_________________ FREEPORT _________________
HERALD Double Dutch with Abrahams
De la Salle grads salute their school
Indictment for three deaths in crash
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Vol. 87 No. 31
JUlY 28 - AUGUST 3, 2022
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Miracle rescue by Bobbi and the Strays By MoHAMED FARGHAlY mfarghaly@liherald.com
Mohamed Farghaly/Herald
VolUNTEER CYNTHIA EGIDo with a four-legged friend outside the shelter.
A West Hempstead man was detained on July 21 for allegedly abandoning his critically malnourished dog outside a Freeport animal shelter. According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, Damian Douglas abandoned the roughly fouryear-old, malnourished dog on July 7 outside the Bobbi and the Strays Animal Shelter at 2 Rider Place. The severely emaciated dog, named Athena by employees of the shelter, was left in a
crate outside the Freeport animal rescue for someone else to find. Athena was not only malnourished, but had several serious open wounds. The district attor ney’s report states that Douglas bought the dog from a breeder in Greensboro, North Carolina, and named it “Skyy.” In November, he allegedly began keeping the dog in a crate on an enclosed porch outside his Freeport dwelling, and took her out for periodic walks. Douglas allegedly stopped taking the dog out of the kennel Continued on page 15
The drama over Cleveland field development continues By REINE BETHANY rbethany@liherald.com
Community protest against the village government’s effort to replace the Cleveland Avenue athletic field with a warehouse continued Monday at a rally on the steps of the municipal building. The rally preceded a public hearing to rezone Cleveland field and several surrounding parcels under an Industrial B classification. Prior to the rally, Myles Hollingsworth, an alumnus of the Freeport Public Schools and a pre-law student at Howard University, articulated the bottom-
line viewpoint of the protestors. “We’re clearly saying we want the preservation of green space,” Hollingsworth said. “If that means allowing for some kind of hybrid model of not intruding on green space, while also developing business, that’s a conversation we’re ready to have. But if the model looks like removing any inch of green space, it’s a full strong no.” Hollingsworth said he grew up practicing athletics on the disputed field, often called “Cleveland Park.” He played on both with school and private teams. “When Randall Park was flooded out or rained out,” Hollingsworth said, “my soccer team
would come to Cleveland Park to practice. I spent many, many hours, both day and night, hot and cold weather, practicing at Cleveland Park.” Hollingsworth added that the field was also used regularly as an event space by local organizations. “It is a full community being affected,” said Hollingsworth. Baldwin resident Meta Meraday attended the rally. She addressed the village government’s characterization of Cleveland Park as a “muddy field” compared with Cow Meadow Park. “Long Island is a sandbar,” Meraday said. “If you have heavy
rains, there’s no place for the water to go, so it will accumulate and puddle in places like Randall Park, like Cleveland, like Cow Meadow.” Meraday said the water issues were less of a problem at Cleveland Avenue than at the other two parks, which are situated about a mile southward. Cow Meadow, in fact, sits directly on
the south shore. She added that school buses bring children to athletic practice, but parents are expected to pick the children up afterward. If parents can’t do so, NICE buses along Merrick Road or Sunrise Highway have helped children return home from Cleveland Avenue, or the children walk. Cow Continued on page 5