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adopts budget with no raise in taxes (See
No Increase In Taxes For Garden City’s Adopted Budget
JENNIFER CORR
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jcorr@antonmediagroup.com
The Garden City Board of Trustees on April 4 adopted the 2022 through 2023 Village Budget that included ample funding to village resources while not raising taxes.
“The village continues to fund all the services and programs that the residents want and expect,” said the Village Treasurer Irene Woo. “What stands out most about this budget compared to other budgets in the past is that we are accomplishing this with no increase to the tax levy this year. In the past, the village always tried to maintain the level of tax levy increase to a minimum and never raise taxes to the full extent allowed by the tax levy law, but this year we didn’t see a need to increase taxes.”
In terms of recreation, the village is budgeting funding to address the increase of use of village fields and facilities.
“The head of the recreation department has continued to fund programs to preCOVID levels,” Woo said. “The COVID protocols are relaxing a bit and we are seeing a lot more participation in recreational programs and use of the various fields and facilities. The village has numerous fields, recreational fields, that it uses and also rents out... This past summer the village saw a tremendous increase in the use of the swimming pool.”
Woo explained that the village has a separate enterprise fund for the pool, and when the village was experiencing the height of COVID, it saw a steep decline in pool use. But now, the village is budgeting for an expected increase use of the swimming pool.
Meanwhile, the tennis facility did see an increase in use during the pandemic.
“We’re expecting for the 2022 to 2023 budget to see an increase in use overall of all the facilities and the programs,” Woo said.
As for the library, the village’s contribution to the library in this upcoming fiscal year is $3,123,300. The Garden City Public Library is currently undergoing a children’s room project that will make a space that is open and spacious with dedicated areas for different ages and activities. The project will also bring more programs, books and technology for children who use the library.
“The village has made it a priority within the past few years to fund improvements to the village’s facilities and the library has been a lot of the funding in the past few years,” Woo said. “They do have a major project going on, which is the renovation of the children’s room. That is about a little over $1 million project. In addition to that, there is also an improvement to the whole HVAC, replacement of the roof and the replacement of the fire alarm system. So that is pretty much a big investment in that one facility alone.”
In addition to improvements to the village that residents can see, the village has also funded road pavings and repairs.
“We have a pretty good road repair program in place,” Woo said. “There’s also current projects in place to replace the street LED lights and also improvements various recreational facilities. There is a recent project to improve the senior center and, of course, improving the neighborhood parks and renovating the mini golf course and also continuing to invest in the tree management program that the village is known for.”
Sticking out in the budget is also the water fund: $191,686. The increase of the water fund can mostly be attributed to the multi-year project concerning the water well treatment.
“Because of the levels of dioxin that was found in the water county-wide... the village has been proactive in inplementing water well treatment projects,” Woo said. “The village has 10 water wells and five or six different well sites and has been investing in projects to remediate the dioxin in the water.”
The estimated cost of the water well project is $50 million, but the village has been reaching out to New York State for grant funding. Two grants were approved to address two well sites, a value of $8 million, and the village will continue to request for funding to address the rest.
“The village also underwent an $8 million renovation of the water tank,” Woo said. “The ongoing cost, the appreciation cost, of these projects is what is driving the increase in the water fund.”
The Fire Safety Committee has presented recommendations to the the trustees, such as funding towards the training facility at the Village Yard, three engine and pumper trucks and the final design of Fire Station Two.
“The Village Administrator [Ralph] Suozzi presented to the board recommendations from the Fire Safety Committee, which was appointed by the mayor,” Woo said. “The village administrator is working with the chief in terms of coming up with dollar amounts of what the dollar impact would be [to the budget]. This was a very prelimary presentation to the board as far as where they are today, however they still need time to do better analysis to come up with better numbers. This is the direction the board wanted to hear.”
To learn more about the adopted 2022 through 2023 Village Budget, visit gardencityny.net.
The Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, located on the corner of Willis and Jefferson Avenues in Mineola, celebrated its 101 anniversary on March 27.
The celebration began with a service of thanksgiving at 10:00 a.m. The Rev. Paul Eigensteiner, Bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, delivered the sermon, Rev. John Jurik, coverage pastor presided and two of former pastors, Rev. John Marschhausen and Rev. Robert Mursch read the lessons.
The assistant minister was the Congregation President Karin B. Campbell. Adam Campbell served as crucifer.
The music was provided by organist Seong Ae Kim and vocalist William Flipse Jr., guitarist and trumpeters Michael J. Esposito, Mark Figueroa and Brian Niederman and the choir from Christ Lutheran Church in New Hyde Park.
The offering for the day, $1500, was sent to Lutheran World Relief specifically designated for Ukraine. The beautiful service was taped by Amanda Pagano and may be viewed on YouTube at: Lutheran Church of Our Saviour 100+1 Anniversary.
Following the service a reception for all in attendance was held in the Parish Hall. The celebration continued at the Westbury Manor.
The Lutheran Church of Our Saviour is the home of the Lutheran Counseling Center, faith missions and the Lutheran Braille Workers. Services with communion is held on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. —Submitted by Lutheran Church of Our Saviour
Drag Hostess Harmonica Sunbeam Hosts Bingo At Black Sheep
JENNIFER CORR
jcorr@antonmediagroup.com
The rules of bingo here are simple, but Harmonica Sunbeam adds joy and laughter to the classic game.
Sunbeam, a drag queen performer, event hostess and wedding officiant, has been entertaining audiences for 27 years with their sense of fashion and humor. On April 5, Sunbeam graced Black Sheep Ale House in Mineola to host six games of bingo, complete with prizes of wine and gift cards.
“First game is regular bingo, regular bingo,” Sunbeam said, beginning the game night. “Five in any direction: horizontal, vertical or diagonal... What do you say when you’re one ball away?”
“Yes queen,” the crowd responded.
“What do you say when you have bingo?”
“Bingo, “ the crowd said.
“What do you say when you’re looking for love in a Tuesday night in Mineola?” Sunbeam asked.
The crowd laughed.
“You say has it come to this?” Sunbeam jested.
After three games of classic bingo, the game got more complicated, where participants had to get one square in each corner, five squares in a row on the bottom of the board and then five on top. Sunbeam wanted to spice up the game by having any participants who tied have a dance off. But since no one tied, they asked the last winner of the game to dance for the participants, and they complied by dancing “the sprinkler.”
The Black Sheep Ale House hosts trivia nights every Wednesday night from 8 to 11 p.m., as well as a happy hour on weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
Harmonica Sunbeam hosted the Drag Bingo Night at the Black Sheep Ale House in
Mineola on April 5. (Photo by Jennifer Corr)
Participants played six games of bingo while enjoying Black Sheep Ale House’s
wide-array of beer, liquor and wine offerings. (Photo by Jennifer Corr)
The games of bingo finished with a
dance-off. (Photo by Jennifer Corr)
Winners of the bingo games took home bottles of wine and gift cards.
(Photo by Jennifer Corr)
Harbor Child Care Selected As Beneficiary In Stop & Shop Community Bag Program
Reduce single-use plastic in the environment and give back to those in need in the local community, all while running routine weekly errands at the local Stop & Shop. Harbor Child Care has been selected by local Stop & Shop store leadership as the benefiting non-profit in the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program for the month of April 2022.
The Stop & Shop Community Bag Program is an easy way for shoppers to give back to the local community and the environment as part of the regular shopping routine. Every $2.50 reusable Community Bag sends a $1 donation to a non-profit local to the Stop & Shop in which it was purchased.
As part of this ongoing program, every month at every Stop & Shop location a different local non-profit is selected to benefit from the sale of the reusable community bag. Harbor Child Care was selected as the April beneficiary by local store leadership at the store located at 95 Old Country Rd. in Carle Place. Harbor Child Care will receive a $1 donation for every $2.50 reusable Community Bag purchased at this location in April.
“It’s more important than ever to help reduce single-use plastic in the environment,” said Florence Barbour, executive director of Harbor Child Care. “Non-profits at the local level, like us, need community support. This program offers the perfect solution to multiple issues of the world today. We hope you’ll support us in April by purchasing one or two Community Bags at our local Stop and Shop”
Harbor Child Care is a not-for-profit organization based on Long Island. Founded in 1973, Harbor Child Care works to provide child care services for children ages 12 weeks to 12 years old year-round at its five locations in Nassau County. Learn more about Harbor Child Care by visiting www. harborchildcare.org.
For more information about the Stop & Shop Community Bag visit stopandshop. bags4mycause.com. —Submitted by Harbor Child Care
