_________ Oceanside/island park ________
HERALD Honoring all of our heroes
Randi Kreiss has returned
Soccer team readies new run
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VoL. 58 No. 39
SEPTEMBER 21 - 27, 2023
$1.00
Friedberg JCC honors Harvey Weisenberg Premieres ‘A Voice for the Voiceless’ documentary Bal, Oce, Roc
By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com Christine Rivera/Herald
deborah Smith detailing her daughter’s nightmarish medical experience.
Challah Bake supports Oceanside’s Melissa Hunter Put on life support days after giving birth to second child By KEPHERD DANIEL kdaniel@liherald.com
The Chabad of Oceanside hosted a Challah Bake on Sept. 11, to not only welcome the Jewish High Holy Days, but also to raise money for 2007 Oceanside High School alumna Melissa Hunter, 34. Hunter gave birth to her second daughter, Zoey, on June 17, at Morristown Medical Center, in New Jersey. Just five days later, Hunter went into severe septic shock, and was given extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, treatment to avoid vital organ failure. After having been on life support, she is now rehabilitating. Hunter, who grew up in Oceanside, earned
Bal, Oce, Roc
a degree in marketing at American University in Washington, D.C. After college, she lived in Brooklyn, and then moved to Jersey City and, last year, to Randolph, New Jersey. She and her husband, Nick, were married in November 2019, and had their first child, a daughter, Nora, on Sept. 16, 2020. A Randolph community member started a GoFundMe campaign for the Hunters, and as of press time it had raised more than $162,000. More than 150 women attended the Challah Bake, and all of the proceeds from the event and raffles were donated to the family as well. Hunter’s mother, Deborah Smith, and her husband, Dennis, are members of the Chabad, and have lived in Oceanside for 30 Continued on page 18 SEPTEMBER 21, 2023
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The Friedberg JCC, in Oceanside, celebrated retired Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, and his support for those with developmental disabilities, by hosting a screening of the short film, “A Voice for the Voiceless,” on Sept. 13. The film documents the 89-year-old Weisenberg’s life, his career in government and his relationship with his son Ricky, 65, who was born with cerebral palsy and suffered abuse at the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island, where he was being cared for. Ever since, Weisenberg has made it his mission to advocate for children and adults with disabilities and their caregivers. “There should be more love in this world, and acceptance for people with disabilities,” Weisenberg’s daughter, Vicki Laufer, said. “People seem to just overlook them as if they’re not human. They don’t give people with special needs a chance, and they have so much
love to give.” The film moves between Weisenberg’s hometown of Long Beach and the floor of the Assembly in Albany, where he served under five governors. While working in Albany, Weisenberg dedicated much of his energy to improving conditions for professionals who care for the developmentally disabled. Over the years he helped secure some $90 million for children with disabilities and their caregivers. Chalkley Calderwood, a filmmaker from Brooklyn, directed, filmed and edited the documentary. “I learned so many things about Harvey beyond what I read in his book,” Calderwood said, referring to “For the Love of a Child: My Life, My City a n d M y M i s s i o n , ” wh i c h Weisenberg wrote in 2018. “I think the most important thing I took away is just how beloved he is in his area, and how true it is that he has advocated for people with special needs and their caregivers for his entire Continued on page 16