Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, Roslyn Heights, and Searingtown
$1
Friday, December 2, 2016
Vol. 65, No. 49
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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW
HERRICKS BOND UP FOR VOTE
NIFA REJECTS COUNTY BUDGET
PAGES 29-36, 53-60
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How politicians give millions to local projects State legislators in majority have power to hand out grants BY N O A H M A N S K A R A new scoreboard for Williston Park’s Little League baseball ďŹ eld. Resurfaced tennis courts in New Hyde Park. A power generator for a theater in East Hills. Performances for children at Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington. These projects and initiatives, along with 102 others on the North Shore, have received money from state grant programs through members of the Assembly and Senate. The lawmakers often promote them with news releases and appear at ribbon-cuttings when they’re complete — sometimes as they run campaigns for re-election or for another oďŹƒce. Those lawmakers have discretion over who receives hundreds of millions of dollars in grants each year through three programs: the State and Municipal Facilities Program, the Community Projects Fund and supplemental grants to school districts and libraries known
as “bullet aid,â€? according to state legislators, their aides and publicly available documents. More than $1.5 billion has been appropriated for the State and Municipal Facilities Program alone since its inception. North Shore municipalities and nonproďŹ t groups have been designated to receive at least 109 grants worth nearly $6.9 million since 2014, according to lists published by the Senate and Assembly. Ranging in size from $5,000 to $350,000, they are meant to pay for projects from after-school programs to road repairs and major construction work at public parks. Local oďŹƒcials have praised lawmakers for obtaining the grants, saying they provide funding for needed projects for which small municipalities could not otherwise pay. “Communities rightfully expect their legislators to ďŹ ght for them and bring home as much state aid Continued on Page 74
PHOTO BY MICHAEL RICHARDS
Reunited Former Williston Park residents who lived on Dartmouth Street between 1959 and 1979 gathered on Nov. 13 for a reunion. See story on page 67.
‘Minimal’ environmental impact: 3rd track study of about $2 billion, according to a draft environmental impact reThe Long Island Rail Road’s port released Monday. The environmental report proposal to construct a 9.8-mile third track between Floral Park for the LIRR’s Main Line exand Hicksville will take three to pansion states that the project four years to complete at a cost would have a “minimal� adverse
BY J OE N I K I C
impact and addresses quality of life concerns for those in the surrounding communities. “Expanding the Main Line is crucial to the future of Long Island and its residents,� Gov. Continued on Page 70
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