Long Beach Herald 02-16-2023

Seventh heaven

Long Beach

seventh-grader

Ethan Andreula celebrated Sunday night after capturing the Nassau County Division 1 wrestling title in the 102-pound weight class at Hofstra University. Story, Page 6.

From the South to the City by the Sea

By BRENDAN CARPENTER bcarpenter@liherald.com

Jackie Odom was born and raised in a different America — the Jim Crow South, where Black children were kept out of white schools, and Black adults found it difficult to vote and almost impossible to hold office.

Double lung transplant survivor headlines Make-A-Wish event

By JAMES BERNSTEIN jbernstein@liherald.com

Some 200 people packed into the Bright Eye Beer Co., on Park Avenue in Long Beach, last Sunday morning to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. While participants wanted to raise funds for the foundation that helps fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses, a major draw was a tiny 19-year-old who last year underwent a double lung transplant: Masha Benitez. Benitez, who underwent a 13½-hour procedure

at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan last May, has had her ups and downs since coming home in June. Recently, she said, she had stomach problems, and was back at Columbia Presbyterian. She was released last Friday, two days before the fundraiser.

On Sunday, Benitez stood in front of a box of raffle tickets and spoke with well-wishers and members of the news media. She said she felt “OK” but “not great.” Her recovery, her father, Luis “Tony” Benitez, said, has been slow.

That’s why Odom, who’s now 81 and is among Long Beach’s most prominent citizens, attaches such importance to February — Black History Month.

She observes the month privately, and reflects on its meaning. “It’s an opportunity to understand Black stories,” she said. “It’s also a time to uplift Black voices and shine a spotlight on those who have made a difference.”

Odom, who has lived in Long Beach for 63 years and is known to many as the “Queen of Long Beach,” was born in 1941 and grew up in Princeton, West Virginia, with her parents, Earlie

and Ida Moon. Her father, Earlie, spent several years on the City Council, and even served briefly as mayor. Jackie was the second of eight children, and had three brothers and four sisters.

In ninth grade, she went to Genoa Junior High School, in Bluefield. “We passed by so many schools on the way to Genoa,” she recalled of her bus rides, “but because it was so segregated in West Virginia, I had to go there.”

Her father sheltered her from the worst of Jim Crow South racism, at least in at home.

For the rest of high school, she attended Park Central High School, also in Bluefield, one of two local high schools that enrolled Black students before Bluefield integrated its high schools in 1969. Odom went on to study at West Virginia State College.

But her life changed in her teens. The sister of one of her friends, who had moved to New

Continued on page 7

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

I

a lot of nicknames, but the big one is the Queen of Long Beach.

Blakeman not yet ready to unfreeze assessments

By MICHAEL MALASZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

It’s a vital component of the property tax system, yet for the third straight year, Nassau County won’t be conducting a tax assessment of homes and businesses.

Such a freeze first gained momentum under former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, but lifted by his successor, Laura Curran. However, the freeze was reimplemented during Covid-19, and now continues under Bruce Blakeman’s tenure.

The difference — at least according to the county legislatures Democratic minority — is that Blakeman campaigned against Curran, promising to roll back the tax increases caused by the reassessments done under her administration. Yet, they still remain frozen.

“As housing prices soared at an unprecedented rate during the worst of the pandemic, the minority supported a temporary freeze to protect property owners from dramatic swings in a remarkably turbulent market,” minority spokesman Daniel Schrafel said. “However, ‘temporary’ is key. History has demonstrated that freezing the tax rolls for extended periods distorts assessed values to such a degree that the only way for property owners to protect themselves from overpaying is to grieve. We must do everything in our power to break this unjust, exploitative cycle.”

The reassessments are supposed to happen annually to review property value and

tax property owners accordingly. When they don’t happen, properties that have risen in value become under-taxed, while those that may have dropped end up paying a higher tax than they would have otherwise.

The value of property impacts school taxes and other issues.

When in office, Curran called the reassessment process “corrupt” and “broken.”

The Democrat pledged to fix it in a 2018 opinion piece published in the Herald, only to freeze it once again during the pandemic.

Democrats now criticizes Blakeman for the continuing the freeze despite the economic pressures of the pandemic subsiding, particularly in light of Blakeman’s promise to do so.

“Mr. Blakeman vowed to rescind the

county’s increases that he blamed on the recent assessment,” Democratic county legislator Debra Mulé said. “That basically means that if you’re over-assessed, you’ll be stuck paying more than your fair share of taxes this year, unless you successfully grieve your assessment.”

State Sen. Kevin Thomas joined in the chorus against the freeze to highlight that grievance process.

“Every homeowner in Nassau has received solicitations from tax grievance workers, myself included,” Thomas said. “These grievance workers use deceitful tactics that lead many to believe filing a grievance is just too complicated for the average resident.

“That is not the case — homeowners can file grievances themselves. You are not required to use an attorney or a specialist, nor is there a fee to file. You can even file online from today until March 1 by yourself. It should be as simple as that.”

Thomas introduced a bill in Albany intending to bring more trust and transparency to the tax grievance process.

For his part, Blakeman called the phase-in plan of his predecessor a failure, and says it won’t expire until next year. He is extending the grievance deadline, however, from March 1 to April 3.

“My administration has reviewed the comptroller’s comprehensive audit that uncovered many inaccuracies in valuations,” Blakeman said in a statement, “and I felt it was important to give residents additional time to grieve.”

Michael Malaszczyk/Herald

STATE SEN. KEVIN Thomas, second from left, was joined by Nassau County Legislators Carrié Solages, far left, Debra Mule, and Joshua Lafazan at a news conference to discuss the county’s freezing of property tax assessments for a third consecutive year. County Executive Bruce Blakeman is extending the grievance deadline to April 3.

Polar Bears gather on the sand yet again

Thousands turn out for annual winter dip in the frigid ocean

By BreNDaN CarPeNTer bcarpenter@liherald.com

On a tad chilly and barely windy day Sunday, thousands packed the beach and boardwalk for the annual Long Beach Polar Bear Splash, defying the elements and the water while testing their fortitude and raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Both new plungers and seasoned veterans made up the sleuth on Laurelton Boulevard, crowding the sand while dry beforehand and shivering and cold afterward. The plunge itself lasts just a few moments but the anticipation, excitement and nervousness can make it feel like an eternity to some.

This was the second year back to normal, after the event was virtual in 2021 because of Covid. Instead of ocean bathing, people took “splashes from home,” posting videos of themselves with water falling over their heads. As the thousands of gathered faces showed, the normal, in-person plunge is very much preferred.

“They’re incredible and we’re so thankful to them,” Leighann Buscemi, the director, special events and community fundraising at Make-A-Wish Metro New York, said about the Polar Bears. “They’re our biggest community supporter and have quite an enormous impact. They grant a whole lot of wishes to kids and bring a lot of smiles to their faces. So really, we wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

The Polar Bear Splash has become the

biggest community fundraiser for Make-AWish, averaging about $500,000 in donations each year. Most proceeds come from the purchase of polar bear apparel, most notably sweatshirts. However, the donations allow for the foundation to give their greatest gift — hope.

Back in 1998, two friends wanted to do a New Year’s Day plunge with the Coney Island Polar Bears for one of their birthdays. They couldn’t make it. So, they took the plunge on their own the next month, on Super Bowl Sunday, in their own city, Long Beach.

The two friends, Pete Meyers and Kevin McCarthy said they invited their neighbors to join them the next time. To their surprise, 18 people showed up at the beach with them the following year. So, for fun,

Meyers began making everyone sweatshirts with polar bears on them. Shortly after, the tradition gained a new meaning.

Two of Meyers’s neighbors, Mike and Patty Bradley, lost their son Paulie to leukemia at age 4 in 1997. They loved the polar bear sweatshirts and asked Meyers and McCarthy if they could begin selling them and donate the proceeds to Make-A-Wish in honor of their son in 2001.

“We immediately told them, ‘Yes, of course,’” Meyers said in a previous interview.

Soon, friends of friends started coming and the event was all over social media. About 40 people showed up the first year of the fundraiser in 2001 and raised $7,800, enough to “fulfill one wish,” Meyers said.

Now, 25 years later, $8 million and over 1,000 fulfilled wishes later, the event has become a Long Beach — and Long Island — tradition.

“Every year, they’re coming back, trying to do more, trying to grow the event and just never losing sight of why they started the event and why the event is necessary,” Buscemi said of the Polar Bears. “It startup for a reason and happens every year to help kids and families. It’s a pretty incredible and unique partnership.”

Justine Stefanelli/Herald photos

The Polar Bear Splash has become an annual gathering of friends, families and residents each Super Bowl Sunday.

ThousaNDs of resiDeNTs were running in and out and diving under the frigid water during Sunday’s Polar Bear Splash.

PluNgers were Clearly excited to get into the water at Laurelton Boulevard.

Protecting Your Future

with Michael and Suzanne Ettinger Attorneys-at-Law

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust Myths

Why don’t more people do the Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT)? The answer is that clients often get the wrong advice from well meaning but ill informed professionals, family and friends. Here are some of the most common MAPT myths.

1. You Can’t Sell the House. The MAPT may sell the house at any time. The money is paid to the MAPT. You may invest the money and use the income for a rental or you may purchase another residence in the name of the MAPT. The five year clock does not start over.

2. You Lose Your Property Tax Exemptions. Properly drafted MAPT’s preserve your Senior, STAR and Veteran’s exemptions as well as the exemption from capital gains on the sale of the primary residence —$500,000 for a couple or $250,000 for a single person.

3. It Takes Five Years. While it takes five years to protect ALL of your assets from long-term care in a facility, the time “pro

She’s raised $130,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation

continued from front page

rates”. For example, if you have to go into a nursing home four years after you set up the MAPT, you only have to pay for the one year that is left.

4. You Can’t Get Your Money. The trust pays you all of the income. Principal may be gifted from the trust in any amount to any of your heirs.

5. The MAPT Cannot Be Revoked. Strange as it may seem, in New York you may revoke an irrevocable trust. Here’s why. It’s irrevocable because you, the grantor, cannot revoke it alone. However, New York has another rule on the books that says that if every person named in the irrevocable trust agrees in writing that they no longer want the trust, then you may revoke it on consent of all the named parties. Since that is just you and your adult children, it is usually a simple matter to accomplish. If a child won’t sign, we simply amend the trust to remove them and then their signature is no longer needed.

ETTINGER LAW FIRM

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Masha, who is under 5 feet tall, still speaks softly, a lingering effect of her surgery, and is frail, weighing only about 80 pounds.

But she was energetic on Sunday. She walked through the crowd and answered questions about her health and the need to fund Make-A-Wish. Those who want to donated need to go to tinyurl.com/PolarBearSplash.

On Sunday night, Masha was back in the hospital, her mother, Michelle Quigley said Wednesday,. She said Mash may need her appendix and bladder removed.

Benitez has been collecting for Make-A-Wish since she was 5, two years after she was adopted from Russia, where she was born to a woman who had to give her up, by a Long Beach couple. Over the years, she has said, she has collected about $130,000 for the foundation.

“Today is the combination of hard work and concern on the part of the people of Long Beach,“ Tony Benitez said. “It’s about my daughter and her desire to help children. Masha certainly has an understanding of children in pain.”

Her parents, Benitez and Michelle Quigley, have been at her bedside constantly when she has been hospitalized. Before they adopted her, she was in an orphanage in Russia, where she said she had been mistreated. The Rotary Club of Brooklyn, which helps needy children who require corrective heart surgery, paid for her to come to the United States, where she was first hospitalized at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park.

Benitez and Quigley met Masha at a Ronald McDonald House that is connected to the medical center. They immediately wanted to adopt her, but the Russian government made the process difficult. It took two years for the adoption to be completed. Masha was a sickly child, and was eventually diagnosed with veno-occlusive disease, a rare pulmonary hypertension.

She will turn 20 in March.

Sue Spiritis, who has known the Benitiz family for years and was among

the crowd at the Bright Eye on Sunday, said she had helped decorate Masha’s room at their home in Long Beach. “I’m an organizer,” Spiritis said.

Jim Mulvaney, a former investigative reporter at Newsday who’s now an adjunct professor in the Law and Police Science Department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, came to the fundraiser with his wife, the author Barbara Fischkin, and their son, Dan Mulvaney, an expert surfer who later took part in the Polar Bear Plunge, which also raises money for Make-A-Wish.

“We love Masha and we love Make-AWish,” Mulvaney said. Some 30 years ago, he said, his cousin was hospitalized and bed-ridden, but wanted to go to the Super Bowl. His cousin’s father contacted Make-A-Wish, and they both went to the game, flown to Miami by the foundation.

“They put (my cousin) on the field,” Mulvaney said.

At the Bright Eye, Jimmy Joseph, Benitez’s uncle, was calling out the numbers of winning tickets for gift baskets. “I want to take a quick moment to give thanks to the family who gave Masha the gift of life,” he said. The lung donor remains unknown to the Benitez family. Michelle Quigley has said she never prayed for the lungs, “because that would mean someone else had lost a child.”

Justine Stefanelli/Herald Masha Benitez has been raising money for Make-A-Wish since she was 5.

Job opportunities at proposed the Sands

By JAMES BERNSTEIN jbernstein@liherald.com

Securing jobs for Long Island has never been an easy task. Companies have been leaving for years for places where taxes and utility costs are less. Entrepreneurs find it hard to pay employees who need to live in Nassau or Suffolk counties.

The Las Vegas Sands, a resort company that in January announced plans to develop what it describes as a “multi-billion dollar flagship hospitality, entertainment and casino project,” may be part of the answer to the problems.

Already, well before any shovel goes in the ground, organizations are seeking job opportunities.

Minority Millennials, a Long Island-based non-profit, is among them, its founder and president, Dan Lloyd, said in an interview last week. Lloyd said that the organization, which got its start in 2017, has partnered with the Sands to build a diverse local talent pipeline for preapprenticeships and procurement opportunities associated with the Sands proposal.

The Sands has agreed to purchase a long-term lease of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and would occupy about 80 acres in the county.

New York State has opened up the application process for three downstate facilities with gaming licenses. The casino in Nassau would be only 10 percent of the project, the developers have said.

Brad Maione, a spokesman for the New York State Gaming Commission, said earlier this week that no other bids had been filed for gaming licenses in Nassau County.

The Sands has many hoops to go through before it can open in Nassau, but Lloyd said his organization is not just waiting.

“We need to get to the table for opportunities and jobs,” Lloyd, 36, said. So far, he said, he has signed up about a dozen people who might be interested in either working at the Sands or contracting with it for services, including entertainment. Lloyd said he hopes to so sign up as man as 20.

Sands officials have said they will collaborate with the surrounding communities to create a plan that maximizes economic opportunity and “protects the quality of life for all Long Islanders.”

The company said also that the project, if approved,

will create 12,000 construction jobs and employee 5,000 people.

“From day one, our goal has been to foster a strong connection with the community as we build this bid,” Ron Reese, a senior vice president at the Sands, said in a statement.

Lloyd said his organization will be creating a Procurement Academy to collect information on job opportunities, at its offices in Amityville.

In a statement, Lloyd said, “The partnership (with the Sands) allows Minority Millennials to identify, train and prepare Long Islanders who want to secure jobs and vendor contracts with the Sands as the proposal moves forward. It will fill the San talent pipeline with local people who want to help build and work with the project.”

Social media will be a major part of the campaign to build jobs with the Sands. But it will also include inperson events as well as military disabled veterans, a resume workshop, and a pre-apprenticeship fair where local unions and training centers can recruit new members for any potential construction-related jobs.

One of those already associated with Minority Millennials is Jose Tutiven, 29, leader of a five-year-old organization, Colored Colors, which strives to build relationships between creative people through arts events and showcases.

“I like the Sands because it’s going to make Long Island a destination place,” said Tutiven. Artists and entertainers may find opportunities there he said.

“We have the talent on Long Island. We will have a bigger stage,” he said.

Another, Lance Mason, also 29, a CPA who has his own business. Hopes perhaps to get some work from the Sands.

“The whole community could benefit,” Mason said.

Courtesy Minority Millennials DAN LLoyD, fouNDER and president of Minority Millennials, instructs as class as he seeks job opportunities with the propsal Las Vegas Sands entertainment complex.

spotlight athlete

Long Beach adds to rich history

By toNY BellissiMo tbellissimo@liherald.com

Last winter, Long Beach’s Dunia Sibomana made wrestling history when he became just the second-ever Long Island eighth-grader to win a New York State championship, joining 2018 graduate Jacori Teemer.

JURRel hall

West Hempstead Senior Track

hall stole the show at the Nassau Class C Track and Field championships Feb. 8 to help the Rams to a secondplace finish. He captured the triple jump (school record 44-feet, 11-inches), high jump and long jump titles, matching a feat he accomplished last spring.

BasKetBall plaYoFFs

Friday, Feb. 17

Girls Basketball: Nassau Class AA quarterfinals

Boys Basketball: Nassau Class A ffirst round

saturday, Feb. 18

Girls Basketball: Nassau Class A first round

Boys Basketball: Nassau Class AA quarterfinals

tuesday, Feb. 21

Girls & Boys Basketball: Nassau Class A quarterfinals

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Girls & Boys Basketball: Nassau Class B semifinals

Friday, Feb. 24

Girls Basketball: Nassau Class AA semifinals

saturday, Feb. 25

Boys Basketball: Nassau Class AA semifinals

Monday, Feb. 27

Girls Basketball: Nassau Class A semifinals

tuesday, Feb. 28

Boys Basketball: Nassau Class A semifinals

Wednesday, March 1

Girls & Boys Basketball: Nassau Class B finals

saturday, March 4

Girls & Boys Basketball: Nassau Class AA and A finals

Last Sunday evening, another young member of the Marines’ program etched himself into the record book. Ethan Andreula became the first-ever seventh grader in Nassau to capture a county wrestling title when he defeated MacArthur’s Vincent Orandello, 1-0, in the 102-pound Division 1 final at Hofstra University.

Sibomana, last year’s Nassau champ at 102, then made it back-to-back county crowns with a 14-2 major decision victory over Hewlett’s Carlos Salazar at 110.

Andreula, Sibomana and three teammates (Brody Franklin, Freedom Excel and Jack Valentin) are all headed to the state tournament Feb. 24-25 at Albany’s MVP Arena. The Marines finished second in the team standings behind Wantagh.

“All the boys wrestled really well and battled,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “No complaints. One of the things I’m most proud of is how many of our guys flipped results against kids they lost to during the regular season.”

Andreula, who was the No. 1 seed, hadn’t faced Orandello prior to Sunday. Orandello was seeded seventh and upset the No. 2 and 3 seeds on the way to the final. “We gave Ethan the best scouting report we could,” Adams said of himself and assistant coach Leo Palacio. “It was a combination of what we saw in the semifinals and what we watched on film.

“Honestly, the main thing was keeping Ethan from getting caught up in the crowd,” Adams added. “A few thousand people there and he’s only a seventh grader. He was able to put that aside and focus.”

Andreula proved far from a deer-inheadlights and got the job done. “Ethan had a lot of success in our Gladiators’ youth program and we knew what he was capable of,” Adams said.

Sibomana dominated the 110 bracket with three pins leading up to the title bout.

He benefitted from some matches against bigger opponents during the regular season. “We bumped Dunia to 118 so he can face some top-tier kids,” Adams said. “He’s a very hard worker and hitting his stride at the right time. He’s hoping to win another state title.”

Sibomana is 27-6 on the season and already has 62 career wins.

“Winning a county championship for a second time felt good,” he said. “I’ve worked so hard for it. My coaches helped me in so many ways and my family always supports me.”

Franklin, a freshman like Sibomana, lost in Sunday morning’s semifinals but rebounded nicely to take third at 110 and

gain a spot in the state tournament.

Excel, a senior at 138, “showed unbelievable mental fortitude,” Adams noted. He recorded six wins over the weekend, including three incredible overtime decisions as well as a one-point regulation win. “I can’t say enough about how much he toughed it out,” the coach said.

Valentin, a senior, avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Syosset’s Jacob Brockey to punch his ticket upstate with a 5-1 victory in the third-place match at 145.

Long Beach also had three other AllCounty placewinners: sophomore Gregory Walpole was fourth at 118, senior Gregory Milone took fourth at 152, and senior Luke Anfossi finished fifth at 172.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald loNg Beach FReshMaN Dunia Sibomana, top, became a two-time county champion Sunday night, securing the Nassau Division 1 110-pound crown.

A West Virginian who’s found her place in L.B.

continued from front page

York to be a housekeeper, came back to visit, and told Odom about all the things she had seen and done and what it was like to live in New York. Odom made up her mind that she was moving there, too.

“I wanted to come to New York, but my mother and father were very much against it, because I was going to West Virginia State College,” she remembered. “They couldn’t hold me down. So I went to my grandmother, and she told me, ‘I’m going to let you go, and once you’re gone, I’ll tell your parents that you’re gone.’”

So Odom set off for New York in the spring of 1960, at age 18. She took some clothes and a few small things her grandmother gave her — sandwiches, fried chicken and a crisp $20 bill — all packed in a shoebox.

After she arrived, she heard about Long Beach, and decided one day to pay a visit. She never left.

She was amazed by the city, and to be living by the beach. She vividly remembers the smell of the ocean, the brick roads, Long Beach’s openness and the old boardwalk. She also remembers being approached on the boardwalk one morning by an owner of a few hotels in the city, who offered her a job. She went to work, saved some money and rented a room in what was then the Bayview Hotel for $15 a week.

Odom enjoyed going to parties and having fun, and went to a party at her aunt’s house in Inwood, in the Five Towns, in the early 1960s. Her cousin Blanche had a friend named Rufus, whom she brought to the party. Jackie and Rufus Odom flirted. They have now been married

for 60 years.

“He’s from South Carolina, and our culture was so different,” Jackie said. “In South Carolina then, the man was dominant and the woman has to listen to the man. Me, with my personality, that was not going to work. We had some hard times, but we both were young, so we sort of grew up together.”

The Odoms had two children, Angela, now 61, and Vida, 58. They also helped raise six other children, some of her sister’s and two grandchildren.

In the mid-1960s, Jackie got a job at the Tides Nursing Home, now Beach Terrace, on West Broadway. She enjoyed the work and the environment, so she attended BOCES nursing school in New Hyde Park, and finished her training in 1969. She worked at South Nassau Hospital, now Mount Sinai South Nassau, in Oceanside, and South Oaks Hospital, in Amityville. She was initially a nurse’s aide, but spent her last 20 working years as a geriatric nurse. She retired in 2010.

“That was my place,” she said of geriatric nursing. “I have a passion for young people and old people. As a nurse’s aide, I had so much exposure to older people. And that’s why I gravitated to older people.”

Aside from her professional career, Odom has done a lot for the Long Beach community.

In the mid-1970s, she got involved with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. In 1983 she became the center’s chair, a position she held for 17 years. During her tenure, educational programs were plentiful, doctors from Long Beach Hospital regularly administered immunizations and Long Beach held its first MLK Day march.

In recognition of her work with the center, she has

BREAKING DOWN BOUNDARIES WITH CANCER BREAKTHROUGHS

won numerous awards, including citations from the state as well as the Beach to Bay Civic Association’s Woman of the Year honor. She is still active at the MLK Center and around the city, and doesn’t plan to stop. She helped city officials select Police Commissioner Ron Walsh.

“I still go to the march and help out around town as much as I can,” Odom said. “I have a lot of nicknames, but the big one is the Queen of Long Beach. That’s what they called me at the MLK march before I spoke this year.”

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Courtesy Jackie Odom

Jackie OdOm has spent 63 years in Long Beach after leaving her childhood home in Princeton, West Virginia. seeking new opportunities.

i wanted to come to New York, but my mother and father were very much against it, because I was going to West Virginia State College.

Jackie OdOm resident

THE FEIL FAMILY Pavilion will feature an expanded emergency department at Mount Sinai South Nassau, along with 40 critical and intensive care beds, and nine new operating rooms. The Feil family donated $5 million to the hospital as part of a series of generous donations over the years.

Feil family donates $5M for new pavilion

Gift is single largest donation in Mount Sinai South Nassau’s history

By KARINA KOVAC kkovac@liherald.com

The Louis Feil Charitable Lead Annuity Trust has pledged the largest single gift in the history of Mount Sinai South Nassau — $5 million. And, in return, it will help usher in a new state-of-the-art facility, with the Feil name on top.

The new four-story, 100,000-square-foot building, is scheduled to open in another year. And when it does, it will be named the Feil Family Pavilion.

This new $130 million pavilion will double the size of the hospital’s current emergency department, increase the critical and intensive care inpatient capacity to 40 beds, and add nine new operating rooms.

“Mount Sinai South Nassau is our local hospital, and we are grateful for the expert care it provides to our communities on the South Shore,” said Jeffrey Feil, chief executive of the Feil Organization— and a longtime Rockville Centre resident — in a release. “We are so fortunate to have an outstanding medical center right in our backyard. The Feil family is honored to support the growth of Mount Sinai South Nassau.”

The Feil Organization is a real estate investment, management and development firm based in New York City with more than 70 years of expertise. Feil’s portfolio commands millions of square feet in industrial, commercial and retail, as well as more than 5,000 residential properties and thousands of acres of undeveloped land across the United States.

Feil and his family — including his parents, the late Gertrude and Louis Feil — have been longtime supporters of the hospital. With their latest gift, the family has donated a total of $17 million to benefit the hospital and the patients it serves.

The family previous gifted $2 million in 2019, and $1.5 million in 2018 to help centralize the hospital’s cancer care services.

The family also donated $3 million in 2011 that supported the continued growth and expansion of the Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center.

“This generous gift by the Feil family will have a direct impact on improving patient care on the South Shore,” said Adhi Sharma, president of Mount Sinai South Nassau, in a release. “We are deeply thankful for their generosity and support. It will be the hospital’s distinct honor to name the new patient care tower in honor and recognition of the Feil family, and their longstanding commitment to Mount Sinai South Nassau.

“Their support and commitment has been vital to the growth of our emergen-

cy services and cancer care program as well as the hospital’s tradition of excellence in the delivery of advanced care services.”

The Feil gift is the second major contribution made to the new four-story patient building currently under construction. Last year, the hospital’s immediate past board chair, Joseph Fennessy, made an undisclosed gift to the hospital that earned his family’s name on top of the pedestrian entrance to the new emergency department. Additional naming opportunities remain within the new pavilion, officials said, including nursing stations, lobby areas and surgical suites.

It’s part of an overall $400 million capital building fundraising campaign Mount Sinai has undertaken in recent years.

Currently, South Nassau’s emergency department treats 65,000 people each year, but is designed to handle half that. When construction is complete, the emergency department will nearly double the size of a football field, increasing its annual capacity to 80,000.

In addition, the department will feature centralized nursing stations that will allow for direct oversight of patient rooms. There also will be bedside triage, expanded pediatric trauma treatment areas with an adjoining radiology area, a decontamination room, dedicated areas for geriatrics and behavioral health, and a spacious waiting and reception area with free Wi-Fi, and charging stations for phones, computer tablets and laptops. The operating room and its surgical suites will be configured and designed to accommodate the nonstop advancements in surgical technologies and equipment. The combined impact of the redesigned and larger operating rooms will allow Mount Sinai South Nassau and its staff of surgeons to increase its surgical scheduling capacity to accommodate projected volumes in same-day, elective, and emergency surgeries.

The new surgical suites also could pave the way for an open-heart program at the Oceanside campus, pending state health department approval.

“The ultimate beneficiary of the Feil family’s generosity is our South Shore community that turns to Mount Sinai South Nassau for compassionate, quality health care,” said Tony Cancellieri, cochair of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s board of directors, in a release.

“On behalf of the hospital’s board of directors, we are grateful to our dear friends Jeffrey and Lee Feil and their entire family, and are honored to name the pavilion as a permanent expression of gratitude for this gift and the ongoing support of the Feil family.”

TONY CANCELLIERI, CO-CHAIR of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s board of directors, joined Feil Organization chief executive Jeffrey Feil, and Andrew Triolo, vice president of facilities, design and construction at Mount Sinai South Nassau in front of what will become the Feil Family Pavilion at the Oceanside hospital. Feil’s foundation donated $5 million to the hospital.

Photos courtesy Mount Sinai South Nassau

Full LIRR service to East Side finally coming

By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com

Commuters are riding the high of never-before-seen rail service aimed at connecting the Long Island Rail Road to the bedrock of Midtown Manhattan at Grand Central Madison.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority celebrated a turning point with the long-anticipated opening of its 750,000-square-foot East Side Manhattan transit hub with the first shuttle train from Jamaica station on Jan. 25. Now the terminal is set for a full rollout of regular train service beginning Feb. 27.

The East Side Access Project, as it was known, has already drawn a daily rush of commuters — albeit under a limited format with shuttle service from the Queens station to Grand Central Madison.

Rather than plunging straightaway with full service, MTA officials said the station is in a soft-launch phase, enabling riders to slowly acclimate themselves to the additional shuttle service from Jamaica, find their way around the facility and test out commuting options.

Once Midtown’s terminal comes fully online, it will no doubt reorder the MTA’s transit system and send ripples through its 11 Long Island train branches, each offering direct or transfer service to Penn Station on the West Side, and Grand Central Madison.

For LIRR commuters, this change will

be felt most acutely in adapting to an overhauled train schedule that divvies up Manhattan-bound train service between the two sister terminals.

Some commuters may feel more taken to the change than others with the promise of greater accessibility and efficiency to their commutes. Still, others can’t help but groan over the foreseeable loss, and longing for their preferred service lines and connections.

But at least for MTA chair and chief

executive Janno Lieber, the change is a net-gain for most commuters — and a sign of economic renewal for the metro Long Island area, with a 41 percent increase in service.

Grand Central Madison provides “faster, more convenient travel that brings Long Island closer to the heart of the City,” Leiber said, in a release. “The new schedules are going to be a major shot in the arm for the local economy and the effort to get people back to offic-

es, theaters and shopping.”

But critics are quick to point out that the often-touted 41 percent service increase — raising the number of daily trains from 665 to 936 — is relative to current service which has experienced a major cutback of its own compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Weekday ridership continues to hover at about 65 percent of what it was before any of us had ever heard of Covid-19.

And while MTA officials expect nearly 45 percent of riders to shift over to Grand Central Madison, there are nagging concerns about the potential travel headaches brought by the decline in available morning rush-hour train service to Penn.

Take, for example, the fact that the Long Beach branch which will get 10 additional rush hour trains from its current 13 at Penn Station. Yet, it will have two fewer rush hour trains at Penn Station with shared service lines to Grand Central Madison.

“The new schedules are designed to have more evenly spaced trains and fewer large gaps in service,” MTA spokesman Dave Steckel said. “There will also be more frequent service to Queens and on the Ronkonkoma and West Hempstead branches. New service promises decrease travel times from Long Island to Manhattan, and reduce crowding at Penn Station.

“We will continue to monitor and adjust service based on ridership trends and other factors.”

Courtesy Metropolitan Transportation Authority

FULL PASSENGER TRAIN service from the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Madison is set to begin Feb. 27 according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Limited shuttle service opened up late last month, bringing in some of the first LIRR passengers to Manhattan’s East Side.

Billy Crystal comes to aid of Historical Society

By JAMES BERNSTEIN jbernstein@liherald.com

Billy Crystal, Long Beach’s most well-known figure, who raised $1 million in 2013 to help the city rebuild after Superstorm Sandy the year before, was at it again last Saturday, this time on behalf of the Long Beach Historical Society building on West Penn Street, that is badly in need of repair.

Crystal, 74, who grew up in Long Beach and graduated from the city’s high school with the class of 1965, put three of his memorabilia up for auction at the historical society to raise funds for renovations.

Up for bidding – that will last until the end of February – are a signed copy of the Oscar-nominated script for “When Harry Met Sally,” starring Crystal and Meg Ryan and written by Nora Ephron.

Also at auction is a signed copy of Crystal’s autobiography, “700 Sundays,” which recounts the days he spent with his father, who died in 1963 at the age of 54. The book was adapted into a Tonyaward winning one-man play performed by Crystal himself.

Additionally, there is a 8” by 10” photo portrait of the one-eyed green monster (Mike Wazowski) that Crystal voiced for Pixar’s “Monster’s Inc.” and its prequel “Monsters University.”

Karen Adamo, the society’s co-president, said on Sunday that online bids have already started coming in. There was a $400 bid for the film “When Harry Met Sally.” There was a $350 bid for the book “700 Sundays,” and a $750 bid for the portrait.

“We requested a donation from Billy” for the restoration, Adamo said. “This is his donation.”

Bids can be made through charitybuzz. com or on the society’s website.

Neil Blaauboer, of Long Beach, walked into the society’s building Saturday morn-

ing and placed a $450 bid for “When Harry Met Sally.”

“I saw the movie,” Blaauboer said. “But Billy gave a bunch of money after Sandy. He’s a local who cares about Long Beach.”

In 2013, Crystal and some others, including the heavyweight fighter Mohammed Ali, Steve Martin, Robert DeNiro, and Robin Williams, raised $888,000. Crystal and his wife, Janice, personally donated $112,000, making the total gift $1 million.

“Janice and I thought that $888,000 is a great amount of money,” Crystal said at the time. “But $1 million sounds better.”

In 2022, the 113-year-old society building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, said it needed $140,000 in repairs. That same year, Harvey Weisenberg, a former city council president, police officer and Long Bach teacher, wrote a check for $25,000 to help get renovations started.

Joe Abate/Herald photos

SoME of BIlly Crystal’s memorabilia is being auctioned off at the Long Beach Historical Society to aid in the society’s building repairs.

AMoNg ThE ITEMS to be auction was a photo of the movie “Monsters Inc.” that Crystal voiced for.

STEPPING OUT

Dinodaze to life Dinosaurs of all kinds

By Karen Bloom

he herd is back. Kids of all ages

Quest — the traveling dinosaur “experience” — returns to Nassau Coliseum for four days of prehistoric adventuring. Jurassic Quest takes families back to the days when these prehistoric creatures ruled the lands, Friday through Monday, Feb. 17-20.

• Feb. 17-20; times vary

• Tickets start at $22; available at MonsterQuest.com or NassauColiseum.com

• Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale

This immersive spectacle features a bevy of lifelike dinosaurs — of all shapes and sizes — that are an impressive lot. They transform the arena environment to a time 165 million years ago during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods where visitors can get up-close and personal with the creatures.

“They are all life-size and authentic,” Park Ranger Marty (aka Marty Hoffman) says. “You get to see what dinosaurs are really like, hearing the different sounds they made.”

Described by Park Ranger Marty and the Jurassic Quest folks as North America’s largest and most realistic event, the creative team collaborates with leading paleontologists to ensure each dinosaur is painstakingly replicated, from coloration to teeth size, to textured skin, fur or feathers — drawing on the latest research about how we understand dinosaurs and these ancient creatures looked and moved. Plant settings, sound effects, lighting and electronics add to the authenticity of the setting.

But perhaps what makes the experience more than just a spectacle is the way it pulls on the heartstrings. As Park Ranger Marty — who proclaims himself a “dinosaur nerd” — put it: “It’s a great time for everyone. Especially the kids, but also the adults. We’ve all had that time in our lives when we loved dinosaurs. Then we get away from it. When we take the time to see them through the kids’ eyes, we reconnect with that love of dinosaurs we all had.”

It’s all self-guided, so visitors proceed at their own pace. That means you can approach the mighty T. rex, check out the 50-foot-long Spinosaurus, largest known carnivorous dinosaur, even longer and heavier than the T. rex, also the enormous Apatosaurus with its whip-tail, along with sea creatures, and many others.

“One hundred sixty million years worth of dinosaurs are here,” Park Ranger Marty enthuses.

And there are those baby dinos, “hatched” specifically for Jurassic Quest: Cammie the Camarasaurus, Tyson the T. rex, and Trixie the Triceratops.

“People really love them,” Park Ranger Marty says. “Kids want to hang out and pet them. It’s an amazing thing to see. The interaction between the babies and the kids is really fun.”

While the dinosaurs are the main draw, of course, the event includes a fossil dig, where budding paleontologists can dig up bones, along with an excavation site, with actual fossils and themed rides, among other activities.

“There really is something for everyone,” Park Ranger Marty says. Plus an education component is worked in — and the kids won’t even realize it.

“We like to think of dinosaurs as the ‘gateway science,” he explains. “Kids are learning about biology and geology, and more, when they explore dinosaurs. Also other sciences like astronomy and engineering. It all relates back to dinosaurs andancient plants. And this all comes out of the kids thinking dinosaurs are cool.”

Park Ranger Marty and Dino Trainer Dustin hanging out, at left, with a Tylosaurus skull. Open wide! An enthusiastic young visitor, at right, finds his way into an Allosaur head

Alan Doyle

The prolific Canadian singersongwriter has boundless appeal. The moment he burst onto the scene in the early 1990s with his band Great Big Sea, Canadians fell in love with the pride of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, whose effusive charisma and sense of humour was eclipsed only by his magnetic stage presence. His influence is now being heard in a new generation of artists as his solo work continues to endear him to roots music fans everywhere. That’s clearly evident on Doyle’s latest EP ‘Rough Side Out,’ which finds him collaborating with Canadian country music superstars Dean Brody and Jess Moskaluke, while at the same time offering his own distinctive interpretation of contemporary country. His songs all have a strong personal meaning, according to Doyle, who believes ‘the best songwriters in any genre are the ones who can look in their own backyard and find something they want to sing about.’

Saturday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m. $41, $37, $29. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. (516) 767-6444 or LandmarkOnMainStreet.org.

Dublin Irish Dance

The acclaimed Dublin Irish Dance ensemble visits Long Island with their new production, ‘Wings: A Celtic Dance Celebration.’ Wings features exquisite Irish and World champion dancers alongside Ireland’s musical and vocal virtuosos. Complete with original music and choreography, this groundbreaking production, infused with world dance and musical influences, will thrill audiences with its transformative emotional energy and imaginative design. The vivid and illuminating production portraying rich Irish heritage themes, in spectacular dance and musical performances by this superb cast that will thrill audiences of all ages. Everyone will be entranced by these world champion Irish dancers as they defy gravity in this captivating spectacle.

Friday, March 17, 8 p.m. $60, $45, $35. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. (516) 299-3100 or TillesCenter.org.

THE SCENE

Feb. 23

Art talk

Grab your lunch and join Nassau County Museum of Art Docent Riva Ettus for her popular “Brown Bag Lecture” live, via Zoom, Thursday, Feb. 23, 1 p.m. She’ll discuss the current exhibition, “The Big Picture: Photography Now.” Participants are invited to ask questions at the end of the program. Register at least 24 hours in advance to receive the program Zoom link. Also Feb. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor. (516) 484-9337 or NassauMuseum.org.

Ladies of Jazz and Blues Concert

City Council Meeting

The Long Beach City Council meets, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., on the sixth floor of City Hall, 1 W. Chester Street. The meeting will also be streamed on YouTube. For more information, visit LongBeachNY.gov.

3

The Hot Sardines

In honor of Black History Month, Artists in Partnership, Inc. and the Long Beach Public Library present “Ladies of Jazz and Blues,” Sunday, Feb. 19 Vocalist Emilie Surtees and her trio bring their popular New York City show to Long Beach, featuring the music of Nina Simone on what would have been her 90th birthday. The concert will begin at 2 p.m., at 111 W. Park Ave. For more information, visit AIP4Arts.org or LongBeachPublicLibrary.org or call (516) 307-2787.

Gentle Yoga

Participate yoga class for health and peace, Monday, Feb. 20, at Long Beach Public Library, 111 W. Park Ave. The class is designed to build strength and flexibility along with a calmer mind. The class will be in the public library’s auditorium and on Zoom, for those you cannot go in person, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Poses will be a combination of standing and seated. For more information, visit LongBeachPL. LibraryCalendar.com.

March 12 1205022

Voyage

The Journey tribute band visits

The Paramount, Saturday, Feb. 25, 8 p.m. The popular band takes everyone back to the ‘80’s when Journey’s timeless music ruled the airwaves. Hailed by fans and critics alike as the world’s top Journey tribute band, this group performs their music with chilling accuracy. Fronted by Hugo — a dead ringer for Steve Perry, both visually and vocally — he continues to delight fans with his miraculous resemblance, exact mannerisms and identical voice to Steve. Fans agree that Voyage delivers an experience to the original Steve Perryfronted lineup. $40, $35, $30, $25. The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. (800) 745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com or ParamountNY.com.

On stage

Mo Willems’ popular Pigeon comes alive on the Long Island Children’s Museum stage, Saturday, Feb. 18, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Monday through Thursday, Feb. 20-23, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pigeon is eager to try anything, with the audience’s help. LICM, Museum Row, Garden City. (516) 2245800 or LICM.org.

Battle of the Sexes trivia night

Long Beach Brewing Company holds a Battle of the Sexes trivia night,Thursday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m. Drinks and some food available for purchase, at 3350A Lawson Blvd. in Oceanside. For more information, visit their Facebook page or call (516) 554-0800.

Having an event?

Books and Brews

Long Beach Public Library, in collaboration with Bright Eye Beer Co., hosts a “books and brews” discussion at the brewery, at 50 W. Park Ave., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m. Discuss“Finding Me,’ a novel by actress Viola Davis. If you’re an avid reader, come on down and have a drink! For more information or to register, visit LongBeachPL.com.

Ladies’ Night

All night is ladies’ night at Anchor Tavern, Thursday, Feb. 23. Drink specials will have reduced prices, including two-for-one glasses of wine, $8 cosmopolitans and $8 martinis. The deals begin at 5 p.m. until close, at 20 W. Park Ave. For more information, call (516) 889-1680.

Gospel Shabbat

Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach hosts its 7th annual Gospel Shabbat on Friday, Feb. 17, in acknowledgement of Black History Month. With local a cappella group Nehemiah Movement, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at 455 Neptune Blvd. Call (516) 431-4060 for information.

Items on The Scene page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to thescene@liherald.com.

Absolute Adele

Vocalist Jennifer Cella, who performs with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, returns to her alma mater, Nassau Community College, with a tribute to Adele, Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Mainstage Theatre, Garden City. Tickets are available through the NCC online box office at Nassau.BookTix. com/seating.php. For information, visit NCC. edu or call (516) 5727676.

On exhibit

Photography’s ascent in the art world is an international phenomenon. Nassau County Museum of Art’s star-studded exhibition spans the historical roots of the medium. View works by Ansel Adams and his generation and the thrilling, large-format color works of such contemporary masters as Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, James Casebere and Gregory Crewdson, among others. From the documentary to the painterly, images bear witness to the times. On view through March 5. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor. (516) 4849337 or NassauMuseum.org.

Family theater

The beloved fairy tale springs to life in a delightful musical romp, presented Plaza Theatrical Productions, Monday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m.; Friday, Feb. 24, 11 a.m.; Sunday, Feb. 26, noon. All the

Town urged to reject ‘discriminatory’ maps

By ANA BORRUTO aborruto@liherald.com

“Change the boundary, redraw the lines” was the message dozens of community members tried to articulate to the Hempstead Town Board last week. But in the end, many felt their pleas were completely ignored

Don Clavin faced some heat from the crowd after the town supervisor decided to cut the microphone feed for each speaker off exactly at the required three minutes they were allotted to speak. When Deputy Town Supervisor Dorothy Goosby — who notably challenged Hempstead’s discriminatory at-large voting system in 1988 — was asked if she had anything to say about the redistricting process, she declined to comment.

The Hempstead redistricting saga is nearing its end, and opponents of the proposed maps are not giving up without a fight. A group of angry voters rallied outside of Hempstead Town Hall minutes before the Feb. 7 meeting to air out their frustrations.

Former county legislator Dave Denenberg, who organized the rally, said there is an ulterior motive behind the elected officials drawing the district lines they way they’re doing it.

“Whenever there’s redistricting, you see a political machine do exactly what they always do: They are going to draw districts in a way that tries to maintain their majority,” Denenberg said. “But that’s voter suppression.”

Mimi Pierre-Johnson, founder of the Elmont Cultural Center, said she saw a “glimmer of hope” at the redistricting commission’s last work session. The three commission members seemed they would finally recommend one of the six map proposals to the Hempstead Town Board. These options included the town’s preliminary “Skyline” map, as well as five alternative proposals from civic groups and local attorneys they say would help provide a

more equal voice for minority groups.

But that optimism was quickly extinguished when the commission failed to put forward a map, and instead agreed to officially recommend the town board produce a final map that keeps communities of interest intact.

Since the first day of the redistricting process, the concerns raised by opponents to the initial town-drawn maps circle back to a single theme: District lines should be redrawn to have a more balanced demographic represen-

tation. That means creating three “minority-majority” districts, that would allow minority communities a chance to elect someone who would be more likely to represent them on the town board.

For example, 90 percent of Elmont’s population are people of color. However, the current map proposal places Elmont in a district with Garden City, which has an 88 percent white population.

Placing Elmont in a district with neighborhoods they have nothing in common with dilutes the votes of its residents and impairs the outcome of elections, claimed Claudia Borecky, president of the Bellmore Merrick Democratic Club, in a letter to the Hempstead Town Board.

“People told heart-wrenching stories of how hard they and their ancestors fought for the right to have a vote that counted,” Borecky said. “Yet, the motion made by the redistricting commission for the Town Board to only consider keeping communities whole is totally deaf to what your constituents plead.”

Under the guidance of the Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders law firm and redistricting expert Sean Trende, the Town Board released a redistricting map proposal last month, which they say takes into account public comments as well as the views of the redistricting commission.

However, some doubted these intentions.

“If (the town) passes this map, I’m going to Garden City because that’s my district,” Pierre-Johnson said. “I’m going to show up with my friends to (Garden City) town meetings, to the zoning board, because I want what they have for Elmont.”

Critics also questioned the map’s compliance with federal and state voting rights protections — specifically the Voting Rights Act and New York’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. If Hempstead finalizes the current map as it stands, it could expose the town to costly litigation at the taxpayers’ expense.

Ana Borruto/Herald

FORMER NASSAU COUNTY legislator Dave Denenberg leads a rally outside of Hempstead Town Hall just before a town board meeting discussing redistricting. As the mapping process nears its end, voters are getting louder about their demands for three minority-majority districts.

ANTIQUE STORE:

SHOPPING

Congrats to all the Top 3 Finalists in the 2022 Herald Long Island Choice Awards presented by PSEG Long Island! Check back each week for the Top 3 Reveal in each category leading up to the Oscar-style awards ceremony in April 2023. Did your favorites make it to the top? Visit www.LiChoiceAwards.com!

*Finalists are listed alphabetically, not in order of placement.

Garden City Antiques & Fine Arts, Ltd

Long Island Antiques Center

Remember Yesteryears

APPLIANCE/HOME

ELECTRONIC STORE:

ACS Camera & Pro Video

AHC Appliances

P.C. Richard & Son

BOUTIQUE:

Artisan Jules Gifts and Goodness

Jolie Fleur

Love and Honey Boutique

BRIDAL STORE:

Blossom Brides

The Bridal World

David’s Bridal Westbury NY

CARPET STORE:

Anthony’s World of Floors

Carpet Depot

Harry Katz Carpet One Floor & Home

COIN STORE:

Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay

Collectors Coins & Jewelry

Eastern Numismatics Inc

COLLECTIBLES STORE:

Bullseye Collectibles

Collectors Coins & Jewelry

LuxeSwap

CONSIGNMENT/THRIFT STORE:

Lucky Finds Boutique

LuxeSwap

National Council of Jewish Women Thrift Shop

EYEWEAR STORE:

Cohen’s Fashion Optical

Eyes On Broadway

FrameBar.co

FARMERS MARKET:

Crossroads Farm at Grossmann’s

Deep Roots Farmers Market

Youngs Farm

FLORIST:

Central Florist

Feldis Florist & Flower Delivery

Olive It Boutique

FUR STORE:

Barbatsuly Furs

Tres Chic Furs

Tsontos Furs

FURNITURE STORE:

Furniture Gallery of Long Island

Raymour & Flanigan

The Rustic Loft

GIFT SHOP:

Dolce Confections by Trubee Hill

What A Girl Wants

GOURMET MARKET:

Gemelli Gourmet Market North

Iavarone Bros

Sorrento’s Italian Specialties

GROCERY/SUPERMARKET:

Cross Island Fruits

Holiday Farms

Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace

LOCAL CHILDREN’S CLOTHING:

Cathy’s Touch

Denny’s Fashion, Style, For All

Morton’s Official Camp Outfitters

LOCAL HARDWARE STORE:

Ace Hardware Hewlett

Atlantic Hardware

Costello’s Ace Hardware

LOCAL MATTRESS STORE:

Furniture Gallery of Long Island

Mattress Firm

Sleepworks Mattress & Futon Superstore

LOCAL MEN’S CLOTHING:

Karako Suits of Lynbrook

LuxeSwap

Mur-Lees Men’s & Boy’s Shop

LOCAL WOMEN’S CLOTHING: A.J. & MOS

STOOSH BOUTIQUE

Trois Jours Boutique Etc

NURSERY & GARDEN CENTER:

Abby’s Parkside Nursery & Florist, Inc.

Dees Nursery And Florist Inc.

Hicks Nurseries

PAWN SHOP:

Collectors Coins & Jewelry

Empire Pawn of Nassau

Matthew James Jewelers

WINDOW TREATMENT STORE:

Blinds To Go

The Blind Spot

The Shade Store

Public Notices

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY

COMPANY. NAME:

TETRIK, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York, (SSNY) on 11/5/2022. NY Office location: Nassau County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to:_232 West Bay Drive, Long Beach, NY 11561

Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

137110

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT

COUNTY OF NASSAU, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, vs. GLORIA MICHELL, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on September 29, 2008 and an Order duly entered on May 2, 2022, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps on the north side of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on March 7, 2023 at 2:30 p.m., premises known as 26 East Market Street A/K/A 26 Market Street, Long Beach, NY 11561. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the City of Long Beach, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 59, Block 96 and Lot 218. Approximate amount of judgment is $647,819.24 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 23192/2007. This foreclosure sale will be held on the north side steps of the Courthouse, rain or shine. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale. If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, the Court Appointed Referee will cancel the sale.

Melissa Levin, Esq., Referee

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, 10 Bank Street, Suite 700, White Plains, New York 10606, Attorneys for Plaintiff 137112

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT

COUNTY OF NASSAU

U.S. Bank Trust National Association, not in its individual capacity but solely as owner trustee for

RCF 2 Acquisition Trust

c/o U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Plaintiff AGAINST

James Connelly a/k/a

James M. Connelly; et al., Defendant(s)

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered November 16, 2022 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the North Side Steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on March 14, 2023 at 2:00PM, premises known as 448 West Hudson Street, St. Long Beach, NY 11561. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the City of Long Beach, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, State of New York, Section 59 Block 32 Lot 136. Approximate amount of judgment

$492,352.14 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 613083/2021. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the Tenth Judicial District. Foreclosure Auctions will be held “Rain or Shine.”

Peter Kramer, Esq., Referee

(516) 510-4020

LOGS Legal Group LLP

f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC

Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff

175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624

(877) 430-4792

Dated: January 13, 2023

137272

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS AND NOTICE OF OBJECT OF ACTION

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF NASSAU INDEX NO. 603991/2019

U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR J.P. MORGAN MORTGAGE

TRUST 2006-A4, Plaintiff, vs. SUSAN GONZALES; VINCENT GONZALES if living, and if he be dead, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law,

next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; CAPITAL ONE BANK, USA NA; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, “JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants. Plaintiff designates NASSAU as the place of trial situs of the real property.

Mortgaged Premises: 345 LIDO BOULEVARD LONG BEACH, NY 11561

Section: 60 Block: E Lot:

750 To the above-named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint.

The foregoing supplemental Summons is served upon you by publication, pursuant to an order of HON. David P. Sullivan of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. Dated the 6th day of January, 2023 and filed with the Complaint in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Nassau

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF

SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $516,000.00 and interest, recorded on December 20, 2005, at Liber M 29857 Page 659, of the Public Records of NASSAU County, New York, covering premises known as 345 LIDO BOULEVARD LONG EACH, NY 11561. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. NASSAU

County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county.

NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME

If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: January 2, 2020 Zeichner Ellman & Krause LLP

By:___/s/___BJFinneran_

___ BJ Finneran, Esq.

1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036 (212)223-0400

137182

Legal does not mean safe – nor financial salvation!

Long Beach AWARE is this community’s resource for accurate, vetted information from Stateand National sources. We offer information to our fellow citizens, as well as our CityGovernment. It’s that simple – we have no ‘skin in the game’. We don’t get any more or any less funding by letting you in on the truth.

Our only role is to offer the latest factual research and information available.

Nothing more, nothing less.

There are calls for the Long Beach City Council to opt into sales of adult use marijuana dispensaries. The Office of Cannabis Management has put forth a vast array of regulations – all of which would be binding on this community. We can never opt out after opting in. But we can wait.

Science & Urban Economics, 2021)

Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA: “There is evidence that marijuana might increase the likelihood of using opioids and other drugs” (Washington Post, October 10, 2022)

Marijuana impaired drivers were implicated in 18.2% of traffic fatalities (Colorado Dept. of Transportation, 2019)

By law, NY dispensaries must operate for a minimum70 hours/week, no local option (NYS Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act, 202)

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE LEGAL POSTPONEMENT OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU, MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P., Plaintiff, vs. CARMEN JAQUE, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee’s Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on December 10, 2019, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps on the north side of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY on February 27, 2023 at 4:00 p.m., premises known as 565 East Olive Street a/k/a 565 Olive Street, Long Beach, NY 11561. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the City of Long Beach, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 59, Block 171 and Lots 69 & 70. Approximate amount of judgment is $669,824.95 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #9689/2014. Cash will not be accepted. This foreclosure sale will be held on the north side steps of the Courthouse, rain or shine. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale. If proper

The OCM has stated it will be approximately three years until one penny of revenue is available to the city. We have time to watch other communities. We have time to appeal to our state legislators to allow a public referendum, so the entire community can have a voice. We have time to call for the OCM to set limits (as other states have) on high toxicity levels of THC in marijuana which are dangerous to all users.

There is no rush – a few facts from states and cities that have ‘gone before’

Young adults living within a four mile radius of a dispensary are more likely to use, more likely to use heavily and experience problems related to use.( Journal of Addictions, 2020 ) Home prices within a .36 radius of a new dispensary fall by 3-4%. (Regional

Dan Johnston, General Counsel, Gotham Growth Corporation, (one of the 3 top NY Cannabis Attorneys) recently stated that in Canada where there is widespread support for dispensaries more than 70% of all marijuana is still sold on the black market. He shared that in the US every place there are licensed dispensaries, the black market flourishes. (January, 2023 edition of ‘Newsday Live’)

There is NO RUSH to ‘Opt In’ and SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT: Home deliveries guaranteed – Long Beach cannot ban them by law. Increase in law enforcement costs to Long Beach taxpayers.

Ash-Only business increases the potential risk of crime in Long Beach. Let’s continue working together to keep Long Beach a safe and healthy community for youth and families to grow and thrive!

Judy Vining is executive director of Long Beach AWARE, a local organization dedicated to preventing substance abuse among young people.

Public Notices

social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, the Court Appointed Referee will cancel the sale. The original sale was scheduled for February 2, 2023 at the same time and location.

Thomas R. Scanlon, Esq., Referee Knuckles, Komosinski & Manfro, LLP, 565 Taxter Road, Suite 590, Elmsford, NY 10523, Attorneys for Plaintiff 137390

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC

HEARING

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Article 16 of the Town Law of the State of New York, as amended, a public hearing will be held in the Town Meeting Pavilion, Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Village and Town of Hempstead, Hempstead, New York, on the 28th day of February, 2023 at 7:00 o’clock in the evening of that day, to consider the proposed

amendment of Article XXXIV of the Building Zone Ordinance, in relation to flood hazard zones. The proposed amendment is on file in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of Hempstead, Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Village and Town of Hempstead, Hempstead, New York, and available at hempsteadny.gov, where it may be inspected during office hours.

ALL PERSONS INTERESTED in the

subject matter will be given an opportunity to be heard with reference thereto at the time and place abovedesignated.

Dated: Hempstead, New York February 7, 2023 BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD

KATE MURRAY Town Clerk

DONALD X. CLAVIN, JR. Supervisor 137313

J udy V ining

Guest Column

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Real estate IN BRIEF

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SEE THIS!

Now we need a ResCheck?

Q. We are in a quandary about insulation. Our house was built in 1948, and isn’t insulated well. We decided to add a master bedroom and kitchen extension and insulate as much as we can. Our building plans examiner wants something call a ResCheck from our architect, and wants to know how much of the house we’re going to do. We only want to tell them about the additions, even though we want to do our attic and the whole exterior from the outside, if we can. We understand that if we tell the plans examiner about the rest of the house, they can make us do a more expensive energy analysis, which we don’t think is necessary. Also, our contractor wants to only insulate the attic floor, but the architect said that the latest energy code requires us to insulate the roof and not the attic floor. Can you advise?

A. It’s frustrating that if you were not in the permit process, you would just insulate, but the moment government learns that you are doing everything the right way, with permits, they make things more involved.

A ResCheck is the name given to a 10-page energy-analysis document, complete with areas of windows and doors, walls, floors and ceilings along with calculated heat loss and energy coefficients. It’s like taking an exam and the way it is done, to be registered with the state online, we don’t get to know if the numbers provided will pass until we get to the end of the document. If it’s failing the requirements, we aren’t shown why, so we have to start over, trying to guess what needs to be beefed up.

I like to do these in the presence of clients so they understand that it’s serious business, not just some form to fill out. Unfortunately, I don’t get to do these analyses in front of the contractors who often contradict the ResCheck by substituting lesser fiberglass batting for the higher-rated foam material, to save money and labor, since they usually need to get a subcontractor to install foam instead of using their own cheaper laborers.

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In general, when your project constitutes more than 50 percent of home building area or dollar value compared with the home value, then the examiner wants a more expensive and involved Home Energy Rating System engineer to provide a much more detailed report. This includes a test at the end of the construction in which the home is pressurized using air fans, then gauges are applied, usually at a front door opening, to determine how quickly the house loses pressure, thereby gauging the amount of gaps where air can leak to the atmosphere. This gives an accurate idea of how much cold or heated air can get into the house, which you’re trying to avoid by insulating.

Since this is a big question, tune in to my next column for the rest of the answer. Stay warm and good luck!

© 2022 Monte Leeper

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Two isn’t always a winning number

There are all types of numbers associated with politicians. Pollsters are constantly bombarding us with numbers. Defeated candidates keep complaining that they won, and say they have the numbers to prove it. But the bottom line in this discussion is that the number 2 is by far the worst number to be attached to any political figure.

As living proof of the value of being second, I cite Vice President Kamala Harris and New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. There is no question that either of them would become No. 1 if anything happened to her/his boss. But looking at their scope of responsibilities shows that they have very little to do. Harris is rarely in the news, primarily because she hasn’t been given that much to do on a daily basis. She’s called upon to attend important funerals, but the press rarely says much about her.

With the 2024 presidential election coming up, there is speculation about whether President Biden will make Harris his running mate if he decides to run again. Most political observers think she would be a drag on the 2024 ticket, because she hasn’t been associated with any winning issues. Shortly after she took on her official duties, the president assigned her the responsibility of helping solve the border crisis, which is proving more difficult than curing cancer. There was an opportunity for Harris to make some serious recommendations on how to solve the crisis, but she felt the issue was too toxic and declined to actively take on the role. She has been lobbying for the passage of the George Floyd Act, which would better clarify what the role of the police should be, but she wouldn’t be able to make any waves without Biden doing the heavy lifting. There’s also a possibility that the president has chosen not to boost her credentials because of the 2020

debates, when she went out of her way to attack Biden on school segregation. No matter how you try to define the role of the vice president, it’s very hard to write out a list of specifications. The president decides what the V.P.’s job will be, and there are many examples of presidents giving their vice presidents serious duties. President George W. Bush delegated most of his high-level duties to Dick Cheney, and many claimed that Cheney became the real president. But the late Vice President James Nance Garner, who served under Franklin Roosevelt, is said to have had the best definition of the job, describing the vice president’s job as not being worth “a bucket of warm spit.”

Delgado’s situation is an interesting one. He’s a graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Law School. He was a very effective member of Congress who was willing to resign to take on the No. 2 position in Albany. Gov. Kathy Hochul spent every waking hour of her time as lieutenant governor traveling to every

corner of the state. She got to know every local chamber of commerce, and elected officials marveled at her nonstop visits. There is no doubt that her tenacity helped her get elected governor.

Currently, however, the only job Delgado has is to preside over the State Senate, which isn’t the most exciting work. No doubt after April 1, when the state budget is out of the way, Hochul will decide what role he will play. Delgado is personable and articulate, and was well received during his campaign swings. He could be a great advocate for the governor’s programs. She is badly in need of someone who can reach out to the Assembly and Senate members and make some friends. Delgado could help her a great deal in that role.

But either way, being No. 2 in government is hardly the best job in the business.

Jerry Kremer was an Assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? jkremer@liherald.com.

Minx or madman: the George Santos story

Don’t mess with puppies, George. From what I’ve read and what I’ve heard in statements coming out of your very own mouth, you seem estranged from most commonly held beliefs of what is true and what is false, what is a factual statement and what is a lie. What happened and what didn’t happen.

RANDI KREISS

Assiduously, I have ignored the media high jinks and political circus surrounding your behavior, but last week’s revelation of the alleged puppy caper in Pennsylvania’s Amish country in 2017 unleashes my inner Cujo.

Oh yes, the temptation to joke is overwhelming due to the ridiculousness of many of your quasi-legal escapades and the seemingly endless stream of revelations concerning your grandiose claims, self-promotion and transgressions.

Last week we read in The Washington Post that a farmer in Pennsylvania had come forward with a story about you “buying” golden retriever puppies from him with rubber checks. Other

farmers have come forward with similar claims. Related to these charges is the story about the “charity” you claim to have established, Friends of Pets United, but the Post reported that no IRS records of the group could be found. It also reported that you stole money that had been raised to help a disabled veteran care for a dying dog. A disabled veteran?? A dying dog?? What’s wrong with you, George?

I am very disappointed in you. If I were your mother — but oh, wait, your mother died tragically in the 9/11 attacks, unless she didn’t. Can’t be sure. Well, if I were your mother, I would get you some help. The impulse among us in the media is to point at you, since you have become something of a one-man sideshow. But dude, you need serious therapeutic intervention.

New York City, or worked for a bank, or owned various houses, or knew people in the Pulse nightclub shooting, or graduated from NYU or played high-stakes volleyball.

Some say your name isn’t even George Santos. Pinning down the truth as torrents of lies pour from your mouth is like pinning down Jell-O. You are inventive and indefatigable in your stream of wishful thinking out loud, Walter Mitty on a bad trip.

How long will the Republicans allow the public evisceration to continue?

What we can be sure of is that you aren’t Jewish, or Jew-ish, despite your repeated claims to the contrary. According to The Forward, even though you said that your grandparents escaped the Holocaust, they actually were safe and sound in Brazil at the time. There’s no proof you were really mugged on your way to pay a delinquent rent check in

Mostly this is terribly sad. You need help, but you won’t find it in Congress or any public office, for now. Why not step down and save yourself further humiliation?

You can’t expect assistance from your mates in Congress, George. As long as you have a pulse and can vote the party line, they will let the public evisceration continue. You won’t find solace in Congress or real collegiality or decency. You are a GOP vote. Full stop.

Readers, from my perch in the press, the buffoonery of George Santos and his enablers fits perfectly into this time and space. Congress and the Senate have always had their share of nudniks, but Santos is part of a wave of new-age

liars. The toxic lies spewing from people like Marjorie Taylor Green, Rick Scott, Mike Lee, Lauren Boebert and Ron Johnson are poisoning the processes of government. They are all using Santos in what has become a spectacle and a shame.

Last, a shout-out to our neighbors in the 3rd Congressional District, the people of Mineola, Great Neck, North Hills, Port Washington and Oyster Bay. Assuming all of you are literate and somewhat paying attention, how did George Santos sweep by you and right into office? Was holding a Republican seat really a wise trade-off for allowing a candidate with not even a passing appreciation for the truth represent your interests in the People’s House?

As we approach the birthday of another George, the George of American history, who could not tell a lie, I wonder what the people of that era would do with someone like Mr. Santos? Hopefully summon some empathy and not put him on public display. During the reign of another George, King George the First of England, someone like our George might have officially played the part of the fool.

Now we don’t quite know what to do with him.

Copyright 2023 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

Who’s got less to do, the vice president or the lieutenant governor?

JERRY KREMER

Gambling addiction is no game

the Kansas City Chiefs edged the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL’s biggest game Sunday night, watched by more than 100 million people around the world.

But more than 50 million sports fans here at home in the United States had more invested in the game than pride in their favorite team. They wagered as much as $16 billion on Super Bowl LVII, according to the American Gaming Association. And just like football, someone’s going to win, which means someone has to lose. The thing is, being on the wrong side of a good bet is more common than not.

The money bet on the Chiefs and the Eagles was said to be more than double the total spent last year, when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals. And these days that betting involves more than just choosing which team will win.

Take prop bets, more formally known as proposition bets. They aren’t tied to the outcome of the game — like traditional spreads, moneylines and totals. Instead, they focus on more non-traditional occurrences like the length of the national anthem, or what color Gatorade will be poured on the winning coach.

Prop bets are currently the biggest driver of revenue for many sports gambling sites, according to news reports. That is, except in New York, where the law requires that all bets be tied to the game itself.

letters

Lafazan should rethink his GEORGE Package

To the Editor:

Nassau Legislator Josh Lafazan’s recommendations last week to prevent future egregious candidate misrepresentations a la George Santos (“A useful way to enshrine a name we’d sooner forget”) are unnecessary and provide for a cure worse that the disease. Lafazan’s recommendations are to enshrine in law at all levels the following:

1. Mandatory background checks for all candidates “just like any employee.” There are significant legal restrictions on the nature and scope of employee background checks, and this is unnecessary, as the most rudimentary opposition research would have exposed Santos.

2. Barring anyone with an open foreign arrest warrant from holding office. Lafazan couldn’t possibly have thought this through. So, any foreign country simply has to issue an arrest warrant to remove our public officials? Talk about foreign interference in elections.

Even with those restrictions, New York-based gamblers placed more than $472 million in legal sports bets during the Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals — part of a larger $16 billion wagered in the first year of legalized online betting in New York. So far, based on the weekly figures from the state gaming commission, this year’s figure is predicted to be even larger. All from a practice that didn’t even exist here a couple years ago.

There are currently nine different mobile applications legally recognized by the state, with FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesar’s Sportsbook among the bigger ones. FanDuel and DraftKings began a decade or so ago, focused on fantasy sports, in which fans build their own teams and compete against each other using real-life game statistics.

But as sports gambling has gained more widespread legal acceptance, the influence of those two companies has grown, and they have shifted gears and focused most of their attention on this new, much-more-lucrative market.

There are strong opinions on both sides on whether gambling should be legal, or if it’s even moral. But something many agree on is that if you’re going to gamble, do it responsibly. Wager only what you can afford to lose. Don’t stretch — or even break — those limits.

And no different than a casino, mobile and online sports betting can also lead to problem gambling.

Like many addictions, gambling can be attributed to the release of dopamine brought on by the thrill of risk-taking and the potential rewards. Gambling, for the most part, is perfectly legal. But then again, so are cigarettes and alcohol.

But gambling is sometimes considered a “hidden addiction,” because it’s not something that might be as obvious as drugs or alcohol, manifesting physical symptoms, although some gamblers have problems with sleep, anxiety, depression and guilt.

For the working-class poor, gambling can also create a perpetual loop in which addicts throw away much-needed and typically hard-earned cash that would otherwise be spent on necessities like housing and food.

The good thing, however, is that there are services in place to help. The Long Island Problem Gambling Resource Center, for example, offers several services for individuals and families impacted by gambling.

These issues shouldn’t necessarily disqualify any talk of bringing a new casino to Uniondale, but they certainly should be part of the conversation — a big part of it. Every resource should be available to keep wagering responsible, and to avoid the destruction of families — both functionally and economically.

As always, if you or a loved one are dealing with problem gambling, you can get help by calling (516) 266-8342, or visiting NYProblemGambling.org.

How political extremism became the norm

Viewing the American political scene today, I can’t help thinking about what Yeats wrote more than a century ago: “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

I’m not suggesting anarchy is imminent, or that our governmental structures are collapsing, but there are warning signs that should be heeded for our nation to cope with the enormous challenges facing America at home — and throughout the world — effectively. Not only is there bitter partisanship between the parties, there are also bitter divisions within them.

There can be honest debate as to when this severe fracturing began. Politics is always a combat sport. The days of peace, love and harmony — the “good old days” — never existed. Certainly not during the 28 years I was in Congress. But no matter how bitter the debate and severe the divisions were, certain lines weren’t crossed. Richard Nixon had reason to contest the 1960 election results, but gracefully conceded the race to John F. Kennedy. Al

Gore challenged George W. Bush’s razorthin electoral vote margin in 2000, but conceded with class after losing a similarly razor-thin 5-4 decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.

I believe the major turning point in the rules of political combat was the 2016 TrumpClinton race and its aftermath. It wasn’t just the heated charges and countercharges of the campaign, but the refusal of some Democrats to accept Trump’s victory, and much of the mainstream media’s defense of their erroneous predictions.

Nor was it just the refusal of prominent Democrats such as Rep. John Lewis to attend President Trump’s inauguration, but the allegations made by Democratic leaders, the intelligence community and major segments of the mainstream media that Trump’s election resulted from his campaign colluding with Russia.

This led to the Mueller investigation, which went on for almost two years, tying up the Trump administration and — with media support — giving credibility to the unprecedented belief that an American president was elected by colluding with a foreign enemy.

Being on the House Intelligence Committee and sitting through endless hearings, listening to countless witnesses and

studying reports and analyses, I was convinced there was no collusion whatever. Stripped of defensive rhetoric, the Mueller report reached the same conclusion. But the damage had been done, and the political well was further poisoned.

Then there were the riots in the summer of 2020, which raged throughout the country following the police killing of George Floyd. At least six people were killed. Cities like Spokane, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, were under siege. New York streets became nightly war zones. Police stations were attacked and set on fire. Churches were vandalized. The White House itself was threatened.

Yet Democratic leaders offered only perfunctory disapproval of the violence, emphasizing that most demonstrations were “peaceful.” Following a night of violence in Brooklyn — in which bottles and other objects were thrown at cops — then Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “I stand with the protesters.”

In Manhattan, the Democratic district attorney refused to prosecute hundreds arrested for looting and rioting, including a getaway driver aiding those caught on video vandalizing St. Patrick’s Cathedral. All further poisoning the well.

Then, beginning on election night in 2020, Trump — citing no credible evi-

dence — charged that the election was “rigged” and “stolen.” Never explaining why, in a rigged election, Republicans would pick up 12 House seats while he lost the popular vote to Joe Biden by more than 7 million, Trump continued to attack the results.

The culmination of this constant onslaught — whether intended or not — was the disgraceful and violent assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. No rational American — certainly no Republican claiming to be a patriot — can defend that outrage in any way.

Shockingly, however, too many Republicans are willing to minimize the violence as just a protest out of control, and still deny the election results.

What the nation saw last month, when it took 15 ballots over five days for Republicans to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House, was a further rejection of tradition and civility. It is an ominous sign that this was the most protracted election for speaker since the decade preceding the Civil War.

It’s time for the sane forces on both sides to step forward. The United States has come too far as a nation, and faces too many challenges, to allow the voices of anarchy to prevail over our traditions and values.

Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. A version of this essay originally appeared in The Hill.

Framework by Tim Baker

3. Make it a misdemeanor (i.e. a crime) for a candidate to lie about his or her background. Just what we need: candidates routinely trading criminal charges. (“You only graduated cum laude, not magna cum laude!”) Again, basic opposition research is all that’s needed, not competing police reports.

This is an example of a politician giving the appearance of “doing something” about a problem that may very well make it worse.

TeRRANCe J. NOLAN Lynbrook

Who will stand up to the extremists?

To the editor:

As a student of history, I am distressed each day as I read and listen to the news, and I wonder:

When did it become appropriate to ignore a congressional subpoena and then be rewarded with the speakership of the U.S. House of Representatives, the thirdmost important position in the nation?

Why is it OK for Supreme Court nominees to lie at their confirmation hearings and then, after being appointed, overturn decades of court precedent?

When was it determined that politicians

should be permitted to ignore experts in curriculum, history scholars, trained teachers and trained librarians to ban books, whitewash American history and ban topics that are contrary to their ideas? Isn’t the purpose of education to expose students to diverse ideas?

When did it become fashionable to elect people to Congress who lie, yell, curse and bully — people who have no ability to legislate, and no understanding of the word “compromise”?

When did we turn our backs on the hardfought-for rights of all people and return to the days when voting rights were restricted?

In the end, the real question is, when will the moderates in government, and the many moderates in the country, stand up to the extremists on both ends of the political spectrum? Left alone, they will destroy our democracy. We would be wise to remember the words of the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller, about the Nazis.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

An ’80s Glow Party and a father-daughter dance — Valley Stream

ReNA BOLOGNA Bayville

the turning point in the rules of political combat was the 2016 TrumpClinton race.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

MEET THE 2023 HONOREES*

RichnerLIVE’s second annual R.E.A.L. Awards will spotlight entrepreneurs, professionals, and visionaries in Long Island’s real estate industry who have achieved success in their respective roles while also involved in community contributions and advocacy.

RESIDENTIAL

SPECIAL PROJECT

THE RESIDENCES AT GLEN HARBOR

Michael W. Stanco

Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker

Stanco Misiti Team at Compass BROKERS (Individual)

Gina Marie Bettenhauser

Associate Real Estate Broker

Coldwell Banker Distinctive Homes

President, Long Island Board of REALTORS®

Hilary Becker

Licensed Broker

Becker Realty Services, Inc.

Molly Deegan

Owner & Licensed Broker

Branch Real Estate Group

Kevin Leatherman

Owner & Licensed Broker

Leatherman Homes

Donna O’Reilly Einemann

Branch Manager | Rockville Centre Office

Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Luciane Serifovic

CEO & Founder

Luxian International Realty

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Owner & Licensed Broker

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Team

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Senior Executive Manager of Sales

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Malka Asch

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Coach Realtors

John C. Gandolfo

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Coldwell Banker American Homes

Miriam Hagendorn

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

SERHANT.

Ricki Noto

Team Leader,

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

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Scott Wallace

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty

TRAILBLAZER DEIRDRE O’CONNELL CEO

DANIEL GALE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

MESSAGE FROM RYAN SERHANT CEO & FOUNDER SERHANT.

OFFICE MANAGER

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Coldwell Banker American Homes COMMERCIAL

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Thomas DeLuca

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DEVELOPERS

Anthony Bartone

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Terwilliger & Bartone Properties, LLC

Kenneth Breslin, Esq. President

Breslin Realty Development Corp.

Rob Gitto

Vice President

The Gitto Group

Mark Meisner

President & Founder

The Birch Group

SPECIAL AWARDS

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT/ DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR

Michael Maturo

President

RXR Realty

REAL ESTATE SERVICES/ PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Martin Lomazow

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CBRE

ATTORNEYS

Michael S. Ackerman

Founder & Managing Partner

Ackerman Law, PLLC

John D. Chillemi

Partner

Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.

Bryan P. McCrossen

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Christopher H. Palmer

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Ellen N. Savino

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- TRADE GROUP

Commercial Industrial Broker

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David Pennetta SIOR, LEED GA

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FATHER/DAUGHTER TEAM

Gilbert Balanoff

Owner

The Law Offices of Gilbert Balanoff, P.C.

Tiffany Balanoff

Licensed Real Estate Agent

Douglas Elliman Real Estate

LENDER

Nicholas Ceccarini

Owner & Broker

Weatherstone Mortgage Corp.

Christine Curiale

Mortgage Branch Manager

Valley Bank

Melissa Curtis

Sales Manager and Senior Loan Originator

Contour Mortgage

PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS

Michael Steinberg

CEO and Founder

Hedgestone Business Advisors

RISING STAR

Alex Lipsky

Owner

Lipsky Construction

TAX CERTIORARI

Sean M. Cronin, Esq.

Partner

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TECH PLATFORM OF THE YEAR

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS

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