_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
Gaffney is this month’s hero
Annual dinosaur carnival returns
New salon opens in lynbrook
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Vol. 31 No. 5
JANUARY 25 - 31, 2024
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Village rings in new year with ‘Evening of Excellence’ By BEN FIEBERT
bfiebert@liherald.com
BAL, OCE, LB
Marianne P. Stone/Herald
Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce honorees, from left, Benedict Tieniber, Educator of the Year; Chris Anderson, owner of Crown Ford; Chris Kelly, former chief of the Lynbrook Fire Department; and Lt. Anthony Falsitta, of the Lynbrook Police Department.
The Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce kicked off the new year in style last week, hosting its annual gala and honoring four community members who have made significant contributions to the village. The event, dubbed An Evening of Excellence, attracted a crowd of about 120 to the Coral House in Baldwin, including members of the Lynbrook fire and police departments and school district educators. The evening featured dinner and dancing along with the induction of chamber board members. “At this event, we honored people that have given back to the community,” Michela Argento, the chamber’s executive vice president, said. ConTinuED on PAgE 10
Snow or (mostly) no snow, Lynbrook adapts to a volatile climate By NIColE FoRMISANo nformisano@liherald.com
As weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable, how can small villages roll with the punches? For Lynbrook, all it takes is a little help from neighbors. Laura Ryder, town councilwoman, founded the Lynbrook Cares Committee during her time as a villa g e tr ustee.
Together, the committee’s volunteers help dozens of local veterans and seniors with home maintenance, especially during snow events. Though those events have been few and far between in recent years, the Lynbrook Cares Committee remains at the ready. “They’re ready to go,” Ryder said. “Everything is in place should we get a substantial snowstorm.” BAL, OCE, LB
Trustee Michael Habert has taken over the snow-related aspects of the operation coordinating a team of active volunteers, and has recruited four men with snow blowers to the ranks. To him, the Lynbrook Cares Committee represents the core of Lynbrook’s character. “That’s the village I grew up in,” Habert said. “If you had an elderly person and it snowed, January 25, 2024
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you shoveled.” T he committee, though, hasn’t had to shovel driveways and sidewalks in quite some time. Last week’s snowfall of a couple inches marked an end to a record 700-day streak of no snowfall for Long Island. The last time Lynbrook went two years without snowfall, Village Administrator John Giordano said, was 1999 to 2000.
It sometimes makes budgeting tricky — he and the other village representatives have had to field the winters as they come. “It’s one of the most volatile accounts,” Giordano said of the budget for snow resources. “Most of our accounts are predictable.” “The last 5 years have been the most volatile,” he added. ConTinuED on PAgE 7