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Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
MARCH 4 - 10, 2021
Vol. 86 No. 10
Longtime Freeport library director retires By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
Sue Grieco/Herald
MARY AND RoB Hallam, shown above in 2019, are continuing their annual food drive despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Couple hold 10th annual food drive for local pantry By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com
For the past decade, Rob and Mary Hallam, congregants of the Community Presbyterian Church in Malverne, have collected thousands of food items for their annual People’s Food Drive to benefit the Long Island Council of Churches’ food pantry, in Freeport. Last year, the Hallams, who live in Lynbrook, were fortunate enough to collect
donations before the coronavirus pandemic all but shut down the county, but, as Rob, 59, put it, they “never stopped helping after the food drive was over.” As the pandemic devastated people’s finances and food insecurity spread across Long Island, the LICC pantry saw demand grow every day, and the Hallams were there to help in any way they could, raising funds and securing a new refrigerator for the facility.
This year, they have had to adapt to a new normal as they stage their 10th annual People’s Food Drive through the end of March. “The need has never been greater, and we need to do what we can to help,” Rob said. “But we’re facing some new challenges that have changed everything.” The biggest setback has been the lack of access to crowds and gatherings. Rob Continued on page 16
When he was working on his master’s in library and information science at C.W. Post in 1989, Kenneth Bellafiore stumbled on a want ad for a library trainee at the Freeport Memorial Library. It was his goal to one day become a library director, so Bellafiore applied for the job. Working in the Children’s Room, he fell in love with the library and the Freeport community, and decided to move to the village. He dedicated the next 32 years of his life to the library. A f t e r m o re t h a n t h re e decades there, the last 10 as the library’s director, Bellafiore retired on Feb. 25. “It’s been an honor and privilege to serve here,” Bellafiore, 62, said. “I felt like I’ve accomplished what I wanted to, and it’s time to move on to the next chapter of my life.”
Freeport became his home
When Bellafiore arrived at the library, it needed people to staff its then new Children’s Room. A male librarian in charge of overseeing kids was a rarity back then, Bellafiore said, as women usually occupied the
Courtesy Freeport Memorial Library
KENNEtH BEllAFIoRE REtIRED as library director on Feb. 25. position. Nonetheless, he thrived in his new job, and even took advantage of his unique position by kick-starting a Daddy-and-Me program on Saturdays. After his time as a trainee, Bellafiore moved over to the library’s Education Information Center, now the Computer and Career Center, and the Reference Department. In 1991 he decided to make Freeport his home, and moved to the village Continued on page 10