Williston Park 2019_02_08

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Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown

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Friday, February 8, 2019

Vol. 68, No. 6

GUIDE TO VALENTINE’S DAY

DANCING FOR A CAUSE

NICOLELLO BLASTS REASSESSMENT ERRORS

PAGES 37-44

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Puppy store assault leads to one arrest Altercation sends pizzeria owner to hospital BY J E D HENDRIXSON A Missouri man has been arrested in connection with an assault on a Roslyn man last Wednesday outside a pet store, Pups4Love, in Albertson. Christopher Hyde, 40, of Springfield, Missouri, has been charged with third-degree assault after kicking and punching Rino DiMaria in the parking lot of the puppy store located at 957 Willis Ave., according to Nassau County police. Police are still searching for two other men wanted in the incident. Hyde is not an employee at Pups4Love. DiMaria said he was re-

cording the delivery of dogs to the store with his cellphone before the assault occurred. The confrontation has sparked a social media backlash against Pups4Love on both Facebook and Yelp since DiMaria published a video of the altercation online in which he and store owner Barry Forrest engaged in an obscenity-riddled argument before the assault occurred. In a statement posted to Pups4Love’s Facebook page, the store wrote that DiMaria verbally taunted the man and others from his car, and apologized for the language that Forrest used in the video, calling it “indelicate” and saying that he “let his anger get the better of him under the

circumstances.” “The man who verbally insulted the delivery drivers also made allegations that our puppies come from ‘puppy mills,’ which is untrue,” the statement said. “All of our dogs come from USDA certified and licensed breeders.” Forrest declined to provide additional comment. DiMaria, owner of Joanne’s Gourmet Pizza on Northern Boulevard in Roslyn, said that while sitting in his car in the parking lot before dropping his dry cleaning off, he observed two white vans unloading dogs. The vans had Arkansas and Missouri license plates, according to DiMaria. Continued on Page 66

PHOTO COURTESY OF RINO DIMARIA

Rino DiMaria, owner of Joanne’s Gourmet Pizza in Roslyn, after he was assaulted in Albertson.

Warning given to lock cars after E.W. larcenies BY J E D HENDRIXSON

Nassau County police are urging residents to secure their vehicles. “Larcenies from unlocked Following thefts from cars in the Village of East Williston, autos are a countywide prob-

lem,” a Nassau County Police Department spokesperson said in a statement." Around 2:50 a.m. on Jan. 23, a man walking through East Williston approached and entered a resident’s BMW parked in a driveway on Williams Street, according to a Facebook post and attached video. Entry of the

vehicle, which was unlocked, did not set off an alarm. The man opened and rummaged through the center console of the vehicle before reaching over to the locked glove compartment. The man left the center console open before closing the door to the vehicle and leaving. According to the post, two

other cars were also entered on Roslyn Road at approximately 2:30 a.m. that night, with video surveillance depicting a suspect resembling the man in the other incident. Village Mayor David Tanner and the Board of Trustees, as well as trustees in neighboring Williston Park, have urged Continued on Page 67

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