posted a letter on the jail’s website detailing the steps it was taking to prevent the spread of the virus. Every new inmate is tested for the virus during initial processing and, if cleared, held for an additional 14 days in a New Admission Housing Unit. Inmates with Covid-19 symptoms are moved to a quarantine unit, where they are medically monitored, have their temperatures taken and meet with mental health staff members. Inmates in regular housing are still offered outdoor recreation in small groups. They are also given facemasks and free phone time to contact loved ones and support networks. Requests for comment from the sheriff following the May 20 rally were not answered as of press time on Tuesday. Dzurenda told Newsday on Thursday that fifty-seven inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 since March. Fortyseven have recovered, eight have been discharged and two remain incarcerated, the Newsday article read. The jail’s population, which changes on a daily basis, was 612 on Thursday. Serena Liguori, the executive director of New Hour, said that she and her fellow advocates “applaud meaningful steps taken by Nassau Sheriff Dzurenda to increase PPE provisions in the jail.” However, she said that they “urge transparency about the jail conditions for those who prove to be symptomatic.”
SOmE hELd SIGNS along the sidewalk and others honked from cars and drove passed the jail’s East Meadow Avenue entrance. AcTIvISTS fOR ThE rights of inmates at the Nassau County Correctional Center are calling for increased measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the jail.
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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
ON ApRIL 24, activists first protested outside the jail in East Meadow.
June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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‘We’re still open’
Grace Methodist Nursery School continues mission amid coronavirus shutdown Although the Building’s classrooms may be closed due to the coronavirus, the Grace Methodist Nursery School is still offering remote classes, and has opened registrations for the fall.
By Peter Belfiore pbelfiore@liherald.com
For nearly half a century the Grace Methodist Nursery School has served thousands of pre-schoolers and their parents from Valley Stream and the surrounding communities. In an average year, roughly 250 pre-kindergarteners attend the popular private school, becoming acquainted with the basics of social interactions, and forming some of the first friendships they will make in their lives, but after 49 years of continuous operation, Grace Methodist has had to close its doors, switching to remote learning due to the coronavirus shutdown. “It was like the bottom fell out,” School Director Michele Shipley said. “It’s so hard, you’re used to all these wonderful people every day, they become your friends, you have relationships with them, you see the smiles and talk about the community . . . We’ve become a family, and it’s like no longer being able to see your family.” The hardest part, she said however, is not seeing the children every day. “We’re missing watching them grow.” pillars undergo to become butterflies. Patricia Minero, a teacher at the school, She said. “That’s the best part, we’re not outlined how she adapted her lessons amid seeing it.” Shipley came on as director of the pre- the pandemic. It was her first year at the school this past fall, taking over for Diane school, and she said it was a heartbreaking Panzarino, who retired in June, 2019 after disruption to a promising school year. “Everything just kind of stopped,” she 23 years serving in the role. Shipley had been a member of the school faculty since said. With an initial uncertainty about how her own children were small before taking on the directorship. This was not likely long the shutdown would last, Minero said she began by sending how she envisioned her home outlines to parfirst year heading up the ents on how to go about school would go. an average class day. “It’s been a chalThe goal, she said, was lenge,” she said, ”but I to maintain continuity like a challenge and I for her children. like being able to continThe standard activiue our mission of celeVisit gracemethodistnursties involved introductobrating children and eryschool.com to request ry lessons and associatchildhood, even if it’s an appointment or call ed activities on the remotely.” (516) 825-2354. weather, days of the Despite the limits on week, colors and alphaAppointment hours are in-person interaction, bet, with a new letter she and her staff have every Wednesday introduced every week. tried to maintain daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “It was so the parents contact with their stucould keep up that roudents through applicatine,” Minero said. tions such as Zoom and Within a short while, however, she said Facebook Live, coming up with specialized activities such as remote show-and-tell and she began receiving messages from parents that the children missed their teacher do-at-home assignments. “A lot of the pre-kindergarten experi- with whom they had become close with ence is socialization and we’ve had to be after spending the first half of the year creative after being forced to remove that together, and were struggling to comprehend why they and their friends suddenly element,” Shipley said. Among the school’s activities that have had to stay home. “It’s hard for them because they’re so made the jump to virtual is a weekly school-wide event called “The Gathering,” little,” she said. “They didn’t understand in which the school’s entire teacher and why they couldn’t see me.” With that, and news that the shutdown student body meet for story time. Traditionally it has been done in person, but was likely going to stretch into the spring now it is held over a Facebook Live session and possibly later, Minero began sending in which Shipley leads the event. packets of activities and crafts to the parLast week’s Gathering, for instance cen- ents’ homes and holding interactive lestered around the topic of spring, and sons over Zoom, such show and tell, in involved a spring-themed sing-along, and which her students would show off the discussion about the metamorphosis cater- their completed crafts or every day house-
Peter Belfiore/Herald
to register for the fall
Courtesy Patricia Minero
teAcher PAtriciA Minero sent a Bitmoji version of herself home with her students so they could pretend to be doing activities with each other. A student made donuts with hers. hold items. Minero also sent home the student’s binders containing all of their alphabet lesson crafts so that together they could complete all of the planned alphabet activities, and keep the finished binder as a memento. Additionally, she delivered a paper Bitmoji version of herself so the students could pretend to perform activities with the small, cartoon facsimile. Minero said one student had even sent her a photo of them making donuts together. Maintaining contact with her students, Minero said, was as important for herself as it was for her students. After receiving the messages that her students wanted to see her, she said, “I thought ‘I’m going to do something for myself, and my kids, because I know how hard it is.’” Now, the school is gearing up for graduation on June 12, which will look very different from how it was originally envisioned. The teachers will meet with their
students over Zoom the evening before, Shipley explained, and discuss their favorite memories of the school year. Then, the next morning, the staff will hold a livestreamed commencement in the school auditorium after which the teachers will head outside, where the parents and their children have been instructed to wait in their cars, and hand off the students’ diplomas through the windows. Like so much of life’s routines and traditions, it is a far cry from what any could have imagined just three months ago, but no matter the state of the world, Shipley said, Grace Methodist will continue to in its mission to serve the community’s young children. She encouraged parents to call, and set up an appointment to register their children for the upcoming fall. Appointment hours are on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. “We’re still open,” she said. “ … We’re not sleeping, we’re still working, but you have to make an appointment, wear a mask and come alone.”
obituary
Neighbors iN the News
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
syLvia broCKer died from the coronavirus on April 14, one week after her 96th birthday.
Courtesy Andrew Brocker
Sylvia Brocker succumbs to Covid-19 at age 96 by MeLissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com
A rose gold casket sat inside a vacant funeral home at the end of April, a colorful reminder of a woman who lived a colorful life. Sylvia Laine was born on April 7, 1924 in Corona, Queens, to Finnish immigrant parents. She had five sisters and two brothers, one of whom died when she was very young. She married Warren Brocker in 1943, and they moved to Franklin Square a few years later, where they raised their four children. There, Sylvia became involved at the St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Hempstead, and served as its secretary and on its council. Then, when she got older, she led the singing group at the Catholic Charities Senior Center at Wesley United Methodist Church. She died from the coronavirus on April 14, one week after her 96th birthday. She had been in the hospital for almost three weeks, some days of which she would say she felt “OK,” but others she would have to rely on a ventilator for oxygen. Her son, Andrew, stayed by her side during her final moments, and called his relatives so they could tell Sylvia what she meant to the family. Her children described her as one-of-akind. She was very outgoing, and liked to make cream puffs, macaroni and cheese and lasagna, her daughter, Melanie Osse said, noting that the lasagna was her favorite. As a family, she said, they took frequent trips to Zachs Bay and Heckscher State Park, and would visit friends in Northport over the summer. They lived in a small house, Brocker Osse said, and five people had to share one bathroom. But, she said, “We made do with what we had.” Sylvia had a sense of ‘sisu’ — a Finnish term meaning determination, perseverance and a power of will — her family explained, which helped her through the loss of her husband in 2000 and the loss of her eldest son, Warren Jr., in 2003 at the age
of 55. She also lived her life to its fullest, Andrew said, and made her presence known wherever she went. Every day, she would wear a different shade of lipstick, even if she did not have any plans, and loved to be fancy. She never passed up delicious food, sometimes eating cake for breakfast, and would sing questions. “We’d be like, ‘Mom, you’re living in a musical,’” Andrew recounted. She used that talent to put on plays for residents in local nursing homes, where she volunteered. One day, she told her son, Russell, about her work, and noted “a little old man in the front row,” which Russell thought was ironic. “My mom never acknowledged her age,” Russell explained. “She never looked her age, she never acted her age.” Sylvia was active on Facebook, Andrew noted, and would often comment on her relative’s posts with pictures and hearts. And after her husband retired with a Civil Service Pension in 1977, the couple traveled to Tanzania for three months, where Warren helped build a bus garage and Sylvia taught at a local school. She remained “sharp as a tack” even as she got older, according to Andrew. Once, after undergoing surgery, a social worker asked him about her health, to which Sylvia asked the social worker if she “‘could talk to me, please?” “The woman jumped,” Russell recalled. He said he is happy that he has had his mother in his life for 68 years, noting “most people don’t get that.” Sylvia was laid to rest on April 24, wearing a designer pink suit, with her Chanel lipstick, a purse and her nailpolish. The family is also planning to hold a colorful celebration of her life, complete with a church service and a cocktail party, next year. She is survived by her children; Melanie Brocker Osse, Russell Brocker and Andrew Brocker; here nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Warren, and her eldest son, Warren Jr.
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Courtesy Adrienne McKenna
MeMbers of the Franklin Square Civic Association hang up banners honoring local heroes on May 23.
F.S. Civic Association honors heroes Members of the Franklin Square Civic Association spent the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend hanging up banners that honor the memory of Franklin Square residents who served their country. This is the second year the Franklin Square Civic Association is honoring local heroes in the military and first
responders. This year, the Association members also added a banner honoring all of the health care workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. They are hanging up around the VFW on Lincoln Road and at Rath Park. A formal ceremony dedicating the banners will be held at a later date.
Solages donates food to NUMC To show his appreciation to health care workers for their ongoing response to the coronavirus pandemic, Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages bought Caribbean patties for doctors, nurses and other essential staff members at Nassau University Medical Center on May 15.
“Our medical professionals have shown extraordinary resilience during these unprecedented times, and their efforts must not go unnoticed,” Solages said. “This is the least I could do to show my appreciation to their hard work and dedication to our residents.
Leg. Carrié soLages, right, donated food to staff members at Nassau University Medical Center on May 15.
Courtesy Carrié Solages
June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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Photos Christina Daly/Herald
Patriot guard riders drove by the Plattduetsche Reitrement Home on May 29 to mark Col. Charles P. Kerns’ 100th birthday. They were followed by the Nassau County Firefighters’ Pipes and Drums Band.
Nassau County honors a hero on his birthday By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com
Nassau County residents came out in full force to celebrate a World War II veteran’s 100th birthday on May 29. Members of the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County Firefighters’ Pipes and Drums Band, the North Merrick Fire Department, the Franklin Square & Munson Fire Department, friends and family all drove by the Plattduetsche Retirement Home to congratulate Col. Charles P. Kerns on his milestone birthday. Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder also presented Kerns with an honorary badge, and State Sen. John Brooks, a Democrat from Seaford, presented him with a framed proclamation and Senate resolution extolling his contributions to
the country. Kerns is the highest-ranking World War II veteran in the county, serving in the United States Army for 34 years. He served as a logistics officer, overseeing the invasion of Normandy from Great Britain and then France as the war progressed, eventually managing the withdrawal of troops and equipment after the Allies’ victory in Europe. He also served as a volunteer firefighter for the North Merrick Fire Department for 70 years. The resolution Brooks wrote, said Kerns “has inspired and enhanced the lives of his family and friends” and “has enriched the lives of those around him through his joyous and sincere love for others, and through the quiescent charm and wisdom which comes only from a fullness of years.”
Kerns, the highest-ranKing World War II veteran in Nassau County, with 34 years of military service, turned 100 on May 29. rolling thunder rider and member of the Elmont American Legion Pete Busch saluted Kerns as he passed him in the parade. FaMily, Friends and community members turned out for the surprise parade.
Vote for Frank ChiaChiere Tax Cap compliant budgets Proven track record of successful district management School district whose annual financial reviews from an independent external auditing firm are above approach
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
News brief
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Courtesy Lisa DelliPizzi
F.S. Chamber helps local businesses By Melissa Koenig and Brian stieglitz mkoenig@liherald.com
The Franklin Square Chamber of Commerce is helping local restaurant owners apply for temporary outdoor dining permits. In May, Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin announced that restaurants could apply, free of charge, for temporary outdoor dining permits. The permits would be valid through Dec. 30 this year, and business owners can apply for them online at hempsteadny.viewpointcloud.com. After they apply, inspectors will evaluate the exte-
rior of their restaurant and, if approved, give them a copy of the permit on site. “By loosening restrictions on outdoor dining, we are helping local eateries bring in needed business while allowing them to keep patrons and staff safe through social distancing,” Clavin said at the time. Additionally, the Chamber has posted information about unemployment grants and federal programs designed to help small business owners on its Facebook page. “Anything we can do to promote small businesses, we’ll do,” said President Lisa DelliPizzi. “I can just hope that [the owners] hang in there a little longer.”
Every life matters to us … Dear neighbor:
We live and work in this community. The lives of each and every one of you is important to us and we are here to tell your stories — from beginning to end. That includes the final chapter. At this difficult time, I want to remind you that obituaries in all Herald Community Newspapers are, and have always been, completely free. COVID-19 has taken far too many, far to soon. Let us help you commemorate the life of your loved one with a story and photo celebrating their life. Contact our Executive Editor Scott Brinton, sbrinton@liherald.com or call 516-569-4000, ext 203, if you would like to memorialize a loved one in the Herald, regardless of their cause of death. Stuart Richner Publisher srichner@liherald.com 1087105
A steady, calm and experienced hand ensuring that our children’s education continues unabated on their journey to junior and senior high school.
Ballot, Due on June 9th by 5:00 PM.
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ke Keepsa n Editio
2020 OF
PRESENTED BY
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 25 • SPACE & COPY DEADLINE: JUNE 11
SAY CONGRATS TO OUR GRADS: While 2020 grads can’t walk across the stage in cap and gown to receive their diploma — and they may not be able to celebrate their achievements with family and friends gathering from near and far —graduation remains a special time worthy of recognition. FAMILY & FRIENDS CONGRATS ADS:
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Hometown Heroes
Annette rAmos mos
I
frAnKlin squAre CritiCAl CAre nurse, mount sinAi soutH nAssAu oCeAnside
don’t consider myself a hero. I consider myself a professional who has a responsibility to her community. I am just one of the many front-line workers who feel equally dedicated to their duty. As a critical-care registered nurse and qualified Spanish interpreter at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, I have never experienced anything like the Covid-19 pandemic in my personal life or my entire 20-year professional career, 11 of which were spent in the Critical Care Unit. It began with one, then two critically ill suspected Covid-19 patients. Then, what felt like overnight, we converted multiple patient care units to critical care units to meet the specific and specialized care needed by the exponentially increasing number of critically ill patients admitted to the hospital. The surge of patients was so rapid and persistent that the entire hospital staff – doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, medical residents, patient care technicians, technicians, transporters, unit clerks, food and nutrition staff, phlebotomists, engineering, security, managers and administrators – banded together to provide the non-stop, 24/7 quality, compassionate care and helped our patients to overcome this stubborn and vicious virus Our institutional directors, managers and educators were ever present working with us at our side to inform, instruct and implement new treatment processes, plans and therapies as we learned more about the virus, its many pernicious traits and its deleterious impacts on patients with underlying conditions.
Kevin Aburto
vAlley streAm sAnitAtion worKer, villAge of vAlley streAm
W
hen I first started doing this, I was going to people’s houses asking if people need anything … After that, we got a phone call from Monica Village, the senior center … We got our food in the door bringing water bottles, toilet paper, diapers, paper towels and nonperishable foods. I didn’t know these people. Some of them I barely knew at all. I literally just started walking down the block and knocking on doors asking if anyone needed anything. I asked people on Facebook, people were reaching out saying they needed food but didn’t want to g out. One woman had a son who had asthma and didn’t want to go out and bring it back to him. Then we expanded. We’re dropping stuff off at Holy Name of Mary … They were really low on food, they only had canned peaches. I started a GoFundMe page … We’ve raised over $1,400, and have been donating food to hospitals’ EMS stations. I haven’t gotten a phone call from people who have been laid off yet, but I’m planning on giving out gift cards for people who have been laid off. … It’s starting to take off. This is just something I’ve always done, we had the food drive at sanitation for the first year this year, and toy drive through the village; we’ve been doing that for the past four or five years … It’s just nice to get involved in the community. Every time I try to do something, it’s great how residents step up to the plate and help out however they can.
Hometown Hero
Hometown Hero
HERALD
We want to honor your grad! BECAUSE THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT Post a FREE photo and listing of your grad’s sports, honors and activities — or make a splash with family photos, highlights and more! Opportunity to publish in June 25 HERALD Class of 2020 Issue.
Visit https://liherald.honormygrad.com to post and for more information
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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he pandemic has been hard on our family and charity. It is an important and difficult time for Rock and Wrap It Up! Our fundraiser honoring our great community friend, Independent Coach Corporation’s Nick Fabrizio, scheduled for June 11, which is our annual fundraiser, has had to be postponed. Without funds, our staff has gone on unemployment. We have decided to keep working 40 to 50 hours a week to feed all those who hunger in the Five Towns. In the past month we have helped open a six-day a week pantry at the Five Towns Community Center, Gammy’s Pantry, which is feeding over 200 families at risk daily. My wife, Diane, and I have forged a relationship with Trader Joe's of Hewlett and are receiving short-dated items each week for donation. We also receive daily donations from Costco in Lawrence, Wall’s in Hewlett and the Bagelry, Crawfords Coffee Bar & Cafe and Toddy’s Appetizers in Cedarhurst for distribution. We are also helping senior veterans in the community through these food donations to members of the American Legion Lawrence Cedarhurst Post 339. This week our daughter Emily gave birth to our granddaughter in Portland, Ore., and we will probably not see her until July at the earliest. We practice our faith by praying each evening through the Zoom minyan of Temple Beth El of Cedarhurst. We have seen amazing efforts to help those in need by Sasha Young and Sarah Hayes, who work tirelessly to help us in our mission of feeding those in need.
i
oWner, vISual Fuel deSIgn Malverne
was talking with Rabbi Susan Elkodsi from the Malverne Jewish Center about the delay of the Malverne Chamber of Commerce’s annual Art Walk due to Covid-19. That’s when we came up with the idea for the digital quilt project. Our goal was to express gratitude to our essential workers through art. We wanted to say thank you to all of the essential workers that are out there risking their lives for us. We thought this quilt could bring another dimension of hope, creativity, unity and joy to all in Malverne. It was Benny Montalbano, of Elite Painting, who suggested that the focus of the project should be on expressing gratitude to the village’s essential workers. For us, this project became such an amazing opportunity for the community to come together. It also provided an immediate, emotional support to the essential workers so that they can see right now — while they’re having their own challenges going to work — that we really appreciate them. Once we have all the art, we will digitally stick them together for a permanent record of this unique time in history. The quilt will debut in the Art Walk, but we’re hoping that this quilt could someday hang in Village Hall to really show a moment in time and how the community came together during a challenging crisis.
hoMetoWn hero
hoMetoWn hero
Your Dedicated Service. Our Deepest Gratitude. We’re grateful to the countless essential workers going above and beyond to support the health, safety and strength of our communities during this unprecedented time. As a bank that’s served this community for nearly 100 years, we can’t begin to thank you enough. Every day, you rise to the challenge. And every day, we’re inspired by all you do.
Thank you.
www.ridgewoodbank.com © 2020 Ridgewood Savings Bank | Member FDIC
1090595
t
Founder and Ceo, roCk & Wrap It up CedarhurSt
Malverne
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
their Front-Line stories as toLd to our reporters Syd MandelbauM MandelbauM MarIa CaSInI n I CedarhurSt
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obituary
‘A kind, warm and holy man’
Holy Name of Mary Church pastor dies of Covid-19 By Nicole AlciNdor nalcindor@liherald.com
The Rev. Monsignor Romualdo Sosing, who for the past nine years served as pastor of the Holy Name of Mary Church in Valley Stream, died on Sunday evening of complications from the coronavirus after testing positive for the disease in early May. He was 67. “He impacted the life of people through
his preaching in the pulpit,” said the Rev. Adolfo Novio, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Shrub Oak, who worked alongside Sosing for many years in Sosing’s native Philippines. “He touched people by living the life that he preached, and he believed what he preached.” With news of Sosing’s death came an outpouring of sympathy, with dozens of residents and parishioners sharing their memories of the pastor on social media.
“I am so grateful for all the times I celebrated Mass with monsignor,” Rita Vell DiFano said, noting that Sosing had married her and her husband in 2018. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and the Holy Name of Mary community.” “Many [were] the great conversations myself and Monsignor Rom had at the rectory kitchen table,” said Kevin Faughey, music director at Holy Name. “I will miss
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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those.” “We will miss you,” said Stephanie Zincone Darcy, extending condolences on behalf of herself and husband, former Mayor James Darcy. Speaking after a memorial service held through Zoom on the night of Sosing’s death, his niece Carolyn Macuha said he was her best friend, and the two had spoken daily. “ W h e n eve r I would struggle in life, he reminded me that my resurrection would come,” she said, referring to the Catholic belief in the afterlife. “He was like my second father. It’s amazing how rev. Monsignor many people he romualdo Sosing touched.” “When I got the news that he passed, it was heartbreaking … He was such a kind, warm and holy man, and he had such a beautiful smile and a great sense of humor,” said Donna Viscovich, a parishioner at St. Dominic Parish in Oyster Bay, where Sosing was posted previously. “He touched my life; God wanted him home to his eternal reward that he so richly deserves.” Novio said Sosing took him in as an orphan in the Philippines, and inspired him to become a priest as well. “He nurtured my vocation to priesthood.” Born on Feb. 7, 1953, Sosing grew up in Pambujan in the Northern Samar province in the Philippines, and came to the United States in 2004. He became a citizen on Feb. 11, 2013. In 1974, he graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a theology degree, and he later graduated from Angelical University of Rome with a licentiate degree in canon law. In 1977, Sosing began his priesthood, and was ordained for the Diocese of Catarman in the Philippines, and had served in the Diocese of Rockville Centre since coming to America. Here, he had been associate pastor of Notre Dame in New Hyde Park, St. Dominic in Oyster Bay and St. Luke’s in Brentwood. Sosing was appointed pastor of Holy Name of Mary on June 22, 2011, by Bishop William Murphy, and was reappointed to his second term as pastor on June 18, 2017. Sosing’s final wish was to be buried in the Philippines. However, because of the pandemic, his remains will stay at Holy Name of Mary Church until that is possible. A funeral Mass was to be celebrated on Zoom on May 27, after press time. Sosing is survived by his sister, Carol; brother, Felipe, and six nieces and nephews, Carolyn, Rito, John, Clarissa, Claire and Felipe. Peter Belfiore contributed to this story.
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
15 dUring the annUal Nassau County Memorial Day ceremony, roughly 200 cars drove through Eisenhower Park in East Meadow under an American flag arch set up by the East Meadow and Westbury fire departments.
Photos by Christina Daly/Herald
County car parade honors Memorial Day By Brian StieglitZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Roughly 200 cars drove through Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on May 25 during the annual Nassau County Memorial Day ceremony. To abide by social distancing guidelines set by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s event featured the car parade that led to the park’s Veterans Memorial. There, County Executive Laura Curran joined with the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency and local veterans’ groups for a ceremonial wreath laying in honor of those who lost their lives fighting for America. In addition to recognizing Memorial Day, Curran also took the opportunity to pay homage to the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. “While we were not able to hold a traditional ceremony this year, we must not let Memorial Day be forgotten,” Curran said. “It is important for us to properly salute and reflect on those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending our precious freedoms.” The procession began at Nassau Coliseum and led to Eisenhower Park, where Curran hosted a ceremony that featured a wreath laying, gun salute, Taps, a bagpiper from the Nassau County Police Department Pipe and Drum Band and a flag arch created by the Westbury and East Meadow fire departments. Nassau County veterans involved in the ceremony included Commanders from Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legions as well as members from Vietnam War Veterans Association, AmVets and United Veterans Organization of Nassau County, Disabled American Veterans, among many others. Vehicles from the Museum of American Armor were also on display. Joining Curran in her salute was Congressman Peter King, State Senator Kevin Thomas, State Senator Jim Gaughran, Glen Cove Mayor Tim Tenke and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran Sgt. Paul Masi couldn’t make his annual trip to D.C. for Memorial Day because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, he joined the Nassau County ceremony. Stephen Owen, the commander of VFW Post 3350 in East Rockaway, saluted as a ceremonial wreath was placed in front of the memorial. FOllOwing the cereMOny, Nassau County Veteran’s Service Agency Director Ralph Esposito, of Elmont, carried the wreath to the veteran’s monument near the center of the park. Congressman Peter King, Laura Curran and Patrick Ryder joined him as he placed it.
June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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NCC pulls programs for students with autism County Legislature won’t approve college’s 2020-2021 budget By TONY BELLISSIMO tbellissimo@liherald.com
Nassau Community College’s decision to remove a pair of popular programs designed to help students with autism spectrum disorder in and out of the classroom has parents and educators concerned. They want the programs restored. Citing finances as the main reason, NCC interim Vice President Valerie Collins sent a letter to the coordinators of both programs, known as ASPIRES and Achilles, to inform them that the programs would not be offered in the 2020-21 academic year. “Please do not make or continue to make any plans to recruit new students going forward,” read the letter from Collins, dated April 20. “The Achilles and Aspires programs will continue through the conclusion of this semester,” it continued. “The decision to end the programs this semester was, of course, influenced by financial concerns.” Roughly 35 students took part in the programs in the 2019-20 academic year. Multiple calls and emails to NCC requesting the amount of savings the cost-cutting move would bring for 2020-21 were not returned. Frances Viscovich, an NCC environmental science professor who coordinates the ASPIRES program, offered to volunteer her time and identified other individuals at the school who could assist at no cost. However, according to a statement released by NCC, volunteer hours could not be accepted. “I thought this would be my chance to give back to the community under Covid-19,” Viscovich said. “I felt like this would be my frontline volunteer work. These are such important programs. These students get essential individual and group counseling.” The ASPIRES program provides comprehensive support to students with ASD in weekly counseling sessions as well as programming designed to address executive functioning and social skill deficits. “The program started with one student six years ago,” Viscovich noted. “Now we have a waiting list. We should be promoting it, not ending it.” Wantagh resident Vanessa Kelly said her son Jimmy, a 2018 graduate of MacArthur High School, has seen con-
Christina Daly/Herald
The removal of two vital programs for students with autism has brought Nassau Community College’s decision into question. siderable improvement both academically and socially as a result of the ASPIRES program. His grade average has jumped from a B-minus in high school to an A-minus at NCC. “It’s a crucial program, and the social support has given Jimmy so much confidence,” she said. “He’s more independent as a student and a person.” The Achilles program has been around for nearly two decades and is for twice exceptional students — those who are gifted but learning challenged. Valerie Lagakis, an English and reading professor at NCC, has overseen the program since 2010.
“Students are specifically attending our school because of the Achilles program,” Lagakis said. “I’m upset for the new students who won’t be able to get into the program.” Baldwin resident Denise Baird is concerned her daughter Rebecca, a 2017 Oceanside High School graduate who just completed her first year at NCC, will not continue to excel at her current pace without ASPIRES. “The program is a Godsend,” Baird said. “Rebecca has benefitted a great deal.” State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach, is encouraging the college to reconsider its decision. “The ASPIRES and Achilles programs at NCC support our county’s differently abled students who have just as much desire to succeed as all other young people,” Kaminsky said. “The programs help them develop the tools necessary to thrive at the next level, and there is simply no substitute for what they provide.” On May 27, the Nassau County Legislature, which votes to approve NCC’s yearly budget, sent a letter to college President Jermaine Williams to inform him it would not approve the 2020-2021 as it stands. Presiding Officer for the County Legislature, Richard J. Nicolello, wrote to Williams: “I urge you to restore the funding to these programs for the upcoming academic school year and beyond. Without such action, I do not see a path forward for the approval of the proposed Nassau Community College budget for this year.” The college released a statement. “Nassau Community College is focused on providing all of our students with the support they need to complete their academics at the college,” Lindsey Angioletti, the director of marketing and communications, wrote. “After careful consideration, students in the ASPIRES and Achilles program have been transitioned from the formal program to now receive individual campus services in our Student Personnel Services area and our Center for Students with Disabilities. “While we appreciate the offer of a member of our staff to voluntarily run the program, contractually we were not permitted to do so,” the statement continued. “It is of the utmost importance to the college that the students in the former ASPIRES and Achilles program have access to the tools they need to succeed in their academic journey.”
Dentists reopen as Nassau preps for Phase Two By ScOTT BrINTON sbrinton@liherald.com
With the potential Phase Two reopening of Long Island’s economy approaching, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order Sunday allowing dental offices to return to work statewide June 1. At the same time, the governor said last Friday that barbershops and hair salons would be included in the Phase Two reopening. Previously, they had not been. The updated reopening timeline represents a continued drop in new coronavirus hospitalizations, intubations and deaths, according to the governor. Over the weekend, the number of overnight deaths fell to 56 — down from a high of 799 on April 9, he said. That is a 93 percent decline. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran called the planned opening of barbershops and hair salons “great news,” and said the governor’s order allowing them to reopen gives “our business owners the
certainty they need to reopen safely.” In addition, Phase Two reopening, now scheduled on Long Island for June 10, will include: ■ Office-based work. ■ Real estate services. ■ In-store sales — currently curbside pickup is allowed. ■ Vehicle sales, leases and rentals. ■ Retail rental, repair and cleaning. ■ Commercial building management.
Laura
A big question on many Nassau residents’ minds has been, when will restaurants reopen for dining? Only takeout and curbside pickup are allowed now. In-person dining can resume during the Phase Three reopening, which is scheduled to begin in Nassau June 24, if
the number of hospitalizations and deaths remains steady or continues to drop. Already Curran is planning for the reopening of restaurants. On Friday, she announced a plan to allow villages, towns and cities to shut down certain streets to facilitate al fresco dining, thus reducing the need for table capacity within eateries, enabling them to maintain six-foot social distancing. She is calling it “Open Streets.” “Continuing the county’s efforts to support the revival of our downtowns and busicurran ness districts,” the Nassau website reads, “the county will be fast-tracking permitting approvals for temporary road closures, with a decision within a week of receiving an application. To apply, visit www.nassacountyny. gov/OpenStreets. The Nassau County Industrial Devel-
opment Agency is also spending roughly $500,000 to provide 1,000 local small businesses and nonprofits with personal protective equipment. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees, minority- and womenowned, and businesses in economically distressed areas are eligible. Businesses can apply at www.nassauboost.net starting June 1. All Nassau County businesses must, by state mandate, prepare reopening plans, detailing how they intend to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus and ensure the safety of workers and customers. The plan must include: ■ * Wellness checks for employees and customers. ■ Disinfection and cleaning routines. ■ Social distancing protocols. PPE supply for employees and customers. All businesses must also affirm to the state that they agree to operate according to state safety mandates.
LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION OF THE ELMONT UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU, NEW YORK NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to the Governor of the State of New York’s Executive Order 202.26(hereinafter, “Executive Order”), a Public Hearing of the qualified voters of the ELMONT UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, Town of HEMPSTEAD, County of NASSAU, New York, will be held remotely on MAY 27, 2020 at 7:00 PM, prevailing time, for the transaction of business as authorized by the Education Law, including the following items: 1. To present to the voters a detailed statement (proposed budget) of the amount of money which will be required for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. 2. To discuss all the items hereinafter set forth to be voted upon by absentee ballot pursuant to Executive Order 202.26 for the Budget Vote and Election to be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. 3. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting pursuant to Education Law of the State of New York and acts amendatory thereto. A copy of the proposed budget shall be made available to residents of the School District beginning on June 2, 2020 on the District’s website at Elmontschools.org. While Education Law §1716(2) requires the budget also be made available at School District offices, any public library/free association library within the District, and the polling place, this year that will not be possible due to Executive Order 202.26 and the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus and potential for spread through our personal interaction. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to Executive Order 202.26, the Budget Vote and Election of Board of Education members will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020. The Executive Order directs that the budget vote and election be conducted by an absentee ballot process in lieu of in-person voting. Therefore, there will be no voting at the polls for this year’s annual Budget Vote and Election. The District will mail absentee ballots with a postage paid return envelope to qualified voters. In order to be counted, absentee ballots must be received in the office of the District
Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2020. Thus, every qualified voter shall vote by absentee ballot on the following items: 1. Proposition No. 1 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUDGET RESOLVED that the amount of the estimated expenses for the school year 2020-2021, as presented in writing by the Board of Education of the Elmont Union Free School District, Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, shall be raised by tax upon the taxable property of this school district after first deducting the estimated monies available from State Aid and other sources. 2. To adopt the annual budget of the Sewanhaka High School District for the fiscal year 2020-2021 and to authorize the requisite portion thereof to be raised by taxation on the taxable property of the District. . PROPOSITION NO. 3 LIBRARY BUDGET RESOLVED, that Elmont Union Free School District of the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, appropriate the amount of estimated expenses for the school year 20202021, as presented in writing by the Board of Trustees of the Elmont Public Library, to be levied and collected annually as are other general taxes for the equipment, support and maintenance of the existing free public library including its existing branches. 4. NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that for the purpose of electing TWO (2) members of the Board of Education of the Elmont Union Free School District; one (1) member for a term of THREE (3) YEARS to the seat now occupied by ANTHONY S. MAFFEA, SR, whose term expires June 30, 2020; and one (1) member for a term of THREE (3) YEARS to the seat now occupied by KAREN TAYLOR-BASS, whose term expires June 30, 2020. WHEREAS, the term of office of members of the Board of Library Trustees is five (5) years, the voters of the district will also elect TWO (2) members to the Library Board of Trustees; one (1) member for a term of FIVE (5) YEARS to the seat now held by LIVINGSTONE YOUNG, whose term expires on June 30, 2020 and ONE (1) member for a term of THREE (3) YEARS to the seat previously held by TAMMIE WILLIAMS and currently held by SUZANNE SCHATZ, whose term expires on June 30, 2023.
AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that personal registration of voters is required either pursuant to Section 2014 of the New York State Education Law or pursuant to Article 5 of the New York State Election Law. If a voter has heretofore registered pursuant to Section 2014 of the New York State Education Law and has voted at any annual or special district meeting within the past four (4) calendar years, such voter is eligible to vote at this election; if a voter is registered and eligible to vote pursuant to Article 5 of the New York State Election Law, such voter is also eligible to vote at this election. All other persons who wish to vote must register online no later than May 26, 2020. There is no provision for in-person registration for this election. Those wishing to register to vote should visit https://www.dmv.ny.gov/ more-info/electronicv o t e r- r e g i s t r a t i o n application in order to do so online. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to Chapter 258 of the Laws of Section 2008, Section 495 was added to the Real Property Tax Law and requires the School District to attach to its proposed budget an exemption report. Said exemption report, which will also become part of the final budget, will show how much the total assessed value on the final assessment roll used in the budgetary process is exempt from taxation, list every type of exemption granted, identify by statutory authority, and show: (a) the cumulative impact of each type of exemption expressed either as a dollar amount of assessed value or as a percentage of the total assessed value on the roll; (b) the cumulative amount expected to be received from recipients of each type of exemption as payments in lieu of taxes or other payments for municipal services; and (c) the cumulative impact of all exemptions granted. The exemption report shall be posted on any bulletin board maintained by the District for public notices and on any website maintained by the District. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to Executive Order 202.26, petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education shall be filed with and received by the District Clerk at 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003, not later than Monday, May 11, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., prevailing time. The petition may be filed by [CHOOSE ANY OR ALL OPTIONS: mailing the petition to the District
Clerk at his/her office at 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003, and/or scanning the petition and emailing it to the District Clerk at districtclerk@elmontscho ols.org, and/or delivering the petition and placing it in a secure lock box that will be available at the office of the District Clerk at 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003 (inside of the main door to the parking lot)] between the hours of 8:00 and 12:00 on weekdays]. The petition must be received by the District Clerk no later than Monday, May 11, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. [FOR SEAT-SPECIFIC VACANCIES, Anthony S. Maffea, Sr., Karen TaylorBass, Livingstone Young, Tammie Williams (Suzanne Schatz): Each petition shall be directed to the Clerk of the School District and shall state the name and residence of the candidate, and shall describe the specific vacancy for which the candidate is nominated. Each petition shall be directed to the Clerk of the School District and shall state the name and residence of the candidate. Vacancies on the Board of Education are not considered separate, specific offices]. As per Executive Order 202.26, there is no minimum number of signatures required on the petition for the June 9, 2020 Budget Vote and Election. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that military voters who are qualified voters of the Elmont Union Free School District may request an application for a military ballot from the District Clerk by mail to the Office of the District Clerk, 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003, or by email to the District Clerk at districtclerk@elmontscho ols.org , or fax sent to 516-326-2244 In such request, the military voter may indicate their preference for receiving the application by mail, fax or email. A military voter must return the original military ballot application by mail to the Office of the District Clerk at 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003 In order for a military voter to be issued a military ballot, a valid military ballot application must be received in the office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 14, 2020. Military ballot applications received in accordance with the foregoing will be processed in the same manner as a non-military ballot application under §2018-a of the Education Law. The application for military ballots may include the military voter’s preference for receipt of the military ballot by mail, fax or email.
Google Maps
The TargeT in Elmont, as seen last July.
Elmont Target to remain open By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com
The Elmont Target store may be boarded up, but it is not stopping operations as protests against police brutality continue to rage across the country. The department store was on an original list of 175 franchises across the country that would temporarily close in response to protestors in Minneapolis stealing items from one of its stores. However, as of press time, the list was only six, including the one on Lake Street in Minneapolis, near where George Floyd was killed by police.
“We are a community in pain,” Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell said in a statement posted on the company’s website. “That pain is not unique to the Twin Cities — it extends across America. The murder of George Floyd has unleashed the pent-up pain of years, as have the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We say their names and hold a too-long list of others in our hearts. “As a Target team, we’ve huddled, we’ve consoled, we’ve witnessed horrific scenes similar to what’s playing out now, and wept that not enough is changing. And as a team, we’ve vowed to face pain with purpose.”
Nassau Coliseum to host drive-in movies Drive-in movie weekends are coming to Nassau Coliseum this spring and summer, NYCB officials announced on May 16. “For the last several weeks we have been speaking with the county to see how we might be able to safely launch a drive-in movie theater, and we were very pleased to receive the green light to move forward,” said Nick Vaerewyck, the senior vice president of programming and business operations at NYCB LIVE. “We miss hosting world-class sporting events, concerts, and family-friendly programs that bring people together, and this is the safest way to begin to return to entertaining Long Islanders once again.” The movies will be displayed on a large backlit LED screen outside the venue facing Hempstead turnpike, with audio made available through a partnership with Hofstra radio station, WRHU. NYCB LIVE will have food trucks available in the parking lot to provide guests
with food and non-alcoholic beverage options for purchase, though guests are permitted to bring outside snacks on-site. Mobile bathrooms and multiple sanitizing stations will also be available. “While we want to make this a fun experience for everyone, we encourage all guests to take proper social distancing measures on-site. All drivers must be wearing a face covering, and anyone who exits their vehicle must comply with wearing a face covering and abiding by social distancing of six-feet from anyone outside of members from your car,” Vaerewyck added. Attendees are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance at ticketmaster.com/artist/2756410. Tickets will be $30 per car in advance, or $35 at the gate via credit/debit only. Guests will be permitted on-site an hour ahead of show times, with limited space available per showing. For more information, visit NYCBLIVE.com.
AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, a military voter’s original military ballot must be returned by mail to the office of the District Clerk at 135 Elmont Road, Elmont, NY 11003. Military ballots shall be canvassed if they are received by the District Clerk before 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2020 showing a cancellation
military voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is ascertained to be not later than the day before the election. Diana Delahanty, District Clerk May 5, 2020 Elmont Union Free School District Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, New York 121849
Public Notices mark of the United States Postal Service or a foreign country’s postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by another agency of the United States Government; or received not later than 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2020 and signed and dated by the
PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.mypublicnotices.com TO PLACE AN AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232 Search for notices online at: www.mypublicnotices.com
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
Public Notices
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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
Place Homes HERALD Market •
HERALD
Who can we trust? Q. We met with three architects, three contractors
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A. I know I’ve written
Monte Leeper
this many times, that when I sat in classes in architecture school, design studios, art classes, art history, physics and calculus, I never knew that what lay ahead for me was that others who have no background, no qualifications and only a smidgen of training would be the ones to wrongly steer the projects I would be developing. I thought I’d be able to freely create. Instead, I often find that I have to spend most of my time trying to straighten out messes, fill out paperwork and try to troubleshoot. Why this happens isn’t a mystery. Armed with computers and the internet, everyone who wants to believe they can design and solve building problems feels empowered. In any endeavor, there must be one responsible leader. The word responsible isn’t to be taken lightly, because it doesn’t mean the one most easily able to dump the blame on. That individual must be the most capable of solving every angle of the project, starting with the most restrictive issues, like the law, otherwise known as government regulations, and also the laws of nature, such as structural, mechanical and technical issues. Who would that person be? While the interior designer may be comfortable and confident at advising you about space planning and finish selections, can you trust them to engineer the building loads, snow and wind loads or even the project’s energy and ventilation calculations? And while the contractor is great at hands-on problem solving, putting every detail of the building together, will they be able to follow all the regulations and be called on to sign documents guaranteeing your safety? Government, at every level, has imposed a ton of restrictions on the building process, mostly as a reaction, over centuries, to building disasters. You must decide whether overly confident, under-qualified people will be there not only to be creative, but also to protect you. Good luck!
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Have ADHD/ Executive Function Disorder? Take a Free Virtual FOCUS Assessment Test to better understand your attention challenges 516-984-9365 OrganizeU4Life-Learn to Live Better
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OpiniOns
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ur country is suffering through the worst health crisis since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, and the worst economic crisis since the 1929 crash and subsequent Great Depression. Under a federal government emergency program dubbed Warp Speed, scientists are offering hope that promising vaccines will beat back the coronavirus over the next year. In the meantime, the economic damage America has suffered needs a similar major ongoing commitment from Washington. alfOnse Much has already been done d’amaTO to help keep the economy functioning during the past few months of lockdown. Congress has enacted over $3 trillion in support, including substantial help for both workers and businesses. The Payroll Protection Program provided major grants and loans to small businesses to keep them afloat and able to retain workers. Yet even with this help, 40 million Americans are out of work. The jobless are being helped with a $600-a-week federal supplement in addition to state unemployment benefits, but this program will expire in two months.
The economic situation shows no sign of getting better soon. White House economic advisers project that unemployment could top 20 percent before the economy begins to revive. And the chairman of the Federal Reserve has pointedly noted that even though the Fed has already pumped $2 trillion into the financial system, “It may well be that the Fed has to do more,” Jerome Powell told “60 Minutes.” “It may be that Congress has to do more … [to] help businesses avoid … insolvencies and … do the same for individuals — keep workers in their homes, keep them paying their bills. Keep families solvent.” That’s very important advice from the world’s most powerful banker. Congress and the White House should take it seriously and act on it. The key to achieving another round of federal stimulus relief will be a willingness of all parties to put aside political differences to deliver meaningful help to the country. That means the Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives should drop its insistence on loading up the next relief bill with every item on the liberal wish list. The rescue package should focus on continued funding of research to defeat the coronavirus and support for a strong economic recovery. President Trump and the Republican
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leadership of the Senate have signaled their support for additional federal spending during this extraordinary crisis. Yes, the deficit and the national debt will climb, but failing to resuscitate our economy could have even more dire economic consequences. The economy right now is like a Covid-19 intensive care patient hanging on life support. This is no time to argue about how much more effort should be made to save the patient. Washington should not get sidelined by political arguments. Here’s a prescription for dealing with the crisis:
es, the deficit and the national debt will climb, but that’s not the big worry.
■ Authorize generous spending on speeding up the development of a vaccine and a way to deliver it to every American as soon as it’s ready. ■ Provide another round of direct $1,200 stimulus checks to individuals and their dependents to help families pay mortgages and rents and put food on their tables. Trump has indicated that he’s open to this proposal. It’s worth the extra cost. Cash in the hands of desperate families is key to saving many from destitution. ■ Renew and improve the Payroll Protection Program with additional funding and key reforms to its operation. Small businesses, especially, need more flexibility on
how the grants they receive can be used. Keeping employees on the payroll won’t protect their jobs in the long haul if businesses are forced to close because they can’t meet other operating costs. ■ Along with reforming the PPP, convert the current $600 additional federal unemployment insurance supplement into an employment supplement. Instead of paying employees to stay home from their jobs, let’s pay them a “job bonus” to get back to work. ■ Provide substantial assistance to states and localities to help with the extraordinary costs imposed by the pandemic and to help them cover their operating costs. State and local tax revenues have dropped drastically since the pandemic began in every state. Helping them to keep providing critical services is not only reasonable, it’s necessary. That doesn’t mean writing a blank check to every state. ■ Finally, finally come to agreement on a national infrastructure program, putting jobless people to work rebuilding America. These are extraordinary times, calling for extraordinary measures. Washington must step up to the challenge, now. Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comments about this column? ADAmato@liherald.com.
When, and how, do you recover a lost first kiss?
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here is no Plan B for young love. Through this pandemic, we are all living some version of Plan B, but my heart aches for our teenagers, for whom Plan B doesn’t work so well. They have been locked down and shut out by the Coronavirus, and they have far fewer coping mechanisms than adults. Some parents are struggling with teens who are sleeping all day or refusing to pitch in with chores. Being a teenager in the best of times is hugely inconvenient, and acting out is normal. I think any human who just survives the years between 13 and 19 reasonRandi ably intact is doing kReiss a splendid job. I actually remember what it was like to be 13. Everyone has his or her own hell. Mine was being tiny. I was so small that my mother couldn’t find “teenage” clothes in my size, so, of course, I hated my mother. I threw my Mary Janes at her one day because she thought I would put them on my feet and actually
be seen in public, when everyone knew that you don’t wear Mary Janes when you’re 13. I was generally miserable from ages 13 to 16, when I discovered boys and the pimples subsided and I fell in love. How might that have played out if we had gone through a global pandemic between 1958 and 1964, when I was “becoming”? I would have been holed up in my house with my mother and father and younger sister. We weren’t the let’s-bring-out-theMonopoly-board kind of family. Our parents didn’t play with us. They loved us and fed us and told us what to do. Sequestering without 600 channels of TV, no Internet and no phones would have been a claustrophobic experience. Today, kids do have many more opportunities to launch Plan B. They just don’t want to. No school? Well, heavens, in the virtual world, kids with access to the internet can tour museums, wander the galaxy, practice new recipes and star in musicals. Every day, I send my grandkids links to magic shows and master classes for
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kids and invitations to Facetime and books that tell the stories of teenagers who lived through adversity and came out stronger and bolder and happier. In other words, I send them stuff they ignore. And I understand the lassitude. I’m just doing the grandma thing, trying to engage, but part of me knows the kids are surviving as best they can. They’re suffering from the isolation, and they have no place to vent their anger and their fear because the cultural message is to push through and do your work and don’t complain when others have it worse. One of my grandkids is about to enter his senior year in high school, and I also remember what it was like to be 17, when passion ruled. Do you remember your first kiss? Take a moment. Remember. You were probably a teenager and I hope it was thrilling, and sweet. Now, teens are being told to social distance, a suggestion that is antithetical to their very existence. No kissing or fooling around for months, or a year? Being told that if you hang out with a friend or find love, you
eing told to social distance is antithetical to teenagers’ very existence.
might be endangering your family or killing your grandma? I have four grandkids in various stages of moving up in school. One is leaving elementary school for middle school. One is going from seventh to eighth grade, one is leaving middle school for high school and one is the rising senior. They have been “attending” school at home and passing the time as best they can, while parents weave in and out of their days and multiple screens shine an everlasting light on them. They are isolated from the only other human beings who know how they feel — other teenagers. I see them on Facetime and, really, they look slightly unfamiliar, a bit stunned, after days of little interaction with other people. I wish they would keep a diary or a photo journal. The gift they already possess is a great story to tell, but I understand the inertia of this moment. So, for now, kids, it’s enough just to get through, and you will Then, because you’re young and strong and smart, you will move on and make up for lost time. In the meantime, take notes. You are caught up in the drama of a lifetime. Copyright 2020 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
Americans need more help from Washington, now!
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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We must end systemic racism to find peace
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wave of angry protests over the merciless alleged killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparked a wave of more than 70 angry protests in cities across the nation last week and into the weekend. The majority were peaceful, but others turned violent, with vandals looting and burning businesses. It was a sadly familiar scene, a nightmare that has been repeated time and again for decades. We must end this national shame. White police officers brutalizing and killing black men who are in their custody is criminal, period. Derek Chauvin and the three other officers who held Floyd down deserve prison. As one African-American commentator rightly pointed out, what we witnessed in the cellphone video of the killing was the slow, painful lynching of a black man by a white officer in the light of day, surrounded by witnesses.
This was not Jim Crow America. This was Minneapolis, 2020. And what caused it all? A counterfeit $20 bill that Floyd was alleged to have tried to pass at a store. Yes, most police officers are good, honest and hardworking. Even one officer the likes of Chauvin, however, is one too many. Protests turned to riots over the weekend in cities across the country, including New York City. We must condemn the looting we witnessed. Rioting is wrong. It is illegal. It should never have happened. And it does nothing to accomplish the goals at hand. As a nation, however, we must pause a moment and reflect on why people in communities of color would, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo remarked, burn down their own house. We do not presume to speak for them, but we can imagine that the killing they witnessed turned long-simmering
anger into rage, and the riotous behavior was a way to vent it. It is a rage pent up not only because of a single killing, but also because of a longtime pattern of police killings. Taken together, they constitute what is called structural, or systemic, racism, the racism that is built into our very institutions — our police departments, our hospitals, our schools, our governments. Last year, the Herald undertook a nearly yearlong investigative series, “The Racism Around Us,” reporting on the structural racism in institutions here in Nassau County. The results were, in many ways, not surprising, but at the same time entirely shocking. The bottom line is that racism is to be found at all levels of our society, including in the media. Until we solve the issue of structural racism, we will never find the peace that our nation seeks — the peace that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. prayed for.
Vote for Franklin Square, Elmont, Sewanhaka’s budgets
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fficials in the three local school districts have worked hard to create fiscally responsible budget proposals for the 2020-21 school year in a time of unprecedented economic insecurity, and voters should approve them with their absentee ballots, which must be signed and returned by June 9.
Franklin Square
The nearly $40.2 million Franklin Square School District spending plan is just 1.72 percent larger than the current budget. It would enable the district to replace aging technology and support its STEM Discovery labs, which are increasingly important as technology continues to expand. These costs would be offset by staff freezes, and the tax levy would increase by 2.33 percent, which is below the state cap for the district. Voters should approve the use of funds the district already has to install air condi-
tioning at the Washington Street School, transform library spaces into collaborative work spaces and renovate the John Street School’s outdoor area by expanding the school’s bus lot, relocating its playground and repairing a sink hole in the ball field. Another proposition would create a new fund to pay for roof and lighting replacements and upgrades to the school’s boiler rooms. Neither of these measures would affect taxes, but they would help maintain district operations.
Elmont
Under the proposed Elmont budget, residents would see a small decrease in their property taxes. The $94.4 million proposal would include a tax levy that is actually 0.1 percent smaller than the current levy. Nevertheless, spending would increase by 1.6 percent. It would fund the replacement of school buses and classroom furniture, maintain the district’s programs and
lEttErS Sewanhaka students deserve real graduations To the Editor: As a 33-year resident of Elmont and a grandmother of an Elmont Memorial High School senior, I am deeply disappointed in the superintendent’s decision to halt plans for a “traditional” graduation ceremony at each of the district’s high schools. My children graduated from H. Frank Carey High School in 1996 and 2003. At the time, graduations were held in the school’s small center courtyard, attended by parents and other invited
class sizes, and finance new literacy and assessment programs for students. To offset these costs, and reduce the amount the district needs to collect in taxes, district officials shaved over $208,000 from the administrative and general support budgets, and trimmed the building operations and maintenance budgets by over $126,000. To further reduce the tax burden on residents, the district is trying to do more building renovations in-house.
Sewanhaka
The Sewanhaka Central High School District’s proposed $209 million budget would increases taxes 2.7 percent. The majority of the increase would fund security enhancements at all five schools, which district officials say has become more important each year, with the installation of vestibules, an electronic lock system and improvements in computer technology improvements. The cost of these enhancements would vary by school.
opinionS
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omehow, in April, I missed observing National Siblings Day, and then the time rolled by and along came Memorial Day. So I’m taking this opportunity to talk about my brother, David Kremer, and salute the many other brothers and sisters who really shouldn’t need a special day. This first week of June will mark a year since Dave (he liked that better) died at age 89. I’m sure that every one of our readers who enjoy a special relationship with a sibling understands how significant a role they play in JERRY our lives. Those KREMER of you who are lucky enough to have a living sibling know how important they can be, provided you haven’t let some petty grievance get in the way. As a rule, most of us reach out to a sibling at almost any time of the day or week for a kind word or just reassurance that all is well. Two of my friends recently lost sib-
LETTERS
lings, and they described to me at length missed opportunities or a lifetime of strong bonds that are irreplaceable. All of their comments reminded me of my loss, and the fact that Dave is no longer a part of my life. A day doesn’t go by without a moment when I think about reaching out to him, just to exchange a few simple words. It took quite a few years for my brother to express his love, but getting older does that to people. Dave had a lot of unique qualities. He was the family historian, and had an encyclopedic memory of just about everything. He knew not only the day, but also the hour that I was born, and where he was as he anxiously waiting to greet his baby brother. He would regale me with facts about distant relatives and their family history. His knowledge of family trivia was bottomless. He had photos of relatives who I didn’t know existed. When I ran for public office, Dave was always there, pushing me to take care of all the minute details of success-
K
ful campaigning. When I would arrive at some campaign event, he was waiting outside the building, staring at his watch and reminding me that I was two minutes late. He would usher me into the building quickly, making sure that I didn’t linger too long with a faithful voter. I consider myself a devout Yankees fan. I check the baseball scores whenever the team is playing, even if it’s early in the season and the games don’t really mean that much. I would spot him at some dinner listening to the game with earphones, while everyone else was chatting away. On days when I called him to announce some Yankee mistake or achievement, he would tell me he’d heard about it hours earlier. I always thought I was up on all things Yankees, but he eclipsed me. Last year, we decided we should observe Dave’s birthday at a place he would really enjoy. So as a family, we bought a bunch of tickets to Yankee Stadium on the week of his 89th birthday.
eep special family members close, no matter how far away they may live.
FRaMEwoRK by John O’Connell
family. I completely agree with today’s parents that there should be no problem with hosting a graduation at each of the school’s football fields while abiding by the rules of social distancing. It certainly would be a safer bet than the congregation of thousands of people at our state beaches, which have recently reopened. I have asked that our elected local and state officials advocate for our seniors for a more traditional graduation ceremony in June or early July. (August is too late, because many seniors will probably be off to their respective colleges and universities.) Paraphrasing a graduating senior in another state, the 2020 high school graduates were born on the edge of the Sept. 11 attacks, and, sadly, are now collateral damage of the Covid-19 virus.
HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — June 4, 2020
A Tribute to All the Daves
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The plan was to get his name on the scoreboard and salute him for another milestone in his life. As fate would have it, he didn’t make it to the game. But the whole family went, and shared a special the 192 moment when his name flashed on the Depres screen. The nieces and nephews cheered emerge the loudest for Uncle David. scienti I write this not as a sad remembrance, but rather as a reminder of the importance of siblings in our lives. Having a special brother or sister can be an enormous blessing. It’s an experience that can’t be replicated, so long as you stay close to those special family members and are willing to meet them halfway on life’s issues. Make those short phone calls just to say hello. Keep them close no matter how far away they may live. If you’re lucky to have the right relationship, then every day will be National Siblings Day.
Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman few mo for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s enacte Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. ing sub He now heads Empire Government Strat- busine egies, a business development and legisThe lative strategy firm. Comments about vided m this column? JKremer@liherald.com. busine retain million jobless $600-ation to this pr
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ers, for They h by the fewer c Som who ar
RENEE WILKERSON Elmont
Protest, yes. Turn to violence, no. To the Editor: I share the pain of all Americans regarding the senseless and tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. No one should ever have to worry that such a nonviolent encounter with the police might end in death. At the same time, I stand with the hardworking and dedicated officers from the Nassau County Police Department, and the neighboring New York
A bundle of energy, still for a fleeting second — Bayville
City Police Department, who protect us daily here in the Village of Lawrence. I am appalled by the images of NYPD vehicles being destroyed by anarchists. There is a need to protest injustice, but
such protest should never turn to violence. I thank Nassau County’s 4th Precinct Inspector Joseph Barbieri as well as Commissioner Patrick Ryder for always
was lik own he stepping up to keep our village and its small t residents safe. age” cl Michel Fragin hated m Deputy mayor, at her Village of Lawrence would
WE WERE HERE FOR YOU BEFORE COVID AND WE’RE HERE FOR YOU NOW.
Don’t put off seeking medical care, including elective surgery, in fear of COVID-19. Mount Sinai South Nassau has dedicated non-COVID patient care areas, including within our Emergency Department. All units have undergone a deep cleaning to ensure your safety. All patients undergoing procedures are tested for COVID-19 within three days prior to admission. Our frontline staff of physicians, nurses and support personnel are equipped with full Personal Protective Equipment to help halt the spread of infectious diseases. Your health shouldn’t be defined by COVID-19.
DON’T PUT YOUR HEALTH ON HOLD. COME WITH CONFIDENCE.
mountsinai.org/southnassau
Mount Sinai South Nassau is certified as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence (CoE) by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Photo top left courtesy of Jeff Basinger, Newsday.
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June 4, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
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