________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Giveaway to offer bags, supplies
‘First ‘anti-racist’ scholarship
Book tells stories of Sept. 11
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Vol. 24 No. 32
AUGUST 4 - 10, 2022
$1.00
Standing their ground against a storage unit of the Franklin Square Civic Association. The storage facility, if conAs Franklin Square commu- structed, would be located in the nity members anxiously await a shopping center, just south of Town of Hempstead Board of Valley Caterers, that currently Appeals decision on the pro- houses Consumers Kitchen and posed construction of a three- Bath, Rapid Response Urgent story storage facility behind Val- Care and the former Island Recley Caterers on reation building. Franklin Avenue, Culmone said residents, communithat residents of ty leaders and civic Franklin Square, g roups said they which is home to would continue to buildings no more oppose the project in than two stories an effort to preserve high, believe the the identity of the storage facility neighborhood. would be an “eyeCommunity memsore” on Franklin bers continued to Avenue because of voice their disapits height. He added proval for the selfthat residents are storage unit at a July opposed to the con13 public hearing FrANk struction of busibefore the zoning nesses for industrial CUlmoNe board. use while ridding Nauman Hussain, F.S.C.A. president Franklin Square of owner of the Synercommercial and gy Fitness gym in retail property. Franklin Square, has requested During the hearing, Franklin variances to knock down a build- Square Civic Association meming behind Valley Caterers to bers presented the latest results build the storage facility, but from a survey they created duropponents said it would damage ing the spring to gauge commuthe architectural and historical nity opinion on the proposed integrity of Franklin Square, said Frank Culmone, president Continued on page 10
By roBerT TrAVerSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Courtesy Elmont Union Free School District
AriANNA HeNry ANd Mya Noel, students at Dutch Broadway School, took part in the district’s science research program in 2021-22.
Besting race-based obstacles Report: Elmont elementary schools have negative results common to districts of color By roBerT TrAVerSo rtraverso@liherald.com
This was not a secret. A report recently released by ERASE Racism, the Long Island civil rights organization, rated the Elmont elementary school district among the 11 most segregated school districts on Long Island, and detailed negative outcomes for students in those districts, which have majorities of students of color. In response to the conclusion that these districts have lower counselor-tostudent ratios, less annual revenue per student and other
issues, Elmont community leaders have begun discussing potential solutions to help improve district students’ educational experiences. “This ERASE Racism report demonstrates that a prerequisite for understanding the success of Long Island’s public school education system is an examination to determine whether structural impediments to racial equity exist,” the organization wrote in its report, which found that districts with majorities of non-white students, including the Elmont Union Free School District,
are more likely to face challenges that hinder education, such as lower student-toAdvanced Placement course ratios and higher rates of teacher turnover. The office of district Superintendent Kenneth Rosner had not responded to a request for comment on the report and the proposed solutions as the Herald went to press. One concern that was not mentioned in the report, but is often raised by students in Elmont, community advocate Mimi Pierre-Johnson said, is that more Black teachers are Continued on page 5
o
ur community is a residential, retail community, and that’s how we want it to stay