Seaford Herald 03-16-2023

HERALD

Hochul control, or local control?

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Mike Dunphy

to lead parade

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MARCH 16-22, 2023

Carini decries ‘l.i. as sixth borough’ Page

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‘Our window remains open’

Looking forward after successful wrestling season at Wantagh High

By MiCHAel MAlAsZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

High, in Levittown (183.5). The Clem brothers, Vanorden and

This marks the second year in a row that students will be able to perform a play on stage since the disruptions caused by Covid. After last year’s performance of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” the cast has grown from 27 to more than 40, with another 20 working on the stage group.

“It’s been fun because you get to hang out

work and what to expect,” Barbara Sherwin, the play and drama club director, said. “We start to get into a groove, and they start to know what is expected and the responsibilities of following the schedule, knowing your lines, going over the music, and handing in things on time.”

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Both Anthony and Joe lost in the finals of the state championships, Anthony in the 118-pound division and Joe at 126 pounds.

But Wantagh racked up 253 points at the Nassau Division I championships Feb. 11 and 12, far ahead of Long Beach High School (208.5) and MacArthur

was a two-time All-American at Pennsylvania’s Westchester State University, has coached at Wantagh for 12 years. He previously coached at Long Beach. But Gillespie also knows that Long Beach — and other Nassau wrestling teams — will see Want-

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HERALD

Mike Dunphy to lead parade Page 3

MARCH 16-22, 2023

Carini decries ‘l.i. as sixth borough’ Page 7

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‘Our window remains open’

Looking forward after successful wrestling season at Wantagh High

By MiCHAel MAlAsZCZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

Sometimes, when a team falls just short of its ultimate goal, fear can start to sink in that that its window of opportunity might be closing. But with coaches Paul Gillespie and Ray Hanley at the helm, and with Anthony and Joe Clem and Jesse Vanorden returning next season, Wantagh High School’s wrestling team has no such concern.

At Seaford Middle School, ‘Little Mermaid’ to debut

By KePHeRD DANiel kdaniel@liherald.com

Seaford Middle School’s drama club will roll out the red carpet for its annual school play — with the much-anticipated performance of “The Little Mermaid Jr.” — on March 31 and April 1.

This marks the second year in a row that students will be able to perform a play on stage since the disruptions caused by Covid. After last year’s performance of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” the cast has grown from 27 to more than 40, with another 20 working on the stage group.

“It’s been fun because you get to hang out

with a lot of people,” seventh-grader Natalie Gonzalez said.

Auditions began at the end of November and music rehearsals were first conducted in December, with the cast starting to dive into rehearsals for all the scenes in January.

“A lot of the kids are back in the cast for a second year, so they have an idea of how I work and what to expect,” Barbara Sherwin, the play and drama club director, said. “We start to get into a groove, and they start to know what is expected and the responsibilities of following the schedule, knowing your lines, going over the music, and handing in things on time.”

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The squad is coming off one of the best seasons in the program’s history. The Clem twins, who are juniors, emerged as stars this season, and went far enough to be named Newsday’s Athletes of the Week on Feb. 17. Other key members of the team included Vanorden, a junior, and senior Thomas Bonasera.

High, in Levittown (183.5). The Clem brothers, Vanorden and Bonasera were all standouts.

Bonasera defeated Lynbrook’s Dylan Vanegas in the 138-pound division, Vanorden beat Bethpage’s William McMullen in overtime in the 145-pound final, and Anthony and Joe Clem captured titles in their weight classes as well.

“Team counties is really exciting,” Joe said. “In the finals, we went up against Long Beach, and I was the final match. It came down to the final match.”

RAY HANleY Assistant wrestling

Clem dominated his match, winning by technical fall, the wrestling equivalent of the mercy rule. “When you’re up by 15 or more points,” he explained, “they just stop the match.”

“I was pretty happy with my season,” Anthony Clem said. “Wasn’t my favorite ending, but pretty good throughout the whole season.”

Both Anthony and Joe lost in the finals of the state championships, Anthony in the 118-pound division and Joe at 126 pounds.

But Wantagh racked up 253 points at the Nassau Division I championships Feb. 11 and 12, far ahead of Long Beach High School (208.5) and MacArthur

Clem ended up earning the Gary Ventimiglia Outstanding Wrestler and the Ted Petersen Champion of Champion awards for his performance.

Gillespie and Hanley have full faith in the athletes who will return next year. Gillespie, who was a two-time All-American at Pennsylvania’s Westchester State University, has coached at Wantagh for 12 years. He previously coached at Long Beach.

But Gillespie also knows that Long Beach — and other Nassau wrestling teams — will see WantContinued on page 5

Courtesy Seaford School District

leAD ACtoRs iNCluDe, clockwise from top left, Henry Brock, Roran Cassidy, Harrison Feitzinger, Olivia Ferrara, Madison Spinella, Katharyn Malone, Brandon Bombardier and Zackary Dyckman.

You can tell right at the start, when they walk in, how good they’re going to be.

coach

Leaders: Housing plan undermines neighborhoods

By ROKSANA AMID ramid@liherald.com

Many on Long Island already are having a tough time finding affordable places to live. The elderly are priced out of affordable homes, and younger generations are fleeing to more affordable locales — many times out of state.

Lawmakers have tried a number of ways to keep rents low, but the latest plan offered by Gov. Kathy Hochul to build 800,000 new homes across the state over the next decade isn’t meeting with a lot of support. Especially on Long Island.

“We don’t want Hochul control, we want local control,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin told a crowd of local elected leaders at the Port Washington Long Island Rail Road station earlier this month.

Clavin believes the governor’s proposal is a power grab and doesn’t take into consideration the differences between upstate and downstate communities. He worries Hochul’s plans will force Long Island to become the sixth borough of New York City.

While the proposal speaks to creating high-density housing, officials say it doesn’t address upgrading the existing infrastructure to accommodate the population increase — like roads and utilities. There also seems to be little attention from Albany about how such fast growth could impact schools, which might not be able to keep up.

Rents have risen 30 percent since 2015 in New York City, while home prices have grown 50 percent. The situation is even more dire outside the city where rents are up as much as 60 percent, with some existing home sales rising as high as 80 percent over the last eight years.

According to the Population Reference Bureau, more than half of the state’s renters are paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent, the second-highest rate

in the nation.

Hochul wants to battle that through what she’s calling the New York Housing Compact. It’s intended to eliminate many of the barriers stopping development of affordable housing — especially around Metropolitan Transportation Authority rail stations — including plans for the state to step in if local government refuse to act.

But that’s what really have many local leaders like

Clavin fired up. The town supervisor says Hochul’s proposal eliminates the public hearing process, and will allow an “unaccountable, bureaucratic board located hundreds of miles away in Albany to make decisions over what belongs in your neighborhood.”

The governor, however, believes the state’s housing crisis requires bold actions and an all-hands-on-deck approach.

“Every community in New York must do their part to encourage housing growth to move our state forward and keep our economy strong.” Hochul said, according to a release. “The New York Housing Compact is a comprehensive plan to spur the changes needed to create more housing, meet rising demand, and make our state a more equitable, stable and affordable place to live.”

The compact, however, suggests local leaders aren’t doing enough to address the housing crisis. And that’s wrong, said Jennifer DeSena, town supervisor for North Hempstead.

“We have a hearing process,” DeSena said. “There are always projects that are being considered Nassau County is the densest suburban community in the country. We have a lot of housing, and wanting to add an arbitrary number like 3 percent every three years, it’s just not realistic.”

Pamela Panzenbeck said she’s worried about a devastating scenario for the city she leads, Glen Cove, where giving the governor the power to rezone property within a half-mile from a train station to 50 units of housing per acre will hurt more than it will help.

The mayor also believes Long Island towns and cities should be able to decide for themselves what the appropriate land use is.

“Changes such as she suggests would destroy our way of life,” Panzenbeck said, “the historic nature and beauty of Glen Cove, and our Long Island communities.”

Michael Dunphy is all set to lead Wantagh’s parade

By Michael MalasZcZYK mmalaszczyk@liherald.com

The biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade on Long Island is this weekend, and will be led by a very proud Irish-American — Michael Dunphy.

Dunphy was named grand marshal back in September. Past grand marshals have been John Murray Jr., owner of Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall, and Patrick Ryder, Nassau County Police Commissioner.

Both Murray and Ryder are of Irish descent, but born in the United States.

Michael Dunphy was born in Macroom in County Cork, Ireland in 1941. He came to the United States in 1969, and moved to Wantagh in 1973. He opened the Wantagh Inn, a staple of the hamlet, in 1984.

At the Grand Marshal dinner on March 7, the torch was officially passed to Dunphy from Ryder in a special ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. The ceremony honored Dunphy’s years of service to Wantagh, helping to give Wantagh the strong sense of community it has.

“The Wantagh Inn has allowed me to serve the community, and raise my family,” Dunphy said in a speech at the dinner. “I’ve watched babies grow up, I’ve seen spouses meet and get married. I often think back to where I left. I could never have imagined going out of Ireland. What a place America, and the American dream, has been to me.”

Michael Dunphy has been married to his wife, Geraldine, since 1973. They have four children — Matthew, Conor, Ronan, and Una. According to Dunphy, seeing his children attend college was an essential part of his American dream.

What makes events like this, and figures like Dunphy important, is the fact that Wantagh does not have a village. It relies on people like John Murray Jr. and Michael Dunphy — and county officials

like Patrick Ryder — to help craft a sense of community. Dunphy has done excellent work in this regard. He can name virtually all patrons of his bar, and even used to drive them home to make sure everyone safe.

This was the thought process that went into naming him grand marshal. The tradition started in 2019, with Murray as the grand marshal leading it. Ryder was named commissioner in 2020, but the parade had to be postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic.

“I say it every day, and I really mean it — God bless America,” Dunphy concluded.

nassau countY police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder, left, shakes hands with Michael Dunphy. At right is Wantagh Chamber President Cathy McGrory Powell. Ryder was the longest-serving grand marshal, having been named to the position for the 2020 parade, which was cancelled due to the pandemic. The torch has now officially been passed to Dunphy, owner of the Wantagh Inn.

Tim Baker/Herald photos Grand Marshal Michael Dunphy and all of those who will assist him in leading Long Island’s largest St. Patrick’s Day parade.

dunphY was presented with certificates from both State Senator Steven Rhoads and Town of Hempstead Councilman Christopher Carini in recognition of his years of service to Wantagh.

Middle schoolers rehearse Disney musical

continued from front page The casT of

Sherwin, who has been with the school district for 23 years, began directing school shows back in the early 2000s. She also played the role of musical director and operated the soundboard. In addition, Sherwin taught students music and helped with the staging, returning to the director’s role two years ago.

Sherwin also is the band director for the seventh and eighth-grade, and the entire middle school music department is involved in the production of the play.

The production crew includes Nicholas Coacci, who is the musical director; Matthew Dolan and Daniel Kruger, stage managers; Amanda Ferguson, vocals; and Carly Spadafora, a social studies teacher who helps with staging and costumes.

Sherwin takes on much of the choreography and enlists the help of some former students, who now attend high school.

“I also am basically the producer, so I take care of putting together the program and all the fundraising, T-shirts, and tickets,” Sherwin said.

“The fundraising, ticket sales, and boosters are what sustains us year-to-year to be able to put the production together.”

With a small cast, Sherwin and her crew undergo a lot of preparation for the play. In the last week leading up to the show, the students complete four days of dress rehearsals with a full set of lights, scenery, costumes, and all the sound systems so they can get used to the bright lights and the big stage.

“Sometimes it’s hard because you have to remember what scenes go to what song,” said seventh-grader Kathy Strong, who has nine scenes in the upcoming production. “It’s not just about what your lines are, you have to remember when you come on and how you come on, which can get hard to remember.”

For Sherwin, juggling many roles can be tricky, but theater has been her passion since she was a teen.

“The most difficult part is all the little pieces,” Sherwin said. “When you make a schedule, and the kids can’t come or put together all the little things like the T-shirts. All the little details become very overwhelming very quickly, and all this happens within the last couple of weeks.”

Sherwin said the students have expressed excitement since day one of rehearsals and many of them are getting their first experience in a live production.

“It’s a fun process because you get to be a whole different person than you are at school,” sixth-grader Anne Pokalsky said.

“I really love ‘The Little Mermaid,’ it’s like my favorite Disney movie, so I’m hoping we do a great job,” eighth-grader Ava Coons added.

Despite the expected ups and downs, Sherwin said she is excited to give students another opportunity to be social.

“They weren’t able to do this back when we were all home or when we were remote or when we were stuck in our little classrooms,” she said. “They couldn’t get in and be with each other and interact with each other, and this gives them that team spirit. This is a huge team, and every kid has a very important role. I prep them to hopefully go on to high school and be able to do shows up there as well.”

with Michael and Suzanne Ettinger Attorneys-at-Law

Death with Dignity: Hospice Care

Death with Dignity: Hospice Care

The recent announcement by 98 year old Jimmy Carter, our long-lived president, that he was opting for hospice care at home instead of additional medical intervention, is in keeping with the trend towards dying with dignity. Hospice care arises when an illness is either no longer responding to medical treatment, no medical treatment is available, or the patient has decided they want to transition from treatments intended to prolong quantity of life to treatments intended to improve quality of life.

The recent announcement by 98 year old Jimmy Carter, our long-lived president, that he was opting for hospice care at home instead of additional medical intervention, is in keeping with the trend towards dying with dignity. Hospice care arises when an illness is either no longer responding to medical treatment, no medical treatment is available, or the patient has decided they want to transition from treatments intended to prolong quantity of life to treatments intended to improve quality of life.

One of the great misconceptions about hospice care is that it is the cessation of medical care. Dr. Sunita Puri, author of “That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour” defines hospice care as “intensive comfort-focused care, provided with the goal of minimizing the physical, emotional and spiritual suffering that patients and their families experience when somebody has possibly six months or less to live.” While hospice can usually take place at home it can also be in a facility and is paid for by Medicare Hospice Benefit.

One of the great misconceptions about hospice care is that it is the cessation of medical care. Dr. Sunita Puri, author of “That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour” defines hospice care as “intensive comfort-focused care, provided with the goal of minimizing the physical, emotional and spiritual suffering that patients and their families experience when somebody has possibly six months or less to live.” While hospice can usually take place at home it can also be in a facility and is paid for by Medicare Hospice Benefit.

The hospice “team” consists of (1) a nurse

The hospice “team” consists of (1) a nurse

to assess and manage pain and provide handson-care, (2) a social worker, to offer emotional support and help with planning, (3) a physician to interface with the patient’s primary physician and consult on pain and symptom management and make house calls, (4) a hospice aide to help with personal care needs, such as bathing, (5) clergy to offer spiritual support, (6) volunteers to help in a variety of ways, and (7) a bereavement specialist to provide grief and loss counseling.

to assess and manage pain and provide handson-care, (2) a social worker, to offer emotional support and help with planning, (3) a physician to interface with the patient’s primary physician and consult on pain and symptom management and make house calls, (4) a hospice aide to help with personal care needs, such as bathing, (5) clergy to offer spiritual support, (6) volunteers to help in a variety of ways, and (7) a bereavement specialist to provide grief and loss counseling.

Regrettably, hospice care in the US averages only about three weeks, due to the fact that people are reluctant to talk about topics like suffering, quality of life and whether treatments are adding to or detracting from someone’s quality of life. Delaying those conversations leads to very late referrals to hospice.

Regrettably, hospice care in the US averages only about three weeks, due to the fact that people are reluctant to talk about topics like suffering, quality of life and whether treatments are adding to or detracting from someone’s quality of life. Delaying those conversations leads to very late referrals to hospice.

As Dr. Puri points out, “Hospice is not about giving up...hospice is about acknowledging where your body is at, at a given stage of illness, and honoring that and honoring the person that you are, which is distinct from the illness you are suffering...hospice attempts to maximize dignity and minimize suffering.”

As Dr. Puri points out, “Hospice is not about giving up...hospice is about acknowledging where your body is at, at a given stage of illness, and honoring that and honoring the person that you are, which is distinct from the illness you are suffering...hospice attempts to maximize dignity and minimize suffering.”

‘The Little Mermaid Jr.’ at Seaford Middle School is preparing for showtime.

Courtesy Seaford School District

Attorney

With returning talent, anything is possible

continued from front page

agh as the team to beat next season.

“Plainedge, MacArthur, Massapequa — these will all be back eventually,” Gillespie said. “Long Beach will be back as well. Long Beach has a great kids’ program, like we do.”

The Wantagh Wrestling Youth Program was founded in 1996, by Hanley, who’s now Gillespie’s assistant coach. Hanley is usually familiar with the wrestlers by the time they get to high school, and that, at least according to Paul Gillespie, earned Hanley the nickname “the mayor of Wantagh.”

“The Clem brothers were in my program,” Hanley said. “And I saw that they were on (the top) level. You can tell right at the start, when they walk in, how good they’re going to be.”

Gillespie and Hanley have seen many generations of Wantagh wrestlers, and agreed that this year’s team was among the best ever. But they believe the chances of bringing home a state team title will remain high next year.

“Our window remains wide open,” Gillespie said. “We have Jesse coming back, we have the Clems coming back, we have an array of other kids coming back. We’re going to be hard to beat yet again.”

Joseph Clem’s season was much like his twin brother’s: He won at counties and was also a state finalist. The Clems were named Newsday’s Athletes of the Week on Feb. 17.

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New LIRR rollout gets mixed reviews

The good, the bad, and the bumps in-between

By JUAN LASSO & KEPHERD DANIEL of the Herald

For weeks, the ideal stage had been set for the full launch of Grand Central Madison, finally connecting the Long Island Rail Road to the bedrock of Midtown Manhattan. Or so it seemed.

Limited shuttle service between Jamaica station and Grand Central Madison gave commuters roughly four weeks to try out the new travel routes in advance of the big day, warming them to the idea of the $11 billion East Side terminal.

But as the new service rolled out, some reinforced their concerns. While a number of service lines have been expanded, others have been completely rescheduled. And there were those who worried about inadequate direct service to Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal after timed connections would be eliminated at the Queens station, as well as through direct transfers across platforms at stops like Jamaica under the new schedules.

Then, full-service started Feb. 27, and contrary to the MTA’s calculated expectations, the ensuing first days of its historic Midtown terminal turned into the most dizzying and distressful for commuters in recent memory.

Riders — coping with the rush-hour meltdowns at Jamaica station and onboard Penn Station-bound trains — poured their anger and disbelief onto social media. Images and posts showed commuters cramming into train aisles. Others making frantic sprints to catch their connecting lines. And many finding themselves tightly jammed inside an antsy crowd of riders on waiting platforms.

By the end of the first week, MTA officials rushed to provide relief in the form of extra train cars added to roughly 30 of its busiest trains, most of them rush hour excursions on the Penn Station service routes, as well as ramping up the frequency of shuttle service between Brooklyn and Queens.

While the adjustments have managed to ease overcrowding and quell a frantic commuter flow, the fumbled full launch of Grand Central Madison has left some commuters scratching their heads — and shaking their fists — at what went wrong.

The reason, according to Long Island Rail Road interim president Catherine Rinaldi, can be chalked up to a miscalculation on how many commuters would actually shift from Penn Station to Grand Central.

The LIRR’s original service plan was designed to accommodate a “60-40” split of ridership, with most still traveling to Penn Station. So far, however, the split has been more “70-30,” although new ridership figures are still pending.

For all the initial bumps, however, Barry Kleinworm — a diamond inventory manager in Midtown Manhattan — said full service to the East Side was a “home run” decision.

“Grand Central station is only five minutes from my office, so I’m loving it,” the Woodmere commuter said. “Before, I had to walk 20 minutes from Penn Station. So this is a benefit for me for sure.”

It’s something that should have happened 30 years ago, said Jack Halpern, who rides the Far Rockaway branch.

“I’m a lawyer, and my office is in the Grand Central area,” he said. “But of course, I don’t go all the time what with hybrid work. It would have been really helpful to have this service pre-Covid when I was going five days a week.”

Despite the benefits, however, Halpern did note that finding his way in and out of Grand Central has proven difficult.

“When exiting the station, going up the escalators is ridiculous, so I use the elevators. But they’re not all in the same area,” he said. “Entering the station, there is no clear signage on the street level to point you to what looks like a temporary construction elevator that takes you

down into the station, so they have to make the signage a little clearer.”

Melvin Medina says commuting on the Babylon branch is “not so bad,” but feels the benefits tilt toward Grand Central commuters at the expense of everyone else.

“There used to be an express train straight to Penn Station,” the commuter from Bay Shore said. “Now, by around 8 a.m., I have to transfer to Wantagh to get to Penn, and the train stops at every stop.

“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to plan ahead. But I don’t really agree with all the changes made.”

Then there are commuters like Debby Washington who say navigating the new train schedule changes has been nothing but daily stress.

“I hate it. It’s just so much confusion going on,” the Wantagh commuter said. “It’s just not organized right now. The schedule is crazy, and the trains come out of nowhere with no announcements.

“I’m paying a lot of money in taxes, and my service is not that great. In fact, it’s getting worse.”

But a lot of that might simply be a resistance to change, based on long-term familiarity to what’s already been in place — even if what’s there now wasn’t all that great.

“I think people are used to what they had before, and so if you’ve been commuting to Penn Station for decades, it definitely throws a wrench in your regular routine,” said Amy Zervas of Merrick. “I travel to both stations, but I prefer Grand Central because there are fewer people on those trains. Either way, I’ve had no issues.”

While opinions appear sharply divided, Rinaldi reassured commuters that changes are being made as needed.

“We are going to be continuously making adjustments based upon ridership and loading data. We look at it every single day,” she said. “The Long Island Rail Road team is all over the rollout in terms of looking for trends, what ridership is looking like, what trains are popular, and adjusting accordingly.”

What lawmakers have to say

Assemblyman Brian Curran

“Clearly the opening of Grand Central Madison is a benefit, but my office has received numerous complaints regarding schedule changes, specifically additional travel time for our commuters on the West Hempstead line where riders at Malverne and Westwood now experience an approximate hour gap in travel times from the old schedule.

Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and myself were informed that the Long Island Rail Road would reevaluate scheduling times for the West Hempstead line if data was provided regarding commuters’ preferred changes. We decided to hand out voluntary surveys to commuters about the issue.”

Assemblyman Charles Levine

“We have all known for years that the Oyster Bay line is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s biggest loss leader. With the advent of East Side Access, the MTA has had to reroute and reprogram any number of trains from the Oyster Bay line. The biggest challenge is that the OB line runs on diesel-powered trains that need to stop at Mineola where there is a transfer for riders to get on electric trains to go into the city.

We do not have express trains running directly into Penn Station as we had in the past before the new train schedules. The result is there is less availability for Oyster Bay commuters to travel than there was before, and riders are not pleased — nor should they be pleased. I’m confident, however, that the MTA leadership is aware of this issue and will be addressing it.”

Courtesy Marc A. Hermann/Metropolitan Transportation Authority

MEtROPOLItAN tRANSPORtAtION AUtHORIty chief executive Janno Lieber and Long Island Rail Road interim president Catherine Rinaldi are re-routing four Grand Central Madison trains back to Penn Station after higher-thanexpected ridership on the West Side.

Long Island as the Sixth Borough News brief

Governor Kathy Hochul has a vision for Long Island: high density high-rises, never-ending traffic and overcrowded schools. After all, why wouldn’t suburban homeowners want their neighborhoods to be more like New York City?

In her mind, New York State has a “housing crisis.” However, as outlined in her 2024 Executive Budget, it seems her sights are aimed primarily at Long Island. She’s creating the New York Housing Compact, a statewide promise to build 800,000 homes over the next ten years, but she is also seeking to rezone every area surrounding a Long Island Rail Road station, in a half-mile radius, into “higher density multifamily development” that will allow up to fifty units per acre. The worst part is, she has included legislation in her budget that will allow the state government to override local zoning laws, thereby removing the right of residents to do anything about it. She’s forcibly changing the single-family identity of our home; attempting to turn Seaford into Sunnyside and Wantagh into Woodside.

Guest Column

ing crime due to her failed bail reform policies, and they will now have to deal with an increasing population. Our volunteer fire departments – who are already contending with a recruitment problem – will have to upgrade their equipment to combat highrise fires and more. Our EMS resources will be pressured around the clock, and they will need to bolster their ranks.

nothing short of a power grab that will transform our community into the sixth borough of New York City. It’s not wrong to want more housing, but it is wrong to override the power of local municipalities to push an agenda. Local municipalities are the cornerstone for good government because they are most in tune with the concerns of the community. Ignoring the input of locals will only create pitfalls and problems for years to come.

Honoring businesswomen

Three businesswomen were honored with appreciation awards by the Robert F. Garrison VFW Post 3350 in East Rockaway recently.

The resources of our communities would be stretched too thin to accommodate the population increase. Our police departments are already dealing with ris-

As a retired NYPD, MTA and Port Authority Police Officer, I’ve seen the crowded cityscape firsthand for over 20 years – it’s not Long Island. The Town of Hempstead is the best place to live, work and raise a family, but it’s the suburban quality-oflife that keeps people coming here. The Hempstead Town Board is not opposed to more housing, but it needs to be done in smart way that does not jeopardize our suburban identity. A prime example includes the recently approved Breslin project in Baldwin, a mixed-use transitoriented development project that will include 215 residential units. It’s located right across the street from the Baldwin train station and – most importantly – it was passed with the approval from area residents.

What the Governor is proposing is

We’ve seen this power grab before. Last year, the Governor proposed a mandate that would allow all homes in New York State to add an accessory dwelling unit to their property, effectively eliminating single-family housing. Local officials from all over New York State – both Republican and Democrat – banded together to stand against her outrageous proposal, and due to it being an election year, Governor Hochul backed down from her plan. Right now, there is no upcoming election to hold the Governor accountable. Despite the pleas from residents and the calls to action from elected officials, she has not buckled in the slightest.

Governor Hochul does not understand Long Island and ignorantly pushes forward with plugged ears.

Christopher Carini is a former police officer and currently represents the fifth district on the Town of Hempstead Council. Comments about this guest column? Reach out to casesam@hempsteadny.gov.

Those honored were Maureen Early, senior community affairs specialist at Covanta; Michele Wachter, community liaison from Home Instead; and Denise Walsh, community liaison from Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing.

These businesses have partnered with Post 3350 to help with fundraising to offset monthly expenses, which in turn allows them to donate more to veteran’s organizations as well as other local programs. Some of the local charities that benefit from the VFW Post 3350 are the Nassau County Veterans Assistance Foundation, VFW National Home for Children, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Beacon House, McDonald House, and local food pantries.

The Robert F. Garrison VFW Post, located 164 Main St., East Rockaway, is active in the community and always looking for new members. For more information, call (516) 887-8170.

–Mark Nolan

-Cost: Members $57; Non Members $62; Ages 7 -12 $25; 6 & under Free

-RSVP to 516-785-2445 by Friday, March 24th, 2023

-Visit us at www.congbt.org

-Like us on Facebook CBT-CongregationBethTikvah

Christopher Carini

Kerri Scanlon is a leader in Long Island

By JORDAN VALLONE jvallone@liherald.com

Kerri Scanlon knew from a young age that she was destined to be a nurse.

Her mother, Mildred O’Connor, had a successful career in the field. And she convinced her daughter to follow in her footsteps.

“Seeing her love of the career, and then seeing her in action in the facility she worked at,” Scanlon remembered, “she just had this incredible love for what she did.”

Scanlon was fortunate to receive a scholarship that allowed her to study at Columbia University. It was there she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and then a master’s in advanced practice nursing.

Now the executive director of Glen Cove Hospital, Scanlon celebrates her 30th year as a nurse.

For the last 25, she’s been an integral member of Northwell Health, New York’s largest health care provider that oversees the operations of Glen Cove Hospital. Having worked closely with Northwell’s leaders for years, when Scanlon was offered the opportunity to lead the hospital in 2019, she couldn’t turn it down.

“Glen Cove, at the time, was really a hospital in transition and needed direction,” she said. “I love Glen Cove. I love the community. I love the people. I was welcomed with great arms.”

Just months into her new role, Scanlon — and health care professionals like her around the world — would face a much different problem: the coronavirus pandemic. As early as February 2020, Scanlon told her Glen Cove team to get ready. And expect the worst.

Epidemics were nothing new for Scanlon. Her career included HIV/AIDS as well as the avian flu in the 2000s. But the first wave of Covid-19 was something she’d never seen before. Glen Cove did all it could to offer the best possible care to its patients, collaborating and completing

research with larger hospitals, and opening up an acute rehabilitation facility to treat patients who’d spent months in intensive care.

“It kind of defined us as the little engine that could,” Scanlon said.

The pandemic helped Scanlon identify areas of growth for the hospital, and she says it’s now better fit than ever to advance into the future.

“Is Glen Cove thriving?” she asked. “Is Glen Cove going to be here 10 years from now? Heck yes. We just celebrated our centennial, and the health system is more than ever investing in Glen Cove. We’re budgeted this year to make money, not lose money. And that’s a huge change.”

The 247-bed community hospital offers a lot, including a state-of-the-art brain injury unit, but Scanlon wants people to know the full scope of care Glen Cove provides. It has renowned doctors in the fields of gynecology, endocri-

nology and breast care — areas of the body where typically women encounter conditions.

A geriatric-only facility is opening in Oyster Bay, she added, to offer age-friendly services to older adults.

Employee happiness is key to running a successful hospital.

“We want to continue to focus on our patients, and focus on our customers, and the only way to do that is to focus on our staff,” Scanlon said. “Because if they’re not happy, our patients aren’t going to be happy.”

A mother of two, Scanlon resides in Nissequogue. Her 26-year-old daughter also works in health care, so Scanlon is used to giving advice to young women wishing to advance in the field.

“My greatest advice always is to focus on doing the best that you can do today,” she said. “Everybody is so focused on what’s the next thing — it’s this generation. They’re constantly under so much stress. The opportunities are greater for women, but I think the level of stress is even greater.”

Women have made excellent strides in health care, Scanlon said, but there’s always work to be done.

“There’s not enough women at the table for (health care) decisions across the country,” she said. “I think its constantly focusing on that, and diversity and inclusion — ensuring that it’s all women we’re including at that table.

“Historically, as women, we didn’t pay it forward to other women. I think that’s changed dramatically — I’m so happy to see this. My biggest thing is mentoring other women.”

Courtesy Northwell Health

GLEN COVE HOspitAL executive director Kerri Scanlon, center, addresses a crowd of health care professionals, working in a unit converted to treat coronavirus patients.

Organizing the ‘People’s Food Drive’ across Nassau

By ANDRE SILVA asilva@liherald.com

Robert Hallam, 61, of north Lynbrook, is organizing the 12th annual People’s Food Drive, in coordination with the Long Island Council of Churches Food Pantry in Freeport, to help families in need in Nassau County fight food insecurity. Hallam is working alongside Rev. Ron Garner on this effort --- Garner is the treasurer for the Long Island Council of Churches, and was the Wantagh Herald’s 2022 Person of the Year for his efforts combating food insecurity.

The council is collecting monetary and food donations to feed families in nearby Baldwin as well as Freeport, Malverne and other South Shore communities, with additional help from an online GoFundMe campaign that began on Feb. 3.

“Sometimes people think the needy are homeless and downtrodden people,” Hallam said. “The people we help are really the ‘working poor’ — they have homes, but they live paycheck to paycheck.”

Inflation and rising food costs, he added, are driving more Long Islanders to the food pantry. “Everybody is aware of food prices going through the roof,” Hallam said. “When eggs go from $2.50 to $8 a dozen, it puts an imbalance in their paychecks.”

The food drive, he explained, is not designed to sustain families, but rather to give them a chance to temporarily ease the burden created by the cost of food.

Hallam, a member of Malverne’s Community Presbyterian Church, said the drive started as an offshoot of the church’s annual food collection in 2011, when he began placing donation boxes around his community.

“In our first year, we collected 984 donated items,” he recalled. “Now we’re in the range of 25,000 donated

items each year.”

Hallam said that he and his wife, Mary, put out the first donation boxes at his workplace, Nassau Door and Window, in Lynbrook, and at Jeremy’s Ale House, in Freeport. Since then, the initiative has grown dramatically.

“It’s not just the church anymore — it’s not just me and my wife anymore,” Hallam said. “This is how we came up with the name the People’s Food Drive. Everybody involved in the drive is a member, and plays their part to give back to the community.”

For a month now, donated food items have been filling up the living and dining rooms of the Hallams’ Lynbrook home, where they are being divided into boxes that will be transported to the Freeport pantry on Hanse Avenue in three weeks. “My house is completely filled with boxes,” Robert said, “from floor to ceiling.”

March 25 is Move the Food Day, when the Hallams and other volunteers will load the food boxes into a truck donated by Nassau Door and Window for the short trip east.

“Around 60 people will line up, starting in my living room, down the front steps, and all the way out to the truck,” Hallam said, “and start a human conveyor belt of boxes to load the truck.”

When they arrive at the pantry, he added, they will reassemble and do the process in reverse, conveying the boxes from truck to pantry. Last year, he said, some 200 volunteers helped out.

Hallam said he would be collecting food and monetary donations up until Move the Food Day. To donate, to volunteer for the move or to learn more about the People’s Food Drive, go to Facebook.com/ThePeoplesFoodDrive or tinyurl.com/2023PeoplesFoodDrive, or contact Hallam at (516) 315-3036.

BREAKING DOWN BOUNDARIES WITH CANCER BREAKTHROUGHS

RoBERt HALLAm, cENtER, is organizing the 12th annual People’s Food Drive with the Long Island Council of Churches Food Pantry, to help needy South Shore families fight food insecurity. With him were his wife, Mary, and their son, Robert Hallam Jr.

LIJ Medical Center is in the top 10% of hospitals nationally for oncology, according to U.S.News&WorldReport. Northwell.edu/NoLimits

Our doctors are raising health by pioneering innovative approaches to cancer from novel chemotherapy techniques to first-in- the-nation robotic mastectomies with minimal scarring. Because when it comes to cancer, there’s no status quo. There’s only “how far can we go?”

Courtesy Robert Hallam

NCC follows through on insurance increase

By ANDRE SILVA asilva@liherald.com

It had to be done, and they did it. Nassau Community College’s board of trustees made a plan to increase health care premiums for its faculty and staff official — something the employees union that has spent months negotiating a new contract says could effectively reduce salaries by as much as $5,000.

The new insurance premiums begin March 23, and simply reflect a cost increase by their carrier, NCC officials said. They were allowed to pass on the increase despite a lack of a new contract based on a past agreement that allowed the board to make such increases under an expired contract.

The insurance increases, according to union president Faren Siminoff, could effectively act like a pay cut.

“These are the actions of people with no soul,” Siminoff said. “The college was asked by Nassau County if they needed more funding, and the college told them they do not need supplemental income. Instead the college decided to bleed its faculty dry.”

The educators union and trustees board has been negotiating full-time faculty contracts since last July, hoping to work out a deal before their contracts expired a month later. The union has rallied multiple times since then, but there is still no new contract on the table between NCC and its full-time faculty.

NCC attorney John Gross said the imposed health care provisions were not “pulled out of thin air.” In fact, the union knew about the existing contract provision, which was negotiated decades ago.

“The college board is a public agency, and they have a fiduciary responsibility to effectuate what’s in the contract,” Gross said. “If the (college board) said no to this (imposing health care premiums), they would be giving up thousands and thousands of dollars.”

This time around, the union is entertaining a proposal for new employees to pay about 20 percent of health care premiums, and existing staff members are willing to give roughly 2 percent of their salary toward the cost of premiums during their last negotiation sessions.

But the college has known health care premiums were rising since last December, Siminoff said, and that those costs would be passed along to employees. So why did the school wait until after the new year to notify faculty members of the change, during the open enrollment period?

“Usually in November or December, if you have an insurance policy through your job, you’re permitted to change your policy,” Siminoff said. “So, while most of us

NASSAu CommuNIty

CoLLEgE’S board of trustees announced their intention to impose health care premiums on staff members, effectively reducing salaries by $5,000 on average, according to the union representing fulltime faculties, who say it’s a negotiation tactic.

are the college’s plan, there are many faculty members who could be covered under a partner’s plan. In order for them to switch coverage plans, they have to do it during open enrollment.”

Although NCC denies the increase being nothing more than ensuring they’re good stewards of their accounts, Siminoff is convinced the health insurance increase is being used to help with the school’s negotiating position, or at the very least retaliate against and punish the union members.

“It’s really a huge pay cut,” the union president said. “Many faculty members told me, ‘If I had known they would charge us healthcare premiums in December during open enrollment, I would have changed my policy.’”

Tim Baker/Herald file

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STEPPING OUT

Patti Lupone

Lay of the land

Eyes on nature

By Karen Bloom

Since the invention of the camera, photographers have been enthralled by interpreting the natural world. We (viewers), in turn, are captivated by what their cameras reveal.

A true Broadway legend returns her Long Island roots, visiting Tilles Center with her acclaimed one-woman show. ‘Don’t Monkey with Broadway’ is a celebration of her life-long love affair with Broadway, as she indelibly interprets classic theatre tunes by the likes of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. She explores her love affair with Broadway and offers up her opinion and concerns for what the Great White Way is becoming today, in this intimate concert, which includes behind-thescenes anecdotes.

Sunday, March 19, 7 p.m. $110, $75, $55. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. (516) 299-3100 or TillesCenter.org.

STEPPING OUT

As we spring forward, we’re all eager to enjoy the landscape as it emerges from its winter “hibernation.”

It’s the subject of Heckscher Museum of Art’s current exhibition, “Viewfinders: Photographers Frame Nature,” on display through April 16.

Creative advocacy

Viewfinders explores artists’s varied responses to the relationship between nature and humans. These lens-based works reveal the divergent ways in which nature continues to fuel documentation of the human experience and imagination — from images symbolizing the untamed power of nature, to those where the landscape has been abused for human consumption. The exhibit — featuring 64 works from 34 artists — traces the lure of photography through the centuries, culminating in contemporary times where every person with a smartphone has the power to “frame” nature.

Guest Curator Susan Van Scoy, associate professor of art history at St. Joseph’s University, combed through the museum’s permanent collection to explore the myriad ways artists respond to the landscape and how their responses have shaped our perception of nature.

By Karen Bloom

WHERE

WHEN

people shape the future of the environment and change our behaviors.”

Visitors will notice a “local flavor” to the exhibit, such as N. Jay Jaffee’s photo of Lloyd Harbor’s Caumsett Park Preserve.

As Van Scoy explains: “The Olmsted family landscape architectural firm created some of the most famous and unnatural ‘natural’ sites in the world, including New York City’s Central Park and Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve. Yet some visitors view these parks as nature in its untouched state. Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve has been a favorite subject of artists such as Jaffee and Neil Scholl, whose photographs capture the landscape architects’s signature picturesque landscapes in the park.

Willie Nile

• Now through April 16

• Open Thursday through Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

• Saturday and Sunday, noon-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

“Visitors just love the Caumsett shot,” she says. “Many people don’t realize its history.”

• $5 suggested admission non-members; members and children younger than 13 free

• Heckscher Museum of Art,

• Emily Lowe Hall Gallery, South Campus, Hempstead. For information and to RSVP, call (516) 463-5672, or visit Hofstra.edu/museum

2 Prime Ave., Huntington (631) 380-3230 or Heckscher.org

Stand,” Hofstra University Museum of Art’s new exhibition, examines power of the arts in society.

Alexandra Giordano — the museum’s assistant director of exhibition and exhibit underscores artists’ civic responsibility and influence. the vital role that artists have in activating democratic values that and freedom, encouraging civic engagement, and cultivating unity,” “Artists often lead the charge and expose truths that may otherwise be artists in this exhibition take a stand and call out injustices through their art issues such as immigration, gender, reproductive rights, mass incarceration, bias, gun violence, and promises unfulfilled. They all combine the making service that has a grassroots approach in the hope of mobilizing their the nation to ignite movement, create awareness, and inspire others to which runs through July 28, is in conjunction with Hofstra’s conference on the Barack Obama presidency coming up in April. interested in the idea that the artist has a civic responsibility,” says Karen

“Landscape and photography have always been closely intertwined. In fact, the world’s first automatic photograph was a landscape and photography was first referred to as ‘sun pictures’ or ‘drawings from nature,’” Van Scoy says. “Artists have long used landscape as a vehicle to explore other issues such as poetry, spirituality, philosophy and environmentalism. The images in are no exception. They are teeming with hidden meaning.“

Legendary American photographers such as Edward Steichen, Larry Fink and Berenice Abbott are represented, as are newly acquired photographs by Kenji Nakahashi and Jeremy Dennis. Van Scoy also selected a substantial number of works by notable Long Island image makers.

Beyond traditional forms of landscape photography, Van Scoy was excited to introduce what she describes as the “contemporary takes,” which explore environmental issues such as climate change and reclaiming the land.

“Everyone enjoys seeing landscape, now it’s being used as a background for protest,” she says. “Artists have an important role to help

Picturesque scenes are just one aspect of what’s on view. From the whimsical — such as Barbara Roux’s mise-en-scènes in wooded areas with frames or mirrors placed against a leafy ground, to natural images that show the power of nature in Kenji Nakahashi’s abstract take on Hurricane Gloria — nature in all its forms is documented.

“I want people to be able to look at these works and relate to them,” she says. “I love when you can relate an image to your everyday life and also learn something new at the same time.”

The takeaway from Van Scoy: “We are reminded that humans are always small in relationship to the power of nature.”

Pat McGann is quickly rising as one of the sharpest stand-ups on the comedy scene. A relative latecomer to comedy, he began doing standup at 31 after realizing he was not very good at selling packaging. He hustled his way to become the house emcee at Zanies Chicago, where he distinguished himself as especially adept at working the crowd. A husband and father of three young children, McGann’s appeal stems from his quick wit and relatable take on family life and marriage. In 2017, McGann began touring as the opening act for Sebastian Maniscalco, moving with him from clubs to theater, to arenas, including four soldout shows at Madison Square Garden. McGann’s relatively short, but impressive resume, includes Montreal’s famed Just For Laughs Festival, Gilda’s LaughFest, The Great American Comedy Festival, and more. McGann still calls Chicago home.

Top left: N. Jay Jaffee’s Long Island Sound from Caumsett (1990) — a gift of Paula W. Hackeling — is an example of landscape photography that follows a formula used in early 17th century paintings.

Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m. $40, $35, $30, $25. The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. (800) 745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com or ParamountNY.com.

Top right: Barbara Roux’s Night Rises Up (1998) merges the subjective individual with the natural world.

Bottom: Kenji Nakahashi’s Decoration for Hurricane Gloria (1985) reflects nature’s untamed power.

The singer-songwriter comes to the Landmark on Main Street stage for an exciting evening of roots rock, with special guest James Maddock. Nestled somewhere between power-pop and American folk, you will find Willie Nile strumming his guitar. A true believer in rock ‘n’ roll, over the years Nile has made admirers out of such names as Bruce Springsteen and Pete Townshend who personally requested him to tour with The Who, among others who sing his praises. The New York Times called him ‘one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years,’ among the many accolades he has received. The timeless qualities of melodic craft, lyrical insight and emotional engagement that have endeared Nile to listeners around the world throughout a three-anda-half-decade recording career continue to be prominent in his live performances.

Saturday, April 1, 8 p.m. $30, $25. Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main St., Port Washington. (516) 767-6444 or LandmarkOnMainStreet.org.

Pat McGann

change the world? It’s a question

been at the focus of our collective centuries. Now as society the complexities of modern life, path for social change is at the of artistic expression.

Courtesy Heckscher Museum of Art

THE SCENE

‘SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical’

Are you ready, Wantagh and Seaford? Aye aye, captain! Wantagh High School students perform “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical” opening Friday, March 31, with performances running until April 2. 3297 Beltagh Ave. Tickets can be purchased at SeatYourself.biz/ wantaghms.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Weekly Mah Jongg

The JULIETS are back playing Mah Jongg and cards at Congregation Beth Tikvah, at 3710 Woodbine Ave., in Wantagh, every Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Masks are optional, but proof of Covid-19 vaccination is required for newcomers, as well as a contribution of $5 per person. For more information email mahjonggCBT@yahoo.com or call (516) 785-2445.

Winter seal walk

The Brubeck Brothers

Jazz giant Dave Brubeck’s sons celebrate their dad’s life and career, with “The Brubeck Brothers Quartet Celebrates Dave Brubeck’s Centennial,” on the Tilles Center stage, Thursday, April 13, 7:30 p.m.Chris and Dan Brubeck bring their multimedia show to the LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville. To honor Brubeck’s legacy, the Brubecks, who performed and recorded with their father since the 1970s, curate this memorable concert with their own Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Through their stories, with music performed by the quartet, the show invites audiences to travel along the timeline of Brubeck’s extraordinary life and career. Tickets are $52; available at TillesCenter.org or (516) 299-3100.

April

Mike Dunphy, owner of the Wantagh Inn, will lead the third annual Wantagh Chamber of Commerce St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade on Long Island, on Sunday, March 19. For more information visit tinyurl.com/ wanstpaddy.

Have you thought of going to the beach during the winter? Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center hosts frequent seal walks throughout winter. Dress warmly and learn about the seal population, which are abundant on Jones Beach in the winter. For more information, visit tinyurl. com/jbencprograms.

Breastfeeding Support Group

Mercy Hospital offers a peer to peer meeting for breastfeeding support and resources, facilitated by a certified breastfeeding counselor, every Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. Bring your baby (from newborn to 1 year) to the informal group setting. All new moms are welcome, regardless of delivering hospital. Registration required. Call breastfeeding counselor, Gabriella Gennaro, at (516) 7052434 to secure you and your baby’s spot. Mercy Hospital, St. Anne’s Building, 1000 North Village Ave., Rockville Centre. For information visit CHSLI.org.

Mobile office hours with Steve Rhoads

State Sen. Steve Rhoads will host mobile office hours at East Meadow Library, Saturday, April 29, 11-1 p.m. Visit EMPL at 1886 Front St., in East Meadow. Call (516) 882-0630 for additional info.

$5 Skate Night

United Skates of America in Seaford wants to make skating year round activity. Every Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m., enjoy a skate night with only $5 admission; skate rental is available for an extra $6. For more information visit tinyurl. com/thursdayskate.

On stage

Mo Willems’ popular The Pigeon comes alive on the Long Island Children’s Museum stage, Friday March 17, 10:15 a.m. and noon; Sunday, March 19, noon.Pigeon is eager to try anything, with the audience part of the action. LICM, Museum Row, Garden City. (516) 224-5800 or LICM.org.

Preservation Society Meeting

Wantagh Preservation Society hosts a “Show-andtell,” Tuesday, March 28, at Wantagh Public Library. Participants are encouraged to bring any historic Wantaghrelated items to share with others. 3285 Park Ave. For more information email alorch15@yahoo.com.

Having an event?

Best of Broadway

Adelphi performing arts students perform their semi-annual Broadway revuew, on Adelphi University Performing Arts Center stage, Sunday, March 26, 4 p.m. Under the direction of KT Thomas and Steven Altinel, this contemporary-themed show will highlight hits from pop/ rock shows, including”Rent,” “We Will Rock You,” “School of Rock,” to songs from contemporary classics like “Wicked,” “Mamma Mia,” “The Prom” and “Next to Normal.” Students perform large group numbers as well as individual solos. Tickets start at $30, with discounts available to seniors, students, Adelphi alumni and employees. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave., Garden City. (516) 8774000 or Adelphi.edu/pac.

Donation opportunity

Support the community. St Frances de Chantal in Wantagh is always seeking donations for its pantry as well as its thrift shop. For more information, call (516) 785-2333.

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.

‘Forever Plaid’

Plaza Theatrical is ready to spring forward with “Forever Plaid,” an affectionate musical homage to the close harmony guy groups that reached the height of their popularity during the ‘50s, Saturday, March 18, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 19, 2:30 p.m.; Thursday, March 23, 2 p.m. The show features such hits as “Three Coins in a Fountain,” “Heart and Soul,” “Catch a Falling Star,” and “Love is A Many Splendored Thing.” It’s performed at Plaza’s stage at the Elmont Library Theatre, 700 Hempstead Tpke., Elmont. $49, $45 seniors. Elmont. For tickets, call (516) 599-6870 or visit PlazaTheatrical.com.

Family theater

Everyone’s favorite cat comes to mischievous life in this theatrical adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic, presented Plaza Theatrical Productions, Sunday, March 19, noon. See what goes on during that rainy day when two siblings are home alone with their pet fish while their parents are out of town, and the tall cat wearing a hat appears. Tickets are $15. Visit the Plaza stage at The Showplace at Bellmore Movies, 222 Pettit Avenue, Bellmore. For information/tickets, go to PlazaTheatrical.com or call (516) 599-6870.

One of the best. Once again. Right here in Oceanside.

High Performing in Nine Areas of Care

Strokes, aneurysms, and headaches — oh my!

By HERNESTO GALDAMEZ hgaldamez@liherald.com

Headaches are the worst. They come at the worst time, but can be treatable with a pop of Tylenol or Advil. But have you ever asked yourself if it could be something more?

If it is, knowing when to seek medical attention is what those who tuned in to the recent Herald Inside LI webinar were looking for as Dr. Kimon Bekelis shared his expertise on the critical differences between a brain aneurysm and a stroke — and how to treat or prevent either one.

A brain aneurysm is a weak spot in the blood vessel in the brain that can burst. An estimated 30,000 people in the United States suffer a brain aneurysm rupture each year, according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.

“Because it’s a fairly rare disease,” Bekelis said, “I think it hasn’t been as mainstream.”

Symptoms of a brain aneurysm can be confused with a headache. If it’s allowed to rupture, it could mean everything from brain damage, to coma, or even death.

Bekelis is a certified neurosurgeon with training in invasive endovascular neurosurgery. He is also the chairman of neuro-interventional services for Catholic Health Services of Long Island, and co-director of the Neuro Intensive Care Unit at Good Samaritan Hospital.

He’s also the director of the Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center of Long Island, located in Babylon. With all that experience, if Bekelis comes across someone with a stiff neck, blurred or double vision and confusion, he knows he needs to take action right away. The feeling of an aneurysm is like someone hitting you with a hammer.

“It is a very severe event when they rupture,” Bekelis

said. “But people do survive.”

Preventing an aneurysm varies from not smoking or using tobacco products, having a healthy diet, and checking your blood pressure and exercising regularly.

But if worrying about aneurysms aren’t enough, Bekelis also warns about strokes. They are caused when blood supply is blocked in part of the brain, or when a blood vessel bursts.

More than 795,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Detecting and identifying a stroke fast is the most

important factor in guaranteeing that somebody is not going to have a deficit,” Bekelis said

The American Heart Association created an acronym it believes will help determine if someone is having a stroke. “FAST” is short for face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, and time to call 911.

The “deficit” of a stroke can vary from impaired speech, limited physical abilities, weakness or limb paralysis. But just like aneurysms, there are ways to prevent strokes, Bekelis said.

Monitor blood pressure and cholesterol. Cut cigarettes. Monitor weight. And, of course, exercise. And there could also be a “magic” pill that might help, too.

“When it comes to aspirin, it used to be a general recommendation that if you’re over the age of 55, they would put you on a baby aspirin,” Bekelis said. “Nowadays, it’s been modified a little because aspirin has been founded to slightly increase the risk of bleeding if you don’t have any risk factors.”

Thinner blood might be good for strokes, but could be bad for other conditions. So, adding a baby aspirin regimen is something Bekelis says should be monitored by a doctor.

It’s challenging to know what the brain is trying to tell us in a headache. But when you know something doesn’t seem right, Bekelis says it will be hard to miss.

“When it comes to a stroke, the symptoms — you can’t miss them,” the neurologist said. “When it comes to a headache, things are a little bit more murky, and headache is a symptom of aneurysm rupture possibility.

“An aneurysm headache is like the worst headache of your life. If it’s one of those, seek immediate medical attention.”

Courtesy Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center of Long Island DR. KiMON BEKELiS from the Stroke & Brain Aneurysm Center of Long Island in Babylon, recently discussed the differences between a stroke and brain aneurysm.

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Bad advice from another ‘expert’

Q. We just received a permit for our construction. The contractor asked why we also got a permit for a finished basement, which was there when we bought the house. He told us it’s just a Building Department “money grab,” and could have been avoided. We’re wondering why we had to spend money, and, since the basement was already finished, why we ended up with a second permit we didn’t need. The contractor said people call it “finished storage” all the time, and we’re wasting money to put in an expensive escape well, which we could have avoided, right?

A. It all sounds good, even though it’s not true, but if it sounds too good … You got bad advice from yet another ”expert” who knows just enough to sound confident. Telling you how much should be done should only be from their perspective as a contractor. Advising you to skirt the law (and get the architect to go along with it) is fine for them, since they have no responsibility if something bad happens.

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CEDARHURST NO

A finished basement without an escape well is considered a potentially dangerous and illegal use. Just like smoke detectors, an escape well is retroactive, required even after a permit has been issued if the use of the basement is “habitable,” such as a recreation room, exercise room, music room, hobby room or any other type of space you can occupy other than a utility room, laundry room or closet. These are rooms where people don’t generally spend a lot of time, unless of course they really like to do laundry, listen to their boiler hum or hide in small dark spaces, but that should be discussed with a different kind of professional.

Think about it. You spend hundreds of dollars a month on home insurance you’ll never see again, in most cases. Add to that the fact that in a disaster, which we collectively experienced during two hurricanes, insurance companies, which charged increasing fees for building values, turned around and then devalued the same buildings when it came time to pay out. Insurance companies don’t just write you a big fat check — maybe a “lowball”-value check, but not the full amount — and will spend money to investigate whether your home, and the way you used it, were legal.

Illegal use is just one of many ways to challenge the payout you thought you’d receive. I wonder if that came up in your conversation about avoiding the escape well. That escape well isn’t just a child’s only way out when the interior stairway is blocked by fire; it’s also the only way into the death trap for a rescuer. Taking the advice you quoted in your question is like going into a hospital and getting your diagnosis at the information desk. If you would take that advice, then this wasn’t the kind of hospital you needed to go to. Be wise and at least ask the professional. Good luck!

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.

Ask The Architect

Monte Leeper

©

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A depressing tale of two fibbers

No one has given me a riddle to consider for a long time. But I can think of one. What’s the difference between U.S. Rep. George Santos and Fox News? The answer is that there is none. Neither can handle the truth.

Santos is two and a half months into his term in Congress, and even though some of his colleagues have condemned him, there seems to be no possibility that he will be removed from public office in the near future, so the lies will continue until the prosecutors call. With Republicans controlling the house by a very slim margin, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is badly in need of every vote. Even if Santos were a real-life Jack the Ripper, no effort would be made to oust him.

Fox’s case is much more serious. It’s one thing for a candidate to lie his way into office. It’s another thing for a network to knowingly distort the news to

millions of Americans and have no one who can discipline it.

The whole world knows what happened on Nov. 6, 2020, and on Jan. 6, 2021. There was a national election, and when the final tallies were in, Joe Biden won the presidency by roughly 7 million votes. The election deniers, led by Fox, ranted and roared, but Congress certified the election. It was done, over. But faced with a potential catastrophic loss of viewers, and profits, the network knowingly and willfully lied about the results, continuing to spread the nonsense that the election had been “fraudulently” conducted.

As if the election denialism wasn’t enough, Fox’s Tucker Carlson, armed with 40,000 hours of security video, now claims that the Jan. 6 insurrection was really a peaceful protest. There are people like former President Donald Trump who want you to believe that, but the footage that Carlson will never show tells the horrible story of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The next phase of Fox’s big lie was its promotion of the falsehood that Dominion voting machines were manip-

ulated to change votes from Trump to Biden. Fox gave airtime to numerous people who claimed that the voting machines were controlled by the government of Venezuela and other countries, which compounded the notion that the election had been stolen.

Dominion now has a major defamation suit against Fox. The litigation has resulted in the release of hundreds of pages of sworn testimony of Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch, wherein Murdoch states that he knew Fox was falsely claiming that the election had been stolen. Also among the evidence are emails and texts exchanged between Carlson and other Fox voices, admitting they had few doubts about the election results.

It’s one thing for a member of Congress, one of 435, to lie all the way from the campaign to the Capitol. It is a much bigger thing for a federally licensed television network to knowingly spread falsehoods about an election and a subsequent riot to millions of gullible people who are willing to believe those distortions.

It will be extremely difficult, under defamation law, for Dominion to prevail and for Fox to be punished for its deliberate conduct in its zest for profit and viewers. So, when you compare one man’s falsehoods with a television network’s commentators knowingly distorting the truth about issues of worldwide concern, there’s a big difference. Santos will eventually meet his fate, but what will happen to Fox?

Eventually, Murdoch will be forced to write a check for millions of dollars to compensate Dominion for its claimed damages. That will be considered little more than the cost of doing business, and in time the story will fade away.

But, sadly, there is no mechanism to adequately punish a network for its willful neglect of the truth. In the end, the only group that will have any say over Fox’s future is its viewers. If they fail to punish the network, it is a message to all the George Santoses of the world that blatant lying is permissible conduct.

Jerry Kremer was an Assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12. He now heads Empire Government Strategies, a business development and legislative strategy firm. Comments about this column? jkremer@liherald.com.

The sun shivers and shudders northward

“You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”

–Pablo Neruda

Don’t believe me. Don’t believe the National Weather Service. But come hell or high water (and both are coming!), you better believe the Farmers’ Almanac. Those dudes, with their secret algorithms and witching sticks, are forecasting a challenging spring, followed by a beastly hot summer.

vived, and only sunny days will lie ahead. At least, that’s what the poets say.

Have you seen any of the early signs of spring?

According to the Almanac, worms begin to emerge from the ground this month. Indeed, the March moon is called the full worm moon.

Birds are migrating northward, along the path of the sun. Apparently, the increasing sunlight inspires birdsong.

by Covid isolations. Too many older residents in our communities have been shut in all winter, hindered by the cold and the fear of falling on the ice. People have been afraid to drive. For several weeks, amid successive storms, cabin fever went viral.

RANDI KREISS

Spring will officially arrive next Monday at 5:24 p.m. EDT, when the sun crosses the equator, sailing north. However, the Farmers’ Almanac says cold temperatures, freezing rain and even snow may dot the northern landscape well into April. You were expecting daffodils and lilacs? You know very well that nothing rolls the way it used to, including the weather.

Eventually the lilacs will bloom and our hearts, slowed and steadied by hours and days in sedentary hibernation, will dance to a livelier beat. We will have sur-

Of course, trees, shrubs and flowers are reactive to temperature and sunlight. According to the F.A., since ancient times, people have used flora as indicators of when the time is right to plant. For example, when the crocus blooms, it’s the cue to plant radishes, parsnips and spinach.

The agonizing turn from hard winter to early spring feels hopeful. You don’t have to live on a farm to study the Farmers’ Almanac and appreciate the old-time folk tales and wisdom. Did you know, for example, that you could balance an egg on its end during the vernal equinox? It’s true. You can balance it on other days as well, but it makes a good story.

Many of us have been suffering serious winter fatigue or worse, exacerbated

MI offer an it-can-alwaysbe-worse story. We have kids and grandkids out West in a small High Sierra mountain town you may be reading about. The teenage grandkids have had two days of school in the last two-plus weeks. High walls of snow line the few roads that have been plowed. The interstate that connects them to the rest of the world has been closed on and off for weeks. In the last 10 days, 12 feet of snow fell. That isn’t a typo. And last weekend they were expecting another three feet.

The kids have been entertaining themselves by jumping off the roofs into the snow. They dug a path out of the house for the dog, who would rather stay inside by the fire, thank you. My grandson’s high school closed for a time because the roof was caving in. People who live there to ski can’t ski. No hiking. No biking. No skateboarding. Epic cabin fever abounds.

Even here on Long Island, you can admire the pristine mornings for just so long. Cravings for carbs have driven our meal choices. Our skin is pasty, our muscles like Jell-O. I have faith that any day now, the mercury will start rising and the sun will dry out the soggy flowerbeds where spring flowers are trying to set roots. The season may not have turned yet, but we have reason to hope, and I will predict a balmy end to April.

The Almanac agrees. They say it will be a slow and stormy warmup, but it will come. What will also come is another blast of wicked weather this summer.

According to the F.A., “Another threat of severe weather, this one more widespread, is forecast around the time of the June solstice, as a surge of very warm, humid, and unstable air triggers showers, violent thunderstorms and possibly even a twister or two” in the central and eastern parts of the country.

Let’s ground ourselves in this moment. The rule is: When the sun takes its place over the equator, it is spring in the northern hemisphere. Winter is all memory; summer is just over the horizon. It is inevitable, and it is elemental. As Neruda says, “You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep Spring from coming.”

Copyright 2023 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

y teenage grandkids have had two days of school in the last twoplus weeks.

It’s one thing to lie your way into office.

But a network that knowingly distorts news?

JERRY KREMER

Trouble waking up? You know who to blame.

Where did our collective societal grudge against mornings come from?

Our fictional universe presents mornings as bright sunlight pouring through our curtains. Birds happily chirping outside our windows. The smell of freshly brewed coffee — and, if we’re lucky, a hearty breakfast of pancakes and eggs.

Reality, however, includes tightly pulled curtains. Birdsong drowned out by the 12 alarms we’ve set on our iPhones. And by the time we get that coffee, we’re already in the car and stuck in the drivethrough.

Yet we as a society don’t truly show how much we dislike mornings until it comes to daylight saving time — when we push our clocks ahead an hour at the start of spring, with the hope of enjoying more sunlight and fewer stars.

In fact, the whole idea of daylight saving is to push more sunlight into the evenings, and less into our mornings. So, if we were hoping for more sunlight to fill our bedrooms as we wake up, we better consider sleeping in.

If your day starts at 6 a.m., then you’re experiencing what it was like at 5 a.m. just a week ago, when standard time was still in effect. And really, it is still 5 a.m. — just not in the reality where the Uniform Time Act of 1966 exists.

Twice a year, we revisit the same argument: Why is moving our clocks backward and forward still a thing? We debate the origins, the supposed environmental benefits, and how all of that applies — or

letters

It’ll take more than novelists and playwrights, Randi

To the Editor:

Re Randi Kreiss’s column last week, “Writers will tell the story of our times”: We don’t have the luxury of time, since we’re off the rails already.

What good will it be if novelists and playwrights find the truth and bring it to us, if fewer and fewer people are reading?

Our media has to step up and present the truth in an unvarnished manner, and let the people be swayed by the facts. Media bias, by holding back on reporting certain stories, is the poison of our time. The media should be questioning everything and holding everyone accountable, regardless of party.

We have been plagued by censorship and the demonization of people who have alternative views. The shouting and screaming at meetings does no one any good. We must step back and put our country and its people first,

doesn’t apply — to today. In general, we come to the same conclusion: We don’t like moving our clocks back and forth twice a year.

Why do we still do it? Blame Congress. And not just for the 1966 bill signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, but for not ending this nonsense once and for all in the decades since then.

We actually came very close to making daylight saving time permanent across the United States with a Senate bill introduced by Marco Rubio. Modeled after a similar bill that had passed in Rubio’s home state of Florida, the Sunshine Protection Act earned support on both sides of the political aisle — from Democrats like Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, to Republicans like then President Donald Trump himself.

The bill was actually passed by the Senate last year through unanimous consent, although some senators later complained that they didn’t know the bill was part of a consent package, and that if they had, they would have voted against it.

Yet all the Sunshine Protection Act needed was a thumbs-up from the House, and President Biden’s signature. It got neither, and thus, last weekend, we got to experience once again a shift in time for no other reason than to make evening daylight longer.

Is this all much ado about nothing? No, says neurologist Beth Ann Marlow, who teaches at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. She has studied clock-changing across the country for the past five years,

and found that “the transition to daylight saving time each spring affects health immediately after the clock change, and also for the nearly eight months that Americans remain on daylight saving time.”

Marlow shared these findings with TheConversation.com last year, saying that the question shouldn’t be whether to end clock changes, but whether we should stick with standard time or daylight saving. Her choice? Standard time, which is closer to geological time, when the sun is highest at noon.

While daylight saving might allow for more sports to be played in sunlight after school, it also means that many who wake up before 8 a.m. to catch a bus are doing so in the dark.

Having the sun set earlier — at least according to our clocks — could help with sleep, too. Extended light in the evening delays the brain’s release of melatonin, the hormone that promotes drowsiness. It’s even worse for teenagers in the throes of puberty, Marlow adds, when melatonin already gets a late release, meaning our young minds are getting even less sleep.

Too often, we continue to embrace practices because they’ve always existed — Black Friday, scrambling an egg, making our beds in the morning only to mess them up again at night. But there are some practices that should indeed become a remnant of the past. And changing our clocks twice a year to accommodate daylight saving time can’t be eliminated fast enough.

My mixed memories of leading the parade

st. Patrick’s “Day” is actually several weeks of events commemorating Irish culture and traditions and Irish-America’s contributions to the American mosaic. The highlight event, of course, is the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, on the actual St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. But there are parades throughout the metropolitan area in the weeks leading up to and following the big day.

I can recall marching in numerous parades in communities including Bethpage, Glen Cove, Islip, Mineola, Rockaway, Rockville Centre and Wantagh. These were festive, upbeat events. What drew attention and controversy, however, was when, as Nassau County comptroller, I was elected by parade delegates to be grand marshal of the New

York City parade in 1985. The centuriesold struggle between the Irish and the British, euphemistically called the Troubles, was then in the 17th year of its latest manifestation in Northern Ireland, which included shootings, bombings, mass imprisonments and hunger strikes to the death.

I had visited Northern Ireland numerous times, including a fact-finding trip to Belfast with Senator Al D’Amato in December 1980, just after his election. Then I served as a member of a tribunal in Belfast investigating abuses by the British army and observing trials of accused Irish Republican Army members in non-jury courts. From these visits, where I met with people on all sides, and from my own study and analysis, I concluded that the main cause of the violence in Northern Ireland was British oppression and denial of human rights to the Catholic community. I concluded that the only solution would be all-party talks, which would include

Letters

and not be scared to say that. Too many self-serving agendas must be the next balloon that has to be shot down.

TONY GIAMeTTA Oceanside

Don’t try to pin T.R. down to ‘labels’

To the editor:

Re the editorial in the Feb. 23-March 1 issue, “Teddy Roosevelt: a president who defied labels”: Roosevelt didn’t defy labels; it’s we who seek the simplifying tags.

As the editorial mentions, T.R.’s “American” was an amalgam — not to be qualified by hyphen or purpose.

He also said “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”

Roosevelt’s pioneering conservationism was toward that end.

That principle could be a useful guide through the coming year — more useful than simplistic labels like “liber-

al” or “conservative.”

BRIAN KellY Rockville Centre

Long Islanders, support Bigger Better Bottle Bill

To the editor:

New York state is considering the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. led by Sen. Rachel May, it is intended to reduce litter and increase recycling by raising the deposit on returned cans and bottles from 5 to 10 cents.

The deposit has been 5 cents for 40 years. The bill would also expand the types of bottles that are eligible for return to include almost all beverages, including wine and liquor bottles.

Many environmental groups are advocating for the bill.

I urge our readership to contact their state legislators and urge them to support this important piece of legislation.

Sinn Fein, the party representing the IRA and a majority of the Catholic population in Northern Ireland.

Not surprisingly, the British government of Margaret Thatcher denounced my election as grand marshal of the 1985 parade. So, too, did the Irish government, which announced that it would boycott the parade and not allow any Irish official to march or participate in it in any way. Both governments pressured Cardinal John O’Connor to break with tradition and refuse to greet me on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the day of the parade. This led to a one-on-one meeting between the cardinal and me just days before the parade, following which O’Connor agreed to review the parade and recognize me as the duly elected grand marshal.

This incensed British officials, who increased the pressure on O’Connor, which only moved him to support me more strongly and make our public

handshake (labeled by British media as the “handshake of shame”) the centerpiece of parade coverage. A consequence of all this controversy was death threats, which made it necessary for me to wear a bulky bulletproof vest and be escorted by Nassau County Police Department detectives and NYPD undercover officers along the 40-block parade route and then the rest of the day on the reviewing stand.

Fast-forward 13 years. By then a congressman, I had worked closely with President Bill Clinton and British and Irish officials to advance the Irish peace process, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, which brought peace to Ireland for the first time in almost 800 years. Sinn Fein had been a party to the talks, and was a key signatory to the agreement. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern, the prime ministers of Great Britain and Ireland, the leaders of the countries that years earlier had condemned me as grand marshal, thanked me for my efforts!

Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Framework by Tim Baker

In the newsroom, a papier mâché proofreader (and a mouse-sized Herald) — Garden City

JOSePH M. VARON Member, Food and Water Watch, Long Island chapter, and Beyond Plastics

on St. Patrick’s Day in 1985, I needed a police escort and a bulletproof vest.

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