_________ Oceanside/island park ________
CoMMUNITY UPDATE Infections as of July 1
4,453
Infections as of June 23 4,449
$1.00
HERALD
ToH hosts field hockey camp
Grads go back to grade school
Major crime down in Nassau
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Vol. 56 No. 28
JUlY 8 - 14, 2021
Hostess going strong and working at 95 By ToM CArrozzA tcarrozza@liherald.com
Tom Carrozza/Herald
MArY ANN SHErrY, 95, and Steve Jordan showing off one of the restaurant’s lobsters.
For older Americans, the pandemic was especially difficult. Many felt alone and purposeless during the lockdowns and had to be extremely careful to avoid contracting the deadly Covid-19 virus. After nearly 16 months, many are excited to retur n to nor mal life, but 95-year-old Mary Ann Sherry wanted to go the extra mile and get back to work at Jordan Lobster Farms in Island Park. For the last four years, Sherry has worked a few nights a
week as a hostess. For anyone who knows her, it shouldn’t be a shock that she ended up back at a Jordan Lobster Farms. The restaurant business has been in her blood since she was a child, when she worked in one of Rockville Centre’s first pizzerias, owned by her family. Steve Jordan, owner of Jordan Lobster Farms, and Sherry have known each other for decades. Jordan went to school with her daughter, Michele. When Sher ry’s husband, Frank, died three years ago this Veterans Day, she started Continued on page 23
Austin Boulevard is a big focus in Nassau County plans By ToM CArrozzA tcarrozza@liherald.com
On June 30, the Nassau County Legislature approved County Executive Laura Curran’s 202124 Capital Improvement Plan. Under it, Austin Boulevard is scheduled for traffic and pedestrian improvements and storm and flood resiliency measures. Curran’s plan will see $8.9 million dedicated to the 1.4-mile stretch of road that runs through Oceanside and Island Park. The hope is that the plan could allay residents’ worries about potholes and flooding. The plans were scheduled for the spring of 2020 before the pan-
demic caused a widespread shutdown of the economy. Despite the financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic, Curran said her commitment to the plan never wavered. “It’s a necessary project for public safety,” Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty said. While the road work will slow traffic, it will also provide newly paved roads for vehicle safety and curb buildouts and improved crosswalks and countdown timers at intersections. The drainage mitigation part of the project will see increased drain capacity with the installation of new pipes, with a larger
W
hen there’s flooding down here, we’re talking public safety and livelihood.
MICHAEl MCGINTY Mayor, Island Park
diameter than the older ones, routed from in front of DaVinci’s restaurant, on Long Beach Road, to the California Place canal. Part of that drainage work was completed in May. The mayor cited the flooding
that has occurred by the railroad tracks as one major infrastructure issue that will be addressed by the new drainage system. In the past, flooding has affected the electrified third rail of the railroad tracks. “When there’s flooding down here, we’re talking public safety and livelihoods,” McGinty said. The mayor lauded county Depu-
ty Commissioner for Planning Sean Sallie’s work thus far, and said he was confident that the plan would continue to proceed under his watch. One of the biggest boons expected to come from the plan is improving property values at a time when the real estate market has been extremely active. Continued on page 04