______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
HERALD Shooting at Valley Stream party
NCC eyes return to title stage
Far Rockaway branch discount
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Vol. 34 No. 35
AUGUST 24 - 30, 2023
$1.00
Valley Stream library gets state funding been plagued with spacing issues and in dire need of more computers. According to library direcT h i s y e a r, t h e H e n r y Waldinger Memorial Library tor Mamie Eng, librarians have alongside 196 other public made do with the current setlibraries and systems state- up during the pandemic, but as wide, will receive a lift in aid patrons continue returning to the library, it’s no totaling $34 million longer a sustainin funding for their able situation. renovation and “Right now, the construction projreference librariects. ans only have two Project proposworkspaces with als cover a wide the two computers range of improvenetworked to our ment needs, from library catalog softgeneral upgrades, ware,” Eng said. like reinstalling So, if multiple security cameras, patrons come with to minutely specific a query about ones, like creating MAMIE ENG where they can find a temperature-con- Library directory certain books or trolled storage colmake a reservation, lection for at-risk librarians can only handle two books. At the Waldinger Memorial requests at a time, creating a Library, propping up a glamor- backlog. The project aims to clear ous new adult reading room or expanding seating for patrons away an old, pale-green storage are improvements that will cabinet hugging the back wall have to remain on the library’s of the workspace, rid itself of wish list for the time being. awkward shelving, and remove This year’s funding of about any visual clutter sitting on top $6,500 aims to make a conserva- and around the space. Additional computers will tive upgrade to the librarian’s adult reference office which, be placed against the side wall library officials say, has long Continued on Page 17
By JUAN lASSo
jlasso@liherald.com
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Delilah Roberts/Herald
Jewel Jobin, 7, was excited to be picked as a raffle winner by the Rev. Sunny Philip.
At Green Acres, volunteers fill 1,000 free backpacks By NIColE WAGNER nwagner@liherald.com
As families struggle with the cost of living on Long Island, the Green Acres Mall and a host of volunteers came together last weekend to take away some of the stress of back-to-school shopping. A thousand backpacks, packed by volunteers at the mall, were given away on Saturday and Sunday. The packers included PTA members and Girl Scouts, among others. “This is a larger quantity than what we’ve done before, but we felt that the need was here,” Jill Bromberg, the mall’s marketing manager, said. “I didn’t have a single bag left at the end of the day.” Each day of the mall’s second annual
Back to School Bash, 250 backpacks were handed out. The event also offered family fun, as kids were entertained by a variety show, dance parties, glitter tattoos, face painting and balloon art. “It was awesome — a lot of people came up to me and told me how happy they were,” Bromberg said. “Because not only did they get backpacks, they were entertained and the kids had fun.” Several other organizations gave away the other 500 backpacks stuffed with the musthaves provided by the mall. The Gateway Christian Center, in Valley Stream, was given 150 bags to give away on Saturday. The center has done several backpack giveaways over the years, but this year it didn’t have to Continued on Page 9
t’s these small construction grants that keep us moving forward.