Tax levy stays at zero
HHS teen leads toy drive for children
The Harlem Wizards brought their signature mix of trick shots, comedy and high-energy entertainment to Hewlett High School on April 19, facing off against Hewlett-Woodmere school district teachers and staff in a spirited fundraising event.
Known for combining basketball with showmanship, the Wizards are a touring team that performs in communities nationwide, rais-
ing money for schools and nonprofits while engaging audiences of all ages. Their games are less about competition and more about crowd interaction, featuring slam dunks, trick plays and plenty of humor. The matchup gave students and families a chance to see their own teachers take the court, adding to the excitement and community feel of the event. Events like these are
designed to bring schools together while generating funds through ticket sales and community participation.
Organizers said the evening delivered both entertainment and impact, creating a memorable experi-
ence while supporting school programs. With laughter, energy and audience involvement throughout, the event highlighted how fundraising can double as a unifying community celebration.
— Melissa Berman
Tim Baker/Herald
Harlem Wizards bring hoops
Designing a new future for Friends of the HWPL
By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
The Friends of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library unveiled a fresh new look on April 22, announcing the winner of its inaugural logo contest during the Hewlett-Woodmere public schools art show at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library.
Hewlett High School freshman Misty Lin was named the winner among seven student submissions, earning a $100 prize for her design, which will now serve as the official logo for the Friends organization.
“I like doing graphic design, so I designed one on Canva and used Kleki, an online drawing app,” Lin said. “I was very surprised, I didn’t think I would win. I’m excited to see it used for the library.”
Lin said she wants to be a graphic designer when she’s older and is looking forward to taking AP Art at the high school.
“I’m looking forward to taking the graphic design classes,” she said. “I’ve been doing art since I was little and would doodle around on paper.”
Other entries were submitted by David Brenner, Lea Rodriguez, Brooke Schecter, Tamar Bober-Tsastir, Sarina Vernow and Johanna Zack, whose designs were also displayed as part of the art show.
“The Friends of the Hewlett Woodmere Library thank all the participants who
Melissa Berman/Herald Hewlett High School freshman Misty Lin, second from left, won the Friends of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library logo contest. It was announced at the HewlettWoodmere public schools art show, on April 22.
took their time and effort with their submissions to our new logo contest,” said Mira Rosenfeld Sennett, co-president of Friends of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library. “We appreciate the interest each student applied to their original logo.”
The contest was launched in collaboration with the Hewlett-Woodmere School District as part of an effort to modernize
the group’s visual identity. Organizers said they were seeking a “fresh look” for use on stationery, email communications and printed materials.
“The new logo reflects a new chapter, a new director and fits together to support an auxiliary wing of the library,” Sennett said. “We are looking for what exactly Misty captured. We wanted to get
away from the juvenile, children logo to more community involvement.”
Leaders of the Friends group said the initiative reflects their mission to support educational and cultural programming for residents of all ages, while also engaging students in meaningful, creative opportunities.
“We’re here for supplying a pencil, a concert, a klezmer, a book review, a lecturer and of course whatever the library can do in Gold Hall,” she added. “We want to make it a very community and Five Towns oriented library. We support the library in any way we can.”
Andrew Fund, the district’s music and art director, helped promote the contest within the schools, encouraging students to submit original designs. Entries were displayed as part of the district-wide student art show, drawing families, neighbors and community members to the library for the announcement.
Lin’s art teacher Jennifer Csorba said she took the initiative to submit a logo design for the contest on her own accord.
“She’s going places,” Csorba said. “She has a lot of talent and we’re looking forward to seeing some great things throughout the rest of her high school career. She’s got a promising future.”
Lin’s winning design will be featured on the organization’s website and across future materials, marking a new chapter for the Friends as they continue their work supporting library programs and services.
Zero tax levy continues in Lawrence school district budget
By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
The Lawrence Union Free School District presented its proposed 2026–2027 school budget during a Board of Trustees meeting on April 20, outlining a plan that maintains academic programming while addressing rising operational costs.
The proposed budget totals $106.23 million, representing a 1.64 percent increase from the current year. Despite the increase, district officials announced that the tax levy will remain at zero percent for the 12th consecutive year, a point administrators highlighted as a continued effort to limit the financial burden on local taxpayers.
“We take all the factors we have into making the budget,” said Jeremy Feder, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations. “Everything and every detail go into consideration and we go from there. The budget is a living document, we have to adjust on the fly.”
District leaders said the spending plan prioritizes classroom instruction, student support services and extracurricular opportunities, while balancing fiscal responsibility. Rising costs, including transportation, staffing and contractual obligations, were cited as key factors in the budget increase.
The budget features: $300,00 in legal fees, $250,000 in insurance expenses, $300,000 in support staff, $300,000 in transportation and $150,000 in technology. Along with receiving $1.6 million in state aid.
The proposal includes funding for core academic programs, special education and mental health services, as well as technology upgrades and building maintenance. Officials also emphasized maintaining small class sizes and supporting faculty as central components of the plan.
“We’re always putting the budget together it’s a whole year to evaluate the past budget, current budget, next year’s budget and going forward,” Feder said. “I look back three years and see the trend and before that it was Covid and the budget was skewed. Now it only goes back the three years to 2022.”
Athletics, arts and enrichment programs will also remain funded, with administrators noting their importance to a well-rounded student experience.
This also includes the FEMA project, which is designed to improve drainage, restore damages from Hurricane Sandy and prevent further damage and erosion. Completion for the project is aimed for February 2027 and will allow for the replacement and reopening of the high school turf, secure the grounds and surrounding area from flooding and repair heating and ventilation at the high school.
During the presentation, trustees reviewed projected state aid and overall financial conditions for the coming year. Residents will have the opportunity to review the proposal and ask questions ahead of the annual budget vote on May 19, when voter approval will determine its adoption.
“I am thankful to the board to have a great opportunity to have a beautiful budget with all positive things,” Feder added.
After the budget presentation, the board approved a bid to redo the soccer field at Lawrence Middle School for $300,000. This was not included in the 2025-2026 school budget.
“It’s going to completely redo the soccer field so our high school team should be able to start using it during the summer for practice,” said Heshy Blachorsky, Board of Trustees president. “This includes removing all the excess grass, repairing the sprinkler system and grading topsoil. Hopefully this will be able to get the soccer team off the ground and have a nice, brand new field to practice on.”
HAFTR students mark Yom HaZikaron
By AIDAN WARSHAVSKY
awarshavsky@liherald.com
Students at HAFTR Middle School gathered in Lawrence for a Yom HaZikaron commemoration ceremony on April 21, as classmates led prayers, testimonials and memorial readings honoring the country’s fallen.
WYom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, commemorates more than 25,000 Israeli soldiers killed in war, along with victims of terror attacks. Led by Einat Rabinovich, the school’s Hebrew department chair, students shared testimonials from grieving family members and recited prayers reflecting on those losses.
hile we set aside today for formal observance, we carry their memory, their service and their sacrifice with us every day.
JoSHuA GoLD Principal, HAFTR middle school
The day began with a message from HAFTR principal Joshua Gold, who emphasized the duality of Jewish and Israeli history, contrasting the grief of Yom HaZikaron with the celebration
Lian Elgrissy, left, and Alma Scharman were two of over a dozen students leading classmates and faculty at HAFTR on April 21 for their Yom HaZikaron commemoration ceremony.
of Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israeli Independence Day — a day later.
“It is a lot to experience this emotional trove of Jewish history in just 48 hours,” Gold said. “While we set aside today for formal observance, we carry their memory, their service and their sacrifice with us every day.”
More than a dozen students helped lead the ceremony, including Alma Scharman and Lian Elgrissy, who both
have family serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Scharman took on multiple roles during the program, including describing a brother who died before he was able to come home and reading a letter written by an army general to his brother after his death.
Scharman said she values learning about Jewish history in class, saying it ensures the memories of those lost stay
alive. “Every single person has the opportunity and responsibility to remember,” she said. “That’s the responsibility I carry.”
Her classmate, Lian Elgrissy, shared the history of Yom HaZikaron and recited a letter written by a mother mourning her dead son and describing life without him.
Elgrissy said participating was about passing on a message for both her family and the people no longer alive. She noted her second cousin, Kobi Zaharon, who died in a terrorist attack on Purim in Tel Aviv in 1996. Zaharon was 13.
“I learned that it’s very important to respect everyone in our country because they didn’t just do it for themselves,” Elgrissy said. “They did it for all of us and to keep all of our families safe.”
In a later interview with the Herald, Rabinovich said she wanted students to understand the grief many Israeli families have endured because of war, while also recognizing the hope and resilience that continues beyond that loss.
“I wanted them to understand what happened to these families and the soldiers,” Rabinovich said. “Because when our students go to Israel, I want them to know they are safe.”
The ceremony concluded with the lighting of a memorial candle and the singing of Adon Olam.
Melissa Berman/Herald
The Lawrence Union Free School District Board of Trustees presented the proposed 2026-2027 school budget at their meeting, on April 20.
Courtesy Avi Shaver
HERALD EDitoRiAL
Long Island must make pedestrians safer now
Atroubling pattern is emerging across Nassau and Suffolk counties — and it should force leaders in both to act with urgency. In recent weeks, there have been a number of serious and fatal crashes involving pedestrians in our communities, from Wantagh to Freeport, Rockville centre and Lindenhurst.
In Wantagh on March 9, a 53-year-old woman was killed when a pickup truck struck her while it was making a turn at an intersection. On April 4, In Freeport, a 66-year-old man died after being hit while crossing Merrick Road, with police later charging the driver for a hit-and-run.
In Rockville centre on April 10, a 76-year-old woman died of injuries she sustained when she was struck by a vehicle at an intersection. And in Lindenhurst on April 15, an 85-year-old woman was seriously injured when she was hit by a vehicle making a left turn.
These were not isolated incidents. They were part of a steady, devastating rhythm of crashes that too often end in tragedy for people doing something routine — crossing the street.
Even in Long Beach, where city officials are now reviewing traffic data in an effort to improve safety, the response remains reactive. Studying the problem isn’t the same as solving it. Long Island has reached the point where
analysis must give way to action.
The uncomfortable truth is that Nassau and Suffolk are still operating under an outdated suburban model of road design that prioritizes speed and vehicle flow over human safety. Wide lanes encourage faster driving. Long crossing distances expose pedestrians to danger. Intersections are designed for convenience, not caution.
We do not need to reinvent the solution. We need to look west.
New York city, through its Vision Zero initiative, has spent years reshaping its streets with a different philosophy: that no loss of life on the road is acceptable. That approach has led to lower speed limits, redesigned intersections, pedestrian islands, expanded enforcement and a fundamental shift in the way streets are used. The results haven’t been perfect, but they have been meaningful. Fatalities have declined over time, and the conversation has changed.
Now the city is going even further, considering a “full stop” rule that would require drivers and cyclists to remain stopped at intersections until pedestrians have completely crossed the street — not just cleared their immediate path. It is a simple idea with powerful implications: The pedestrian comes first, fully and without compromise.
Long Island should not wait to see how that
proposal plays out. The principle behind it is already clear, logical, and overdue here.
And not every solution requires tearing up asphalt. Some changes can happen quickly: reducing speed limits on local roads, increasing enforcement of failure-to-yield laws, improving signage and crosswalk visibility, and launching public-awareness campaigns that reinforce a culture of caution.
The data makes this urgency undeniable. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 90 percent of crashes in the united States are tied, at least in part, to human error — speeding, distraction, poor judgment. That means safer systems are not optional; they are essential. Road design must anticipate mistakes and reduce their consequences.
Long Island has the benefit of proximity to one of the largest real-world laboratories for traffic safety reform. The question is whether its leaders are willing to learn from its city neighbors. How many more deaths will it take before that happens?
The recent fatalities in our area shouldn’t fade into the background of the next news cycle. They should serve as a call to action. Nassau and Suffolk must act now to prioritize pedestrians, redesign dangerous roads and adopt proven safety measures. The cost of waiting is already far too high.
L E tt ER to t HE ED ito R
To the Editor:
Last week was National Work Zone Awareness Week, a nationwide campaign reminding motorists that warmer temperatures bring an increase in construction activities along our transportation system. Here on Long Island, the state Department of Transportation is scheduled to perform hundreds of
millions of dollars’ worth of paving and bridge projects this year. For the safety of the highway workers doing this work, NYSDOT will deploy signs, cones, barrels and attenuators to make these work zones as visible as possible. Motorists, however, must also do their part to ensure that our workers return home safely each night: slow down, move over and stay alert. Honoring this simple request can save a life.
Earlier this year, a NYSDOT worker was senselessly struck by a vehicle while setting up a closure on the Long Island Expressway. It’s a miracle that worker survived. Throughout this construction season, in an
effort to better protect our workers, NYSDOT will be working with our police partners on targeted enforcement, and will be deploying automated speed-enforcement cameras in our work zones.
Thank you for doing your part to keep our highway workers safe.
RIcHARD cAuSIN L.I. regional director, New York State Department of Transportation Hauppauge
Arts Below Sunrise will return for its 13th year, in a downsized fashion, on the rain date May 3.
Arts Below Sunrise postponed to May 3
The 13th annual Arts Below Sunrise has been postponed from its original date to May 3 due to inclement weather on April 26.
The festival will be held in the parking lots of the Woodmere Education Center and the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library. Johnson Place will be closed, and organizers are contemplating using the school district’s maintenance building lot.
From its inception in 2014, the festival— hosted by Hewlett Woodmere Public School’s Endowment Fund — has evolved from a small craft fair into a larger community event, pausing during the pandemic and expanding significantly for the district’s 125th anniversary. The festival attracts over 4,000 attendees and 150 student and adult volunteers annually.
— Melissa Berman
Installation & Networking Dinner
Join WEDLI for a strictly social eventnetworking and catching up with friends! We will also install the new WEDLI officers and board members. All are welcome to attend.
Tuesday, May 19 | 6 p.m. Captain Bill’s | 122 Ocean Ave, Bay Shore
Courtesy Polina Mendelovich
More than toys: a mission of kindness
By MELISSA BERMAN mberman@liherald.com
Hewlett High School junior Layla Mikhaylov is turning compassion into action through her growing community initiative, the Golden Minds Project, a toy drive aimed at supporting children in shelters and foster programs — and now expanding its reach beyond the local community.
Running from Feb. 14 to April 19 through a combination of community donations, an online Amazon storefront and a GoFundMe campaign, Mikhaylov raised approximately $800, which she used to purchase additional toys, snacks and basic necessities. In total, her first fundraiser collected about 130 toys, all distributed directly to families at a shelter in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
“I’ve always been around kids, whether volunteering or working in daycares, and I realized not everyone has the same opportunities I had growing up,” Mikhaylov said. “When you actually see that, it makes you want to do something. I wanted to be hands-on and make people smile in person, not just send things off.”
Collection bins placed at a Brooklyn church and several daycare centers, along with social media outreach and an Amazon Wishlist, helped drive donations. At the event, families were invited to select toys themselves, an approach Mikhaylov said was intentional.
“I didn’t want it to feel like just receiving something,” she said. “I wanted the kids and families to feel involved, to choose what they liked. That makes it more special.”
Her mother, Polina Mendelovich, said the experience has been transformative.
“She really put her heart and soul into this,” Mendelovich said. “It gave her a lot of growth, a lot of responsibility, and opened her eyes to what life is like outside of our immediate community. Meeting these families face-to-face,
especially those who have gone through hardship or displacement, is something that stays with you.”
Mikhaylov said the project was inspired by years of volunteering, including time spent helping students in Spain learn English, as well as her desire to support children facing difficult circumstances.
“My heart aches when I think about kids who don’t have access to things as simple as toys or educational materials,” she said. “This is my way of helping, even in a small way.”
Looking ahead, Mikhaylov is working to expand the Golden Minds Project through a partnership with the Atongi Foundation, a nonprofit that supports communities both locally and internationally, including in Ghana. Through that collaboration, leftover toys and newly purchased hygiene products will be sent overseas to support children and families in need.
“We’re not just focusing on toys anymore,” she said. “We’re also collecting hygiene products and other essentials, because families need more than just toys. Partnering with the Atongi Foundation is helping us grow and reach people not just here, but around the world.”
Mikhaylov said she also plans to bring the initiative to additional shelters across New York, including an upcoming distribution in Jamaica, Queens.
For Mendelovich, watching her daughter take the lead has been both emotional and inspiring.
“She’s not just organizing something — she’s connecting with people,” she said. “She’s seeing the impact up close, and that’s something you can’t teach. It’s something you feel.”
For Mikhaylov, that connection is what matters most.
“Being behind the scenes and actually making it happen — that’s what means the most to me,” she said. “Just seeing the kids happy, even for a moment, makes everything worth it.”
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Hewlett High School junior Layla Mikhaylov held a toy drive for underprivileged children and donated them to a shelter in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
