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Town building dept. to be audited

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR

The Nassau County Comptroller’s office announced they will perform an audit into the North Hempstead Building Department.

Continued from Page 1 passed numerous pieces of bipartisan legislation that focus on Building Department operations.

At the Aug. 4 meeting, Town Board members unanimously approved changes to the department’s expedited permit review process that removes the Town Board’s ability to override the department’s decisions.

The new process now allows the town’s Building Department and Planning Department commissioners to make decisions on expedited permit requests within fve business days.

The commissioners will also have added criteria to review requests before determining whether or not they should be granted an expedited permit.

Previously, applicants had to meet at least one of four criteria, which included accommodating emergency situations, furthering public interests like job creation or economic development, providing an essential service or avoiding extreme fnancial hardship to the applicant, among others.

Additional criteria on top of the previous four now include the urgency of the situation, potential danger to property and requests relating to improved access for persons with mobility impairments or disabilities, among others.

The new legislation difers slightly from the original legislation proposed by DeSena in April, which mandated the town’s Building Department commissioner, John Niewender, to make a decision on expedited permits within seven days and remove the Town Board’s ability to override the department’s decisions. The reform was initially blocked by Democrats and reintroduced at a later meeting following changes in wording that avoided potential legal obstacles.

Since then, DeSena and Lurvey have worked together on legislation to overhaul the expedited permit process.

The Town Board also unanimously passed a resolution this year that requires monthly reports from the Building Department to be given to the Town Board as opposed to annually.

At the July press conference, Lurvey detailed additional improvements the Building Department has seen since she was elected over three years ago, including more staf hires, ofering extended hours to employees and installing the Citizenserve software platform.

North Hempstead is the frst municipality in the state to use Citizenserve, which provides online Building Department services for residents and can be accessed at www.mytonh.com.

7% released without bail rearrested: county

Continued from Page 2 the same option, but they won’t see that diversion court judge for maybe a month or two months. How many overdoses occurred in that month or two months while they are waiting for that?”

Of the 487 arrested for controlled substance charges, Ryder said 96 were rearrested for drug-related charges. He said the leniency of laws is unsettling for victims as a criminal may return to the same neighborhood.

“We will continue to do our job,” said Ryder. “We’ll continue to make these arrests and we hope that changes come that will keep the bad people where they belong: in jail.”

The victims of a recent incident in East Meadow, where a man was arrested after hurling 27 bricks through residents’ car windows, were also given the opportunity to speak and express their opinions.

“We always felt great and safe and when this happened, I was shocked,” said one resident. “And we need help. We need this law to change, whatever these laws are that help these criminals to be out in the street.”

Legislator Steven Rhoads (R-Bellmore) said the government’s top goal is to ensure the safety of residents. He said the victims who spoke highlighted the importance of this.

“You can have beautifully paved streets. Your garbage can get picked up on time. Mass transit can be operating,” he said. “Nothing else matters if you don’t feel safe in your community, and there’s a direct cause, and that’s bail reform.”

A recent Blank Slate Media analysis of county-wide crime statistics showed major crimes decreased by over 10% from 2017 to 2021. But the number of violent crimes increased by over 16% during that same period.

Statistics provided to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services by the county police reveal that there were 14,039 signifcant crimes committed in the county in 2017 compared with 12,535 in 2021.

First section of LIRR’s new 3rd Track opens

Continued from Page 3 cerns to better understand what changes need to be made to the proposed schedule, which will be fnalized in December, according to ofcials.

“We are pleased to be receiving so much feedback on our new schedules as part of an extensive public engagement process, including multiple public sessions, as we prepare to launch LIRR service to the East Side of Manhattan by the end of 2022,” Butler said in a statement. “The MTA’s multibillion-dollar investment in Grand Central Madison will increase service by 40%, provide hundreds of thousands of Long Island commuters with more service options, and improve both service reliability and on-time performance.”

MTA spokeswoman Joanna Flores previously said in a statement the agency is “prepared to work with the Town” to “provide even more service” on the Port Washington branch, noting that improvements would rely on the town supporting eforts to expand train storage along the line.

Pocket tracks, typically located at or near stations, are a place for trains to pull over and park without using the main tracks.

Nassau ofcials have been united in their opposition to the proposed changes. A press conference held last week in Great Neck featured bipartisan calls for the MTA to maintain the quality level of service LIRR commuters have seen for years.

“Every day, thousands of Nassau County residents depend on the Long Island Rail Road to commute to work and come home,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. “Their new schedule plan makes it much harder for people to plan their schedule. In efect, they’re cutting service.”

Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral said the LIRR is a “lifeline” for many of the peninsula’s residents and local ofcials who work throughout New York City.

The proposed schedule changes, he said, are going to negatively afect the property values of homes along the Port Washington Line, which include parts of Plandome and North Hills. The extra few minutes each way on the train, he said, add up to hours per month when adults are away from their families.

“These are minutes that are going to pile up and become hours we are not spending with our loved ones,” Bral said. “We urge, collectively for everyone… to fght and ask the MTA… to bring us higher quality transit because we’re paying premium prices to live here.”

“It’s also a quality of life issue,” North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss said. “If you have to go into the city and you have to spend an extra half an hour on a train or an extra 20 minutes on the train each way, it’s less time that you have to spend with your family.”

Mineola cop part of Mafia gambling game: DOJ

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“These Mafa fgures were assisted by a sworn member of law enforcement, who helped these gambling dens to thrive by ofering police raids on competing clubs,” she said. “The Mafa has brought untold violence and extortion into our neighborhoods for decades, even threatening the life of an individual as part of this case.”

She said this indictment sends a message of the authorities’ commitment to rooting out corruption and organized crime.

Members of the Genovese and Bonanno organized crime organizations allegedly ran several illegal gambling operations. The authorities said the two families controlled the “lucrative” Gran Cafe illegal gambling enterprise in Lynbrook, starting at least as far back as May 2012.

The Genovese crime family is also accused of running illegal gambling dens at Sal’s Shoe Repair and the Centro Calcio Italiano Club, alongside the Gran Cafe. The Bonanno criminal family allegedly ran illicit gambling parlors at the Soccer Club, La Nazionale Soccer Club and Glendale Sports Club, according to prosecutors.

They allegedly laundered money through cash transfers to the defendants and through “kicking up” to the bosses of the gangs using the revenues made, the indictments said.

Joseph Macario, Carmelo Polito, Salvatore Rubino, Joseph Rutigliano, Mark Feuer, Agostino Gabriele, Anthony Pipitone, and Vito Pipitone are the other defendants in addition to Rosario, the Justice Department said. All of them, excluding Rutigliano, have been arrested.