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infections as of Dec. 28 1,966
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Vol. 56 no. 2
Major projects in the works for 2021 pleted the design and engineering phase of the resiliency and hardening project for the second After a challenging 2020 amid floor of the village’s Emergency the coronavirus pandemic, Management Center, which Oceanside and Island Park offi- includes the Island Park Fire cials and local leaders are look- Department, and is being funded ing toward a 2021 full of projects by the Governor’s Office of and goals. Storm Recovery. The department provides emergenin island Park cy services to resiIsland Park dents of Island M ayo r M i c h a e l Park, Harbor Isle McGinty said that and Barnum village of ficials Island. h ave p l e n t y o f A d d i t i o n a l l y, goals for the new complete design year, but noted that and engineering it was most vital for the three-phase, for residents to $40 million infracontinue their structure and efforts to help stop storm mitigation the spread of the project for the vilcoronavirus. lage will be submit“We, as a village ted to the Departb o a rd , w a n t t o ment of Homeland e m p h a s i z e t h e MiCHael MCGinty Security later this importance of volmonth, two months Mayor, Island Park untary social disahead of schedule, tancing, the wearMcGinty said. The ing of masks and hygiene,” initial phase of construction will McGinty said in a statement. “As span Suffolk Road, from Island we enter into the New Year, I Parkway to Lancaster Road, and want to wish our residents good portions of Hastings, Warwick, health, love and happiness in Radcliffe and Quebec roads are 2021.” slated for construction. The first McGinty said the firm H2M Architects + Engineers has comContinued on page 3
By Mike SMollinS msmollins@liherald.com
i
Courtesy Joe Ponte
Powering into 2021 After making a number of adjustments to adhere to health and safety protocols, the Oceanside JCC’s Wellness Center is thriving heading into the new year. Joe Ponte, right, recently worked out with personal trainer Rocco Perrotta.
Bill to allow special-district recall proposed by local legislators By Mike SMollinS msmollins@liherald.com
State lawmakers are pushing for new legislation that would enable special districts to unseat elected officials for inappropriate conduct after an Oceanside Sanitation District No. 7 commissioner made alleged racially charged Facebook posts. The new legislation would give special districts the power to recall elected officials with a
petition of signatures from 10 percent of the electorate or 5,000 votes, whichever number is smaller. The board representing the district would then vote to approve the recall and set a special election to do so. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat from Long Beach, and Assemblywoman Judy Griffin, a Democrat from Rockville Centre, proposed the measure. The legislation was in response to Oceanside Sanitation Commis-
sioner Ryan Hemsley’s alleged posts, which surfaced in October, some dating back several years. “It is crucial that we give residents the ability to oust local elected officials who prove they are unfit to hold office — and that is exactly what this bill” would do, Kaminsky said. “By putting the power back into the hands of local taxpayers to hold special district commissioners accountable, we can ensure electContinued on page 5
would like to express our gratitude to our residents for the opportunity to see these goals and projects to fruition.