HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2013 Long Islander Newspapers, LLC
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N E W S P A P E R
VOLUME FIFTEEN, ISSUE 52
20 PAGES
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
MELVILLE
Taking Steps For Paralyzed Hills Grad Family friends arranging benefit at 300 Long Island to help fund his care and therapy By Mike Koehler mkoehler@longislandernews.com
Melville resident Amy Gill met Dale Ahn through her older brother, Brian. Despite an eight-year difference in age, Amy wanted to be a part of the social group. “I remember one time they let me play poker with them when I was in fifth grade and they were seniors,” Gill, now a junior at Half Hollow Hills East, said. Her mother, Karen, said Brian met Dale in middle school and have been friends since. But on Aug. 14, 2011, Ahn’s life changed forever. A member of Half Hollow Hills East’s class of 2007, Ahn graduated from Boston College in 2011 with a degree in economics. He came home that summer and permanently injured his spinal cord after nearly drowning in a pool accident. Ahn immediately underwent lengthy surgery and had another within a week, both to stabilize
and relieve pressure on his spinal cord. For nearly a month, he was lying on a bed, unable to do anything but stare at the ceiling. “Initially when I was injured, I couldn’t do anything. I was hooked up to tubes everywhere imaginable,” Ahn said. He was able to breath and eat on his own after the first month, but still spent months at hospitals and rehabilitation centers. But there was no escaping the fact that Ahn was paralyzed from the shoulders down, and had to wait to return to the family’s Queens home until renovations were finished several months later. Dale hasn’t lost his sense of humor or love of the New York Knicks, his older sister Lisa said, but does require daily assistance and personal medical care. He has full use of his shoulders and biceps, strong use of his wrists and no control of his fingers or triceps. The (Continued on page A19)
Hills grad Dale Ahn was mostly paralyzed after an accident in August 2011. Family friends are organizing a benefit at 300 Long Island to help pay for therapy and ongoing care.
MELVILLE
New Look Makes Hotel More Competitive Half Hollow Hills photo/Mike Koehler
Senior Vice President for Dow Hotel Company Robert Levy, VP for Global Grand Performance for Hilton Worldwide Gary Steffen, Hilton Long Island employee of the year Kathleen Sabella, Newsday Vice President Paul Fleishman, Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia, Councilwoman Susan Berland, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and Nassau County Legislator Carrie Solages celebrate the re-opening of Hilton Long Island with a ribbon cutting.
Hilton celebrates $16M renovations, upgrades By Mike Koehler mkoehler@longislandernews.com
A mandatory renovation was in order for Hilton Long Island when Dow Hotel Company took over management in 2011. Last week, guests packed the lobby of the Melville hotel for a look at the finished product. Hilton Long Island celebrated the grand reopening Feb. 27 after the $16-million renovation project was completed. General Manager Ellen Ruane said the hotel’s 303 guest rooms had not been updated in nine years and the restaurant was last renovated four years before. Pricier executive floor rooms on the fifth floor had flat screens before the renovations; all other rooms still sported older, larger model TVs. The work was imperative, she said, if they wanted to stay competitive. “There’s a lot of competition in the
area that had a much fresher look. The Marriott, the Hilton Garden Inn. It was hard to compete with them,” Ruane added. The layout of the five-floor hotel hasn’t changed, but nearly every inch underwent a facelift. New carpet and wallpaper are everywhere, the executive lounge on the fifth floor was cleaned up, and the two ballrooms have both been renovated. Guest rooms were also modernized. Every room now has a refrigerator, an in-room safe and personal reading lights. An easy chair and table sit across from the bed, while electrical outlets are available on lamps. Renovations started in April 2012 and finished that November. The hotel was never closed, although large sections were off-limits at different times. Construction crews needed 30-45 days to get through one floor; those rooms were not (Continued on page A19)
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