Franklin Square/Elmont
HERALD
The MarkeT
The MarkeT July 23, 2020
case
The Ultimate Local home Show
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The MaRKeT The Ultimate Home showcase - Inside
Vol. 22 No. 30
Town considers dog park for F.s.
superintendent honored
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Page 9
JUlY 23 - 29, 2020
$1.00
Spinning the wheel for charity Facebook page raises money for local organizations number of groups, including the veterans’ organizations. When Liam was born, he When Gina Centauro learned could not suck, swallow or that Franklin Square Veterans breathe while eating, Licastro of Foreign Wars Post 2718 and explained, and he was not gainElmont American Legion Post ing weight. A gastroenterologist 1033 were struggling financially and a pediatrician told Licastro during the coronavirus pandem- that Liam had a “failure to ic, she asked locals what they thrive,” and he was diagnosed could do to help. That’s when with a rare brain disorder called Siobhan Licastro agenesis of the volunteered to hold corpus callosum a virtual fundraiswhen he was 14 er for the veterans’ months old. groups. The Licastros “All it took was brought him to me sharing the the Feeding story, and she ran Department at St. with it,” said CenMary’s four tauro, co-founder m o n t h s l a t e r, of the Franklin sioBHaN licasTRo where therapists Square-based Res- East Meadow taught him to eat cuing Families Inc. and taught his “She’s done some parents how to amazing things — getting the help him eat. But Licastro said community together to support she hadn’t noticed how well her charities in a really fun way.” son was eating until the pandemLicastro, of East Meadow, ic hit, recounting how Liam started the “In It to Win It” Face- picked up a taco shell and asked book raffle fundraiser page in to try it. May to thank the staff at St. “When all else failed for Mary’s Hospital in Bayside, L i a m , [ S t . M a r y ’s ] c a m e Queens, where her now 3-year- through,” she wrote on the “In It old son, Liam, underwent feed- to Win It” Facebook page. “I ing therapy as a baby. The Face- want to help them now.” book group now has 840 memThen, when Licastro recently bers, and has evolved to help any Continued on page 5
By Melissa KoeNig mkoenig@liherald.com
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Melissa Koenig/Herald
aTiRa Hall aNd Selene Ferdinand drew messages of hope at Elmont Road Park last Friday, during Elmont Strong’s “Chalk the Walk” event.
Raising their voices for change New Elmont Strong group holds BLM events By Melissa KoeNig mkoenig@liherald.com
“United We Stand,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Brave, Love, Amazing, Caring and Kind” were just some of the messages 30 community members scrawled on the pavement at Elmont Road Park as the sun set last Friday, in the first of three Black Lives Matter events held on Elmont Strong’s Membership Weekend. The g roup seeks to “restore, protect and con-
serve” the community, according to its website, and “make change happen through beautification, public relations efforts and opportunities for continuous community involvement.” Additionally, its founders hope to strengthen relations with the Nassau County Police Department, and use “our voices and strength and muscles to actually invoke change,” according to Rachelle Lewis. Lewis, Sarah Campbell and Renee Williams formed Elmont Strong about a month
ago, after they held several events for community members during Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York on Pause order. They placed cups in the fence at Elmont Memorial High School to spell out “Elmont 2020,” for instance, and painted hearts that they hung around the Parkhurst neighborhood. The group’s first official event was held on June 20, when they planted flowers around the sign for the NCPD’S 5th Precinct. Then Elmont Strong got Continued on page 3
s long as people want to play, I’ll continue to donate.