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UNIONDALE _____________
HERALD BEACON
Celebrating the young
How rich are you? Kevin Kamen knows
Is there a title in team’s future?
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AUGUST 24 - 30, 2023
Backpacks on wheels, with drums and gold pompoms escort. The caravan’s first of six stops was the tree-lined, shady Uniondale students didn’t corner of Dean Avenue and have to travel to a central loca- Shell Street, a few blocks from tion to pick up free backpacks Grand Avenue Elementary filled with school supplies this School. Families with schoolchildren had begun gathering year. on the sidewalk. Instead, thanks to The volunteers the Uniondale Backbounded out of the to-School Bus Tour bus. The drummers last Saturday, the and cheerleaders, backpacks came to flashing the black them. and gold colors of A white van left the Uniondale Uniondale High Knights, assembled School at 9 a.m., in the street, directloaded with 600 MoNIqUE ed by bandleader backpacks donated Colton Wynter. My by Northwell Health DARRISAW-AKIl Brother’s Keeper and the Kiwanis superintendent, adviser Keith Coles Club. A school bus Uniondale Public helped his students f o l l owe d , l o a d e d Schools arrange the backwith student mempacks on folding bers of My Brother’s Keeper and the Superinten- tables. The line of waiting families dent’s Advisory Council, five cheerleaders, seven drummers grew rapidly. Several student from the school’s marching volunteers walked cheerfully band, Superintendent Monique along the line, handing out flyers about immunizations, regisDarrisaw-Akil, and district staff tration, and pre-K. members. “We are live with our back-toA red and gold Uniondale fire truck served as a majestic ConTinUed on pAge 2
By REINE BETHANY
rbethany@liherald.com
Reine Bethany/Herald
The eastbound lanes of Hempstead Turnpike, in Uniondale, have many roughly patched sections, especially east of Uniondale Avenue.
Navigating problems, solutions of turnpike near Nassau Hub By REINE BETHANY rbethany@liherald.com
Throughout the public hearings this spring on the development of the Nassau Hub area by Las Vegas Sands, the fast, traffic-choked stretch of Hempstead Turnpike through Uniondale kept emerging as a safety concern. But potential solutions are under discussion. The turnpike, which is officially known as state Route 24, needs attention. The 1.8-mile stretch through Uniondale, which passes the Nassau Coliseum, has a speed limit of 50 miles per hour. Traffic is often heavy. For pedestrians at the few crossings near Hofstra University, traversing the traffic and the turn lanes can be intimidating. Hofstra’s two unispans over the highway serve students only. And parts of the road need repaving, with many patched potholes in the asphalt — espe-
cially between Oak Street and Uniondale Avenue — that can cause trouble for drivers. One of them was Uniondale resident Gregory Armour. As he drove east on Hempstead turnpike on Oct. 9, 2021, Armour hit a series of three potholes between Oak Street and California Avenue that blew out his left front tire. He photographed the potholes and his wrecked tire. He saved the $300 receipt from a garage in East Meadow for repairing the damage and mounting a new tire. When he learned that the turnpike is a state road, Armour filled out a Small Claims Form on the state transportation department website, attached his photographic evidence and waited for reimbursement. None came. The transportation department denied that its road crews had been negligent, ConTinUed on pAge 7
W
e just really want to be a resource.