______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
HERALD New submarine named USS l.I.
The epidemic of unsafe streets
Arcangelo for the win at Belmont
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Vol. 34 No. 25
JUNE 15 - 21, 2023
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OBITUARY
William Florio, pillar of village life, dies at 72 1920s and ‘30s was, for the most part, in the rearview mirror. Florio came of age at a time where Will Florio’s pride for his Ital- Italian Americans across the ian heritage served as a van- country were being folded rapidguard for Italian Americans who ly into America’s mainstream. brought their generational culRaised for the remainder of ture and talents to his childhood in subValley Stream and urban Va l l e y etched them deeply Stream, Florio never into the village’s lost his conviction public life. Florio for his Italian heridied on May 3. He tage, his son Bill Flowas 72. rio noted. Born in 1951 to As a fervent two first-generation Republican, his poliItalian immigrants, tics and his Italian l iv i n g i n D y ke r ideals often went Heights, F lorio together. He threw would not stay in his himself into the native Brooklyn for BIll FlorIo local Italian-led very long. In a matsocial groups. He Son ter of years, Will and mingled with homehis family would town Italian lumileave their Italian neighborhood naries and helped get them into and make their home in subur- public office. He was a founding ban Long Island. Droves of other member and treasurer of the vilItalians, Brooklyn-bred or other- lage’s Italian American Civic wise, were destined for the same Association before the organizafuture. tion folded in the early 2000s. This movement was part of a Back in its heyday, the Italian larger societal shift for Italian American Civic Association Americans. The currents of anti- completely reshaped the village’s Italian and anti-Catholic senti- political culture, noted Bill, who ment that characterized the Continued on page 10
By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
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Courtesy Michaelle Solages
ASSEmBlywomAN mIchAEllE SolAgES rallied with members of the Long Island Progressive Coalition in Mill Brook Park to push for climate justice and jobs package.
Solages, climate activists urge Albany to fund its green goals By cArolINE KElly Intern
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages rallied with members of the Long Island Progressive Coalition in Mill Brook Park to show their support for the “Climate, Jobs, and Justice” legislative package. The May 25 rally was among many that took place across the state demanding that legislators in Albany pass the remaining suite of
bills aimed at providing a committed source of funding to the state’s environmental goals before the Legislature ended its session last week. The effort seemed to have missed the mark, but on that starkly sunny day last month, the assemblywoman chose the green scenery of Mill Brook Park as a backdrop to show the importance of preserving Long Island’s ecosystem before there is further environmental fallout. The Long Island Progres-
sive Coalition is a community-based organization, founded in 1979, that is dedicated to social, racial and climate justice. The LIPC is a part of a statewide coalition called NY Renews, composed of over 300 organizations. According to NY Renews, the package is “a legislative roadmap to rapidly decarbonize New York, make our state healthier and more equitable, ensure a just transition for Continued on page 9
t was important to him. His heritage, his culture: very important.