__________________ SEAFORD _________________
HERALD $1.00
l.I. band hits center stage
Schools focus on mental health
See when Santa is coming to town
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Vol. 69 No. 51
DECEMBER 16 - 22, 2021
Jingle All the Way 5K draws a crowd By KATE NAlEPINSKI knalepinski@liherald.com
Kate Nalepinski/Herald
RuNNERS SPoRTED SANTA Claus outfits at the Jingle All the Way 5K, held last Sunday at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford.
As the second verse of “Run Run Rudolph,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, started to play, a clamor of elves, snowmen, over a dozen Santa Clauses and some festive runners with bells on their feet prepared themselves at the starting line of the Jingle All the Way 5K last Sunday at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford. This year, over 800 people registered for the event, an annual race organized by the Baldwin-based Race Awesome. It began at 9 a.m., shortly after the Kids Run Run Rudolph 1K.
“The course is wellmarked,” Race Director Corey Roberts reminded the runners. “Please pay attention to the markers and do not go off course.” After a countdown from five, the racers took off, creating a blur of red, white and green, as cheerleader, Sarah Greller of Levittown, jumped around in a full-body inflatable gingerbread man suit. For the eigth consecutive year, the holiday-themed race benefited Wantagh-based nonprofit the John Theissen Children’s Foundation. ParticiContinued on page 9
MSSN submits appeal to Town of Hempstead board By KATE NAlEPINSKI knalepinski@liherald.com
Mount Sinai South Nassau has submitted an appeal to the Town of Hempstead’s Board of Zoning Appeals this month to create a 60,000-square-foot multispecialty health care center in Wantagh, according to hospital officials. The Oceanside-based hospital plans to invest $35 million in a four-story building at 2020 Wantagh Ave., a former Verizon facility now owned by the hospital. “We really looked into this area because there’s a gap for services,” Dana Sanneman, Mount Sinai South Nassau’s vice
president of public affairs and development said. “If you talk to people in the community, they’ll tell you that they have to travel very far to go see specialists.” The appeal comes after the project was rejected by the Hempstead Town Board earlier this year, Sanneman explained. A revised version of that proposal had been presented to the board roughly six months ago, she said. Now, the future of the site remains in the hands of the Zoning Board. Mount Sinai South Nassau is currently waiting for all regulatory approvals necessary to begin construction on the project. Once approved, construction
could take 18 to 24 months. The facility would provide health care services including cardiology, digestive health, oncology, women’s health, cancer care, dermatology, neurology, endocrinology, lab services, pain management, pulmonary care, noninvasive surgery and urology. “The concept, really, is to prov i d e a o n e - s t o p s h o p fo r patients,” said Joe Calderone, the hospital’s senior vice president of corporate communications and development. “We want to put as much as we can under one roof so that the patients visiting one facility can get more done — it’ll be more convenient for them.” Equally
important, Calderone noted, is that a variety of medical professionals will be housed in one building and will be able to collaborate across fields. The hours of operation for most services would be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to an Aug. 11, 2020, presentation by the hospital. Evening hours on select week-
days and Saturdays would be phased in as warranted by patients’ needs. Mount Sinai South Nassau is being assisted at the Wantagh site by the Bronx-based Simone Development Companies, which will manage the construction. Simone oversaw construction of a similar Mount Sinai doctors’ Continued on page 13