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Malverne/West Hempstead Herald 06-13-2024

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_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______

HERALD Also serving Lakeview

Saying ‘great job’ in every language

lions Clubs helps kids with cancer

A life on the front lines of activism

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Vol. 31 No. 25

JUNE 13 - 19, 2024

$1.00

Big things coming for Whelan Field By NIColE FoRMISANo nformisano@liherald.com

Nicole Formisano/Herald

The Village of Malverne will completely overhaul Whelan Park and the Pine Brook Stream corridor. The $6.3 million project, which broke ground on Monday, is fully funded by the state.

On Constitution Lane, just off Ocean Avenue, lies an empty lot and a baseball field overgrown from disuse. By this time next year, however, the area will look much different. The Village of Malverne has begun a $6.3 million project to transform the area, called Whelan Field, into a park that will double as a stormwater retention area. Planning for the project began around four years ago, when Mayor Tim Sullivan, a village trustee at the time, was looking for a way to utilize state funds. “The idea was to come up with an environmentally friendly project that met all the goals of the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery at the time,” Sullivan recalled. “And they were to mitigate against future storm flooding, provide education about environmental conservatorship and ConTinued on Page 5

‘Gimme! Gimmie! Gimmie!’ a disco senior prom By BEN FIEBERT & NIColE FoRMISANo of the Malverne/West Hempstead Herald

The seniors of the Atria Tanglewood assisted living facility became high schoolers again, grooving to disco music with the Key Club of Malverne High School at their “Senior” Senior Prom. The point of the prom was to give the seniors an opportunity to revisit their youthful memories of their high school years, said Lilian Gambol, 15, of the Malverne Key Club — and what better way than a ‘70s disco theme? The teenage students joined

forces with Atria to transform the living facility in Lynbrook into a disco dance party on May 22. The Key Club, which has been a partner of Atria for years, collaborated with staff at the living center to create this lively event. “The goal of the prom was to make sure the seniors felt youthful,” said Jahzara Spence, 14, a freshman in Key Club. “And for the kids in the club to brighten their mood. The benefits are multi-generational. “It’s amazing to see the generations come together to share their ideas,” Robin Calcagno, advisor of the Key Club, said.

“The seniors love to talk to them about what’s going on in their life, and what they’re doing in school. And (the students) love to listen to the seniors share their memories and experiences with them. It’s just such a nice interaction of generations.” “It’s important that they get visited sometimes,” Angellah Solon, 15, said of the seniors. “Having activities, doing stuff, going outside.” According to Julianne Bertini, engage life director at Atria Tanglewood, the seniors love to take part in crafts, ping pong, jeopardy, and more activities with the Malverne students.

About two to three months before the prom, the students visited Atria and made presentations about different themes for the ‘Senior’ Senior Prom. “So, this year, they picked the 1970s disco theme,” Bertini said. “In past years, we’ve done 1920s and we were teetering on 1950s, but we planned it so that it would be like a gimme,

gimme, gimme Abba disco party.” The high school students made mocktails, brought snacks and desserts. Solon delighted seniors with her homemade chocolate chip cookies. Bertini decorated the Media Room in the facility and gave out accessories like disco ConTinued on Page 10


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