________________ LONG BEACH _______________
HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
Rain can’t stop boardwalk fair
P.D. gets $100K for upgrades
Nonstop lacrosse for 24 hours
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Vol. 37 No. 29
July 16 - 22, 2026
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Annual fireworks mark America’s 250th birthday
Chris Colucci/Herald
Last Friday, residents and visitors gathered to celebrate the semiquincentennial (and at least one attendee apparently hoped the police would be too busy to notice a violation of the new city ordinance prohibiting locking bikes to the south railing of the boardwalk). People crowded the beach and the boardwalk for hours ahead of the night’s annual fireworks display. Story, more photos, Page 8.
After 16 years, firefighters union and city sign contract By CHRIS ColuCCI ccolucci@liherald.com
The saying is that firefighters run in when others run out. Whether it’s a quick response to a local restaurant fire or sending crews to a nearby town for support during a callout, the Long Beach Fire Department doesn’t hesitate to live up to those expectations. During last week’s City Council meeting, council members announced the end of a 16-year drought in contract negotiations between the city and the Long Beach Professional Fire Fighters Association, after an agreement was
reached to certify a multi-year contract that began almost immediately and stretches until June 2030. Long Beach is the only municipality on Long Island with a paid cohort incorporated into the local fire department. Together, 24 paid firefighters work alongside more than 130 volunteers to keep the city and neighboring towns safe. The previous contract between the paid firefighters and the city went into effect in July 2004, and expired in June 2010. The extended interim without a contract was attributed to general difficulties in negotiation that were eventual-
ly overcome by both sides. “It’s been at the top of our agenda as a council,” City Council President Brendan Finn said. “Starting in ’24 through ’25, and here we are in ’26 with a new council. We saw that it was really, obviously, way overdue. I applaud Dan Creighton’s — I would call them herculean efforts to bring this over the finish line,” Finn added, referring to the city manager. The new contract outlines salary structure, benefits, responsibilities and expectations of the paid employees. Among its provisions are a continued work schedule of 24
hours on duty, 72 hours off; a starting salary of $60,000 for first-year firefighters — increasing for those who get advanced certification as paramedics — with a 2 percent annual pay increase until 2030, and no-cost health insurance for those hired before March 11, 2021. Firefighters hired after that date will contribute 5 to 15
percent of their health insurance costs, depending on the length of their career. At the council meeting, Catherine Lewis, vice president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 287, spoke on behalf of the Professional Firefighters Association. “We’re extremely proud to have Continued on page 11