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Holocaust education bill signed into law
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“With antisemitism on the rise, and Holocaust misinformation exploding around the world, it’s never been more important that we learn the lessons of the Holocaust, and ensure our next generation knows about our history, no matter how dark or difcult the conversation may be,” Kaplan said.
The Holocaust is one of three tragedies mentioned by name in the law and mandated to be taught, with the other two being slavery and the mass starvation in Ireland from 1845 to 1850.
Kaplan said that a recent study by the nonproft Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany revealed that 58% of New Yorkers aged 18 to 39 cannot name a single concentration camp, that 19% believe that Jews caused the Holocaust and that 28% believe the Holocaust is a myth or has been exaggerated. In each of these three metrics, New York had the worst score of any state in the country.
Recent fndings published by the AntiDefamation League found that antisemitic attacks throughout Long Island increased by 23% percent last year, with 32 incidents reported throughout Nassau County.
The local increase of antisemitic incidents refects a larger statewide trend. A total of 416 antisemitic incidents were reported throughout New York in 2021, a 24% increase from 2020, according to statistics.
Statistics showed New York’s rise in antisemitic incidents last year accounted for 15% of such incidents throughout the entire country in 2021. New York’s statistics were comprised of 183 harassment incidents, 182 vandalism incidents and 161 incidents involving swastikas.
Scott Richman, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey, said the rise in antisemitic instances should be a cause of concern for everyone, not just those within the Jewish community.
“The fact that these incidents included an unprecedented number of vicious assaults – frequently targeting visibly Jewish individuals on the streets of New York, including young children, is incredibly disturbing,” Richman said in a statement.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the AntiDefamation League, stressed the importance of understanding history to efectively combat racism, intolerance and other forms of hate in the United States during a virtual forum with Blank Slate Media earlier this year.
“If we want to address racism and hate, we need to make sure we understand where we’re
Town building dept. to be audited
Continued from Page 1 ways room for improvement, be it fnancial with the help of the comptroller, or operationally based on the decisions we make as Town Board members.”
This year the Town Board has 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% of those released without bail rearrested
Continued from Page 2 community walking around as if nothing happened,” he said. “They’re released the same day, making our residents feel less safe.”
Controlled substances, larceny and assault and related ofenses comprised most charges fled against defendants who were released without bail during the second quarter. Controlled substance arrests rose by 77.09%, larceny by 53.56% and assault by 30.56% when comparing the frst two quarters of 2021 to the same period in 2022.
Criminal mischief, judicial proceedings, warrants, DWI-related ofenses, forgery and related, frearms & weapons and suspended or revoked licenses round out the top 10 charges. These 10 charges together climbed from 1,787 to 2,162 — a nearly 21% increase — when compared to the same time frame in 2021.
The three charges with the highest combined totals against people who were rearrested, however, are larceny (up 51.95%), controlled substances (up 18.52%) and judicial proceedings (68.29%), which includes bribery, compared to the frst half of 2021.
The remaining top charges against the rearrested individuals include criminal mischief, assault, warrants, burglary and related ofenses, license suspension or revocation, public order ofenses and weapons & frearms. Comparing the current period to the same time in 2021, the total combined charges went from 2,299 to 2,449, an increase of nearly 6.5%.
Both Blakeman and Ryder connected Long Island’s ongoing opioid epidemic to issues with bail reform during their remarks.
Ryder said of the 3,019 arrests, 440 were overdoses. He said that before bail reform, they would mandate that a person goes to drug court or to the criminal court. In most cases, he said one would choose drug court.
“In the drug court, we would get them help,” he said. “We’re not getting them help anymore. They still have 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 drugrelated 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. coming from, so we know where we’re going,” Greenblatt said.
Social media, he said, plays a large role in fueling the fre that projects antisemitism and other forms of hate onto diferent individuals and groups. Algorithms on sites such as Facebook that are engineered to “drive clicks,” he said, result in the amplifcation of hatred.
“Social media is a superspreader of extremism and intolerance, from Facebook, to Twitter, to TikTok,” Greenblatt said. “The level of antipathy that it enables and how it amplifes the worst voices, algorithmically elevates them.”
The North Shore has seen a fair share of antisemitic and anti-Asian instances and subsequent demonstrations condemning those actions over the past two years, including a hijacking of a torah study event held via Zoom, vandalism on a local high school’s website and swastikas spraypainted on the outer walls of various structures.
MS-13 member sentenced
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Rivas-Majano, who was seen as an enemy of the gang, was lured to the woods near Meadowbrook Parkway and Glen Curtiss Boulevard in Uniondale before being “hacked and stabbed to death with machetes,” police said.
Rivas-Majano’s body was recovered on Aug. 29, 2018. Police said the assailants are members of the Downtown Criminals clique of MS-13.
Co-defendants Carlos Benitze-Hernandez, Jose Quintanilla-Crus and Nerlin Chacon-Ruano each have pending cases against them.
Edar Ventura, another co-defendant, was sentenced to 32 years to life in 2019 after pleading guilty to two counts of murder and other charges for the deaths of Rivas-Majano and Alexon Moya. The Moya death was unrelated to murder of Rivas-Majano.
On Dec. 13, 2016, Ventura killed Moya while shooting at a perceived target of MS-13. Police said Ventura and another man, David Maldonado, were riding bikes in Uniondale before fnding their target and ordering him out of the car.
After displaying gang signs, police said, Ventura fred several rounds and hit Moya, an unintended victim, in the head.
The sentencing is the latest in a series of prosecutions in the Eastern District of New York targeting the gang. The U.S. Department of Justice has described the gang as “the most violent criminal organization on Long Island.”
The gang’s leadership is based in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico with several branches in the United States.
Since 2010, the Justice Department has obtained indictments charging MS13 members with carrying out over 60 murders in the Eastern District of New York, which covers Nassau, Sufolk and three New York City counties of Queens, Kings and Richmond.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Port B.I.D. awards grant to NextHome Plantinum
The Port Washington Business Improvement District is pleased to announce NextHome Platinum Properties as a recipient of both the New Tenant Bonus award and a Sign Grant.
John and Fenella Kim are new to Port Washington but not new to real estate. NextHome Platinum Properties Group has been providing residential and commercial real estate brokerage services since 2005, serving the Hamptons, Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, NYC, Westchester County, Connecticut, New Jersey, Miami, CA and Las Vegas markets.
John Kim shared, “Our mission is to provide the best experience to our buyers and sellers. We put Humans Over Houses. We are here for the families of Port Washington. We want to thank the Port Washington B.I.D. for the support and warm welcome to Port Washington.”
Holly Byrne, Executive Director at the Port Washington B.I.D. Shares, “I am happy to welcome John and Fenella Kim and their team at NextHome Properties to the District and pleased that they were able to receive these grants. Each year, the Port Washington B.I.D. recognizes dedicated business owners like John and Fenella for their eforts to improve the look of their own storefront, which benefts the entire district.”
Eligible businesses, both new and established and within the defned business district, can apply for grants for funding to assist with the costs of improvements to the facade of the place of business and/or signage.
Procedures and applications, along with additional resources for business owners, can be found on the Port Washington B.I.D. Website under Business Resource heading. Inquiries can also be directed to the B.I.D. Ofce at 516883-8890.
The Greater Port Washington Business Improvement District is committed to improving the economic and business health of the Port Washington commercial area through marketing, promotions, physical improvements and enhanced municipal services for all those who live, work and visit our community.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORT WASHINGTON B.I.D
NextHome Platinum Properties was awarded by the Port Washington Business Improvement District as the winner of both the New Tenant Bonus and the Sign Grant.
The Port Washington Times, Friday, August 19, 2022
51 First section of LIRR’s new 3rd Track opens
Continued from Page 8 im President Catherine Rinaldi and other representatives from her ofce, making it known that the town is willing to mend allegedly “strained” relationships with the organization. DeSena said that despite a “lack of foresight and an unwillingness by previous town boards to make compromises,” she is willing to hear what mutually-benefcial agreements can be reached between the two parties.
“As discussions continue between the LIRR and the Town regarding this, I am urging the LIRR to show some good faith and restore these peak express service cuts,” DeSena said. “This can very easily be done by a few minor shifts in the proposed schedule, reestablishing Great Neck as the location for the local/express split on trains to Penn, instead of shifting it to Bayside.”
MTA spokesperson Sean Butler said the agency welcomes residential comments and concerns 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 ontime 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.”
Million oysters placed in Manhasset Bay
Continued from Page 5 will take time over many, many years, even decades. But if you get the oyster populations back, it will impact the long-term impact on the water quality.”
If this experimental program is expanded, it could take years to generate conclusive results. For now, the oysters’ survival rate will be monitored over the following few months. Then ofcials will next decide if the project should be expanded.
The parties involved emphasized that the program is only a pilot. If it is a success, North Hempstead Superviser Jennifer DeSena said the day might become an annual tradition where they’ll plant more oysters.
“A project like this stands to help not only our environment but also our residences and businesses as well by driving and promoting economic development,” she said. “Protecting our natural assets is a top priority for the town and I’m proud that we’re taking this major step today to make an investment in the health of Manhasset Bay.”
If the pilot succeeds, Dalimonte said she is working on another project for next spring. It would entail asking those near the bay to have their own oyster reef in a cage that they look after.
