Valley Stream
HERALD
BlM protests at fireman’s field
Sixth-graders move up
Mixed reaction to Phase 4
Page 3
Page 15
Page 5
Vol. 31 No. 29
JUlY 16 - 22, 2020
A problem with dumping Village workers warn of garbage discarded on ‘pipeline’ property restrictions. The county owns the property, while the village maintains For as long as Steve Acqua- it, and the land, which stretches vella, the supervisor of Valley from South Central Avenue west Stream’s Department of Public to Broadway, is a former waterWorks, can remember, people shed property, a holdover from h ave i l l e g a l l y when an increasingdumped trash along ly thirsty New York a roughly two-mile City once used Long stretch of empty Island’s water suppublic property ply at the turn of near the Queens the 20th century. border, on the north Underneath lies a side of the Long stone aqueduct that Island Rail Road once transported tracks. water from wells Acquavella and a drilled across Naslong line of village sau, including a workers, he said, handful in Valley have found everyStream. thing from mattress- SteVe “This was a pile es and construction aqUaVella of dirt” that somedebris to, about six Supervisor, one had dumped, months ago, a car Acquavella said, as missing wheels on Village DPW he pointed to a the plot of land roughly three-footinformally known as “the pipe- high mound along a path on the line.” But over the past three property. It was enveloped by months, he and code enforce- grass and undergrowth. ment inspector Nick Cassano Beyond were bits of broken agreed, it has been worse than concrete left, in various stages ever. of fading into the landscape. An “Call it the pandemic effect,” assortment of wood construcMayor Ed Fare said, noting the tion debris was left there, as increase in debris coincided well as scattered piles of with the spread of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdown Continued on page 7
By Peter Belfiore pbelfiore@liherald.com
W
Peter Belfiore/Herald
ValleY StreaMer JeNNifer McLeggan with her daughter Immaculate. For the past three years, she said, she has suffered what she believes is racially motivated harassment from three neighbors.
Standing with Jennifer
Valley Streamer claims racial harassment By Peter Belfiore pbelfiore@liherald.com
When Valley Streamer Jennifer McLeggan found a dead squirrel on her front lawn last week, she said, that was the last straw. The remains, she said she believed, were placed there as the latest in roughly three years of what she said may be racially motivated harassment tactics by a trio of nearby white neighbors on Sapir Street. After discovering the
squirrel while mowing her lawn, McLeggan, who is Black, taped a sign to her front door outlining her struggles with the three. It was intended as evidence, she said, in case things took a darker turn. “What’s next after dead squirrels?” she wondered. “I don’t want to deal with what’s next.” Passersby posted a photo of the sign on social media, and it quickly spread. As of Monday afternoon, it had
been shared hundreds of times across various platfor ms with the hashtag #standwithJennifer. With it came an outpouring of sympathy from neighbors and others who saw the post, with dozens visiting McLeggan throughout the weekend. Some offered protection, while others said they would pitch in to help her with yard work. A protest is planned for Thursday on the street. But Continued on page 4
e need the neighbors to help us. They’re our eyes and ears.