Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, Roslyn Heights, and Searingtown
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Friday, October 7, 2016
vol. 65, no. 41
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a blank slate media / litmor publications
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WiNthRop FiNaLiZes MeRGeR With NyU
MaRaGos to RUN FoR CoUNty eXeC
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special section • october 7, 2016
village uses 2-prong tactic on third track Negotiates improvements while awaiting details of MTA project By N o a h M a N s k a R Village of Mineola officials have long been skeptical about Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan for a third Long Island Rail Road track, but are now taking a “two-prong approach” in talks with project planners, Mayor Scott Strauss said. Assuming it will get done regardless of local objections, they will fight the project if plans reveal it’s worth fighting, but meanwhile are trying to make it as amicable as possible for residents, Strauss said in a recent interview. “While we’re weighing all this out, we’re still looking to negotiate — if it’s going to go through and the governor’s going to push it through, well, what could we get as a bonus for the village?” Strauss said. Talks have led to two proposed parking garages, Strauss said — one at the corner of Main Street and Front Street, and another between Main Street and Willis
Avenue, according to the project scoping document, the outline of its environmental study released last month. Mayors of other local villages along the 9.8-mile-corridor between Floral Park and Hicksville say they are waiting until full plans come out before deciding how to address still-uncertain impacts. New Hyde Park officials have only responded to planners’ ideas, not negotiated as if a project they find objectionable is a done deal, Mayor Robert Lofaro said. “Speaking of mitigation at this point is signing the terms of your surrender before you’ve fired the first shot,” Floral Park Mayor Thomas Tweedy said. Mayors of villages along the LIRR’s Main Line were strongly united against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s larger 2005 third track plan, which was ultimately abandoned for lack of funds. Continued on Page 70
Photo FroM “thE WhEatLEy Way” bLoG
Wheatley school tennis coach Mo schneider speaks at a 2011 ceremony naming the school’s tennis courts in his honor. schneider died of pancreatic cancer aug. 23.
Remembering Wheatley coach’s lasting legacy By N o a h MaNskaR
But Schneider, Wheatley’s tennis coach for 50 years, was not forgotten last Thursday, The Wheatley School lost when more than 100 people atone of its best and most beloved tended a celebration of his life coaches when Mo Schneider in Wheatley’s auditorium. Schneider, a former residied Aug. 23 at age 90.
dent of Great Neck Estates, was known for the close personal relationships he developed with his players that exhibited his dedication to them and to the sport, according to his friends, Continued on Page 70
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