READER OF THE WEEK IS WILLIAM ALBA OF MASSAPEQUA
Massapequan Receives Honors Story on Page 3
Vol. 73, No. 21
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2024
MFD recognizes posterr contest winners Story on Page 3
www.massapequapost.com
This week’s Pet Column
Story on Page 10
50 CENTS
Massapequa School Board sends letter to state opposing two state mandates by Mike Polansky The Massapequa Board of Education’s stance against the proposed zero-emission bus mandate and the “Faith-Based Affordable Housing” legislation is clear. They argue that while they support environmental initiatives and affordable housing efforts, the current proposals lack consideration for practical challenges and local implications. The State has adopted a mandate requiring all new school buses sold in the State to be zero-emission by 2027 and all school buses on the road to be zero-emission by 2035. In an April 19, 2024 letter signed by Board President Kerry Wachter, the Board stated that although they applaud efforts to create a cleaner environment, the legislation is onerous. “We believe that the current approach is flawed and lacks the necessary consideration for the potential consequences,” the letter stated. “This mandate will place a heavy burden on school districts and hardworking taxpayers.” They added that the timeline is too short and does not account for the logistical and financial challenges that school districts, bus companies and power compa-
nies will face in implementing this plan. “The mandate does not take into account the infrastructure needed to support a full transition to electric buses and fails to adequately address the potential safety concerns that come with electric buses. We need a more measured, thoughtful and common-sense approach that takes into account the practical, financial and safety concerns.” In a separate letter, also dated April 19, 2024, the School Board noted its opposition to the “Faith-Based Affordable Housing” legislation (Assembly Bill A.8386 and Senate Bill S7791) that is being considered by the legislature This legislation would allow places of worship such as churches, temples, synagogues and mosques, to bypass local zoning laws that restrict their ability to develop as long as they build mixed income housing or 100% affordable housing. “These bills would increase class size significantly and adversely interfere with the quality of education in Massapequa,” the board wrote. “Our District will also be financially burdened as these developments would be tax exempt.” The letter concludes by reemphasizing the need to
maintain local control local over zoning, and strongly urges the legislators to oppose these bills. Massapequa State Assemblyman Michael Durso agrees with the School Board on both these issues saying that while having electric buses is a “laudable goal,” he doesn’t believe schools have the infrastructure to support conversion to electric school buses in what he regards as the “ridiculously ambitious time constraints mandated by the State. “The people who drafted this mandate just didn’t
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Memorial Day Parade in Massapequa Park
Richner Communications acquires CJ Publishers Amityville Record, Babylon Beacon and Massapequa Post join Herald Community Media
STAFF REPORT: Richner Communications, Inc. — Long Island’s largest publisher of local media — has acquired the Amityville Record, Babylon Beacon, Massapequa Post and Beacon Smart Shopper, from CJ Publishers Inc. These brands join family-owned Richner Communications, which now owns and publishes 27 community-focused hyperlocal newspapers through its Herald Community Media division, which serves large parts of Nassau County, as well as parts of New York City through the Pulitzer Prize-winning Riverdale Press in the Bronx, and The Jewish Star, which serves the Orthodox Jewish communities throughout the region. The Amityville Record, Babylon Beacon and Massapequa Post date back to 1904, 1966 and 1951, respectively. Today, they serve the communities of the Village of Amityville, North Amityville, Village of Babylon, North Babylon, West Babylon, Copiague, Deer Park, West Islip, Lindenhurst, South Farmingdale, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Plainedge and Seaford. Carolyn James, owner of CJ Publishers with her
husband, Al, expressed a mix of emotions in announcing the sale. James says she trusts the sale will be seamless with careful stewardship, allowing the newspapers to remain “steadfast pillars within their communities under new guardianship.” “In the pages of the June 19, 1991, editions of the Amityville Record, Babylon Beacon and Massapequa Post, we embarked on a journey, pledging to carry forth the legacy of those who came before us,” wrote James in a note to readers last week. “Now, nearly 32 years later, we stand on the precipice of change as Herald Community Newspapers — a stalwart in Nassau County’s weekly news landscape — assumes ownership of our beloved papers.” The Richner and James families have a longstanding relationship. Richner Printing has printed the CJ newspapers for years and also prints other daily and weekly newspapers, specialty publications and newsletters throughout the tri-state region, as well as general, high-volume commercial printing and mailing. Like CJ Publications, Richner Communications is a proud family-owned business. Founded by Robert
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Sgt. Peter F. Colleran Post #7763 Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post #1066 are once again jointly conducting the Memorial Day Parade and Service in the Massapequas on Monday, May 27, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. Line up time is 9:30 a.m. The parade route begins at Broadway and Commonwealth Avenue in Massapequa; moves south on Broadway, east on Clark Boulevard to Park Boulevard, where it will be reviewed, proceed to Front Street, and travel west to Brady Park, where a Memorial Service and Wreath Laying Ceremony will take place.