Lynbrook/East Rockaway
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Also serving Bay Park
At the top of the class of 2020
Superintendents talk budget votes
Elks host olP graduates
Page 10
Pages 2 and 5
Page 17
Vol. 27 No. 26
JUNE 25 - JUlY 1, 2020
‘Here we grow again’ Bay Park garden brings community together in uncertain times weekly to those in need, about 283,700 people will suffer from hunger on Long Island at some Long-time East Rockaway res- point this year. ident Louis DeVivo can still DeVivo created the garden, at recall the moment he came up 28 North Blvd. in Bay Park, to with the idea to establish the Bay also serve as a message of gratiPark Victory Garden. tude for front-line workers, “I’m sitting in health care profesmy kitchen, and a sionals and first lightbulb goes off responders. in my head with a D e Vivo e x vision of this garplained that for the den,” he recounted. first time in his “I looked up to the life, he had the ceiling and said, means to bring his ‘Really, God?’” goal to fruition: a The idea came dream to honor the as a way to honor man who raised his stepfather, the him, revere Amerilate Joseph Levy, a ca’s veterans and World War II veterhelp those who loUiS DEViVo an, and blossomed str ug gle in his into an effort to East Rockaway community. unite the commu- resident He moved from nity at a difficult Brooklyn to East time. During World Rockaway in 1988 War II, vegetable gardens prolif- with his four children. His erated around the U.S. to support daughter Melissa is now expectthe increasing number of impov- ing her first child, another erished families. source of inspiration to the Now, as the coronairus pan- grandfather-to-be. demic continues, Long Island “My stepfather was my hero,” communities are experiencing DeVivo said, his voice cracking similar financial challenges and with emotion. “He would tell me increasing food insecurity. stories of post-World War II vicAccording to Community Soli- tory gardens. We won the war, darity, a New York-based organization that distributes groceries Continued on page 3
By JUliA SwEriN lyneditor@liherald.com
Courtesy Alexa Ippolito
leaping toward the future Though graduation festivities will be different this year, it didn’t hinder the excitement of seniors, from left, Chiara Pantano, Alexa Ippolito, Katie Baltes, Alex Cohen and Jolie Sebel when they were recognized in front of Lynbrook High School on June 16.
Double amputee escapes fire
Training at Lynbrook rehab facility helps save her By NAkEEm GrANt and mikE SmolliNS ngrant@liherald.com, msmollins@liherald. com
Double amputee Patricia Lewis acted quickly when a fire started in her basement on April 10. She put on her artificial legs and got out of her Rockville Centre home b e fo re t h e L a kev i ew F i re Department arrived to put out the fire.
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Lewis, a registered nurse, thanked the Fire Department a n d Ly n b ro o k Re s t o r at ive Therapy & Nursing for their efforts at a news conference on June 17. In 2019, Lewis, a Mercy Medical Center oncology nurse, suffered a stroke, and was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She eventually had both legs amputated below the knee in two surgeries just
months apart, and rehabilitated at the Lynbrook facility. While there, she lear ned how to quickly put her artificial legs on, which, she said, helped her on the night of the fire. “If I hadn’t been able to put on my legs quickly, or had instead had to use my wheelc h a i r, ” L e w i s s a i d , “ wh o knows what would have happened?” Continued on page 4
A Special Thank You To Our Class of 2o2o Graduating Class List Sponsors: Becker Realty Services, Inc. Lynbrook Baptist Church Lynbrook Little League Bryan Christopher Lanzello Roofing & Remodeling Big Bob’s Self Storage Print Promowear, llc
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his garden shows that in times of difficulty comes personal growth as human beings.