East Meadow
A backyard graduation
Musician offers virtual classes
Two volunteers hurt in house fire
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Vol. 20 No. 27
JUlY 2 - 8, 2020
Teen uses 3D printer to help in pandemic By lEAH CHIAPPINo bstieglitz@liherald.com
Brian Stieglitz/Herald
JErEMY PorTNoY, 7, of East Meadow, left, celebrated his birthday with a visit from Batman’s sidekick, Robin, a.k.a. Josh Aryeh, the founder of the nonprofit Smiles Through Cars.
A visit from a superhero
Recovered from injuries he suffered in October, East Meadow boy celebrates his 7th birthday By BrIAN STIEGlITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Yaakov Portnoy stood outside his East Meadow house on Glenmore Avenue with his five children, their friends and some neighbors on June 25. All were waiting for a surprise that was set to arrive in honor of Jeremy Portnoy’s 7th birthday eight days earlier. Then came the sound of
sirens and horns honking, signaling what has become a staple for community celebrations throughout the coronavirus pandemic, which has ushered in an era of socially distant celebrations. But what set this car parade apart from others was the first car in the lineup: a black Nissan GT-R with a bat insignia emblazoned on the side that made it resemble the Batmobile. It stopped in front
of the Portnoy house and Batman’s sidekick, Robin, got out and handed Jeremy a Dunkin’ Donuts box. After that, more exotic and expensive cars continued driving along Glenmore, including a red convertible adorned with a large decal reading “Happy Birthday” in rainbow, bubble letters. The man in the Robin costume was Josh Aryeh, 33, of Continued on page 3
For 13-year-old East Meadow resident Nicholas Cervo, a 3D printer isn’t just a toy or a hobby. The rising freshman at East Meadow High School saw a Facebook post about a boy in Canada who was making mask extenders, and decided to use his 3D printer to do the same in order to make the grueling shifts of front-line workers a little easier. The extenders have notches that attach to the string of a mask so it can be secured at the back of the head rather than behind the ears, where chafing often occurs when a mask is worn for an extended period of time. After doing some research and testing different prototypes, Nicholas found the perfect piece to print. “It took some trial and error, I’d say, but he got it,” said his mother, Kim Mancuso. It takes around two hours, Nicholas said, to print nine small extenders, seven medium ones or five large ones. He emailed Nassau County Legislator Rose Walker (R-Hicksville) to ask for help in figuring out where to distribute his creations. Walker connected him with her neighbor, a nurse at
Winthrop Hospital, in Mineola, who gave them out at the facility. Walker’s office posted Nicholas’s donation on Facebook, and several front-line workers were eager to try the extenders. “It really blew up from there,” Mancuso said. “The health care workers have just been so, so thankful,” Walker said. “You wear the mask and it can be very annoying behind your ears when you can’t take it off for long period of time.” She said that Nicholas’s mask extenders have been “a tremendous help.” He met Walker when his Boy Scout Troop 381, in Hicksville, visited the Hicksville Public Library last year, and he explained to her how his printer works. “It was so interesting to me,” Walker said. “I couldn’t believe that a printer could physically make something … [Nicholas] is really an amazing young man.” He has donated over 1,600 extenders to date. Winthrop Hospital has received 300, and Nassau University Medical Center has received 250. He also made donations to Saint Francis, Mount Sinai South Nassau, Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, Cohen’s Children’s Hospital, Continued on page 3