________________ LONG BEACH _______________
HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
Homes t ea Gr $1.00 Vol. 32 no. 29 July 15, 2021
Infections as of July 14
Great Homes Pull-out
Council gives its take on dispute
4,062
CommunIty uPDAtE
the Ultimate Local Home showcase
Infections as of July 7 4,050
Page 5
July 15 - 21, 2021
Mixed reviews for South Shore wind farm of several potential sites in Brooklyn. A Long Beach cable would also be connected to an If Long Beach residents are Equinor substation, and to the concerned about a private com- Long Island Power Authority pany’s $3 billion proposal to grid by way of a substation in build a 174-turbine wind farm 15 Island Park. That cable could miles off the South Shore, few of run under the barrier island. them voiced it at a Long Beach virtual hearing on would not be the matter on July 8. involved in the overOnly a handful of all approval process, people commented but would have a say at the second hearin the underground ing held by the U.S. cable’s location. Bureau of Ocean Only one person Energy Managewho tuned in to the ment on a proposal virtual meeting talkby the Norway-based ed about the impact Equinor to build the on Long Beach. That Empire Wind projwas Michael Halpect. DAVID WAllACE e r n , o f S i l v e r Equinor has been Spring, Md. He said awarded contracts Wallace & his mother, Diane by New York state, Associates Halpern, died in 2002 the first of which and had been crewas granted in 2019 mated, her ashes to supply 816 megawatts of buried in the sand off Riverside power to the state grid, connect- Boulevard. He said she loved the ing in Brooklyn. A second con- view of the Atlantic Ocean, and tract, for 1,260 megawatts, was so did he. awarded in January for Long “I’m very concerned about Island’s South Shore. the construction” of the turWhat is key for Long Beach is bines, Halpern said. “It would a part of the project that calls for disturb me to see these turtwo offshore substations to col- bines.” He said he did not oppose lect the power, which would be wind power, but the wind farm routed by cables to one or more Continued on page 9
By JAmEs BErnstEIn jbernstein@liherald.com
W
Bob Arkow/Herald
tHE WAtErfront WArrIors parade kicked off at Ohio Avenue and West Beech Street.
L.B. Waterfront Warriors welcome wounded veterans By JAmEs BErnstEIn jbernstein@liherald.com
The day after Thanksgiving 2010, Justin Gaertner, a 21-year-old lance corporal in the Marines, was patrolling for mines in the Marja district in Afghanistan when an improvised bomb, stuffed in a glass jug, exploded beneath his feet. Gaertner lost both of his legs. Now 32 and living in Tampa, Fla., he visited Long Beach last week to attend the annual celebration hosted by the Waterfront Warriors, who
provide wounded veterans with a week of activities, including a stay at the Allegria Hotel. On Sunday, more than a dozen of those vets gathered in the parking lot of the Long Beach Regional Catholic School for a barbecue, which followed a parade along West Beech Street. When Gaertner wheeled himself into the parking lot, the other vets lined up and applauded. The former Marine gave them a snappy salute. Gaertner, who came to Long Beach with his wife, Paige, 30, enlisted after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. As of earlier this month, 4,418 U.S. military personnel had died in Afghanistan, and as American troops rapidly withdraw, following President Biden’s orders, the Taliban have taken over large sections of the country. Still, Gaertner said, the effort was worth it. “We showed them not to mess with the U.S.,” he said. “They’re not going to touch U.S. soil again.” The veterans were led into the schoolyard by a pipe and drum corps, and then treated to a lunch of hot dogs and Continued on page 4
e are not interested in being collateral damage to electric utilities.