HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2013 Long Islander Newspapers, LLC
Online at www.LongIslanderNews.com
N E W S P A P E R
VOLUME FIFTEEN, ISSUE 37
The Paramount
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013
28 PAGES
MELVILLE Half Hollow Hills photos/Danny Schrafel
Spotlight
Chazz Palminteri brings “A Bronx Tale” to the Paramount Nov. 1 and 2.
ABronxTale: OneMan, 18Roles By Peter Sloggatt
Scaring People Is Big Business Can you hear the screams coming from Melville? The Haunted Mansion of Melville, located at F&W Schmitt’s Farm on Pinelawn Road, is one of the longest-running Halloween attractions on Long Island. Read more on the scares this season on page A9.
psloggatt@longislandernews.com
(Continued on page A20)
DIX HILLS
Sagamore Patient: They Get Me By Jacqueline Birzon jbirzon@longislandernews.com
Sarah Scott, a patient at Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center in Dix Hills, had a full day planned of activities planned for Sunday, including a trip to the salon for a hair dye and straightening. As he does nearly every weekend, Andrew Scott, Sarah’s uncle, picked up his niece from the inpatient facility to spend the day off campus and take her to her Huntington Station home to spend time with her mother. Since Sarah’s intake in March, Andrew’s 4-mile commute from his home to the Dix Hills center has become an afterthought; an easy, accessible trip that allows him to visit his niece almost every week. “It’s a gift,” the uncle said of the drive. The thought of Sarah moving to live at a facility in the
Bronx—which could happen as part of a proposed plan offered by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) that calls for Sagamore’s closure in July— is a burden in every way, and not only to Sarah and her family. It would not only inconvenience parents, but also the children, who will be relocated from a familiar suburb to a removed, urban area. “It’s traumatic for a child, taking them really, out of their home territory… It’s increasing the geographical and metaphorical distance from their parents,” Andrew said. As part of the OMH plan, which affects psychiatric facilities throughout the state, all 54 inpatient beds at Sagamore will be consolidated into a Regional Center of Excellence (RCE) in the Bronx or Queens. Before landing a bed at (Continued on page A20)
Half Hollow Hills photo/Jacqueline Birzon
Talk about an actor “owning” a role… Chazz Palminteri gives new meaning to the phrase. Bronx-born Palminteri, a character actor with more than 50 movies to his credit, is well known for his toughguy portrayals in numerous films and television series. But when this Renaissance man steps into character for performances of “A Bronx Tale,” it’s a whole ’nuther story. Palminteri wrote the story, which is based loosely on his own experiences growing up in a gritty Bronx neighborhood, and plays all 18 roles in the one-man show he’ll bring to The Paramount for two nights only, Nov. 1 and 2. The Sybil-like juggling act has brought the actor critical acclaim since
Andrew Scott and his niece, Sarah, a patient at Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center in Dix Hills, stand outside the treatment facility before a day trip off campus. Both Scott and his niece said the services offered at Sagamore are invaluable, and oppose the state’s plan to close the center in July 2014.
IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Are Bowties Making A Comeback? A19
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