Reading event held at Rhame Avenue School
Rhame Avenue School held its Pick a Reading Partner kickoff event on May 1, featuring members of the East Rockaway Junior Varsity and Varsity baseball teams who visited classrooms for read-aloud sessions.
The student-athletes read baseball-themed books and spoke with students about reading throughout the day. The event marked the beginning of the school’s PARP program, which encourages student engagement with literacy.
The initiative was part of the district’s effort to integrate academics with other aspects of student life.
— Ainsley Martinez
Photos courtesy East Rockaway Union Free School District East Rockaway High School athletes visited classrooms at Rhame Avenue Elementary School during the PARP kickoff, reading baseball-themed books and speaking with students about reading.
High school athletes visited Rhame Avenue students in a partnership event to promote literacy.
The student-athletes read baseball-themed books and spoke with students about reading throughout the day.
Lynbrook businesses report price hikes
raise prices after the cost of lithium batteries and phone accessories jumped by 20 percent. Cardona sources his products from Phone LCD Parts, a New Jersey distributor that imports most of its inventory from China.
“We have to keep working anyway,” Cardona said. “But I hope it doesn’t become unsustainable.”
While the administration argues the move will bring back manufacturing jobs and reduce American dependence on foreign goods, economic data and business accounts suggest the near-term cost burden is falling largely on U.S. companies and consumers.
Andrew Spieler, a finance professor at Hofstra University, said the effect of tariffs is being felt most immediately in pricing and consumer demand.
“Companies don’t want to raise prices, wages are not going up as much as prices, and you’d expect to see a drop in demand,” Spieler said. “That slows down the economy.”
He said policy uncertainty has made financial markets more volatile.
“When you don’t know what to do, you usually do the safe thing,” Spieler said. “It’s like a game of poker. Who’s gonna blink first?”
Udayan Roy, an economics professor at Long Island University, agrees. He said that while the tariffs are meant to target foreign producers, they are effectively a tax on American buyers.
Roy warned that U.S. companies that rely on imported materials may become less competitive globally. “America is
Courtesy L’ami African Market
L’ami african market, on merrick road, serves primarily West african dishes including egusi and pounded yam, and efo riro, a spinach-based stew. owner amina iduma said she was notified by her nigerian wholesalers that her next shipment would arrive with a 14 percent cost increase due to tariffs being placed on imported products.
already close to full employment,” he said. “So even if foreign producers relocate their production factories to the U.S., where will their workers come from?”
Domestic alternatives, he added, are likely to become more expensive as demand shifts away from imports.
Steve Silverman, who runs Morton’s Official Camp Outfitter, in Cedarhurst, said he has not yet raised prices, but he
expects that to change. “The prices are being absorbed as of right now, and I haven’t seen an increase in prices just yet,” he said.
Most of his merchandise, Silverman said, is made in China, and price increases could take effect after the tariff exemption for low-value imports from China, which allowed duty-free entry for goods under $800, ended last Friday.
Alan Geller, chief executive of Fun World, a costume company based in Carle Place, said that his annual production costs would nearly triple — from $35 million to almost $100 million — if the 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports remained in effect.
On Friday, Geller met with executives from NextVein, a medical device maker in Huntington; Worksman Cycles, a Queens bicycle manufacturer; and Bernstein Display, a Manhattan mannequin supplier, to discuss the effects of Trump’s tariff policy on their businesses. U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove hosted the event, after business owners said they were caught off guard by the speed and scale of the tariff rollout.
Fun World has been forced to suspend its employee profit-sharing program for the first time in over 60 years, and cut pay by 20 percent across the company.
Geller said the company had considered moving operations to a factory it owns in Pennsylvania, but such a shift would take years.
“The rapid rollout of the tariffs has left U.S. manufacturers with little room to change how they operate,” he said.
He added that if the tariffs remain in place, Fun World may be forced to shut down.
For many Long Island business owners, the more urgent question is how to stay afloat, Geller said.
“Nobody wants to increase prices,” Geller said. “But there’s just no way that we can absorb some of these price increases.”
School board honors student, staff achievements
The Lynbrook Public Schools Board of Education recognized several students and one faculty member for recent accomplishments during its April 23 meeting.
The staff of Horizon, Lynbrook High School’s newspaper, was honored for earning awards in the New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. The publication placed third in Best Overall Newspaper or Online News Platform. Cassandra Levinson won third place in Best News Story for “Learning with Each Other: The Genesis of ‘Let’s Talk!,’” Kerry Cullen earned second place in Best Feature Story for “The Sephora Kids Epidemic,” and Sean Strohofer received third place in Best Photography for “Senior Frank Sirufo Earns Spot on Newsday’s ‘Top 100.’” Lynbrook High School Key Club members were also recognized following multiple honors at their district conference in Albany. Awards included the Perfect Paperwork Award, Early Bird Dues Recognition Award, second place in Service Hours Per Member, second place in Public Relations for their Camp Kiwanis fundraiser, first place in the Interclub Award and diamond level in the Distinguished Club Award. Skylar
Wolkoff received the Distinguished Vice President Award, and Liam Gallagher earned the Distinguished Junior Award. Students enrolled in the Virtual Enterprise course were acknowledged for organizing the Virtual Enterprise Trade Show, which hosted more than 1,000 students at Lynbrook High School. Student-run firms Revive and Snooze participated in the event. Snooze earned gold medals in Social Media, Sales Material, and Professionalism, while Revive received gold medals in Sales Material and Impact Marketing.
Athletic achievements were also recognized. The Lady Owls girls varsity basketball team completed an undefeated conference season. Zach Tinyes represented Lynbrook in the New York State Wrestling Championship, and Dan Quinlan competed in the New York State Swimming and Diving Championship in the 200-yard freestyle.
West End Elementary School teacher Chelsea Gundrum was honored for being named the 2025 Mathematics Teacher of the Year by the Nassau County Mathematics Teachers Association.
— Ainsley Martinez
Courtesy Lynbrook Public Schools
West end elementary School teacher Chelsea gundrum was named the 2025 mathematics teacher of the Year by the nassau County mathematics teachers association.
