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HERALD VOL. 35 NO. 26
Cricket tourney resonates
Blakeman touts trans ban
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Page 15
JUNE 20 - 26, 2024
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Could landmark status save Holy Trinity Church? By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
Keith Rossein/Herald
Andre Cisco, of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, returned to his hometown of Valley Stream to host a football camp, inspiring local youth with lessons on hard work and perseverance.
NFL safety Andre Cisco inspires Valley Stream’s future football stars By NORA TOSCANO Intern
Valley Stream native and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco returned to his hometown to host a football camp and talk to Valley Stream youth football players about the virtues of hard work and perseverance, and the life lessons learned through sports. The young players heard Cisco’s words of wisdom on June 14 were put through the rigors of the camp on June 15. Cisco had his own team to help with the players aged six to 15. Joining him on the field was with a member of the Jaguars, seven former Valley Stream players who play Division I football and ten who currently play at the Division II
level. Valley Stream Central High School head football coach Tom Schiavo was originally going to run a camp with Valley Stream’s football program. Schiavo then contacted the athletic director, and the camp was set into motion. Schiavo said Cisco’s success on and off the field makes him such a prime role model for his players and someone they benefited hearing from. “He’s walked the walk,” Schiavo said. “He’s taken what they do to the highest level, and he can give them great advice on how to get there if they choose to do so. He’s also battled through a lot of difficulty in his life, CoNtiNued oN pAge 10
Valley Stream’s Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, a 100-yearold historical institution, is listed for sale at an asking price of $3.95 million. Despite seeing their membership numbers dwindle, the disappearance of their church has jolted Valley Stream Episcopalians, leaving them with more questions than answers. While church leadership has sent its parishioners packing to neighboring churches, lifelong p a r i s h i o n e r s l i ke D e b b i e Jacobs cannot quite move on. S e n t i m e n t a l ly r u m m a g i n g through files and folders of church historical photos, documents, and keepsakes painstakingly collected through the years, she has racked her brain as to why weren’t steps taken to ensure its survival, either in whole or in part, as a local historic landmark. “This church has been such an inte g ral part of Valley Stream and without it, Valley Stream’s Episcopal presence is gone,” said Jacobs.
Church closure is a numbers game Fo r B i s h o p L aw r e n c e Provenzano, head of the Epis-
copal Diocese of Long Island, the decision to close the church came down to a matter of numbers — its value based not on historical or sentimental worth, but on an unblinking assessment of cost and membership participation. “Membership at Holy Trinity, Valley Stream fell below the threshold to both upkeep its parish and minister to the wider community,” he said in a statement. But while the Diocese may have a legal right to cull one of its churches and a financial urgency to do so under a regional slump in membership, historians and preservationists say Jacobs has an equally compelling argument when she says losing Holy Trinity Church means losing a valuable piece of the village’s history. “As this is the first Episcopalian Church in the Village and is one of the oldest church buildings, it is historically significant,” said village historian Carol McKenna in a statement. “It may qualify as a cultural and/or historical landmark considering its status.” But how exactly does an old building rise to the level of a historic landmark? How does a community with a vested interCoNtiNued oN pAge 9