Chamber picks Person of the Year
Three arrested on weapons charges

For 18 years, Steve Kritzberg has brought his dogs to the park dedicated just for them at Nickerson Beach. He’s part of an early morning social group, and then comes back to socialize with afternoon and weekend pet owners as well.
he found a fence and closed gate — the first time he can remember the park being closed, except for when the remnants of Hurricane Sandy hit Long Beach.
Daniel Tommasino/HeraldThere, Kritzberg meets up with other dog lovers to shoot the breeze, all while their fourlegged best friends have the times of their lives running around free.
A tired dog is a happy dog, Kritzberg says. But that changed on a recent trip, when
Kritzberg waved down a police officer he found patrolling nearby, hoping for some answers while his dog waited patiently in the car. Instead, he got a warning to stay away.
“As soon as I entered the gate, he turned on his light, did a U-turn, and came at me,” Kritzberg said. The officer was visibly upset, telling him the park is closed. And if Kritzberg stuck around any longer, he’d get a
Green energy is coming to Island Park, but residents are waiting to see what they, the village and the schools will see in the way of a “community benefits” package from Equinor, the multibillion-dollar energy company partnering with BP on an offshore wind farm off the South Shore.
Members of the Island Park Civic Association’s new Island Park/Equinor Windmill Committee were joined by Board of Education President Jack Vobius and Mayor Michael McGinty at a civic association meeting at
the public library on Jan. 5.
The committee, created to educate the public on Equinor’s massive Empire Wind project, set to be completed in 2025, is working to arrive at a consensus in the village about what people would like to see in a benefits package. In pamphlets distributed at Equinor’s meeting in Island Park last November, an Equinor slideshow photo stated that $52 million would be available for a community benefits package, to be allocated to Long Beach and Island Park, which would be most closely impacted by the project.
Committee members said that they believe this total is low, con-
sidering that the Town of East Hampton has been promised $29 million for 15 offshore wind turbines that Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource partners are in the process of building. Empire Wind, in contrast, will involve 174 turbines spread across 80,000 acres of Long Island coast, as well as a substation on land.
“This is, to me, is a once-in-alifetime opportunity,” committee member Richard Schurin said. “They’re making huge investments — I mean, huge, billiondollar investments in this project — and they need us. They have to come to this village and come to this town. … And they’re
changing the nature of this community, with their substation and everything else. And, you know, we’re entitled to be compensated, as far as I’m concerned.”
Vobius said that the school board is offering any assistant it can provide. “Our main interest is keeping the taxes low,” he said. “We lost a lot of money dur-
ing the LIPA agreement, so we’re trying to bridge that gap, at least as much as possible.
“At the end of the day,” Vobius continued, “whatever the amount of money is, if it goes toward alleviating property taxes instead of building a park, it’s going to the taxpayers … we’re just going to try and keep
Chuck Schumer has three goals for the new year: improve mass transit, ensure water and air quality are safe, and promote high technology on Long Island.
The New York Democrat who maintained his role as majority leader in the U.S. Senate after last year’s mid-terms, told more than 1,000 people attending last week’s Long Island Association breakfast in Woodbury that he has, in the past two years, secured federal money to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority recover from the worst of the Covid pandemic, while still getting money earmarked to protect the Long Island Sound and even clean up aging lead pipes.
The event at Crest Hollow Country Club was LIA’s annual State of the Region gathering that attracted both movers and shakers, as well as elected leaders like the executives from both Nassau and Suffolk counties. Schumer’s participation comes after he was elected to a fifth six-year term in the upper chamber of Capitol Hill, defeating Joseph Pinion, a conservative columnist who claimed Schumer had been in office too long with too little to show for it.
But history is written by the victors, and Schumer had a lot of history to share.
“We had one of the most productive legislative sessions in years,” the senator
said, ticking off a list of legislative wins that included his role in shepherding through President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill, as well as securing $15 billion for the MTA, which operates the Long Island Rail Road.
“No one was riding the trains” during the pandemic, Schumer added.
“For the first time, New York state got back more money that it gave out,” the senator said, referring to the give-andtake of funding with the federal government. New York has traditionally been a “giving” state, meaning its federal dollars usually went to help other states. This past year, the state was more of a receiver.
How productive the next two years will be is a big question. Republicans took control of the U.S. House — but only by a slim margin. That might mean pushing through bills that could win over at least some moderate Republicans.
One of those efforts will focus on improving transportation. The MTA funding, for example, would pay for repairs and upgrades of cars, tracks and electronic systems. Money also would be directed to portions of the Sunrise Highway in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Another $5 million will build a transit hub in Ronkonkoma.
Schumer also budgeted $106 million to clean up Long Island Sound, and that’s just the beginning. He also plans to use $60 million to help remove some of the contami-
nants from the Long Island aquifer.
Yet, the Senator sounded most enthusiastic about a project to install electricitygenerating windmills off Long Island’s South Shore — likely within the next few years.
Equinor, a multibillion-dollar Norwegian conglomerate specializing in petroleum, hopes to build a wind energy farm just a few miles off the coast with a substation delivering power directly to Island Park — a plan that has aroused controversy with neighbors.
The $3 billion project must still pass a plethora of bureaucratic hurdles, however.
“Long Island will be the capital for offshore wind,” Schumer said, “not just in New York, but across the country.”
The senator also wants to promote two of Long Island’s largest high-technology institutions — Brookhaven National Lab and SUNY Stony Brook.
“Long Island can be the center for (microchip) production and manufacturing,” Schumer said. “BNL and Stony Brook are at the cutting-edge of technology.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, told the Herald there was more in the works for this part of Long Island as well. He’s heard chatter about a strong interest in securing a casino, possibly at the Nassau Hub.
But for that to happen, anyone developing it would need to make sure the facility is first acceptable to the community.
“We wouldn’t be interested in anything but a first-class hospitality venue with a casino,” Blakeman said.
Additional reporting by Daniel Offner.Each year the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce chooses a person and business of the year that has bettered Oceanside. This year, resident Steven Klein has been chosen for Person of the Year for his lifelong commitment to keeping Oceanside protected from fires. For Business of the Year, Guardian Bus Company Inc., a local family owned, and operated school transportation business will receive the distinction. Both will be honored at the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Cocktail Reception Jan. 26 at Temple Avodah.
Klein, a life-long resident of Oceanside, joined the Oceanside Fire Department in 1965, and immediately became active in all aspects of the department, serving on many committees. Klein has held many offices in his company and the department, ultimately serving as Chief of Department in 1984.
Chief Klein joined the Firefighter’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) in the late 1960’s and was appointed to the Fire Prevention and Life Safety Committee by President Gunnar Neilson. In 2002, Chief Klein was elected Trustee of the Firemen’s Home, a skilled nursing facility dedicated to serving volunteer firefighters. He was reelected in 2007 and served until 2012.
During his term on the board, Klein served as Secretary of the Board of Trustees for seven years. Klein has been a director of the FASNY Foundation since 2004. He recently completed a two-year term as President of the firefighter’s association.
Klein continued to serve on the county level and is a past president of the Fire
Firefighter’s Association. He also served on the Nassau County Fire Commission and is a past chairman of the Second Battalion Fire District. He is currently a director in the Southern New York Volunteer Firemen’s Association.
In April of 2022 Chief Klein received the National Volunteer Fire Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Chief Klein continues to serve the Oceanside Fire Department along with his son and grandson.
Guardian Bus Company Inc. was founded by the Logan family in 2014 during the wake of the Atlantic Express and Courtesy Bus bankruptcy. In a weeks’ time between the bankruptcy and the recommencement of school, during the holiday break in December and January, Guardian President Michael Tornabe was
tasked with making sure there would be no bus service interruption for the students at the Oceanside school district and various other Long Island School Districts.
He did just that. Responsible for transporting 15,000 students, there was not one day of school missed because of Guardians commitment to the communities they serve.
During the pandemic, Guardian educated school officials and parents alike on proper Covid-19 protocols and why it was important to continue to pay school bus contractors. They also educated as expert panelists on television and taught parents and school districts proper reopening protocols.
In the 2020 wake of the Baumann Bus Company bankruptcy, Guardian once again stepped in and was able to acquire
9:30
the Baldwin, Freeport, Rockville Centre, and Valley Stream school districts that were without a transportation provider and make sure that there was no lapse in transportation for any of the district’s students.
Fast forward to 2022 and Guardian Bus Company has grown to become a staple of the community and transportation powerhouse in Long Island. Showing unprecedented growth, Guardian started with 250 employees in 2014, and now employs more than 600 employees. Guardian has grown to 4 separate properties in the community, most notably a 40,000 square foot state of the art maintenance facility on Oceanside Road and a newly built 4-acre bus facility on Lawson Blvd.
Guardian also takes place in community events, such as the turkey drive with Oceanside School District. They also served food for Thanksgiving at Oceanside Schools and was an active part in Toys for Tots. Along with being avid supporters and donators to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital.
In 2020, they were the recipient of the Long Island Herald Family Business Award.
Since Mount Sinai South Nassau’s opening in 1928 registered nurses have not been represented by any type of union. That all may change as the National Labor Relations Board set a date this week for a secret ballot election to determine if the 800 nurses at the hospital want to join the New York State Nurses Association.
A statement issued by the hospital on the matter reads, “Mount Sinai South Nassau registered nurses are not represented by a union and for decades have been able to continue to serve the community without the threat of a strike. We are closely monitoring the union situation in New York City and the ten-day strike notice imposed by the New York State Nurses Association union. While the pending strike in the city does not involve Mount
Sinai South Nassau nurses, the hospital is poised for any potential impacts a citywide strike will have on healthcare in the area. Our doors will continue to be open without any service interruption in order to provide care to the more than 900,000 residents along the South Shore in our Service Area.”
The hospital said it would prefer to keep things how it’s always been but will respect the decision nurses ultimately end up making.
In a Patch article on the matter from Dec., the union said, “hospitals aren’t doing enough to keep caregivers at the bedside, and instead of working with nurses, who worked through the worst of Covid-19, in some cases, are even threatening to cut their healthcare benefits.”
The hospital statement con-
tinues, “Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau enjoy highly competitive salaries and benefits when compared to other Long Island based hospitals where NYSNA has negotiated contracts. We respect the sacrifices and challenges Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses and everyone who works at Mount Sinai South Nassau has endured during the pandemic. We have respected that effort by providing leading levels of wage increases of over 17 percent during the last 15 months to recognize their efforts and service. Their contributions to the community, the organization, and the profession of nursing are also recognized by a leading clinical advancement financial incentive program unmatched by hospitals in our area.”
— Karina KovacHappy New Year to all!
There have been significant changes in the law in a number of areas as of January 1, 2023.
The gift tax exclusion, which many people still think is $15,000, is now $17,000, up from $16,000 in 2022. Each person may give up to $17,000 to as many people as they want to without incurring any Federal gift tax liability and without using any of their Federal estate tax exemption at death.
Speaking of the Federal estate tax exemption, that has been raised from $12,060,000 to $12,920,000. Since the exemption amount is adjusted for inflation, and inflation was high in 2022, there was a large jump. Same for the New York estate tax exemption which jumped from $6,110,000 to $6,580,000.
The higher Federal exemption is due to tax reform initiated by President Trump commencing in 2016. Fiscal restraints required that the higher Federal exemption expire after ten years. At the end of 2025 then the Federal exemption is slated to return to
New York levels. Since you can use any of your now almost $13,000,000 per person as a tax-free gift while you are living, many savvy clients have moved and are continuing to move family wealth to trusts for their children. Often, the parents choose to maintain control of these trusts, and they not only get the assets out of their estate while the getting is good, they also get all of the growth on those assets out of their estate.
Medicaid rates have changed so that an individual who needs care, either at home or in a nursing facility, may keep up to $28,133.00 in assets. If one spouse is at home, and the other spouse is in a nursing home, the spouse at home may keep up to about $150,000 in assets. The value of the home, up to $1,033,000 is exempt from Medicaid if a spouse is living there (while the other is in a facility) or for an individual receiving Medicaid for home care.
Finally, the age at which an individual must take their IRA required minimum distribution has been raised from age 72 to 73.
Michelle Glatt of Woodmere gave birth to her newborn baby boy ten seconds after midnight on 1/1/2023. Although she’s not the first in Nassau County – beat by a matter of seconds – that’s not what Glatt is focused on. Instead, she’s happy her fifth delivery went smooth, since her and nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau were monitoring the baby’s growth, which previously hadn’t been going well. In the end, however, he was two and a half weeks early, 5 pounds and 18 inches and in good health.
Glatt, a wound, ostomy and continence nurse at the hospital where she delivered said the New Year’s Day baby was her best delivery experience of her previous four. The air was one of excitement, with nurses cheerfully wearing holiday hats and her supportive family by her side.
“The whole night,” Glatt said, there was a question circulating the time of delivery, “‘Are we gonna do it are we gonna do it?’, it kind of gave me a goal and it made it more fun as opposed to ‘ugh, when is he gonna come.’ It gave a different spin to the situation… When he came up it was a party in the room, it was craziness. The nurses had hats, they played music. It was a very interesting birthing experience.”
And when the baby came, and it was
quiet in the room. “My theory now is he was as excited as everyone else that he was born. You know, he wasn’t crying because he was happy,” Glatt said.
Thinking of how being born on New Years Day will affect her son she said she’s happy he’ll always have off from work for his birthday. And her other children are overjoyed to welcome the addition, “Mostly my other kids were superduper excited. They were thrilled they thought it was the funniest thing ever. So, I think that everybody is so excited that he’ll be very proud.”
Although she doesn’t work directly with the labor nurses, they’re still family she said. “I really was just blown away honestly, by the hospital staff and how supportive and how sweet they were and what a positive experience it was, because I didn’t have all my babies at South Nassau. I’ve had them at several different hospitals. And it was just such a pleasant, nice experience. It was like a perfect birth story. Like the kind of birth and delivery that you hoped for.”
Glatt said the accountants of the family were hoping the baby came earlier in 2022, to get a tax deduction, saying, “oh, you missed it by seconds” when she delivered. But of course, they’re happy the baby was born healthy. “He was the easiest. He was the best. It was the most fun. It was the most relaxed, it was like a party,” Glatt said.
Mount Sinai South NassauPanaghia of Island Park Greek Orthodox Church celebrated the Epiphany Jan. 8 following the Divine Liturgy service. In the Greek Orthodox Church, during Epiphany, services include special verses and hymns, as well as a special gathering called the Service of the Sanctification of the Waters celebrating Jesus’s emergence from the water following his baptism.
At Masone Beach, the water was blessed and a cross was thrown in with members vying to retrieve it. The one to retrieve it was offered a blessing for the new year. — Karina Kovac
MeMbers of The congregation dove into the chilly waters of Masone Beach to receive a cross thrown in to receive a blessing. On right, the Greek and American flag flew side by side.
Everyone expected junior Brianna Amenta to continue her stellar pace as one of the top point guards in Nassau County. But few thought Oceanside’s girls’ basketball team would be a staunch playoff contender as well.
Afterall, Oceanside graduated 8 from last season’s sub-.500 squad.
JaMes DesiMoNe Clarke Senior Basketballa thiRD-YeaR vaRsitY starter, DeSimone is a major part of Clarke’s impressive 9-1 start. An All-County selection last season after earning a Nassau coaches award in the Covidshortened campaign, he’s averaging close to 16 points per game to go along with 4.4 assists. He’s scored in double digits in every game so far while hitting 21 three-pointers. He hit for a seasonhigh 23 against Long Beach on Dec 5.
Friday, Jan. 13
Boys Basketball: G.N. North at Sewanhaka 5 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Lynbrook at Plainedge 5 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Friends Academy at V.S. South 5 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Hewlett at Carey 5 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Long Beach at New Hyde Park 5 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Plainedge at Lynbrook 5 p.m.
Boys Swimming: Long Beach at Jericho 5 p.m.
Girls Fencing: Valley Stream at Hewlett 5 p.m.
Girls Basketball: East Rockaway at Malverne 5:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Malverne at East Rockaway 6:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball: South Side at Garden City 6:45 p.m.
Boys Basketball: East Meadow at Baldwin 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Plainview at Oceanside 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Jericho at Calhoun 7 p.m.
Wrestling: Baldwin Tournament 9 a.m.
Wrestling: V.S. Central Tournament 9 a.m.
Boys Basketball: Wheatley at West Hempstead 12 p.m.
Boys Basketball: V.S. Central at Port Washington 12 p.m.
Boys Basketball: Oceanside at Plainview 12 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Baldwin at East Meadow 12 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Farmingdale at Freeport 12 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Seaford at Carey 12 p.m.
Girls Basketball: Port Washington at V.S. Central 12 p.m.
But last Friday, in a huge regular-season battle, Oceanside faced Port Washington in the battle for the fourth spot in Conference AA2. That will stand as the final slot to make the Nassau County playoffs.
Despite scoring the game’s first 7 points, Oceanside wound up dropping a 43-34 decision in a seesaw game. Amenta carried the club with 22 points but it wasn’t enough as the Sailors fell to 5-6 and 2-3 in AA2.
“Bri played her heart out and did all she could,’’ Oceanside head coach Jared Stoler said.
For Oceanside to swipe an unexpected playoff spot, it will need to find a consistent second and third scorer. For now, Stoler’s team is built on their defense and allows 35 points per game.
“Defense is of our best aspect,’’ Amenta said. “We may not score that well but we’re limiting teams. We’re a group of really athletic girls. A lot are multi-sport athletes so they’re always going to be aggressive. That’s what we lacked last year and we have now.’’
Amenta, after starting the season slowly from 3-point range, has posted three 21-point games before her season-high versus Port Washington. She’s averaging 17 points after being All-County as a sophomore.
“She’s a great facilitator and, when we make our shots, she gets 5 assists,’’ Stoler said. “She does all the right things, can shoot from anywhere, including 3.’’
Amenta considers herself a dangerous 3-point shooter but was misfiring early in the season before a December non-league victory over Island Trees turned her season around. “I feel like the best part of my game is my shooting but I can also handle and facilitate,’’ Amenta said. “That Island
Trees game got me back to the way I usually am shooting it.’’
Stoler hopes junior Samantha Farsky can be that second scorer in the backcourt to aid Amenta. Farsky is averaging 6 points and is strong around the rim.
Juniors Emma Pagano and Casey McCabe can also operate inside. The team has 12 juniors, 1 sophomores and just 2 seniors. “We’re still figuring out who are second and third scorers are,’’ Stoler said. “The defense has definitely been the strong suit. We’ve hit it hard, there’s been communication and hustle.”
In a season of surprises, the biggest
one has been defense-first junior guard Grace DeDominica. “She’s forced us to keep her on the floor because she’s always doing the right things,’’ Stoler said.
There’s a lot of season left and the young players are gaining experience. “I think it’s going a lot better than it could’ve,’’ said the 5-foot-5 Amenta. “It’s a whole bunch of new girls who haven’t played varsity before and they’re adjusting very well and doing their best to get better.
“I truly believe we can beat any team if we work hard enough in the game,” she added. “We may not be the best scorers but we’re so athletic we can make plays.”
ew Year’s resolutions are full of expectations. Common goals like eating healthier or losing weight are admirable, but there are plenty of other goals you can set in 2023 as well, like upping your sleep regimen, talking with a friend every day, or going on more walks.
Since the emergence of Covid, it has become more essential than ever to take care of yourself and enhance your immunity. In addition to physical health, mental health is equally important. Many people make New Year’s resolutions that they soon forget. It can be due to a lack of commitment, self-doubt, or unrealistic goals.
So, start by making short-term and realistic goals you can achieve without putting too much pressure on yourself. Once you list what you want to achieve this year, stick to it and believe in yourself to accomplish them.
Much like changing a diet, exercising is often seen as a means to weight loss. While that’s a positive side effect of daily exercise, daily or frequent exercise is an all-around health benefit.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, exercise helps lower the risk of heart disease and hypertension by 40 percent while lowering the risk of depression by 30 percent. In addition, men and women with a family history of diabetes should know that regular exercise lowers their risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 60 percent. So while exercise is a great means to losing weight, it’s even better at helping reduce the risk for serious disease.
When incorporating exercise into a daily routine, start slowly and gradually work your way up to more vigorous exercise regimens. Going full speed from the outset is a great way to increase risk of injury, and no one wants that.
Getting the recommended 30 minutes of exercise each day can be as simple as taking a walk. If you’ve got a busy schedule, take three 10-minute walks throughout your day.
“That’s 10 minutes before work, 10 minutes at lunch and then 10 minutes after work. Make it fun! Grab a partner at work to get you through your lunch routine. Then have a friend or family member meet you for an evening stroll,” suggests physical therapist Stacie Page.
This year, promise to eat right. Choose whole foods instead of packaged ones. Crash diets and eliminating foods from your daily intake can deprive you of needed nutrition and may not be effective in the long run.
Mental health is as vital as physical health, and it needs attention. The daily stress of life and other factors may lead to serious health issues, including depression and anxiety. Mental health issues can make it hard for you to cope with everyday life and interfere with your work and relationships.
If you feel something is wrong, believe your instinct and get help. Practicing self-care techniques can also help combat mental health issues. Try to find the positives and adopt habits that can benefit your well-being, such as meditating.
Stress is a cause of many serious illnesses, such as heart disease. It can negatively impact your physical and mental health. Stress can become regular if you are always busy or have other problems related to finances or relationships. It is crucial to take steps to manage your stress. You can manage stress through meditation, exercise, or other relaxation techniques.
Improve the quantity and quality of your sleep. Getting enough sleep enhances your health by ensuring the smooth functioning of your body. It is also critical that you have a sound sleep. Regular interruptions can disrupt your sleep pattern, causing low energy and fatigue during the day. Getting a good night’s sleep is definitely something you should add to your 2023 checklist.
Just as you’ve decided to finish a task or go to sleep, you receive a social media notification alert. As you check the notification, something else catches your attention, and before you know it, you’ve spent an hour doomscrolling. Invariably, this leaves you feeling worse than before. If this resonates with you, you are not alone.
Social media, particularly when used for long hours, is reported to have contributed to an increased risk of a variety of mental health concerns like anxiety and low mood. This could be because of social comparison, isolation and cyberbullying. It also increases screen time, which can impact sleep and leave you less time to engage in other activities. Reducing your social media usage might help your anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems and the fear of missing out.
Practise meditation and mindfulness
Meditation and mindfulness give you space to pause and reflect, allowing you to slow down and increase your emotional awareness, in a chaotic and bustling world. In fact, practising meditation and being mindful can help you in improving emotional regulation, reduce physical pain and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Meditation and mindfulness require consistent effort. Starting with mindfulness for even one minute every day can be helpful. You can slowly increase the time as you see fit. Mindfulness and meditation apps like have also proven to be useful in improving mental health.
The early Babylonians believed that what people did on the first day of the year affected what they did for the rest of that year. Many of us see the New Year as a perfect opportunity to start over or to change bad habits.
According to several surveys, the most popular resolutions people make are related to health and fitness (eating better, losing weight, and exercising), reducing consumption of alcohol, caffeine, quitting smoking, and becoming more financially responsible by promising to spend less and save more.
Unfortunately, over 70 percent of resolutions are broken by the end of January, and this can leave a person feeling discouraged.
You might even consider New Year’s resolutions like romantic relationships: They’re easier to start than maintain.
One in four people who makes a New Year’s resolution will drop out within the first seven days, statistics show. About half jump ship within six months.
Resolutions are complicated, and being able to achieve them usually requires taking a hard look at our thoughts and behaviors. Setting goals keeps us on track, but stamping out old habits is difficult, and may even require the help of a professional for some.
But there’s hope.
Striving for self-improvement and setting goals for ourselves gives us a sense of purpose and hope for the future. Be sure to make your goals a priority, be specific, and work at them daily.
Your goal should be specific and measurable. Make your goal concrete, and if necessary, break it down into smaller steps.
Setting vague goals such as “I want to lose weight” can be ineffective. Instead, ensure your resolution is quantifiable. If your goal is to shed some pounds, identify the number you’d like to lose within a specified period of time. If your aim is to exercise more in 2023 set a specific objective for the number of hours you’ll work out each week.
Or, if your resolution is to consume fewer carbohydrates, resolve to eat carbohydrates only at one meal per day rather than resolving to eliminate carbohydrates entirely. Once you are successful, begin to decrease your consumption further.
Don’t set unrealistic resolutions that will be impossible to keep. If you resolve to eat healthier by cutting down on desserts, switch to an alternative you enjoy rather than forcing yourself to eat a vegetable you’ve hated since childhood. For example, swap ice cream for Greek yogurt or fruit rather than raw cauliflower sprouts (unless you enjoy them, of course).
Be nice to yourself. Changing habits isn’t easy, so you’re likely to struggle at some point in your journey. Take it easy. Minor bumps are normal. The important part is jumping back on the bandwagon and continuing momentum forward.
Write your resolution down and put it somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis. This will help you to stay focused.
Keep it manageable. Keep the scope of your New Year’s resolution practical by working toward changing one or two behaviors at a time.
Have coping strategies in place to deal with obstacles that may arise along the way. For example, if your goal is to drink less alcohol you may consider skipping parties or events that involve a lot of drinking or bring a sober friend along to provide you with support and to help keep you on track.
On the bright side. Stay focused on the benefits of the change you’re making rather than what you’re giving up. Rally your mind around how much better you’ve been feeling instead of lamenting the loss of your daily chocolate-chip muffin.
Photo: Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make the biggest impact. Rather than setting a major health or fitness goal that takes you far out of your comfort zone, start the new year by committing to small changes here and there.
Hold yourself accountable and lean on others. Use a support network to help stay motivated. Discuss your resolution (and the accompanying struggles) with friends and family members. Consider joining a group with common goals, whether a collection of friends teaming up to quit smoking or an exercise class at the gym.
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With the heart of winter upon us, it can be tough to stick with our fitness goals. And so much for our new resolve to exercise more.
But wait! It doesn’t have to be so. Fitness experts offer some helpful tips to reinvigorate those resolutions.
Treat exercise as your personal “time out.” Your time to exercise is your opportunity to “recharge your battery.” It refreshes your mind, spirit, and energy. It not only benefits you, it has a positive impact on your relationships, your work and how you cope with stress.
Set realistic, incremental goals. Start with small, attainable goals that you can achieve with relative consistency. 15 minutes a day is a meaningful starting point. Build from there.
Do what you enjoy. Physical activity comes in many forms. Will a brisk walk in the open air help you unwind and relax? Is it a workout at the gym with state-of-the-art equipment and the energy of others that helps motivate you? Is it the convenience of jumping rope in your basement that will keep you feeling good about yourself? The possibilities are endless.
Schedule it as you would any important appointment. Designating a time to exercise is a key factor in making it happen. Put it on your calendar. But remember, regular exercise doesn’t have to mean regimented exercise.
Track it. Whether you track it on paper, your computer or an app, you reinforce your commitment to taking care of yourself, and you see the progress you are making.
Make it social. One of the greatest benefits of exercise can be the quality time you spend with friends and family. An exercise buddy or group can help motivate you to stick with it, while offering social interaction and the additional support you may need. Surround yourself with people who also want to enjoy the benefits of physical activity. Motivation and lifestyle choices are contagious! Note: Health clubs are filled with people who have the same goals as you.
Be flexible and allow yourself breaks. Exercise is a lifestyle
choice that will improve your quality of life throughout your entire lifetime. If you need to miss a workout or several it’s okay. Just get back to it as soon as you can. It’s the long-term commitment to taking care of yourself and enjoying the physical and emotional benefits of exercise that will keep you going.
Mix it up. Add variety to sustain your interest. Feel free to be creative in what you do. Modern-day gym equipment is great. Or try out a new class. Or ask a trainer to show you some bodyweight exercises.
Incorporate other activities you love. If your idea of relaxing is listening to music, reading a good book, or watching a funny television show, find ways to exercise while engaging in these pastimes you really enjoy.
Reward yourself. You have reason to feel proud when you take care of yourself through exercise. In today’s sedentary, overscheduled world, it’s not an easy thing to do. So go ahead and reward yourself in healthy ways when you’ve met your goals. Treat yourself to a massage, buy music you enjoy, or get that new outfit you’ve been wanting.
But remember: the greatest reward you can give yourself is that feeling of well being that comes when you make exercise a regular part of your life.
Voters talked, but at least according to them, a committee tasked with drawing new boundaries for Hempstead town elected officials didn’t listen.
At least that was the takeaway during the latest public hearing last week over the state of redistricting in the town.
Yet, it was a meeting just before the winter holidays that took most of the attention — a meeting where a number of speakers during public comment demanded lines be redrawn for the six town districts in what they called a more balanced representation through the inclusion of three “minority-majority” districts. That is, where an overall ethnic minority would be grouped into a majority as a way to help diversify a leadership board like the town council.
That same week, new map proposals were released. Yet, after further review, critics of the earlier drafts claimed most of their recommendations were ignored.
“While I hope that the commission changes course on these maps, I doubt (they) will because (they) have to show us that (they’re) listening to what residents are saying,” said Amil Virani of Valley Stream.
But there were changes. For example, the committee has proposed grouping together Elmont, North Valley Stream, a portion of the Five Towns and Franklin Square into a single district. Baldwin — which went from three to two representatives on the latest maps — was split in half.
The idea, according to Hempstead town attorney John Maccarone, was to ensure villages were kept whole, in accordance with the law. However, hamlets like Baldwin don’t enjoy the same protections.
Elmont, Valley Stream and Franklin Square are per-
fect for this new district, said Elmont resident Mimi Pierre-Johnson, but it should also have included Bellerose, Bellerose village, South Floral Park, Floral Park and New Hyde Park.
“That would’ve been a perfect minority-majority,” she said. “Everyone in that district would have had a fair share of choosing their elected official.”
Baldwin has been split into three council districts since the 2010 census. The Baldwin Civic Association collected more than 400 signatures on a petition urging the committee to place the entire hamlet of Baldwin under the 11510 ZIP code and one Town of Hempstead council district.
“Again, (the redistricting committee) has cracked Baldwin,” Janet Poretsky said. “My vote in Baldwin Harbor won’t count, it will be canceled out by someone in Wantagh-Seaford. I don’t think that’s fair, and I have nobody who is really representing my area.”
The last time officials got together to redraw district lines, it was done to benefit legislators without any concern for the needs of Nassau County communities, said Karen Moskowitz, cochair of the League of Women Votgers of Nassau County’s redistricting committee — specifically communities of color.
The lATesT RedisTRicTiNg map for Hempstead town elected officials reveals little change to what a number of people asked for ahead of the revision last month. Their desire is to see a better chance of creating a more diverse town council by creating ‘minority-majority’ districts.
As a town where 40 percent of its residents are people of color represented by a council that is mostly white, Moskowitz added that the latest map proposals show this intention has not changed in Hempstead.
The 2020 census revealed a 12 percent drop in the town’s white, non-Hispanic population, according to supporters of the minority-majority district concept. At the same time, the Hispanic and Latino population grew 32 percent, while the Black population increased by 4
percent.
“The league takes positions on a variety of policy issues, but never supports or opposes any political party or candidate,” Moskowitz said. “Our review of the commission’s proposed maps reveals deliberate manipulation of district lines.”
Another redistricting meeting was scheduled for Jan. 9, and the town attorney confirmed more such meetings will be scheduled before the board votes on a new map.
Ana Borruto/HeraldJanuary is the ideal time to decompress and get into the kitchen and work on those “Top Chef” skills. It’s not that difficult with some great comforting — healthy — foods to nourish and warm our soul.
Experiment with new culinary creations that incorporate bold flavors for delicious results. Nothing pleases the senses quite like a hearty dish on a chilly evening. Try adding these recipes to your repertoire.
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch dice (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1-inch dice (about 1 cup )
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cut into 1-inch dice (about 1 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch dice (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 fennel bulb, quartered & sliced thin (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 2 cups) 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Burgundy, Zinfandel or other red wine
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 1/2 cups ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots
• 4 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound small red potatoes, cut in half
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
In 4-quart Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Cook beef in oil 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned.
Remove beef to bowl; cover to keep warm.
In Dutch oven, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic in oil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Return beef to Dutch oven. Sprinkle with flour; cook and stir 1 minute. Add wine; cook 1 minute, scraping to loosen any browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in broth, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper.
Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving.
• 1 cup milk or unsweetened plain almond milk
Additional salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste More pepper and thyme leaves for garnish
Heat oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, and fennel with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt. Spread in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast until tender and browned in places, about 40 minutes, turning a couple of times while roasting.
While the veggies are roasting, prepare the base of the soup. To a large saucepan over low heat, add 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion along with a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the flour and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the vegetable broth. Add the potatoes and thyme. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat. Pick out the thyme stems and discard.
Stir in the roasted vegetables. Carefully transfer about 3 cups of the chowder to the pitcher of a blender. Puree until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to the pot and stir to combine. The soup should be thick, rich, and creamy.
Stir in the milk. Place the pot back on the burner, and, with the heat on medium-low, return to a simmer, stirring often to prevent burning.
Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve garnished with an additional turn of cracked pepper and thyme leaves.
This big, brassy and unapologetically bold six-piece band comes at you with every hue in the rainbow. Their sound pays homage to New Orleans brass band tradition while incorporating eclectic rock, Caribbean, Arabic, Eastern European, funk, jazz, ska, gospel and EDM influences. Their irresistible groove is led by co-founder Josh Holcomb’s soulful trombone, Daro Behroozi’s soaring sax and Joshua Gawel’s powerful trumpet. Their high-energy brassy funk has attracted listeners since forming in New York City in 2006. Starting in the underground halls of subway stations, Lucky Chops went viral when a video of their mash-up of Lipps Inc.’s ‘Funkytown’ and James Brown’s ‘I Feel Good’ amassed hundreds of millions of views across social media, and led to an online subscriber base almost two million strong. They’re now back on tour for the first time since the end of 2019.
Thursday, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m. $33. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. (516) 767-6444 or LandmarkOnMainStreet.org.
The perennial classic rock favorite enters 2023 on the road again as founding members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell celebrate the band’s 53rd anniversary. The pair (along with former band mate Dan Peek), who met in high school in London in the late 1960s, quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song ‘A Horse With No Name.’ More than 40 years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners discovered there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Bunnell’s use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Peek’s more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.
Friday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m. $99, $79, $69, $59. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. (516) 299-3100 or TillesCenter.org.
ith the holidays behind us, cozy up to some comfy winter nesting. And, of course, it’s time to refocus on healthier eating now that we’re finished with weeks of festive over-indulgence.
Grab your lunch and join Nassau County Museum of Art Docent Riva Ettus for her popular “Brown Bag Lecture” live, via Zoom, Thursday, Jan. 19 , 1 p.m. She’ll discuss the current exhibition, “The Big Picture: Photography Now.” Participants are invited to ask questions at the end of the program. Also Feb. 23. Register at least 24 hours in advance to receive the program Zoom link. Also Feb. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor. (516) 484-9337 or NassauMuseum.org.
Join the Oceanside Community Warriors for weekly community cleanups around the hamlet every Sunday. Contact Oceansidewarriorsny@gmail. com for information on the location of their next cleanup.
The S.A.F.E. Coalition meets, Thursday, Jan. 19, 7-8:30 p.m., at the Oceanside Library, 56 Atlantic Ave.
The renowned saxophonist visits the Madison Theatre, on the Molloy University campus, with his quartet, Friday, Jan. 20, 8 p.m. The NEA Jazz Master, triple Grammy Award winner and musical polymath with his stellar ensemble — pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner — bring the brilliance that has made this quartet one of the most revered and influential in jazz. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. $40-$95. 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. For tickets and information visit MadisonTheatreny.org or call (516) 323-4444.
The Mount Sinai South Nassau Vaxmobile will be at Island Park Library, Thursday, Jan. 19,10 a.m.-4 p.m. to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to eligible individuals that meet the New York State Department of Health’s criteria for vaccination. The new Pfizer Bivalent Covid Vaccine will be offered. Register at IslandParkLibrary.org; with criteria on who can get the vaccine.
The Oceanside School District Board of Education meets, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. in the School No. 6 Auditorium
The Island Park Board of Education meets, Monday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m., in the Lincoln Orens Middle School auditorium.
Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Jeanine C. Driscoll will be walking taxpayers through the process of grieving their home’s assessment on their own as well as answer any questions they have regarding their property taxes, Tuesday, Jan. 17,11 a.m.noon., at Oceanside Library 56 Atlantic Ave, Reservations are recommended. Email TaxForums@HempsteadNY. gov or call (516) 414-6598.
David Alterman returns to the stage with Altzim, Friday, Jan. 13, at My Father’s Place supper club. Enjoy an evening of music that Alterman describes as “Dylan with a twist,” with special guest Cathy Rose Virgilio. Rich Demand and his band also appear. Doors open at 6 p.m., concert is at 8 p.m. The Metropolitan, 3 Pratt Blvd., Glen Cove. For tickets/information, visit MyFathersPlace.com or call (516) 580-0887.
Take a meditative Forest Bathing walk, led by certified guide Linda Lombardo, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2-4 p.m. Based on the Japanese tradition of ShinrinYoku, a wellness practice developed in the 1980s, the walk, on the grounds of the former summer residence of Howard Gould and later Daniel and Florence Guggenheim, inspires mindful connections with the natural elements of the woods for a range of healthful benefits. $40, $35. Pre-registration required. Sands Point Preserve, 127 Middle Neck Road. For information, visit SandsPointPreserveConservancy. org or call (516) 571-7901.
OnSight medical trauma Life Saver course is offered at Rescue Company No. 1 of Oceanside, Saturday, Feb. 11, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m on. The session, at 2814 Tilrose Ave., includes bleeding control, personal safety, basic first aid, and more. $175; $75 deposit upon registration, $100 in cash day of the class. For more info contact info@oftllc.us. Register at AllEvents.in/oceanside-ny.
Local educator and author Talia Madden will read from her debut children’s picture book “The Colors They Shared,” Jan. 25, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. at Island Park Public Library. A questions and answer forum and book signing will follow after the reading, 176 Long Beach Rd. For ages four to eight. For information visit IslandParkLibrary.org.
Items on The Scene page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to thescene@liherald.com.
Photography’s ascent in the art world is an international phenomenon. Nassau County Museum of Art’s star-studded exhibition spans the historical roots of the medium. View works by Ansel Adams and his generation and the thrilling, large-format
color works of such contemporary masters as Cindy Sherman, Thomas Struth, James Casebere and Gregory Crewdson, among others. From the documentary to the painterly, images bear witness to the times. On view through March 5. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor. (516) 484-9337 or NassauMuseum.org.
Visit Long Island Children’s Museum for a workshop honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., Monday, Jan. 16. Families will learn about MLK beyond his “I Have a Dream” speech and gain a better understanding of his impact on the civil rights movement. Also participate in a gallery walk of images from the Civil Rights Movement and then create a bell to “let freedom ring.” $4 with admission, $3 members. Long Island Children’s Museum, Museum Row, Garden City. (516) 224-5800 or LICM.org.
the property tax situation in mind.”
“I’m here to get as much information as I can,” McGinty added. “This is one of those things you’re learning every day.” McGinty did say, however, that he thought it was too early in the process to know what the village should get out of a benefits package.
“Equinor is at the beginning of the process,” Harrison Feuer, Equinor’s New York director of public affairs, wrote in a statement on Monday, “and we are actively seeking input from both municipal and community leadership. We will continue to evaluate any opportunities to have a positive impact, and look forward to working with the community as the process moves forward. We remain committed to working with municipal and community leaders to identify needs, impacts, and a number of other factors that will be determinative in our process.”
Equinor also stated that Island Park and Long Beach would be treated as separate entities during the process of determining community benefits.
■ Thursday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.: The substation will be discussed, and a representative from Equinor should be in attendance.
■ Monday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m.: The topic will be the Equinor project’s environmental impacts and community benefits.
■ Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.: Open public meeting, at which questions from the public will be addressed.
■ All meeting are held in the secondfloor community room of the Island Park Public Library.
Three men from South Carolina were arrested Jan. 2 in Island Park on drug and weapons charges.
Isiah Morant, Trevonte Miller and Hampton Dais were pulled over on Austin Boulevard in a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu after officers spotted the driver, Morant, failing to stay in the lane properly.
During the traffic stop a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol and an unloaded Glock .45 ACP were found inside the car, according to police.
Morant, Miller and Dais were taken into custody and are now facing multiple charges including criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon.
Courtesy Nassau County Police Department A fully loAded Taurus 9mm pistol were one of the guns recovered by Fourth Precinct officers.
They were arraigned on that Monday.
–Karina Kovac
Karina Kovac/Herald A meeting of the Island Park Civic Association at the public library on Jan. 5 drew interested community members. Continued from front pAgePatty Liguori’s dog, Luna, stood forlornly outside the locked gate at Nickerson Beach dog park. Although no one could know what was going through her mind, it was evident that Luna didn’t understand why her favorite recreational haunt was closed.
ticket.
That’s how Kritzberg and many others learned the dog park concession rights were sold by Nassau County officials to a company known as the Dover Group, which closed the park, with no public plans on when — and how — it might reopen.
“It was just kind of a kick in the gut, you know?” Kritzberg said. “We have a really nice community of people I’ve known 18-plus years. We’ve gone through all kinds of things — deaths, having funerals for friends that went to the dog park, birthday parties, Christmas and holiday parties. It’s just become a very nice community.”
That’s because the park is more than just a park. It’s a gathering place for dog lovers to meet and chat, bird watchers to wait and hopefully catch a glimpse of a snowy owl, and other naturalists to enjoy.
But there were signs of change coming, Kritzberg said. Dog walkers noticed garbage starting to pile up in trash cans. When the garbage was finally removed, so were the cans removed.
Then, the park closed.
Officials typically only close one public park for the winter, and the one at Nickerson Beach isn’t it. No one from Dover Group — which took over maintenance of the park, cabanas, pool and recreational vehicle center — returned calls seeking comment.
“The easy answer for him was, ‘I’m just going to close the park and then I don’t have to deal with the garbage,’” Kritzberg said. “That’s my theory.
“I’m just so very fed up. It’s taking me away from a community that Saturday and Sunday mornings, we go down there in blizzard conditions and we go down there for a hour or just for an hour-and-ahalf. We sit there. We have coffee. We catch up on chewing the fat. And it’s just
been yanked. The rug has been yanked out from under our feet. It’s pretty hurtful.”
Jack Dicken has been visiting the park from Freeport since he retired in 2000. Catching his fellow dog walkers just after sunrise is important, because many of them are the only faces he might see all day.
“This is the only time they talk to other people,” Dicken said. “Like, it’s my wife and I. We’ve been together 47 years — even more. And other than my wife, these are the only other people I talked to generally, every day. So, it’s a social thing also with the dogs itself.”
Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford has reached out to the Dover Group trying to schedule a meeting. In the nearly two decades she’s been in office, Ford says she can’t ever recall any one person or group taking control over the entirety of a county-owned park facility.
So why it’s happening with Nickerson Beach is a mystery to her.
“Technically, this is a county park, and the county still owns it,“ Ford said. “We are still basically responsible for the park. But last year, during the rules committee — which I was not a part of — they opted to allow the Dover Group to run Nickerson Beach.
“It was our understanding during this hearing that simply they would operate to the extent that residents wouldn’t even be aware of the fact that it was a change in operations. Unfortunately, that is not proven to be true.”
Ford urges shut-out park-goers to contact the parks commissioner as well as County Executive Bruce Blakeman, and let them know their feelings about the closure of the only county park on the barrier island.
“I’ve made some lifelong friends,” Kritzberg said. “Now we’re not allowed to use the park until springtime.”
Francis X. Hegarty School and Lincoln Orens Middle School in Island Park shared the sounds of the holiday season during their schools’ winter concert performances.
At Francis X. Hegarty, the third and fourth grade chorus, under the direction of Marie Bluebello-Sambolin, shared a number of musical selections including “Good, Good Holiday Feelings,” “Happy, Happy Kwanza,” “Deedle Deedle Dai,” and “Up On The Roof” among others.
At Lincoln Orens Middle School, the winter concert featured multiple performances, including one by the fifth and sixth grade chorus who performed a variety of songs, including “Kye Kye Kule,” “Sevivon” and “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
The chorus, senior string orchestra and concert band all performed a selection of songs to the delight of all in attendance.
Congrats
Check back each week for the Top 3 Reveal in each category leading up to the Oscar-style awards ceremony in April 2023. Did your favorites make it to the top? Visit www.LiChoiceAwards.com! *Finalists are listed alphabetically, not in order of placement.
MEXICAN FOOD: Frida’s Mexican Grill Margaritas Cafe
The Cabana Mexican American Restaurant
NEW RESTAURANT: Casarecce Italian Tap Room
The Chef’s Table - Lynbrook
ORGANIC/NATURAL FOOD: Bob’s Natural Foods Fit by Globish Organic Krush Lifestyle Eatery
OUTDOOR DINING: Lazy Lobster Point Lookout Clam Bar
SALT - Merrick PIZZA: Friendlier 76
Lia’s Pizzeria - Oceanside Vincent’s
Churchill’s IHOP-Oceanside Toast Coffeehouse
BUBBLE/BOBA TEA: Bubble Hut
Kung Fu Tea
YAAAS TEA
BUFFET: China Buffet King
Diwan Indian Restaurant and Bar
Flaming Grill & Supreme Buffet
BURGER: American Burgers Ay! Caramba! Burgerology
BUSINESS LUNCH: City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill
Frank’s Steaks
Remy’s Italian Restaurant
BUTCHER SHOP: Charlie’s Butchers
Chubs Meats
Sons of a Butcher
CATERER: Bagel Boss
Barnum Ballroom
Bialystok & Bloom
CHINESE FOOD:
Danny’s Chinese Kitchen
Little Fu’s
Omandarin
COCKTAILS: Da Nicola
Dirty Taco + Tequila
Lia’s Pizzeria - Oceanside
DELI/SANDWICH SHOP:
Ben’s Kosher Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers
Farmer Joel’s
Pantano’s Gourmet
DESSERT: Dolce Confections
Frank’s Steaks
Sugarberry Bakery Cafe
DINER: Apollo Restaurant Diner
Imperial Diner The Pantry
Artie’s South Shore Fish Market & Grill
Hewlett Fish Market Inc. Jordan Lobster Farms
FRENCH FRIES: All American Hamburger Drive In Brooklyn Dip & Burger Press 195
FRIED CHICKEN: Chicken Carnival Swingbellys Beachside BBQ Zorn’s of Bethpage
GERMAN FOOD: Das Biergarten Oak Chalet Plattduetsche Park
GREEK FOOD: B Greek Kitchen
GREEKTOWN Mykonos Greek Restaurant HAPPY HOUR: Dirty Taco + Tequila J Paul’s Terrace Cafe
Michael’s Billiards
ICE CREAM: Carvel - Merrick Dolce Gelateria
Marvel Frozen Dairy INDIAN FOOD: Color of Spices Diwan Indian Restaurant & Bar
Raagini
ITALIAN FOOD: Friendlier 76
Lia’s Pizzeria - Oceanside
San Marzano Brick Oven Pizza & Fresh Pasta
JAPANESE FOOD: Himawari
Izumi Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse Kashi
LATIN FOOD: Cabo RVC
Island Empanada of Merrick
The Cuban
LOCAL COFFEE SHOP: Coffee Booths Heavenly Coffee Kookaburra Coffee Co
PRETZEL: Knot of this World Pretzels
Philly Pretzel Factory
Pretzel Stop/Pretzel Town USA
RAMEN: 8RAMEN MB Ramen - Huntington Ni Ramen
ROMANTIC RESTAURANT: Da Nicola Livorno Remy’s Italian Restaurant
SEAFOOD: Artie’s South Shore Fish Market & Grill Hungry Crab Juicy Seafood and Bar Jordan Lobster Farms
SMOOTHIE: Fit by Globish SoBol Hewlett
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
SPECIALTY PIZZA: Friendlier 76
Lia’s Pizzeria - Oceanside Vincent’s
STEAKHOUSE: Frank’s Steaks
Jimmy Hays Steak House Rothmann’s Steakhouse
SUSHI: Himawari
Izumi Sushi & Hibachi Steakhouse Sushi Palace
THAI FOOD: Ra-Kang Thai Cuisine Seeda Thai
Thai Station Restaurant Thai Table Restaurant
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN: Bob’s Natural Foods
Energy Fuel Garden City Organic Krush Lifestyle Eatery
WINGS:
Croxley’s Ale House
Pearsall’s Station
Swingbellys Beachside BBQ
YOGURT: Hewlett Station Yogurt Swirls & Twirls
TCBY
Please take notice that the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Oceanside Fire District of the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, State of New York will hold its monthly meetings for the year 2023 on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7:30 P.M.
All meetings will take place at the Oceanside Firehouse located at 65 Foxhurst Road, Oceanside, New York 11572.
All meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Oceanside Fire District are open to the public.
This notice is being posted in accordance with the provisions of section 104 of the Public Officer’s Law of the State of New York.
The Board reserves the right to cancel, postpone or reschedule any meeting.
By the order of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Oceanside Fire District.
Dated:Oceanside, New York
January 5, 2023
Tricia Schields District Secretary Oceanside Fire District 136615
Premises known as 3977 Long Beach Road, Island Park, (Town of Hempstead) NY 11558.
(SBL#: 43-187-85)
Approximate amount of lien $535,382.77 plus interest and costs.
The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 10th Judicial District’s Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules.
SUPREME COURTCOUNTY OF NASSAU
AJM CAPITAL II, LLC, Plaintiff -againstQUEBEC DEVELOPMENT, LLC, et al Defendant(s).
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 20, 2022 and entered on October 21, 2022, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the North Side steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court located at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY on February 7, 2023 at 2:00 pm premises situate, lying and being in the County of Nassau, State of New York, known and designated as Section: 43 Block: 42 Lots: 234 and 235.
All bidders must wear a face mask/shield at all times and social distancing must be observed by all bidders at all times. Bidders who do not comply with the face mask and/or the social distancing mandate will be removed from the auction.
Said premises known as QUEBEC ROAD, ISLAND PARK, NY
Approximate amount of lien $1,088,211.77 plus interest & costs.
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.
Index Number 612423/2017.
KAREN C. GRANT, ESQ., Referee
Braunstein Turkish LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU BAYVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST MARIA MAESE, STEPHEN MAESE, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered October 6, 2022, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the North Side steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on February 6, 2023 at 2:00PM, premises known as 2525 Rockville Centre Parkway, Oceanside, NY 11572. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 54, Block 158, Lot 39-41. Approximate amount of judgment $451,990.32 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #607259/2019. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the NASSAU County COVID-19 mitigation protocols and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale. If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, then the court appointed referee will cancel the foreclosure auction. Foreclosure Auctions will be held “Rain or Shine”. Brian J. Davis, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 20-002342 74341 136439
REFEREE’S NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE SUPREME COURTCOUNTY OF NASSAU CITIMORTGAGE, INC., Plaintiff - against - KERRY SARWAN, et al Defendant(s).
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on February 3, 2022. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the North Side steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court located at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, N.Y. 11501 “Rain or Shine” on the 24th day of January, 2023 at 2:00 PM. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being at Island Park, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York.
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.
Index No. 608704/2018.
Rita Solomon, Esq., Referee. Davidson Fink LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 400 Meridian Centre Blvd, Ste 200 Rochester, NY 14618 Tel. 585/760-8218
For sale information, please visit Auction.com at www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832
Dated: October 5, 2022
During the COVID-19 health emergency, bidders are required to comply with all governmental health requirements in effect at the time of sale including but not limited to, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet apart) during the auction, while tendering deposit and at any subsequent closing. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale.
136093
SUPREME COURT NASSAU COUNTY DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, AS TRUSTEE FOR RESIDENTIAL ACCREDIT LOANS, INC., MORTGAGE ASSETBACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-QS3, Plaintiff against ZEV ANGELOU, et al Defendant(s) Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Fein Such & Crane, LLP, 1400 Old Country Road, Suite 103N, Westbury, NY 11590.
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered June 6, 2022, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at North Side Steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on January 23, 2023 at 2:00 PM.
Premises known as 504 Long Beach Road, Island Park, NY 11558. Sec 43 Block 9 Lot 164 & 166. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Incorporated Village of Island Park, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $813,797.28 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 006451/2015.
The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing. If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, then the Court Appointed Referee shall cancel the foreclosure auction.
Foreclosure Auctions will be held “Rain or Shine.”
Ellen Durst, Esq., Referee DHNY091 136137
SUPREME COURT.
NASSAU COUNTY. L & L
ASSOCIATES HOLDING CORP., Pltf. vs. NANCY M. NATOLI, et al, Defts. Index #615000/2018.
Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered Feb. 14, 2020, I will sell at public auction on the north front steps of Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY on January 23, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. prem. k/a Section 43, Block 212, Lot(s) 28-30.
Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale and the right of the United States of America to redeem within 120 days from the date of sale as provided by law.
Foreclosure auction will be held “rain or shine.” If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, then the court appointed referee will cancel the auction.
TONY D’ANZICA, Referee. LEVY & LEVY, Attys. for Pltf., 12 Tulip Dr., Great Neck, NY. #99908 136139
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKCOUNTY OF NASSAU
DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR ARGENT SECURITIES INC., ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-W4, V.
NOREEN M. MCCABE, ET AL.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated May 9, 2017, and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Nassau, wherein DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR ARGENT SECURITIES INC., ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-W4 is the Plaintiff and NOREEN M. MCCABE, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction RAIN OR SHINE at the NASSAU COUNTY SUPREME COURT, NORTH SIDE STEPS, 100
SUPREME COURT DRIVE, MINEOLA, NY 11501, on February 2, 2023 at 2:30PM, premises known as 2863 CALVIN RD, OCEANSIDE, NY 11572: Section 0054, Block 00506-00, Lot 00058 & 00138:
ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING ANS BEING AT OCEANSIDE, IN THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU AND STATE OF NEW YORK Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 007501/2015. Janine T. Lynam, Esq. - Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES. 136326
LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NASSAU COUNTY. WINDWARD BORA LLC, Pltf. vs. VINCENT FERNICOLA A/K/A VINCENT FERNICOLA JR., A/K/A VINNIE FERNICOLA A/K/A VINCENT FERNICOLA, SR., et al, Defts. Index #612243/2018. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale dated Nov. 2, 2019, I will sell at public auction on the north side fronts steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY on February 1, 2023 at 2:30 p.m., prem. k/a 81 Bellevue Avenue, Oceanside, NY a/k/a Section 38, Block 365, Lot 33 & 34. Approx. amt. of judgment is $69,696.17 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Said Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale forecloses a Second Mortgage. Foreclosure auction will be held “rain or shine.” If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, then the court appointed referee will cancel the auction.
MARK RICCIARDI, Referee MARGOLIN, WEINREB & NIERER, LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 165 Eileen Way, Ste. 101, Syosset, NY. #99986 136324
To place a notice here call us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com
LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE FOR FORMATION of a limited liability company (LLC). The name of the limited liability company is FOXHURST LEGACY LLC. The date of filing of the articles of organization with the Department of State was December 15, 2022. The County in New York in which the office of the company is located is Nassau. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the company upon whom process may be served, and the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the company served upon him or her to The LLC, 61 Foxhurst Road, Oceanside, New York 11572. The business purpose of the company is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under the laws of the State of New York. 136279
INTERESTED shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposal at the time and place aforesaid.
Dated: January 10, 2023 Hempstead, New York BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD
DONALD X. CLAVIN, JR. Supervisor
KATE MURRAY Town Clerk 136611
PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…
Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.newyorkpublicnotices.com TO PLACE AND AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232
LEGAL NOTICE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF THE CWABS INC., ASSETBACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-16, INDEX NO.:601698/2022 Date Filed:2/9/2022
Plaintiff(s), -againstSUMMONS
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Section 202-48 of the code of the Town of Hempstead entitled, “Handicapped Parking On Public Streets,” a public hearing will be held in the Town Meeting Pavilion, Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Hempstead, New York, on the 24th day of January, 2023, at 7:00 o’clock in the afternoon of that day, to consider the adoption of a resolution setting aside certain parking spaces for motor vehicles for the sole use of holders of special parking permits issued by the County of Nassau to physically handicapped persons at the following locations: ELMONT 237th STREET - west side, starting at a point 163 feet south of the south curbline of 115th Terrace, south for a distance of 20 feet.
(TH-563/22)
OCEANSIDE SARATOGA STREET - east side, starting at a point 197 feet south of the south curbline of New York Avenue, south for a distance of 20 feet.
(TH-554/22)
ROOSEVELT ELMWOOD AVENUEsouth side, starting at a point 168 feet west of the west curbline of Willet Place, west for a distance of 20 feet.
(TH-560/22)
DELISLE AVENUE - east side, starting at a point 173 feet south of the south curbline of Elizabeth Street, south for a distance of 40 feet.
(TH-564/22)
MONROE AVENUEsouth side, starting at a point 312 feet west of the west curbline of St. Francis Street, west for a distance of 20 feet.
(TH-567/22)
ALL PERSONS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Article 9 of the New York State Constitution, the provisions of the Town Law and Municipal Home Rule of the State of New York, both as amended, a public hearing will be held in the Town Meeting Pavilion, Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Hempstead, New York, on the 24th day of January, 2023, at 7:00 o’clock in the afternoon of that day to consider the enactment of a local law to amend Section 197-13 of the code of the Town of Hempstead to INCLUDE “TRAFFIC REGULATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF SCHOOLS” at the following locations:
OCEANSIDE ALVIN COURT (TH 568/22) South Side - NO PARKING BETWEEN SIGNS 8 AM - 4 PM SCHOOL DAYSstarting at a point 4 feet east of the east curbline of Skillman Avenue, east for a distance of 112 feet.
ALVIN COURT (TH 568/22) South SideNO PARKING BETWEEN SIGNS 8 AM - 4 PM SCHOOL DAYS - starting a point 191 feet east of the east curbline of Skillman Avenue, east to the west curbline of Benjamin Road.
ALSO, to REPEAL from Section 197-13 “TRAFFIC REGULATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF SCHOOLS” from the following locations:
OCEANSIDE ALVIN COURT (TH 467/67) South Side -NO PARKING BETWEEN SIGNS 8 AM - 4 PM SCHOOL DAYSstarting at east curbline of Skillman Avenue, east to west curbline Benjamin Road.
(Adopted 8/29/67)
ALL PERSONS INTERESTED shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposal at the time and place aforesaid.
Dated: January 10, 2023 Hempstead, New York BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD DONALD X. CLAVIN, JR. Supervisor
KATE MURRAY Town Clerk 136610
Unknown heirs at law of LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action, such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of who and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff, CHRISTINE LONERGAN-BACH, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONDERGAN, BARBARA LONERGAN, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, BILLY LONERGAN, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, COLEEN FUSCO, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, CATHY MATTHEWS, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN
Plaintiff designates NASSAU County as the place of trial A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, ELIZABETH ANDERSON, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, DENISE LONERGAN, AS HEIR AT LAW OF LINDA LONERGAN A/K/A LINDA S. LONERGAN, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICADEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY - INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD,
Oceanside High School educators discovered several years ago that book fairs aren’t just for elementary schools. At the Oceanside High School, librarian Christine Sartory, with the support of former English Language Arts director Beth Zirogiannis, began hosting an annual Scholastic book fair in Dec., believing that if she built it, the readers would come. She was right and they did in droves.
The book fair is part of the hashtag booklove movement in Oceanside schools and it has paid off in increased readership and fiscally. The library netted $1,924.21 at this year’s book fair, based on $4,200 in sales of books and other merchandise.
The district’s new English Language Arts director, Francesca Wasserman, supported the high school effort. The proceeds will fund the purchase of more books for the library.
–Karina KovacMeMbers of the OHS Symphonic Choir sang at the OHS Library’s recent book fair.
The Oceanside High School Key Club has raised the astonishing sum of $17,334.50 after selling almost $35 thousand worth of popcorn via the app Double Good Popcorn. The proceeds went to several local charities.
Charities include the Kiwanis Chil -
dren’s Fund to assist its mission of providing healthcare for children around the world, General Needs Ltd. to assist in their mission of providing supplies to help homeless veterans, Oceanside S.A.F.E. to assist in reducing alcohol and drug use among youth in the community,
“JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to Plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Venue is based upon County in which the premises are situated
Premises: 1043 DELAWARE
AVENUE ISLAND PARK, NY 11558 Defendant(s).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action and to serve a
copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after the service is complete if this Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party Defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until sixty (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by
default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.
NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME
If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home.
Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property.
Sending a payment to the mortgage company will
not stop the foreclosure action.
YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.
Dated:November 11, 2022 Armonk, New York LEOPOLD & ASSOCIATES, PLLC
BY: Jacqueline K. Lamer, Esq.
Attorneys for Plaintiff 80 Business Park Drive, Suite 110 Armonk, NY 10504 914-219-5787 136133
Search for notices online at: www.newyorkpublicnotices.com
Oceanside Scholarship Fund to defray post-secondary education expenses for high school seniors and Oceanside Community Service to assist with providing food to struggling families for the holidays.
This is the third consecutive year that
Key Club has run the successful popcorn fundraiser. Key Club is a high school chapter of the service club, Kiwanis, and is advised by high school social studies teacher, Jeremy Zylbert.
Richner
reers@liherald.com
CLEANING PERSON FT Needed For Local Cleaning Company. Will Train. If Interested Call Bill 516-678-5943
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS Assist
General Contractor. Drivers License. Knowledge Of Construction. Call Mike. 516-887-8877.
Role requires working knowledge of Microsoft Office and ability to learn custom software programs.
Hours Vary, Night Availability is a Must. Please Email Resume to careers@liherald.com
The award-winning Herald Community Newspapers group, covering Nassau County's North and South Shores with hard-hitting news stories and gracefully written features, seeks a motivated, energetic and creative editor/reporter to join our dynamic (and awesome) team! This education and general assignment reporting position offers a unique experience to learn from some of the best in the business. Historically, reporters who have launched their careers with us have gone on to The New York Times, Newsweek, Newsday, the New York Daily News, New York Post, CNN, BBC, NBC News and The Daily Mail, among many others. We look for excellent writers who are eager to learn, enhance their skills, and become well-established and respected journalists in our industry. To apply: Send a brief summary in the form of a cover letter describing your career goals and what strengths you can bring to our newsroom, along with a resume and three writing samples to mhinman@liherald.com
supervise elementary school aged children from 2:45 pm to 5:00 or 6:00 pm weekdays. Experience helpful. If interested email merrickbasp@aol.com or call (516)379-4245
Hewlett
Nestled in the prestigious school district 14, you will find this bright and airy Side Hall Colonial that also offers plenty of space. This home features 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a finished basement that provides additional living space for entertainment. The formal dining room and living room are perfect for hosting guests while the kitchen with an island allows for plenty of prep space when cooking up your favorite meals. The backyard deck and lush lawn provide a great spot to relax or entertain friends. You're also just minutes' walk from Grant Park - perfect for enjoying a beautiful day outdoors. This home is conveniently located close to transportation, shops, and restaurants. Don't wait - come see this wonderful home today! For a private tour contact us at 516.791.1313.
Q. A few contractors have looked at my attic so I can finish it for more bedrooms and a family room. The 1920s house has a very large attic with stairs to the second-floor landing. The attic stairs are much steeper and narrower, and the contractor says the walls will need to be taken down and wider and longer stairs put in. Is this necessary? The stairs are already there, and even though they’re steep, they work. Also, one of the contractors said that the horizontal 2x4s going across the attic, which are too low to walk around, could be removed or raised. Is that true? He said we could put them higher and add more so we can add finished wallboards to them. Do you agree, and is there anything I should know about doing this before we start?
A. Good thing you asked before you started. Instead of starting, you need to stop and take a few steps back. What you’re describing has multiple issues that you have to address.
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First, your state building code doesn’t allow the occupancy of a third floor in a single-family, woodframed dwelling. This is because of the many dangers involved in surviving a fire at that level. In the process of getting the permit to occupy a third story, which you left out of the description of your investigation, you would need to have a licensed architect or engineer prepare plans that include specific methods of escape, including the correct size and number of windows, distances to exterior and interior levels below to escape to, sprinkler locations along the entire path of travel to get out of the dwelling, heights of ceilings and fire-rated materials to be installed. This is because, as I have often written, the chances of surviving a fire in the third floor of a wood-framed dwelling are statistically remote, only 5 percent. That means you or your loved ones could be among the 95 out of 100 who will die from smoke inhalation or burns.
The plans for a finished third story are submitted to both your local building department, which will rightfully reject them, and to the State Codes Division for a public hearing, where your case will need to be represented by a code-knowledgeable professional. I have seen people represent themselves, which generally doesn’t go very well, since safety is the reason for the codes, and there are many laws and standards that the average owner is unaware of.
The stair access must be 3 feet wide, and the tread must be at least 10¼ inches, while the risers cannot exceed 8¼ inches. The horizontal 2x4s you described are collar ties, and they serve the important function of holding the roof together, especially in high winds and under snow loads. Moving or removing them can be dangerous. The higher up, the less effective, and without first calculating several factors, it should not be done.
© 2022 Monte Leeper Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.
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Once again, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has left coal in the stockings of Long Island Rail Road commuters.
Every Christmas since 2011, the MTA has failed to initiate the promised East Side Access to Grand Central Madison service. The original Federal Transit Administration capital investment — or New Starts — grant agreement with the MTA was approved in 2006.
time in the coming weeks.
The ESA project cost has grown to $11.6 billion. This doesn’t include debt service payments of $1 billion for borrowing costs buried in the MTA’s operating budget. There are also $4 billion worth of LIRR readiness projects to support the start of service — including such things as third-track construction and capacity improvements at Jamaica Station — which are separate from the official budget. Without these projects, the LIRR lacks the expanded operational capabilities to support the new service.
LARRY pENNERIt included a project cost of $6.3 billion, with the start of passenger service — including a promise to run 24 hourly trains on the LIRR’s 10 branches to Grand Central Madison during rush hour — in 2011. We still don’t know when that service will begin.
The temporary shuttle service that did not start last month, as promised, will come nowhere close to meeting this commitment. I can just imagine the overcrowding on shuttle trains between Jamaica and Grand Central Madison when this service begins — likely some-
Even when East Side Access service begins, thousands of potential new LIRR customers will continue to be out of luck in Hunters Point, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Elmhurst and Woodhaven, Queens because of limited or no service. The LIRR currently runs a handful of morning rush-hour trains westbound from Jamaica to Hunters Point and Long Island City, returning east in the evening rush hour. There is no rush-hour, hourly off-peak or evening bi-directional service to those other communities.
Another problem: Penn Station is a
24/7 facility. Grand Central Terminal is closed overnight from 2 to 5:15 a.m. Unlike the LIRR, Metro North provides no service in or out during that time period. The LIRR has the advantage, but Long Islanders who commute at odd times — or come home late from events in Manhattan that end well after midnight — and want to use Grand Central will lose that advantage to incomplete service. A simple analysis of the proposed schedules reveals that depending on your branch or station, there will be no LIRR service to or from Grand Central Madison for three to five hours overnight on weekdays or weekends.
Catherine Rinaldi is the first MTA official to serve as president of both the LIRR and Metro North. Those extrahours riders might want to ask her why the LIRR must be subject to the Metro North’s schedule shortfalls. Isn’t it time to make Grand Central, too, a 24/7 facility?
As well, whenever East Side Access service to Grand Central Madison begins, the LIRR will suspend virtually all direct, one-seat, ride-through service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal
Brooklyn. Thousands of LIRR riders bound for downtown Brooklyn, Wall Street, the World Financial Center, the World Trade Center or other destinations in downtown Manhattan via Atlantic Terminal Brooklyn will now have longer commutes. One rider’s gain in time savings — being able to get to Manhattan’s East Side via Grand Central Madison instead of Penn Station — will be a loss for another rider trying to access destinations via Atlantic Terminal Brooklyn. Was investing $12.6 billion in East Side Access worth it? The verdict is still out. It is doubtful, in a post-Covid-19 world, that there will be anywhere near the anticipated 160,000 daily riders using Grand Central Madison, as the MTA predicts. Time will tell if commuters and taxpayers will see all of the benefits from this project, which has been promised for decades by elected official and MTA and LIRR presidents. When it comes to East Side Access, the LIRR’s 1960s motto, “Line of the Dashing Dan,” should be changed to “Line of the Slow Moving Sloth.”
Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who worked in the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office of Operations and Program Management for three decades.
As I look back on my New Years’ columns over these last many years, I might as well have been writing in disappearing ink. Pretty much nothing I expected came to pass, and a whole lot of stuff I never saw coming changed my life and yours, too. So why even try to predict? It’s in our DNA, I suppose, conferring the illusion of control when we have none.
ies is and will be zero.
With that as a caveat, let me hope rather than predict that we will not have a recession; that the markets will rally in 2023 and, somehow, all the thousands of people who are literally dying to get into our country will be matched with all the jobs that are begging to be filled.
Will Covid surge again? Will some new bug emerge from the virulent epidemic in China? I wonder if Kim Jung-un will hold on to his rockets or let them fly. When will Ukraine find peace, and will it be before Putin snaps? How will our children and teenagers recover from the grief and academic setbacks of the pandemic lockdown? When can we feel safe in our lives again?
No one, except for Bill Gates and some epidemiologists who were ignored, predicted the greatest catastrophe of our lifetime, the coronavirus pandemic, the more than 1 million deaths here at home and more than 6 million deaths worldwide.
Everyone predicted a huge Republican sweep in the midterms, and that didn’t happen. And with the MAGA loonies running the GOP, to predict what will happen in 2023 would be folly indeed.
Bullish? Bearish? Last week the big dailies posted predictions for the markets. Inflation, recession, deflation, higher mortgage rates? Columnist Jeff Sommer wrote in The New York Times: “It’s simply impossible to forecast the path of the markets six months or a year ahead with accuracy and consistency, as many academic studies have shown. That the financial services industry continues to label these unreliable numbers as forecasts is a triumph of breathtaking chutzpah — a technical term for shameless audacity.”
RANDI KREISSIn politics, too, the prediction business is bust. We — all of us — lived through the 2016 presidential election, in which pretty much everyone with an opinion, from columnists to people on the street to professional pollsters to Las Vegas bookies and even many supporters of Donald Trump, absolutely did not believe that he would or could win. How many times did we hear pundits say that his path to victory was slim to none? How much airtime and ink were wasted on the assumption of a Hillary Clinton victory and how that would play out? Folks thought DJT would ride that escalator into oblivion.
On New Year’s Eve we toasted 2023 with wishes for good health and peace on earth and peace of mind. Wishes. As hostages to fate and dysfunctional politics, that’s the best we can do. We humans have never tolerated the existential uncertainty of being a person alive on earth. So we turn to exit polls and Svengalis and any grifter who hangs out a palm-reading sign. The truth? I’m even down on Punxsutawney Phil.
I can’t and won’t believe anyone who ever again purports to know the future of an election or an economy or the course of a disease or the likelihood of an earthquake striking any particular location at any particular time.
We are in the game, and it changes day to day.
Yearning for a seed of certainty, yesterday I booked a hotel in Dallas for April 8, 2024, when a full solar eclipse will be seen for two minutes and 20 seconds. I predict, with 100 percent certainty, that it will occur.
Which leads me to predict that the value of their elaborate algorithmic stud-
The very least we could take away from that election was healthy skepticism. Pollsters, even the academic knowit-alls, have little success predicting the results of an election or anything else.
In our personal lives, it’s painful to accept that we cannot know what the future will bring. Life reads like a mystery, not an itinerary. We can’t know what comes next or if we’ll make an appearance in the next chapter.
The track record of clairvoyants is abysmal.
What isn’t sure is if I will get to see it. There may be clouds overhead, or clouds in my life. I am choosing to have faith that the eclipse will occur as scheduled, on April 8 in Dallas. I plan to be there. It’s a small thing, but I’m counting on it.
Copyright 2023 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.
Life reads like a mystery, not an itinerary. We can’t know what comes next.
the federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for 14 years — a time period during which mere adjustments for inflation would now have it over $10.
Congress isn’t expected to act on raising that wage anytime soon, so many municipalities and states — like New York — have taken matters into their own hands. New York City and Long Island both have a $15 minimum wage, as does Westchester County. Last week, upstate New York rose to $14.20.
In fact, 27 states raised their minimum wage at the beginning of 2023, according to the National Employment Law Project, with new baselines ranging from $9.95 in states like Montana to $15.74 in Washington state.
We hear a lot about the minimum wage. What we don’t ever talk about is something that many may not even know exists: the subminimum wage.
It’s real, and it has been since the Fair Labor Standards Act, which first established a federal minimum wage, was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938. Many have credited the law with helping to guide the United States out of the Great Depression. And the framework of the Fair Labor Standards Act — 40-hour work weeks, child labor restrictions, extra pay for overtime — fuels our labor economy to this day.
But if you look closely at the law — particularly at Section 14(c) — you might be surprised to learn that not everyone is eligible for the minimum wage. Even at $7.25. It allows employers to apply for a certificate from the federal government to pay less than minimum wage to workers with disabilities.
It’s an archaic law based on an archaic
way of thinking when it comes to people with disabilities.
When the legislation was first passed, “it was assumed that a worker with a disability was less productive than a non-disabled worker,” former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge wrote in a 2021 opinion piece in USA Today. “In retrospect, it was a flawed assumption. We want to be fair to the intent of the original legislation, which was to provide individuals with disabilities an opportunity to enter the workforce.”
When the former Pennsylvania governor wrote those words, he was nearing the end of a long chairmanship of the National Organization on Disability, an advocacy group for a class of people who are, more often than not, overlooked. Ridge described paying people with disabilities less than minimum wage as “no less than another critical civil rights issue.”
And he was right. Treating an entire group of people differently from everyone else simply because they have disabilities is a relic of the distant past that should stay in the distant past.
Yet efforts to eliminate this disparity over the years, by both Republicans and Democrats, have come up short on the federal level. Most recently, President Biden tried to remove the subminimum wage as part of the American Rescue Plan at the beginning of his administration, but never got it through Congress.
Since then, however, more than a dozen states have abolished the subminimum wage, according to the Association of People Supporting Employment First. But New York isn’t one of them. Not that our legislators haven’t tried — it’s just that none of their efforts have ever made it out of committee.
Closer to home, there are many who are trying to make a difference — like the Backyard Players & Friends of Rockville Centre, which describes its mission as seeking “unity without uniformity, and diversity without fragmentation.” The organization opened the Front Porch Market next to its headquarters on North Long Beach Road, conceived to provide creative work in a retail environment, treating everyone equally no matter what they bring to the table.
The market officially opens Jan. 17, and will feature crafters from around the community, classes on creating things like candles and soap, along with small retailers like Popcorn for the People and Smile Farms Hot Sauce.
The percentage of people with disabilities finding jobs is growing, but only 1 in 5 in that community is working. And of those, more are finding employment because they’re working for themselves rather than getting hired by someone else — a rate far higher than those without disabilities.
Even if the subminimum wage were finally abolished, there are many other hurdles that must be swept away for those with disabilities, and they can’t be ignored, either. But right now, hundreds if not thousands of our neighbors and community members aren’t getting the same consideration for pay as those without disabilities.
That must change. And if it can’t happen on the federal level, we need to focus our efforts much closer to home, blocking the availability of subminimum wages in our state.
Because as Tom Ridge made very clear, “all Americans should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”
To the Editor:
Many will start the new year with goals to exercise more, eat better and lose weight. January will also be when newly elected public servants or incumbents starting another term take office across New York state.
Old habits are hard to change in people — and especially hard to change in government. The biggest issue in government today is the lack of trust the public has in their elected leaders. The best way to build trust as an elected official is through transparency.
Elected officials should begin 2023 by conducting the public’s business in an open and transparent way. To show their commitment to open government, elected officials serving on a village board,
Follow the money. This adage never gets old.
For decades, gas pipelines and other delivery infrastructure have been a reliable cash cow for utility companies, which recover the costs of building their distribution systems from our utility bills, which give them a fat return on their investments. This traditional utility profit model is now at odds with a climate-driven energy transition, creating all kinds of perverse incentives. And while hikes in heating costs are grabbing the headlines, the jostling over the future of heating isn’t getting much attention.
In order to succeed in the challenging but essential task of decarbonizing its economy in the coming decades — as mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which it passed in 2019 — New York state will need to embrace an all-electric future and eschew fossil fuels, including natural gas. Utilities like Con Edison and the Long Island Power Authority, which together serve about 60 percent of the state’s electric customers, have endorsed this scenario. Many builders and households are already going all-electric, because gas fouls our homes and communities, and modern electric homes are cheaper and superior.
This is the approach espoused by almost all experts because, as the electric grid becomes cleaner, the rest of the economy will naturally follow. This is also the most cost-effective and energy-efficient decarbonization strategy for buildings, because electric heat pumps use only a fraction of the energy of their fuel-based counterparts.
Heat pumps and Long Island are a match made in heaven. With relatively mild winters, Long Island homes don’t need the top-gun units for efficient, reliable heating and cooling. LIPA’s electric load peaks at around 5 gigawatts in the summer, but barely makes it to 3 gigawatts in the winter. Adding winter load will spread the fixed grid costs over more usage and reduce per-kilowatt-hour prices.
In an effort to conserve their profitable gas distribution system, some utilities have floated their own “clean energy vision” involving green hydrogen and biomethane, marketed as renewable natural gas, or RNG — a so-called fossil-free duo that could supposedly flow through their pipeline network forever.
But consider the science and the economics of this vision. It took NASA months to fix hydrogen leaks on its recent Artemis 1 moon mission. Any proposal to pump highly explosive hydrogen, which
town board, City Council, community board or county legislature should introduce and pass a New Year’s resolution stating they will:
■ Post timely notice of all meetings at least one week prior to those meetings.
■ Post online meeting agendas and all meeting documents at least 24 hours before a meeting.
■ Post draft meeting minutes online, no more than two weeks after a meeting.
■ Allow members of the public to speak at the beginning of a meeting regarding agenda items and non-agenda items — whether they attend in person or remotely.
■ Livestream meetings by video and post the video recording online afterward.
■ Only conduct private executive sessions on rare occasions, in accordance with the New York State Open Meetings Law.
Just because you can hold an executive session doesn’t mean that you have to. A motion to hold an executive session to discuss “litigation,” “personnel” or “collective bargaining”
isn’t sufficient, as the Open Meetings Law requires motions to state more information when holding an executive session.
■ Agree not to hold private political party caucus meetings. There is no reason, at the local level, to hold private political party caucus meetings to discuss political business or public business. Secret meetings build a lack of trust among the public.
■ Have information regarding the Freedom of Information Law posted in a visible place on their websites. Proactively post documents online as much as possible so the public can access information without having to file a FOIL request. Post an easy fill-inthe-blank form that assists the public in filing a FOIL request by email on the website.
■ Commit to ensuring that all FOIL requests are acknowledged within five days, as required by law, and that information is provided to the public promptly.
PAUL WOLF AmherstWolf is president of the New York Coalition for Open Government.
has the tiniest molecules in the universe, through 50,000 miles of pipe in New York should raise serious doubts. Multiple studies have also warned of the risk of damage to the steel in pipes and appliances posed by gas blends with significantly more than 5 percent hydrogen.
Moreover, it shouldn’t take a NASA scientist to question the wisdom of heating homes by burning the stupendously expensive green hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, when that electricity can directly power energysipping heat pumps. Not surprisingly, expensive experiments and demonstration projects involving the use of hydrogen for heat, the kind of boondoggles being developed in the Town of Hempstead, are already being scrapped or failing in other parts of the country and the world.
Hydrogen’s partner in crime, RNG, is produced by capturing and refining the naturally produced biogas in landfills and wastewater treatment plants. But naturally derived biomethane can meet only a minuscule fraction of the home-heating demand, so much of it will need to be artificially generated from organic waste streams. Its global warming potential isn’t much lower than that of fossil gas because of inevitable releases and leaks of methane, which is much more destructive to the climate than carbon dioxide.
Fossil-free doesn’t mean emissionsfree, and the scheme doesn’t satisfy the science-based methane accounting methodology of New York’s climate law.
Produced naturally or intentionally, RNG is significantly more expensive than fossil gas, and its supplies will be limited by feedstock availability. Even the rosiest projections in the gas utilities’ own studies show that there won’t be enough of it for every possible use that those companies are touting it for, home heating being the least practical one.
The gas utilities’ so-called fossil-free clean-energy vision based on hydrogen and RNG is a mirage that doesn’t pass scientific, technical, economic or legal muster. To make matters worse, burning hydrogen would produce high levels of nitrous oxide, a health hazard, and RNG would cause indoor pollution from leakage and combustion akin to fossil gas, which is linked to myriad health risks, with the latest research attributing almost 19 percent of all childhood asthma in New York to gas stoves.
Pollution for profit shouldn’t have a place inside homes and businesses.
Anshul Gupta is a Steering Committee member of the Climate Reality Project’s NYS Coalition. Gordian Raacke is executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island.