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HERALD
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Vol. 35 No. 8
FEBRUARY 15 - 21, 2024
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LIJ-Valley Stream nurses poised to strike next week By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
Courtesy New York State Nurses Association
Long Island Jewish-Valley Stream hospital is bracing for an impending nurses’ strike next week as negotiators have failed to reach a compromise on a new labor contract.
Hundreds of nurses at Long Island Jewish-Valley Stream hospital are threatening to walk off on the job next week unless negotiators and hospital administrators agree on a new contract. The New York State Nurses Association authorized a strike against the Franklin Avenue facility earlier this month. “We would prefer to be inside the hospital caring for patients than out on the picket line,” union members said, in a statement. “Even if we exercise our rights to a work stoppage, we urge patients to not delay seeking medical care.” Northwell Health, which operates the Valley Stream hospital, told the Herald that while it is “disappointed in NYSNA’s decision to issue a strike notice,” the organization remains “optimistic that an agreement can be reached.” “Our goal is to reach an agreement that continues to provide our valued nurses with competitive compensation and ContInued on page 14
No cause yet for devastating Rockaway Avenue fire By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
In the early-morning hours of Jan. 27, a fire, which originated at the Jadwiga’s Polish American Deli on West Lincoln Avenue, ravaged a row of neighboring businesses on Rockaway Avenue. After more than five hours, the skeleton of the building remained, but the trio of storefronts — Hearing Center of Long Island, Valley Stream Pharmacy, and Orange Skye Day Spa — were gutted beyond recognition. Mayor Edwin Fare described it as a “total loss.” In the imme-
diate aftermath of the disaster, police taped off the ruined storefronts, most of them stripped of their front windows and doors, with charred rubble and shattered glass spilled onto the sidewalk. The sidewalk debris has since been swept clean and the vacant storefronts have been boarded up — standing now as a sad reminder of the loss to business owners and the community, and a blow to a main business district still struggling to restore its commercial presence. “I found out about what happened when I arrived at the office that morning,” said Dr.
Larry Cardano, owner of the Hearing Center of Long Island. “We had made a home there for myself and my patients for over 20 years, so it was totally unexpected. “My first thought was how we’re going take care of our patients.” Although roughly 20 fire departments across the South Shore and 150 firefighters raced to the scene, fire officials were unable to keep the blaze from completely engulfing the commercial building from the inside. Fare said he was saddened by the loss, but stressed that no lives were lost: “Property can
be replaced, people cannot.” Apart from three firefighters, no one was harmed. The cause of the fire, after more than two weeks, remains “indeterminant” according to the Nassau County fire marshal’s office.
Why the fire was so destructive Fire officials said that a vulnerability in the building’s
design caused the fire to spread unusually quickly. It began at the rear of the stores. By the time firefighters entered the building, the fire had already spread to a common loft space between the ceiling and the roof, spanning the tops of all four stores, which firefighters described as a cockContInued on page 10