________________ LONG BEACH _______________
HERALD Squatting for lazar laPenna
Remembering the Holocaust
Page 3
Page 16
Vol. 35 No. 19
MAY 2 - 8, 2024
1256085
Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
$1.00
Refurbishing a place to play on Shore Road Parks, Preservation and Heritage Grants pro g ram. The matching-grant initiative faciliChanges are in the works at tates the acquisition, planning, Long Beach’s Pacific Park Play- development and enhancement ground, as the city moves for- of parks, historical sites and heritage areas across the state. ward with plans to revitalize it. “The total project cost is The playground, in the East End, where Pacific Boulevard $628,185,” McNally said. “The New York State Office of Parks, ends at Shore Road, Recreation and Hisis undergoing a toric Preservation number of grant is reimbursupgrades. In addiing the city 50 pertion to new recrec e n t , o r ational equipment, $314,092.50.” recent changes Securing the include the expangrant required sion of the deck meeting criteria area and the addithat highlighted tion of a shade the city’s dedicast r u ct u re. T h e tion to community improvements also BRENdAN FINN well-being and takaddress safety con- president, i n g c a re o f t h e c e r n s s t e m m i n g City Council environment. f ro m t h e p l ay Among the criteria ground equipment’s deterioration in the was a demonstration of the pressing need for the project, beach environment. The playground is set to backed by statewide assessreopen before Memorial Day, ments highlighting deficiencies according to city spokesman in local recreational facilities. John McNally. The work was In addition, the city had to originally expected to be fin- explain how the park enhancements would address the needs ished last fall. The improvements were of a diverse population, and made possible by a grant from provide equitable access for the New York State Environ- l ow - i n c o m e re s i d e n t s a n d m e n t a l P ro t e c t i o n F u n d ’s Continued on page 5
By ANGElINA ZINGARIEllo
azingariello@liherald.com
W
Courtesy Kristi Rook-Sorise
Bobby Sorise, 5, who has apraxia of speech, has been studied by researchers and undergone special therapy at Hagedorn Little Village School in Seaford.
City hopes to raise awareness of childhood speech disorder By BRENdAN CARPENTER bcarpenter@liherald.com
Childhood apraxia of speech is a disorder that makes it difficult for a child to speak. They know what they want to say, but find it nearly impossible to coordinate the movements of lips, tongue and jaw that are necessary to form the words. Kristi Rook-Sorise, of Long Beach, has a son with the disorder, and volunteers for Apraxia Kids, a nonprofit that offers support to families dealing with it. May is Apraxia Awareness Month, and Rook-Sorise sees the month as an opportunity to heighten awareness of the disorder.
Her son, Bobby, 5, has had difficulty speaking since he was a toddler — unlike his twin brother, Joseph, who speaks normally. But Bobby was not initially diagnosed with apraxia, and Kristi and her husband, David Sorise, had no idea what his condition was. They were told he had a phonological delay, which makes it difficult for a child to produce sounds or sequences of sounds. He might, for example, pronounce cat as “tat.” “He wasn’t nonverbal or anything, but his articulation was so garbled,” Rook-Sorise recalled. “He had amazing receptive language, which means he could understand what you’re trying to do or knew what he Continued on page 9
e’re really looking forward to the reopening.