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Vol. 31 No. 40
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‘Fall’ season to start in March Valley Stream high school sports are scheduled to begin in January ilies who have been looking forward to preparing for interscholastic athletics this fall,” he said The Valley Stream Central in a statement. “The health and H i g h S ch o o l D i s t r i c t h a s safety of our students and staff rescheduled its fall sports season is always our top priority.” to begin on March 1, according The news was met with relief, to announcement on Sept. 22 by and some trepidathe district’s direction, on the part of tor of health, phys. parents and stued. and athletics, dents. Scott Stueber. “It’s better than The news came nothing,” said Cenafter a decision on tral High School varAug. 26 by a commitsity cross-country tee of Nassau Counrunner Warren Perty school superintenshad, 16. Pershad, a dents to postpone junior, runs winter the start of the fall osBouRNE and spring track in sports until at least TRAill addition to crossthe beginning of country, and said he Parent, 2021 over coronaviwondered how the rus fears, leaving the South High School modified schedule question of whether might affect the athfall sports would be letes’ training regiplayed this academic year. With men. a shortened playing schedule, “Especially for cross-country, the new “fall season” is sched- it’s important to train over the uled to conclude on April 21. The summer,” he said, noting that modified winter season is set to with its 5k races, it favors endurbegin on Jan. 4 and end on Feb. ance over speed. Still, with win26, and the spring season is to ter track, in which 3,200 meters run from April 22 to June 14, is the longest race, he said, Stueber also announced. “You’re still getting in shape.” “The Valley Stream Central Pershad added, however, that High School District administra- with the condensed schedule, tion and coaching staff are sympathetic to our students and famContinued on page 16
By PETER BElfioRE pbelfiore@liherald.com
f
rom my point of view, we should play it safe.
Peter Belfiore/Herald
BRoThERs Tommy, lEfT, and Anthony DiStefano, owners of the Valbrook Diner, plan to reopen the restaurant in the coming weeks after they embarked on a roughly six-month renovation.
‘We’re not going anywhere’
Valbrook Diner to reopen after renovations By PETER BElfioRE pbelfiore@liherald.com
For nearly as long as they can remember, brothers Anthony and Tommy DiStefano knew they would own a restaurant together one day. “We’ve been in the diner business our whole lives,” Anthony, 44, said. The Bellmore and Merrick natives have spent much of their careers managing diners up and down the East Coast, so when the opportuni-
ty arose to purchase Valley Stream’s Valbrook Diner from its previous owner five years ago, they jumped at the chance. “I knew it was a staple in the neighborhood,” said Anthony, who had worked there as a night manager since 2011. “I knew the staff. I knew some of the customers already. I knew what the business needed to be.” But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the Valbrook, like so many businesses,
started losing money, and the DiStefanos decided to close. “We tried to do takeout, we tried to do delivery, but you know, it just wasn’t making any business,” Anthony said. But he and his older brother had a plan. The Valbrook has operated continuously as a diner for more than 50 years. Since they purchased it, the brothers had wanted to undertake a major renovation, and with Continued on page 15