Upcoming events at the Hillside Public Library

The Hillside Library is partnering with Long Island Coalition for the Homeless (LICH) in doing a Baby Necessities Drive. Needed items include baby clothes, feeding essentials (bottles, brushes, formula) and bath essentials (wash cloths, body wash etc.) Also, diapers. As always, we thank you for your generosity.

PROGRAMS and EVENTS

Fiction Loves History Book Club – 1st Floor Modular Room and Virtual

Tuesday May 2 at 6:30 p.m. The book being discussed is: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. A desperate family seeks a new beginning in the nearisolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature.

Makin’ It Healthy with Chef Makin: Creamy Butter Chicken – All Purpose Room, Wednesday, May 3, 6 – 7 p.m. Chef Geetu Makin brightens up dinnertime with the heartwarming colors and nutritious ingredients during this lively in-person cooking demo. Samples for those in attendance!

Classic Book Discussion — 1st Floor Modular Room and Virtual, Wednesday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. The book being discussed is: The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. “Hailed as one of the world’s supreme masterpieces on the subject of death and dying, The Death of Ivan Ilyich is the story of a worldly careerist, a high court judge who has never given the inevitability of his dying so much as a passing thought. But one day, death announces itself to him, and to his shocked surprise, he is brought face to face with his own mortality.”

Rummy Cube, Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, MasterMind, or Bring Your Own! Coloring books and sheets also available. No registration necessary.

Movie – All Purpose Room, Friday, May 5 at 1 p.m. Join us in watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens on“Revenge of the Fifth”. As a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an exstormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace.

Craft a Charm Jewelry Bracelet – All Purpose Room, Saturday, May 6, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Design and create a Charm-ing bracelet with a colorful leather cord! $5.00 materials fee will be collected at the beginning of the program, cash only please.

Bingo – All Purpose Room, Sunday, May 7 at 12:30 p.m. Join us for a fun game of Bingo! Winners will win prizes!

CHILDREN and YOUNG

Adult Events

Play Hooray – Children’s Room, Friday, April 28 at 11 a.m. Ages: 9 months— 5years (with parent/caregiver). Stories, music and movement activities with Mollie Mouse!

Recycled Garden – All Purpose Room, Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. Grades 5 – 12. Join our Science expert Chris Buchman as he uses recycled materials, seeds, & more to create your very own garden. Grow vegetables, fruit, flowers, & more!

R.A.,

Chairman; Board of Zoning Appeals

LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC

HEARING

Zoning Board of Appeals - Village of South Floral Park

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

THAT the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of South Floral Park will hold a Public Hearing on May 11, 2023, at 6:00 PM, at South Floral Park United Methodist Church, 276 Louis Avenue, South Floral Park, New York 11001, for:

1. Application of Dinaker Ranjan, owner of premises at 33 Kingston Avenue, South Floral Park, New York, shown on Nassau County Land & Tax Map as Section 32, Block 352, Lot 20, for zoning area variances from Village Code Sections 200-10 and 20011.C, in connection with proposed detached 2 car garage and driveway extension to an existing single-family dwelling that will result in (i) driveway width of 16.9 feet, or 2.2 feet in excess of maximum permitted width of 14.7 feet (based on 35% of lot width), and (ii) total lot coverage of 1,384.6 sq. ft., or 288.4 sq. ft. in excess of the maximum permitted

1,096.2 sq. ft.

The application and plans are on file in the Village Office, 383 Roquette Avenue, South Floral Park, NY, and may be examined during business hours: MondayFriday 9AM-4PM.

At the public hearing, all persons will be given the opportunity to be heard. Those persons planning to attend the meeting and who require special accommodations because of disability are requested to notify Village Clerk no less than 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Carlos Johnson, Chairman Zoning Board of Appeals Village of South Floral Park April 18, 2023

Other options for Adults include: Explore Your Angel Guides; Game Nites for Grownups; Monday’s Movie Matinee “The Fabelmans;” Soothe Your Achy Joints with Anti-Inflammatory Foods; and the Empire Safety Council’s six-hour Defensive Driving class.

One-to-one tech help for tablets, smartphones, laptops and Kindles is available for our patrons by appointment only.

A Shred Away, Inc. will be curbside on May 5. No appointments necessary for five-box maximum shredding.

The Made with Love Knitting and Crocheting group meets Mondays at 6:30 pm and Wednesdays at 11:30 am. Yarn donations are always welcome, allowing the group to give their hand-made charitable donations. Thanks to those who’ve already donated yarn.

The Monday Morning Friends of the Floral Park Library Book Club and the Evening Edition Book Club hold their regularly scheduled meetings.

The Friends of Floral Park Library are also hosting their popular Bargain Book Bag Sale this month. The Bag Sale will be held in the Library’s Meeting Room on Sunday, May 21 from 1 p.m. — 4 p.m. Fill a Friends’ tote bag for $7.00. Already have a Friend’s Tote? Then, bring it the day of the sale, and fill it for only $5.00. Save the date, stop by and fill a tote with great bargains.

The Library Board holds its monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. May 10.

Call the Library (516 326-6330) to check the days and times for the Book Nook, as hours may vary. All sales of books, DVDs, etc. support the Friends of the Floral Park Library, a 501c3 organization.

The Library is closed on Sunday, May 14 for Mother’s Day, and on Monday, May 29in observance of Memorial Day.

For more information on dates and times, events registration and program details, visit the library website, floralparklibrary.org, call 516 326-6330, or stop in at 17 Caroline Place. All events and programs are subject to change and/or cancellation.

FOR MORE NEW HYDE PARK LOCAL COMMUNITY AND SCHOOL NEWS, VISIT US AT THEISLAND360.COM/CATEGORY/ COMMUNITY-NEWS/NEW-HYDE-PARK-CN/

Game Day for Adults! – Children’s Modular Room, Friday, May 5, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Spend Friday mornings with friends for fun and games! Join a group, or bring some friends for a rousing game of

Move N Groove with Ms. Jane – All Purpose Room, Tuesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. 5-7 years old. Kids will be up and moving in this class. Kids will be moving independently and sometimes work as a team in activities. Challenging their heart rate while having fun! Come find out what we are all about! Please where shoes so you can move comfortably. Have a leak proof water bottle on the side if you would like.

Time for Kids! – Children’s Room, Thursday, May 4 at 11 a.m. Topic: Hooray for Mother’s Day!

BY MICHAEL J. LEWIS

It can be over in an instant, or it could take as long as 30 seconds.

Two lacrosse players come to the center of the field, with no teammate closer than about 10 yards away. A referee puts the ball on the ground, and both opponents bend down in a crouch.

Their heads and shoulders are mere inches apart; if you didn’t know better you’d think they were about to hug. Sticks poised on the ground on either side of the ball, these two combatants are about to battle.

Suddenly thetweet of a whistle blows, and the two boys go at it. Much like in sumo wrestling, it’s hard to tell who’s winning until someone has won.

Finally, sometimes after five seconds and sometimes after as much as 45 seconds, one player emerges with the ball, a roar goes up from his team’s sideline, and a brand-new possession has begun.

This is the blessed life of Manhasset senior Cal Girard, who might be the best FOGO in New York, one of the best in the country, and is damn proud of it.

What’s a FOGO?

A FOGO, in lacrosse parlance, stands for “Face Off, Get Off.”

Meaning, Girard and his brethren are out there for one specific job: After a goal is scored, or at the start of each quarter, win the face-off and get possession for his team, pass to a teammate, then race like the dickens to the sideline to be replaced by another player on the squad.

Someone who, theoretically, is more skilled, more athletic and more likely to help the team score.

Like a placekicker or long-snapper in football, or a pinch-runner in baseball, FOGO’s are incredibly important for very short periods of time, and often don’t get much credit from outsiders for success

They have highly specialized skills, and very few are as skilled as Girard.

Against nationally-ranked Darien on April 7, according to USALax Magazine, Girard won 14 of 16 faceoffs and scored a goal.

For the season he’s winning a ridiculous 86 percent of his faceoffs, giving defending state champion Manhasset (7-0 as of April 21) possession after possession, and that day he helped the Indians dominate their Connecticut foes, 15-2.

“It’s a wrestling match,” Girard says, a big smile creeping across his face. “It’s just you and another guy battling and everyone’s watching, no one else can get involved, and you win and feel great and then you run off and wait for the next one.

“It’s awesome.”

Listening to Girard talk about faceoffs is akin to hearing a chef talk about food, or a pianist extol the greatness of the 88 keys. He lights up at the mention of the topic.

Girard’s been a faceoff specialist going back to middle school, and now he gives his teammates the confidence to know they’re almost always going to get possession after a draw.

“He’s just a special type of athlete,” said Joey Terenzi, a former Manhasset teammate who now plays for the University of Virginia. “Not many faceoff guys can match up with him athletically, and then you add the skills he has. It’s kind of unfair.

“Without him,” Terenzi added, “we don’t win games.”

Girard’s accolades are too numerous to list here, but he was a USA Lacrosse All-American as a junior, when he scored 10 goals for the Indians and was snatched up by perennial powerhouse Duke as soon as the signing period opened in September 2022.

“He’s a very physically and mentally tough athlete, and he’s a very low- on the field after winning the draw.

“It’s hard because I don’t think of myself as a typical faceoff guy, because I know I can score and push the pace for us,” Girard said. And sometimes (Cromwell) lets me stay on the field and create some early offense. But sometimes I know I need to just pass to Jack (Peterson) or Liam (Connor) and get to the sideline.”

Girard traces his faceoff prowess to childhood hockey, his first love. He said his quick hands and strength learned through stickhandling on the ice helped him when he started playing lacrosse.

By middle school in Manhasset he discovered he was pretty good at faceoffs, and began to take them seriously, going to specialized camps and training.

“The biggest thing is you have to have a short memory,” he said. “If you lose one, or three in a row, or five, you can’t dwell on it. You just go back to the bench and regroup, and think about what you could’ve done differently.

“So much of being a FOGO is being strong mentally, as much as it is physically.”

FOGO gives a team, Cromwell said, is the psychological edge constant faceoff wins give a team.

As in the Darien game this year and in some Manhasset playoff games last spring, Girard won so many faceoffs in a row that the opponent went six, seven, even eight minutes of game time without getting a single possession.

“It’s completely deflating when you can’t win a faceoff,” Cromwell said. “I’ve bene on both sides of it. “If you can’t get possessions, you can’t score, and you feel helpless on the field.“If you’re on the good side of it,” Cromwell added, “it’s a great time.”

With Girard’s excellence shining through the first few years of his Manhasset careers, many top Division I programs were interested. But once Duke, a three-time national champ and regular participant in the NCAA Final Four, showed interest, Girard needed to look no further.

“They were my dream school,” he said. “The academics, the campus, the lacrosse tradition, and then meeting the coaches and seeing how super they were, I was so excited to sign there.” gravity kid,” said Manhasset head coach Keith Cromwell. “He’s very strong for who he is, and he’s very smart. He’s just a huge piece of our success.”

But Girard, as good as he is at winning draws, can do other things, too. And therein lies the battle every FOGO has with their coaches: They’re so valuable at what they do, that the idea of letting them play major minutes, and possibly get hurt, is enough to send the team’s sideline leaders quaking with fear.

But many FOGO’s like Girard are very good in all areas and fight to stay

Girard said people outside FOGOland don’t realize how much practice and skill goes into it. From the hours of watching tape of other FOGO’s he’ll go against, to the physical strength and quickness it takes to wedge the ball away from a foe and clamp it into your stick’s cradle, it’s a job that requires a lot of time and effort.

“There’s kind of a fraternity of us FOGO’s, because we all know each other and what we go through,” Girard said. “I like to think I’m more athletic and have more stick skills than other FOGO’s, but we’re all in this together.”

The other major advantage a great

With his place in the FOGO world exalted among those who know, Girard hopes to help lead the Indians to another state championship this June. With another stacked team filled with other Division I signees, Girard knows that as much as he’d like to do more, he’s happy doing whatever the coaches ask.

“This is a whole new year, and last year’s (title) doesn’t mean anything this year,” Girard said. “I think we’re so close this season, as a group, that we have a great chance to repeat.”

If they do, you can bet the FOGO, who most fans never recognize, will lead them.