Bellmore
HERALD Signs show support for police
A retrospective on remote learning
BMCHSD grads celebrated
Page 5
Page 9
Pages 10, 16
Vol. 23 No. 28
$1.00
JUlY 9 - 15, 2020
Merokean who served in WWII dies at 106 Corps, and even cracked a 19th century encrypted message for a book that his commanding offiAlan Nemser, who served in cer, Louis A. Sigaud, was workthe Army Air Corps during ing on about the Civil War. World War II and spent decades Nemser put his expertise to practicing law, “made everyone use again in 1994, when a copyfeel comfortable in his pres- cat Zodiac killer was sending ence,” his daughter, coded messages to K a t hy N e m s e r, the New York Post said. “He was this about impending amazing combinashootings. Nemtion of serious and ser’s son-in-law, silly.” Kieran Crowley, The Nemser then a Post reportfamily moved to er, took one of the south Merrick in messages to Nem1954 and never left. ser’s home so they In the more than 60 could work on it years that followed, together. Alan’s magnetic “After 35 minenergy char med utes, I heard a huge friends, neighbors KATHY NeMSer ‘Eureka!’ from outand clients alike. side,” said Erica Alan’s daughter O n Ju n e 1 0 , Nemser-Crowley, Nemser died of of Bellmore. The natural causes at his home on a decoded message appeared in canal. He was 106. the paper the next day; it includHe was born in Brooklyn in ed the phrase “Be ready for 1913, the youngest of six siblings. more.” He excelled in academics, and Nemser maintained a strong never lost a contest on the Boys work ethic in the courtroom and High School’s debate team. His at home. He founded his own knack for talking also came in general law practice in Brooklyn handy when wooing Tess Wie- following the war, which he reloner, whom he married 1938. cated to Garden City after the After graduating from Brook- family moved to Merrick. In lyn Law School in 1934, Nemser 1979, after Kathy passed the bar, worked for Cohen & Fuchsberg, the father-daughter duo litigated now the Jacob Fuchsberg Law side by side for more than 35 Firm, as a personal injury attor- years. ney. When World War II broke “I’ve had many lawyers say to out, he studied cryptography, of me, ‘If you’re half the lawyer which he was a natural. He that he is, you’re going be very served as a cryptographer and good too,’” she said. “He was cryptanalyst in the Army Air Continued on page 4
By AlYSSA SeiDMAN aseidman@liherald.com
i
Courtesy Talonda Thomas
Dr. TAloNDA THoMAS, a business owner in Bellmore, faced some hurdles as she tried to reopen the New York Musician’s Center, where she is the director of education and CEO.
A black-owned business faces Covid-19 reopening hurdles By AlYSSA SeiDMAN aseidman@liherald.com
When Long Island entered the second phase of reopening its economy June 10, Dr. Talonda Thomas, director of education and CEO of the New York Musician’s Center in Bellmore, readied for a return to normalcy. Before the pandemic took hold in March, more than 700 students filled the Bedford Avenue business weekly for guitar, bass, vocal, piano and
drum lessons led by a staff of teachers from around the world. To comply with social distancing, instruction shifted to Zoom, which proved difficult for Thomas’s students, some of whom are young children and older adults. “Guiding a student on an instrument is easier to do in person,” Thomas said. “There were a lot of setbacks in the process, but we got creative.” Thomas, who is black, lives in West Hempstead. She holds a bachelor of music from
SUNY Potsdam and a doctorate from Capella University, specializing in kindergartento-12 education studies. She has been a vocal music teacher in the Freeport School District for the past 13 years, and last year joined Elmont Memorial High School as its music chairwoman. She founded NYMC in 2006, and conducted lessons from her former Glen Cove home until September 2013, when the center grew into Continued on page 3
thought of him as a bright benevolent moon, shining on us, holding us in his light.