Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
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Friday, October 4, 2019
Vol. 68, No. 40
N E W H Y D E PA R K
SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
SWEENEY REPLACEMENT NASSAU’S FUTURE SEEN SPARKS CONTROVERSY IMPACTED IN DEMOS, CENSUS
PAGES 27-32, 41-46
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Public works commish for town resigns
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H O M E C O M I N G C E L E B R AT I O N
Coincides with Clinton Martin pool project lawsuit moving ahead BY TOM MCCARTHY Paul DiMaria, the North Hempstead public works commissioner, has announced his resignation, effective Friday. The resignation comes as a lawsuit between the town and a private contractor over work at a town pool proceeds in Bankruptcy Court. “Under Paul’s leadership of the Department of Public Works the town has completed many successful and ambitious projects of which we can be very proud,” said Supervisor Judi Bosworth. “We wish him success in all his future endeavors.” The town will post the open position on its website by Friday, spokeswoman Carol Trottere said. Earlier this year, DiMaria traded verbal blows with the Wantagh-based contractor Gramercy Group over work done at the pool at the town’s Clinton G. Martin Park. Gramercy Group’s president, Vincent Parsiale, has said that the pool renovation contract did not correctly
represent the conditions of the pool, which resulted in increased costs and delays. Discrepancies between what was presented in the contract and what was present at the site repeatedly arose as Gramercy moved to carry out the repairs, company President Vincent Parziale wrote in a letter to DiMaria dated May 15. From underrepresenting the amount of asbestos to not providing steel needed for the bathhouse, the town’s errors caused weekslong delays that made it difficult to complete the project by the contractually agreed upon date of April 24, 2018, he wrote. The May 15 letter came in response to one from DiMaria informing Gramercy Group, which declared bankruptcy May 17, that the Town of North Hempstead was planning to hold it in default for not completing the project in New Hyde Park by April 24, 2018, and having outstanding work to do. “It is true that the project was Continued on Page 59
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SEWANHAKA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
New Hyde Park Memorial High School’s Christian Riccobono (second, left) was commended for scoring a touchdown by his teammates. See story on page 19.
Herricks teacher contract in the works: Celano BY TOM MCCARTHY The Herricks Board of Education said it is drawing up a detailed labor agreement with the teachers’ union after reach-
ing a tentative settlement. At a meeting last Thursday, board members urged parents to keep an “eye on the prize.” “At our last board meeting, I was pleased to report that the district and the Herricks Teach-
ers’ Association had achieved tentative settlement on Sept. 11 of the transfer of a successor labor agreement to the expired 2018 labor contract,” school board President Juleigh Continued on Page 58
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