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Bellmore • Merrick VOLUME I, NUMBER 2

IN PRINT AND ONLINE

BE M E NOV th 5

NOVEMBER 2013

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Small Businesspersons of the Year

Celebrating Milestones

Keeping the Faith

2

News

Your NewsMag

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Brotherhood Council to sing

ave you noticed that autumn has firmly entrenched itself upon the Merrick-Bellmore communities? The leaves are getting ready to change their colors, the Halloween decorations are beginning to sprout, and The Annual Free Thanksgiving Concert of the Brotherhood Council of the Merricks and Bellmores is coming once again this Thanksgiving.

The concert - a fixture in the communities for over 20 years-- will take place on Sunday, November 24, at 2 p.m. at Calhoun High School. Many of our area's musical aggregations typically take

part in this outstanding presentation. It is a truly remarkable opportunity during the year to hear and see the various high school choirs perform on the same stage.

So mark your calendars so there will be no regret over missing this annual Brotherhood event. Young and old will have an opportunity to have their spirits lifted by song and, have the opportunity to raise their own voices in song.

Ann Burke and Lawrence Garfinkel, co-presidents of Brotherhood, will once again host the program and deliver their entertaining remarks.

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CHSD school calendar at a glance

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riday and Saturday, November 1 and 2: Calhoun High School’s OnTour production of Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale” in the auditorium.

Tuesday, November 5: Election Day. (Winthrop and Newbridge Road schools) Wednesday, November 6: Board of Education workshop meeting.

Thursday, November 7: Kennedy Tri-M Honor Society induction.

Tuesday, November 11: Veterans Day, schools closed.

Thursday, November 13: Board of Education regular meeting.

Friday, Saturday, November 15,16: Kennedy drama

production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night."

Tuesday, November 19: District College Night Wednesday, November 20: High schools induct National Society Honor students. Middle school PTA conferences.

Friday, November 22: Calhoun Thanksgiving Dinner.

Friday, Saturday, November 22, 23: Mepham drama production.

Thursday and Friday, Novembe 28, 29: Schools closed for Thanksgiving.

Monday, December 2: District bond vote.

Tuesday, December 3, High school PTA conferences.

Wednesday, December 4: Board of Education work session/regular meeting.

S

Stop & Shop raises funds for breast cancer

top & Shop of North Bellmore raised $3611 for breast cancer research, capping off a successful campaign recently with the Breast Cancer Walk at Jones Beach.

Michelle Meissner, customer service manager at the North Bellmore store, told this magazine that over a period of weeks the store collected the funds from bake sales at the store, from selling breast cancer ribbons at store registers, and from selling ribbons at the breast cancer walk.

The next charity on the docket for the store is Food For Friends, which will go until Thanksgiving. Foods donated to the store, or purchased at the store, will be donated to local food pantries in the communities. Visit 2450 Jerusalem Avenue, North Bellmore, or call 826-0880.

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№2 | November 2013

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Property taxes rise sharply for many

P

roperty taxes took the largest leap in years this fall for those who did not grieve them. Those who did actually saw their property taxes go down.

Who’s to blame is the focus not only for those seeking office but for the school districts as well. County Executive Ed Mangano fired a volley recently in a letter, stating in it that “School tax bills recently arrived and once again, we all learned that school districts are spending too much and taxing too high.” He added that “I have … been commended by the State of New York for cost-cutting measures that resulted in no tax hike for residents. To blame school tax hikes on the county is wrong.”

But last month Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Deputy Superintendent for Business Cynthia Strait Regal rebuffed Mangano’s claim with a presentation she says shows the schools are not to blame for the rapid increase in property taxes for many.

Regal showed a slide displaying the average tax increases received by homeowners who grieved their taxes: Bellmore, a 2.80% difference from last year; North Bellmore, a 3.69% difference; Merrick, a 2.88% difference; and North Merrick, a 3.01% difference.

For those who didn’t grieve their property taxes and didn’t have them reduced, residents in Bellmore received a 6.56%

increase; North Bellmore, a 6.59% increase; Merrick a 7.37% increase; and North Merrick, a 6.46% increase.

She remarked that any percent increase above the 3.48% set by the district this year is due to changes in assessment, both total and per property and changes in adjusted base proportions. She said these are not the responsibility of the district, but of the county.

Brian Nevin, senior policy advisor to County Executive Mangano, told this magazine a document presented by the state Department of Taxation and Finance, Office of Real Property Tax Services that explains the county’s position.

In Property Tax Myths and Misunderstandings, Myth 2 , Taxes are High because of As-

sessments: “It’s important to distinguish between taxes and assessments. If you feel your taxes are too high, you should take that up with the town board, school board, or other governing authority that is determining tax levies and setting the tax rates. If you feel your assessment is too high, there are administrative and judicial processes where you can seek to have your assessment lowered.

Assessments should be based on market value, and if you feel your assessment is too high, your first step in confirming that is to determine your property’s market value. The best way to do this is to look at the sale prices of similar properties in similar neighborhoods. If you still feel that your assessment is too high, we recommend that you

informally discuss your concerns with your assessor.”

But Regal’s numbers on the total presentation to residents in the Bellmores and Merricks indeed came from the county assessor’s office. Also, because the Mangano Administration stopped the yearly assessment process to slow the grievances, yearly market values were no longer available.

While some sources contend that stopping yearly market assessments have driven residents across the county to grieve their taxes to find out the property’s real value, increasing the grievances, Nevin said the numbers of residents who grieve has remained virtually the same over the last 10 years. Numbers could not be verified by press time.

Guardian Brain’s Butterfly Ball approaches

T

he Guardian Brain Foundation will hold its 11th Annual Winter Wonderland Ball on Friday, November 8, at the Carltun in East Meadow, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Among those being honored this year are Mark Scheeler and Robert Castiano of MetroModes Salon and Spa in Bellmore, and The Golden Guardians Tina Dupuis, Barry Gordin and Dear Little Dollies. Dupuis is owner of Salon T in Bellmore, and co-owner of Bellmore Bean Café.

The mission of the Bellmore-based Guardian Brain Foundation - in which Mary Pallotta, president and founder of the foundation and her husband Michael, grew up in Merrick – is to provide support and services to those affected by brain injuries, including brain tumors, alzheimer’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), among many.

Sponsorships are available.

Tickets are $150 each, or $1800 for a table of 12 guests.

For information call 631-271-3292. Or email to info@guardianbrain.com.

Raffle winners gather after recent fundraiser for brain injuries

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№2 |November 2013

Your NewsMag

Wow, what a blast, let the people be heard! ☞ TABLE OF CONTENTS ● PAGE 5: PROFILES IN CELEBRATION:

Three Bellmore and Merrick businesses celebrate significant milestones RS Jones, Bagel Plaza and Banner Transmission have made successes of themselves in their communities. They tell us why – and how they prosper through change.

● PAGE 8: FEATURE STORY:

Keeping the faith After a significant fire scorched a large portion of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, parishioners are determined to rebuild a more vibrant congregation.

PAGE 11: CIVICS: New home construction underway Beechwood Homes explains to the North Bellmore Civics of their new neighborhood called Bellmore Pointe.

PAGE 12: HEALTH MATTERS Bend Me, Shape Me (..but Fix It) Chiropractors and osteopaths offer new approaches and understanding to ages-old health issues.

PAGE 19: CULTURE Shalom, as Chanukah and Thanksgiving share the week in giving Cantor Dan Rosenfeld of Temple Beth Am of Bellmore and Merrick shares his thoughts on cultural and spiritual holidays overlapping.

PAG E 26: COVER STORY: ELECTION 2013 Written in their own words, read as Steve Rhoads challenges Dave Denenberg for the 19th Legislative District; Ed Kraus challenges Norm Gonsalves for the 13th Legislative District; Tom Suozzi works to unseat Ed Mangano for County Executive; Felix Procacci faces incumbent Kate Murray for Town of Hempstead Supervisor; and Howard Weiztman challenges George Maragos for county Comptroller.

PAGE 38: LETTERS Are we losing are freedoms of expression during this election cycle; Thanks for something new WHO’S WHO AT YOURNEWSMAG - SO FAR ADVERTISING Jill Bromberg

ONLINE Erin Donohue

EDITORIAL Doug Finlay

REPORTING Linda Delmonico Prussen Sharon G. Jonas

The reaction to the first edition of Your NewsMag was amazing. It surprised me and warms my heart to feel the surge of energy coming from so many people.

By Jill Bromberg

E

mails started arriving before I even received my own copy, telling me how much they loved it and how they can’t wait for the next issue. The facebook kudos were great and I enjoyed interacting with them, as well. Thank you for welcoming Your NewsMag into your hearts and homes. A Calhoun student sent me an email asking for permission to use photos from our facebook page for their yearbook. I was thrilled! Young people are joining us on facebook to learn about news in the Bellmore and Merrick area.

If you visit our facebook page you will see pictures of friends, family and neighbors. You may even find your own picture there. My photographer and I can be pretty sneaky, we were everywhere. There are hundreds of pictures from the street fairs, school events and local celebrations. I want to send a special birthday wish to Sadie Salerno, who just turned 107 this month, what a blessing. If you or someone in your family is having a special celebration please let us know by facebook, email or just tap me on the shoulder and I will be happy to put the spotlight on you.

Also, if a business in Bellmore or Merrick is having an anniversary please get in touch with me. This is an honor: After all, your news is our news. Reach out to us on info@ yournewsmag.com or on facebook.

I would like to personally congratulate Margart Biegelman from Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Merrick and Billy Polara from Polara Jewelers in Bellmore for their outstanding efforts and volunteerism. You guys make our community what it is. See page 20 for photos of friends, family and fellow chamber members joining Billy and Margaret as they are given the Small Businessperson of the Year awards by their respective chamber.

On a more serious note, please get out and vote in the elections this season. It is our duty and a privilege to take part in our democracy. Someone once told me, if you do not vote, you still voted because you let someone else make the choice for you.

On a lighter note, this year Thanksgiving and Chanukah coincide. Fun and festivities will abound. Send us photos of all of your holiday festivities and fiascos and we will put them on facebook. I usually take my best shot at making a turkey with all of the trimmings (Martha Stuart I’m not), but I do my best. In close, I wish you and yours a tasty turkey and let the Chanukah lights always burn in your heart.

№2 | November 2013

Profiles in Celebration

RS Jones Celebrates 20Th Amid Changing Tastes W hen we first met Margaret Mueller and Carol Olkowski in Merrick 20 years ago they were coming off gigs at North Bellmore’s The Bayou on Jerusalem Avenue, arguably the best Cajun restaurant on the Island at the time – certainly its most firebrand.

The Steak from Hell could arrest your senses, haul you right out the door and into traffic, it was that good. Plenty of water - or air conditioning - was the pre-requisite for that dish.

Its sauces made the joint rip - not for the faint-hearted or those watching their fatty snacks. It was soulful, creamy perfection smothered on one-of-a-kind preparations, making it one of Rolling Stone’s best new discoveries of the 1990s.

It was also as much about the spontaneity of the eatery, where waiters and waitresses focused on each table at a time and recited the menus off a daily blackboard prepared with zest each night the restaurant was open, and placed it all in an atmosphere of perennial New Orleans Mardi (party) Gras.

They even made up a term for the focus on each table: specialing.

The Bayou is where Mueller and Olkowski learned their trade, alright, learned the values of treating their clientele like family by surrounding them in a warm, cozy, sit-down-and -let’s-get-acquainted milieu. And their restaurant, RS Jones, 153 Merrick Avenue, is where you will still find them specialing, with all the spontaneity and the splendid food smothered in a rich soulful sauce - if you like. Did someone say comfort food? But this time around it’s all steeped in their choice of country-western theme.

“In specialing, it’s where we break bread with our customers,” remarked Mueller.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in Merrick with a big party bash on Sunday, November 3, Mueller says the restaurant will feature the one person she wants more than anyone else on this special day: John Jelanis on guitar. “John mentored me at the Bayou, “she said.

“He was executive chef and knew, when I worked in the kitchen with him, that I could handle myself well.”

“Don’t try to please everyone,” she said he told her. “Find a niche and stick with it, he said.” Sure enough, Mueller and Olkowski eventually split The Bayou to open up RattleSnake Jones. The robust Jelanis split as well and, with his wife Loretta, opened up Big Daddy’s in Massapequa.

She and Olkowski found that niche, country-western with a southern flair, and anointed it “eclectic southwestern.”

We’re always trying new southern ingredients,” she told this magazine, “from Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana.”

Things have changed But as much as its chicken fried steak, crawfish, chili, gumbo, pork chops, steaks, pastas, smashed potatoes and plenty of catfish from locals such as Two Cousins Fish Market in Freeport have drawn regulars and others in at a continually brisk pace for well over a decade, Mueller notices too that … “things have changed.”

“People in Merrick are more health-conscious now,” she admitted.

“They’ll eat more chicken, fish and salads.”

But she added that not only are the tastes in Merrick changing, “so are their needs.”

Growing up in Merrick and graduating from Calhoun High in 1980, she is particularly mindful of her neighbors’ growing allergies, concerns with diabetes and their resistance to glutens, for example.

RS Jones serves brown rice pasta now, with no gluten in it, for instance. “A bit heavier,” she says, but just as tasty. And its menu has asterisks next to dishes that contain gluten for those who have sworn off it. But, she cautions, “Vinegar has gluten in it, while balsamic vinegar doesn’t.”

She notices too that, as each generation of families comes in, their children bring with them more allergies. “More and more children [CONT. ON PAGE 7]

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№2 |November 2013

Your NewsMag

Taxpayers CAN’T AFFORD Tom Suozzi Suozzi spent 8 years as Nassau County Executive spending your money on a luxury office suite and a large pay raise, while setting a record for government waste and mismanagement.

He claims he balanced the Nassau County budget.

Simple math shows all he did was hike taxes and borrow millions.

Here’s what it cost Taxpayers the last time Tom Suozzi was in office: • Gave himself a generous $65,000 pay raise • Hiked property taxes 23%* • Planned another 16% hike* • Passed a tax on heat and electric† • Stuck taxpayers with a $378 million deficit • Spent nearly $70 million dollars on his own luxury office * Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) † Ed Mangano and the new Republican Legislative Majority repealed the Emergy Tax their first day in office, LI Herald 12/21/09, Nassau County Public Records, News12.com

County Executive Ed Mangano spent the past 4 years cleaning up Suozzi’s mess, cutting energy taxes and freezing property taxes.

Vote for ED MANGANO on Nov. 5th

SO HE CAN FINISH THE JOB. PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF ED MANGANO

Profiles in Celebration

№2 | November 2013 [CONT. FROM PAGE 5] have allergies today, cross allergenicity to nuts, for example.” Diners are also more lactose intolerant, she said.

Another striking change over the years is the dining behavior of her customers. People don’t come to RS Jones to eat dinner so much as they come to dine and be casual, she said. “Over the years many of my patrons have come to eat but also to stay for a while, join tables perhaps and just socialize.” They will also come out to celebrate more occasions, such as birthdays and more personal milestones.

It’s no contradiction, however, to say she does continue to see and serve clientele who remain busy.

“Everyone’s schedule has changed, and some tend to be busier than ever before,” she noted.

But regulars such as Ricky and Eddie of Freeport make it a date to come to RS Jones at least three times a week. “They’ve been coming with this frequency for at least two years,” she said. And she likes it.

When reminded by this magazine that she used to recite the

entire blackboard of specials to us at The Bayou until, over time, we could discern what we wanted and have her recite only those dishes we were interested in, she quickly jumped at the opening. “We now have our daily blackboard up on our website (rsjones.com) by 2 p.m. each day so diners can see what’s being served and decide if they would like to come in or not,” she laughed. It helps, she added.

Still famous on its list of events are the annual Pig Roast, Cinco De Mayo, Fat Tuesday and Pie Night, where the restaurant distributes the pies it has baked for Thanksgiving.

Mueller wants those who plan to attend its November 3 bash to remember to bring original RS Jones paraphernalia such as key chains, hats and jackets for free Stampedes, its classic elixir to make any day more interesting.

One last note: Look for RS Jones to roll out a new menu for fall in November. Call 378-7177 for details.

Your NewsMag

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Bagel Plaza Celebrates 50 Years

F

ifty years comes fast for some, as it has for Sam Asatur, owner of Bagel Plaza in Merrick. The store is celebrating a legacy of 50 years providing quality food and service to customers in the metropolitan area. For those looking for first-class appetizers and gourmet salads, look no further: Bagel Plaza has made it its business for half a century.

Bagel Plaza opened its doors in 1962 when bagels were first considered a novelty. In fact, Bagel Plaza was the first bagel store on the South Shore of Long Island. Asatur comes from a generation of bakers, bringing his bagel recipe from Eastern Europe. Customers line up out the door waiting for the hot crispy bagels as the aroma of fresh-baked bagels spreads throughout the neighborhood.

Bagel Plaza now offers 56 different bagels, bialys, challahs and rolls made from scratch every single day. They carry a full line of smoked fish and feature an upscale delicatessen with 14 flavored cream cheeses and 21 different salads with many choices for health-conscious customers. The nova lox is sliced thin, as only you can get in the finest of New york City stores. The whitefish and signature poached salmon salads are suited for the most distinct taste buds.

Everything sold at Bagel Plaza is made on the premises using the finest ingredients and no preservatives.

All of their baked goods, salads and cream cheeses are made to the highest of standards. No cutting corners is

taken whether it is for dayto-day business or a special catering affair.

Bagel Plaza staff is trained to give customers immediate, attentive service. Bagel Plaza customers have traveled from the North Shore, Westchester, Montauk and neighborhoods in Queens for his distinctive foods.

It is no surprise since Asatur, Owner of Bagel Plaza, has known the recipe for success for 50 years. [CONT. ON PAGE 14]

Margaret Biegelman's thorough knowledge of her community serves her well in her flourishing career as an Associate Broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Specializing in residential property sales, Margaret, who has been a Merrick resident for 25 years, has the experience and caring attitude that helps her clients to reach their real estate goals. Margaret has been married for over 28 years and has raised two daughters. She is actively involved in her community, serving as vice president of the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, Merrick Kiwanis member, American Legion Auxiliary member, Bellmore Lions Club member, and participates in numerous service projects throughout each year.

Margaret has been assisting clients since 1985 when she first started her sales career in advertising. In 2001, she decided to serve the needs of others in a different capacity — in the real estate field — and has been helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals ever since. Because of the caring way she conducts her business and the integrity that goes along with being an experienced professional, time and again past clients refer their friends and family to her.

Margaret has won numerous awards over the years for top production derived from quality service. She is a proven high achiever, attested to by her many satisfied clients. "I believe that by helping people and giving back to the community, I will get everything in life that I strive for," she says.

By going that extra mile and exceeding customers and clients' expectations, Margaret continually achieves successful results.

Call Margaret Today @ 516.510.9290 • www.MargaretBiegelman.com © 2012 Douglas Elliman Real Estate. All material presented herein is intended for information purposes only. While, this information is believed to be correct, it is represented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice, All property information, including, but not limited to square footage, room count, number of bedrooms and the school district in property listings are deemed reliable, but should be verified by your own attorney, architect or zoning expert. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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Feature Story

Your NewsMag

№2 |November 2013

Keeping Faith After The Fire St. Demetrios Congregation Works to Overcome, Grow Stronger

by Sharon G. Jonas

vet hat of St. John the Russian – described by Father Fakinos as “precious and irreplaceable,” his authentic sense of joy momentarily dims.

U

nder a large white tent pitched in the parking lot of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Merrick, Father Economos Nikiforos Fakinos enthusiastically celebrates services every Sunday to a standing-room only crowd. Since a fire on August 9 ravaged the interior of the beloved gold-domed church looming in the background of this temporary shelter, the tightknit congregation has endured the loss of almost everything of significance and value - except its unshakable faith.

In reviewing the tragedy, Father Fakinos recalls being notified shortly after the first signs of fire and smoke were spotted by a Greek Orthodox couple driving down Hewlett Avenue. Rushing to the scene from his nearby Merrick residence, he arrived as firefighters pulled in to help. Within minutes he said it felt as if the entire parish of 400 families was assembled outside to witness the painful event.

DIFFICULT CHALLENGE

HOW TO EXPLAIN

“I was in denial and could not accept this was happening to our church,” he says. “It was tragic with so many in tears. The little girls kept asking: Why? How did God let this happen?”

Responding to the profound question, Father Fakinos explains, “No one can play God or guess his will. We can never accept that a war, a crime or a serious catastrophe such as this [fire] is God’s will, but at the same time we have faith that through tragedies God is there.”

The loss for him, he said, was reminiscent of the feelings

after 9-11 when a memorial service was held at the site of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, itself destroyed along with the Twin Towers. The comparison sparks an emotional connection and a way to cope with such tragic events.

“In the midst of these catastrophes we recognize that God does not make these things happen, but is the glue that holds us together.”

Fortunately, there was no loss of life from the St. Demetrios fire, but precious icons, stained glass windows, valuable paintings, detailed wood carvings depicting the story of saints and miracles were destroyed. Beyond their obvious value as spectacular works of art, some were also of great historical significance. When discussing one loss in particular – the centuries- old red vel-

Comforting the children after the fire proved to be the most difficult challenge. “For them this was their safe place to start their week, meet their friends, find comfort from pain and share joys.” Unlike the elderly, many who have lived through wars and witnessed difficulties that superseded that of the young priest’s, the children were not prepared for such devastation.

Seeing “through the eyes of a child” was a way he connected with the younger members to help them mourn and maintain their faith. Many members also reached out for individual counseling sessions with Father Fakinos to help assuage their grief.

In the aftermath of much loss, there runs a strong common theme among its members: that faith only grows stronger.

“Our faith never stops,” said Dimitrios Vlachos, a Merrick resident and member of the church for 36 years. “We go on the same as usual.” For him, one of the elders of the community, his perspective is that “accidents happen.” For his wife Photiny, she recalls the family history that took place in the church –including their daughter’s marriage and their grandchildren’s baptisms.

Theoni Anagnostou, born and raised in Merrick, has been a member of St. Demetrios since 1963 when the church was still located Freeport. “This has only brought us closer together. As a community we have never been

stronger. The donations coming in are astronomical.”

According to George Liasi, a native of South Africa, “Every church is our home.” He says it is an “All for one and one for all” attitude that underlies their faith and strengthens their resolve.

For Kara Alicakos, a young adult member from Seaford, the fire “…has in a way drawn me back.” Attending service with a couple from New Jersey whose seven-year-old son, Jaxon, raptly held candles during their visit to St. Demetrios, the tent’s environment was at first a novelty, but also made him better sense the significance of the service itself.

PREPARING FOR WINTER

In preparation for the colder weather, a new tent capable of providing heating and additional weatherproofing is now in use. The time line for the renovation is difficult to say with certainly, said Father Fakinos. An upcoming meeting with the fire marshal is planned, and what the new fire prevention system will entail, is yet unknown.

Still newer technology will undoubtedly be part of the plan, as back in the early 1980s when St. Demetrios opened in Merrick a fire sprinkling system was an option not taken.

The concern back then was that a small fire in one area could have set off a widespread release of water, ruining more than it protected.

For now, creating renderings, having art experts consider the possibility of restoring some works, acquiring permits from the town and navigating the complexities of insurance are but some of the works in progress.

№2 | November 2013

An outpouring of assistance from the community, especially from neighboring synagogues and churches, has helped bolster hope and provide practical support. In addition to the main floor’s destruction, the basement was flooded by the water used to fight the fire. That area housed the classrooms for kindergarten- through-12th grade students who attend Sunday school and Greek school.

Offers to use rooms for these 200 students were greatly appreciated, although a nearby church-owned

Feature Story house is the current meeting space for educational and social programs.

Outside events, such as one recently at Eisenhower Park, also provide a way for the community to gather and connect.

Father Fakinos says, “The time, donations and expertise provided has been a testament of faith. More than anything, I want to offer a big thank you to the neighbors, churches and synagogues for extending their love and support.”

An experience he had as a young man travelling in Egypt makes him especially grateful for the support of those of other faiths. He said he was astonished when he was told to “… hide the cross I wore under my shirt so as to not attract those who might hate me for it or beat me for my beliefs.” He said it is easy to take for granted the freedoms and understanding we have in America, but that is something he has grown to value.

Anyone wishing to donate to the St. Demetrios Greek Church relief fund can call the church at 379-1368 or go to www.stdemetriosrelief.com

Your NewsMag

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â„–2 |November 2013

Civics

№2 | November 2013

Your NewsMag

11

New home construction discussed at NB civics meet

by Linda Delmonico Prussen

T

he subject on everyone’s mind as the North Bellmore Civic Association meeting last month was the status of the new homes on the former Army base, being built

by Beechwood Homes developers. Representatives from Beechwood were on hand to make a presentation and answer community questions and concerns regarding the project.

BACKGROUND ON BEECHWOOD

Michael Dubb, principal and founder of The Beechwood Organization, said he has been building homes on Long Island for about 30 years. “The homes on Merrick Avenue near North Jerusalem Avenue were the first real estate project I ever built,” he said.

He said his company has built, or is in the process of developing, the 720 homes of Meadow Brook Pointe at the former Roosevelt Raceway, a project in Southampton, another at exit 65 off the Long Island Expressway and another in the Rockaways.

He said prior to starting the project in the Rockaways he raised the land and the homes were not damaged by superstorm Sandy.

Dubb said Beechwood is the largest residential home builder on Long Island, and may be the largest residential home builder in New York State.

BELLMORE POINTE

Dubb said there will be 79 homes at the renamed “Bellmore Pointe,” with 31 homes already sold. “We’re pre-selling these homes,” he noted. “There’s a tremendous demand for these homes.” He said many people from the community are looking for “move-up” homes. He remarked that “We started construction in July. Pre-sold in August, and of the 31 homes sold, 25 are to people within a few miles of the community. The demand seems enormous.”

He said that the company’s “first goal is to reach out to the local community.” He maintained he has only advertised with signs and in local publications to this point. But, he added, “The good thing about the strong demand and strong supply is that this won’t be a long-term construction site.”

He anticipates the project being substantially complete within 18 months and finished in two years. Dubb said that when peo-

Under Strict Kosher Supervision by Rabbi Scott A. Hoffman

Happy Thanksgivukkah 1962 - 2013

Celebrating Over

50 Years

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlap this year.

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ple began buying homes early - before the model homes were finished and working off floor plans only – the cost of the homes was in the upper $500 thousand range. Now, he said, prices are in the upper $600,000 and he anticipates them rising. He said, “My sense is there is a lot of room for appreciation.”

AMENITIES

Dubb said the homes are available in various models and color combinations.

All of the homes have full basements, hardwood floors on the main level, a choice of granite or quartz in the kitchen and bathrooms, 42-inch kitchen cabinets, nine-foot ceilings, central air-conditioning and are energy efficient.

He said homeowners can pick their choice of stone, roof and siding. There are no exterior entrances to the basements - a concern to residents because of illegal apartments. Nor is it a gated community.

Bill Carman from Beechwood answered residents’ concerns regarding soil and air quality, saying that phase one and two soil testing was done, along with air quality testing, and all came out clean. Added Dubb,

“No bank is going to lend me money unless I prove it’s an environmentally clean site.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Civic member Colleen Millosky was happy to report that the Citgo station at Jerusalem and Bellmore Avenues and Park Avenue would not be a 24-hour store as originally planned. It would only be open from 5:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., and be just a gas station and small convenience store with a canopy.

A resident inquired about the status of North Shore Farms slated to be at Oak Street and Jerusalem Avenue. She said a “for sale” sign was still on the property. Civic President Reinaldo Nunez said he spoke with the North Shore Farms attorney and the project is still “a go.” Another resident expressed concern, saying the “for sale” sign had been gone, but was back up in the last two weeks.

Civic Vice-President Stu Weinstein said the civic was concerned that the three homes being built on Jerusalem Avenue near Newbridge Road and the post office might have exterior basement access, which could lead to illegal rentals. He said the approved plans did not include this feature.

12

HEALTH MATTERS

Your HEALTH MATTERS

Bend Me, Shape Me… (…but Fix It)

A

llopathic medicine is the primary model of western medicine we take for granted and rely on to make us feel well when we are ill, to help us heal from a wound or to treat a stomach ache. It revolves around disease and pathogens, but injuries as well.

The American Medical Association is founded on the principle of allopathic medicine, and famous doctors have made discoveries such as penicillin and developed vaccines to prevent disease, all based on the allopathic method.

But residents may be glad to know there are alternative-type approaches to healing the body that have burgeoned to prominence in recent years in the Bellmores and Merricks, such as chiropractic and osteopathic, that now present residents with other avenues to a life to health and wellness that don’t focus on medications as the mechanism for a ‘cure all.’

13

TH

CHIROPRACTIC WITH A BACKBONE

Patient X is a woman who suffered migraine headaches that wouldn’t go away.

“She visited a neurologist and they took a CAT scan, x-rays and blood tests and couldn’t find anything wrong,” remarked Dr. Dana Walters, a doctor of chiropractic in Bellmore on Merrick Road who treated patient X. With nothing wrong, indeed, the neurologist told her to take valium when the symptoms appeared, she said.

But she was miserable, Dr. Walters continued. She lived in dark rooms to alleviate her sensitivity to light, a primary symptom of migraine sufferers. And she wasn’t going to take valium as an answer.

Dr. Walters defines her practice of chiropractic as a “science, art and philosophy” that seeks to detect and correct vertebral subluxation, or stresses on and to the spine. “We have stress even in our infancy,” and stresses of

RE-ELECT

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NORMA GONSALVES

• • • • •

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Repealed the Home Energy Tax. Stopped the Democrats’ planned 16.5% property tax hike.

Passed FOUR consecutive no-tax increase budgets.

Cut $290 million in spending.

Restructured county government to reduce workforce to lowest level in over 60 years.

• Began the process of repairing Nassau’s sewage treatment infrastructure that was severely damaged by years of Democrat mismanagement.

• Successfully spearheaded the effort for a veterans clinic at NUMC. • Secured the East Meadow Farm as the last open space in the community.

• Voted for a public - private bus system saving the taxpayers $33 million.

• Conducted community forums on tax exemptions, public safety, emergency preparedness, Megan’s Law and updates on community concerns.

• Makes constituency service a priority

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Dr. Dana Walters, chiropractor any kind at any stage of life throws the spine into imbalance, affecting the nerve pathways out of the spine and into the body. When the spine loses proper alignment, it puts pressure on the nerves going into the body, and the body will not be able to perform optimally.

Receiving her Doctor of Chiropractic in a four-year program at Life University in Atlanta after earning a B.A. degree in psycholo-

№2 |November 2013 gy from SUNY Buffalo, Dr. Walters began a series of palpations with her fingers to patient X’s upper neck ,where she discovered she had “severe nerve restrictions in her neck.” She worked to relieve the restrictions in her neck with several treatments a week.

She also suggested probiotics for patient X, because she had gastric disturbances as a result of all the stresses she was experiencing.

“I’m not treating anything,” said Dr. Walters. “What I’m doing is looking for and removing the imbalance” that has permeated the spine in relation to the nerve, and “taking away the pressure” to re-open the flow of nerve signals to parts of the body to help those areas regain optimal performance.

Jill Levine, founder and president of Merrick-based Forever 9-The Robbie Levine Foundation, had come to Dr. Walters, also known as ChiroMom, because “I have an upper-back problem I would like her to treat,” she told this magazine. Levine has had lower back problems in the past that a chiropractor had resolved, and ChiroMom came “highly recommended.”

Not simply treating women, as her professional name might suggest, patient Y, a male, suffered lower back pain and headaches. “He was taking a lot of aspirin,” she said. She palpated his neck, finding restrictions there, and

HEALTH MATTERS

№2 | November 2013 worked her way down his spine until she discovered more restrictions.

“He came in twice a week until he began feeling relief and the headaches subsided,” Dr. Walters said. She cautioned, however, that because it takes years for imbalances to develop and manifest themselves within the body, patients should not expect relief overnight. “It takes time, as it took years for the spinal imbalance to build.”

She offered that some patients can actually start the cycle of healing and relief after just one adjustment.

ChiroMom also offers massages by a licensed therapeutic massage therapist certified in prenatal, infant and Mayan abdominal massages - and many other types of massages. as part of a comprehensive health package when seeking and undergoing treatment with her. For information or an appointment to ChiroMom call 221-1212.

OSTEOPATHIC FINDS THE CONNECTION

Meanwhile, Dr. Renee Messina, an osteopathic doctor practicing at

50 Merrick Plaza on Merrick Avenue, spoke of her patient Y, a male welder with shoulder pain who had also developed headaches.

“Because he’s a welder, he has to hold his arc in an awkward position all day,” she remarked of her patient’s distinctive issue.

“He had been to an orthopedist, who found no tear,” the doctor said.

And physical therapy did not resolve all the issues he had, and continued to have. “I treated the base of his skull and his back with manipulations, manipulations that stretched both his ligaments and facscia," the connective tissue and shealth that runs throughout the body everywhere.

After several treatments his pain and headaches subsided substantially, but not before Dr. Messina also instructed him on how he was to hold the welding arc so he wouldn’t face the shoulder pain again.

Dr. Messina, who earned her B.S. degree in chemistry and science at New York Institute of Technology before embarking on a four-year degree in osteopathy at the NYIT Osteopathic College - with an addi-

tional three years residency in family medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital, spoke about the paramount role of osteopathic manipulation in the treatment of patients suffering discomfort.

Manipulation, she told this magazine, can be both direct and indirect, and involves dynamic as well as isometric techniques. What is manipulated are the ligaments and the fascia, or sheath membranes that connect all organs, ligaments and tissues in the body.

At times, when someone comes in with shoulder pain, through testing and stretching she has determined that the shoulder pain was actually caused by an injury to the knee.

Dr. Renee Messina, osteopath, flanked by interns

Your NewsMag

“One muscle group has pulled on the ligaments and ffascia, in one direction and, because they are connected, the effects manifest themselves in the shoulder,” she continued. That’s how sensitive connective tissues and ligaments are to one another in the body, and a large measure of what osteopathy focuses on.

But treating and alleviating the discomfort through manipulation is not all that osteopathy is concerned about. “It is also about peoples’ lifestyles and how the body structure affects its functions,” said Dr. Messina. Osteopaths, she said, have to discover and evaluate a person’s everyday activities to discern how those activities are contributing to the pain – and then offer alternatives.

Dr. Michael Oliverio in Wantagh once told a patient who was experiencing hip pain to move the seat in the car she drove up so the leg wasn’t stretched. The pain soon subsided in the hip. “We treat patients not only with manipulation but with lifestyle changes too,” Dr. Messina remarked.

Patient X had neck pain and was

fatigued. “ I evaluated her and had x-rays done, which revealed bone spurs in her neck,” the doctor said. “I felt her overstretched muscles and gave her exercises to treat the neck,” she continued. But she also had had blood work done, which revealed a lack of B-12 absorption in her body, likely causing the fatigue. Once B-12 pills were prescribed, the fatigue lifted and, with specific exercises on her neck, patient X regained her health.

Dr. Messina wished to point out that doctors of osteopathy also prescribe medications, as they are trained to treat a variety of symptoms as part of the overall curriculum and residency of osteopathic medicine.

“Yes,” she said, “we treat colds, stomach illnesses, lung infections, depression and all other illnesses normally associated with allopathic medicine” while prescribing proper allopathic medications to battle those illnesses.

For some, it has become tantamount to the perfect one-stop doctor’s shop.

For an appointment with Dr. Messina call 771-9797.

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PROFILES IN CELEBRATION

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№2 |November 2013

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dwin Hettinger was your average Merrick resident working at a Lee Myles transmission shop during the 1960s, when an automobile’s automatic transmission was in its infancy. Fixing and repairing manual transmissions, which required the driver to shift gears several times to get up speed, was the company’s bread-and-butter, and it exceled at repairing those transmissions.

But with Lee Myles focusing on manual transmissions and the writing on the wall regarding the growth of automatic transmissions - which did not require the driver to shift at all, Hettinger took a chance at the American dream, and opened Banner Transmissions on Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore in 1963. “It was on the site of where Guy Anthony is today,” Cliff Hettinger, Edwin’s son and co-owner of Banner Transmissions in Bellmore, remarked.

Growing at a brisk pace because of the effortlessness attached to driving a car with an automatic transmission, Banner stayed at the location in North Bellmore until 1970, when it moved to its present location on Broadway to accommodate the growth in his business.

“It has been a great location for us all these years,” Cliff Hettinger told this magazine, because it offers wide visibility from Sunrise Highway and is convenient to those who work in the city to be able to drop off the car in the morning, take the train and pick up their cars when then return home from work, he continued.

But as Banner Transmission celebrates 50 years of service to the community all this year, Ettinger doesn’t mind admitting that things have changed since his dad set up shop. “There are more intricate designs in automatic transmission,” Ettinger said. And with all those intricacies come electronics.

“Computer electronics are used for shift patterns now,” he said, making the job he and his employees have all the more challenging. A transmission is still a mechanical device, he maintained, but those simple mechanics of shifting gears are now controlled by computers.

Now, he said, transmissions brought in for repair are hooked to scanners to diagnose the problem. With sensors installed within the transmissions, mechanics look for color codes and other trouble codes that can pinpoint the issues with it. “Electronics had made everything more efficient,” he said.

What hasn’t changed is the precision – and muscle – often needed to remove and reinstall the transmissions from the car once the problem has been detected and fixed. This magazine witnessed a transmission being prepared for re-installment, in which the mechanics said it will take a lot of work to set the transmission in just right, lifting, turning, measuring, adjusting and readjusting – often several times, as there was little room for error.

A Calhoun graduate, Hettinger said he is served well by managers Steve Walczyk, a Mepham graduate, Christopher Sweeney and his mother Florence, the bookkeeper.

“I want everyone in the Bellmores to know it has been a good 50 years in the community, and I wish to thank every one of you who have been loyal customers to us for all these years.”

He said he will continue to serve the communities as long as the communities want to retain his services. Throughout this celebratory year he has been holding sales and specials as a way of thanking everyone for their business.

For your transmission needs contact Banner Transmission at 221-9459, or visit them at 2765 Broadway, Bellmore.

№2

Your NewsMag

15

On Tuesday, November 5th VOTE

TEAM

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MURRAY

KATE

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Building the Economy—

Hempstead Town is moving ahead with a $50 million job-boosting construction and road improvement program. Kate Murray’s government is partnering with the private sector to redevelop our town.

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№2 |November 2013

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SCHOOLS

â„–2 | November 2013

SCHOOLS NewsMag

17

Mepham Seniors Uncover the Past with Alumni Interviews

L

ast month Mepham High School seniors had the opportunity to interview Mepham alumni from the 1940s through the 1960s as part of their Uncovering the Past history elective. students listened to stories from the alumni about growing up in the Bellmore-Merrick community and attending Mepham in its earlier years.

The students videotaped their interview sessions in order to preserve the stories of the alumni for future generations. Students marveled that while Mepham has certainly changed over the years, there is one thing that has remained the same – the immense Pirate pride shared by all who have walked its halls.

The participants walked away with a newfound appreciation for the rich history of Mepham and all those who came before them.

The elective provides students with a distinct opportunity to research the history of their school. Through the study of artifacts and newspapers preserved by the Mepham Alumni Association, the students research the growth and development of Mepham, influential figures, historic moments and famous graduates from the last 75 years.

From left, seniors Lena Diller, Kaitlyn Connelly and Jennifer Borzym of Mepham had an opportunity to interview alumna Maggie Hennessy (second from right) during a special activity in their Uncovering the Past elective class.

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SENIORS

Your NewsMag

Residents Flock to Senator Fuschillo’s Golden Gathering N

early 1000 residents from Nassau and Suffolk Counties came to the Freeport Recreation Center recently to participate in Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr.’s annual Golden Gathering.

Over 100 exhibitors from government and non-profit agencies provided information to residents about a variety of issues, including health and nutrition, insurance, public safety, and consumer protection.

Residents were able to get free blood pressure, hearing, and chiropractic screenings, as well as no out- of-pocket cost flu and pneumonia vaccinations provided by NuHealth. Mammograms were also offered by NuHealth. Residents were also

able to obtain or renew a passport through the Town of Hempstead’s Mobile Passport.

Entertainment was provided by students from the Freeport High School Select Chorale, the Freeport Community Chorale, and Ms. New York Senior America Virginia Werner.

“The Golden Gathering provides a host of different services all in one place. Whether it was free health screenings, information about programs, or other services, there was something for everyone to take advantage of,” said Senator Fuschillo (R-Merrick). “I’m pleased that so many individuals were able to participate in the program and utilize the resources that were offered.”

Residents who were unable

№2 |November 2013

DON'T FORGET TO ... FALL BACK!

Senator Fuschillo speaks with one of the many residents who attended his annual Golden Gathering. to attend Senator Fuschillo’s Golden Gathering but would like more information about the programs and services that were offered can call Senator Fuschillo’s office at 882-0630 or email him through his website, fuschillo.nysenate.gov.

Y

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Call today or visit us online to discover how The Geller Dental Group can make you smile!

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CULTURE

№2 | November 2013

Your NewsMag

19

Shalom, as Chanukah and Thanksgiving are celebrated together

by Cantor Dan Rosenfeld

T

hanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. What greater celebration of American values and virtues than football and the much-anticipated feast with friends and loved ones as symbols of our country’s bounty?

My mother’s Thanksgiving dinner was the “stuffing” of legend. Our table always included several of my parents’ foreign students who were unable to return home during the short break. I was happy to be able to share this uniquely American holiday with them.

This year, Thanksgiving coincides with Chanukah. This is a rare occasion in the Jewish calendar, and one that won’t occur for many years to come. On a personal level, I consider it a fitting coincidence. Chanukah has become a time for

me to give thanks that as a Jew in America, I’m privileged and able to appreciate both my religious and national heritage.

I also enjoy the seasons of Thanksgiving and Chanukah because of their emphasis on celebration and music.

There is no end of concerts and performances in all venues and of all styles at this time of year, especially in the New York area.

The onset of the Christmas season includes some of the greatest choral works ever written, many of which I was privileged to sing with numerous choirs from the time of high school on.

This time of year reminds me of yet another element for which I’m grateful, and which I believe is unique to my generation. As a latter-end member of the baby boomer era I’m part of the generation that truly became the

melting pot, even when it boiled over on occasion. Differences did and still exist. But they needn’t divide as before.

My generation found a special bond through the art, literature and music that distinguishes us. I’m especially aware of this when I practice with my band as we play through tunes by the Allman Brothers, Three Dog Night Johnny Rivers, the

Doors and a slew of other groups with whom my peers are very familiar.

Every generation has its signature cultural icons. Yet I will always believe, however subjectively, that my generation was able to unify more solidly than any yet. I see it continuing in my son’s era, particularly now that he’s an adolescent.

In this season of joy, I hope and pray that we all can continue to partake of the bounty put before us in America.

And for those who have not been as fortunate to partake of it, I pray that they will be able to do so this season and all others to come.

With Peace and Love, Temple Beth Am of Merrick and Bellmore

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Your NewsMag

Bill Polara of Polara Jewelers

Chambers of Commerce

â„–2 |November 2013

Margaret Biegelman of Douglas Elliman Real Estate

Your NewsMag congratulates Bill Polara and Margaret Biegelman for becoming The Bellmores and The Merricks Small Businesspersons of the Year.

№2 | November 2013

Your NewsMag

JACALYN ISOLA

Happy Hanurfkkualh and a Wonde Thanksgiving to All © 2013 Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

Equal Housing Opportunity.

ELLEN BAUER

Executive Vice President

ERICA SCHULTIS

Assistant Manager

21

22

Your NewsMag

â„–2 |November 2013

Schools

№2 | November 2013

Your NewsMag

23

Mepham and Kennedy Come Together for Breast Cancer Awareness

T

he Mepham and Kennedy High School communities united for a special breast cancer awareness football game last month as part of an ongoing effort to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Everyone in attendance, from spectators and teachers to players, cheerleaders and kickline members, wore pink to recognize the cause. Both schools, as well as Calhoun,

worked diligently throughout the month to spread awareness and raise money for breast cancer research.

All proceeds from concessions, raffle baskets and the sale of specially made “Let’s Tackle This Together” T-shirts will help fund the Adelphi NY Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program.

“It is wonderful to see the community come together to support such a important cause,” said Superin-

Rosemarie DiChiara Licensed Associate Broker CBR,SRES,CDPE,CLHMS

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tendent of Schools John DeTommaso. “Students, staff and community throughout the district have worked hard to raise money for breast cancer research.

I sincerely thank each and every one of them for their dedication.”

State Senator Charles Fuschillo was also honored at the game for his role in procuring a $96,000 grant that secured a set of new bleachers on the visitor’s side of Mepham’s field.

Members of the district, building administrators and the Board of Education, as well as state Assemblyman David McDonough and Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, were on hand to support the community-focused activity and thank Sen. Fuschillo for his efforts. Mepham Principal Michael Harrington presented Sen. Fuschillo with a football to express the school’s appreciation of the new bleachers.

Football players from Kennedy don pink socks and towels to support breast cancer awareness during a special game with Mepham High School

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olts fans cheered Calhoun High School football team as they took on Elmont Memorial High School late last month’s homecoming.

Through the week, students showed their school spirit through several themed days, including Pajama Day on Tuesday, Pink Day for breast cancer awareness on Wednesday, Twin Day on Thursday and Calhoun Colt Day on Friday. On the evening of Oct. 18, Calhoun held its annual pep rally. All of the school’s sports teams were introduced during the rally, with members of the kickline, cheerleaders and band delivering several performances. Landon Cooper and Jenny McElwain were crowned homecoming king and queen.

“We preach community. We preach doing things together and supporting each other,” said Principal David Seinfeld.

“When you have something like Spirit Week, it is about coming together as one community spirited for the same cause.

Again, whether it is supporting breast cancer awareness or team spirit, it is about doing it together.”

School Homecoming

Calhoun Comes Home

№2 |November 2013

â„–2 | November 2013

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№2 |N ELECTIONS: 19th Legislative District Steve Rhoads Campaigning to Dave Denenberg Runs Make Government Efficient

26

ovember 2013

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on Proven Record

I

f you ask Steve Rhoads why he’s running for the Nassau County’s 19th Legislative District against 14-year incumbent Dave Denenberg, his answer is simple, “Somebody has to stand up for the taxpayers – the people who pay the bills in this county, and Dave Denenberg is not getting it done.”

Rhoads, an attorney and a 21-year veteran of the Wantagh Volunteer Fire Department, points to his own firehouse to make his point. “I’m the captain of an engine company and in my department we have several young members. You look at them and you realize that a few years from now, when it becomes time for them to buy a house and raise a family, the chance they’re going to be able to live here is pretty slim. Seniors are being forced out of communities they helped to build by high taxes, and for those of us in between, it’s a monthly battle to make ends meet that too many families are losing.”

“Government shouldn’t be using homeowners as ATMs every time it wants to spend more,” Rhoads continued, “and Legislator Denenberg’s property tax and spending increases, which he voted for when the Democrats had control of the Legislature, are a suffocating burden on middle-class families.”

“I give him credit for being active and involved in his community as I am and will be, but it’s a little disingenuous to travel around the district for photo op after photo op with your constituents, while your votes out of the district in Mineola are forcing those same constituents out of their homes,” he said.

Rhoads argues that Nassau County must take steps to grow our economy rather than raise taxes. “We should be following Ed Mangano’s lead in attracting business and hi-tech industry into Nassau County so we can expand our commercial base, generate economic activity and create jobs. We should be making it easier for small businesses, which populate our downtowns and who create 70% of the jobs in this county, to do business. We should be putting our fiscal house in order by cutting spending, paying our outstanding bills and balancing our budget just like every Nassau family,” Rhoads stated.

“Legislator Denenberg’s refusal to support three consecutive ‘No Tax Increase’

L balanced budgets introduced by County Executive Mangano, tells me that in the fight between bigger government and Nassau families, Legislator Denenberg will choose bigger government every time, until the voters do something about it on November 5th, Rhoads said.

Steve Rhoads was raised in Wantagh and attended Wantagh public schools, graduating in 1987. He received his BA degree from the State University at Albany, and returned home to attend Hofstra Law School, graduating in 1994. He has knowledge of the workings of county government from his time as a county attorney.

Rhoads served as deputy bureau chief of the Bureau of Tort and Civil Rights Litigation, where he defended the NCPD and DA’s office in cases for false arrest and malicious prosecution, and defended all county agencies in a wide range of civil matters. He moved to the private sector in 1999, and is now a trial attorney with Grey & Grey in Farmingdale, which handles workers compensation, social security disability and personal injury matters.

In addition to his service with the Wantagh Fire Department, he is a member of the Bellmore Knights of Columbus, Wantagh Kiwanis, Sons of Italy, Brehon Law Society, Nassau County Bar Association and a host of other community organizations. Steve and his wife of 18 years, Linda, even ran the Youth Ministry program for St. Barnabas the Apsotle Parish in Bellmore, where they are active Parish members.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve my community and help to restore Nassau County as an affordable place to live, work and raise a family,” Rhoads concluded.

egislator Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) has served in the Nassau Legislature since 2000 and represents District 19, which includes Bellmore, Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford and parts of Freeport and North Merrick. Dave is the ranking member of the Finance and Public Works committees and a member of the Public Safety, Government Services & Operations, and Planning, Development & the Environment and Budget Review committees.

Denenberg is known as the most independent and hardest working legislator. During and after Superstorm Sandy, Dave was all over his district, starting in the LIPA substation, demanding attention and assistance for the hard-hit South Shore. To prevent gas shortages in the event of future power outages, Denenberg proposed legislation requiring each gas station to have an alternative power supply.

He continues to fight for families still struggling to recover from Sandy and has urged government agencies, such as FEMA and NY Rising, to immediately release funds so that residents can rebuild and move forward.

Denenberg is a proponent of public works projects and tax exemptions to improve quality of life and provide much-needed assistance for residents. He secured funding for downtown revitalization projects, economic development zones, playgrounds, ball fields and courts and improvements to Nassau County park facilities. He sponsored bills to provide partial tax exemptions for Cold War veterans, alternative energy,

sponsive and effective government with honest, open leadership to secure Nassau’s long-term viability, sustainability and affordability.

volunteer firefighters and EMT workers and first-time homebuyers.

Most of all, Deneneberg is a champion of smart growth and creating job opportunities. His policies will reduce our taxes by expanding business and residential opportunities and expand our revenue base while keeping young people here.

As the legislature’s environmental leader, he created the Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee and green loans program, emission controls on power plants and solar panel tax credits. Dave authored voter referendums in 2004 and 2006, which secured $50 and $100 million environmental bonds, respectively, to save Nassau’s open spaces, protect Nassau’s water resources and improve Nassau’s parks and preserves. In 2007, Legislator Denenberg crafted - and the Legislature approved - $700 million in capital improvements for the county’s sewage treatment plants.

Denenberg is a strong leader with the integrity to make difficult decisions. He is an independent leader who works for the people and not the party. Looking to the future, he wants to create and implement solutions to Nassau County’s problems. He envisions an accessible, re-

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Successfully fought consolidation of the First (Baldwin) and Seventh (Seaford) Precincts and warned the Mangano administration about flooding issues at the Seventh Precinct.

As chairman of the Public Works Committee in 2008 and 2009, funded capital plans with over $400 million in projects for Nassau’s sewage treatment plants, including enhanced odor control, new screens, tanks, gravity belt thickeners and contaminant removal. Then, held quarterly oversight hearings on the status of capital projects. Since 2010, no such hearings have been held and essential projects such odor control enhancements have not been implemented.

Fought for and approved all Sandy-related projects, including over $700 million for Nassau’s sewage treatment plants.

Sponsored legislation requiring gas stations to have an alternate power source in the event of a massive electrical power outage.

Proposed a law requiring insurers to pay claims within 30 days or be subject to a fine and lawsuit for bad faith denials. Republicans refused to put this bill up for a vote.

Opposed, over the administration’s and majority’s reckless borrowing for operating expenses, $100 million in fee/tax increases and imposing both toilet and certiorari taxes on schools and fire departments, which residents would pay.

â„–2 | November 2013

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Elections: 13th Legislative District

Ed Kraus Runs for Th 13 Legislative District

Norma Gonsalves Asks for your Continued Trust

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ifelong North Bellmore resident Ed Kraus is running for Nassau County Legislator in the 13th Legislative District.

Growing up, Kraus attended North Bellmore schools, graduating from Chaminade High School and continuing on to Nassau Community College. After college, he went on to attend and graduate from the New York State Fire Academy, becoming a career firefighter for the Village of Garden City, where he has been since 2004.

Kraus is also a member of the International Association of Firefighters Local 1588 and the Nassau County Professional Firefighters Association.

In 2000, Kraus become a member of the North Bellmore Fire Department, where he served as Lieutenant from 2004 to 2007, Captain from 2007 to 2008 and Chief from

2008 to 2012. In 2013 he began serving as the North Bellmore Fire Commissioner.

In addition, he is the Chairman of the Executive Board of Nassau County Sixth Battalion Fire Chiefs Association, where he has been a member since 2010. The Sixth Battalion consists of Bellmore, East Meadow, Levittown, Massapequa, Merrick, North Bellmore, North Massapequa, North Merrick, Seaford and Wantagh fire departments.

Since 2008, Kraus has been the Second Deputy Chief Instructor of the Nassau County Fire Service Academy. He is also a member of the Nassau County, New York State and International Associations of Fire Chiefs. In 2009 Kraus purchased a house in North Bellmore where he lives with his wife – also a lifelong North Bellmore resident - and their two sons.

№2 |November 2013

am seeking re-election as Nassau Legislator in the 13th Legislative District. I have represented the district since 1998, and I have been the Presiding Officer of the Legislature since 2012.

The biggest issue facing Nassau residents is high taxes. If re-elected, I will continue to pass No-Tax-Increase budgets as I have since the Republicans regained the majority on the Legislature in 2010. I have also eliminated 16.5% in proposed property tax increases, repealed the 2.5% Home Energy Tax and stopped the Fast Food Tax. I plan to continue to listen to constituents and do all that I can to minimize the Nassau tax burden on them.

In addition to holding the line on property taxes, I am proud of the Veterans Clinic I helped to bring to Nassau University Medical Center. After 10 years of hard work, the clinic opened in 2011. The clinic contains a state-of-the-art triage center, 14 new exam rooms and exemplary doctors dedicated solely to Nassau veter-

ans. The clinic is expected to serve 5,000 veterans every year.

Another recent accomplishment i reconvening of the Nassau County Cancer Task Force. The objective of the task force is to promote awareness of cancer treatments and services for patients and families throughout Nassau County. Additionally, I am proud of work to preserve the “Friendly Farms” farmland on Merrick Avenue. Through funding from the county’s Environmental Bond Act, we were able to purchase the property and maintain it as open space. It serves as a community garden open to all and operated by the Cornell Cooperative Extension.

As always, I will continue to make constituent service a top priority of my office. Another concern of residents is the lack of jobs in Nassau. I am pleased to be a part of the recent agreement to renovate the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Nassau will have a first-class entertainment venue at no cost to the taxpayers,

and approximately 3,500 new jobs in construction and retail.

The condition of the county’s sewage system is also a major issue facing the county. Both the Bay Park Sewer Treatment Plant and the Cedar Creek Plant were in dire condition in 2010 when my colleagues and I gained control of the legislature. We investigated the plants and invested millions into bringing them to code. Thankfully, we did this before Superstorm Sandy hit. Sandy ravaged the Bay Park Plant, which services approximately 500,000 residents. We need to harden the facility to prepare it for future disasters so we don’t face the same problems again. The county executive has proposed a plan to repair the plant, and I support it. I have also fought for an ocean outflow pipe to help protect our waterways from the plant’s effluent.

Please get out and vote on November 5 th. You can find me on the Republican, Independence and Tax Revolt lines.

â„–2 | November 2013

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№2 |N 2013 Elections: County Executive Suozzi Seeks to Reprise Past Successes Mangano Wants to Make

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n 2001, when Nassau County voters elected Tom Suozzi to take over from Republican County Executive Tom Gulotta, Nassau’s government was in dire straits: debt, deficits, patronage, mismanagement, finances one step above junk bond status, and a control board in place to control the finances. Nassau was labeled the worst run county in America.

Tom Suozzi ran for county executive to bring real leadership to Nassau County and fix its finances—and he showed he was up to the challenge.

“The man who spearheaded Nassau’s remarkable turnaround from the brink of financial disaster.” Governing Magazine 2005 In his tenure as Nassau’s chief executive, Suozzi turned the county’s finances around. Under his watch Nassau experienced 13 straight credit rating upgrades (more than any other American state, county, town or municipality in the same period), eight straight balanced budgets with eight verified surpluses, spending kept below the rate of inflation every year, and an 11% cut in the county workforce (over 1,000 jobs) without a single layoff.

Further, he did not increase property taxes for six years while holding the budgets to roughly $1.6 billion during those six years.

Suozzi also innovated and modernized Nassau County government. He updated decades-old equipment and facility of the county’s data systems, identified 76 storerooms throughout the county and surplused the obsolete equipment, reserved and renovated the Executive and Legislative Building, reduced county take-home vehicles, created a central information technology department, saved $1billion on smart government initiatives, signed a prevailing wage bill into law and created lasting, affordable labor contracts.

Next, Tom targeted property taxes.

In 2004 Tom founded FixAlbany.com, a statewide campaign to link the dysfunction of NYS government to local property taxes. In Nassau he reduced the county share of total household tax obligation from 22.7% to 16.4%—making it more affordable for Nassau families to live here.

In 2008, state Governors Spitzer and Paterson appointed Suozzi to serve as Chairman of the NYS Commission on Property Tax Relief, and Tom was the original proponent of New York

ovember

State’s property tax cap that Governor Cuomo recently signed into law.

Nassau was finally on the right track—and even people outside of Nassau started noticing. “[Tom Suozzi] is the prime reformer for cutting taxes and putting the county economy on solid footing.” New York Times 2009 In 2008, Governing Magazine named Suozzi National Public Official of the year, and the American Association of Public Administrators awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Award.

Tom received New York University’s 2006 Rudin Center for Transportation Policy Outstanding Achievement Award from his time serving as chairman of the NY Metropolitan Transit Council, where he helped develop the first comprehensive downstate transportation plan. In 2008, the New York State League of Conservation Voters named Suozzi their “Environmentalist of the year.”

But Tom didn’t stop there.

“Tom Suozzi is still unchallenged in his ability to articulate a vision for the new suburbia.”

Newsday 2008 Suozzi presented a vision for Nassau’s future: downtown revitalization, smart growth development and green initiatives would transform Nassau into the ideal suburb for us and for the next generation. He was never satisfied with “how have we done this in the past;” he has always strived to make Nassau better for the future.

Suozzi is now running for Nassau County Executive once more because he knows Nassau families cannot afford another four years of reckless borrowing, bond downgrades and a broken assessment system that is costing the county millions. He is the leader we need to turn Nassau around and provide a vision for the future.

“This isn’t about politics. It’s about what kind of community we want to be. And whether we’re willing to do the hard work that has to be done to make Nassau County a place our children can continue to call home.” – Tom Suozzi Suozzi serves as counsel at Harris Beach law firm, a New York state-based firm ranked one of the country’s Top 200 law firms by National Law Journal. He received a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and a BS from Boston College, School of Management. After graduating, Tom worked as an auditor at Arthur Andersen & Co., as a law clerk to Chief Judge Thomas C. Platt of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York and as an attorney at Shearman & Sterling.

Tom Suozzi was first elected to public office as the Mayor of the City of Glen Clove in 1993. He served until 2001, when he was first elected as Nassau County Executive. He served as Nassau County Executive from 2002-2010.

Tom lives in Glen Cove, with his wife Helene and their three children: Caroline, Joseph and Michael.

Nassau More Affordable

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pon being sworn into office as County Executive, I kept my pledge by repealing my predecessor’s home energy tax. I am the only county executive to place money back in our residents’ pockets. I believe that high taxes kill jobs.

That is why I also froze county property taxes every year since taking office. Nassau was the highest-taxed county in the nation before I took office - that is no longer the case.

Throughout my term, I have focused on rebuilding Nassau without asking taxpayers to foot the bill for the $378 million deficit when I took office. To accomplish this, I cut over $330 million in spending and launched the following nationally recognized public-private partnerships to saving taxpayers millions of dollars and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue: • Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Forest City Ratner Companies will transform the Coliseum into a world-class sports-entertainment destination at no cost to taxpayers. The facility will host the Islanders, Nets, Yankees coaching clinics, children shows, heavyweight boxing, minor league hockey and college basketball games as well as an exciting array of star-studded performers. Plaza development will include a performing arts theater, movie theater, bowling alley and theme restaurants.

• New indoor ice and outdoor skating rinks – being construct at Eisenhower Park without any cost to the taxpayer and suitable to host national events.

• New athletic fields – a partnership with Molloy College resulted in the construction of new athletic fields at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

• Cosmo’s practice field – a successful partnership was

formed by the New York Cosmos to build a new soccer field and bring world-class soccer practice to Mitchel Athletic Complex.

• NICE Bus - a successful partnership for Nassau’s bus system begun January 2012 when Veolia Transportation was selected to run day- to-day operations. This partnership provides riders with reliable service, expanded routes and saves taxpayers over $30 million annually.

As County Executive Mangano, I have helped create and retain more than 19,000 private sector jobs and recently won a heated competition with New Jersey for the headquarters of Hain Celestial. We have also attracted new homeland security jobs, high-tech jobs, as well as film and television industry jobs to the former Grumman-Navy property in Bethpage. Recently, the State Department of Labor reported that Nassau leads the State in terms of job growth and employment. In fact, Nassau has the lowest unemployment rate in the region. To support these jobs, my administration is helping convert empty commercial office space into 1,000 new rental units for young people and seniors.

While there is more work to be done, my policies have set Nassau on the right path and are helping make our county a better place to live, work and raise a family.

â„–2 | November 2013

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Elections: Hempstead Town Supervisor

Supervisor Murray and team Continue Fiscal Restraint

Felix Procacci seeks Transparency in Town Government

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elix Procacci is a Franklin Square resident running for the Town of Hempstead Supervisor position against incumbent Kate Murray to: create a transparent and accountable town government; get Town Hall meetings online; require town government to provide residents with the cost of settled employee contracts; post employee

contracts online; post all budget data online in a format that allows for searching and sorting; post all Town Board member votes online; and to end to the waste and abuse at Town Hall.

Procacci, a computer programmer and community activist, is a husband and father of two children, Katherine, 12, and Kenneth, 9.

№2 |November 2013

empstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray and her team of government off icials has adopted a 2014 budget that reduces town taxes for neighbors who call America’s largest township home. This is Murray’s third consecutive tax-cut budget.

At the same time, the town is maintaining all programs and services in full force. The supervisor has earned the respect of Wall Street credit rating agencies, while justifying the trust of neighbors on Main Street.

In addition to reducing town taxes, Murray has earned the highest Wall Street credit ratings available in recognition of Hempstead town’s fiscal policies. In fact, Murray’s government has avoided over-reliance on non-recurring revenues, eschewed ex-

cessive borrowing and forsaken fiscal gimmicks. The town has even received the Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the non-partisan Government Finance Officers Association.

While the town’s fiscal performance is important, Murray has often stated that her government’s superior financial standing allows the town to offer top-notch services and programs. Indeed, the township boasts over 100 parks, beaches and pools. Beautiful marinas and nature preserves complement two challenging golf courses. Sixteen senior centers, free summer concerts and a pre-revolutionary era museum are enhancing the local quality-of-life. Free flu shot and income tax prep programs for seniors complement

child and senior safety ID programs. Finally, a new “turf ” field at Oceanside Park and a nearly complete recreation center for children with special needs in Lido Beach make Hempstead town a great place to live, work and play.

Supervisor Kate Murray is also boosting the local economy with a $50 million capital improvement program. The town’s HempsteadWorks career center has placed 8,800 people in meaningful jobs in a one-year period. And, the town has cleared the way for Coliseum re-development by creating a new building development zone for the site.

With a tax-cut budget and great services and programs, it’s no wonder that people say Kate Murray is respected on Wall Street and trusted on Main Street.

№2 | November 2013

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COMING SOON MERRICK • SYOSSET

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Elections: County Comptroller

Howard Weitzman Looks to Rescue Comptroller’s Office

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n 2001, Howard Weitzman became the only CPA ever elected to the office of Nassau County Comptroller after a 30-year career as a healthcare financial executive. He was subsequently re-elected to a second term in 2005.

During his eight years as comptroller, Howard Weitzman played a central role in the financial rescue of Nassau County.

Under his leadership, the office of comptroller became a national model for transparency and accountability, while at the same time developing a reputation for independence and integrity.

He issued many ground-breaking audits and was the first county comptroller in history to audit all of Nassau’s 200 special town taxing districts uncovering millions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse during the process.

He helped then-County Executive Tom Suozzi hold

Comptroller Maragos Claims County Finances Stronger

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yearly budgets to roughly $1.6 billion while not raising property taxes for six years.

His past experience in the healthcare industry made him a comptroller with a keen eye for saving money in the area of health benefit costs. In 2008 he negotiated a $250 million reduction in statewide health insurance premiums. This reduction saved LI taxpayers over $100 million including your school districts, villages and town governments. His novel creation of the NassauRx Card drug discount card has saved consumers over $2 million per year in prescription drug costs at no cost to county taxpayers.

A graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and Queens College, Howard is the former Mayor of Great Neck Estates, where he and his wife resided for 35 years and raised three children. He and his wife are residents of North Hills.

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assau County has not raised the property tax levy for four consecutive years. The proposed 2014 budget again contains no property tax increase.

In a letter to former county comptroller Howard Weitzman the County Attorney’s office, represented by a securities attorney, warned him that allegations in his letter of September 16 regarding the Nassau County’s 2012 budgetary results were “patently false and alarmist” with potential to harm the county taxpayers by “seriously affecting the county’s ability to obtain financing.” The allegation that the county comptroller has mischaracterized the accounting treatment of $88 million in court-ordered payments and that the county has somehow manipulated the Supreme Court order are ludicrous.

As a CPA, the former comptroller is well aware that the county’s 2012 Annual Financial Report is fully audited by outside auditors (the same auditors originally hired by the for-

mer comptroller) in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

The financial reports are further reviewed and confirmed by the independent and non-partisan Legislative Office of Budget Review and closely monitored by multiple rating agencies and numerous regulatory authorities. The accounting of the $88 million is fully disclosed and properly booked consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.

The county’s $41.6 million budgetary surplus in 2012 was achieved by controlling expenses, refinancing debt at lower rates, imposing a nonessential hiring and wage freeze, and challenging property tax grievances. The economy has also helped by increasing sales tax revenues.

Although the county manages and reported its $41.6 million 2012 surplus on a budgetary basis, it also reports its year-end results in additional accounting methods as required by various regulatory

organizations. In every accounting standard, the county financial performance has improved since 2009.

Year end financial results on GAAP basis.............. 150% better Year end results on NIFA basis....................... 54% better Fund balance (money in the bnank).................... 35% higher Structural deficit...80% better The point is that the Nassau County financials have stabilized and strengthened over the precarious state they were in 2009 and, as a result, property taxes have not had to be raised in four consecutive years. The proposed 2014 budget again contains no property tax increase for taxpayers, which is the best indicator of the improved financial condition of the county.

To see the numbers, the County 2012 audited financial statements (the 2012 CAFR) are publically available on the Comptroller’s website.

â„–2 | November 2013

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SCHOOLS

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Bellmore-Merrick seniors ‘connect’ to theatrical and musical performance

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№2 |November 2013

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enior citizens 62 years of age and older who reside in the Bellmores and Merricks are invited to attend “A Theatrical and Musical” performance on Friday, November 8, at Calhoun High School, from 4-6 p.m.

At this first event in the Central High School District’s new senior cit-

izen connection program, seniors will enjoy performances from talented students in the school’s Crescendo Show Choir and On Tour Company, including excerpts from Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” and songs from the 1950s.

While admission is free, seating is limited.

Reservations are required. To make your reservation, please contact Michelle Gagnon at 516-992-1015. The event will take place in Calhoun’s auditorium, located at 1786 State St. in Merrick. Refreshments will be served, including cheese, crackers, fruit platters, cake, cookies, tea and

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Goings-On at the North Merrick Library SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2 P.M.

Free concert: Eranga and Prianga You’ll enjoy an explosion of sound, style and charm with this amazing performance by Eranga and Prianga.

The singing duo is unique in their complex vocal arrangements, harmony and vibrant tones.

They’ll amaze you with a program of international songs - an African love song that changes sweetly to Hebrew leg-

end; Calypso as familiar as American R & B; Italian ballads as inspiring as Hawaiian Island songs and Spanish Gypsy music that segues into the Greek Never on Sunday.

The duo has performed in numerous venues, including Europe, Asia, BBC TV in London, ZDF in Germany, Royal Festival Hall in London as well as at the United Nations.

Seating is limited and is on a first-come, firstserved basis.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 3-4 P.M.

Children’s Show - Rapunzel Plaza Theatrical Productions presents a live musical production of Rapunzel. Come spend a Saturday afternoon with us. The whole family is invited to enjoy this classic musical production at our own North Merrick Library!

The actors will meet and greet the children after the performance. Bring your camera! Tickets available beginning Saturday, November 16, at 10 a.m.

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs 2 for $2 Red Bull Energy Drink 2 for $4 Monster Energy Drink 2 for $4 J & I Petroleum Corner of Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway across from Merrick Train Station.

Phone: 442-0901

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Letters

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№2 |November 2013

Losing our Freedom of Expression to Extremism? ✉ TO THE EDITOR,

F

reedom of speech is the right that we, as Americans, cherish the most. It is what defines America.

It is the reason people came to this country in the first place. It gives the people the right to express their views without fear of retribution.

Elections are the method in which true democracies choose their leaders.

The right to vote is, in my mind, the most patriotic act a citizen can perform for the good of our country, our state and our town. We, the people, have the freedom of speech, the freedom to display on our property, signs that show support for the candidates that we would like to see representing us come January. It is our constitutional right as defined in the first amendment.

However, you cannot live in our community without seeing the vandalism taking place on peoples’ lawns all over Dave Denenberg’s district. Party extremists went as far as throwing a bunch of crumbled-up Denenberg signs into his backyard.

These tactics are an act of intimidation that no family should be subjected to. Party extremists are scouring Dave’s district and stealing or destroying his signs. Each sign that is destroyed is not only an act of theft and/or vandalism, it is also an act of oppression. Destroying a political sign is taking away that family’s freedom to express their support for someone. It is not only a crime, but it is an attack on the first amendment. No different in the eyes of the law than the right to dis-

Thanks For Something New ✉ TO THE EDITOR,

play an American flag. The theft and vandalism that is being done daily by extremists is just plain un-American.

A homeowner and/or business owns their property up to the curb. The Town of Hempstead has a right-of-way onto the property between the sidewalk and the curb, to place traffic signs and fire hydrants to protect our community, but they do not own the property, there is no code against lawn signs.

To steal signs from peoples’ homes is against the law and those who do it must be prosecuted. It may sound petty, but the cost of the sign is not at issue here. In America, people should be able to express who they support for office without fear of oppression.

Name withheld by request

W

hat a pleasure it truly was to receive your new NewsMag in the mail today!!

Having been a resident of Merrick for the past 38 years, and subscribing to Merrick Life for as long, I was deeply saddened to see that it had been sold recently. The subsequent newspaper, in my opinion, did not have the hometown feeling that Merrick Life did. I, in turn, called that newspaper’s office and told them to cancel my subscription - even though I had previously paid in full for another full year of Merrick Life just this past June!

I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavor! I look forward to reading, once again, about our local schools and businesses that make our two towns the truly special places that they are!

Pat Ciccone

Your town. Your schools. Your leadership. Your community matters! YourNewsMag.com

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To Advertise contact Jill at 516-633-8590 or jill@yournewsmag.com

ENTERTAINMENT

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Music playing in your neighborhood Nicolas James Bistro Merrick.

(546-4805) Rob Jack Live and Unplugged: Saturday, November 16 and Thursday, November 21. Acoustic guitarist with vocals, with special guests.

Michael Duca: Fridays, November 1, 15 and 29. Michael will play pop hits and popular classics, with vocals and harmonica.

Brian McGeough: Friday, November 8. T is acoustic guitaristand vocalist has been a regular fixture in the Long island’s music scene for a while, playing mellow folk-rock and country-rock favorites from the ‘60s to the present.

Pocket Change Live (Steve and Haig): Saturdays, November 2 and 23. Classic rock, county, folk and pop hits from the ’50s through today with guitar duo and vocalists Haig Mathosian and Steve Palopoli.

The Catfish John Band is an assembly of some of Long Island’s finest musicians who all share a love of the Allman Brothers. Electrix have been performing since 1995 doing the Grateful Dead and Allman Brother classics.

K.J. Farrell’s –Bellmore (804-9925) Friday, November 1 – Arena Rock Tribute, 7 p.m.; 45 RPM, 10 p.m.

Arena Rock Tribute pays homage to iconic bands and artists who helped define classic rock in the 70s and 80s. 45 RPM plays songs from the heyday of radio with a veracity and dedication to getting it right.

Voted Best Cover Band 2013.

Monday, November 4 – Open Mic and Jam, 8 p.m.

Free buffet, come and jam with Kenny Forgione and friends, including Tru Doty, Edd Canova and Mike Marks.

Full production background included. Guitarists wanted!

Saturday, November 2 – Catfish John, 7 p.m.; Electrix, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, November 6 – 45 RPM, 8 p.m.

Thursday, November 7 Sailin’ Shoes, 7 p.m.

Sailin’ Shoes is a tribute band to Little Feat.

Friday, November 8 – Black and Sparrow, 7 p.m.; Wonderous Stories, 10 p.m.

Black and Sparrow are back together again after a hiatus of a couple of years and are picking up where they left off, offering new songs and a full band. Wonderous Stories is one of the highest drawing bands these days, playing The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin and a host of others.

Saturday, November 9 – Liverpool Shuffle, 7 p.m.; Off the Road, 10 p.m.

Liverpool shuffle provides an authentic presentation of the most popular songbook of all time: The Beatles songbook.

Meanwhile, Off the Road is a band made up of members of popular bands who like to play in Off The Road when they are off the road.

Marc Bromberg Painting The Painter of Choice that: • can help select an elegant palette for your home • you can trust in your home • is extremely neat & clean • returns all calls same day

Interior/Exterior Water Damage Repair Sheetrock/Plaster

Sunday, November 10 – Ad Astra, 7 p.m.; Travis Larson, 9 p.m.

New York-based guitarist Joe Nardulli’s debut CD has drawn a coterie of talented people who helped him create a band of original music. Travis Larson’s band is firmly rooted as one of instrumental music’s premiere acts.

Monday, November 11 – Open Mic and Jam, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, November 13 – Wonderous Stories, 8 p.m.

Thursday, November 14 – F.M., 7 p.m.

F.M., formerly Steely Dan, plays the best of Steely Dan. Friday, November 15 – The LPs, 7 p.m.; and That 70s Band, 10 p.m.

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Your NewsMag

Diplomate American Board of Podiatric Surgery.

Board Certified Foot Surgery. Board Certified Reconstructive Rear Foot/Ankle Surgery.

Fellow American College of Foot & Ankle Surgery.

â„–2 |November 2013