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Vol. 22 No. 40
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School district reverses course Elmont students to return to full in-person classes ativity, we are confident that we can now safely accommodate all students in grades K-6 for five For a month now, students full days of instruction per who have opted for the Elmont week, while still maintaining a Union Free School District’s safe and socially-distant envihybrid lear ning ronment.” program have been The district attending school in originally proposed person two or three the hybrid model days a week, for the school year depending on their to comply with grade, while learnsocial-distancing ing remotely on the mandates. In July, two or three other Rosner told parents days. But starting that the average Monday, those stuclassroom would dents — nearly KENNETh RosNER be able to accom1,800 of them — Superintendent, modate only 13 stuwill begin attend- Elmont School District dents with those ing school in perguidelines in place, s o n eve r y d ay, so district officials Superintendent Kenneth Rosner decided to divide each regular announced in a letter to parents class, which could exceed 20 stuon Sept. 22. dents in years passed, into two “As I promised to you during cohorts, with classroom teachers the many summer Zoom ses- and special-area teachers altersions,” Rosner wrote, “our goal nating between the two groups. would be to examine all possible Students in kindergarten avenues for eventually increas- through third grade have been ing in-person student atten- attending school in person Mondance, while still following the day through Wednesday since most recent guidance from the classes began on Sept. 10, while Centers for Disease Control, fourth- through sixth-graders New York State Department of have attended in person on Health and the Nassau County Thursdays and Fridays. On days Health Department. Through careful planning and some creContinued on page 9
By MElissa KoENig mkoenig@liherald.com
W
e are proud of what we’re doing for all Elmont children.
Melissa Koenig/Herald
ViCToRia, VERNEll aNd Desiree Nelson attended the water tower protest on Sept. 21.
‘No paint, no peace’
Elmont residents demand water tower repairs By MElissa KoENig mkoenig@liherald.com
On Sept. 21, a small crowd of Elmont residents led a new chant — “No paint, no peace!” — as they gathered in front of the Elmont water tower for a rally calling for repairs to be made to the structure. The tower has not been repaired since the 1990s, when it was under the control of the Jamaica Water Supply Company, Joe Corbisiero, the director of plant operations for the Water Authority of
Western Nassau County, previously told the Herald, and it is now rusted, with blue paint chips falling into residents’ yards. “Our water tower has become an eyesore, and gives the impression of blight in a community with an average median [income] of $100,000 per household,” Dwayne Palmer wrote in a letter to County Legislator Carrié Solages in July, after asking the water authority several times to repair it. He added that the tower is one of the
first structures people see when they enter Nassau County from Queens, and “leaves the impression that Elmont is a community that is uncared for.” Michael Tierney, superintendent of the water authority, also said there is “no argument that [the water tower] needs a full rehabilitation” at a board of directors meeting after the protest. But repairs to the water tower, which were originally scheduled to be made in 2021, Continued on page 4