Freeport Herald Leader

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Freeport

HERALD Leader

County celebrates Memorial Day

Pier 1 Imports closes nationwide

Mount Sinai open for surgeries

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Vol. 85 No. 22

MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2020

Clearing out day laborers Advocates criticize village’s removal of trailer, camps nearby homeless encampment where many of the day laborers had lived. The Freeport Village AttorThe area was known as “The ney’s Office has begun a crimi- Montaña,” Spanish for Mounnal investigation into the Free- tain, as those living there had port Trailer — a small trailer built a mountain-like landscape, near Sunrise Highway where village officials said. day laborers have gathered for Both locations are adjacent to about 20 years to t h e fo r m e r N ew find work safely and York State Departaccess public ment of Transportaresources — after tion yard, which the village officials Village of Freeport alleged that the trailwon control over in er had failed to coma lawsuit back in ply with state public January. Village offihealth laws amid the cials have said they Covid-19 pandemic, hope to transform Village Attor ney the yard into a resiHoward Colton said. dential and retail T h e F r e e p o r t HowARD area. Trailer was run by While Freeport the nonprofit CoLo- ColToN officials defended Ki, Inc., and had Village Attorney the decision to clear been under the manout the area, many agement of Mirna day laborer organiCortes-Obers, a social worker zations and advocates have critifrom Freeport. cized the action, saying Mayor As of press time, Cortes- Robert Kennedy’s decision to Obers could not be reached for shut down the trailer and clear comment. the encampment hurt an already After the village moved the vulnerable population. trailer from its Bennington Ave“For the mayor of Freeport to nue location to the Department evict the workers from the trailof Public Works on Albany Ave- er and then bulldoze their homes nue in south Freeport in April, the village recently cleared out a Continued on page 5

By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com

T

Ronny Reyes/Herald

VIllAgE BoARD TRUSTEES Ron Ellerbe and Carmen Piñeyro carried a wreath to the village’s World War I memorial plaque.

Freeport honors fallen vets Tributes held despite absence of parade By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com

While the Village of Freeport could not hold its annual M e m o r i a l D ay P a r a d e because of the Covid-19 pandemic, village officials still joined together with the Freeport Fire and Police departments Monday morning for a small ceremony to honor the nation’s war dead at the village’s World War I mortar monument on Guy Lombardo Avenue.

Mayor Robert Kennedy, a U.S. Navy veteran, led the ceremony as Village Trustees Ron Ellerbe and Car men Piñeyro placed a wreath by the monument’s plaque. “Today we pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” Kennedy said. “It’s a somber day of remembrance...and we also want to pray for the families of those who lost their lives in the armed forces.” Ed Dukich, the 1st vice commander of Freeport’s

American Legion Post 342, said he appreciated the village’s ceremony, especially after the parade was canceled. Dukich added that because many of the members of Post 342 are seniors, it would have been difficult to organize a large event while keeping them safe from the Covid-19 virus. After the village’s ceremony, Post 342 held its own, at which about a dozen memContinued on page 3

he way it was, it could have been a hotspot for Covid-19.


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