Oceanside/Island Park
HERALD
NOW OPEN
Indoor & Outdoor D
Work to begin on Austin Boulevard
Page 20
Page 10
$1.00
18/21 itc FG Curbside pickup and delDemi Condensed ivery available 516.678.0Page 886xx 88A NOrth VillAgE AV E. rOckVillE cENtrE
1107272
lBGTQ bar opens in Oceanside
NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2020
th ai ta bl en y. co m
Andrea Porzelt, a guidance counselor for Island Park Public Schools, was recognized as the Nassau County Counselors’ Association’s 2020 Counselor of the Year on Oct. 23. Story, more photos, Page 3.
posts were unearthed in midOctober, and as a result, the board has asked him to resign Ryan Hemsley was absent on several times. He has yet to step Nov. 4 from the first public meet- down, and said on Oct. 15 that ing of the Oceanside Sanitation the posts were “doctored or comDistrict No. 7 Board of Commis- pletely made up” to discredit sioners since he came under fire him after a contentious election for alleged racist, homophobic in September. and anti-Semitic Facebook posts Then, in a series of text meslast month. sages days later, he Despite his told the Herald that absence, Hemsley he had been aware was the topic of of the posts for discussion for most many months, but of the evening, as other people had Chairman Austin posted them on his Graff again called page, and Graff for his resignation, asked him to while noting that remove them the board was still before he joined the looking into provboard. Graff has ing the posts were denied having seen all Hemsley’s. the posts before the “The board is AuSTiN GRAFF group Oceanside handling Ryan’s Chairman, Oceanside Ag ainst Racism i nv e s t i g a t i o n , ” Sanitation District No. 7 sent a packet to Graf f said. “If him in mid-OctoRyan were to show ber, and noted that up, we would ask him the ques- he was aware only that Hemsley tions that need to be asked had scrubbed posts from his regarding the packet that we page, not what their contents received. That’s what the investi- were. The group also sent an gation is going to be. It’s not email of the posts to the Herald. going to cost the district any After the meeting, Hemsley money.” referred the Herald to a public Hemsley became the center of controversy after the Facebook Continued on page 4
By MikE SMOlliNS msmollins@liherald.com
T
Courtesy Island Park Public Schools
Oceanside, Island Park dining options shift with weather tbellissimo@liherald.com
Unseasonably mild temperatures last week allowed local restaurants to take advantage of outdoor seating, but with winter weather looming, owners are bracing for the challenge of watching their new business model under the pandemic disappear until next spring. “We had a perfect summer where we were able to utilize a
VOl. 55 NO. 46
Commissioner is no-show at public meeting
She’s made a difference
By TONY BElliSSiMO
ining
multitude of tables for outdoor seating,” said EGP Land and Sea owner Tim O’Hagan, who noted that the restaurant, on Pettit Place in Island Park, features seating for 50 outdoors and 72 indoors. “We’ve seen the numbers drop off, and it’s certainly going to hurt business moving forward,” he said. “The weather was great this week, but prior to that, nobody sat outside for weeks.” O’Hagan, who employs 30
full- or part-timers, said he has had to lay off a portion of his kitchen staff over the past few months. He added that he hoped the addition of outdoor dining “igloos,” which are heated and seat up to 10 on couches and are available to rent for two hours, will keep some outdoor revenue coming. “It’s a scary time for all of us restaurateurs,” O’Hagan said. “I Continued on page 16
he community needs to stand up to this stuff. This is not a political situation. This is Oceanside.