Uniondale Herald 05-15-2025

HERALD UNIONDALE

Kellenberg High students react to new pontiff

By JORDAN VALLONE and STACY DRIKS of the Herald

“Oh my goodness, he’s an American!” That was all Father Dan Griffin, chaplain of Kellenberg Memorial High School’s Brother Joseph C. Fox Latin School, could say during a livestreamed event after the cardinals in the Vatican selected Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8.

“It all developed very quickly. We hadn’t planned it,” Griffin said. “I went down to the normal P.A. system and rang the bells, and we have real bells in the pavilion, and then I announced that there was white smoke, and we had a new pope.”

“I can’t tell you how so many times in two days they were walking by my office and saying, ‘Is there white smoke yet?’” Griffin added, referring to the Latin school students.

“They were very into the whole tradition of the church and the conclave.”

After the white smoke appeared, the classrooms’ internal TV system livestreamed the event, and students waited for about an hour before Pope Leo XIV appeared.

As they waited, Griffin, teacher Peggy York, Chaplain Father Tom Cardone, and chairman of the religion department Alex Basile — all members of the Apostolic Response at Kellenberg, or ARK, team — sat at a round table in the school’s television studio, offering live commentary.

Griffin said that when he heard the new pope’s name, he knew right away he was American, but he described it as a surreal moment, especially because he shared it with the student body.

“It’s a good teaching moment,” he said. “Bringing the gospel to all people, not just

BEACON BEACON

school raises $1,000 Page 10

Uniondale prepares for budget vote

By STACY DRIKS sdriks@liherald.com

Uniondale residents will head to the polls on May 20 to vote on the proposed $286 million school budget for 2025-26, elect two Board of Education trustees, and weigh in on a proposition involving major capital projects.

Both incumbent board members, Addie Blanco-Harvey and Alvin McDaniel, are running unopposed in this year’s election.

Administrators in the Uniondale School District stressed the importance of passing this year’s school budget, which is essential to maintaining and growing programs that help students thrive — especially those who need extra academic support.

“Residents vote for the budget — they either support it or they vote it down,” Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil said. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

If Uniondale voters reject the proposed budget, the district could either put the same budget up for a second vote or make revisions to it before placing it before voters once again.

However, if the spending plan fails a second time, the district would be forced to operate under a contingency budget, which

For more information, contact the office of the District Clerk at (516) 560-8945 or by email at sedwards@uniondaleschools.org you can also find your local poll at tinyurl.com/ FindMyuniPoll25 — Stacy Driks

would limit spending to only essential, contractually obligated costs — and do without new programs, the expanded use of facilities, while facing significant cuts to non-mandated services like after-school programs. Under a contingency plan, the overall level of services and student support would be reduced to the “bare minimum,” according to the superintendent. One of two propositions on the May 20 ballot is the proposed $286 million budget, which has grown from $235.9 million over the past four years.

During budget presentations

ConTInueD on PAGe 7

Courtesy Kellenberg Memorial High School Peggy York, far left, Father Dan Griffin, Father Tom Cardone, and Alex Basile gathered at the television studio at Kellenberg High School, and offered their commentary on Pope Leo XIV.

Senator saves Hempstead school from closure with relief bill

State Sen. Siela Bynoe promised an additional $24 million for Hempstead Public Schools in the proposed Senate One-House Budget — and she delivered, helping to prevent program cuts and school closures.

On May 9, it was unveiled that the enacted state budget would include this relief funding for Hempstead schools. The funding is intended to offset the financial strain caused by the district’s rapidly growing charter school enrollment.

Evergreen Charter School, Academy Charter School, and the newly approved Diamond Charter School all operate within the boundaries of the school district. Enrollment and the district’s tuition obligations are expected to increase in the 2026–2027 school year with the opening of a fifth charter school, officials noted in a news release.

“$107 million will go to charter schools next year from the Hempstead school budget, Bynoe said, in the release. “In an effort to make sure we’re not allowing a disparate impact, this $24 million will infuse their budget and hopefully reduce any risk of adverse effects.”

This is in addition to the $247 million already allocated to Hempstead in foundation and school aid funding.

Bynoe, along with William Johnson — the state-appointed fiscal monitor for Hempstead — developed and refined the funding formula to help offset the burden of high charter school enrollment. She confirmed that this will be a per-

manent source of funding, meaning the same formula will be applied in future years. Any district exceeding 20 percent charter school saturation will qualify. Currently, Uniondale is at 13 percent,

and Roosevelt is at 18 percent. Bynoe predicts Roosevelt may reach the 20 percent threshold within the next year or two. Hempstead leads the way with a saturation rate of 36 percent — meaning

more than a third of students in the district attend a charter school.

After extensive discussions with multiple levels of Senate leadership, including Majority Leader Andrea StewartCousins, Bynoe succeeded in getting the formula included in the Senate’s OneHouse Budget.

The formula provides additional aid to school districts outside of New York City with charter school enrollment rates of 20 percent or higher. As a result, Hempstead — along with Albany and Lackawanna — will receive targeted financial support in the current budget cycle.

In February, the Hempstead Board of Education projected a potential $33 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Board President Victor Pratt linked the shortfall to increasing payments to charter schools.

Earlier this year, Bynoe was appointed to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Education. She brought to the committee her awareness of the delicate balance between supporting charter schools and protecting the public-school districts that fund them.

She also wrote a bill that would prohibit the establishment of new charter schools in heavily impacted areas such as Uniondale, Hempstead, and Roosevelt. The bill is currently in the Senate Education Committee, awaiting movement to the floor.

—Stacy Driks

Herald file photo

State Sen. Siela Bynoe helped secure $24 million in charter school aid for the Hempstead Union Free School District.

State restructures NUMC board in budget deal

By JORDAN VALLONE jvallone@liherald.com

New York lawmakers have approved a $254 billion state budget package for fiscal year 2026, carrying several provisions affecting Nassau University Medical Center, including a state “takeover” of the hospital system.

The newly approved Nassau Health Care Corporation board structure, passed on May 7 by the legislature, shifts control away from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Democrats. The restructured board — overseeing NUMC in East Meadow and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility in Uniondale — will include 11 members, with a majority appointed by the governor, who will also designate the chair. The county executive will lose approval authority over the corporation’s chief executive.

Appointments to the board could be made as early as June.

The corporation has long faced scrutiny and accusations of financial mismanagement, despite the hospital system serving all patients, including the uninsured and undocumented, regardless of their ability to pay for medical care.

But significant financial improvements were reported in 2024, with the hospital system ending the fiscal year with nearly $80 million in its cash reserves, up from $28 million in December 2023. Additional financial reports showed that revenue increased by $6.2 million in November 2024, while operating expenses were down by $1.7 million, compared with 2023.

What we are seeing now is a long-overdue intervention to protect patients and save the institution from those who failed it.

In late-April, the hospital’s current medical board strongly opposed the state’s plan before its approval last week, stating in a letter to Hochul and the state legislature, that the changes “strip the hospital of its autonomy and replace its leadership

GORDON TEppER

Long Island spokesman For Gov. Kathy Hochul

KEy chANGEs TO ThE Nhcc BOARD, EffEcTiVE JuNE 1, 2025: ThE BOARD WiLL iNcLuDE 11 mEmBERs.

Appointments:

·6 by the governor, including:

– 1 upon recommendation of the Assembly speaker

– 1 upon recommendation of the Senate temporary president

· 2 by the Nassau County executive

·2 by the majority of the Nassau County Legislature

·1 by the minority of the Nassau County Legislature

·The governor will designate the board chair

· The county executive will no longer have approval authority over the chief executive of the Nassau Health Care Corporation

with political appointees,” according to a news release.

Dr. Irina Gelman, the current chair of the NHCC board, also rejected the state’s decision in a statement shared with the Herald on May 7.

“The state’s hostile takeover of Nassau County’s only public safety-net hospital is unprecedented, immoral and dangerous,” she said. “This disparate targeting of only NHCC and none of the other public benefit corporations in New York state, is indicative of the moral turpitude of Albany using the employees, patients and most vulnerable of Nassau County’s residents as political cannon fodder. By continuing to put politics, any politics left, right or center, before the needs of the people that work and seek care at Nassau Health Care Corporation is deplorable.”

Gelman also brought up a December 2020 study by Alvarez & Marsal, a management-consulting firm, outlining various models the hospital system could implement “to address NHCC’s precarious financial condition.” One of those models proposed “a continuing but minimal inpatient medical/surgical footprint with the full suite of current inpatient behavioral health services.”

The assessment added that “a second collocated behavioral health hospital (Article 31) license would be needed to provide inpatient psychiatric beds at current levels.”

“Both the state’s overreach of power, as well as the proposed 19 story behavioral/ health facility in the middle of Nassau County must be of critical con-

gross negligence and abuses of power.

Additionally, the bill, which can be read on the state Senate’s website, calls for a study to look into “the modernization and revitalization of the Nassau Health Care Corporation.” It directs the NHCC to explore ways to strengthen NUMC and the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility.

The study would examine health care delivery trends, the hospital’s financial history and projections, infrastructure and capital needs, community health disparities, available inpatient and outpatient services, regional service capacity, operational efficiency and care quality, and student training and job placement outcomes. The study should be completed and provided to NIFA no later than Dec. 1, 2026.

cern to all Nassau County residents,” Gelman said, in reference to the proposed changes outlined in the 2020 study. “The notion that a state appointed board would have a higher rate of success in managing this critical care facility from Albany is a logical fallacy, given the abysmal record New York State has with their own SUNY hospital facilities.”

The legislation passed on May 7 also included provisions that allow the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a public benefit corporation that assumed financial oversight of the hospital system in 2020, to impose additional control over NHCC. The hospital system filed litigation in December, accusing NIFA of

“If NUMC’s outgoing leadership had put half as much effort into fiscal management and patient care as they’ve put into politics and propaganda, the hospital wouldn’t be in crisis,” Gordon Tepper, the Long Island spokesman for Hochul said in an email to the Herald. “Their focus has never been on fixing NUMC; it’s been on protecting their own interests. What we are seeing now is a long-overdue intervention to protect patients and save the institution from those who failed it.”

Assemblyman John Mikulin, a Republican who represents parts of East Meadow, said in an emailed statement he voted “no” on the state budget.

“Unfortunately, this year’s state budget of $254 billion did not deliver for New Yorkers,” he said. “There were several policy decisions included in the FY2025-26 Enacted Budget I could not support, chief among them was the state takeover of the Nassau University Medical Center. NUMC plays a vital role in the Nassau County community and should remain under local control, not Hochul control.”

Courtesy Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

The state legislature has approved changes to the Nassau Health Care Corporation, which will shift control away from County Executive Bruce Blakeman and provide oversight to Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic lawmakers.

Bishop Jermaine C. Henderson administers to the audience at the Deeper Life Fellowship & Deliverance Church’s luncheon.

Board candidates speak, disagree on issues

By REINE BETHANY

Special to the Herald

Six candidates for the Hempstead Board of Education faced an audience of village residents during a sometimescontentious question-and-answer forum in the Kennedy Memorial Park auditorium.

The Hempstead NAACP, whose president is Barbara Powell, hosted the May 6 forum.

Kevin Boone and Nicholas Perdomo are first-time candidates.

Perdomo is a real estate agent with Español Realty, and CEO of Perdomo Development Group, LLC.

Boone, who just completed a four-year term as a Hempstead village trustee, is also a real estate agent, but with KW Greater Nassau in Garden City; He has been a volunteer member of the Hempstead Fire Department for 20 years.

The other four candidates all have previous school board experience.

Lamont Johnson, a retired Hempstead police officer and village trustee 20172021, has held a seat on the school board since 2013.

Joylette Williams, a longtime Nassau Community College professor with a doctorate in English, is completing a threeyear term on the school board, after serving for a year as a Hempstead village trustee.

BOCES teacher Gwendolyn Jackson

holds a master’s degree in deaf education, and served on the Hempstead school board 2015-2018.

Randy Stith was elected to the board in 2017, but was removed from his seat by board action in November 2023 for accidentally revealing confidential student information on his unofficial Hempstead UFSD Facebook page.

Among the many issues raised were charter schools, control of funding, transparency in school board operations

RichnerLIVE and Herald Gives Back

On April 8th the Herald and RichnerLIVE hosted the Top Lawyers of Long Island Awards Gala at the Heritage Club of Bethpage. The WE CARE Fund, the charitable arm of the Nassau County Bar Association, which supports a range of local nonprofits was the evening’s charity beneficiary and the recipient of $2000.

From left to right: Herald publisher and CEO Stuart Richner; RichnerLIVE executive director Amy Amato, Elizabeth Post, Jeffrey Catterson and Sandy Strenger of the Nassau County Bar Association.

with fewer departures into executive session during regular meetings, handling special education and English Language Learner needs, assessment of curriculum and programs, excessive administrative pay, and whether the school district has progressed beyond its decades of struggle with low test scores and graduation rates.

Jackson denied district improvement.

“In 2015,” she said, “We were in the same position as we are now. We had teachers being laid off, we had programs being cut, we had a fund deficit. When I left the board, we did have a $13 million fund balance. We were able to bring back our reading programs.”

Johnson refuted Jackson’s position. “Each year that I have been on the school board, we have done better,” he said. “We started out with a 37 percent graduation rate, but now it’s at 87 percent. All our elementary schools are in good standing. Hempstead High School is off receivership. A.B.G.S. Middle School is off receivership. Our students are going to the most prestigious universities that this country has.”

Johnson also stated that recent news of a $30 million deficit was incorrect.

“The district has reserves,” Johnson said. “We have been able to hold the line

on state taxes the past six years.”

Challenged to address chronic absenteeism, Williams pointed out, “Part of absenteeism relates to challenging weather conditions,” because students who live far from the high school or middle school may have to walk 40 minutes each way from their homes. “We do have equipment for busing but must work out the logistics.”

All the candidates agreed on the benefits of dedicated tactics for community engagement, continued efforts to boost reading scores, and high school programs that would confer either college credit or certifications for skilled work such as Certified Nurse Assistant or Emergency Medical Technician.

Also important to all the candidates was stronger control of student registration.

“The state attorney general put burdensome stipulations in place,” Johnson said. “Our district has to register students and only then find out if they are residents. Places like Levittown send students to us that we must spend to educate.”

The controversial presence of charter schools was addressed by Jackson, who said, “They are here to stay. We need to build a partnership with them. They are all our students.”

Courtesy Reine Bethany

Hempstead school board candidates Kevin Boone, left, Gwendolyn Jackson, Lamont Jackson, Nicholas Perdomo, Randy Stith, and Joylette Williams answered questions during a candidate forum on May 6 in the Kennedy Memorial Park auditorium. The Hempstead NAACP moderated the forum.

VALENTINA KESABIAN

Clarke Senior Lacrosse

IT’S BEEN AN IMPRESSIVE rise for Clarke’s girls’ lacrosse program since it endured a winless 2022 campaign, and Kesabian has been a major part of the turnaround. Last spring she helped lead the Rams to 10 wins, scoring 26 goals and earning All-Conference honors in the process. This season, both the third-year attack and the team continued to flourish. Kesabian finished with 39 goals and 13 assists, and Clarke won 12 of 15 games.

GAMES TO WATCH

Thursday, May 15

Softball playoffs: First round at higher seed ...................TBA

Boys Lacrosse: Freeport at Kennedy .........................5 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse: Elmont at Lawrence

Baseball: Elmont at West Hempstead

Roosevelt at Uniondale .............................5

G.N. South at V.S. Central ..........................5

Friday, May 16

Boys Lacrosse: Garden City at Carey....................4:30 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse: Oceanside at Farmingdale................5 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse: Plainedge at South Side ...................5 p.m.

Boys Lacrosse: Massapequa at Syosset ...................5 p.m.

Saturday, May 17

Softball: Nassau quarterfinals at higher seed ................TBA

Monday, May 19

Softball: Nassau semifinals GM1 at higher seed ...........TBA

Tuesday, May 20

Softball: Nassau semifinals GM2 at lower seed.............TBA

Baseball: Nassau Class A quarterfinals GM 3................TBA

Baseball: Nassau Class B semifinals GM 2 ...................TBA

Baseball: Nassau Class AAA play-in games ...................TBA

Nominate a “Spotlight Athlete”

High School athletes to be featured on the Herald sports page must compete in a spring sport and have earned an AllConference award or higher last season. Please send the following information: Name, School, Grade, Sport and accomplishments to Sports@liherald.com.

Uniondale sets tone for county meet

By TONY BELLISSIMO tbellissimo@liherald.com

Longtime Uniondale boys’ track and field coach Dennis Kornfield is excited to see what the Knights can do at the Nassau Class AAA championships May 21 after a strong showing at the Division 1A meet Monday afternoon despite the absence of a pair of standouts.

Five teams finished within 23 points of each other at the 1A championships held at Massapequa’s Berner Middle School. Oceanside took the title with 114 and Uniondale was fourth with 97. In between were Syosset and Massapequa, with Freeport fifth.

“We’re a young team and we did a lot of good things we can take into the county meet,” Kornfield said. “I think it’s going to be one of the most competitive county meets in many years.”

Kornfield expects juniors Romain Eccleston and Jnmary Molenson back for the county meet after both missed Monday’s even with injuries. Senior Christopher Jean-Simon (26 points) and junior Everton Bailey (20) rose to the occasion at the 1A meet to lead Uniondale’s success.

Jean-Simon won the 110meter hurdles (15.75 seconds) and the triple jump (44-feet, 5-inches) and took third in the 400 hurdles. “He set a personal best in the triple jump by 3 feet, which is unheard of,” Kornfield said. “He’s a great kid and was our biggest surprise of the day.”

Bailey was also a key cog and will be again next week.

He was runner-up in the 100 and 200 meter races in 11.71 and 23.35 seconds, respectively, and took third in the long jump. “He’s a force,” Kornfield said. “He’s an incredible all-around athlete who keeps improving.”

Senior Mark Roberts produced a personal best in the 400 hurdles to take the division crown and also ran the second leg of the 4x400 relay that placed second. Sophomore Saishun Lamour, who the coach said is “coming on unbelievably strong,” set the tone with a strong leadoff leg. He was also third in the 400. Junior Jason Sylvain ran a solid third leg and sophomore Danny Velva served as the anchor.

“All of those kids stepped up,” Kornfield said of the 4x400. “I don’t know what that relay is going to look like for the county meet, but everyone we’ve used has done the job.”

The Knights took second and fourth in the high jump with juniors AlShan Powell and Michael Toney. Senior and three-sport athlete Jadan Lewis-White, the team’s top thrower, took fourth in the shot put. Lewis-White is one of the school’s top football players and wrestlers.

“If we’re healthy for the county meet, and we have a great trainer and it looks like we’re going to be, I think we’re going to be right in the mix,” Kornfield said.

Junior Everton Bailey finished top three in three events at Monday’s Division 1A championships.

Eric Dunetz/Herald

Voting to keep resources, grow programs

in April and May, Mary Martinez-Lagnado, the district’s assistant superintendent for business, reported that the proposed tax levy for 2025-26 includes a 2.5 percent hike, which amounts to a $3.3 million increase from the current budget.

The tax levy is the total amount the district collects from property taxes, which has steadily increased over the years. While inflation doesn’t directly raise the property tax rate, it can drive up school and municipal expenses, influencing how much needs to be budgeted.

Capital improvements on the ballot

Proposition two pertains to the use of $1.5 million from the capital reserve fund, established in 2021, for health and safety repairs, such as lighting and fencing. Even though the expenditure is not part of the general fund budget, it requires voter approval for the district to access the reserve funds, Martinez-Lagnado stressed.

Administrators said the proposed budget was constructed to maintain high quality instruction, expand learning opportunities and continue offering vital mental health and social-emotional support — while presenting different clubs and programs that make the school memorable and meaningful for students.

“Most of us don’t remember what happened in our fifth grade math class, but

you remember you were on the soccer team, you remember the relationships, the debate tournament,” Darrisaw-Akil said.

“There are things that might seem like extras — but really provide a well-rounded education, exposure, leadership opportunities for our children and when our funds are limited, we have to look, can we continue to offer some of those items?” she added.

Benefits that make schools strong

Darrisaw-Akil emphasized the importance of maintaining district programs.

“There is something for everyone in Uniondale,” she said. “There is a robust music and arts program, science, advanced placement courses, and language opportunities.”

“This is the place where you can discover your passion, discover who you are, and get support to follow your dreams,” she added.

Student performance in Uniondale reflects steady progress and underscores the importance of sustained investment. The district is working to boost math proficiency at the elementary and middle school levels. High school students, however, show the strongest academic gains — with an 83 percent reading proficiency — Currently, the district partners with a wide range of organizations, including Norfolk Hospital, Hofstra University, the

Programs like the debate team at Walnut Street

are

students grow. Last year the team captured first place in the Long Island

Debate Tournament’s beginner yellow division.

Nassau County executive’s office, and the Nassau Bar Association.

“We’re really excited that we have partnership from our county executive’s office, who has been a strong partner to us throughout the years, particularly in the area of workforce development,” Darrisaw-Akil told the Herald in April.

In April, County Executive Bruce Blakeman visited Uniondale High to speak to students about career opportunities that the county offers.

“Those partnerships help to expand our capacity, expand our resources, and really enrich the lives of students, because they’re learning from people who are really in the field — doing those

things,” Darrisaw-Akil said.

Challenges the district faces

Charter schools remain a financial challenge for the Uniondale since public schools are obligated to pay charter school tuition for students within their district. “A lot of our challenge is around the growth of the charter schools and the enrollment charter schools, and so that takes a direct hit on the services,” the superintendent said.

The district is paying $27 million in tuition as more than 800 students have left the public school system for charter schools — a shift that significantly strains the district’s budget.

UNIONDALE SCHOOLS

Courtesy Uniondale Schools

School

among the many that help

Classic

Chalk S. State crashes up to bad judgment

By AINSLEY MARTINEZ amartinez@liherald.com

Second story in a series on the Southern State Parkway.

Ana Marte, 67, said that a fatal car accident on the Southern State Parkway in January changed her life.

Her grandson Anthonie Marte, 23, was severely injured in a one-car crash shortly after 11 p.m. on Jan. 12, in the eastbound lanes not far from Exit 30, near Farmingdale and Massapequa, according to the New York State Police.

Investigators said that the car in which Marte was a passenger, a black 2016 Dodge Dart, was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving between lanes before the driver lost control and crashed into a tree.

Two rear-seat passengers, ages 23 and 21, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Jaden Dsouza, 19, of College Point, Queens, and Marte, of East Elmhurst, Queens, who was in the front passenger seat, were both extricated from the vehicle and transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition.

Marte’s grandmother said he suffered major head injuries, and she still takes care of him daily, feeding him and giving him pain medicine. He is slowly recovering, with doctors’ appointments and physical therapy. “He’s like a baby again,” she said. “He doesn’t want to go outside because he’s scared, and all he does is sleep.”

Marte does not remember the accident, his grandmother said.

Dsouza was later charged with one count of driving while ability impaired by drugs, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault and aggravated vehicular homicide, police said.

data from the New York State Police shows a fluctuating, but persistent, pattern of accidents on the Southern State Parkway over the past six years, with the number of fatal crashes in a year reaching as high as six.

Crashes resulting in serious personal injury in Nassau have remained relatively low throughout the period, with no more than two reported in any given year.

While most incidents are non-fatal, serious crashes often involve an added risk: intoxication. Speed and distraction remain consistent contributing factors, but impairment by drugs or alcohol increases the potential for deadly outcomes.

“It’s on the driver for the most part,” State Police Capt. Mike Rhodes said. “If they’re inattentive, if they’re speeding, if they’re not following the vehicle and traffic law, they do not understand the severity of what could happen.”

Rhodes oversees 56 state troopers and eight sergeants, many of whom patrol the 25.3-mile long Southern State. Most accidents, he said, occur during peak congestion, at around 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Crash data from the state police show a fluctuating but persistent pattern of accidents on the parkway over the past six years, with fatal crashes increasing in 2024.

In 2019, there were 3,127 crashes on the Nassau County stretch of the parkway, including six fatalities. That number dropped to 2,331 in 2020, but rose again in subsequent years, reaching 2,716 in 2022 and 2,725 in 2023. In 2024, state police recorded 2,549 crashes and five fatalities. Thus far this year, there have been 328 crashes and one fatality.

“A lot of these things, they hit every single age category,” Rhodes said.

To combat the persistent problem, state police focus on enforcement and outreach. Not every traffic stop results in a citation; many serve as opportunities for education.

Personal injury attorney Stephen Cohen said that in his more than five decades of handling lawsuits, most of those that involve accidents on the Southern State involve intoxicated drivers.

Cohen, a partner at the law firm Cohen and Jaffe, in New Hyde Park, said that speed, intoxication and reckless driving continue to be the common factors in the region’s most serious accidents.

“I don’t believe road design is an issue at all,” Cohen said. “Posting more signs to slow down isn’t an answer, because when somebody is either speeding or just intoxicated, they don’t really care what the sign says.”

Many collisions during rush hour, he explained, stem from traffic congestion and insufficient braking distance. “People are gliding along, and they hit a certain spot, and all of a sudden they weren’t prepared, because they’re going 70 miles an hour,” Cohen said. “So you

see a lot of rear-end collisions, not necessarily death-related.”

Fatal crashes, he noted, often involve younger drivers, high speeds and intoxication or impairment.

“You don’t see fatalities at 11 o’clock in the morning,” Cohen said. “You just don’t. You may see them at 4 in the morning. When your ability to observe is not sharp because of either impairment or intoxication, the car is going to go airborne. And if there happens to be a tree there, that’s the next thing you’re going to hit.”

In his practice, Cohen said, the firm represents victims or passengers, but not intoxicated drivers.

Under state law, he noted, lawsuits require plaintiffs to meet the “serious injury” threshold defined in insurance law. In cases involving fatalities, death, families must petition a Surrogate’s Court to appoint a representative for the estate before filing a lawsuit. That process can take over a year, he said.

Insurance coverage limits often dictate how quickly a case can be resolved. “If somebody has — let’s say, the responsible party — has a $100,000 policy, that case is going to be over in two seconds,” Cohen said.

Efforts to reform wrongful death laws in New York have repeatedly stalled, despite advocacy from legal organizations.

Despite changes in laws and vehicle technology over the years, Cohen said, the root problems remain unchanged.

“It only seems to get worse because cars are faster than they were 20, 30 years ago,” he said. “There’s more people drinking or doing some sort of drugs. And that’s what you see in all horrific accidents.”

Additional reporting by Mohammad Rafiq.

Accident data from the New York State Police

2019 – Total: 3,987 (3,127 Nassau, 860 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury: 2 (Nassau)

Fatal: 8 (6 Nassau, 2 Suffolk)

2020 – Total: 2,977

(2,331 Nassau, 646 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury: 3 (2 Nassau, 1 Suffolk)

Fatal: 9 (6 Nassau, 3 Suffolk)

2021 – Total: 3,566

(2,782 Nassau, 784 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury: 1 (Nassau)

Fatal: 9 (6 Nassau, 3 Suffolk)

2022 – Total: 3,552

(2,716 Nassau, 836 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury:

5 (1 Nassau, 4 Suffolk)

Fatal: 13 (5 Nassau, 8 Suffolk)

2023 – Total: 3,500

(2,725-Nassau, 775-Suffolk)

Serious personal injury: 1 (Nassau)

Fatal: 6 (3 Nassau, 3 Suffolk)

2024 – Total: 3,405 (2,549 Nassau, 856 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury:

2 (1 Nassau, 1 Suffolk)

Fatal: 15 (5 Nassau, 10 Suffolk)

2025* – Total: 426 (328 Nassau, 98 Suffolk)

Serious personal injury: 0

Fatal: 3 (1 Nassau, 2 Suffolk)

* To date

Tim Baker/Herald Crash

Nassau Health Care Corporation, the public benefit corporation that oversees Nassau University Medical Center — the only public, safety-net hospital in Nassau County — and A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility, announced today that A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility received an increase in its ratings across multiple categories covered by the newest Care Compare Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

CMS’s new report on A. Holly Patterson found that the skilled nursing facility improved its ratings in the categories of quality measures, staffing and overall quality.

“This is another significant milestone for NHCC, and a reflection of the hard work of our dedicated healthcare heroes who provide the best possible care for the patients at A. Holly Patterson every day,” NHCC President, Chief Executive and Chief Legal Officer Megan Ryan said. “We are continually striving to enhance both the quality of the care we’re providing and our overall operations. Recent improvements are clearly reflected in the improved ratings from CMS. While we are pleased that the CMS

report reflects the significant work done over the past 16 months, our team will continue to refine and retool our policies and procedure to further improve these results.”

Kelly DeJesus, nursing home administrator for A. Holly Patterson, said, “A. Holly’s skilled team of healthcare professionals strives each day to ensure our patients receive quality, compassionate care. Working in partnership with NHCC President Megan Ryan, we’ve continued to strengthen our operations to ensure we are striving for the highest possible standards of care. We remain committed to further elevating the care AHP offers to our patients.”

The CMS report is the latest positive reporting for NHCC’s facility, which saw NUMC recently be recertified both with the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal and as a Level One Trauma Center. NUMC and A. Holly Patterson’s recent recognitions continue a series of positive national ratings for NHCC, which saw NUMC receive its first marked improvement in six years on the 2024 national Leapfrog Safety Grade.

— Jordan Vallone

East Meadow firefighters take part in Long Island marathon

Running shoes replaced fire boots on May 4, as six dedicated members of the East Meadow Fire Department joined thousands of participants at the Long Island Marathon weekend in Eisenhower Park. Representing the department were Captain Robert Schmidt of Engine 3, ExCaptain Daniel Corr of Hook & Ladder Company 1, Firefighter Darrah Reilly of Hook & Ladder 1, 3rd Assistant Chief John O’Brien Jr., Lieutenant Benny Doyle of Engine 1, and Captain Joseph Krilov of Hook & Ladder 1. Whether running the 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or full

26.2-mile course, each firefighter demonstrated the same determination and endurance on the course that they bring to their work in the field.

The Long Island Marathon, a beloved annual tradition, brings together runners from across the region to celebrate fitness, community spirit, and perseverance. For the East Meadow volunteers, it was also a chance to represent their department in a different kind of challenge — one that highlights health, camaraderie, and service beyond the firehouse.

— Jordan Vallone

Courtesy East Meadow Fire Department

Captain Robert Schmidt of Engine Company 3, Ex-Captain Daniel Corr of Hook & Ladder Company 1, Firefighter Darrah Reilly of Hook & Ladder 1, Third Assistant Chief John O’Brien Jr., Lieutenant Benny Doyle of Engine Company 1, and Captain Joseph Krilov of Hook & Ladder 1.

15,

Lawrence Road Middle School gives $1K to help the homeless

Before summer breaks, sixth-grade students at Lawrence Road Middle School raised funds to support the elimination of homelessness on Long Island and improve lives of those facing homelessness.

That’s the mission of the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless that the middle school raised $1,000 and had a check presentation on Thursday, May 8.

This donation marked the conclusion of the school’s Read-a-Thon initiative, which began earlier this year and aimed to promote reading while supporting those in need.

The school hopes the initiative will continue next year and incorporate the seventh and eighth grade as well.

“We’re focusing on the sixth grade to build a community of readers, and we also wanted to come up with an idea of giving back to the community,” Di Russo said in January. “So we are doing the Read-a-Thon also where they are able to get sponsors for their reading and collect money that we will donate to both the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, as well as for our own students at Lawrence Road that are currently experiencing hard times.”

A Read-a-Thon is a school fundraiser where students read for a set period and collect sponsorships for their reading time. These events encourage literacy and raise money for important causes, with students often earning prizes for their participation.

— Stacy Driks

FIVE TOP READERS

· Jazmine Richards

· Jose Manzanares

· Andre Gilles

· Edgar Lopez-Flores

· Moiesha Delva FIVE TOP FUNDRAISERS

· Mia Harvey

· Samra Smellie

· Jessica Barnes

· Carter Dixon

· Madyson Green.

Sixth grade class at Lawrence Road Middle School raises funds before the school year ends

Alice Moreno/Herald photos

in their Read-a-Thon inititive

Middle school showcases $1,000 check for the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless

Principal Willis Perry holds check ceremony in his office

Kickin’ it at Ogden’s first Mother-Son Sneaker Ball

By BRIAN NORMAN bnorman@liherald.com

Students at Ogden Elementary laced up their sneakers and kicked it after school with their moms at the school’s first ever Mother-Son Sneaker Ball.

Organized by the Ogden Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association, the dance invited mothers and sons to dress up in their best sneakers and wear sports jerseys or team gear.

The school has hosted many similar events in the past, such as their annual father-daughter dance, which took place in February.

PTA Co-President Kristina Aronshtein, said that they wanted to host an event geared towards the boys of Ogden, and figured this would be the perfect theme.

“We wanted something fun for the boys and their moms,” Aronshtein said. “All boys like to wear sneakers, so we decided to do a dress up sneaker dance.”

Plenty of those sneakers took to the dance floor at the event on May 6, hoofing it across the gymnasium floor, including a special slow dance with their moms to end the night.

Yemit Harel, a district parent, said she has attended many PTA events before and said they are a great way for

the school learning and it’s important to meet the other parents and the teachers,” Harel said. “They get out of their computers and their PlayStations and they socialize, it’s important especially these days, they’re always on their computers.”

Students partied the night away to some of their favorite hits, showing off their best moves during games and challenges that offered prizes, such as gold chains, glow sticks and WRIST? bands.

The event also featured a red carpet for students and parents to walk in on, a photo booth with decorations and a separate room with refreshments for both students and parents to take a break and connect.

Fifth-grader Colin Mohamed said that it was “pretty cool” to get to see all of his classmates after school hours. He joked that his favorite part of the evening was the snacks.

The money raised benefits the PTA fund, which supports other school events.

PTA Co-President Lena Fielding said this was the first post-pandemic motherson event at Ogden. She said it was an enjoyable way for parents and students to get together outside of the classroom.

“It’s just an important way for the parents, I think, to get involved and see

Nine & Dine

Teeing Off for Change

HONORING MEN & COMPANIES ADVANCING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

Brian Norman/Herald

Water providers are tested in taste contest

By CHARLES SHAW cshaw@liherald.com

What’s the best-tasting tap water on Long Island?

That was the question posed to students at Farmingdale State College during the Long Island Water Conference’s 37th annual drinking water tasting contest, held during National Drinking Water Week.

The conference, also known as LIWC, is made up of members of public and private water suppliers across Long Island. According to LIWC Commissioner Robert McEvoy, the event has taken place at the Farmingdale campus for the past four years, sparking student interest in water quality.

“It draws in a lot of the students,” McEvoy said. “They’re interested in where the water comes from, and if there’s any variance in taste. We also try to promote tap water as being the most regulated and tested, even more so than bottled water.”

The finals, held on May 7, featured 16 Long Island water providers competing for the title of best-tasting drinking water in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Students, faculty and staff on campus participated in a blind taste test, sampling water from each provider and casting their votes.

The Oyster Bay Water District won the Nassau County competition, while

the Greenlawn Water District took the top spot in Suffolk. Both districts will advance to the New York State Regional Metro Tap Water Taste Contest in New York City in August, where they will compete for a spot in the statewide competition held later that month at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse.

LIWC representatives at the event also took the opportunity to educate attendees about the water supplied to their homes, and assured them that Long Island’s drinking water remains of high quality.

McEvoy, who is also a commissioner

Uniondale Hub Upgrade Project

The New York Power Authority is upgrading its existing Uniondale Hub substation on Stewart Avenue to support the interconnection of new transmission and facilitate the delivery of energy to address increasing demand.

Please join us at our open houses to learn more about this project.

Tuesday, May 27

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Uniondale Public Library 400 Uniondale Ave. Uniondale, NY 11553

Thursday, May 29

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

and the chairman of the Oyster Bay Water District, said that frequent testing is conducted by the state Department of Health to ensure the water’s quality.

“It’s safe, it’s highly regulated and it’s extremely affordable,” McEvoy said. “It’s something that should be utilized by the public, and it’s a far greater value than bottled water.”

Michael Rich, a commissioner and the secretary of the Oyster Bay district, has taken part in the competition for the past 10 years, educating the community about local water supplies.

“It’s great to come out to the commu-

nity and have everyone get involved with local water,” Rich said.

He noted that most people aren’t aware of where their water comes from. On Long Island, drinking water comes from an aquifer system, a naturally formed underground storage area.

In an aquifer system, unwanted chemicals are capable of seeping into the water supply. The LIWC urges residents to dispose of hazardous household waste properly at designated town drop-off sites and never pour it down drains, into storm sewers or on the ground.

“Anything that we put on the ground will ultimately find its way into the aquifer,” Rich stated.

Lawn irrigation, he said, accounts for much of Long Island’s water use. He urged residents to follow odd/even watering schedules, watering on days that match their house numbers. He also highlighted the importance of leak detection, noting that undetected leaks can waste hundreds of thousands of gallons each month, making it vital for both residents and water providers to monitor and address them.

Rich added that it doesn’t take much water to maintain a healthy lawn.

“You don’t have to water your lawn for a half-hour a day,” Rich said. “You’ll get the same results 15 minutes a day, so we try to stress that.”

For more information on the local water supply, visit liwc.org.

Charles Shaw/Herald

Oyster Bay Water District Secretary Michael Rich, second from right, and Treasurer Nick Niznik offered samples to students during the Long Island Water Conference’s annual water tasting event at Farmingdale State College.

Focusing on

Yourconnectionmind-body

A balanced life starts with your emotional fitness

Some people think that only people with mental illnesses have to pay attention to their mental health.

But the truth is that your emotions, thoughts and attitudes affect your energy, productivity and overall health. Good mental health strengthens your ability to cope with everyday hassles and more serious crises and challenges. Good mental health is essential to creating the life you want.

It’s always important to take stock of your mental well-being and its connection to overall health. Just as you brush your teeth or get a flu shot or other immunization, you can take steps to promote your mental health. A great way to start is by learning to deal with stress.

How stress hurts

Stress can eat away at your well-being, like acid eating away at your stomach. Actually, stress can contribute to stomach pains and lots of other problems, like headaches, insomnia, overeating, back pain, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, irritability, vulnerability to infection, and poorer brain functioning.

Stress also can lead to serious mental health problems, like depression and anxiety disorders. If you think you have such a problem, get help. Of course you can’t magically zap all sources of stress. But you can learn to deal with them in a way that promotes the well-being you want — and deserve. You can figure out ways to cope better with whatever comes your way. And decades of research suggest which steps are most likely to work.

The evidence

The concrete steps mental health professionals suggest are not based on guesses, fads or advice from grandma (though she probably got a lot right). They represent hundreds of research studies with thousands of participants, often conducted over decades and backed by major universities or government agencies.

This research shows that how good you feel is to a fairly large extent up to you. No matter how stressful your situation, you can take steps to promote your well-being.

Focus on self-care

In order to maintain and strengthen your mental and emotional health, it’s important to pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Don’t let stress and negative emotions build up. Try to maintain a balance between your daily responsibilities and the things you enjoy. If you take care of yourself, you’ll be better prepared to deal with challenges if and when they arise.

Taking care of yourself includes pursuing activities that naturally release endorphins and contribute to feeling good. In addition to physical exercise, endorphins are also naturally released when we:

Do things that positively impact others. Being useful to others and being valued for what you do can help build self-esteem.

Practice self-discipline. Self-control naturally leads to a sense of hopefulness and can help you overcome despair, helplessness, and other negative thoughts.

Appeal to your senses. Stay calm and energized by appealing to the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Listen to music that lifts your mood, place flowers where you will see and smell them, massage your hands and feet, or sip a warm drink.

Engage in meaningful, creative work. Do things that challenge your creativity and make you feel productive, whether or not you get paid for it — things like gardening, drawing, writing, playing an instrument, or building something.

Make time for contemplation and appreciation. Think about the things you’re grateful for. Meditate, pray, enjoy the sunset, or simply take a moment to pay attention to what is good, positive, and beautiful as you go about your day.

Limit unhealthy habits like worrying. Try to avoid becoming absorbed by repetitive mental habits — negative thoughts about yourself and the world that suck up time, drain your energy, and trigger feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression.

Sometimes it all seems too much to handle

Keep your ‘thought life’ healthy and your stress level low

Life gives people plenty of reasons to be stressed.

Relationship problems, child-rearing issues, job woes and a lack of money are just some of life’s complications that can weigh people down — and cause health problems.

In today’s society, stress and change often are thought of as the same thing. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to a change in a situation the body and mind find to be overwhelming.

With the fast pace of work and home, being constantly inundated with technology and still wanting to have time to connect with those around you, life can feel overwhelming and stressful at times.

“It’s difficult to stay healthy and energized when stress is a daily reality,” says Dr. Greg Wells. “Chronic stress can damage your body, threaten your mental health, put a strain on relationships, and take the joy out of life.”

But there’s no reason to surrender to stress, Wells, author of “The Ripple Effect: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think Better,“ says. He suggests some techniques that can help you have a healthier “thought life” and recover from chronic stress.

Move your body. Rhythmic, repeated motion is particularly soothing to the mind and body. A long walk, cycling, swimming, or running will all work, but any kind of movement relieves tension, improves circulation and clears your mind.

Get into nature. Head to the garden or the park to lower your blood pressure, strengthen your immune system, reduce tension and depression, and boost your mood. “It’s stunning how good it is for your health to be in nature,” Wells says. “And I recommend you leave the cell phone and earbuds at home.”

Practice yoga or Tai Chi. Therapy, yoga and Tai Chi are good ways to decrease stress and anxiety, increase energy and boost the immune system. They also give you more staminaand improve the quality of your sleep. Have perspective. Don’t be so quick to conclude that you “can’t handle” a stressful situation. “This is truly a mind-over-matter opportunity,” Wells says. “Believing that you are strong and resourceful actually makes you stronger and more resourceful.”

Change the nature of your response. Research indicates that taking an active, problem-solving approach to life’s challenges relieves stress and can transform it into something positive. If you withdraw, deny the problem, or spend all your time venting, you’ll feel helpless. Instead, be determined to make a change, put effort into it, and plan for better results.

Practice slow, deep breathing. Start applying the power of deep breathing each day. It will make a huge difference. Wells recommends you start small by taking three deep breaths each time you sit down at your desk — in the morning, after breaks, after lunch and so on. It will help you become more patient,

Block time for single-tasking. Each day, schedule time in your calendar for focusing exclusively on one task. This task should be something that is important to you. “People love to talk about multi-tasking, but while doing several things at once might make it seem as if you are working hard, it’s an illusion,” Wells says. Your body and mind are not designed to work that way and it causes extra stress.

“Ultimately, it’s important to remember that your thoughts have a strong influence over stress levels,” Wells says. “What you choose to think about, or not think about, dictates how your body and mind react to everyday life.”

Photo: Stressful experiences are a normal part of life, and the stress response is a survival mechanism that primes us to respond to threats. Some stress can be considered positive; but when a stressor is negative and can’t be fought off or avoided — such as layoffs at work or a loved one’s medical crisis — or when the experience of stress becomes chronic, our biological responses to stress can impair our physical and mental health.

Photo: Everything starts with the mind. Thoughts, beliefs, emotions and models of reality all influence and affect your biological chemistry. The words that you say to yourself have more of an impact on your health and well-being than you realize.

Mount Sinai South Nassau is Improving Health Care on the South Shore

The new Fennessy Family Emergency Department at Mount Sinai South Nassau doubles the size of our previous emergency department, o ering 54 private exam rooms with clear lines of sight for physicians, nurses, and support sta . Our new emergency department also o ers a separate triage area, dedicated areas for children and behavioral health patients, and has been designed to reduce wait times and improve patient outcomes.

The Fennessy Family Emergency Department is located within the new Feil Family Pavilion, opening later this year, which will have 40 new critical care suites and nine new operating rooms, designed to support the most complex surgeries on the South Shore.

To learn more visit www.mountsinai.org/feilpavilion

Alcohol and cancer — what will you do?

In a recent Mount Sinai South Nassau “Truth in Medicine” public health poll, 51 percent of metro area residents said they would consider drinking less as a result of the advisory by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, linking alcohol use to certain types of cancer.

According to the Surgeon General’s advisory, alcohol consumption contributes to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year in the United States. Studies show alcohol use increases the risk for breast, colorectal, liver, and esophageal cancer, as well as cancers of the mouth, throat, and voice box.

The poll, sponsored by Four Leaf Federal Credit Union, has sparked a debate over the benefits of reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption, highlighting the tough road ahead for public health experts trying to shift behaviors. Although 58 percent of respondents agree that alcohol can lead to overeating and smoking, fewer than half—46 percent—said they believe it increases the risks of cancer. Meanwhile, 58 percent believe there is a safe level of alcohol that can be consumed without raising one’s risk of cancer.

“Alcohol is a carcinogen, so the more alcohol a person drinks — particularly over time — the greater their risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer,” said Adhi Sharma, MD, President of Mount Sinai South Nassau. “It would be prudent to add the cancer risk to the warning label, which could have a dual effect of reducing alcohol-related accidents as well as a range of serious health complications, such as liver and heart disease, stroke, depression, and brain damage.”

Studies show that alcohol may increase cancer risk by disrupting cell cycles, triggering chronic inflammation, damaging DNA (which controls cell growth and function), and elevating hormone levels, including estrogen, which plays a role in breast cancer development.

“As a hepatologist and gastroenterologist, I remind my patients

that while complete abstinence is the safest path, reducing consumption (no more than 1 standard drink for women and no more than 2 for a man), staying hydrated, avoiding binge drinking, and supporting liver health with a balanced diet might help mitigate some of alcohol’s toxic effects,” said Pruthvi Patel, MD, Associate Program Director of Outpatient Hepatology, Division of Gastroenterology, Mount Sinai South Nassau, and Associate Professor of Medicine (Liver Diseases), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “But there’s no completely safe level when it comes to cancer risk.”

According to the American Association of Cancer Research’s 2024 Cancer Progress Report, 40 percent of all cancer cases in the United States are associated with modifiable risk factors like alcohol consumption. The Surgeon General affirmed in the advisory that, “The largest burden of alcohol-related cancer in the United States is for breast cancer in women, with an estimated 44,180 cases in 2019, representing 16.4 percent of the approximately 270,000 total breast cancer cases for women.”

Adding the cancer risk warning to alcohol labels may be the inspiration some need to quit drinking alcoholic beverages, as 54 percent of poll respondents say they generally trust warning labels on food and beverages. Seeing the warning in print could provide the motivation for the 20 percent (of those who said they drink alcoholic beverages) to act on their desire to cut back on alcohol.

“I strongly encourage everyone to make it a priority to consider whether they should reduce the amount of alcohol they drink,” said Aaron Glatt, MD, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “Additional benefits of drinking less include lowered blood pressure, weight loss, a healthier complexion, sharper mental clarity, balanced mood, reduced anxiety, and better liver function.”

Mount Sinai South Nassau has provided behavioral health and substance use disorder services to Nassau County residents for more than 50 years. The hospital is committed to providing the highest-quality treatment and support to children, adults, and

Health memos are supplied by advertisers and are not written by the Herald editorial staff.

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percent of metro area residents said they would consider drinking less as a result of the advisory by former U.S. Surgeon General, linking alcohol use to certain types of cancer.

families with a wide variety of symptoms and diagnoses, from substance abuse to anxiety and depression to attention deficithyperactivity disorder and more.

The hospital counseling centers offer outpatient, in-person, and telehealth services in Baldwin and Hempstead; they accept a variety of payment options and use a sliding scale for uninsured patients. Treatment is provided in English and Spanish, as well as in more than 100 other languages via interpreter services. Call (516) 3775400 to schedule an appointment.

Stress management — Zen and the art of heart-brain harmony HEALTH MEMO

What’s one of the most significant contributors to heart troubles and brain fog? You guessed it, stress. It is a pesky little thing that seems to sneak into our lives when we least expect it. But fear not; Dr. Keith Darrow, Ph.D., CCC-A, has a treasure trove of stress-busting strategies to share with you.

Let’s start with a classic: Deep Breathing. It might sound simple but taking a few moments to focus on your breath can work wonders for your stress levels. Close your eyes, inhale deeply through your nose, hold for a few beats, and then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat as needed and feel that tension melt away.

Next up: The Power of Movement. While we already know that exercise is where it’s at, there are stress-reducing exercises that can be gamechangers. Whether you’re hitting the yoga mat, going for a jog, or dancing around your living room like nobody’s watching, getting your body moving is a surefire way to lift your spirits and soothe your soul.

And a favorite of mine: Self-Care. Whether it’s treating yourself to a bubble bath, curling up with a good book, or spending time with loved ones, finding activities that bring you joy and relaxation is key.

Here’s one you might not have thought of: The Power of Perspective. Sometimes, all it takes to conquer stress is a shift in mindset. Try reframing negative thoughts into positive affirmations, practicing gratitude, or simply reminding yourself that you’re doing the best you can with what you’ve got. Trust me, a little bit of positivity can go a long way.

Last but certainly not least: The Importance of Boundaries. Learning to say no, setting realistic

expectations for yourself, and carving out time for rest and relaxation are all essential components of stress management. Remember, it’s okay to put yourself first sometimes you can’t pour from an empty cup!

So, there you have it an easy toolkit to get you started on stress-busting strategies to help you keep your heart happy and your brain sharp. Pick and choose what works best for you, and don’t be afraid to experiment until you find your perfect stress-relief formula. After all, when it comes to living our best lives, nobody has time for stress to get in the way!

A recent Mount Sinai South Nassau “Truth in Medicine” public health poll revealed that 51

Dr. Amy Sapodin, Au.D., F-AAA, CCC-A

Dr. Alison Hoffmann, Au.D., F-AAA, CCC-A

A bipartisan effort to protect IVF access

Gillen leads push for bill safeguarding fertility treatments, hoping for congressional momentum

By HERNESTO GALDAMEZ hgaldamez@liherald.com

U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen, a Democrat representing New York’s 4th Congressional District, and Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, of the 17th District, have reintroduced a bipartisan bill aimed at protecting access to in vitro fertilization across the country.

The Access to Family Building Act, which Gillen is shepherding with support from Lawler and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, seeks to federally codify the right to access IVF services. The legislation is in response to growing concerns that reproductive technologies like IVF are being threatened by recent state-level legal developments and court rulings.

During a virtual press conference on May 7, Gillen emphasized the importance of ensuring legal certainty for families relying on reproductive technology. Infertility, she said, is a widespread issue affecting Americans of all backgrounds, and she called for Congress to act swiftly to protect the procedure.

“We believe, like most Americans do, that the right to start and grow family through IVF should be protected,” Gil-

len said. “The Access to Family Building Act will simply ensure that IVF remains accessible to families in every state.”

Lawler echoed Gillen’s sentiments, sharing his own family’s experience with fertility challenges. He reaffirmed his support for protecting IVF access, calling it a nonpartisan issue with widespread public backing. Lawler also referenced other related legislative efforts he supports, including tax credits and insurance mandates to reduce the financial burden of IVF treatments.

“Access to IVF should not be a partisan issue,” he said. “We want to help people through this journey and certainly make sure that their right to IVF is protected.”

The press event also featured Barbara Collura, president and CEO of Resolve: The National Infertility Association, who stressed the emotional and financial toll of infertility and the need for guaranteed nationwide access to IVF.

“There are so many challenges that our communities face in building their families,” Collura said. “Our goal is to reduce and eliminate those barriers. We know firsthand that our communities want to know that IVF is protected in all 50 states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, IVF accounted for nearly 3 percent for U.S. births in 2022, with over 91,000 babies born through assisted reproductive technology.

Democrats that year introduced the Right to Build Families Act, to protect access to IVF and other fertility treatments amid concerns after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The bill was blocked by Senate Republicans.

The lawmakers emphasized the bipartisan nature of the new legislation, with Gillen noting that Republican support like Lawler’s is vital to passing it in the current Congress.

When the Herald asked about the path forward, both lawmakers said they planned to advocate within their parties and with the congressional leadership to advance the bill through committee and onto the House floor.

The legislation comes amid renewed national attention to IVF following recent court rulings in states like Alabama, where embryos created through IVF were legally recognized as children, prompting clinics to suspend services due to the legal risks.

“I think it’s really important to dem-

onstrate that this is not a partisan issue,” Gillen said. “This is an easy one for us to agree on. We want to support couples and individuals who want to bring a child into the world. IVF may be the only way that they can do that.”

Herald file photo

U.S. Representatives Laura Gillen and Mike Lawler announced bipartisan legislation to protect nationwide access to in vitro fertilization at a virtual press conference on May 7.

Reworld and Town of Hempstead honor creativity

The Town of Hempstead celebrated the winners of its annual Earth Day Poster Contest. The contest was sponsored by Reworld, a leader in sustainable waste solutions, dedicated to raising awareness of environmental conservation.

Each year, students from schools throughout the Town are given a chance to create empowering posters with messages related to environmental protection. Students are encouraged to use their creativity to depict the importance of recycling, composting, energy conservation, and more. This event is deeply rooted in the community’s history, and has consistently educated the Town’s youth about sustainability through creative expression.

Oentries filled with individuality. The pieces were split into two separate categories, grades 1 to 4 and grades 5 to 8. Both categories’ entries proved how the message of environmental protection is resonating with these young, future leaders.

In each age category, first place winners were presented with a Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. The second-place winners were presented with $75 gift certificates to Barnes & Noble, and the third-place winners were presented with $50 gift certificates to Barnes & Noble.

ur youth is our future, and it is inspiring to see them find their passion for sustainability.

“Through this creative outlet, these students have shown awareness of environmental sustainability, and they really understand how important it is to protect our planet,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin said. “Our youth is our future, and it is inspiring to see them find their passion for sustainability.”

DON CLAVIN

Hempstead Town Supervisor

The contest was open to students in the town between grades 1 and 8 and brought a wide array of expressive

In addition, the schools where both first-place winners attend each received a $500 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble as well. The prizes awarded to these young environmental advocates reflected appreciation from the Town and Reworld for their contributions to promoting environmental awareness.

“It is inspiring to see not only the artistic talent submitted by students each year, but to see how passionately they care about our collective mission,” said Maureen Early, Lead Community Relations Specialist at Reworld. “Reworld is committed to spreading advocacy and awareness of environmental conservation in all the commu-

Contest winners had their posters printed and

nities we serve, so we are very proud to support this event.”

The winners of this year’s contest for grades 1-4 were Rilla Gao in first place from New Hyde Park Road School, Andrea Paul from Stewart Manor School and Mia Zaytsev from Chatterton Elementary School who tied in second place, and Andi Romano from Chatterton Elementary School and Miguel Barba from Covert Elementary School who tied in third place.

The winners of this year’s contest for grades 5-8 were Owen Martinez in first place from Robert William Carbonaro,

place.

This initiative is a part of ongoing efforts by Reworld™ to support programs throughout Long Island that inspire students and empower environmental advocates. For more information, please visit www.reworldwaste. com.

— Kepherd Daniel

JULY 21-25 | 9AM-3PM

TURTLE HOOK MIDDLE SCHOOL UNIONDALE, NY AGES 7-15

Chloe Castro from Wheeler Avenue and Joanna Weng from New Hyde Park Road school who tied in second place, and Gabriela Solecki from Harold D. Fayette and Alyssa Griswold from Chatterton Elementary School who tied in third

Courtesy ZE Creative

displayed on a Hempstead garbage truck.

STEPPING OUT

Young imaginations shine

Little Learners Art Lab at Long Island Children’s Museum is filled with year-round creativity

By Danielle Schwab

Long Island Children’s Museum transforms into a colorful hub of creativity for some of its smallet visitors, every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Its Little Learners Art Lab welcomes young artists — and the grownups with them — for a handson art adventure designed to spark curiosity and imagination.

Whether it’s painting, planting or playing with textures, sessions offer an inviting space where toddlers and preschoolers can explore the world through art. This is more than about creating something beautiful — it’s about growing minds and nurturing self-expression.

“We try to infuse in all of the themes different mediums, exposure to different artists and different approaches to art,” says Ashley Niver, the museum’s director of education. Each week, children are introduced to artists, techniques, and styles through engaging projects and materials, led by museum educators. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join in the fun, making it a bonding experience that’s as enriching for adults as it is for kids. Through these immersive projects, the tots explore their creativity and even make new friends.

“Around a third of our visitors are under the age of five. It’s important for early childhood development to have activities that are process-focused to give them that expressive freedom [to create],” Niver explains.

In each class, young learners are encouraged to ask questions, try new things and take the lead in their creative journey. The program mixes play with gentle guidance, helping children explore big concepts in age-appropriate ways.

The activities act as a gateway to talk about new concepts for young learners as they discover the world around them, combining inquisitive thinking with instructional supervision. On the schedule, May 22, families can explore the lifecycle of a plant while decorating terracotta pots during Art In Bloom. Kids will plant seeds in those pots and take their tiny gardens home to watch, water and nurture as litle sprouts grow into blooming plants.

That’s followed by Crystallized Creations on May 29. The salt-based art project allows kids experiment with textures and observe how salt and paint interact — adding a rocky twist to their creativity.

“Science isn’t just happening behind the scenes. It can

‘Murr’ goes solo

Get ready to laugh — and laugh you will. Prepare for an unforgettable night filled with comedy, chaos and wild antics as Impractical Jokers’ James “Murr” Murray hits the stage on The Errors Tour. Known for his outrageous pranks, laugh-out-loud moments and unpredictable humor, Murr brings the party to you with a show packed full of hilarious stories, ridiculous mishaps and plenty of jaw-dropping moments. With his signature style of comedy and a few unexpected surprises, Murr will have you in stitches from start to finish. It’s surely a non-stop ride of comedy, antics and pure fun you won’t want to miss. For more than a decade, Murr and his lifelong Friends — Sal, Joe and Q — have been making audiences laugh across the country, and now he’s bringing the laughs to you. Murr Live is hysterical — of course, interactive — stand-up comedy, in true Impractical Jokers style. Hangout with Murr as he tells funny stories, shows off his own personal never-before-seen videos from Impractical Jokers and plays Jokers “live” on stage with the audience.

• Weekly Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-noon

• Admission: $18 adults and children over 1 year old, $16 for seniors, free to members and under one year; additional fees for theater and special programs may apply

• For more information, visit licm.org or call (516) 224-5800

happen when you’re mixing paint and looking at changes in color or how, for instance, the salt disperses the paint pigment,” Niver says.

Other sessions examine techniques like pointillism or even introduce self-portraits in a thoroughly kid-friendly approach.

“When the parents see these ‘sticky moments’ for younger kids where they’re ingrained in these memories and these experiences, they are right there for the ride,” Niver adds.“They’re going through it with their children, and seeing their children light up and experience joy and learning of these new concepts connects the parents to the activities.”

Of course, art doesn’t have to happen in a classroom or museum space, it can also be done right at home! Niver encourages families to use these classes as an accessible way to bring the creativity back to their households.

“We want to give the opportunity for parents to incorporate making art in easy forms at home that may be less daunting for them,” Niver says.

And often, the youngsters can try materials and methods they may not have access to elsewhere. The sessions offer an introduction to new media as well.

“We also try to balance with materials that maybe they wouldn’t be exposed to normally at home. We could bring in easels one day and have the kids do canvas painting,” she adds.

The fun doesn’t stop when class ends. The museum’s exhibits and upcoming events are often tied into the weekly themes. So, when the class concludes, there’s plenty more to explore!

For example, in celebration of National Zoo and Aquarium Month, in June, kids can make majestic underwater creatures using recycled materials and bubble wrap. This is a creative “sneak peek” teaser what’s to come as the museum prepares to open its newest permanent exhibit, “Saltwater Stories,” in October.

Accessibility is another important component of the museum’s approach to arts programming. Little Learners Art Lab provides families with high-quality early childhood education at a fraction of the cost of private art classes or specialized preschool programs, according to the leadership team. The program’s affordability ensures that all children in the community have access to enriching artistic experiences that contribute to cognitive, social, and emotional development.

“Our whole point is to bring people in, and celebrate and cater to the audience that is coming to us daily, and that is the early childhood audience,” Niver says.

“We hope that for years to come families will bring back other children in their family, as their family grows, and continue to value the museum.”

Photos courtesy LICM

Kids and their adult partners play and create together at the Art Lab. Artistic inspiration involves developing young motor skills as everyone fully engages in the moment.

Friday, May 16, 7 p.m. $65, $55, $45, $35. The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or paramountny. com.

David

Finckel,

Wu Han and Chad Hoopes

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Artistic Directors David Finckel (piano) and Wu Han (cello) have assembled a scintillating collection of works that reveal the joy and depth of the chamber music literature. Starting as frequent collaborators, Finckel and Han have been married since 1985. As a duo, they began to tour regularly while retaining residencies in New York. In this program, volin sonatas from the Baroque and Classical eras are performed by the young virtuoso Chad Hoopes, followed by Mendelssohn’s invigorating Second Sonata for cello and piano, a gem of the Romantic era. The art of romantic music hits a high point in the concluding work, in which all combine for a trio by the founder of Czech music, Bed�ich Smetana.

Sunday, May 18, 3 p.m. Tilles Center, LIU Post campus, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or tillescenter.org or (516) 299-3100.

Your Neighborhood CALENDAR

MAY 25

Garden Days

Garden lovers, green thumbs and spring seekers: Old Westbury Gardens’ beloved Garden Days return. Four vibrant days are filled with plants, programs, and purpose, highlighted by the much-anticipated Plant Sale Preview Party on Friday evening. On May 16 (6-8 p.m.), guests are invited to sip, shop and stroll through the gardens during this exclusive first-look event, featuring live music, sweet and savory treats, and early access to a lush array of rare perennials and signature plants grown right here on Long Island. The two-day plant sale runs May 17-18, (10 a.m.-4 p.m.), where shoppers can select from a curated selection of garden favorites with expert guidance from the Gardens’ horticulture staff. Addition highlights include a panel discussion, Guided walks and garden tours and spring celebration chamber concert.

• Where: 71 Old Westbury Rd., Old Westbury

• Time: Ongoing, May 15-18

• Contact: Visit oldwestburygardens.org/2025garden-days for full schedule and ticket details

Hug a happy tree

K&A Tree Service offers free tree inspections throughout Long Island. Tree professionals will visit in person to inspect tree and provide free advice to help treat your tree right and make it happy.

• Time: Ongoing

• Contact: (516) 208-3131

On Exhibit

Nassau County Museum of Art’s latest exhibition, the original “Deco at 100” coincides with the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) that publicly launched the movement. The direct follow-up to the well-received 2023 exhibit, “Our Gilded Age,” it comparably links the period’s signature innovation in the decorative arts, Art Deco, to the fine arts. On view through June 15.

• Where: 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor

• Time: Ongoing

• Contact: (516) 484-9337 or nassaumuseum.org

‘Elephant & Piggie’s

We Are in a Play!’

The beloved musical adventure, ripped from the pages of Mo Willems’ beloved award-winning, best-selling children’s books,

Jon Lovitz

MAY

Comedy legend Jon Lovitz brings his signature wit and unforgettable characters to the Paramount stage for a night of nonstop laughs. Best known for his Emmy-nominated run on SNL and roles in hit films like “A League of Their Own” and “The Wedding Singer,” Lovitz has been a staple of comedy for over 30 years. He got his start acting in high school productions, developing his skills at the University of California, Irvine where he earned a B.A. in Drama. He also studied acting with Tony Barr at the Film Actors Workshop. At the advice of Tony Barr, Jon decided to concentrate solely on comedy. From there his trajectory took off. He began taking classes with the famed improv comedy group The Groundlings in 1982. One year later, Jon got his first acting job on the television show “The Paper Chase: the Second Year.” Two years followed and then he was accepted into The Groundlings main company. In March 1985 The Groundlings appeared on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” where Jon premiered his character “Tommy Flanagan of Pathological Liars Anonymous. SNL and numerous other offers followed and Jon was on his, working non-stop since. Along with his comedy, Jon is well known for his distinctive voice. It has served him will in his varied TV and film career. He is one of the few performers to start as an actor and then become a stand-up comedian who successfully headlines venues nationwide. Jon’s humor is unique, which is attributable to his quirky personality, and he is sure to entertain. $59.50, $49.50, $39.50, $29.50.

is back on stage at Long Island Children’s Museum. Willems’ classic characters Elephant and Piggie storm the stage in a rollicking musical romp filled with plenty of pachydermal peril and swiney suspense perfect for young audiences.

• Where: Museum Row, Garden City

• Time: Also May 17 and May 20-22, times vary

• Contact: licm.org or call (516) 224-5800

MAY 17

Spring Fling Dog Walk

EPIC Family’s South Shore Guidance Center encourages everyone and their four-legged companions to participate in the annual walk for mental wellness. With face painting, games, raffles, and more. Free t-shirts while supplies last.

• Where: Cow Meadow Park, Freeport

• Time: 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.

• Contact: p2p.onecause.com/ springfling2025

Art Explorations

reading and play in the Reading Room, and contribute to The Lobby Project, a collaborative art installation. Registration required.

• Where: 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor

• Time: Noon-3 p.m.

• Contact: (516) 484-9337 or nassaumuseum.org

Concert of Contrasts

• Where: The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington.

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: ticketmaster.com or paramountny.com

• Where: Garden City Community Church, 245 Stewart Ave., Garden City

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: lics.org or call (516) 652-6878

MAY

Spring Concert

Converse, collaborate and create at Nassau County Museum of Art. Kids and their adult partners can talk about and make art together. Enjoy • Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

Contact: uniondalelibrary.org or (516) 489-2220

MAY

20

Action Meeting

The Uniondale school budget, two trustee positions and a capital project referendum will be on the ballot. Afterwards the Board of Education holds an action meeting.

• Where: Little Theater of Uniondale High School, 933 Goodrich St., Uniondale.

• Time: Following the vote, 9 p.m.

MAY

22

Breastfeeding Support Group

Mercy Hospital offers a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support group facilitated by a certified counselor. Open to new moms with babies from newborn to 1 year. Registration required.

• Where: St. Anne’s Building, 1000 North Village Ave., Rockville Centre

• Time: Ongoing Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

• Contact: Call Gabriella Gennaro at (516) 705-2434

Creatures of the night

Join the Long Island Choral Society and Music Director Michael C. Haigler for their final concert of the season. “From the Sublime to the Ridiculous”, offers the beautiful melodies of Johannes Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes as well as the ridiculous antics of P.D.Q. Bach’s Liebeslieder Polkas. Liebeslieder translates as Love Song and this concert will give two very different visions of musical expressions of love. Act I features Brahms lush waltzes, scored for 4-hand piano and sure to elicit emotions and romantic memories through its lush melodies and sublime poetry. Act II presents P.D.Q. Bach’s interpretation of love songs through energy driven polkas scored for 5-hand piano in such a manner as to create chaos, musical mayhem, visual hijinks and some seriously bad puns. $20, $10 youth. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at door.

18

Uniondale Library hosts an acoustic performance by composer and instrumentalist Italo ‘Tal’ Naccarato that combines traditional folk and Americana toots music with rock and blues.

• Where: 400 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale.

• Time: 2 p.m.

• Contact: uniondalelibrary.org or (516) 489-2220

MAY

19

Image Prompting

Sign up for image prompting with instructor Karen Quinones-Smith at Uniondale Public Library. Learn to use cutting-edge tools like Dalle-3, MidJourney, and Ideogram to create striking visuals and narratives. Note: Bring your own laptop or iPad.

• Where: 400 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale.

Join Ranger Eric Powers for a presentation and nighttime walk through Sands Point Preserve in search of Long Island’s only flying mammal: the bat. Bats, while villainized in vampire movies and such, are important members of our ecosystem. Learn about the fascinating lives of our bats, as well as some of the other nocturnal animals that call the preserve home. This program begins with an indoor talk, followed by a brief walk at dusk. For adults and teenagers 13+. Admission is $24, $18 members. Registration required.

• Where: 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point

• Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

• Contact: sandspointpreserveconservancy. org or call (516) 571-7901

Having an event?

Items on the Calendar page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to kbloom@ liherald.com.

Public Notices

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURTCOUNTY OF NASSAU WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES ACQUISITION TRUST 2019-HB1, Plaintiff, AGAINST UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF CORINE RAY A/K/A CORINE L RAY, if they be living and if they be dead, the respective heirs-at-law, next-ofkin, distributes, executors, administrators, trustees, devisees, legatees, assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said defendant(s) who may be deceased, by purchase, inheritance, lien or inheritance, any right, title or interest in or to the real property described in the Complaint, et al. Defendant(s) Pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale duly entered on October 31, 2024. I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the North Side Steps of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on May 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM premises known as 755 Northgate Dr, Uniondale, NY 11553. Please take notice that this foreclosure auction shall be conducted in compliance with the Foreclosure Auction Rules for Nassau County, and the COVID 19 Health Emergency Rules, including proper use of masks and social distancing. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Uniondale, in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York. Section 55, Block 531 and Lot 18. Approximate amount of judgment

$470,123.35 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment. Index #001250/2016 | 16-001250.

Michael Alpert, Esq., Referee, Aldridge Pite, LLP -

Attorneys for Plaintiff40 Marcus Drive, Suite 200, Melville, NY 11747 153093

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

Place a notice by phone at 516-569-4000 x232 or email: legalnotices@liherald.com

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURTCOUNTY OF NASSAU WILMINGTON TRUST, NA, SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE TO CITIBANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE, ON BEHALF OF THE HOLDERS OF THE STRUCTURED ASSET MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS II INC., BEAR STEARNS ALT-A TRUST II, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2007-1, Plaintiff, AGAINST GWENDOLYN ORTIZ, et al. Defendant(s) Pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale duly entered on December 22, 2022. I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the North Side Steps of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on June 3, 2025 at 2:00 PM premises known as 167 Stanton Blvd, Uniondale, NY 11553.

Please take notice that this foreclosure auction shall be conducted in compliance with the Foreclosure Auction Rules for Nassau County, and the COVID 19 Health Emergency Rules, including proper use of masks and social distancing. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Uniondale, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York. Section 36, Block 113 and Lot 309, 310, 311. Approximate amount of judgment $665,070.77 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment. Index #008043/2014.

Dominic A. Villoni, Esq., Referee, Aldridge Pite, LLPAttorneys for Plaintiff40 Marcus Drive, Suite 200, Melville, NY 11747 153270

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY

COMPANY. NAME: BIG APPLE LOGISTIC NY INC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York, (SSNY) on 04/25/25. NY Office location: Nassau County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to: 1500 JERUSALEM AVE. MERRICK, NY 11566

Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. 153195

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice hereby given that a license, application ID NA-0340-24-133051 for Liquor, Wine, Beer and Cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell Liquor, Wine, Beer and Cider at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 1150 Front Street, Uniondale, NY County of Nassau for On Premises Consumption. “Front 1050, Inc. dba Willy’s Restaurant Bar & Grill 153413

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU FIFTH THIRD BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, -againstREYNALDO NOVEMBRE, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF MAGALIE BRICE, ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Nassau on March 3, 2025, wherein FIFTH THIRD BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION is the Plaintiff and REYNALDO NOVEMBRE, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF MAGALIE BRICE, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction RAIN OR SHINE at the NASSAU COUNTY SUPREME COURT, NORTH SIDE STEPS, 100 SUPREME COURT DRIVE, MINEOLA, NY 11501, on June 11, 2025 at

2:00PM, premises known as 676 HEMPSTEAD BOULEVARD, UNIONDALE, NY 11553; and the following tax map identification: 50-132-89 & 90. ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING AT UNIONDALE, (UNINCORPORATED AREA) TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU AND STATE OF NEW YORK Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 603278/2023. Brian J. Davis, Esq.Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES. 153382

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU, U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR CITIGROUP MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2021-A, Plaintiff, vs. CARLOS H. MARTINEZ, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee’s Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on March 11, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps on the north side of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on June 10, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., premises known as 124 Lawrence Street, Uniondale a/k/a Hempstead, NY 11553. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 44,

Block 66 and Lot 19. Approximate amount of judgment is $543,602.36 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #615119/2023. Cash will not be accepted.

Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee

Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, New York 10591, Attorneys for Plaintiff 153345

To Place A Notice Call 516-569-4000 x232

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to Article 9 of the New York State Constitution, the provisions of the Town Law and Municipal Home Rule of the State of New York, both as amended, a public hearing will be held in the Town Meeting Pavilion, Hempstead Town Hall, 1 Washington Street, Hempstead, New York, on The 27th day of May, 2025, at 10:30 o’clock in the forenoon of that day to consider the enactment of a local law to amend Section 202-1 of the code of the Town of Hempstead to INCLUDE “PARKING OR STANDING PROHIBITIONS” at the following locations: OCEANSIDE

WOODS AVENUE (TH 142/25) North SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting at the west curbline of Apking Street, west for a distance of 33 feet.

WOODS AVENUE (TH 142/25) South SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting at the apex of Woods Avenue/Davison Avenue east for a distance of 73 feet.

WOODS AVENUE (TH 142/25) South SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting at the west curbline of Lincoln Avenue, west for a distance of 42 feet.

SEAFORD

SIDNEY COURT (TH 159/25) West SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the north curbline of Marilyn Drive, north for a distance of 25 feet.

SIDNEY COURT (TH 159/25) East SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the north curbline of Marilyn Drive, north for a distance of 25 feet.

SIDNEY COURT (TH 159/25) East Side -

NO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the south curbline of Marilyn Drive, south for a distance of 25 feet.

SIDNEY COURT (TH 159/25) West SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the south curbline of Marilyn Drive, south for a distance of 20 feet.

MARILYN DRIVE (TH 159/25) North SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from thewest curbline of Sidney Court, west for a distance of 30 feet.

MARILYN DRIVE (TH 159/25) North SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the east curbline of Sidney Court, east for a distance of 30 feet.

MARILYN DRIVE (TH 159/25) South SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the west curbline of Sidney Court, west for a distance of 30 feet

MARILYN DRIVE (TH 159/25) South SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the east curbline of Sidney Court, east for a distance of 30 feet.

UNIONDALE TULSA STREET (TH 168/25) South Side - NO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the east curbline of Uniondale Avenue, east for a distance of 30 feet.

TULSA STREET (TH 168/25) North SideNO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the east curbline of Uniondale Avenue, east for a distance of 30 feet.

WANTAGH FIR STREET (TH 179/25) East Side - NO STOPPING HERE TO CORNER - starting from the north curbline of Merrick Road, north for a distance of 30 feet. ALL PERSONS INTERESTED shall have an opportunity to be heard on said proposal at the time and place aforesaid.

Dated: May 13, 2025 Hempstead, New York BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD DONALD X. CLAVIN, JR. Supervisor KATE MURRAY Town Clerk 153508

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

To Place A Notice Call 516-569-4000 x232

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU, U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR CABANA SERIES V TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. LEGACY INV. & MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on October 16, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps on the north side of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on June 17, 2025 at 2:30 p.m., premises known as 732 Jerusalem Avenue, Uniondale, NY 11553. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 50, Block 309 and Lots 237 & 238. Approximate amount of judgment is $471,689.08 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #615085/2023. Joseph Trotti, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.: 202067-2 153551

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE

Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.: 180599-2 153549

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

LEGAL NOTICE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR ABFC 2005-HE2 TRUST ABFC ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-HE2, -againstROSE-DENE WRIGHT, ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Nassau on May 6, 2024, wherein WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR ABFC 2005-HE2 TRUST ABFC ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2005-HE2 is the Plaintiff and ROSEDENE WRIGHT, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction RAIN OR SHINE at the NASSAU COUNTY SUPREME COURT, NORTH SIDE STEPS, 100 SUPREME COURT DRIVE, MINEOLA, NY 11501, on June 17, 2025 at 2:00PM, premises known as 281 ANCHOR WAY, UNIONDALE, NY 11553; and the following tax map identification: 50-338-21. ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING AT EAST HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU AND STATE OF NEW YORK

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF Nassau, Wilmington Trust National Association not in its Individual Capacity but Solely as Trustee for MFRA Trust 2015-1, Plaintiff, vs. Dina Ventura a/k/a Dina M. Ventura, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to an Order Confirming Referee Report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on August 8, 2023 and an Order Appointing Successor Referee duly entered on October 15, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the front steps on the north side of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on June 16, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., premises known as 335 Locust Avenue, Uniondale, NY 11553. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Uniondale, Unincorporated area, in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 50, Block 47 and Lots 32-34. Approximate amount of judgment is $886,894.24 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #616578/2019. Lisa Segal Poczik, Esq., Referee

May 15,

Public Notices

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 606656/2017.

George Esernio, Esq.Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES.

153528

Place A Notice Call 516-569-4000 x232 LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF ANNUAL DISTRICT ELECTION OF UNIONDALE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, COUNTY OF NASSAU, STATE OF NEW YORK, TO BE HELD ON May 20, 2025

NOTICE IS HEREBY

GIVEN that, in lieu of an annual meeting of all election districts in one place, the vote by the qualified voters of the Uniondale Union Free School District, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, at an annual election, will be held on May 20, 2025 beginning 6 AM in the school designated in each election district bounded and described hereinafter, for the purpose of voting upon the appropriation of necessary funds to meet the necessary expenditures of the School District for the year 2025-2026, upon all propositions duly filed with the Board of Education, and to elect two (2) members to the Board of Education to fill the following vacancies:

a. The office of Addie Blanco-Harvey, a member of the Board of Education, whose term expires on June 30, 2025 for a new term commencing July 1, 2025 and expiring on June 30, 2028.

b. The office of Alvin McDaniel, Jr., Ed.D., a member of the Board of Education, whose term expires on May 20, 2025 for a new term commencing May 21, 2025 and expiring on June 30, 2028.

PROPOSITION NO. 1 –SCHOOL BUDGET

Copies of the text of this proposition for the appropriation of the estimated expenses of the School District for the year 2025-2026 and authorizing the levy of

taxes therefore, will be available at each school house in the District as hereinafter specified.

PROPOSITION NO. 2 –CAPITAL PROJECTS TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE CAPITAL RESERVE

Shall the Board of Education of the Uniondale Union Free School District be authorized to expend from the Capital Reserve Fund, which was established on May 18, 2021 (“Reserve Fund”) pursuant to Section 3651 of the Education Law, for the following capital improvement projects: (1) Install new heavy duty safety perimeter fencing on Grand Avenue due to high-traffic area at Grand Avenue School ($200,000); (2) Repair and replace damaged sidewalks and parking lots at Northern Parkway School, Turtle Hook Middle School, Walnut Street School, and Uniondale High School ($350,000); (3) Install new exterior LED light poles and add exterior LED lighting at Northern Parkway School, Turtle Hook Middle School, Walnut Street School, and Uniondale High School ($450,000); (4) Install new well pumps and irrigation at all athletic fields at Turtle Hook Middle School, Walnut Street School, California Avenue School, Cornelius Court Elementary School, Grand Avenue School, Smith Street School, and Northern Parkway School ($500,000); other work required in connection therewith; and to expend from the Reserve Fund therefore, including preliminary costs and costs incidental thereto, an amount not to exceed the estimated total cost of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000), provided that the Board of Education may allocate funds amongst various components within the overall total expenditure at its discretion?

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that the voting shall be on voting machines and the polls will remain open from 6 AM until 9 PM and as much longer as may be necessary to enable the voters then present to cast their ballots, and that the Board of Registration shall meet during the annual election for the purpose of preparing a register for the budget vote and election in 2026 and any special district meeting that may

be held after the preparation of said register. The condensed form of the budget proposition and the text of all other propositions to appear on the voting machine and a detailed statement in writing of the amount of money which will be required for the school year 2025-2026 for school purposes, specifying the purposes and the amount for each, will be prepared and copies thereof will be made available, upon request, to any resident in the District at each schoolhouse in the district in which school is maintained between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM during the period of fourteen (14) days immediately preceding said election of May 20, 2025, excluding Saturday, Sunday and holidays, and at such annual election.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that nominations for the office of member of the Board of Education, unless otherwise provided by law, shall be made by petition subscribed by at least 25 qualified voters of the District (representing the greater of 25 qualified voters or 2% of the number of voters who voted in the 2024 annual election), and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the District between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM not later than the 30th day preceding the election at which the trustees shall be voted upon. Such petition shall state the residence of each signer and shall state the name and residence of the candidate and the specific vacancy on the Board for which the candidate is nominated, which description shall include at least the length of the term of office and the name of the last incumbent, if any. Each vacancy shall be considered a separate office, and a separate petition shall be required to nominate a candidate to each separate office. No person shall be nominated for more than one separate office on the Board of Education. A nomination may be rejected by the Board of Education if the candidate is ineligible for the office or declares his/her unwillingness to serve.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that any proposition or question to be placed upon the voting machines shall be submitted in writing

by petition subscribed by at least 25 qualified voters of the district (representing the greater of 25 qualified voters or 2% of the number of voters who voted in the 2024 annual election), and filed in the Office of the Clerk of the District between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM, not later than the 30th day preceding the election at which such question or proposition shall be voted upon, except that this rule shall not apply to those questions or propositions which are required to be stated in the published or posted notice of the meeting or to those propositions or questions which the Board of Education has authority by law to present at any annual or special meeting of the District. Propositions with respect to a proposition or question which is required to be stated in the Notice of Meeting must be filed in the office of the Clerk of the District, between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM on or before the 60th day immediately preceding the meeting or election at which such questions or proposition shall be voted upon.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Board of Registration of this School District shall meet Thursday, May 8, 2025 and Wednesday, May 14, 2025 from 9:00AM to 7:00PM in the California Avenue Elementary School, Grand Avenue Elementary School, Northern Parkway Elementary School, Smith Street Elementary School and Walnut Street Elementary School for the purpose of preparing a register of the qualified voters of this District for said annual district election, at which time any person shall be entitled to have his/her name placed upon such registry provided that at such meeting of the Board of Registration, he/she is known, or proven to the satisfaction of the Board of Registration, to be then or thereafter entitled to vote at the annual District election for which such register is prepared:

California Avenue

School Election District: Place of Registration

California Avenue

Elementary School

236 California Avenue

Uniondale, NY 11553

Grand Avenue

Elementary School

District: Place of Registration

Grand Avenue

Elementary School 711 School Drive

North Baldwin, New York

Northern Parkway

Elementary School:

Place of Registration

Northern Parkway

Elementary School

440 Northern Parkway Uniondale, NY 11553

Smith Street Elementary School: Place of Registration

Smith Street Elementary School

780 Smith Street Uniondale, NY 11553

Walnut Street

Elementary School: Place of Registration

Walnut Street

Elementary School

1270 Walnut Street Uniondale, NY 11553

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER

NOTICE that applications for absentee and early mail ballots for the school district election will be obtainable at the Office of the Clerk of the District and must be received by the District Clerk no earlier than 30 days before the election for which an absentee or early mail ballot is sought. To obtain a ballot by mail, completed applications must be received by the Office of the District Clerk at least seven days before the election. The absentee or early mail ballot will be mailed to the address set forth in the application, no later than six days before the election. To obtain a ballot in person (applicant or his or her agent), the completed application must be delivered to the Office of the District Clerk no later than the day before the election, Monday, May 19, 2025. Absentee and early mail ballots must be received by the Office of the District Clerk not later than 5:00 p.m., prevailing time, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots shall have been issued, and a list of all persons to whom early mail voter’s ballots shall have been issued will be available for inspection beginning May 15, 2025 in the office of the clerk between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM and will also be available on May 20, 2025.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that military voters who are not currently registered may apply to register as a qualified voter of the school district. Military voters who are qualified voters of the school district may submit an application for a military ballot. Military voters may designate a preference to receive

a military voter registration, military ballot application or military ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail in their request for such registration, ballot application or ballot. Military voter registration application forms and military ballot application forms must be received in the Office of the District Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 24, 2025. No military ballot will be canvassed unless it is returned by mail or in person and (1) received in the Office of the District Clerk before the close of the polls on election day and showing a cancellation mark of the United States postal service or a foreign country’s postal service, or showing a dated endorsement of receipt by another agency of the United States government; or (2) received by the Office of the District Clerk by no later than 5:00 p.m. on election day and signed and dated by the military voter and one witness thereto, with a date which is ascertained to be not later than the day before the election. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the register shall include (1) all qualified voters of the District who shall personally present themselves for registration; and (2) all previously qualified voters of the District who shall have been previously registered for any annual or special District meeting or election and who shall have voted at any annual or special District meeting or election held or conducted any time within the last four calendar years (2021-2024) prior to preparation of the said register; and (3) voters permanently registered with the Board of Elections of the County of Nassau. The Register shall be filed in the office of the District Clerk of the School District at Uniondale High School, 933 Goodrich Street, Uniondale, New York, where it shall be open for inspection by any qualified voter between the hours of 9 AM and 4 PM on each of the five (5) days prior to the day set for the election, except Sunday, and between the hours of 9 AM and 12 noon on Saturday, May 15, 2025; and at each polling place on election day.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER

NOTICE that a Real Property Tax Exemption Report prepared in accordance with Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law will be annexed to any tentative/preliminary budget as well as the final adopted budget of which it will form a part; and shall be posted on the District bulletin board(s) maintained for public notices, as well as on the District’s website.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that description of the boundaries of the election districts as designated by the Board of Education is filed with the records of the School District and available for inspection by any qualified voter together with a map of the District, in the Office of the District Clerk at Uniondale High School, 933 Goodrich Street, Uniondale, New York, during regular business hours and that said election districts and the respective schools in each where the voting shall take place are generally described as follows:

California Avenue

School Election District – The area within the District beginning at a point on the east side of Grove Street at Commercial Avenue (not including any houses on Grove Street), south on Grove Street to Hempstead Turnpike; thence south along the district line (see district line list) to Jerusalem Avenue; then east on the north side of Jerusalem Avenue to Uniondale Avenue to Front Street; thence east on Front Street to Pamlico Avenue to the center of the intersection of Pamlico and Warwick Street; thence west to Walton Avenue; thence north on the west side of Walton Street to Hempstead Turnpike; thence west on Hempstead Turnpike to Oak Street; thence north on Oak Street to Commercial Avenue; thence west on Commercial Avenue to the point of beginning.

Grand Avenue School

Election District – The area within the District beginning at #585 Willis Street to Helena Drive, all numbers to Central Avenue #1012 to Willis Street #681 to Grand Avenue #1219 to Village Avenue #1218 to South Drive, all numbers to Fenimore Place, all numbers to School Drive #942 to Coes Neck Road #1185 to Notre Dame Court all numbers; thence north on Milburn Avenue

to Harold Avenue; thence east on Harold Avenue to Nassau Road; thence northwest on the southwest side of Nassau Road to the western boundary of the District.

Northern Parkway

School Election District – The area within the district beginning at Martin Avenue and Nassau Road west on the south side of Nassau Road to Northern Parkway; thence south on a line to the Southern State Parkway so as to include all of the houses on Nassau Road and west of Nassau Road; thence east along Southern State Parkway to Nassau Road; thence northwest on the west side of Uniondale Avenue to Jerusalem Avenue; thence west on the south side of Jerusalem Avenue to Perry Street; thence north on the west side of Perry Street to Cedar Street; thence west on the south side of Cedar Street to the District boundary line.

Smith Street School Election District – The area within the District beginning at a point on the east side of Nassau Road where it crosses Southern State Parkway, northwest to the east side of Uniondale Avenue; thence north on the east side of Uniondale Avenue to Jerusalem Avenue; thence east on the south side of Jerusalem Avenue to Winthrop Drive, to include Mitchell Place, continuing east on a line from Winthrop Drive to the District boundary line.

Walnut Street School Election District - The area within the District beginning at a point on the eastern boundary of the district, south of the end of Sterling Street on a line due south to the middle of Jerusalem Avenue; thence west on the north side of Jerusalem Avenue to Uniondale Avenue; thence north on the east side of Uniondale Avenue to Front Street; thence east on the south side of Front Street; thence north on the east side of Pamlico Avenue to the center of the intersection of Pamlico and Warwick; thence north on the east side of Walton to Hempstead Turnpike. Also including all of Mitch Field. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Board of Education shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of discussion of the expenditure of funds and the budgeting

White smoke brings students a big surprise

the U.S.”

Prevost, 69, now Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago, and received a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.

A member of the Order of St. Augustine, he earned a master’s in divinity in 1982 from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Oh my goodness, he’s an American!

Father Dan GriFFin Chaplain, Brother

Joseph C. Fox Latin School, Kellenberg High School

He has spent much of his career as a missionary in Peru, eventually becoming a naturalized Peruvian citizen and serving as Archbishop of Chiclayo. In 2023 he was appointed by Pope Francis to lead the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, helping to overseeing the selection of bishops around the globe.

“You don’t just pick a name out of a hat,” Cardone said. “There is a thoughtfulness — just like Pope Francis was very conscious of the poor, and reaching out to all people in need, and that’s why he chose Francis” — for Saint Francis of Assisi.

Griffin reflected on Pope Leo XIII’s legacy as a champion of social justice and the working class, suggesting that the new Leo chose his name to show a similar commitment to helping people.

“It’s an excitement, that he’s new and he’s a little bit different than Pope Francis, but he is going to honor Pope Francis’s legacy as well,” Griffin added.

He never thought there would be an American pope. He had even told his students that it would never happen. Everyone sees America as a superpower, and so no one wants it to be a religious one, too, he believed.

Leo’s first official utterance from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, to the crowd of tens of thousands below and tens of millions on TV, was, “Peace be with you,” in Italian and Spanish, which Griffin translated for the benefit of the school’s students and faculty.

members broadcast from the studio, sitting behind the soundboard.

As well-wishes poured in from local leaders, the Most Rev. John Barres, Bishop of Rockville Centre, said, “With my brother bishops, the clergy, religious, and lay faithful of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, I give thanks to the Almighty God for the gift of our new Holy Father, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

“As the 267th successor of Saint Peter, we pray Pope Leo XIV will receive every grace to strengthen the Church in

Public Notices

thereof for the year 2025-2026 on May 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM in the little theater of Uniondale High School.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that this Board shall convene a special meeting hereof within twenty-four hours after the filing with the District Clerk of a written report of the results of the ballot for the purpose of examining and tabulating said reports of the result of

the ballot and declaring the result of the ballot; that the Board hereby designates itself to be a set of poll clerks to cast and canvass ballots pursuant to Education Law, § 2019a, subdivision 2b at said special meeting of the Board.

Dated: March 25, 2025 Uniondale, New York BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, UNIONDALE, UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT,

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES…

To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

unity and peace, preach Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, and confirm the Faith,” Barres continued.

“With years of global missionary experience in Peru and leadership in his Augustinian community here in the United States, we pray, too, that his evangelizing pastoral charity and wisdom will guide the mission of the Church he now serves as supreme pontiff.”

News

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, “Congratulations, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and proud son of Chicago. His election marks a new chapter of hope, unity and spiritual leadership for Catholics around the world. As we celebrate this milestone, we pray for Pope Leo XIV as he begins his sacred mission to guide the Church with wisdom, compassion and strength.”

brief

Uniondale presents A Night on Broadway

Orchestra Long Island Residency Concert presents, A Night on Broadway in the Uniondale High School Mary E. Powell auditorium on Monday, May 19. Among the highlights include a melody from” Wicked” a musical by, Winnie Holzman the which tells the untold story of the witches of Oz before Dorothy arrived.

The theme comes at timely due to the adapted film, “Wicked” starring

Arianna Grande and Cynthia Erivo

The performance is a side-by-side show meaning, students share the stage with the professionals.

The show will feature Maestro David Wiley who has collaborated with the school for more than 15 years, and the Uniondale High School Symphonic Orchestra, student soloists and all district assembles.

— Stacy Driks

Courtesy Kellenberg Memorial High School

Junior Erin Breslin helped faculty

CLASSIFIED

Fax

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Redoing a basement, Part 3

Q. We bought our home three years ago, and are finally ready to finish our basement to make a family room, guest bedroom and a bathroom while enclosing our laundry. Right now it’s just a big open space with a lot of columns. The ceiling is low, and we’ve had estimates to cut down the basement floor. It seems like a lot of money to do all these things at once, but we understand that we need to do it before the prices for materials, as we’ve been warned, go a lot higher. We want to know what needs to be done if we want to lower the floor, take out two columns so our recreation room is bigger, and put in a bathroom. Is there any way to save money?

A. This third column ties together the previous two to state that, basically, you get what you pay for, and sometimes less. I explained that basement bathrooms may not be allowed to have a bathing fixture, tub or shower, depending on the municipal requirements, and that many communities also won’t allow a bedroom in a basement, for safety reasons. I also outlined the process for figuring out beams so that columns can be removed, and that while “guessers” may save you some money up front, repairs can erase the savings.

Now we’re up to lowering the basement floor. “Saving money” and “lowering a basement floor” should rarely be in the same sentence, except for when writing an answer as to why. In general, you want more living space, structurally sound and waterproof. Both of those needs are hard to achieve if any part of the process is left out.

It’s always best to gain the most amount of interior space, and I can often tell when either saving money was the focus or amateur work was done when I see a foundation wall projecting into the basement like a concrete bench. To avoid this look and to get the most use out of the space, you have to start with knowing where the underground water table is. Unless you dig a hole or order a soil-boring test from a professional company, you may soon find out why the floor wasn’t lower to begin with. This test could save you great expense.

The process of correctly supporting the exterior concrete foundation walls is called “underpinning.”

The excavation can be done from the interior side of the foundation wall if the exterior isn’t accessible. Either way, the underpinning process must be done in sections, not all at once. There would be complete collapses of walls and floors above if entire foundations were removed at one time. When this is done, it usually causes tremendous damage, possible death and news coverage.

Engineered sections, with waterproofing to the exterior, have to be planned. The old sections are carefully cut out, and then replaced several feet apart before the next sections are removed. Good luck!

© 2025 Monte Leeper

Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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Local voices matter, and the RAPID Act listens

Last month, a handful of Nassau County town supervisors stood in front of a firehouse on Barnum Island and took the low road, whipping up fear, distorting facts and conflating fallacy and fantasy with reality to try to block progress. Their target was the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment, or RAPID, Act, a new state law designed to streamline the approval process for large-scale renewable energy and electric transmission projects.

The RAPID Act creates a more efficient and transparent process for reviewing the major infrastructure projects we desperately need. If we’re serious about clean energy, grid reliability and energy security, this is our path toward resiliency and sustainability. It’s good for consumers and developers because the streamlined process reduces costs, making investments in the grid more affordable.

Unfortunately these days, facts don’t seem to matter much to some. But here are the facts.

Before the RAPID Act became law in April 2024, New York state had a patchwork of laws that made siting energy

projects difficult, confusing and expensive. Today there is a clear, easy-to-follow, streamlined system under the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission. The new system saves time and money, increases consistency, and gives communities a meaningful voice from the very beginning.

Here’s how it works.

Before even submitting an application, developers are required to consult with local officials. Throughout the process, the public is invited to comment. Each project must have meaningful community outreach in which residents are invited to participate, along with ORES.

Tfor clean, reliable energy.

The reality is that most projects comply with local laws almost entirely, and the few disputes thus far have largely been resolved through mutual agreement. Waivers aren’t done casually. They must be fully justified. And towns can challenge them. As of last month, only five towns in the entire state had appealed such rulings, and all five rulings were upheld.

here have been over 50 energy project siting hearings across the state.

To date, there have been over 50 hearings across the state. That’s not secrecy. That’s real public engagement. Your comments have been heard, as have developers — who often modify projects in response to public feedback.

Another fallacy is how the RAPID Act treats local laws. It did not create new authority for the state to waive local laws — that ability has been part of the siting process in New York for decades. The act was designed to make those waivers less likely by addressing points of conflict early. And the law allows ORES to waive those laws only when they are unreasonably burdensome and conflict with the state’s goals

If that sounds like a heavy-handed state bulldozing towns, you might want to check the script the town supervisors are reading from, because it’s fiction. What we saw last month was not thoughtful concern for our future infrastructure needs. It was a political strategy that assumes that every environmental policy from Albany is a threat, every clean-energy initiative a conspiracy and every step forward something to block. Lumping everything together and crying foul to whip up outrage doesn’t benefit the New Yorkers that we public servants are here to serve. Meanwhile, our infrastructure is aging, and doing nothing is no longer an option. The RAPID Act moves us forward. It helps make sure our homes have power during extreme storms. It helps reduce pollution. It helps create good-paying jobs in clean energy. That

should be something we can all get behind.

If the supervisors want to sit down and talk seriously about how to improve the process, our door is always open. But yelling about non-existent dangers doesn’t help anyone. It misleads the public. It slows progress. And it makes it harder to build the kind of energy future Long Island deserves and desperately needs.

We believe in transparency, community input and in building a future in which Long Island is stronger, safer and cleaner. The RAPID Act is a big step in that direction.

It’s time to stop the political games. Time to stop pretending that doing nothing is somehow safer. I know firsthand that Long Islanders care about their communities, and the environment. They’re smart enough to see through rhetoric designed to instill fear, and they deserve better: They deserve leadership that tells the truth about the very real needs and demands of our infrastructure and its impacts on growing our economy. As I’ve said in countless hearings and committee meetings, the RAPID Act isn’t about taking power away from towns. It’s about keeping the lights on, making sure everyone has a seat at the table, and making sure we’re ready for the future.

Let’s move forward together.

Rory Christian is chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission.

Companies that produce packing waste must recycle it

Consumers have changed our shopping habits across New York state. The transition to online shopping has significantly increased plastic, paper and cardboard packaging waste. Those materials go to Reworld, which takes our trash, and are turned into ash. The ash needs to go somewhere, but where?

On Long Island, most of the ash goes to Brookhaven Landfill, but that clock is ticking. The Brookhaven facility will soon reach its capacity for ash, and that means it will close in the next few years, leaving towns such as Hempstead and North Hempstead with no ash-disposal options on Long Island. As packaging waste increases, recycling rates remain lackluster, which adds to our solid-waste burden. The good news is that we can reduce packaging waste and increase recycling rates to help address this challenge. Citizens Campaign for the Environment

chairs a statewide coalition of environmental leaders, local governments, stakeholders and elected officials who have joined to back state legislation called the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. This important bill is urgently needed.

New York is experiencing a solid-waste crisis, with skyrocketing costs to municipalities, abysmal recycling rates, and plastic pollution littering our communities and waterways. Our state generates more than 17 million tons of municipal solid waste annually. Long Island is responsible for 1.6 million tons per year, 205,000 tons of which go to landfills off Long Island, and 1.4 million tons are sent to waste-toenergy facilities, resulting in 400,000 tons of ash that must be landfilled. There is currently no plan to manage this ash once the Brookhaven landfill is closed. The one wise choice everyone agrees on is to reduce our waste stream, and this legislation would do just that. The financial burden of managing recyclable waste falls on local taxpayers. Municipalities are struggling with

p ass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act!

recycling costs and outdated infrastructure that significantly limits the volume of materials that are recycled. It is estimated that local governments statewide spend more than $200 million each year to keep local recycling programs going. That is not sustainable.

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would revolutionize New York’s approach to solid waste by shifting the responsibility of managing plastic, paper and packaging waste to corporations, not taxpayers and local governments. Those that put packaging into the waste stream are best positioned to reduce the amount of packaging that’s created in the first place.

The measure would require large corporations to reduce consumer packaging by 30 percent in 12 years, increase post-consumer recycled content in packaging and invest in new reuse/ refill infrastructure. The bill includes strong oversight and enforcement provisions to ensure that corporations comply.

Other states, including California,

Colorado, Maine and Oregon, have passed such laws, and similar policies have been in effect in parts of Europe and Canada for over 30 years. Where fully implemented, recycling rates exceed 70 percent, and the cost of consumer goods has not increased one penny.

It is time for corporations take out their own trash! Each year, companies ship billions of products with excess packaging, exacerbating the solid-waste crisis, yet they bear no responsibility for managing the waste they create. This sensible legislation promises to save money for municipalities and taxpayers, remove toxic substances from packaging, increase recycling and require producers to reduce waste.

We need to modernize New York’s recycling system and make producers take responsibility for managing their packaging waste. We need the governor, the State Senate and the Assembly to support this critical bill and get it signed into law this year. Every year we do nothing is another year we waste money, and allow our solid-waste management problem to grow.

We can do this!

RoRY CHRisTiAn

Adrienne Esposito is executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

We must restore Musk’s cuts of the 9/11 health fund

it is essential that Congress do all it can to fully restore the World Trade Center Health Program. I commend Long Island Congressmen Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota for leading a bipartisan effort to undo the damage, intentional or not, to this program by Elon Musk’s chainsaw cuts of government health programs.

During my years in Congress, no issue was more vital or intensely personal to me than ensuring that all of the surviving victims of the attacks of Sept. 11 — police officers, firefighters, emergency responders, construction workers and civilians — receive the care they require and deserve for the illnesses caused by the toxins they breathed in at ground zero in the days, weeks and months afterward.

It wasn’t until several years after 9/11 that evidence emerged of a growing number of blood cancers and lung and breathing disorders suffered by 9/11 first responders and nearby residents and students. The concern was bipartisan. Democratic Representatives Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney and

ARepublicans Vito Fossella and I were the original prime advocates. We introduced legislation in 2005 and again in 2007 to establish and fund a 9/11 illness detection and treatment program.

ed a rare and fatal blood cancer after working together at ground zero. The chances of this being a coincidence were infinitesimal. And there were countless similar situations.

session, our efforts paid off: Zadroga passed both the House and Senate.

TToday we know that more people have died from 9/11 illnesses than from the attacks, but in those early years, the numbers of victims weren’t yet especially high, and there was no proof of direct linkage to 9/11, which made it difficult to generate strong interest or support outside the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations.

hey’re causing many of the 9/11 doctors and experts to be terminated.

Soon enough, however, there was too much evidence to ignore. Anecdotally, I would see FDNY and NYPD neighbors who had worked at ground zero wearing oxygen masks as they watched their kids’ Little League games or stopped by 7-Eleven for coffee.

Those scenes were repeated across Long Island and the entire downstate region, and there would eventually be victims among rescue workers who had come to New York from almost all 50 states. To make our case, we asked 9/11 heroes to visit Congress to make direct appeals to individual members. I particularly recall NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly sitting in my Washington office telling me about two cops who contract-

The enormity of what was becoming a 9/11 health crisis could no longer be denied. In 2008, we thought our legislation — named the Zadroga Bill, after James Zadroga, who was believed to be the first NYPD officer to die from a 9/11 illness — would be included in a large year-end package of legislation agreed on by Congress and the White House. Unfortunately the combined tumult of a Presidential election and a stock market collapse prevented it from coming to a vote, and there was no opportunity to salvage it.

After close but disappointing nearmisses over the next two years, primarily because of opposition from Republicans in Southern and Western states, I and others fought furiously to get Zadroga passed. I had no tolerance for opposition from the crowd who primarily represented states and districts that received disproportionate levels of federal assistance at the expense of donor states like New York, which effectively subsidized them. Finally, on Dec. 22, 2010, the last day of the congressional

Unfortunately the bill had a five-year limit, so we had to wage the fight again in 2015. This time the struggle wasn’t as difficult, and Zadroga was extended. But then, in 2019, we learned there were many more victims than expected, and the fund was running short. With the bipartisan support of Democrats like then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and House Republicans like then Whip Steve Scalise and Representatives Doug Collins and Mike Johnson, Zadroga was extended to the end of the century. I was proud to be with President Trump when he signed this legislation at a ceremony on the White House lawn.

Now the fund is seriously threatened by Musk’s misplaced cuts, which, probably made unknowingly, are causing many of the 9/11 doctors and experts to be terminated, including program Director Dr. John Howard.

Though the White House has promised to fully reinstate the program, so far it has not been done. Victims are being denied necessary testing. This insanity must end. Our nation’s commitment to the victims of 9/11 must be honored!

Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Comments? pking@ liherald.com.

The new state budget is a victory for Hochul

merica is fixated on picking winners and losers. We use that term every day, applying it to sports, the stock market and every other field of endeavor. I heard it during the trial of O.J. Simpson, and I remember hearing it as far back as the 1960s, when, following a massive snowstorm, some parts of Queens were the last neighborhoods in New York City to see snowplows. Winners and losers are proclaimed extensively in politics, because politicians are tested on an almost daily basis.

Which leads to a discussion of the long-delayed New York state budget. Over the years, when there was an agreement between the three leaders — the governor, the leader of the State Senate and the Assembly speaker — they would all show up at a much-heralded news conference, at which each would take credit for some portion of the budget bill. For the past few years, that practice has changed, because the only person who has been taking the

media spotlight is Gov. Kathy Hochul. Before talking about winners and losers, it’s worth looking at this year’s budget process. The new spending plan budget is the latest to be finalized since 2010. Since the April 1 deadline, there have been 11 legislative extensions, which assures state employees that they can collect their paychecks.

Could the governor have refused to delay the passage of an agreed-on budget and submitted her own spending plan on a take-itor-leave-it basis? The answer is yes. During the administration of Gov. David Paterson, the courts decided that if the Legislature can’t agree on a budget by March 31, the governor can force a vote on his or her own plan with no further delays.

cation, housing, mental hygiene and tax reform. When the dust settled, the two leaders got their asks, but the governor got the lion’s share of what she proposed back in January.

L ooking to next year’s election, she set aside money for every region of the state.

But in the spirit of harmony, succeeding governors have chosen to go through the arduous process of countless meetings and formal extensions until all of the parties sign on to a final accord. This year, Hochul made it clear that she had a long list of priorities, and had no plans to give in on them. She presented the Assembly and Senate with a long list of programs covering criminal law, edu-

With an eye on next year’s election, Hochul set aside money for every region of the state. She addressed subway crime, and sided with the state’s district attorneys on their demand for reforms that will allow them to prevent the dismissal of pending cases. Taxpayers can anticipate expansion of childcare tax credits and many other goodies, including $400 checks for families on limited incomes. School districts will get a hefty increase in education aid, and students won’t be unable use their cellphones from the first school bell to the last.

During a typical give-and-take that is part of the negotiating process, each of the parties shows some willingness to bend on their key issues. But this time, the governor stuck to her guns and yielded on very few issues. Facing what could be a very tough re-election campaign next year, Hochul dug in on almost every proposal she made and

gave little ground, which added to the delays. Albany insiders were surprised at her insistence on winning on so many issues, but she has powers, and used them.

An outsider might wonder why budgets take so long these days, compared with the process 20 and 30 years ago, when spending plans were adopted days and weeks before the deadline. Once upon a time, the state budget was strictly a numbers game. The leaders would promote their pet programs, and possibly sneak in a new program or two. But in the late 1980s, the leaders began to introduce items that were controversial and had little to do with the budget. Wrapped up in one big bill, these nonfiscal items would pass, because the members would have no choice but to swallow the whole document.

Is there a chance that state budgets will once again become just a numbers package? That’s highly unlikely, because all of the leaders have developed an appetite for inserting proposals in the budget that would have no chance of passing as stand-alone bills.

Jerry Kremer was a state assemblyman for 23 years, and chaired the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee for 12 years. Comments about this column? jkremer@ liherald.com.

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aWelcoming home your freshman

s college dorm rooms empty across the nation, millions of parents are preparing for a significant homecoming. Your freshman is returning — perhaps changed, certainly tired, and undoubtedly with more laundry than you thought humanly possible. This transition marks the beginning of a new chapter in your family story, one that requires delicate navigation, open communication, and occasional deep breaths as you adjust to your evolving relationship.

The transformation that occurs during college’s freshman year is nothing short of remarkable. The timid student who needed reminders about deadlines may return with strong opinions about political systems you’ve never discussed. The picky eater might come home raving about kimchi or curry. The once-shy teenager might stride through your door with newfound confidence and independence. Your child has spent months making independent decisions, forming new social circles, and discovering aspects of themselves that may surprise you — and them.

What parents sometimes fail to acknowledge is that we’ve changed, too. We’ve adjusted to quieter evenings, reclaimed bathroom counter space, and perhaps discovered new routines or even aspects of our identities that had been subsumed by active parenting. Your student’s return disrupts not just their new normal, but yours as well.

The first summer home represents uncharted territory for both generations. Your student has grown accustomed to complete autonomy — deciding when to eat, sleep, study and socialize without consultation or explanation. Meanwhile, you’ve maintained a household with certain rhythms and expectations. Within the first few days of your college student’s homecoming, have a detailed conversation with them about expectations to prevent misunderstandings.

letters

We have to be cautious while supporting sustainability

To the Editor:

What routines did they develop at college? What do they need to feel comfortable at home? How will household responsibilities be shared? This opens the door to compromise rather than confrontation.

For many freshmen, college is their first opportunity to define themselves beyond their family context or high school reputation. They’ve experimented with new identities, beliefs and social circles. Coming home can feel like stepping backward, especially if you still see them as the person they were before they left.

This identity navigation works both ways. Your student may struggle to integrate their college self with their home self. They might seem different with college friends than with family. They might challenge family traditions or political views that once went unquestioned. These explorations, while sometimes uncomfortable, represent healthy development and should be met with curiosity rather than defensiveness.

Don’t be surprised if your student spends the first week home sleeping extraordinary hours, eating everything in sight, or displaying emotional volatility. Freshman year is physically and emotionally exhausting — particularly its conclusion, with final exams, packing and goodbyes to new friends. The transition home often reveals the school year’s toll. Students maintain a frantic pace during the semester, running on adrenaline and caffeine. When they finally reach the safety of home, their bodies and minds demand recovery time. Parents should view excessive sleeping or emotional sensitivity as necessary healing, not regression or laziness.

The social landscape for your adult child has likely shifted dramatically as well. High school friendships that once seemed permanent may have drifted. New romantic relationships may have formed. Your student might spend little

As communities across New York and the nation explore ways to transition to cleaner energy, there is growing momentum behind battery energy storage systems, particularly those using lithium-ion technology. However, we must not let the promise of sustainability blind us to the inconvenient truths of our present reality.

The concept of a circular battery economy — in which batteries are reused, repurposed, and ultimately recycled to recover key materials — is a commendable goal. Yet we are far from achieving it. Our current

time at home as they reconnect with local friends or process the changes in these relationships. Alternatively, they might seem isolated if their primary social connections now exist at school. Both scenarios require your patience and understanding.

And while your instinct might be to recreate family traditions exactly as they were before, this summer presents an opportunity to develop new ways of connecting that honor your student’s developing adulthood. Ask them to teach you about their newfound passions. Take them to places that were once offlimits — a sophisticated restaurant, an art exhibit — that signal your recognition of their maturation. When they share stories about college experiences, practice active listening without immediately offering advice. Questions like, “How did you handle that?” communicate respect for their problem-solving abilities and invite deeper conversation. There’s a poignant truth most parents discover during this first post-college summer: Each homecoming from now on will be temporary. Your child’s primary residence increasingly exists elsewhere — in dorms, apartments and, eventually, their own home. The full nest you’ll experience this summer will empty again, with each cycle of departure becoming more permanent.

This realization, while sometimes painful, also brings opportunity. The time-limited nature of these summers encourages making the most of the moments you share. Rather than focusing on the inevitable goodbye at summer’s end, embrace the gift of time together, even if it seems fleeting.

What awaits in these summer months is a delicate dance of holding close and letting go — a choreography that, when performed with grace, becomes the foundation for a relationship that will sustain you both long after the last box is packed for sophomore year.

Wmind: I need? For idents, hospital. the increasing and substance-abuse This sible thanks medical as a teaching educational generation offering As a siela

Fighting for Nassau University Medical Center’s future

when you show up at the doors of Nassau University Medical Center, there’s only one thing on your mind: Will I get the immediate care that I need?

For thousands of Nassau County residents, NUMC serves as their safety-net hospital. It is one of the only facilities equipped to treat third-degree burns, and maintains designated centers for stroke, hypertension, diabetes and vascular disease. It’s particularly well equipped to treat cancer patients, rare and advanced infections and autoimmune disorders, as well as tackling the increasing number of mental health and substance-abuse cases.

This advanced treatment is only possible thanks to NUMC’s highly trained medical staff. The facility also functions as a teaching hospital with numerous educational affiliates, training the next generation of providers to continue offering the gold standard of care. As a newly elected state senator rep-

resenting parts of Nassau County, and as an alumna of the County Legislature, I came to Albany to fight tooth and nail for the unique needs of our community. NUMC’s years of financial disarray, mismanagement by its board and longoverdue infrastructure upgrades directly jeopardized its own future, and the reliability of care for county residents. We knew that swift action needed to be taken. That’s why I immediately went to battle for provisions that actually deliver what NUMC needs: financial guardrails, community input, and future investments in the facility.

iproudly secured $50 million for future infrastructure upgrades, earmarked for release with the completion of the board’s financial plans. With these elements, NUMC’s final budget language will take into account the realities on the ground, while balancing the need for reforms from within.

led the charge to ensure that nine of the 11 board appointees will be county residents.

I led the charge to ensure that nine of the 11 NUMC board appointees will be county residents, as a way to preserve the irreplaceable voices of those that it serves. At least one of the board appointees will be made by the Senate majority leader, an important measure to ensure that state-level appointees are fairly balanced. The final state budget language that I negotiated will also require ample input from the community itself on the future of the hospital as the new board puts together future spending plans, further prioritizing the voice of Nassau residents in this process. Finally, I

Letters

infrastructure for battery recycling is still in its infancy, and the environmental and economic costs of lithium extraction remain extraordinarily high.

Lithium mining is not benign — it consumes vast amounts of water, devastates ecosystems, and often occurs in regions with poor labor and environmental protections. Meanwhile, the lack of cost-effective and widely available recycling facilities means that today’s lithium-based storage systems could become tomorrow’s toxic waste problem.

Until we have robust recycling infrastructure, updated fire and safety codes, and enforceable end-of-life regulations for BESS, policymakers must exercise caution. Approving large-scale lithiumbased projects now, without these safeguards, risks trading one environmental crisis for another.

Sustainability must be more than a buzzword. It requires full-cycle accountability — from cradle to grave and, ideally, cradle to cradle. Let’s not build the clean-energy future on the unstable foundation of unresolved waste and extraction.

These are my beliefs as a private citizen, and do not reflect the official stance or opinion of the Village of Sea Cliff.

BrUCE KENNEDy Glen Cove Sea Cliff village administrator

We must urge Israel to cease its military campaign

To the Editor:

I am not a Jew, but I am a Zionist, in that I support Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign state.

I regard Hamas as a terrorist organization guilty of a barbaric attack on Israeli civilians in October 2023 as well as vicious repression of the people it purports to represent. Hamas must free all hostages immediately and unconditionally.

But the time has come for American Jews and gentiles alike who share these views to publicly urge the Israeli government to cease its military campaign in Gaza. Our voices can be powerful — if we exercise our moral duty to speak out.

Even if Hamas has inflated the death count, it is incontestable that many thousands of non-combatant Palestinians, including children and aid workers, have been killed in Israeli strikes. It is likewise certain that civilian suffering, already acute, is intensifying as a result of Israel’s two-month-long blockade of food and medicine deliveries to Gaza. And any escalation of the war is sure to further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages, accord-

The budget also incorporates an additional $500 million, allocated by the Senate, to the Distressed Hospital Fund. Upon NUMC’s adherence to the Department of Health’s Corrective Action Plan, it will qualify to access a portion of the $1.5 billion aimed at enhancing its financial management and long-term strategic planning.

As a state senator, I know firsthand how important NUMC is to our community and the thousands of patients it serves, many of whom will have nowhere else to turn if this hospital fails. To me, the success of the hospital is personal. It’s where my grandmother sought medical care and ultimately took her last breath. It’s where my high school best friend received treatment for a rare form of cancer. The brave staff at NUMC looked after them with dignity and compassion, as I know they have

done for countless others in their darkest moments.

We know what’s at stake if the hospital’s course is not corrected, including for the more than 80,000 emergency patients that are treated there annually, and the 270,000 patients overall who seek care at NUMC, 70 percent of whom come from minority and low-income communities. Many of them are my constituents.

Now the behaviors that put NUMC in this position to begin with are over. A system that has long been riddled with nepotism, and a misguided fiduciary responsibility, which has left the staff and patients in a state of constant uncertainty, is coming to an end. Now it’s the good people of Nassau County who will have a direct say in the future of our beloved hospital, who will help shape its future financial plan, who will be responsible for keeping the needs and interests of the community at the center of its operations, and who will breathe life back into this system.

I am very proud to have won a budget deal that centers Nassau County in the future of NUMC, and charts a path forward that will ensure the financial solvency needed for it to continue caring for our residents.

Siela Bynoe represents the 6th State Senate District.

Framework by Tim Baker

ing to the Israeli forum of families of the hostages.

There’s nothing antisemitic about opposing Israel’s disproportionate response to Hamas’s atrocities. Indeed, this stance should rest firmly upon the

core Jewish values of rachamim (mercy and compassion) and chesed (loving kindness).

Alex Candon and her briefly airborne daughter, Lilli, at the L.I. Marathon — East Meadow

sieLa BYnoe

KEVIN J. KELLEy Atlantic Beach