Williston Times 12.26.14

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NEW YEAR’S dININg gUIdE

HAYES BIdS FAREWELL TO HERRICKS

CARVER SLAmS de BLASIO

pAGES 23-26, 31-34

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vol. 63, no. 52

Guide to ing New Year’s Din 2014

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26, 2014 special section • december a blank slate media

A thank you to Schechter after release Lawyer for American freed from Cuba lauds support, letter exchange

BY B R YA N A H R E N S When the Schechter School of Long Island heard on Wednesday about the release of Alan Gross, a Jewish businessman who has been detained in Cuba for the past five years, they said it was their first Chanukah gift of the year.

The school held a celebration at its Jericho campus Thursday morning in celebration of Gross’ release from Cuba, after exchanging letters with him last year while he was detained in Cuba.

“I couldn’t imagine a miracle would happen like what happened yesterday,” said Schechter head of

school Cindy Dolgan, who oversees the school’s Williston Park and Jericho campuses.

Cantor Marcey Wagner, principal of the Schechter K-5 lower school in Jericho, read a letter to a gymnasium full of students received Wednesday evening from Gross’ lawyer, Richard Shore in Washington D.C. “Your students should be very proud of themselves and they have every reason to share in the joy of Alan’s release,” Shore said in the letter. “I hope that you know it has meant a lot.”

Gross, who lived in New Hyde Continued on Page 43

PHOTO BY BRYAN AHRENS

Students at Schechter School of Long Island’s Jericho campus sing in celebration of the release of Alan Gross from Cuban prison

Mineola building inspector gives gift of life to baby

BY B R YA N A H R E N S Village of Mineola building inspector John Chilcott gave a local mother an unexpected gift

just days before Christmas - saving her infant son’s life.

“It was good,” Chilcott said.

“It all worked out well for Christmas.”

Chilcott said the unidentified mother came with her eightweek-old son to Village Hall on Thursday at around 1:30 p.m. to pay a parking ticket, but realized the village court was temporarily closed and left.

As she was leaving the building her son stopped breathing, he said.

“I heard someone call for

help downstairs, Chilcott said.

Peter Smith, an emplo yee of Mineola’s Building Department, said he was walking into the building just as the mother was calling for help. He said he ran upstairs shouting for help when Chilcott responded.

Chilcott said he was eating his lunch on the second floor of Village Hall when he heard the

commotion and ran downstairs.

“The baby was downstairs on the table and the mother was crying,” he said. “He was eight weeks old, he looked like a doll on that table.”

Chilcott said he immediately put into use the CPR training he had received from the American Red Cross more than 30 years Continued on Page 43

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The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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Supers seek flexibility Hayes looks back from next ed commish at time in Herricks Criticize King’s ‘one-size-fits-all approach’

Head of curriculum leaving in June

BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO

BY B R YA N A H R E N S

North Shore school superintendents said this week they want the next state education commissioner to focus on the “nuts and bolts” of preparing students for college and the work force, rather than what one called a “one-sizefits-all” approach that was instituted under former state Education Commissioner John B. King.

“Someone says we want to have a brand new car that is really stylish and has these features and gets 55 miles-per-gallon, the next question is what do you do to make that happen?” said John Bierwirth, Herricks’ superintendent of schools. “We as a state set some goals but we don’t have the steps in place to realize those goals.”

Bierwirth was among the most critical school administrators on Long Island of King, who earlier this month accepted an advisory position within the U.S. Department of Education, for his acquisition of a $700 million federal “Race to the Top” grant and subsequent implementation of the Common Core benchmark standards that educators have said focuses more on test scores than learning.

“If you want to bring in a brand new math program, teachers need to know what the program is and how it works,” Bierwirth said. “If you set standards and no one meets them that doesn’t accomplish much of anything.”

Charles Cardillo, the superintendent of schools in Manhasset, said King was “passionate about his belief system as it relates to closing the gap and notion of equity,” but criticized the former commissioner for ignoring the largescale requests and suggestions from high-performing school districts in setting testing standards

John B. King and teacher evaluations.

“The idea would be to find someone to fill that position that has extensive public school field experience, preferably as a school superintendent and is able to take that experience and deal with significant issues that are out there and also be much more willing to listen to the leadership in the field and other educators on these key issues and move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach,” Cardillo said.

East Williston Superintendent of Schools Elaine Kanas echoed Carillo’s and Bierwirth’s remarks, saying King’s successor should be someone “who has a view and commitment in supporting our students in the state” as well as “someone who will understand the various needs of different school districts across the state.”

King is expected to join the Obama administration in early 2015, according to a news release earlier this month from the U.S. Department of Education.

The state Board of Regents has begun a nationwide search for King’s successor.

Elizabeth Berlin, the executive deputy commissioner, will serve as interim commissioner in accordance with state law.

“I want to see kids be successful. I think that the conceptual goals all make absolute sense,” Bierwirth said. “We need to have students who graduate from high schools in New York State go on to college and be successful but the steps are not in place. The new commissioner needs to be somebody who is going to focus on the nuts and bolts of actually making this happen”

Dierdre Hayes said that her nine years with the Herricks School District served as a memorable conclusion to her career in teaching.

“Herricks is such a progressive district,” Hayes said. “It’s so dedicated to excellence in education and exceeding expectations.”

Hayes, who is retiring as assistant superintendent of curriculum and Instruction at the end of the month, said she did not take her decision to leave Herricks lightly.

“It was a difficult decision,” she said. “My husband retired a year ago and the time is right.”

Hayes, 63, started her career in 1972 after earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from Queens College. She began teaching English in New York City schools as a secondary school teacher and later became an administrator when she was asked to fill in for a woman on maternity leave.

“I realized how much I like working in curriculum and working with other people,” she said.

Hayes said she took time off to raise her children but later

went back into teaching as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University where she earned her doctoral degree in administration.

She spent seven years working in the New York City school system before continuing her career in East Meadow as chairperson of English and social studies, finally moving on to director of English and social studies in the Lynbrook School District before coming to Herricks in 2005.

“I’ve always been deeply involved in curriculum and education,” she said.

Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth said Hayes’ work has benefitted the district, citing the implementation of the Columbia Teachers College Writing program about six years ago, a literacy development program to help teachers better educate their students.

“She made it a smooth and effective transition,” Bierwirth said.

“She’s really just done a tremendous job.”

Bierwirth, who will be retiring in June, said that he and Hayes complemented each other well.

“I was always math and sciContinued on Page 43

Dierdre Hayes

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The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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Arrests in alleged drug pipeline to L.I.

on

Investigation of Mexico-to-New York route said to begin with buys in G.N., Manhasset

heroin Long Island

BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Nine people have been arrested and charged as part of an alleged multi-million dollar narcotics pipeline that ran from Mexico to New York and distributed heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and anabolic steroids to Nassau County communities, Nassau County prosecutors said Thursday.

The arrests come following an 18-month investigation by the Nassau County District attorney’s office and multiple law enforcement agencies at various levels across multiple states that began with undercover police officers purchasing heroin from dealers in Great Neck and Manhasset, prosecutors said.

The defendants have been accused of trafficking drugs throughout New York City and

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice (at lectern) described an alleged heroin pipeline that transported drugs to New York from Mexico for distribution throughout the area.

Long Island out of residences in Astoria, Queens, and the Bronx from vehicles driven to the United States from Mexico and “mules” that flew east from California, prosecutors said.

Proceeds from drug sales were transported by “mules” who carried cash onto planes

and in vehicles as well as through money orders and wire transfers, prosecutors said.

“The investigators on this case stopped at nothing, and these are dangerous defendants,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said during a news conference detailing the inves-

tigation, which she described as still ongoing. “...I hope that it will put some dent [into the Nassau County drug trade], but it’s not going to stop the [heroin] epidemic.”

There were 44 fatal heroin overdoses in Nassau County in 2013, according to county fig-

ures, as well as 115 deaths to prescription drug overdoses.

“Heroin is a scourge on our society. It’s a national problem and there’s no exceptions here in Nassau County,” Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said during the news conference. “...

There are far too many funerals, far too many families broken up, and today we put a dent in that pipeline.”

The district attorney’s office said they first became aware of the ring in the summer of 2013, when investigators began tracking Astoria residents Ajay Carter, 38, also known as “Jay” and “Jose Zambrano,” and Miguel Tormo, 42, who prosecutors said sold heroin through dealers in the New York area. Carter also dealt cocaine, ecstasy and steroids on Craigslist.

The investigation - which officials said included the sale of one pound of heroin to undercover officers in Great Neck and Manhasset - soon led the district attorney’s office to Cesar RomeroAstudillo, 24, of the Bronx, who, prosecutors said, was found to Continued on Page 50

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The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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5 hurt in SUV-bus crash in E. Hills 2 special needs children among the injured in accident, Glen Cove Road shut down

BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Five people - including two teenagers - were hospitalized Thursday following an accident involving a sports utility vehicle and a school bus carrying special needs children on Glen Cove Road in East Hills that backed up traffic in both directions, police said.

The crash occurred at around 9 a.m. near Harbor Hill Road as the school bus was traveling southbound to a nearby school collided with a Chevrolet Suburban traveling northbound, said Det. Michael Lynch of the Old Westbury Police Department.

The cause of the crash was unknown and an investigation is still ongoing, Lynch said.

Eyewitness photographs taken of the accident purportedly show the bus sustained damage

A bus and sport utility vehicle collided on Thursday along Glen Cove Road near Harbor Hill Road in East Hills, injuring five people. to the front driver’s side, while the Suburban sustained damage to the passenger’s side.

East Hills resident Bill Spitalnick, who took the eyewitness photographs,

said he was walking his dog near Westwood Circle and noticed traffic being directed from Glen Cove Road through the Norgate development.

Upon walking out to

the road, Spitalick said, he saw someone from the bus being removed by a stretcher and emergency workers extracting the driver of the sport utility vehicle from the passenger’s side of the automobile.

“I see this road every day because I enter Glen Cove Road regularly, it’s about a 30 or 40 [mile per hour speed] limit, and I

see cars doing 60 and over.

I see trucks, big semis loaded up doing more than 60,” Spitalnick said.

“Everybody thinks they can rush that part of Glen Cove Road and get to the expressway and you see a lot of fast movement over there. There’s probably accident there at least once a week.”

A bus driver and three passengers, including

14-year-old and 19-yearold students, were taken to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, Lynch said.

The driver was treated for a broken rib, while the two students and a driver’s aide were treated for facial injuries after being struck with broken glass, Lynch said. All have been released.

The teenagers were described as autistic students living within the Herricks and Wheatley school districts, Lynch said.

The motorist operating the Suburban, described as a male in his mid-60s, was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset for treatment of “severe injuries to his legs, fractures,” Lynch said. He remained hospitalized overnight, Lynch said.

Nassau County Police, which also responded to the accident, briefly closed southbound lanes on Glen Cove Road following the accident. They were reopened at around 10:45 a.m., according to a media advisory issued by police.

An eyewitness said he saw emergency responders extracting the motorist of the sport utility vehicle from the automobile’s passenger side.

The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Nassau pBA chief blasts de Blasio

BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and county Police Benevolent Association President James Carver both lamented the shooting deaths of two New York City police officers in Brooklyn on Saturday and offered condolences to the slain patrolmen’s families.

“The thoughts and prayers of my wife Linda and I are with the NYPD officers and their families,” Mangano said in a statement issued through his Twitter page on Saturday evening. “Today’s shooting is a tragedy.”

Carver in a statement Sunday called the shooting a “horrendous and horrific act,” saying, “This kind of violence against our police officers cannot be tolerated or forgotten across the nation.”

He went on to express support of statements made by Patrick Lynch, the president of the NYPD’s Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, who blamed the deaths of officers Wen Jian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, on anti-police sentiment stemming

Rafael Ramos

Wen Jian Liu

from recent protests against a recent grand jury decision to not indict a police officer in causing the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man in Staten Island.

Lynch told reporters outside Woodhull Hospital Saturday night that “There’s blood on many hands tonight – those that incited violence on the street under the guise of protests, that tried to tear down what New York City police officers did every day. That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor.”

Carver said the Nassau County PBA “support[s]” Lynch “in his condemnation for [New York City] Mayor [Bill] de Blasio’s anti-police statements,” adding “No elected official should not fully support the men and women that serve to protect our citizens every day.”

At a press conference following the Garner verdict, de Blasio expressed surprise at the verdict and said that in the past he had advised his son Dante, who is half black, to “take special care in any encounters he has with the police officers who are there

to protect him” because of his race.

Liu and Ramos were gunned down in their patrol car on Saturday afternoon while stopped outside housing projects near Myrtle and Tompkins avenues in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, city police officials said.

The shooting suspect, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, of Brooklyn, allegedly approached the passenger side of their vehicle at around 2 p.m. and fired shots into the car at the officers’ heads and upper bodies, police said.

Officers then pursued Brinsley as he fled to a nearby subway station and fatally shot himself on a train platform, police said.

Brinsley allegedly made threats against police officers in since-deleted social media posts in which he said he planned to avenge the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Garner. Like Garner, Brown was a black man whose death was caused by a white police officer who was later cleared of criminality by a grand jury, inciting nationwide protests.

“I’m putting wings on a pig today. They take 1 of ours…..

Let’s take 2 of theirs #ShootThePolice #RIPErivGardner [sic] #RIPMikeBrown This may be my final post, I’m putting pigs in a blanket,” Brinsley allegedly wrote in a caption of an Instagram photograph of a handgun that police said matched a handgun removed from Brinsley’s person at the subway station.

According to reports, Brinsley had an extensive criminal history and was wanted in Baltimore for shooting a former girlfriend earlier in the day.

Police later said law enforcement in Maryland tried to notify police in New York that Brinsley was potentially violent and traveling to New York, but the message was received at around the time of the shootings.

“Today, two of New York’s finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation,” NYPD Commissioner William J. Bratton told reporters Saturday at Woodhull Hospital in Williamsburg, where the two officers and Brinsley were taken following the shootings.

“They were, quite simply, assassinated – targeted for their Continued on Page 45

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Mumps blocks visit of Islanders to Cohen

BY B R YA N A H R E N S Visits to Long Island hospitals, which included Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, by the New York Islanders were postponed on Dec. 16 due to a mumps outbreak among National Hockey League teams, according to a news release from the team.

Toys, which were purchased through donations from Package All Corp. and the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation, were given to Cohen’s to distribute to children on Dec. 16, the release said.

“We’re extremely disappointed that the event has been postponed, but understand the circumstances,” Islanders forward Kyle Okposo, one of the players scheduled to visit the hospital, said in the release. “This has always been one of our favorite events to take part in because seeing a child smile when we give them a gift or take a picture with them is what the holiday season is all about.”

The visit of six of the teams players, including Okposo, forward Matt Martin, team captain John Tavares, al-

ternate captain Frans Nielson, defensemen Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuck, originally scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, was postponed in the interest of the children’s safety, the release said.

According to the release, Islanders players, coaches, hockey operations and traveling team personnel all received the mumps vaccine and have shown no symptoms of infection as of Dec. 16.

“Nonetheless to assure the health and wellness of hospitalized children, the organization has decided to be extremely cautious and postpone this important event,” the release stated.

The release said information on a new date will be made available once it has been rescheduled.

“We’re happy the children will still receive the gifts and look forward to visiting the local hospitals soon,” Okposo said in the release.

Reach reporter Bryan Ahrens by e-mail at bahrens@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

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The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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L.I. groups unite to fight anti-Semitism B y A d a m L i d g ett

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A group of Jewish advocacy organizations on Long Island have joined together to help combat what they say is a growing number of anti-Semitic incidents both in New York and abroad, “We need to show people what to do and that this is a serious problem,” Steven Markowitz, chairman of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, said in a press release. “We need to show people they can participate in the stand against antiSemitism.”

Markowitz said the groups that make up the coalition besides the Holocaust Center include the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Long Island Board of Rabbis and the Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding, he said.

He said the idea for the group, known as the Long Island Coalition to Combat AntiSemitism, began about two months ago. The Holocaust center, he said, had been talking with other Jewish advocacy groups and police organizations about what they could do to not feel helpless in the fight against growing antiSemitism.

Markowitz said that each individual group brings different skills and resources to aid in the coalition’s actions. Some groups have more of a finger on the pulse of the Jewish community worldwide, while some are legal experts and some – such as the Holocaust Center – have a better viewpoint to view antiSemitism throughout history.

“The American Jewish Committee clearly is the worldwide watchdog on issues affecting the Jewish community,” Markowitz said.

“The members of the Anti-Defamation League are experts on specific strategies to deal with specific acts of anti-Semitism.”

The coalition will organize and co-sponsor programs to inform the public about antiSemitism and what they can do to be proactive about the issue, Markowitz said. He also said the coalition be working with state and local government officials as well as police departments in Nassau and Suffolk counties to help combat anti-Semitic acts.

Evan Bernstein, New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said even though the league has not compiled all the specific data for 2014, the number of incidents of anti-Semitic acts perpetrated on Long Island is very apparent. Each year, Bernstein said, the Anti-Defamation league compiles an audit of anti-Semitic incidents, which they collect from police reports, news stories and stories told directly to them.

The Anti-Defamation League’s 2013 audit found 62 total incidents on Long Island – 26 in Nassau County and 36 in Suffolk County.

In 2014, the Anti-Defamation League said, the incidents include two swastikas being drawn on a street in Great Neck, a man being arrested for sending an anti-Semitic letter with white powder in the envelope to an office in East Garden City, a swastika being etched into brick at a Jewish Community Center in Plainview, a swastika painted on a post office sign in Roosevelt and anti-Semitic graffiti being spray painted on the rear wall of

a business in Oceanside.

Bernstein said the number of anti-Semitic incidents the anti-Defamation League sees every year varies with the number spiking when the Palestinian-Israel conflict heats up, such as it did this past summer.

He said the anti-Israel sentiment often leads to more anti-Semitic sentiment.

“For many years the two ideas did not cross, and we are allowed to have a discourse about the [Palestinian-Israel] issue,” Bernstein said. “You are allowed to critique Israel but it’s when it turns from critiquing into antiSemitism that we have to watch. There have always been cases of that but this summer we saw them much more frequently.”

But, Markowitz said, he saw an increase in anti-Semitic acts even before the fighting in Gaza, such as in May when a gunman opened fire in the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels killing four people.

“People like to point to war in Gaza over summer as pretext to what started as being anti-Israel and anti-Zionist, but which quickly melded into anti-Semitism,” Markowitz said.

“There became for some very little distinction between the three.”

Markowitz said he believes anti-Semitism is becoming more acceptable, as more mainstream groups and religious affiliations come out with anti-Israel positions, which eventually turn into more general anti-Semitism.

Robert Socolof, American Jewish Committee director of the Long Island region, said the problem of anti-Semitism – and hate crimes in general – are not the problem of one single group, that it is a social problem.

“There’s always been a certain amount of hate and vitriol in any society,” Socolof said.

“Anti-Semitism gives a platform to those who want to spread hatred.”

Socolof said anti-Semitic expression always starts out small and escalates.

“It comes in the form of individual violent acts or communities turning a blind eye,” Socolof said. “Hate is not just a Jewish crime, but it tears away at the democracy of our society.”

Markowitz said the escalation of antiSemitism is what is frightening.

“The Holocaust did not start with concentration camps. It started with bullying, name-calling, graffiti and the perversion of the press,” Markowitz said. “All those things led up the concentration camps and mass genocide.”

He said the times now are not all that dissimilar to 1930s Europe, when one considers the recent images of Jews being chased through the streets of Paris and the windows of Jewish-owned stores being destroyed.

“I’m definitely not saying we’re seeing another Holocaust,” Markowitz said. “I’m saying people didn’t speak out strong enough against those acts when they were happening.”

Socolof said the coalition is a good way to address hatred in all its forms.

“There are times and moments in history where society takes a turn, and we’re at a moment that is going to define us, and how we respond to anti-Semitism is one of those things people will look back on and say ‘why did you not you do something about it,” Socolof. “In these defining moments, people need to be empowered in their community to address hatred.”

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

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Cuomo outlines regs for medical marijuana

BY B I LL S A N A N TON I O Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday detailed proposed regulations in creating a registry with the state Department of Health that would oversee New York’s forthcoming medical marijuana program.

The proposed regulations, which will be published on Wednesday in the New York Register for approval in mid February, would require physicians who wish to prescribe medical marijuana to undergo a training program through the state health department and patients to receive a stateapproved medical marijuana registry identification card.

Entities that wish to manufacture and distribute medical marijuana would have to provide extensive plans of their infrastructure and operations and pay a $10,000 application fee for review and a $200,000 registration fee if selected as one of five distribution sites approved by the state.

“Today we take another step forward to provide much-needed relief to New Yorkers living with extraordinary pain, while balancing the need to safeguard general health and safety,” Cuomo said. “These proposed regulations are designed with that in mind, so that we can alleviate suffering for patients with serious conditions while also ensuring that medical marijuana is dispensed and administered responsibly.”

New York last June became the 23rd state to legalize medical marijuana through legislation called the Compassionate Care Act, which received approval from the state Assembly and state Senate prior to the con-

clusion of the summer’s legislative session.

Cuomo signed the bill into law in July.

The law limits eligibility to purchase medical marijuana to patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy and Huntington’s disease. It also prohibits patients from smoking medical marijuana and possessing more than a 30-day supply at a time.

Cuomo on Thursday said patients would have to first be certified by their physicians to apply for the registry identification card, which would last up to one year.

The state would also allow patients to designate a caregiver to purchase medical marijuana on their behalf, but caregivers would also have to register with the state health department and pay a $50 application fee.

The proposed regulations also require organizations approved as distributors maintain separate facilities for manufacturing and dispensing medical marijuana and undergo regular independent laboratory testing of the drug to ensure consistent potency. Licenses for distributors would last two years.

The state health department would also set the pricing and advertising on medical marijuana products.

“Our goal is to ensure that New Yorkers have access to the treatment they need through a controlled, regulated process,” said acting State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.

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Town of North Hempstead officials were on hand as hundreds of toys were donated

by Town employees as part of the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. During the Town’s employee holiday party on Dec. 18 at Harbor Links in Port Washington, all attendees were asked to bring an unwrapped toy to donate. Toys for Tots is a program hosted by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to provide Christmas gifts for children throughout the United States. The annual collection drive begins in October and culminates with a distribution campaign in December. Pictured from left: Assistant to the Supervisor Stephanie Ciaccio, Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Town Clerk Wayne Wink and Assistant to the Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mary Mahaffey collect gifts for Toys for Tots at North Hempstead’s annual employee holiday party.

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10 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

WT

Singer to lecture lawyers on copyright fight

BY B R YA N A H R E N S Grammy-winning singer and song artist Gloria Gaynor will be presenting her experience testifying before Congress on current copyright laws at the Nassau County Bar Association on Jan. 7.

The event, titled “Copyright Laws - Is it Fair Use, Parody or Copyright Infringement?” will be

presented by the Nassau Academy of Law - the educational arm of the Nassau County Bar Association - at 15 West Street in Mineola between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., according to Chandra Ortiz, dean of the Nassau Academy of Law. “We thought it would be a unique opportunity,” Ortiz said.

“She just happened to be in the states at the time.”

Ortiz said that she is close with Gaynor and her manager and was able to reach out to her for the event.

“I think it’ll provide a unique perspective,” Ortiz said.

The program will offer a basic understanding of copyright laws and intellectual property rights, as well as guidance on how to determine if a work is copyright

protected and steps to obtain permission for its use, according to a news release.

The course provides three continuing education credits for attorneys who attend and is also open to the public.

Registration for the public is $50. The attorney fee is $155 but is discounted to $115 for current Nassau County Bar Associa-

tion members, according to the release.

Registration can be made by contacting Jennifer Groh at jgroh@nassaubar.org or by phone at 516-747-4070.

Gaynor’s hits included “I will survive,” which reached the top of Billboard’s Pop Charts on two occasions.

Martins and friends play Santa at Winthrop

BY B R YA N A H R E N S Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) got to play Santa for a day last Wednesday, delivering more than 2,000 toys to children at WinthropUniversity Hospital on Wednesday with the help of students, patrons of two libraries and residents.

The gifts were raised in a holiday toy drive spearheaded by Martins (R-Mineola) and included nine schools, two libraries and residents of the seventh Senate district, according to a news release.

“The gift of a new toy always brightens a child’s spirits and that’s even more important for children in the hospital who are going

through tough times,” Martins said in the news release. “The community’s extraordinary generosity will bring smiles to the faces of many children who could use some extra cheer.”

The schools and libraries that participated in the toy drive included: Bryant Library in Roslyn, Center Street School and Searingtown School in the Herricks School District, Cherry Lane Elementary School and Rushmore Avenue School in the Carle Place School District, Hillside Grade School in the New Hyde ParkGarden City Park School District, Hillside Public Library in New Hyde Park, Manhasset Second-

ary School, St. Aidan School in Williston Park and Weber Middle School in the Port Washington School District, according to the release.

“Winthrop-University Hospital is amazed at the incredibly generosity of New York State Sen. Jack Martins and all of the groups who helped to collect toys for our pediatric patients this year,” said John Collins, President and CEO of Winthrop-University Hospital.

“This wonderful outpouring of kindness will certainly brighten the lives of our young patients throughout the year and we thank him for being so instrumental in making this happen.”

State Sen. Jack Martins helps one of Winthrop’s child patients pick out one of the toys that he collected through his annual holiday toy drive.

North Hills aide retires after 29 years on job

BY B R YA N A H R E N S Marcia Greco said her role in helping residents in the Village of North Hills has been more than a fulfilling experience for her.

“I’m been very fortunate,” said Greco, who retired on Friday after working for the village for 29 years “The community has been very nice to me.”

Greco, who served the position of assistant to the mayor and assistant to the building superintendent, said her work put her in the personal lives of the

North Hills residents.

“I know probably every resident,” she said.

Greco said she began working for the village as a part-time assistant in the village traffic court, later moving on to a fulltime position and eventually being asked by former Mayor John Lentini 20 years ago to serve as assistant to the mayor.

“My co-workers have always been supportive, kind and caring people who made every day a very happy one,” she said.

Greco’s work consisted of working as the mayor’s corre-

Marcia Greco

spondence and preparing meetings. She also spent the last 16 years working with Building Supervisor Donald Alberto, organizing memos, planning board schedules and building violations.

Village of North Hills Mayor Marvin Natiss, who has been mayor for over 11 years, described Greco as someone who was always on top of their work.

“She was a very efficient and conscientious person,” Natiss said. “She’s been wonderful.”

Greco said working with Natiss during his time as mayor has been memorable as well.

“It’s been a privilege to work for him,” she said.

The choice to retire, although difficult, came naturally, Greco said.

“My husband is ready to retire,” she said. “It’s been a hard decision to walk away from it but nothing is forever.”

Greco said she plans to spend more time with her husband and grandchildren and also wants to get involved in charity work and cooking.

Mineola zoning fund to pay for fire truck

BY B R YA N A H R E N S The Village of Mineola will be purchasing a new $1 million fire truck at no cost to taxpayers, Village Clerk Joseph Scalero said on Monday.

The village board voted at its Dec. 10 meeting to buy the truck using the Incentive Zoning Bonus Fund which was es-

tablished in 2006 as a quicker way for developers in Mineola’s downtown to go through the zoning process.

“The village board votes on the zoning application instead of the zoning board,” Scalero said regarding the incentive.

“This brings the process down to six months instead of the usual two to three years.”

Scalero said the fund is made up of donations made by developers who want to have the quicker zoning process. The donations, he said, can come in the form of cash or by paying for a village project, such as additional streetlights, and need to be approved by the village board.

“These donations have to

serve the public,” Scalero said.

He said due to the incentive fund the village is able to purchase the truck to replace the current 20-year-old truck that can no longer be maintained without having to issue a bond and pay the additional interest that would come with it.

“We’re one of the first villages to purchase a fire truck using

this kind of thing,” Scalero said.

He said the way in which the truck was purchased was ideal for the village.

“We are able to get a brand new truck without having to pay more money in interest on top of the $1 million,” he said. “The taxpayers don’t have to pay for it and it’ll last another 20 years.”

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

11

C O M M U N I T Y ne w s

Winthrop earns ‘Baby Friendly’ designation Winthrop-University Hospital has been awarded Baby-Friendly Designation

by Baby-Friendly, USA. Winthrop is the first and only hospital on Long Island to achieve this distinct honor. Currently, there are only 222 BabyFriendly hospitals and birthing centers in the United States.

“On behalf of Winthrop-University Hospital, I am proud of the ongoing effort that was put forth to achieve this prestigious designation,” said John F. Collins, president and CEO of Winthrop-University Hospital. “Certainly many mothers and babies will benefit from the hard work and dedication of every Winthrop nurse, physician and support staff member who made this possible. This is one more example of how Winthrop continues to raise the bar on Long Island for maternal-fetal medicine.”

Baby-Friendly USA Inc. is the accrediting body and the national authority for the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in the United States.

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global program that was launched by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund in 1991 to encourage and recognize hospitals and birthing centers that offer an optimal level of care for infant feeding and mother/ baby bonding.

Hospital’s that achieve the BabyFriendly Designation must undergo a rigorous onsite survey as well as implement all of the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, which represent evidencebased practices that have been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration, and meet the requirements of purchasing breast milk substitutes.

“The criteria are challenging, as they are designed to set the standards for the best possible breastfeeding support for mother and infant in the maternity setting, ensuring high quality of care in this critical area of mother/baby care,” said

Some of the members of Winthrop-University Hospital’s maternal child health team who were instrumental in helping the Hospital earn the Baby-Friendly Designation by Baby-Friendly, USA. Trish MacEnroe, executive director of Baby-Friendly USA, Inc, in an award letter recently presented to Winthrop.

According to Baby-Friendly USA, “providing infants with human milk gives them the most complete nutrition possible. Human milk provides the optimal mix of nutrients and antibodies necessary for each baby to thrive. Scientific studies have shown that breastfed children have far fewer and less serious illnesses than those who never receive breast milk, including a reduced risk of SIDS, childhood cancers and diabetes.

Recent studies also show that women who breastfeed enjoy decreased risks of breast and ovarian cancer, anemia, and osteoporosis. They are empowered by

their ability to provide complete nourishment for their babies. Both mother and baby enjoy the emotional benefits of the very special and close relationship formed through breastfeeding.”

“Becoming a Baby-Friendly facility is a comprehensive, detailed and thorough journey toward excellence in providing evidence-based, maternity care with the goal of achieving optimal infant feeding outcomes and mother/baby bonding,” said Eileen Magri, vice president, Nursing, at Winthrop-University Hospital, who spearheaded the Baby Friendly initiative.

“It was an effort that involved support from many areas of the Hospital and we wear this designation proudly.”

More than 5,000 babies each year

begin their lives in Winthrop’s New Life Center, a modern facility that offers 16 labor-delivery-recovery rooms, each attractively decorated to provide a comfortable, homey environment.

While the ambiance is tranquil, expectant moms and dads can also feel secure in the knowledge that the sophisticated technology and vast resources of a major, university-affiliated medical center are close at hand should a complication develop.

For more information about Maternal/Child Care at Winthrop, visit www. winthrop.org or call 1-866-WINTHROP.

Wood available to public at Long Island state parks The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has advised that wood is available to the public at various state parks on Long Island.

A wood permit must be obtained from the park office before any wood is removed from the facility.

The permit is for the removal of wood from downed and/or fallen trees that park staff would have had to remove.

At some parks there will be a deposit of $10 (exact change only). Some of the wood available is already cut and some may need cutting according to your needs. This wood is ideal for firewood usage.

Please be advised that this permit is for wood removal only, dumping of any material on state land is strictly prohibited.

This policy is in place to prevent the spread of wood-boring beetles and invasive plant species.

Park staff will strictly enforce that no woodchips, logs, soil, or any organic matter will be brought into any state park participating with the wood removal program.

A regulation is in effect by the Department of Environmental Conservation that limits the transportation of untreated firewood to less than 50 miles from its source.

Quarantines exist which further restrict firewood transportation. For further information on the rules and regulations, please contact the DEC at 1-866-6400652 or visit their website www.dec. ny.gov.

For further information please call the park office or the Long Island State Park Headquarters - Permit Department at (631) 321-3514.

For more information about our New York State Parks, please visit our website www.nysparks.com.

PARK Gov. A.E. Smith Sunken Meadow (631) 269-4333

DAYS/HOURS DEPOSIT Monday-Friday* No Deposit 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS Small pick-up/ commercial plates allowed

Heckscher (631) 581-2100

7 Days/week* $10 Deposit 8 a.m.– 3 p.m.

Small pick-up/ commercial plates allowed

Hempstead Lake (516) 766-1029

7 Days/week* No Deposit 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Small pick-up/ commercial plates allowed

Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park (516) 922-8600

Monday-Friday* No Deposit 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Small pick-up/ commercial plates allowed

Valley Stream (516) 825-4128

7 Days/week* No Deposit 8:30 a.m.– 3:30 p.m.

No commercial vehicles

Wildwood (631) 929-4314

7 Days/week* No Deposit 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Small pick-up/ commercial plates allowed

*Please call in advance for specific times/dates permits are available.

12 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Opinion

OUR VIEWS

Cuomo caves Column captured loss of to fracking foes community institution When he made his long-awaited decision to ban hydraulic fracturing or, as it is better known, fracking, Gov. Cuomo demonstrated that he lacks the courage to make a politically unpopular decision.

The governor procrastinated for more than a year while his campaign for re-election was underway claiming that he didn’t have enough information about the potential risks of fracking.

Then last week, with no new scientific information about the potential dangers of fracking, Cuomo decided to ban the practice statewide that has created in a financial windfall just across the border in Pennsylvania while wiping his hands clean of any responsibility.

Unfortunately towns along New York’s southern tier will not enjoy that fracking windfall.

In Pennsylvania non-skilled workers employed in fracking-related industries are earning on-average $80,000. In New York’s southern tier there is widespread unemployment and now the one ray of hope they were clinging to has disappeared thanks to Cuomo’s decision.

Cuomo, who, as far as we know, has never collected an unemployment check, did not show that he appreciates the impact of his decision.

He killed the dreams of thousands of New Yorkers who hoped they would soon be part of a profitable industry already flourishing in other states. He gave in to hysteria and unfounded fears and without scientific evidence decided to ban fracking. He rejected an industry that has proven potential based on risks that have yet to be proven.

According to the governor, state Environmental Commissioner Joe Martens, and state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, have decided that the health and environmental risks of fracking are too high.

Are we suggesting there is no risk involved in hydraulic fracturing?

Not at all. For that reason we think the state should move forward carefully with the process carefully monitoring the impact on the environment.

But hydraulic fracturing is not new. The technique was first used in 1947 and re-emerged 1998 with the advent of horizontal drilling.

During that time there have not been large-scale disasters caused by fracking, no mass contaminations of water supplies, no cities turned into ghost towns.

We don’t make light of the potential for serious problems, but we believe that the risks must be balanced against the potential of fracking to help America become energy independent and its potential to create new jobs in New York’s southern tier. The devastating impact of low energy prices on such bad actors as Russia, Iran and Venezuela is just the icing on the cake.

While fracking may never be a good idea for the heavily populated New York metropolitan area, the benefits of hydraulic fracturing would have reached every corner of the state, including Nassau County. Energy prices would have gone down and industries have found new money for expansion and hiring. Although there is considerable debate about the risks, no one doubts the potential economic benefits of fracking. Pennsylvania is proof of this.

Cuomo should have searched for a middle road that could have carefully controlled and limited the risks while allowing the financial windfall to begin.

Instead he took the politically safe and cowardly way out.

Blank Slate Media LLC 105 Hillside Avenue, Williston Park, NY 11596 Phone: 516-307-1045 Fax: 516-307-1046 E-mail: hblank@theislandnow.com EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Steven Blank

L

READERS WRITE

ovely article by Judy Epstein re the demise of our local Port Washington King Kullen supermarket.

Of all of our local supermarkets, King Kullen consistently has had the most pleasant help in every department and I will

miss them.

Also, I’d like to mention that the local Long Island Cullen family was the originator of this chain.

I almost forgot to mention the wonderful service King Kullen provided in the aftermath of

Sandy and our loss of power.

They provided tables in our Port Washington store with charging stations for us to be able to use our cell phones, etc.

Anne Brown Port Washington

GOP majority a boon to big business, special interests

I

f anyone who voted for Republicans expected new and positive ideas and legislation, disappointment has already begun.

In order to keep the government open, provisions added to the funding bill revealed business as usual. They returned to the same policies that gave Wall Street the power to engage in practices that nearly destroyed our economy, putting taxpayers on the hook.

Also, ultra-wealthy donors are to be allowed to increase their contributions to political parties tenfold.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, who will ascend to the post of Senate Majority Leader in January,

has already announced his first priority. He aims to pass a bill to build the Keystone XL pipeline.

The pipeline, which would carry low-grade crude from the tar sands of Canada to the Gulf Coast in Louisiana to be refined and shipped. He added that it will be a very important jobcreator.

That contention is highly questionable and the possible effect on the environment is extremely worrisome.

Obviously the biggest beneficiaries will be the huge interests that lobby heavily and make huge political contributions.

Next, U.S. District Court Judge, Arthur Schwab, a federal judge in Pennsylvania who

has a history of being removed from cases on charges of bias, has ruled that President Obama’s actions on immigration are unconstitutional. His ruling is not likely to have any effect.

This is only a beginning. Stay tuned for the predictable activity we can expect from those who certainly have little regard for most of us.

Be prepared to make your opinions known to our representatives, early and often.

In the meantime, best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Esther Confino New Hyde Park

letters p olic y Letters should be typed or neatly handwritten, and those longer than 300 words may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters must include the writer’s name and phone number for verification. Anonymously sent letters will not be printed. Letters must be received by Monday noon to appear in the next week’s paper. All letters become the property of Blank Slate Media LLC and may be republished in any format. Letters can be e-mailed to news@theislandnow.com or mailed to Blank Slate Media, 105 Hillside Ave., Williston Park, NY 11596.

OFFICE MANAGER Holly Blank

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REPORTERS Bryan Ahrens, Adam Lidgett COLUMNIST Karen Rubin ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Stacy Shaughenessy, Barry Vigder, Melissa Spitalnick art director Jewell Davis

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

13

READERS WRITE

Liberty survivors will not surrender

I

can understand why Mr. Bruckheimer wants us to just go away and stop talking about the USS Liberty however he relates an account about the alleged 1991 Senate investigation that is factually incorrect and which cannot go unchallenged.

It has not gone unnoticed that in relating his account he totally ignores the account of USS Liberty survivors and relies entirely on the account of the originator of the “Myth of the 13 Congressional investigations of the attack on the USS Liberty” and apparently is asking others to do the same.

While it is true that we had a meeting with Congressman Nicholas Mavroules in which we advocated for a complete and comprehensive public Congres-

sional investigation of the attack on our ship there is absolutely no evidence that any effort was made by any of Mr. Mavroules’ staff to determine what happened during the attack other than the question he asked Jay Cristol.

USS Liberty survivor John Hrankowski was in almost daily contact with Mr. Mavroules’ staff and at no time did anyone on Mavroules’ staff indicate an interest in obtaining the account of USS Liberty survivors.

At no time were we invited to provide sworn testimony to anyone on Mavroules’ staff.

Other than the documentation we provided to Congressman Mavroules during our meeting with him at no time were we invited to provide any further evidence or testimony about the

attack on our ship.

I don’t know how to state it any clearer.

At no time has any Member of Congress or Congressional Staff Member solicited the account of any USS Liberty survivor.

How do you conduct an investigation without soliciting sworn testimony from those of us who were there?

If Mr. Bruckheimer would do as we did and ask the historians of both the US House and U.S. Senate if the attack on the USS Liberty was the subject of Congressional scrutiny he will learn that they cannot find any evidence in the records available to them that any member of Congress has subjected the attack to any level of scrutiny at all.

I also visited the Congressio-

nal Research Service and asked the researcher to whom such questions would be addressed and asked him, “Has the US government conducted an investigation of the June 8, 1967 attack on the USS Liberty.”

His response was immediate and unequivocal. “No.” Perhaps Mr. Bruckheimer would be willing to ask him Congressman to pose the same question to the CRS. Somehow I think not but maybe others will be.

I hope that Mr. Bruckheimer is interested in hearing our account of the attack. If he or anyone else is interested in talking with us we hold an annual memorial service at noon on June 8 at the Navy Memorial located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC.

lic.

The event is open to the pub-

What he won’t see at the memorial service is any member of Congress, any official representative of the American Legion, any official representative of the Navy League, any official representative of the U.S. Navy or any official representative of the Department of Defense.

For some reason we are such an embarrassment to them that even giving the public appearance of honoring the sacrifice of 34 Americans who gave their lives for our country is not a risk official representatives of those organizations are willing to take.

Joe Meadors USS Liberty Survivor Director of Operations, USS Liberty Veterans Association

Proof of greedy, mean-spirited Republicans

T

hank you for printing Emery Rose’s letter in the Dec. 12th “Great Neck News.”

It confirms everything I’ve learned over a lifetime, namely that many Republicans are greedy and mean-spirited.

Rose uses the pronoun “they” to conjure up an image of a monolithic group of predators whose goal in life is to steal from the affluent, but he never spells out who the “they” are. I can only assume he has blacks and Latinos in mind.

He certainly isn’t referring to those of us receiving Social Security and Medicare because we have contributed to these lifesustaining programs over the decades when we were part of the workforce.

I don’t know whether it’s fair to think of Rose as a bigot, however, one of his lines points in that direction.

He writes: “They cannot pay for any aspect of their lives, so the rest of us are stuck with the bill.”

Again,the ubiquitous but undefined “they.”

The implication here is that these unnamed people do not have jobs, do not pay taxes and spend all their time supping at the public trough. This would, indeed, be shocking, if true, but it isn’t.

According to the United States Department of Commerce, the percentage of whites on welfare is 38.8 percent and for blacks it’s 39.9 percent.

The number for Hispanics

comes in at only 15.7 percent.

This means that the vast majority of all Americans are gainfully employed, taxpaying citizens.

Finally, Rose and I are paying our hard-earned dollars to, only, the 4.1 percent of the population which receives welfare.

It is sad that the most advanced and powerful nation in history is one of the last to adopt social welfare programs to improve the lives of those amongst us most in need.

Here, I fault the Republican party which in the 1930s opposed Social Security and today tries to derail the Affordable Care Act. We need to remember the words of Tom Paine who wrote at the time of the American Revolution.... “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren...to do good is my religion.” Amen!

Dr. Hal Sobel Great Neck

Sharpton, de Blasio fail to Liberty theory show NYC police respect doesn’t hold water This truly is a most sad time for the city of New York and the country as two police officers were executed in cold blood while in their patrol car serving the community.

They were officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. This took place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and this heinous act was perpetrated by a most deranged individual who hated police named Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

My heartfelt prayers go out to their fellow officers, friends and families as they grieve for two fine officers.

There is although an atmosphere of hate generated by certain community leaders like Al Sharp-

ton and others like him at protests across the country.

Mayor de Blasio and certain members of the city council have further fueled the fire of mistrust, disrespect, and a complete disregard what our brave men and women do everyday.

The members of the NYPD risk their lives each and ever day protecting and serving the community with honor and distinction. And yet there are those in these communities who seek to harm them.

It’s time to stand up for the NYPD in their support.

I’m a member of the Republican Club of Queens Village and is the oldest in the country and was

started in 1875 and we will be holding a rally in their support.

This will take place on Tuesday Jan. 13, 2015 at 12:00 noon, in front of Queens Borough Hall.

This is located at 120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens.

For more information contact Captain Joseph Concannon at jconcannon@joe4ny.org.

Let all concerned law abiding citizens show up in support of our finest on that day. These attacks upon our Finest must stop.

Remember this too: Evil thrives when good people do nothing !

Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Glen Oaks Village

T

he anti-Israel faction may be interested to know that Israel cannot possibly have deliberately attacked the USS Liberty with an attempt to blame it on the Arabs.

All the Arab air forces were totally destroyed by Israeli air strikes on the first day of the Six-Day War on June 6, 1967.

The attack on the USS Liberty

occurred two days later.

Israel therefore cannot possibly have attempted to blame the attack on the Arabs as they were without any air power on that day. The Israelis are not that stupid.

This attack was an unfortunate tragic error. Period.

Mark Karim Great Neck

For the latest news, visit us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.theislandnow.com

14 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

A loo k o n the li g hter si d e

What’s in a name? Money!

A few years ago, while sharing a room with a sports broadcast, I caught the phrase “at the Staples center” out of the corner of my ear.

I vaguely knew that it referred to some kind of arena - but where?

And why name a building after staples, of all things?

I asked my husband, “If they’re going to use a silly name like that, why not ‘Toaster’? That, at least, would be something warm.”

“It’s a company, Judy - you know, the store that sells office supplies?”

Now I was even more baffled.

“So, what do office supplies have to do with sports?”

“Nothing. They have nothing to do with anything, except money.

Staples, the company, paid millions of dollars to have the building named after them. Nobody is going to spend millions of dollars to name someplace after a toaster.”

“Well, why not? I would.”

“Yes, I believe you would.

Which is why you don’t have millions of dollars.”

He’s right. I have absolutely no understanding of many things, in-

cluding the whole concept of naming rights. They just annoy me.

Whenever somebody “buys” a name, all it means is I have to relearn some geography.

Even when it happened decades ago. What’s the Avenue between Fifth and Seventh - Sixth Avenue? No, it’s Avenue of the Americas — even though only Wikipedia has the faintest idea why. ( “To honor ‘Pan-American ideals and principles,’” it says. Whatever that means.) Now, it’s just another way to befuddle tourists.

In my town, every time they have a parade, they rename the streets — but at least they usually return to the names I know, when the parade is over.

But quick - Where’s the Ed Koch bridge? It’s a bigger mystery than Grant’s tomb. (A: It’s the bridge otherwise known as the Queensboro or the 59th Street. Now it has three names to argue about.)

As for the recently re-named RFK Bridge, even the road signs forget, half the time, and still call it the Triborough.

“And a good thing, too, because

Judy epstein

A Look on the Lighter Side if they didn’t, nobody could find it.

Proving my point,” I add.

“What is your point, anyway?”

“That naming rights are stupid.”

Besides, “Staples” Center is so generic! It could be anywhere.

At least with Yankee Stadium, you know you’re in New York City, with the Yankees. If it’s Fenway Park, you’re in the Fens of Boston.

But if you’re listening to a game at Petco Park, well, where are you?

Or in AT&T Park (San Fran-

cisco), AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas), or AT&T Field (Chattanooga, Tennessee)?

How can you know which is which, when a phone service is something that’s either everywhere, or nowhere?

Or take FedEx Center, named for a company whose sole function is to get things from anywhere, to anywhere else, overnight. So where are they? Heck if I know.

The worst of this naming business is that, even when somebody spends millions of dollars to name something, it doesn’t stay named.

Look at Avery Fisher Hall, in Lincoln Center.

The New York Philharmonic and Lincoln Center just paid the Fisher Family $15 million to take their name back off the building, so that “naming rights” could be sold again to someone else. Someone with deeper pockets.

Whoever that is, however, should be warned — they’re only likely to last until someone with even deeper pockets wanders by.

Never mind carving your name in stone; nowadays they just scrib-

ble your name on a sticky note and slap it up over the door.

For that matter, why even call it Lincoln Center?

At this rate, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument had better watch out, too.

Gosh, maybe we’ll all wake up one morning and find out we’re living in David Koch City, in the state of Bloomberg, in the United States of Simoleon. What won’t money buy next? Children?

Actually, it’s nothing new to name your child after a rich relative, in hopes that someday they’ll bequeath your darling a little something.

But now, you can name and rename them, as you up the ante.

In this spirit, I am entertaining bids for the naming rights to MaxA-Million and MegaBuck, my boys.

Who knows?

Cough up enough, and I might even find it in my heart to start writing A Look On The Lighter Side of Your-Name-Here.

At least until Your-BetterName-Here comes along

from the d es k of se n ator j ac k marti n s

Where have George Baileys gone?

I’ve always loved this time of year.

The holidays hold an awful lot of magic and memories for me. Virtually everything, from watching old black and white movies (I can’t watch them colorized!) to untangling impossible clusters of Christmas lights, possesses the astonishing ability to charge up my ol’ Christmas spirit.

But as a state senator, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of free time for much of that these days. While I savor being part of our community celebrations, there are days that the grittier, everyday business of state politics sucks that joy right out of me.

It’s a challenge not to become jaded and as each of us deals with the push and pull of the holiday rush, I’m sure I’m not alone. That’s what this column is about.

When I started writing it last week, all of my themes were geared toward exposing some recent political boondoggle or another. In fact, I couldn’t decide which of the many I would touch upon first.

While I knew that I usually reserve this week’s column for some compelling observations about the spirit of the season, I just wasn’t seeing or even feeling it this year.

I tried some Christmas music, driving around to look at lights, and finally stared at our own beautiful Christmas tree into the dark, wee hours of the night. Nothing happened.

I even brought out the big guns and watched one of my favorite films, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with hopes it might jolt a more sympathetic Christmas message out of me.

Here was the protagonist, George Bailey doing the right things time and again his entire life: saving his brother who fell into a frozen pond, preventing the drunk pharmacist, Mr. Gower from accidentally poisoning someone, taking over his father’s Savings and Loan to keep it out of the clutches of the greedy Mr. Potter who wanted to throw people out of their homes.

To be sure, the whole movie is an homage to human goodness, the story of a man whose

jack m. martins State Senator

own interests continually take a back seat to his helping others.

Let’s be honest. When was the last time Hollywood produced a script about an everyday, self-sacrificing, family man whose only reward was his own sense of gratitude?

It left me further discouraged and wondering, “Where have all the George Baileys gone?”

Selflessness is truly a rare commodity in today’s world and in government some would say it’s gone the way of the dinosaur. Can it be that in a world where everything is spun and marketed, integrity and righ-

teousness just no longer have a place?

I dutifully watched until its end - until “an angel gets his wings” – then clicked it off and retired for the night as I had a long day ahead of me.

Early the next morning I set out with my staff to collect some donations for our annual Holiday Toy Drive benefiting children at Winthrop-University Hospital.

You can probably guess what happened next.

We were bowled over by the generosity of treasure, time and spirit that was waiting for us. At numerous locations from Port Washington to Mineola to Herricks we were met by dozens of children, parents and educators eagerly waiting to send more than 2,000 new toys to the kids at Winthrop!

When we arrived at the hospital, we dropped off a virtual mountain of toys to children and parents who could not have been more awestruck and thankful.

It became apparent to me that these were much more than playthings for these families.

It was confirmation that good, everyday, self-sacrificing people still exist and that they are our neighbors, right here on Long Island.

Here were the George Baileys I was seeking, right under my nose the whole time. Here was the spirit of Christmas.

Truth be told, I feel pretty lucky too.

As your senator, you allow me to deliver that Christmas cheer and the hope that comes with it. Then I get the added benefit of soaking in all the goodness that comes as a result of your kindness.

So on behalf of all of us who benefit from innumerable acts of kindness and charity, including those children and families who’ll be spending their holidays in the hospital, I offer you our sincerest gratitude.

And for those of you whose quiet kindness, like George Bailey’s, goes unrecognized or is intentionally anonymous, I especially thank you during this Holiday Season.

God bless you, one and all.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays!

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

15

REAdERS WRITE

Tamarin’s work slimed by letter-writer

R

uth Tamaron’s legacy as Great Neck Park Commissioner will shine brightly.

We strongly resent the defamatory letter Elizabeth Allen wrote about Ruth Tamarin in the Great Neck News, issue Dec. 5.

While ostensibly extolling the virtues of Ms. Tamarin’s great work as a park commissioner, the main thrust of her remarks suddenly turn dark, vitriolic and malicious, attacking Ms. Tamarin on a personal basis and impugning her integrity in general.

What makes these charges especially ludicrous is that they spring from the thoughts of a trusted friend and a staunch campaign

supporter who helped Ms. Tamarin get elected from the beginning of her tenure some 16 years ago.

Surely, therefore, Ms. Allen certainly should know better both professionally and personally than to attack Ms. Tamarin’s motives in endorsing a candidate.

Indeed, it wasn’t until some months after her retirement that, after painstakingly weighing which candidate is the most qualified to best serve on the board and the park district, did Ms. Tamarin decide to announce her support of Sharon Epstein.

That motive, based on what’s best for the parks, was the sole and only reason for Ms. Tamarin’s endorsement of Ms. Epstein.

Park.

(Who consequently lost her election bid).

Which begs the question.

No words full of weeds can damage her Would Ms. Allen’s vindictive letter have legacy. been written if Ms. Tamarin had endorsed Ms. Allen’s candidate? We all know the anBob and Shelly Sobel, swer.

Norman and Doris Elman, Arlene and The nasty letter speaks for itself. In the Gerry Donowitz, Ruth and Cal Ellis, end it will be tossed into recycle pails, and Cindy (Cecile) Gold, Ms. Allen will have achieved nothing except Rose Grabelsky, to harm herself.

Gus and Sue Klein, As for Ms. Tamarin, besides all her nu- Carolyn and Paul Knepfer, Barbara and merous accomplishments as park commisRichard Shapiro, Golda Shapiro, and sioner, her gifts to our district will remain Pat and Herb Zibulsky. and grow much like one of her achieveGreat Neck ments, the planting of those beds of beautiful perennials that decorate Steppingstone

No free lunch for mass transit riders

A

ny Long Island Rail Road riders and elected officials who oppose proposed fare hikes to be implemented in March 2015 missed the reason why fare hikes occur.

Prior to 1965, the Long Island Rail Road derived almost 100 percent of its funding for both capital and operating expenses from fares.

Chartered by the state Legislature in 1965 as the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, it was created to purchase and operate the bankrupt Long Island Rail Road.

The MCTA changed its name to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968 when it took over operations of the New York City Transit Authority.

Over the past 49 years, billions of dollars in combined county city, state and federal taxpayers generated dollars have subsidized both the capital and operating costs for the LIRR. Fare hikes are periodically required if the MTA and operating agencies such as the Long Island Rail Road are to provide the services millions of New Yorkers on a daily basis count on.

They are inevitable due to inflation along with increasing costs of labor, power, fuel, supplies, materials, routine safety, state of good repair, replacement of worn out rolling stock, upgrades to stations, yards and shops along with

system expansion projects necessary to run any transit system.

For those public officials who oppose any fare increases and are quick to demagogue on this issue (for political purposes to win upcoming primary or general elections), just how would you assist the MTA in balancing current financial shortfalls?

Which capital improvement projects would you propose the MTA cancel to help balance the budget and avoid fare increases? Which route(s) would you support service reductions to save operating dollars? Would you volunteer to reduce service, cancel or delay any capital projects benefiting constituents in your district?

MTA services continue to be one of the best bargains in town.

Since the 1950s, the average cost of riding either the bus, subway or commuter rail has gone up at a lower rate than either the consumer price index or inflation. The Metro Card introduced in 1996 affords a free transfer between bus and subway. Prior to this, riders had to pay two full fares.

Many Great Neck, New Hyde Park, Herricks, Williston Park, Searingtown, Albertson, Mineola, Manhasset, Roslyn and other Long Island residents purchase either a weekly or monthly LIRR pass and or New York City Transit bus/ subway Metro Card to further reduces

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the cost per ride. Many employers offer transit checks, which pay even more of your costs.

In the end, quality and frequency of service is dependent upon secure revenue streams. We all will have to contribute - be it at the fare box or tax revenues generated by different levels

of government redistributed back to the MTA. TANSTAFFL or “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” or in this case a free ride.

Larry Penner Great Neck

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16 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

C O M M U N I T Y ne w s

Planting Fields given $250K grant

M A R A G O S , S A N TA V I S I T G AT E W AY

Planting Fields Foundation has been awarded $250,000 from the state Environmental Protection Fund through the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council to construct a comprehensive outdoor Educational Center within the newly built Sensory Garden.

The outdoor Education Center will provide a spacious accessible area to host school groups, garden club meetings, continuing educational workshops and seminars as well as serve the needs of our daily visitors. It will feature programming that focuses on gardening, horticulture, environmental stewardship, and sustainability.

The educational center will

include an observation deck that will serve as an outdoor learning laboratory.

A fresh water pond and rain garden will be installed which will exhibit some of Long Island’s unique ecology of native grasses, trees, plants and wildlife, and the Main Greenhouse Classroom deck will be renovated to accommodate larger groups and create a more cohesive natural environment for lectures, demonstrations, and performances.

This is an invaluable addition to the arboretum and will be another step that Planting Fields is taking toward serving a broader audience.

Korean American Day celebration on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 12 p.m. in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building. The celebration will commemorate the proud heritage of Korean Americans and their

hancing Nassau County’s culture, economy, and the founding ideals of independence and democracy. Three prominent KoState Sen. Jack M. Marrean Americans who have made tins (R-7th Senate District) is significant contributions in their reminding residents that the field will be honored. deadline to file applications for New York State’s School Tax Relief program and other property tax exemptions with the Nassau County Department of Assessment is Jan. 2.

Basic STAR is available to all New Yorkers who own and live in their own home, condominium, or cooperative apartment whose adjusted gross income does not exceed $500,000, regardless of age.

Enhanced STAR is available to senior citizen property owners whose adjusted gross income (less any taxable IRA distribution) is under $83,300 and

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos recently visited Gateway Youth Outreach in Elmont, where Santa Claus arrived with gifts for children. Gateway serves youth in Elmont, Floral Park, Franklin Square, New Hyde Park, North Valley Stream and Stewart Manor. It is located at 534 Elmont Road and runs after-school programs at Elmont elementary schools.

Pictured from left: (back row) Sister Evelyn, Gateway Youth Outreach executive director Pat Korean American Day Celebration Boyle, Elmont Fire Department Chief Ralph Esposito, and Maragos, and (front row) Santa Nassau County will host a invaluable contributions to en- with children who participate in Gateway’s programs.

STAR program deadline approaching

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who will be age 65 or older by Dec. 31, 2015. If the property is owned by a husband and wife, or by siblings, only one of them must be at least 65 years old to qualify for this exemption.

Residents who already receive the Basic STAR exemption or who participate in the Enhanced STAR Income Verification Program do not need to re-file.

Residents who moved to a new house and had the STAR exemption at their previous address need to file a new application. The STAR exemption is not automatically transferred to a new address.

In addition, Nassau County also offers other property tax exemptions, including:

• Senior citizens • Veterans • Cold War veterans • Volunteer firefighters or ambulance service workers • Persons with disabilities & limited incomes • First-time homebuyers of newly constructed homes Residents who would like to obtain applications or more information about any of these property tax exemptions can do so by calling the Nassau County Department of Assessment at (516) 571-1500 or visiting www. nassaucountyny.gov, clicking on “Departments”, and then clicking the link for the Department of Assessment. Applications must be filed by Jan. 2.

Veterans’ exemption applications due The Town of North Hempstead Town reminds residents that all school districts in the town have opted to adopt the Veterans’ Exemption for those veterans who are currently receiving the Alternative Veterans’ Exemption under New York State law.

Each school district has until Jan. 2 to pass a resolution allowing the exemption to be applicable for the 2015-2016 school tax year.

The following Town of North Hempstead school districts that opted in are: Carle Place, East Williston, Great Neck, Herricks, Manhasset, Mineola, New Hyde Park/Garden City Park, Port

Washington, Roslyn, and Westbury school districts, as well as three districts which lie partially in other towns: Floral Park/Bellerose, Jericho, and North Shore.

Veterans who have been receiving the Alternative Veterans’ Exemption on their General Tax bill will automatically receive the exemption on their 2015-2016 School Tax bill.

Veterans who are currently receiving the Eligible Funds Veterans’ Exemption on their General Tax bill will not automatically receive the Alternative Veterans’ Exemption on their School Tax bill. To ensure that these veterans do not miss the opportunity to re-

duce their school tax burden, the Town mailed them applications for an Alternative Veterans’ Exemption for School Tax only.

Applications must be submitted to the Nassau County Department of Assessment located at 240 Old Country Road (4th floor) in Mineola prior to Jan. 2, the last day to file exemption applications for the 2015 – 2016 School Tax bill. Eligible Funds Veterans should indicate on the application that they wish to maintain their current Eligible Funds Veterans Exemption on their General Taxes.

For more information, please call 311.

The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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18 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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mineola trustees OK Roslyn school board emergency repairs honors former coach

BY B R YA N A H R E N S

Village of Mineola trustees authorized $24,500 in emergency repairs on Wednesday after street lighting conductors were damaged about two weeks ago by village employees doing road work.

Superintendent of Public Works Thomas Rini told village trustees at their regularly scheduled board meeting that the damaged conductors, which connect 16 light poles at Roselle Street, Barwick Boulevard and Betty Lane, were not supposed to be in the areas of the streets being worked on.

“They were not supposed to be in the road bed.” Rini told trustees. “I didn’t think the damage would be this extensive.”

Rini went on to say that the lines were installed before the Village of Mineola acquired the roads and so far this

has been the only case of lines being installed in the wrong place.

Rini said the lines are supposed to run between the street and the sidewalk as illustrated by roadwork plans. He said the repairing of these lines will take place immediately and no property lost power as a result of the damage.

The construction is part of a 2014 road construction project approved earlier in the year for $40,170, which is being performed by Dvirka & Bartilucci.

The project includes work on Sheridan Boulevard from Jericho Turnpike to Roselle Street; Barwick Boulevard from Jericho Turnpike to Roselle Street; Arlington Street from Sheridan Boulevard to Barwick Boulevard; Brown Street from Sheridan Boulevard to Barwick Boulevard; and Roselle Street from Sheridan Boulevard to Barwick Boulevard.

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ANIMAL HOSPITAL OF ROSLYN The Animal Hospital of Roslyn was established in 1995 and is a full service small animal practice located in Roslyn Heights, New York which specializes in canine and feline care.

BY B I LL S A N A N TON I O The plaque arrived in a box at Martina Martincich’s office last summer, during the retired school administrator’s term as interim athletic director for the Roslyn School District. It recognized Joe Lettera, the man who coached the Bulldogs varsity boys’ basketball team to 405 wins across four decades, for his induction this year to the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

The attached letter was from the now 85-year-old Lettera himself, requesting the district hang the plaque in the halls of Roslyn High School, where he spent the bulk of his coaching career, next to a memorial for his old friend Walter “Renny” Witzig, for whom the district now awards an annual scholarship.

Martincich – and Roslyn – obliged.

“Joe Lettera was a legend. I was a little afraid of him because here was this powerful man who got so much out of kids, who held them to such high standards and reached those standards,” Martincich said Friday during a Board of Education ceremony honoring the coach.

“You kind of have people in your life who you measure yourselves by their example,” she added. “You say to yourself, what would Joe have done? How would Joe have handled this?”

Lettera was inducted to the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in March. He coached both football and basketball at Roslyn High School over a 30-year period from 1958-89, when he retired as the district’s athletic director.

Lettera’s basketball teams had 28 seasons with winning records and won seven division titles and two Nassau County titles in an era that Martincich said predated Long Island and New York state championships.

Lettera was also named Nassau County’s 1973 Coach of the Year, was a two-time Long Island Basketball Officials’ sportsmanship award winner and was twice named president of the Nassau County Basketball Coach-

es Association.

“Everything I have today is because of the opportunities I had at the Roslyn public schools,” an emotional Lettera said Thursday.

School officials said the plaque would be placed next to a copy of a eulogy Lettera delivered for Witzig, a fellow coach and teacher who died suddenly in 1975.

“Joe, we thank you for who you were, and for who you will always be to this district and this school,” Martincich said. “It’s a great night to celebrate you.”

Former students, teachers Lettera hired at Roslyn and administrators shared their memories of the former coach during Thursday’s ceremony.

Steve D’Agostino, a graduate of Roslyn High School’s class of 1972, read an article he wrote for local newspapers near his residence in North Carolina about how Lettera named him an assistant football coach after he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis prior to the start of his senior season.

Former Roslyn High School physical education teacher Terri Hoffman-Yagoda said Lettera became her mentor during her time with the district.

Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner said he remembered playing against Lettera’s Roslyn teams when he was a student at Paul D. Schrieber High School in Port Washington in the late 1970s.

He said it was “one of the delights of being superintendent of the Roslyn School District” to honor Lettera, whose teams, Brenner acknowledged, were often more talented.

“I would just say for me, this has come full circle,” Brenner said. “…From my perspective, I honored you back then and I certainly honor you today.”

Clifford Saffron, the Board of Education’s vice president, said Lettera “should take tremendous pride in what you accomplished at Roslyn High School, the lives you touched.”

“I am so honored to be standing here in your presence and to be able to look at you and say thank you for all you have done for our community,” Saffron said.

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Roslyn Superintendent of Schools Dan Brenner and legendary Roslyn coach Joe Lettera embrace during Thursday’s ceremony (top) honoring the placement of Lettera’s New York State Basketball Hall of Fame plaque (left) in Roslyn High School.

bLAnk SLATE MEdIA December 26, 2014

Arts Center offers ‘Big Break’ to L.I. singers PHOTO COURTESY OF NEIL TANDY IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHERS INC.

Last year’s winner katie Zimmer

B Y A d A m L I d g E T T acoustic guitar or sing with a backing music track.

The Gold Coast Arts Center and Love Revolution Org will be looking for the next big star to come off Long Island over the course of the first few months of 2015.

During three nights in 2015 – Jan. 31, March 21 and April 18 – Gold Coast Acoustic Café will present the third annual “Big Break” Showcase Series at The Gold Coast Arts Center, located at 113 Middle Neck Road, the center announced on Wednesday.

The center began looking for submissions on Dec. 15 from local musicians between the ages of 15 and 25 who do not currently have a recording or publishing contract, according to a release form the arts center. Submissions can still be sent, while performer can perform with a band, solo with an

Interested participants can send one mp3, one photo and a short bio to gnacbigbreak@gmail.com for their submission before the deadline of Jan. 10.

The center, according to the release, decided this year to assign mentors to all the finalists once they have completed the second semi-final round.

The mentors will work with the contestants to help hone their skills before performing at the finals.

Mentors include arts and producers from Long Island, such as Ryan Star from the television program “Rockstar: Supernova,” John Hampson of the band Nine Days, songwriter Ido Zmishlany and Steve Thompson, who has produced music for Guns N’ Roses, Madonna and John Lennon.

The prizes include the chance to open for judge Bruce Michael at The Space at Westbury, record-

ing time with judges Donnie Klang and Matthew LaPorte at The Loft Studio, to feature at Reverbnation.com with judge Lou Plaia, the chance to participate in online TV streaming on IndiMusic TV with judge Chris Pati and the chance to win some musical equipment from All Music Inc. and judge Guy Brogna.

Other judges include mentoring with judge Linda Ingrisano at Five Towns College, a photo shoot

by Image Photographers, a video shoot with Kevin Wood Media, a publicity and promotion campaign from Rick Eberle Public Relations and radio appearances on WCWP and WUSB. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m., and the first act will perform starting at 8 p.m. each night. Students will pay a $5 for admission and adults will pay $10.

20 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

LEO’S

The Staff at Leo’s Wishes Everyone a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year Friday Only 25% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Saturday Only 25% Off Entire

The top seven events for the coming week Wednesday, Dec. 31, 6 & 8 p.m.

New Year’s Eve Comedy The Madison Theatre At Molloy College 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre.

(516) 323-4444 • http://madisontheatreny.org The Madison Theatre hosts the 6th Annual New Year’s Laughin’ Eve, an outrageous night of live stand-up comedy featuring a full lineup of top comedians from around the country, including Maria Walsh, Stevie G.B and Frankie Pace.

Jon Fisch Friday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 27, 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Jon Fisch Governors’ Comedy Club 90 Division Ave. Levittown (516) 731-3358 http://tickets.govs.com/index.cfm Host of the widely popular podcast, “In the Tank,” Fisch is a prolific monologist with universal appeal, focusing on the idiosyncrasies of city living. He was chosen as one of Comedy Central’s Fresh Faces of Comedy and appeared on Last Comic Standing

Lunch or Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Sunday Only 25% Off Entire

Long Island Philharmonic Wednesday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Long Island Philharmonic Annual New Year’s Eve Spectacular Tilles Center For The Performing Arts | LIU Post 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville (516) 299-3100 • http://tillescenter.org Music director and conductor David Stewart Wiley will lead the Long Island Philharmonic, now in its 36th year, in a perfomance entitled “Broadway Favorites,” featuring music from the top five longest-running Broadway musicals, plus much more.

Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Monday Only 30% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Tuesday Only 30% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check Cash Only • Alcohol not included

Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Wednesday Only 30% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included • Not available at the bar Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering Expires 1/1/15 • Dine In Only • Good for parties of 8 or less May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

190 Seventh St., Garden City 742-0574 • www.leosgardencity.com

Harlem Globetrotters Sunday Dec. 28,. 2 & 7 p.m.

The Harlem Globetrotters Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale (516) 794-9300 http://www.nassaucoliseum.com The iconic Harlem Globetrotters, bring their must-see, family friendly style of basketball to the Coliseum, featuring incredible ball handling wizardry, amazing rim-rattling dunks and trick shots, side-splitting comedy and unequaled on-court fan interaction.

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m.

Dark Star Orchestra The Paramount 370 New York Ave., Huntington (631) 673-7300, ext. 303 www.paramountny.com Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead concert experience, building their shows off the Dead’s extensive catalog. On any given night the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of touring or program a unique set list for the show.

Though Jan. 4 59th Annual Members’ Exhibition- Part Two Art League of Long Island 107 East Deer Park Road, Dix Hills (631) 462-5400 • www.artleagueli.org Paintings, drawings, collage, photography, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, and fiber arts, all handcrafted by student and professional artists will be shown on display.

A reception will be held Sunday, Jan. 4, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Through April, 2015 Objects Of Witness: Testimony of Holocaust Artifacts Holocaust Memorial And Tolerance Center Of Nassau County 100 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove (516) 571-8040 • http://www.hmtcli.org These artifacts have been lent or donated to the Center by the families of Holocaust victims and survivors, or by the survivors themselves.

Many of these artifacts were kept hidden during the Holocaust, at great risk to those who hid them.

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

21

League to host Baderian exhibit KC & Band to Works by Ruth Baderian, a well-known local artist and mentor to many at the Art League of Long Island, will be on display in the Art League’s Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery Jan. 10 through 25, Born July 2, 1927 in the Bronx, Baderian earned a scholarship to the Art Students League in New York City, becoming an artist and teacher specializing in watercolor and oil.

Her florals and landscapes in watercolor and oil are celebrated both nationally and internationally. Baderian won numerous awards for her work from well-known organizations including the Salmagundi Club, American Artists Professional League and Long Island University.

She studied with Jean Liberte, Harry Sternberg and Barbara Vassilieff, was a signature member of the American Watercolor Society and won the Grumbacher Gold Medal three times. She was a member of and teacher at the Art League of Long Island

and has been mentioned in Davenports Art Reference and Price Guide, Who’s Who in American Art (1973, 1976) and Who Was Who in American Art

by Falk.

Her works appeared in The Best of Flower Painting, Artistic Touch 2 and Artistic Touch 3 as well as in “Watercolor Magazine” Winter 1999, and in “American Artist Magazine” April 1996.

Although Baderian passed away on Dec. 17, 2010, she continues to inspire people through her deep sense of awe, reverence and gratitude that is represented in her paintings.

The Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery is open free of charge Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..

The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. For more information call (631) 462-5400 or visit www. artleagueli.org.

play Westbury

KC & The Sunshine Band,, with special guests The Sugar Hill Gang, will be performing for one night only at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Friday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.

You’ll party like it’s 1975 when KC & The Sunshine Band take the stage to perform their biggest hits including “Get Down Tonight,” “That’s The Way (I Like It),” “Shake Your Booty,” “I’m Your Boogie Man,” “Boogie Shoes,” “Please Don’t Go” and many more. Lead singer and keyboardist Harry Wayne “KC” Casey led The Sunshine Band from Florida to the top of the pop and disco charts from 1975 through the early ‘80s.

The Sugar Hill Gang were the first commercially successful rap group to emerge in the late ‘70s scoring a Top 40 hit with “Rapper’s Delight.”

Tickets are $69.50, $49.50 and $39.50 and available online at www.

ticketmaster.com charge by phone at 800-745-3000 or at the Westbury box office. Event, date and time are subject to change. For more information, visit www.thetheatreatwestbury.com.

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22 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Arts & Entertainment Calendar LANDMARK ON MAIN STREET 232 Main Street, Suite 1 Port Washington (516) 767-1384 ext. 101 www.landmarkonmainstreet.org Friday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m.

Joan Osborne Saturday, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.

Josh Ritter Friday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m.

The Pedrito Martinez Group Saturday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m.

Judy Gold Friday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m.

Jonathan Groff GOLD COAST ARTS CENTER 113 Middle Neck Road Great Neck (516) 829-2570 • http://goldcoastarts.org Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.

“Ballet 422 at Furman Film Series An intimate, fly-on-the-wall documentary offering a rare peek into the highly-guarded world of professional ballet, BALLET 422 follows Justin Peck, the 25-year old choreographer of the New York City Ballet, as he undertakes the Herculean task of creating the company’s 422nd original piece.

Through Jan. 12 Sound, Light, Movement Five artists that redefine art’s traditional parameters by engaging with a wealth of new materials, processes and technology.

Nassau county museum of art

1 Museum Dr., Roslyn (516) 484-9338 • http://nassaumuseum.org MAIN GALLERIES Through March 8, 2015 China Then and Now China Then and Now brings together exemplary Chinese works of art from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods.

The exhibition explores three millennia of one of the world’s most important artistic traditions from the perspective of American collectors on Long Island, such as Childs and Frances Frick and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler. The exhibition opens on Nov. 22, and remains on view through March 8.

SECOND FLOOR GALLERIES Through March 8 Long Island Collects the Arts of China An exhibition drawn from the holdings of Long Islanders whose collections include exceptional Chinese art in a variety of media.

Many of these works have never or rarelybefore been seen by the public.

PERMANENT COLLECTION GALLERY Through March 8 Louis Comfort Tiffany: Works on Paper Tiffany artworks from the museum’s permanent collection CONTEMPORARY COLLECTORS GALLERY Through March 8 Gavin Rain A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Gavin Rain works primarily in a neo-pointillist style. He cites two main narratives in his work: Hidden in plain sight, in which the subject cannot be seen until the viewer

takes a few steps back; and Pseudo digital, in which the artist uses rows of dots in a pattern similar to television or computer screens. He credits Seurat, Russian avant garde art of the 1900s and the work of many architects as his main artistic influences.

Rain’s work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions throughout the world.

ONGOING Sculpture Park More than 40 works, many of them monumental in size, by renowned artists including Fernando Botero, Tom Otterness, George Rickey and Mark DiSuvero among others are situated to interact with nature on the museum’s magnificent 145-acre property.

Walking Trails The museum’s 145 acres include many marked nature trails through the woods, perfect for family hikes or independent exploration.

Gardens From restored formal gardens of historic importance to quiet little nooks for dreaming away an afternoon, the museum’s 145 acre property features many lush examples of horticultural arts. Come view our expanded gardens and beautiful new path to the museum.

EVENTS Through March 8(with exceptions for specific programs) FILM: The Other Eye The Other Eye is the first film about artist Liu Dan, China’s major modern-day exponent of ink painting. A selection of the artist’s

work is on view in the museum’s current major exhibition devoted to the arts of China, from earliest times to the present. In The Other Eye we see a remarkable glimpse into Liu Dan’s creative process as he creates a large-scale landscape. Filmmaker Fan Xiaochun, has customized a 15-minute excerpt for the Museum from her longer documentary film about Liu Dan’s work. Free with Museum admission. Reservations not needed; first come, first seated.

Sundays, Dec. 28 from 1-4 p.m.

Family Tour at 1 p.m.

Converse, collaborate and create together during our Family Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Each week be inspired by exhibition based gallery conversations, and explore new art materials, vocabulary and ideas with our museum educator. Family Sundays provide children and the adults in their lives the opportunity to take time from their busy lives to reconnect while talking about and making art together. New Projects are featured every week! Not offered on Dec. 7 and 21; please plan to attend the special family programs those days!

Thursdays, Jan. 8, Feb. 5 from 1 to 2 p.m.

Brown Bag Lectures: Riva Ettus Bring a sandwich and enjoy lunch with friends as Museum Docent Riva Ettus presents an informative talk on the extensive range of art included in China Then and Now. Afterward, join the 2 p.m. public exhibition tour. Free with museum admission. Reservations not needed; first come, first seated.

Continued on Page 35

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Guide to New Year’s Dining 2014

a blank slate media special section • december 26, 2014

24 GUIDE TO nEW yEAR’S DInInG • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

ring in the new year with Festive Party ideas Although new year's Eve parties tend to be similar from year to year, hosts can explore the many ways to make their celebrations stand out from those of years past. This handy guide provides ideas to your get creative juices flowing. · Establish a color palette. Many people equate new year's Eve with the gold and silver hues of champagne. However, you can use any festive color for your party. Use the same colors on everything from invitations to dinnerware to takehome favors. · Encourage guest input. Guests understand the cost of hosting and the amount of planning necessary to throw a festive party, and many will likely reach out to ask what they can do or bring. Figure out in advance which aspects of the party you want your guests to take care of so you have a ready answer when the inquiries start rolling in.

· Keep musical tastes in mind. A fun party usually includes an array of familiar songs and music that appeals to the masses. When compiling a party playlist, choose songs guests are sure to know and love. Mix these in with a few of your favorites. you can even ask guests to provide the names of three favorite songs when they RSVP. · Dim the lights. Bright lights can make guests feel intimidated and awkward. Set the mood by turning off overhead lights, opting for ambient lighting instead. For a fun effect, string holiday lights around the room or use a portable disco ball to spread sparkling colors on the floor and ceiling. Candles are another option for intimate affairs, but should be avoided as a safety measure if you're having a large crowd. · Set out new year's fill-in-the-blank cards. Encourage guest participation with an entertaining idea. Print out small cards that guests have to

complete. Phrases like, "The bad habit I want to quit is ___" or "____ was the silliest thing I did last year," can be fun to do and share. Guests can take turns guessing whose card is being read. · Have the party catered. Unless you want to spend the evening in and out of the kitchen, invest in catering.

Guests of a late party won't expect a three course meal. However, platters of sandwiches, appetizers and other little munchies will fit the bill. Remember, caterers may book up fast this time of year, so be sure to reserve service well in advance of your party. · Create a specialty drink. In addition to toasting champagne or sparkling wine, serve a specialty drink creation. This can be a beverage that ties into your color scheme or the theme of the party. Dessert

drinks, such as chocolate martinis or vanilla cake-flavored vodka mixers, may be the right flavor for your affair.

As the host, you should remember to provide non-alcoholic alternatives as well. · Consider more substantial food after midnight. Encourage guests to eat more and drink less once the clock has struck midnight.

Casseroles and other baked dishes are easy to make in advance and have on hand. A breakfast buffet of pancakes, toast and omelets also will fill guests up with something more substantial than chips and dips. new year's Eve parties are a great way to reflect on the last year and look forward to a new one, and hosts can take steps to make their parties memorable for all the right reasons.

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014 • guide to new year’s dining

GET your new year’s eve GUESTS MOVING WITH DANCE SONGS A party is often made more memorable with some music, especially if hosts want to entice guests to dance. Whether you’re hiring a DJ or simply putting together a playlist of songs, you may want to consider these tunes — all of them with “dance” in the title.

• “All She Wants to Do is Dance” Don Henley • “Bite Your Lip, Get Up and Dance” Elton John • “Can’t Stop Dancing” Captain & Tennille • “Dance, Dance” Fall Out Boy • “Dance, Dance, Dance” The Beach Boys • “Dance For Me” Queen Latifah • “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” Paula Abdul • “Dance On Little Girl” Paul Anka • “Dance the Night Away” Van Halen • “Dance to the Music” Sly & the Family Stone • “Dancin’ Fool” The Guess Who • “Dancing in the Dark” Bruce Springsteen • “Dancing in the Moonlight” Thin Lizzy • “Dancing in the Streets” Martha & The Vandellas • “Dancing on the Ceiling” Lionel Richie • “Dancing Queen” ABBA • “Dancing With Myself” Billy Idol • “Evacuate the Dancefloor” Cascada • “Flashdance” Irene Cara • “Humpty Dance” Digital Underground • “I Hope You Dance” Lee Ann Womack • “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” Whitney Houston • “Just Dance” Lady Gaga • “Last Dance” Donna Summer • “Neutron Dance” Pointer Sisters • “Private Dancer” Tina Turner • “Safety Dance” Men Without Hats • “Save the Last Dance for Me” The Drifters • “Shut Up and Dance” Aerosmith • “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” Leo Sayer • “Your Mama Don’t Dance” Loggins and Messina

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26 guide to new year’s dining • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

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A new year is on the horizon and men and women across the globe are readying their New Year’s resolutions.

In recent years, more and more men and women have resolved to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle in the year ahead.

But you don’t have to wait until the new calendar year to go green. In fact, New Year’s revelers can turn their New Year’s Eve party into an eco-friendly affair in a variety of ways.

Forgo paper products. New Year’s Eve festivities typically feature lots of food and beverages, and hosts can use this to get a head start on their resolutions. Instead of serving food on paper plates and beverages in disposable paper, plastic or foam cups, use reusable glassware or even plastic cups and plates that can be washed and reused. In addition, replace paper napkins with cloth napkins that can be used more than once.

When forgoing paper products, don’t forget to abandon traditional invitations for e-vites. Invite guests via e-mail or through social networking sites instead of sending out traditional paper invitations that needlessly use paper and need to be transported.

Embrace eco-friendly beverages.

Adult beverages are a big part of many New Year’s Eve parties, and even these beverages can be ecofriendly. The growing popularity of craft breweries, or microbreweries, has made it easy for party hosts to serve eco-friendly drinks. Purchase your party’s beer supply from a local microbrewery to cut down on the beer’s carbon footprint. Buying locally reduces reliance on transportation

to get items from the manufacturer into your refrigerator, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and pollution.

But beer isn’t the only way to make your beverage menu more ecofriendly. Hosts can replace traditional vodka with organic vodka and traditional wine with biodynamic wine.

When the time comes to toast the past year and ring in the new one, do so with champagne or sparkling wine made from organic grapes.

Encourage guests to recycle throughout the night. When guests arrive, explain to them that the night will be an eco-friendly affair. Set up a separate trash receptacle for recyclable items, including bottles and cans. Think of ways to use discarded wine and champagne bottles as decorative items, be it for table settings or vases to hold fresh flowers. And when recycling, don’t overlook the smaller items. Corks from wine bottles can be recycled and reused for a variety of products, including flooring tiles, building insulation and sports equipment.

Donate food at the end of the night. Hosts often have food leftover at the end of the night. Rather than discarding all those leftovers, donate them to a local food bank or homeless shelter. Make these arrangements in advance so the following morning you can donate the leftovers before they spoil.

New Year’s Eve is one of the most festive nights of the year. And with a few simple steps, hosts can make their gathering as eco-friendly as it is enjoyable.

Guide to Health, Wellness & Beauty News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

A blank slate media special section

27

| december 26, 2014

EYES ON HEALTH: What your eyes can tell doctors Researchers recently discovered a link between detected retinal amyloid plaques and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. While evidence was found in lab mice, autopsies of at least eight Alzheimer’s disease patients have also shown amyloid plaques, which are known to interfere with memory and other mental functions, present in the retinas. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, Calif., are gearing up for larger studies of humans to determine if an Alzheimer’s imaging technique can be perfected.

P

eople who have been putting off eye examinations may want to call their opthalmologists to schedule an appointment. That’s because vision checkups can do more than protect your eyes. By examining the eyes, doctors may have a window into health problems affecting other areas of the body.

Dementia is not the only thing that doctors may be able to detect through an eye exam. Jaundice in the whites of the eyes may indicate liver disease, and early warning signs of diabetes may be detectable in the eyes. The American Academy of Opthalmology says the eye is the only place where doctors can see veins, arteries and a nerve without surgery, and eye examinations are increasingly being relied on to gauge overall health.

The following are a few additional conditions that may be detected through the eyes.

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While this can be a sign of aging, dark circles, sometimes referred to as “allergic shiners,” also may indicate certain allergies.

When clogged sinuses cause a blockage of blood flow in the nasal passages around the eye, darkness may result. This symptom in conjunction with persistent nasal congestion could be a sure sign of allergies.

High cholesterol The presence of bumpy, yellowish patches on the eyelid, known as xanthelasma palpebra, is a warning sign of high cholesterol, which is often initially diagnosed during a routine eye exam.

Cancer Some cancer metastases can be detected during an eye exam. The presence of a bump or brown spot on the eyelid also may be indicative of skin cancer. Many malignant eyelid tumors are basal-cell carcinoma.

If the spot is brown, it’s more likely to be malignant melanoma.

Thyroid issues

When the outer one-third of the brow (the part closest to the ear) begins to disappear on its own, this is a common sign of thyroid disease. The thyroid helps regulate metabolism, and thyroid hormones are essential to hair production. Hair loss may occur elsewhere, but is much more visible in the brows.

Clogged arteries

Blockages in the smaller veins in the retina may indicate clogs caused by arterial plaque. This will show up as a retinal occlusion in a visual exam. If blood vessels in the eyes are blocked, clogged arteries may be present elsewhere in the body, so a cardiology workup may be ordered.

Bell’s palsy The inability to close one eye or to control tear production in that eye may be a sign of Bell’s palsy. This is a condition of the nervous system that controls facial muscles, causing temporary paralysis in one side of the face. Sometimes Bell’s palsy follows a viral or bacterial infection.

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has specialized in sport psychology for 20 years and works in the fields of golf, tennis, soccer, baseball, football, wrestling, lacrosse, figure skating, gymnastics, softball, fencing and more. He has helped professional teams, Olympians and elite young athletes learn how to manage the intense pressure of competitive sports. He appears on both TV and radio and has sport psychology columns in 5 different newspapers and has been featured in The New York Times, Wall street Journal and the London Times. Golf Digest includes him in their list of top mental game gurus in America. For a consultation see below: Williston Park Professional Center 2 Hillside Ave, Suite E. Williston Park NY 11596 (building parallel to E. Williston railroad station)

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28 guide to health, wellness & beauty • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Easy ways to start living healthier every day C ontrary to popular belief, adopting a healthy lifestyle is not a difficult undertaking. In certain instances, convenience may need to be sacrificed in favor of nutrition, but many people find that living healthy is not nearly as difficult as they assumed it would be when they initially decided to make a change.

When men and women decide they want to start living healthier, many mistakenly assume they must abandon their existing habits entirely and start from scratch. But the following are some easy ways to start living healthier every day.

Eat more fruits and vegetables. One of the best and easiest ways to live healthier is to begin eating more fruits and vegetables. Instead of unhealthy snacks like potato chips and cookies, snack on a piece of fruit, and never sit down to a meal unless you include some vegetables to go along with the main course. Studies have shown that men and women whose diets are high in fruits and vegetables are less likely to develop certain types of cancers, including cancers of the digestive tract. In addition, the United States Department of Agriculture notes that

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people whose diets are rich in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.

Slow down your eating routine. Some people may already be eating the right foods, but they may just be eating too much of them. It takes time for your body to let you know it’s had too much to eat, so eating too fast can increase your risk of overeating. While eating, try to limit distractions that can take your attention away from how much you’re eating. If you’re always watching television or checking emails on your phone while eating, try a few days of distraction-free, careful eating, and you may find yourself eating less and feeling more energized after a meal.

Skip the second glass of wine. The much publicized medical benefits of wine are somewhat misleading.

According to the Mayo Clinic, when consumed in moderation, red wine can help prevent heart disease. That’s because alcohol and antioxidants found in red wine have been shown to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein, often referred to as “good” cholesterol, and protect against artery damage. But wine also contains sugars that can fatten the liver, and a fatty liver can contribute to a host of serious health problems. If you already drink wine, limit yourself to one glass per

day. If you are not a wine drinker, then it’s important to note that many doctors believe the potential benefits of drinking wine do not outweigh the potentially negative consequences associated with alcohol consumption, which include neurological problems and an increased risk for heart disease.

Get more sleep. Inadequate sleep affects the body in a variety of ways.

Many people are aware that one poor night’s sleep is certain to affect their energy levels the following day, but fewer may know of the link between sleep duration and chronic disease.

For example, the Harvard Medical School notes that studies have linked insufficient sleep to type 2 diabetes, as the body’s ability to process glucose can be compromised by poor sleeping habits. Other medical conditions that have been linked to insufficient sleep include obesity, heart disease and mood disorders. While you might be proud of your ability to function on minimal sleep, the long-term effects of insufficient sleep can be dire, so be sure to get at least seven hours of sleep each night.

Choosing to live healthier does not mean you need to completely overhaul your existing lifestyle. In fact, you can make several easy everyday changes to dramatically improve your overall health.

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30 guide to health, wellness & beauty • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Make morning workouts work for you M

any men and women struggle to find time to exercise. If hectic schedules dominated by professional and personal commitments have made it difficult to make exercise part of your daily routine, you might want to consider skipping the snooze button so you can work out in the early morning hours.

Early morning workouts have their ups and downs. Glucose levels in the body tend to be low in the morning, when many people wake up with a relatively empty stomach. Low blood glucose levels can cause feelings of nausea and weakness and possibly make you feel faint. In addition, since you likely aren’t moving much while you’re asleep, your joints and muscles are likely less mobile early in the morning than they are in the evening, which can make morning workouts difficult and, if you don’t allow yourself more time to warm up, put your body at greater risk of injury. But morning workouts also can energize you throughout the day, and many people find it easier to consistently exercise in the early mornings than at night, when distractions or long days at the office can affect your motivation to workout.

Early morning exercise routines can be difficult to adjust to, but there are some ways to make the adjustment to such regimens go more smoothly.

Make sleep a priority. Prioritizing sleep makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning, when you will face the daily temptation to hit the snooze button and roll over. But if you aren’t sleep deprived, you will find it easier to skip the snooze phase of your morning routine and get right out of bed. Skip the late night talk shows and call it a night earlier, making sure you get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. Once you establish a new sleep schedule, you will find it easier and easier to get up and hit the gym in the morning.

Designate more time to warm up. Early morning workout routines require athletes to warm up more than they would when exercising at other times of the day. As previously noted, your body is perhaps at its least mobile right when you get out of bed, so set aside more time to warm up when you workout in the mornings.

Five to 10 minutes of light cardiovascular exercise before you begin your workout can be enough to increase your body temperature and loosen your body up so it’s ready for exercise.

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014 • guide to new year’s dining

31

Go gourmet for your New Year's Soirée New Year's celebrations wouldn't be the same without food and, of course, drinks. But while you may already have the champagne on ice for when the clock strikes 12, you may not already have plans in place with regard to feeding your guests as you ring in a new year.

If you really want to send the year out in flavorful style, consider the following recipe for "Cocktail Dates" from Bob Blumer's "Surreal Gourmet Bites: Showstoppers and Conversation Starters" (Chronicle Books).

Cocktail Dates Yields 12 bites 12 large dried Medjool dates 1 4-ounce chunk Parmigiano Reggiano cheese 6 slices bacon, cut in half widthwise Preheat oven to 350 F.

Leading with the pointy end, stuff a stick of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into the pit hole of each date.

Wrap each date with a slice of bacon.

Set dates on a baking sheet, seam-sides down, and skewer each with a toothpick to hold bacon in place.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Caution: These cocktail dates are like molten lava when they come out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Insert a bamboo skewer or a similar facsimile in the bottom of the date until the pointy tip rests on the bottom of the pit. Push the pit out of the stem side.

Reserve dates.

Celebrating our 2nd Year Annivesary!

Using your sharpest knife, cut ParmigianoReggiano cheese into 1/4-inch slices.

Cut those slices into 1/4-x-1-inch pieces (the resulting 1-inch pieces should be approximately the same diameter as a pencil). Cut the tip of each piece at a 45-degree angle.

Note: Mejdool dates or any other dried date can usually be found in Mediterranean stores or specialty food stores.

Note: Dates can be stuffed and wrapped up to 24 hours in advance

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32 guide to new year’s dining • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

What to do with all those

holiday leftovers

With a few creative ideas, anyone can turn leftover holiday foods into new meals.

The food cooked during the holidays is often enough to feed an army. Too often, hosts and hostesses prepare and serve much too much food, only to find themselves left with a refrigerator full of leftovers when guests don’t eat as much as hosts had suspected.

In order to avoid wasting food, many people attempt to create new meals from their excess holiday ingredients. Putting leftovers to good use can take a little ingenuity to disguise the reality that you’re eating turkey or ham for the third consecutive night. All it may take is a little inspiration to create delicious meals with repurposed holiday foods.

The first thing to keep in mind when using leftovers is food safety. Any food remaining after the holiday meal should be packed into storage containers and refrigerated or frozen no more than 2 hours after the meal has ended. This ensures that bacteria are not able to proliferate in the food and cause foodborne illnesses. Choose shallow containers, which will enable the food to chill more uniformly and not create warmer spots that take longer to reach a safe storage temperature. Do not save any foods that have remained at room temperature for too long or seem questionable, especially dairy products. It is adviseable to discard leftovers (even if refrigerated) after 4 days. Use it or lose it!

Now that leftovers are properly stored, you can think up some creative menu ideas for using them in the next few days.

• Turn stuffing into croquettes or burgers by mixing chopped turkey with stuffing or adding a new meat to the equation, like sausage.

• Dice ham and potatoes and add to the morning helping of eggs for a country-style omelette.

• Promptly boil the turkey carcass to make homemade stock for soups and stews.

• Turn leftover mashed potatoes into a creamy potato soup, with the addition of cream, bacon & scallions.

• Use cranberry sauce in place of butter on bagels or toast.

• Mash up leftover sweet potatoes and bake into a moist and delicious sweet potato loaf bread.

• Create open-faced sandwiches for lunch by layering ham or turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy on top of a thick slice of bread.

• Diced meats, vegetables and onion can be added to a batter of pancake mix and turned into an easy quiche.

• Host Mexican night and use leftover turkey meat to make spicy fajitas, complete with sour cream and salsa.

• Use stale bread to make homemade croutons for salad or use in a bread pudding recipe.

• Add cranberry sauce to boxed muffin mixes for a tart treat.

• Turn leftover holiday meats into an Asian stir-fry with the addition of water chestnuts, bean sprouts, soy sauce, and mixed vegetables.

• Grind meats to make a hearty meat loaf.

• Make leftover potatoes into hash browns.

• Cube leftover cake and serve on skewers and fruit for dipping into chocolate fondue.

• Use pie crust and small ramekins to turn turkey or ham into savory pot pies.

There are so many ideas for using leftover holiday foods this season. Experiment with flavors your family will enjoy.

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News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014 • guide to new year’s dining

33

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34 guide to new year’s dining • News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

Limited Reservations For New Years Eve & New Year’s Day Still Available Please call 516-746-3075

Join Us For

Happy Hour

Monday - Friday from 4-7 $6.00 Appetizers

Saturday Night December 27th Live DJ 10pm-closing

B.K. SWEENEY UPTOWN GRILLE 636 Franklin Avenue, Garden City (516) 746-3075 Visit our website at BKSweeneys.com

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

A&E Calendar cont’d Continued from Page 22 The Space at Westbury 250 Post Ave., Westbury (516) 283.5566 www.thespaceatwestbury.com Saturday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m.

Electricon Saturday, Jan. 24, 8 p.m.

Extreme- Pornograffitti Live 25th Anniversary Friday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m.

The B-52s Friday, Feb. 6, 8 p.m.

Hannibal Buress Thursday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m.

Leon Russell Friday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m.

Pink Floyd Experience Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.

Keb’ Mo’ Band Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

Los Lonely Boys Sunday, April 26, 8 p.m.

Miranda Sings LIVE MUSIC AT ELEANOR RIGBY’S 133 Mineola Blvd. Mineol7 (516) 739-6622 • http://www.eleanorigbys. com Friday, Dec. 26, 9 p.m.

Reprimand Live Music at BRASSERIE 214 214 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park (516) 354-7797 • http://www.brasserie214. com Friday, Dec. 27, 9 p.m.

Penny Lane (a Beatles tribute band) NASSAU VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale (516) 794-9300 • http://www.nassaucoliseum.com Sunday Dec. 28,. 2 & 7 p.m.

The Harlem Globetrotters Thursday, Jan. 8 through Sunday, Jan. 11 Disney On Ice Presents Princesses And Heroes Sunday, Jan. 25, 8 p.m.

Fleetwood Mac Sunday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m.

Marc Anthony Friday, March 27, 7 p.m.

Barry Manilow Friday, May 15, 7:30 p.m.

Nitro Circus Live Long island children’s museum 11 Davis Ave, Garden City (516) 224-5800 Museum Hours: Daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (unless otherwise indicated). Museum admission: $12 for adults and children over 1 year old, $11 seniors, FREE to museum members and children under 1 year old. Additional fees for theater and special programs may apply. For additional information, contact (516) 224-5800.

Through Jan. 4, 2015 Traveling Exhibit: Native Voices: New England Tribal Families Explore five thriving New England communities as they work to balance cultural traditions with life in a modern world. The hands-on exhibit takes visitors through four New England seasons and shares stories, songs, and cultural materials that illustrate

strong and enduring connections between tribes and their traditional homelands.

Kids in the Kitchen Join us as we mix things up in the kitchen to stir an interest in kitchen creativity and healthy eating. Each week, we’ll be making an easy and yummy, kid-friendly snack that they make from start to finish. This week, kids will be making quesadillas. Ages: 3-5.

Fee: $3 with museum admission ($2 LICM members).

Tuesdays 11:30 a.m. - noon. stART (Story + Art) Join us each week as we read childhood classics and introduce new favorites; followed by literature-inspired activities and crafts.

Ages 3 to 5. Fee: $3 with museum admission ($2 LICM members).

Wednesday from 11, :30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Music and Movement Join us for a musical morning that gets little bodies moving; pick up a musical instrument and add your voice to our sing along songs session.

Ages: 5 and under. Fee: $3 with museum admission ($2 LICM members).

Friday 11:30 a.m. - noon.

Community Connections Every day, people in the community are helping to make our lives easier. Join us each week as we explore the lives and daily routines of a different community helper.

Children will build on their vocabulary as they are introduced to job specific words through songs and activities. Each class will include a hands-on, themed activity to reinforce information shared during class.

Ages: 3-5. Fee: $3 with museum admission ($2 LICM members) Saturday and Sunday from 3:30 - 5 p.m.

NYCB THeatre at Westbury 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury.

(516) 247-5200 www.thetheatreatwestbury.com Sunday, Feb. 1, 1 p.m.

Jack Hannah’s Into The Wild Live Saturday, Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Spandau Ballet Thursday, Feb. 12, 8 p.m.

Foreigner Friday, Feb. 13, 8 p.m.

Louder Than Love Valentine’s Ball Saturday, Feb. 14, 8 p.m.

Kathy Griffin Saturday, Feb. 21, 2 & 8 p.m.

Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.

Wynonna and Friends Saturday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m.

Masters Of Illusion Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

The Temptations & The Four Tops Sunday, March 15, 8 p.m.

ZZ Top Sunday, March 22, 3 p.m.

Lily Tomlin Friay, March 27, 3 p.m.

Saturday, March 28, 3 p.m.

The Moody Blues Saturday, April 11, 8 p.m.

Tom Wopat & John Schneider: Return Of The Dukes THE DOLPHIN BOOK SHOP & CAFE Continued on Page 37

71 Hillside Ave., Willston Park 516-246-9778

35

36 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

THE CULInARy ARCHITECT

A quiet and delicious New Year’s Eve

BY A L E X A N d R A TROY Are you exhausted from entertaining and going to Holiday Parties? If the answer is, “yes”, then this simple and delicious New Year’s Menu is just right for you. It incorporates a succulent Filet with Mushroom Sauce and easy to make side dishes.

Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Spinach are my favorites and rate #1 with my clients. Just add a simple dessert or a bowl of raspberries and you are set to enjoy a lovely repast. Don’t forget to add a chilled bottle of bubbly to ring in the New Year with great taste and style.

MENU Serves 4 Oysters on The Half Shell* (available at most supermarket seafood departments) Filet with Mushroom Sauce Creamed Spinach Mashed Potatoes Raspberries* Champagne *Recipe Not Given

Filet of Beef 1/2 Whole filet of beef (approx 2 lbs.), trimmed and tied (Your butcher can do this for you) 2 tblsps. Unsalted butter at room temperature 1 tblsp. Kosher salt 1 tblsp. Coarsely ground black pepper 1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Place the beef on a baking sheet and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Schmear the butter on ALEXANdrA TrOY the filet. Sprinkle evenly with the The Culinary Architect salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 15 minutes for rare and 18 minutes for medium-rare.

1 cup beef broth 3. Remove the beef from the 1 tblsp. Wondra Flour oven, cover it tightly with aluminum Salt and freshly ground foil and allow the filet to rest for 20 black pepper minutes. Remove the strings and 1. In a large skillet, melt the slice the filet. Serve with the Mushbutter over medium heat. Add the room Sauce. mushrooms, garlic and shallots.

Mushroom Sauce Cook, stirring frequently, until the 2 tblsps. Butter mushrooms are tender, approxi2 4-oz. Packages gourmet mately 10 minutes. Add the broth blend mushrooms, sliced and the Wondra flour and bring to 2 cloves garlic, minced a boil.

1 shallot, minced 2. Reduce the heat and simmer

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Private, corporate and promotional events, as well as spectacular weddings.

We will create and design a menu tailored to make your next event unforgettable!

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until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 12 minutes, until sauce thickens.

3. Season to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

Mashed Potatoes 3 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 3 tblsp. Unsalted butter 1. Put the potatoes into a large pot, together with the salt and cover with cold water.

2. Bring to a boil over mediumhigh heat and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Drain them well. Meanwhile, in a Pyrex dish, heat the cream and the butter in the microwave. Put the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a bowl.

4. Add the hot cream and butter mixture and season with salt and pepper.

To Serve: I like to scoop the potatoes with an ice cream scoop.

Creamed Spinach 2 lbs. Fresh spinach (I like to use the triple cleaned organic baby lettuce) 2 tbsps. Unsalted butter 1/2cup Finely chopped shallots 1 tsp. Minced garlic 3/4tsp. Salt 1/2tsp. Freshly ground black pepper 1/4tsp. Nutmeg 1/2cup Heavy cream 1. Melt the butter in medium saute pan over medium-high heat.

Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, just until the liquid is released.

3. Add the cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook until the cream is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Remove and serve immediately or place in a double boiler to keep warm.

Alexandra Troy is owner of Culinary Architect Catering, a 32-year old Greenvale-based company, specializing in private, corporate and promotional parties.

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

37

A&E Calendar cont’d Shining Star – A Tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire

Continued from Page 35 299 Main St., Port Washington (516) 767-2650 • www.thedolphinbookshop. com Friday, Dec. 26, 7 p.m.

Fred Hintze - originals and Retr-Folk The Paramount 370 New York Ave., Huntington (631) 673-7300 ext. 303 • www.paramountny.com Friday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m.

Get the Led Out Saturday, Dec. 27, 8 p.m.

Rusted Root Tuesday, Dec. 30, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 8 p.m.

Dark Star Orchestra Saturday, Jan. 3, 8 p.m.

The Paramount Comedy Series Presents: Frank Caliendo Friday, Jan. 9, 8 p.m.

Yacht Rock Revue Saturday, Jan. 10, 8 p.m.

The Paramount Comedy Series Presents: Pablo Francisco Friday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m.

Back to the Eighties Show with...”Jessie’s Girl” Sunday, Jan. 18, 8 p.m.

Umphrey’s McGee Friday, Jan. 23, 7 & 10 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 24, 7 & 10 p.m.

Criss Angel – Mindfreak Live!

Tuesday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m.

Marilyn Manson Friday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m.

The Paramount Comedy Series Presents: Demetri Martin – The Persistence of Jokes Sunday, Feb. 8, 8 p.m.

Black Veil Brides Friday, Feb. 13, 8 p.m.

Misfits: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Saturday, Feb. 14, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

The Paramount Comedy Series Presents:

GOVERNORS’ COMEDY CLUB 90 Division Ave. Levittown (516) 731-3358 • http://tickets.govs.com/ index.cfm Friday, Dec. 26, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 27, 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Jon Fisch Folk Music Society of Huntington Continuing on the third Thursday of each month, the Cinema Arts Centre’s Sky Room will be home to the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Hard Luck Café series. The 8:30 p.m. concerts, usually featuring a split bill with two acts, will be preceded by open mics at 7:30 p.m. Admission will be $7 for Cinema Arts Centre and Folk Music Society of Huntington members; $10 for nonmembers. For more information call (631) 4188548 or go to http://fmshny.org index.htm

Rusted Root Jim Breuer Thursday, Feb. 19, 8 p.m.

Chris Robinson Brotherhood Tuesday, March 3, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4, 8 p.m.

Dropkick Murphys Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.

Magic!

Saturday, March 21, 8 p.m.

The Marshall Tucker Band Tuesday, March 24, 8 p.m.

Taking Back Sunday / The Menzingers & letlive Sunday, March 29, 7 p.m.

New Found Glory Saturday, April 4, 8 p.m.

Michael Bolton Saturday, April 11, 8 p.m.

Citizen Cope Thursday, April 16, 8 p.m.

Friday, April 17, 8 p.m.

Jeff Beck Sunday, May 17, 8 p.m.

Whitney Cummings Thursday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m.

Creedance Clearwater Revisited BJ Spoke Gallery 229 Main Street, Huntington (631) 549-5106• www.bjspokegallery.com Poets Aloud Attention local poets: Poets Aloud is held the second Friday of each month. Open mic, just show up, sign-up and read your poem or other works. A $3 donation is suggested for this evening of insightful works and discussions. Time: 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The madison theatre at molloy college 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre.

(516) 323-4444 • http://madisontheatreny. org.

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 6 & 8 p.m.

New Year’s Eve Comedy: Maria Walsh, Stevie G.B, Frankie Pace Saturday, Jan. 31, 8 p.m.

Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County 100 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove Nov. 2 through April, 2015 Objects Of Witness: Testimony of Holocaust Artifacts These artifacts have been lent or donated to the Center by the families of Holocaust victims and survivors, or by the survivors themselves. Many of these artifacts were kept hidden during the Holocaust, at great risk to those who hid them. They will be on view beginning on in the exhibit gallery.

TILLES CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS | LIU POST 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville (516) 299-3100 • http://tillescenter.org Wednesday, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

Long Island Philharmonic Annual New Year’s Eve Spectacular

Community Calendar Project Independence Care Giver Support Group Learn new ways of coping with demands of care giving and gain a better understanding of your relationship with your loved one (over age 60). Meetings take place on the first and third Thursday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Located at 80 Manorhaven Blvd., Port Washington. Registration required. Please call 311 or (516) 869-6311 to register for the presentation or for more information.

FREE LEGAL ADVICE FOR SENIORS The Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA) provides free monthly legal consultation clinics for Nassau County residents 65 or older. Seniors have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with an attorney who volunteers to provide a half-hour private consultation on any topic of concern. The next Senior Citizen Free Legal Consultation Clinic will be held Thursday, Jan. 15, 9:30 to 11 a.m. at NCBA, 15th and West Streets, Mineola. This popular free program regularly fills up quickly. Registration is required by calling 516-747-4070.

BREATH, BODY, BALANCE Winthrop-University Hospital’s Breast Health

Center will offer “Breath, Body, Balance,” a sixsession program combining Yoga, Tai Chi and QiGong for women with breast cancer. The free program will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Pediatric Conference Center located in the lower level of the hospital at 259 First Street in Mineola. Classes will be held on the following Thursdays: Jan. 8, 15, 22 and 29; Feb. 5 and 12.

Women who have a history of breast cancer or who are in current treatment are welcome to attend. The sessions will begin with breath work, and continue with soft stretches. The workshop is finished with a time of sitting quietly, to use visualization and relaxation to enhance calm and well-being. Sessions are taught by Helen Lein, A certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. Registration is required. To register, please call Ms. Lien at (516) 465-2452 or e-mail thinkanddo.net@gmail. com. For information about the Breast Health Center at Winthrop, please call (516) 663-2556.

STRENGTH TRAINING Winthrop-University Hospital’s Breast Health Center will offer a new Strength Training program facilitated by a Certified Cancer Exercise Specialist from the non-profit organization, “Strength for Life.” The free program is open to women who have a history of treatment for

breast cancer or who are in current treatment.

Sessions will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Spatz Conference Center Room A, located in the lower level of the main hospital at 259 First Street in Mineola. Classes are held once a week on Mondays, from Jan. 12, through March 2. Equipment will be provided. “Strength for Life’s” Certified Cancer Exercise Specialist’s mission is to empower, inspire and strengthen by using exercise as a method of healing. Sessions are taught by Jacqui Errico, a Certified Cancer Exercise Specialist. To register for the program, please call Ms. Errico at (631) 6756513. For information about the Breast Health Center at Winthrop, please call (516) 663-2556.

integrating wellness activities into your lifestyle.

Individuals joining the group are invited to talk, share and learn in a safe, warm and confidential environment. The support group is free, but registration is required. For information and to register, please call Michelle DeCastro, LMSW at (516) 663-2556.

HOW TO CHALLENGE YOUR PROPERTY ASSESSMENT Join Charles Berman, Town of North Hempstead receiver of taxes, on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 1 p.m. as he presents a Property Assessment Grievance Workshop. He will briefly review the assessment process, explain how to fill out the grievance application, and provide tips on filling out the form. Please bring your 2016/2017 BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Notice of Tentative Assessed Value that you will Winthrop-University Hospital’s Breast Health receive from the Nassau County Department Center is offering a support group for patients with metastatic breast cancer from 10:30 am to of Assessment in early January 2015. Staff 12 pm on the following dates: January 15 and 29; members will be on hand with applications for February 12 and 26; March 12 and 26. Sessions your convenience. will be held at 222 Station Plaza North, Suite FOR TRIVIA LOVERS 438 in Mineola. Meetings will include a variety At 7 p.m. Two Wednesday nights each month at of topics including, but not limited to: dealing Page One Restaurant, 90 School St. Glen Cove. with the side effects of treatment; managing Call (516) 625-8804 for information. fluctuating emotions; finding balance; intimacy and relationship issues; the significant of

38 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

WT

Williston Park Library From the Director: The library will be open from 10am-1pm on New Year’s Eve. While we appreciate donations, please do not put them in the return bin outside the library.

The bin is for library material only.

Please be aware that smoking is prohibited in the restrooms of the library. Not only is this a fire hazard, but it is also illegal.

Here are some new arrivals to the library: Wolf in Winter — John Connolly Founding Fathers: Fight for Freedom & the Birth of American Liberty — K.M. Kostyal Private India: City on Fire — James Patterson Flesh and Blood — Patricia Cornwell Blue Labyrinth — Douglas Preston &

Lincoln Child Revival — Stephen King Gift to Remember — Melissa Hill American Titan: Searching for John Wayne — Marc Eliot

ADULts Friday @ the Movies Every third Friday of each month at 1 p.m. in the As-

sembly Room of Village Hall.

Enjoy a leisurely afternoon and see a great movie.

Author Appearance Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. in he Assembly Room of Village Hall. Bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan will discuss her new book, Truth Be Told.

Copies are available for purchase at the Circulation Desk and the night of the event.

Book Discussion Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7

p.m. in the Assembly Room of Village Hall. This month’s selection is Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. Copies are available at the Circulation Desk.

Property Assessment Grievance Workshop Tuesday, Feb. 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Assembly Room of Village Hall. Charles Berman, Receiver of Taxes, will discuss the assessment process and grievance applications.

children Tiny Tykes I & II Wednesdays, Jan. 14, 21, 28; Feb. 4, 11, 25 from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of Village Hall. Open to children 1 ½-5 years old.

There is a $45 fee due at registration. Sign up at the Circulation Desk.

East Williston Library EVENING BOOK CLUB: “Moloka’i” by Alan Brennert – Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m..

Please register at the library.

The discussion is limited to 15 readers.

OLD WESTBURY GARDENS and NY HISTORICAL SOCIETY PASSES: The passes are available to East Williston Library card holders.

Each family pass (2 adults

and children under 18 years of age) may be borrowed for a three-day period. Passes may be reserved in advance.

LEARNING EXPRESS LIBRARY: Whatever your goal, LearningExpressLibrary’s resources will help you succeed. The various “Learning Centers” offer the information you need to achieve the results you

want at school, at work, or in life. Are you looking for a new job? You’ll find an entire Learning Center dedicated to helping you get the one that’s right for you. Visit us at www.ewlibrary.org TUMBLEBOOK LIBRARY: TumbleBook Library is an online collection of animated picture books which teach young children the joys of

reading in a format they’ll love. Visit us at www.ewlibrary.org

if needed. Please telephone the Library to confirm a notary is available.

N0TARY PUBLIC: Hours are Monday & Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday from 3 to 7 p.m. Photo identification is required.

Documents to be notarized must be signed at the time of notarization, not before. You must bring your own witness

SHOES FOR ALL: “Shoes for All” is a non-profit organization dedicated to the collection and distribution of shoes to those less fortunate and in desperate need of footwear.

The library is collecting new or lovingly worn shoes for men, women and children in

any style or size.

EXHIBIT ON DISPLAY: We are pleased to present a beautiful Santa Claus collection in the lobby of the Village Hall generously lent to us by Anne Messina Register for all programs by calling (516) 741-1213 or email us at ewpl@ewlibrary. org

Mineola Public Library ADULts Yoga Classes* Mondays from 7 to 8:15 p.m., Dec. 29; Jan. 5, 12; Feb. 1.

Robert Crowe will introduce you to the beneficial practices that help you relax, meditate and reach optimum health.

Lecture: Taxes, Your 1040 Tax Form Explained* Saturday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.

Peter Ragusa will take you on a thorough walkthrough of your 1040 Tax Form. Pertinent topics to be discussed will include your income taxes explained, deductions

and credits, and common tax issues. A Question & Answer will follow the lecture.

The Crochet Connection— Five Classes* Tuesdays from 1 to 3 p.m., Jan. 13, 20, 27; and Feb. 3, 10. Our Crochet Connection Classes are a way for likeminded people to join together and support each other in the hobby of crocheting.

Traveling Safely in Ice and Snow* Friday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. Come and learn strategies to travel safely in inclement weather with Ms. Chari Biton, Senior

Mobility Manager, Department of Services for the Aging.

The Fantastic Animation Festival—Cartoons from Cinema to the Early Days of Television* Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.

Join Keith Crocker as he recounts the history of animation and cartoons from the earliest days of the cinema to its glory days on national TV. View a 16mm film presentation of classic animation—see favorites, from Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Huckleberry Hound, and the Pink Panther.

Plaza Suite—Performance

by Plaza Theatrical Productions, Inc. Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.

Join us for Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy set in Suite 719 of New York City’s Plaza Hotel.

Enjoy the excitement of live theatre at the library!

YOUTH Volunteer Programs: Adopt-a-Shelf Volunteers — Grades 6-12 — Open registration Volunteer/community credit will be given.

Chat ‘n’ Chew Club—Wednesdays — Remaining dates:

Jan. 14, Feb. 25 at from 4 to 5 p.m., grades 5-12 — Open registration Volunteer/community credit will be given.

Toy Paramedics Volunteers — Grades 6-12 — Open registration Volunteer/community credit will be given.

Pokémon Gaming Club Tuesdays, remaining sessions: Jan. 13, Feb. 3 from 4 to 5 p.m. Children ages 7 and up may sign-up to attend. Meet other Pokémon fans, trade cards; battle Pokémon with them on your Nintendo DS or on the library’s Nintendo Wii!

Lego Builders Club Tuesday, Dec. 30; Wednesday, Jan. 21; Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 4:30 p.m. Children in Kindergarten and up may sign-up for all three sessions. Create unique structures with our Lego pieces and meet others who love to Lego!

Saturday Crafternoon (In the Children’s Room) Saturday, Dec. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. All Ages—No sign-up required. Drop by the Children’s Room during the posted time to make and take a craft.

Crafts are available while our supplies last.

Shelter Rock Library MUSEUM PASSES @ SRPL Shelter Rock Public Library cardholders can reserve a Museum Pass online for free admission to a variety of museums and gardens on Long Island and in New York City. Go to www.srpl.org and pull down the Library Services Menu then go to Museum Passes. Click the

Reserve Now link and look for the red Request Pass button to see if the Museum Pass is available.

Your library card must be in good standing. Advance reservations will be accepted for the next 60 days (one Reservation per family every 30 days).

SHELTER ROCK PATRONS MAY RESERVE PASSES FOR: American Airpower Museum • Children’s Museum of Manhattan • Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery • Cradle of Aviation • Garvies Point • Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum • Long Island Children’s Museum • Museum of Modern Art

(MOMA) • Nassau County Firefighter’s Museum • Nassau County Museum of Art • New York Botanical Garden • New York Historical Society and Library & Dimenna Children’s History Museum Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano announced today that in

cooperation with the Shelter Rock Public Library, the Nassau County Offices for the Aging and Mental Health are coordinating a support group that is specifically targeted to respond to the needs of caregivers of older persons.

The group is led by Dora Lupo, LMHC, MAC, CASAC, Support Group Facilitator.

Meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of each month from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Shelter Rock Public Library, located at 165 Searingtown Road, Albertson. The meetings are open to residents of Nassau County. This support group will provide an opportunity for participants Continued on Page 42

The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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school ne w s

Youth Against Cancer toy drive Herricks High School’s Youth Against Cancer recently held a school-wide toy drive to benefit Winthrop University Hospital Cancer Center for Kids. The hospital sent a wish list and with donations from faculty, students and staff, YAC collected at least one gift from each of the items on the list. YAC also ran a bake sale and used the proceeds to purchase gifts. Kristen Rodriguez, the development coordinator at the Cancer Center, coordinated the project with the Youth Against Cancer Board and advisor, Dan Doherty. The Board consists of Elizabeth Krennan, Maytal Babajanian, Kaila Carson, Shannon Sullivan, Kaila Keefe, and Tiffany Nam. The Cancer Center for Kids works with children and their families that are diagnosed with any form of cancer.

Picture from left: Kristen Rodriguez, Maytal Babajanian, Shannon Sullivan, Elizabeth Krennan, Kaila Carson, Tiffany Nam, Kaila Keefe, Dan Doherty

The Mineola High School Chorus performs at the Winthrop Hospital Tree Lighting

Mineola High School music department spreads holiday cheer Mineola High School Music Department’s Tracey Campbell recently took the Mineola High School Chamber Orchestra students to perform for the residents at the Queens Children’s Hospital.

This is an annual event for members of the chamber orchestra who enjoy the opportunity to play for the residents.

“It’s fun to see the expression on the children’s faces when we perform for them and distribute gifts,” Campbell said. “The Mineola High School students once again make us proud by extending their generosity and kindness to others,” “It’s fun to see the look on the children’s faces and see them sing along to our playing,” senior Jennifer Godinho agreed.

Top and bottom photos: members of the Mineola High School Chamber Ensemble

Earlier in the month, the Mineola High School Mixed Chorus participated in Winthrop University Hospital’s tree lighting ceremony. Following their performance, students separated into small groups and caroled all over the hospital.

“This is a wonderful way to share the spirit of the holiday season with those who are too ill to celebrate at home,” said Chorus teacerh Meg Messina, whose choir participates every year.

Student Sara McCarthy summed the event up best.

“I like to sing at the hospital because I enjoy spreading holiday cheer to all of the patients,” she said.

Blank Slate Media welcomes your submissions. Please e-mail them to news@theislandnow.com

40 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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Students participate in “Operation Holiday Cheer”

Students from Center Street Elementary School in Williston Park were proud to join local businesses, community organizations and schools in the annual effort to send hundreds of Christmas trees, holiday cards, menorahs, decorations and gifts to US troops serving our country in Afghanistan and Bahrain. All of the students at Center Street made holiday cards for the troops, and the students and staff of Mrs. Campaner and Mrs. Ramsay’s class journeyed to JFK airport on Monday, December 8 to deliver them, to read some of the holiday cards over the PA and to participate in the festivities.

Interfaith service celebrates Thanksgiving

Check us out on facebook at www.facebook.com/TheIslandNow

The seventh and eighth grade students of St. Aidan School recently hosted an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service with the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from The Solomon Schechter School in Williston Park. The service conducted by Father Kevin Dillon and Mr. Avi Siegel included prayers and teachings while the choruses from both schools entertained. Refreshments and socializing allowed the students from both schools to share stories of faith and gratitude in the spirit of Thanksgiving.

The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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All Beethoven program by Mineola Choral Society

Many Long Islanders might include in their New Year’s resolutions attending more of the musical performances and other cultural treasures available not just in New York City but here on Long Island. One such opportunity takes place on January 25, when the Mineola Choral Society will perform an all-Beethoven program featuring the Mass in C Major and the final movement of his Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, which includes the setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem An Die Freude (Ode to Joy). The concert will take place in one of the Island’s finest spaces for the performance of sacred choral works, the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City.

Ludwig Van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) setting of Frederich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” is the culmination of the Ninth Symphony and is the last symphonic music that Beethoven completed. The introduction of the human voice into the instrumental domain of the symphony created some of the most memorable and influential music from Beethoven’s remarkable career. The Ode to Joy combines a quest for religious meaning with the democratic ideals of an era, expressed in Beethoven’s dramatic and joyous music. It has become a symbol of mankind’s search for freedom and brotherhood.

Beethoven completed his Mass in C in 1807. Modeled on the late Masses of

Haydn, this music has the direct, heartfelt quality found in the great music from Beethoven’s middle period. Beethoven’s search for peace in his life is reflected in this music. The work expresses the individual religious feelings of the composer set to beautiful and engaging music.

The Mineola Choral Society, now in its 67th concert season, is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the performance of choral music, drawing membership from more than 30 Long Island communities. Under the direction of Thomas W. Jones, the MCS presents two concerts a year with a repertoire that spans sacred, operatic, classical and popular choral works, and also appears with

the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra for that organization’s annual Christmas concert.

The performance will take place at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 50 Cathedral Avenue, Garden City. Local residents participating in the January 25 concert include singers Chester and Dottie Easton, George and Diane Graf, Linda Guggino, Vera Levine, Ruth Plave, Hailing Liu, Carmela Altieri, Margaret McKenzie, Doreen Pagnota, and Eileen Calder.

Tickets are $20 ($15 for seniors and students). For further information about this concert and the Mineola Choral Society, see the MCS website www.mineolachoralsociety.org or call 516 294-1175.

community ne w s

Garden City Hotel hosts Latke Cook-Off Students from the Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island located in Williston Park and students from the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County located in Uniondale took part in the First Annual Long Island Scholastic Chanukah Latke CookOff at The Garden City Hotel.

Rachel Levian of Great Neck, a senior at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, and Matthew Wertheim of Huntington, an 11th grader of the Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island, presented their teams’ latkes to Justice Jerry Reisman, Rabbi Anchelle Perl of the Chabad of Mineola, and Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray.

Students from each school prepared three latke recipes which were judged by an all-star panel of latke connoisseurs. The students were required to submit one traditional latke recipe; the other two submissions were left to their culinary imagination, creativity and expertise.

The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County presented a Persian latke and a falafe-latke with fries.

Solomon Schechter High

School of Long Island presented a Spanakilatke Greek latke and an apple, beet and sweet potato dessert latke.

Solomon Schechter High School of Long Island was represented by: Carelle Mann, a senior from Upper Brookville; Ashley Miller, a senior from Brooklyn;

Matthew Wertheim, a junior from Huntington and Hannah Schoeffler, a sophomore from Huntington.

The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County was represented by: Rachel Levian, a senior from Great Neck; Leah Glatzerman, a junior from Melville;

Ari Levine, a junior from West Hempstead and Mathew Katz, a junior from Plainview.

The competition was judged by a panel, including: Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray; Garden City Village Clerk Brian Ridgway; Rabbi Anchelle Perl of the Chabad of

Mineola; Jerry Reisman, Justice for the Villages of North Hills and Great Neck and partner at Reisman, Peirez, Reisman and Capobianco; The Garden City Hotel’s director of catering Paul de la Vega; and executive chef Michael Mandato.

42 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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community ne w s

our tow n

Magic of Christmas? These days?

We lead lives of scurrying busyness and at Xmas this scurrying takes on a death defying pitch.

I have seen at least one car accident a day over the last two weeks. Everyone knows that we are all swallowed by our consumer culture. It gets us to work and buy and work and buy and work some more.

But at this time of year, especially this time of year, we all still hold fast to the concept of peace and joy and magic. Santa is coming at last. And we hope that we are not waiting in vain.

We do not want to be like Vladimir and Estragon, the two clown princes in “Waiting for Godot” who just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for naught.

We have memorized and we all want to believe in every Christmas jingle we know. We are like Irving Berlin who was dreaming of a “White Christmas.’

We all want to “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Tis the season to be jolly.” Hope springs eternal.

Hope for peace and joy and reward and mystery.

I know this to be true. But is it true?

Well the best way to find out if there is any magic left in the world during Xmas season is to ask the residents of Williston Park.

So that’s what I did. I simply

walked up Hillside Avenue and asked the local shopkeepers if they still believed in the magic of Xmas.

Here is what they said: I spoke to the town’s physical therapist, Dr. Anthony Belo, Vetal La Mountain of Tal’s, Harry and his sob Stolis of Harry’s Deli, retired police officer Chris Asam and the town tailor Luigi Suppa and Knight the graphic designer at Minuteman Press.

At the outset of this process I was optimistic but soon sensed a growing despair. The general and immediate consensus was that 1.

Xmas is for kids under 7, 2. It is overly commercial. 3. It lacks all sense of the spiritual, 4. You become overspent. 5. It is stressful 6.

At best it is a time of reflection and family togetherness.

Now I am going to give you a hint as to how writers write.

As I chat up these people I am also talking and thinking and exploring the idea in question. And in this case the question is whether there is any magic in Xmas.

Of course it is commercialized and leads to frantic buying. But I do not really think Xmas is for kids at all. I think it is for adults who have created it.

And the problem is that 1. adults do not realize Xmas is for them and 2. they do not have any idea what to do with it.

simple lines that went like this: But herein is the tricky part.

“We dance around in a ring As Chris Asam said “you have and suppose, to go out and find the magic.”

But the Secret sits in the midIndeed you do. You want to have Santa bring you some wonder dle and knows.”

That is where Santa sits and and mystery and magic?

You want Godot to chat with where Godot sits and where the you for a while? Of course you do. magic sits too.

So as you dance around this We all do.

But alas it looks like the an- Xmas keep your eyes peeled toswer to this mystery is in the seek- ward the middle of that ring and you just may be able to see some ing and not in the waiting.

Dr. Tom Ferraro Santa is not coming down the of that magic we all want so dearly.

Our Town Probably true. Santa does exist chimney. He is too big. Godot is not coming around the bend. He is too and so does Godot.

You just have to watch very busy.

And I think Xmas is exactly like One of Robert Frost’s most carefully and know where to look. the religious holiday it is connected well-known and cherished poems Merry Xmas. with. It is still about the hoped for was called The Secret Sits. Two arrival of something special and good and joyful.

In brief it is about the hope for happiness. And as Chris Asam said if you want some magic you have to create it. I think this is true.

The saddest and most influential play of the 20th Century was Beckett’s 'Waiting for Godot.”

And the key element of the play was how Vladimir and Estragon just kept waiting and waiting for Godot to come. Of course he never came.

Godot and Santa Claus and God himself are in some way one and the same. They are all the embodiment of joy and hope and peace and reward.

Santa Claus at Pyramid Jewelers

Shelter Rock Library Continued from Page 38 to share experiences and to help one another. Persons interested in attending for the first time, or in need of additional information, please call (516) 227-8725.

programs Senior Rap Group For the 55+ Set Who have a Lifetime of Experiences to Share Come and join Shelter Rock Public Library Senior Rap Group on Monday, Jan. 5 from 11 a.m.to 12:30 p.m. This group discussion is led by Senior Connections volunteer Ken Rose, who has been

participating in varied public library discussion groups for over fifteen years.

YOUNG ADULT WINTER DECORATION Monday, Dec. 30 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. with Joanne Manning. Create a handmade winter decoration with Joanne’s help. You’ll use brightly colored paper and sparkles to make this festive centerpiece. Registration begins on December 8.

library programs for 2014 and a preview of what is to come. We’ll also talk about the best teen books of 2014, play board games, and share some special snacks. Registration begins on Dec. 15.

PSAT Test Review Tuesday, Jan. 6 from 5:308:30 p.m. Join Barbara Becker in the Community Room, when she reviews your PSAT scores and offers suggestions. Be sure to bring your PSAT booklet and score sheet. You can register for an individual fifteen minute Ring in the New Year With Us appointment at 5:30, 5:45, Tuesday, Dec. 30 from 4:30 6:00, 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 7:00, to 5:30 p.m. Join our Teen 7:15, 7:30, 7:45, 8:00, or 8:15 Advisory Board and the YA PM by calling Cathy Loechner Librarian for a review of teen at (516) 248-7363, ext. 239 to

register. Registration begins Dec. 30.

CHILDREN

How to Prepare for the College Interview and Your College Visit Tuesday, Jan. 13 from 7:158:30 p.m. In this program you will learn how to prepare for, follow-up and the pros and cons of having an interview.

Ms. Becker will give you many pointers on how to answer the toughest questions and specific questions you should prepare for. Learn the best timing for visits, about virtual touring and much more. A Q/A session will follow.

Toddler Storytimes Designed for toddlers 2-31/2 with a parent or caregiver as a program of stories, simple songs, fingerplays and rhymes with other toddlers and their parents.

Choose one of the following sessions: Session One: Tuesdays, 10:15 a.m.; Jan. 6 - Feb. 10 Session Two: Wednesdays, 11:15 a.m.; Jan. 7 - Feb. 11 Session Three: Thursdays, 10:15 a.m.; Jan. 8 - Feb. 12 Registration begins Thursday, Dec. 18

Registration begins on December 30th.

Preschool Storytimes

Designed for children ages 3-5, this is a program of stories, simple songs, fingerplays and rhymes with other preschoolers.

Choose one of the following sessions: Session One, Tuesdays, 1:30 PM; Jan. 6 - Feb. 10 Session Two, Fridays, 10:15 a.m.; Jan. 9 - Feb. 13 Registration begins Thursday, Dec. 18.

Family Films Frozen - 102 Minutes Monday, Dec. 29 at 10:30 a.m.

Registration is NOT required.

The Lego Movie - 101 Minutes. Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. Registration is NOT required.

Blank Slate Media welcomes your submissions. Please e-mail them to news@theislandnow.com

The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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A thank you to Schechter after release Continued from Page 1 Park for the first 10 years of his life, was released on “humanitarian grounds” on Wednesday around the same time President Obama announced the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the opening of an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than 50 years, according to published reports.

Obama Administration officials, according to the New York Times, maintained that Gross was not part of a prisoner swap in which three imprisoned Cuban spies were exchanged for a Cuban who had worked as an agent for American intelligence for years and had been in prison for nearly 20 years - a distinction disputed by critics of Obama’s restoration of ties with Cuba.

Gross later received a call from Obama, according to published reports.

“He’s back where he belongs, in America with his family, home for Hanukkah,” Obama reportedly said later.

Gross was released to the United States in exchange for three Cuban’s who were imprisoned in the U.S. Last year, fifth grade students at the Jericho campus sent letters to Gross, who had been detained since 2009 for bringing cell phones, wireless technologies, personal computers and other computer network devices into the country for Jews in Cuba as part of his work with the U.S. Agency for International Development. On Jan. 17, Wagner received a letter from Gross responding.

“I was deeply moved by the

warmth and encouragement of their messages,” Gross wrote.

Please share with them how much I appreciate their prayers and good wishes. Assure them that these are truly felt and that they are a meaningful source of hope for my family and me.”

Gross, went on the thank the students for “a real mitzvah” - a Hebrew word for good deed.

“I very much look forward to regaining my freedom and hope when that day arrives, or shortly thereafter, that I will be able to join with Schechter School to celebrate that occasion,” Gross wrote in the letter last year. He went on to say that he would like to once again visit his home in New Hyde Park.

Wagner said that 34 fifth grade students at the school wrote personal letters of hope and encouragement to Gross after she found out a lawyer from her Huntington temple was traveling to Cuba to learn about the country’ law system.

The lawyer told her congregation she would be stopping in Havana temple, she said, so she asked him if she’d be willing to take letters to Gross - knowing it was against the law. The lawyer agreed to help, and taped the letters to her itinerary to hide them, she said.

“She handed the letters off to a security guard,” Wagner said.

“It was up to him whether he threw them in the trash or delivered them.”

The students sang a song at Thursday’s celebration composed

by Schechter students to honor Gross.

Sixth grade student Ben

Alan Gross Hakim who now attends the school’s Williston Park campus, which houses students in grades six through 12, was responsible for composing the piano piece alongside Jacob Gottesman, Noah Kantor and Rachel Shlefstein, lead the students in song.

The song, called “PeacefulSound” is posted on Schechter LI’s Youtube channel.

The lyrics say, in part, “Freedom means to be free/To be whatever you want to be/Not to be in captivity/Far away from your family.”

“The children are really aware and active to right the wrongs of injustice and to get the

word out,” Ben’s mother Janet Hakim said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re five, you can make a difference.”

The song was also originally dedicated to Capt. Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan several years ago and released in May of 2014.

Before the students embraced the cause of Gross, Wagner said the students had been praying for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier also captured by the Taliban, who was released about three years ago.

“All of these people are free now,” Dolgan told students.

“Prayer combined with action can truly make a difference.”

Dolgan and Wagner said they both look forward to when Gross can visit the Schechter school but said that he is currently recovering his health.

“Our mission is to teach children from a very young age not to stand by injustice,” Dolgan said.

Reach reporter Bryan Ahrens by e-mail at bahrens@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.

Mineola building inspector Hayes says good gives gift of life to baby bye to Herricks Continued from Page 1 ago, using three fingers to do compressions on the baby’s chest A few moments later, Chilcott said, the baby started breathing again.

“It was a matter of common sense and a little bit of luck,” he said.

Chilcott said he was comfortable handling a baby since he had just become a grandfather a month ago.

“I thought of my granddaughter,” he said. “I wasn’t intimidated by the size.”

Village Clerk Joseph Scalero said three members of the leisure

club, who were playing cards in the community center, had tried to call 911.

But, Scalero said, they were put on hold.

Smith said it was fortunate that Chilcott was present, noting that Smith was usually not in the office during lunch, but was there that day to attend a luncheon.

“He took control of the situation and thank God the baby revived,” Smith said. “It wasn’t looking good.”

The police arrived a short while later, Chicott said.

“I was already holding the baby,” he said. “He was crying,

which was a good sign.”

Chilcott said the baby was taken to Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola by ambulance where he was said to be in stable condition.

“I just happened to be there at the right time,” he said.

Smith said Chilcott was honored by Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss during the village’s holiday party the next day.

Reach reporter Bryan Ahrens by e-mail at bahrens@theislandnow. com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook. com/theislandnow.

Continued from Page 2 ence attuned,” he said.

“She was did a fantastic job with reading and writing.”

Hayes said her partnership with Bierwirth is one she will remember.

“I’ve enjoyed partnering with him for all these years,” she said. “It’s been a wonderful experience and a pleasure.”

School Board President Jim Gounaris said Hayes’ contribution to her work went beyond her career.

“She was a fantastic

assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction,” he said. “She was an ever better human being.”

Gounaris said Hayes’ contribution to the students of Herricks never fell short.

“She always put her best foot forward,” he said.

She really cared about the students.”

Hayes said the feeling was mutual.

“I feel very fortunate to end my career in a school district as wonderful as Herricks,” she said.

44 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

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uniform and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe,” Bratton added.

In an expanded Twitter post Sunday, Mangano said he “stands in solidarity with the brave men and women of law enforcement throughout this nation.”

He said he has ordered that all Nassau County buildings fly flags at half staff for one week.

“May God watch over the families of officers Wen Jian Liu and Rafael Ramos as well as all those who keep our cities, communities and nation safe,” he said.

Kenneth Lack, a spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department, said in a statement that the department “is taking the appropriate precautions” in wake of the shootings.

President Obama, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio were among the elected officials who also offered condolences to Liu and Ramos’ families.

The Silver Shield Founda-

tion, an organization founded by late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to finance the education of police officers and their families, will pay for the college tuition of Ramos’ 13-year-old son Jaden and another son who is currently in college, according to a New York Daily News report.

Liu was recently married and had no children, according to the Daily News report.

“When a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society,” de Blasio said during a news conference Saturday night at Woodhull Hospital. “It is an attack on all of us.

It’s an attack on everything we hold dear.”

According to published reports, NYPD officers turned their backs to de Blasio as he entered the hospital in an apparent act of defiance for sympathizing with protestors who held marches and demonstrations throughout the city in wake of the Dec. 4 grand jury decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in criminal

connection with Garner’s death in Staten Island.

Video was taken and uploaded to YouTube purportedly showing Pantaleo putting Garner in a chokehold while other officers held down Garner, who officers alleged was resisting arrest for selling loose cigarettes. de Blasio later said he was “astonished by the [grand jury’s] decision” and called it a “very painful day for so many New Yorkers.”

Following the start of protests, officers began circulating a petition requesting de Blasio not attend the funerals of cops killed in the line of duty due to his lack of support for police in the aftermath of the Pantaleo decision.

A petition calling for de Blasio’s resignation was formed Saturday on the website MoveOn.org.

Reach reporter Bill San Antonio by e-mail at bsanantonio@ theislandnow.com, by phone at 516.307.1045 x215 or on Twitter @b_sanantonio. Also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ theislandnow.

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Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano (second from left) thanked everyone who worked together this holiday season to put together and distribute baskets for Nassau County’s homebound seniors. Mangano thanked Tim Fuger of North Bellmore’s “A Taste of Home” bakery who donated all of the baked goods used to fill the baskets. This year’s team of Santa’s helpers also included Donna Reed from the Nassau County Office of the Aging, Commissioner of Human Services Lisa Murphy, Town of Hempstead Councilman Ed Ambrosino, and Jill Dayney, community service representative at the Department of Human Services.

46 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

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• 1 Pc.or entire estates • Premium prices paid for Tiffany, Damaged Meissen Porcelain, Bronzes, Quality Pieces Marble, etc. also

cleaning

computers

SYL-LEE ANTIQUES

AntiqueAssets.com

Immediate Cash Paid

RUTH

Family Business for over 40 years

Why scrap your car when you can sell it for parts value?

• Late Model Wrecks Wanted • Used Cars Bought and Sold • Quality Recycled Auto Parts

place your ad

demo/ junk removal

advertise with us!

COMPLETE JUNK REMOVAL/DEMOLITION

To place your ad, call 516.307.1045 or fax 516.307.1046

Moving Forward By Recycling The Past www.sambuccibros.com www.facebook.com/sambuccibros home improvement

DEVLIN BUILDERS Since 1979

We do all types of improvements including HANDYMAN REPAIRS No job too small

Bob Devlin @

516-365-6685 Insured, License # H18C730000

home improvement

• We haul anything & everything • Entire contents of home and/or office • We clean it up and take it away Residential - Commercial Bonded Insured / Free Estimates

STRONG ARM CONTRACTING, INC.

516-538-1125

516.472.0500

www.computerteach.net

home improvement

LAMPS FIXED $ 65 In Home Service Handy Howard 646-996-7628

home improvment

Home improvement

Elegant Touch Remodeling

Tel: (516) 747-0250

Fax: (516) 747-5446 Serving the community for over 60 years

• Home Tutoring • Computer Repair • Virus Removal • iPhone/iPad Repair • iMac/MacBooks Fixed

www.ComputerRepairForce.com 39 Great Neck Rd., Great Neck Open 7 Days • Patient & Friendly

Buying and Selling over 40 Years / Member New England Appraisers Association

auto recycling

(516) 650-0098

• Professional Team • Honest, Reliable & Experienced • Materials & equipment provided • Save $100 - Call for details Great References Free Estimates Bonded & Insured

718-598-3045 or 516-270-2128

CALL JOSEPH OR

For Home and Office

Promotion Expires 12/30/14

Marion Rizzo and Gary Zimmerman www.Syl-LeeAntiques.com 516-671-6464 or 516-692-3850

wanted

GARDEN CITY

CLEANING SERVICES

“Quality Construction with a Personal Touch”

Complete Home Renovations Dormers - Extensions Kitchens - Bathrooms and Basements

516.486.8100

www.maximbuilders.com

Deal direct with owner - Serving li over 25 years

• • • •

All Types of Home Improvements Free Estimates • Free design service extensions • Kitchens dormers • bathrooms decks • siding

631.281.7033

Garden City, NY 11530

Licence #H18H2680000

home HOME inspections INSPECTIONS

MB Home Inspections Inc. Professional Home & Building Inspections Servicing NYC, LI and Upstate counties Your family’s safety is our priority 29 Fairmount Blvd.

Garden City, New York 11530 www.mbhomeinspections.com mbhomeinspections@gmail.com

Milo Balcerzak [917] 681-6736 F [516] 327-3199 NYS# 16000056207

advertise with us

place your ad with us!

To place your ad, call 516.307.1045 or fax 516.307.1046

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

buyer’s guide ▼ Homeheating Heating Oil home oil

junk removal

Sage Oil

JUNK REMOVAL and DEMOLITION

ADVERTISE HERE

5% off any job

516.307.1045

516 485-3900 Quality Oil at a Great Price Since 1960

No Fee For Visa/MC/Discovery or Debit Cards lawn sprinklers LAWN SPRINKLERS

moving & storage N.Y.D.O.T.#10405

• • • • •

Fall Drain Outs Backflow Device Tests Free Estimates Installation Service/Repairs

Joe Barbato (516) 775-1199

MOVING & STORAGE INC.

Long Island and New York State Specialists

• Residential • Commercial • Piano & Organ Experts • Boxes Available FREE ESTIMATES www.ajmoving.com

516-741-2657

114 Jericho Tpke.

Mineola, NY 11501

PAINTING/POWERWASHING PAINTING/POWERWASHING

Residential and Commercial • Free Estimates References Any 2-3 pieces to entire house Bonded and insured Senior discount Delivery service available

Henry 516-523-0974

www.riosremoval.com

PAINTING/POWER WASHING painting & powerwashing

SWEENEY PAINTING

ADVERTISE HERE 516.307.1045

of Garden City

Interior/Exterior Painting Carpentry • Powerwashing Licensed & Insured

516-884-4016

ADVERTISE HERE 516.307.1045

renovations

ADVERTISE HERE 516.307.1045

roofing

resd/Comm cleaning

tree service

STRONG ARM CLEANING

ADVERTISE HERE 516.307.1045

Residential and Commercial Cleaning Specialist • Post construction clean ups • Stripping, waxing floors • Move ins and move outs

ADVERTISE HERE

Free estimates / Bonded Insured

516-538-1125

www.strongarmcleaningny.com

516.307.1045

window repairs

631-385-7975

WINDOW REPAIRS & RESTORATIONS

Outdated Hardware • Skylights •Andersen Sashes • New Storm Windows • Wood Windows • Chain/Rope Repairs • Falling Windows • Fogged Panes • Mechanical Repairs • Wood Repairs

ALL BRANDS

W W W. S K YC L E A RW I N D OW. CO M Call Mr. Fagan • 32 Years Experience Lic. # H080600000 Nassau

26

ADVERTISE HERE 516.307.1045

47

48 News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

n a ss a u

COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS to advertise call: 516.307.1045 ▼ Employment, Marketplace, pets, Real Estate To Place Your Ad Call Phone:

516.307.1045

Fax:

516.307.1046

e-mail:

hblank@theislandnow.com

In Person:

105 Hillside Avenue Williston Park, NY 11598

We’re Open:

Mon–Thurs: 9am-5:30pm Fri: 9am-6pm

Deadlines

Tuesday 11:00am: Classified Advertising Tuesday 1:00pm: Legal Notices/ Name Changes Friday 5:00pm Buyers’s Guide Error Responsibility All ads placed by telephone are read back for verification of copy context.

In the event of an error of Blank Slate Media LLC we are not responsible for the first incorrect insertion. We assume no responsiblity for an error in and beyond the cost of the ad.

Cancellation Policy Ads must be cancelled the Monday before the first Thursday publication. All cancellations must be received in writing by fax at: 516.307.1046 Any verbal cancellations must be approved by a supervisor. There are no refunds on cancelled advertising. An advertising credit only will be issued.

• Great Neck News • Williston Times • New Hyde Park Herald Courier • Manhasset Times • Roslyn Times • Garden City News • Bethpage Newsgram • Jericho Syosset News Journal • Mid Island Times • Syosset Advance

Employment

Help Wanted LEGAL: Process Server, full time, seeking well organized, detail oriented individual for office assistant in Mineola. Position entails phones, data entry and working with several commonly used computer programs. Quick Books a plus. Email resume to: LRadler@ courtsupportinc.com NEW YEAR-NEW CAREER GROUP SALES REPRESENTATIVE Fortune 500 company, voted top 30 places to start a career in USA by Business Week magazine, looking for individuals to grow with the largest provider of voluntary employee benefits in the country.

Must be enthusiastic and have strong work ethic. Sales experience is welcome but not necessary. Extensive management opportunities available. Unlimited earnings potential. Office located in Garden City. Call Bill Whicher 516-574-1064

Situation Wanted BABYSITTING​​COLLEGE STUDENT Available for babysitting.

Flexible hours. 5 yrs experience.

Solid references. Has car. Call 516-404-1045 CARE GIVER: NEED A COMPANION or nursing assistant for your loved ones? Fear of your loved ones being alone at night or even eloping & need overnight companion care at home or in a health care facility? Call 516-410-9943 for a NY State certified nursing assistant with excellent references.

CAREGIVER / COMPANION Loving & trustworthy Filipino woman with a wealth of experience available for Full Time Live In position.

Licensed driver. References available. Call Aimie 706-814-1129 CAREGIVER AVAILABLE Experienced woman seeks full time position to care for your sick or elderly loved one. Live in. Very reliable, non driver, references available.

Call May 516-292-2662 CLEANING SERVICES FOR OFFICES OR HOMES. Available 7 days a week. Excellent references.

Own transportation. Gift Certificates available! Call 516-974-8959

Situation Wanted DIRECT HOME CARE AIDE currently seeking night position FT​/​PT 11pm to 7am (no daytime hours) to care for your elderly. Over 20 years experience including Alzheimers or CP cases. Excellent references. Own car. Call Nicola 516-670-2975 ELDER CARE AVAILABLE Honest, reliable mature woman seeking live-in position to care for your sick or elderly loved one. Experienced. References available. Call anytime​​Madge 917-815-7412 F/T COMPANION AVAILABLE Looking for someone to take care of your elderly parents in the comfort of your own home for peace and tranquility? 18 yrs. experience, references, driver w/ reliable vehicle. Please call 516-410-1892 FT ELDER CARE available for sick or elderly adults. Live in or out.

Certified w/ 12 yrs exp. Experience in all areas. Highly recommended.

Please call 347-517-3349 NURSE’S AIDE / COMPANION available full time with 20 yrs experience. Seeking position to care for your elderly loved ones, with light housekeeping. Excellent references. Flexible hours. Call Gloria 347-777-5808 PRIVATE CASE WORKER seeking position to take care of elderly full time Monday through Friday.

BABYSITTING also offered. Honest, trustworthy, caring, very attentive, dependable. Lots of experience. References available.

Please call 516-508-8528 RELIABLE FULL TIME BABYSITTER available immediately. Impeccable references from Garden City family. Can drive. Infant CPR certified. Can help with reading, writing, math. Over 10yrs. experience. Call 347-654-9274 SONIA’S CLEANING SERVICE We clean offices, houses, apartments. Experience driver w/ car, own supplies. References available. Please call 516-319-9783

Business Opportunities

CLEANING SERVICES I clean houses and offices. I have affordable rates and great references. I do it all​​move ins and move outs, all rooms and facets of home and office cleaning. No job too big or small. Contact Luis 516-451-6225

WELDING CAREERS : Hands on training for career opportunities in aviation, automotive, manufacturing and more. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance.

CALL AIM 888-205-1735

CLEANING: I CLEAN your house and leave it spotless. Vacuum, clean the bathrooms and bedrooms, your kitchen, mop and dust. Please contact me at 516943-7124. Excellent references and free estimates.

announcements

COLLEGE STUDENT HOME for break available full time from December 13 through February 1.

Garden City area. Has car, drivers license, CPR certification, experience. Please call Emily 516-232-6256

Adoption UNPLANNED PREGNANCY? Caring licensed adoption agency provides financial and emotional support. Choose from loving preapproved families. Call Joy toll free 1-866-922-3678 or confidential email: Adopt@ForeverFamiliesThroughAdoption.org

marketplace

pets

automotive

Wanted to Buy

Pet Services

Auto For Sale

CASH BUYER! Buying ALL Gold & Silver coins, Stamps, Paper Money, Comic Books, entire collections, Estates. Travel to your home. Call Marc in NY 1-800-959-3419

A GARDEN CITY ANIMAL LOVER doesn’t want to leave your precious pooch or fantastic feline alone all day. I’m reliable, dependable and will walk and feed your pet while you work or travel. Please call Cheryl at 516-505-9717

TOYOTA SEQUOIA LTD 2003 85k miles. Black exterior, Tan leather interior. Fully loaded.

Immaculate. DVD. $12,500. Call 516-672-0592

CASH BUYER! Used Men’s Clothing: T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Sneakers from 70’s, 80’s, 90’s. Preferably Music​/​Sports related. Will travel to your home. Greg 516-782-6066 LOOKING TO BUY! Records, oriental items, clothing, art, old & modern furniture, estates, jewelry, silver, glassware, dishes, old photos, coins & stamps, flatware. Call George 718-386-1104 or 917-775-3048 TOP CASH PAID: JEWELRY, Furniture, Art, etc. Please call 718598-3045 or 516-270-2128. www. iBuyAntiquesNYC.com

Tag Sale *BROWSE *SHOP *CONSIGN A.T. STEWART EXCHANGE CONSIGNMENT SHOP 109 Eleventh Street Garden City 11530 516-7468900 China, Silver, Crystal, Jewelry, Artwork, Furniture, Antiques, Collectibles Tues-Fri 10-4 Sat 12-4 Every Tuesday: 10% Senior Citizen Discount. All proceeds benefit The Garden City Historical Society email: store@atstewartexchange.org www. gardencityhistoricalsociety. org INVITED SALES by TRACY JORDAN Live and Online Auction House, Estate Sales, Appraisals and Consignment Shoppe. 839 Stewart Avenue Garden City 11530 516-279-6378 www.invitedsales. com Mon-Fri 10-6pm Sat 10-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Located next to the La Quinta and behind the Garden Gourmet Deli. Live Auctions Monthly!

Free walk-in evaluations for items to be considered for Live Auction every Thursday 10am-2pm. No appointment necessary. Auctions are live every Wednesday from 8am8pm and pre-bids are accepted at anytime. Visit www.invitedsales.com and click on the online auctions tab.

Visit www.invitedsales.com to see pictures and information regarding our upcoming tag sales and estate sales. Our 50% off room is open everyday and includes items that have been in our shoppe for more than 60 days. To receive discount coupons and promotional information, join our email list. Text “invited” to 22828 and enter your email address when prompted. Consignments are taken by appointment to provide you with the best service. Please call the shoppe at 516-279-6378 to schedule an appointment or email pictures of your items to info@invitedsales.com.

We can provide fair market values on any item that you may want to sell, consign or enter into auction. If you need advice on hosting a sale, selling an item or liquidating an estate, please call Tracy Jordan at the shoppe or directly at 516-567-2960 WILLISTON PARK: Christmas specials from The Thrift Shop sponsored by Resurrection and St. Aidan Churches. Jewelry, fine clothing, some designer labels, good condition, reasonable prices, household items. Thursdays 9:30am-1:00pm.

Saturdays 10:00am-2:00pm. Resurrection Church, corner Campbell Avenue and Center Street. Please call 516-746-5527

Autos Wanted

DO YOU HATE KENNELS? ORSTRANGERS IN YOUR HOUSE? HOME AWAY FROM HOME will care for your dog in my Garden City home while you are away. Dog walking also available.

DONATE YOUR CAR to Wheels For Wishes, benefitting Make-aWish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 631-317-2014 Today!

Pet CPR & first Aid Certified. Numerous referrals and references.

Limited availability. Book early!

Annmarie 516-775-4256

real estate for rent

EXPERIENCED DOG WALKER available. Garden City resident.

Animal lover will also visit and feed your pets. Caring and reliable. Garden City and surrounding communities. CALL ANNE MARIE 516-326-7860 PROFESSIONAL DOG TRAINING Doggie Day Care & Walks Backyard Clean-up GC Resident 516-382-5553

Apartment For Rent ATRIUM PLAZA TOWNHOUSE LR​/​DR, EIK, 2 Bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, EE garage. Credit check required. $2,600 per month.

Carmel Quill, Broker. Call for appointment 516-732-6049

DONATE YOUR CAR Wheels For Wishes benefiting

x % Ta 100 tible c u Ded *Free Vehicle/Boat Pickup ANYWHERE *We Accept All Vehicles Running or Not *100% Tax Deductible

WheelsForWishes.org

Suffolk County

Call: (631) 317-2014

Metro New York

Call: (631) 317-2014

News Times Newspapers, Friday, December 26, 2014

▼ real estate, services Apartment For Rent MINEOLA 2 bedrooom off Mineola Blvd. Clean, excellent condition, second floor, sunny, parking, quiet, suitable one or two. Convenient to transportation, Courts, hospital, Churches, etc. Excellently maintained. $1,650. Telephone 516-7476392 or 516-280-4870

Condo/Co-op For Rent GARDEN CITY 7TH ST Luxury building, doorman, elevator, no pets. Includes gas​/​heat​/​hot water.

Monthly rents from $2,700-3,975.

Indoor parking available. Immediate occupancy. Broker Fee. 516873-6464​/ 516-850-4468​/ 631748-8044 Christine

real estate for sale

Condo/Co-Op For Sale THE WYNDHAM WEST Mint duplex. 2 Bedrooms, 2 1/2 Baths. Efficiency Kitchen, 1 car garage. 24 hr concierge, 24 hr valet, health club, pool, exercise classes, office facilities. $810,000. Carmel Quill, Broker.

Call for appointment 516-732-6049

Lots for Sale BLACK LAKE! 100 acres $69,900.

Deeded access on Blake Lake.

Borders State forest. Ice Fishing!

PRIVATE! John Hill, RE Salesperson 315-657-5469. NY LAND QEUST nylandquest.com

Out Of Town Real Estate HAMPTON BAYS, NY HOUSE FOR SALE BY OWNER Prestigious “Old Harbor Colony” Private Community with bay beach rights. Single family with 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, finished basement, 20x40 pool. Great family home. $769,000. Call Owner 516-351-2975. No Brokers Please SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Beautiful 55+ manufactured home community. 4.4 miles to the beach, 2 miles to the riverfront district. Homes starting at $39,000. 772-581-0080, www. beach-cove.com.

service directory

Cleaning STRONG ARM CLEANING: Residential and commercial cleaning specialist, post construction clean ups, shipping and waxing floors, move ins and move outs. Free estimates. Bonded and insured.

516-538-1125 www.strongarmcleaningny.com

HANDYMAN Meticulous & Reliable Serving GARDEN CITY & Surrounding Area since 2003 Repairs & Installations of all Types Built-in Bookcases, Woodworking, Carpentry, Crown Moldings, Lighting, Painting, Wallpaper and More. 30-year Nassau County Resident. Many References Lic #H01062800 Insured Call Friendly Frank 516-2382112 anytime E-mail Frankcav@ optonline.net

HANDYMAN

Services

HAS YOUR BUILDING SHIFTED OR SETTLED? Contact Woodford Brothers, Inc. for straightening, leveling, foundation and wood frame repairs at 1-800OLD BARN. www.woodfordbros.com. Suffolk Cty- License #41959-H Nassau Cty- License #H18G7180000

JUNK REMOVAL AND DEMOLITION: 5% off any job, any type, any 2-3 pieces to entire house.

Residential, commercial. Free estimates. References. Bonded and insured. Delivery service available.

Henry 516-523-0974

LAMPS FIXED $65 In home service. Handy Howard 646-996-7628 SKY CLEAR WINDOW and Restorations Inc. Window Restorations, Outdated Hardware, skylights, Andersen Sashes, new storm windows, wood windows, chain​/​rope repairs, falling windows, fogged panes, mechanical repairs, wood repairs, restorations, all brands. Call Mr. Fagan, 32 years experience. 631-3857975 www.skyclearwindow.com

Home Improvements AMBIANCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES *Repairs & Maintenance *Handyman & Remodeling *Vanity & Kitchen Cabinet Installations *Furniture Assembly & set up *Finish Carpentry *Minor Electrical & Plumbing 22 year GC Resident Lic & Ins H18E2170000 Owner Operated Call BOB 516-741-2154 DEVLIN BUILDERS Since 1979.

We do all types of improvements including HANDYMAN REPAIRS. No job too small. Bob Devlin 516-365-6685. Insured License H18C730000

Instruction PIANO LESSONS By Ira Baslow.

Experience the joy of playing the piano. Private lessons in your home, free no-obligation piano lesson, all levels, all styles, all ages. Beginners a specialty. 516-312-1054 www. iwantmypianolessons.com PRIVATE MUSIC LESSONS Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone. NYSSMA expert with 30+ years experience. Totally individualized instruction. In my home or yours. Call 516-437-7173

NEW YORK MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPISTS: Joan Atwood, PH.D. An experienced therapist makes all the difference.

Teen anger management groups now forming. Individual, couple, family therapy and anger management. 516-764-2526. jatwood@ optonline.net www.NYMFT.com TEEN ANGER MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SKILLS GROUPS FORMING. Experienced therapist.

Call 516-770-4085

Tutoring CURVEBREAKERS TEST PREP provides customized one-on-one tutoring and small classes for the SAT, ACT, PSAT, CHSEE and more. Gain a competitive advantage. Call for free consultation 516-728-1561 email info@curvebreakerstestprep.com ENGLISH TUTOR: Diane Gottlieb M.Ed., M.S.W. SAT​/​ACT, College Essays, AP, Regents, ELA Test Prep, Reading Comprehension and writing proficiency, 917-5998007 or email: dianegot@gmail. com LongIslandTutor.com Providing one-on-one professional support to build confidence, knowledge and skills in every student.

MATH, SAT, ACT TUTOR: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 plus Trig, PreCalc, AP Calculus. Norm 625-3314 ENGLISH, ACT, SAT TUTOR: 25+ years experience. Critical reading, writing, grammar, essays. Lynne 625-3314 SCIENCE, SCIENCE, SCIENCE! AP & Regents Physics, AP & Regents Biology, Earth Science & Mathematics. Sol 516-384-9865

Painting & Paperhanging JV PAINT HANDYMAN SERVICES Interior-Exterior Specialist Painting, Wallpapering, Plastering, Spackling, Staining, Power Washing. Nassau Lic#H3814310000 fully Insured Call John 516-741-5378

Party Help LADIES & GENTLEMEN RELAX & ENJOY Your Next Party! Catering and Experienced Professional Services for Assisting with Preparation, Serving and Clean Up Before, During and After Your Party Bartenders Available. Call Kate at 516-248-1545

Services A & J MOVING & STORAGE: Established 1971. Long Island and New York State specialists. Residential, Commercial, Piano & Organ experts. Boxes available. Free estimates. www.ajmoving.com 516-741-2657 114 Jericho Tpk, Mineola NYDOT# 10405 COMPLETE JUNK REMOVAL​/​ DEMOLITION SERVICE: Strong Arm Contracting Inc. We haul anything and everything. Entire contents of home or office. We clean it up and take it away. Residential​ /​Commercial.

Bonded​/​Insured.

Free estimates. 516-538-1125

To Place Your Ad Call: 516.307.1045

49

community ne w s

Kwanzaa celebration to take place on Dec. 29 Nassau County’s 5th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration will take place on Monday, Dec. 29 at 12 p.m. at Roosevelt Field Mall, North Court which is by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bloomingdale’s Furniture.

“I invite all residents to take some time from their busy schedules to enjoy this wonderful holiday

celebration,” said Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano.

Kwanzaa has emerged as a significant celebration during which residents can both commemorate and reflect upon Africa roots, as well as the awe-inspiring impact it has had on the American experience.

Kwanzaa is a family-friend-

ly celebration involving a candle lighting including a festive, educational, and inspirational program that beautifully reflects the principles of UNITY. For more information, please contact Ray Thomas at (516) 227-9675 or Shelley Brazley at (516) 5722244.

New Year’s Eve run to take place at midnight A 5K New Year’s Eve DASH to support the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) will take place in Eisenhower Park, starting at the Twin Rinks Ice Center at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Race check-in begins at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

The race begins at the stroke of midnight when the ball drops in Times Square (shown on large screens at the starting line) and takes participants around Eisenhower Park on a fully-lighted race course with startto-finish sound track and then into the New Year’s Eve Party at our new indoor party venue located inside of the all new Twin

Rinks Ice Center.

The event starts before midnight with the Twin Rinks Ice Center’s “Skatin’ New Year‘s Eve” event beginning at 9 p.m. All New Year’s Eve DASH participants are invited to come early and take part in “Skatin’ New Year‘s Eve” - included with registration. Children under 16 can take part in the Twin Rinks’ “Skatin’ New Year‘s Eve” event for a discounted rate exclusively for New Year’s Eve DASH participants’ family members.

Upon crossing the finish line, participants will enter the Twin Rinks Ice Center where the New Year’s Eve DASH New Year’s Eve party

continues until 2:30 a.m. complete with a DJ, a buffet, provided by the Main Event in Plainview, beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and sodas, provided by Snapple, and dessert provided by All Round Foods.

Fees for the First Annual New Year’s Eve Dash and party are as follows: $65 for Runners and Revelers, and $45 for Revelers only. There is a 16 & under Reveler Only Special of: $18, payable upon entry. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult participating in the New Year’s Eve DASH. To register, please visit the website at: www.newyearsdash. com.

50 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

▼ LEGALS File No. 2012-370394​/​A CITATION SURROGATE’S COURT, NASSAU COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: Great American lnsurance Company Attorney General of the State of New York NYS Department of Health and any and all unknown persons whose names or parts of whose names and whose place or places of residence are unknown and cannot after diligent inquiry be ascertained, distributees, heirs-at-law and next-ofkin of the said WILLADENE SHORT, deceased, and if any of the said distributees named specifically or as a class be dead, their legal representatives, their husbands or wives, if any, distributees and successors in interest whose names and​/​or places of residence and post office addresses are unknown and cannot after diligent inquiry be ascertained A petition having been duly filed

by Public Administrator of Nassau County, who is domiciled at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola, New York 11501, United States.

YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Nassau County, at 262 Old Country Road, Mineola, New York, on January 28, 2015 at 9:30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why the account of Public Administrator of Nassau County, a summary of which has been served herewith, as Administrator of the estate of Willadene Short, should not be judicially settled.

(X) Further relief sought (if any): 1. Releasing and discharging the Petitioner from all liability, responsibility and accountability as to all matters set forth in the account of proceedings; 2. Allowing the commissions of the Petitioner in the amount of $5,112.14 pursuant to SCPA 2307(1) and the reasonable and necessary expenses of the office In the amount of $1,028.03 pursuant to SCPA 1207(4); 3. Fixing and determining the attorney’s fees of Mahon, Mahon, Kerins & O’Brien, LLC attorney for petitioner In the amount of $ 17,048.29 of which $ 6,048.29 has been paid and $ 11,000.00 is unpaid; 4. Fixing and determining the accounting fees of Rispoli & Co, CPA’s in the amount of $ 2,412.50 of which $ 1,262.50 has been paid and $ 1,150.00 is unpaid; 5. Releasing and discharging the surety; 6. Directing the net estate be paid to NYS Department of Health on account of its approved claim of $194,017.64; 7. Granting such other and further relief as to the Court is just and proper.

HON. EDWARD W. McCARTY,III SURROGATE Dated, Attested, and Sealed, NOVEMBER 20, 2014 SEAL S​/ Michael J Murphy Michael J. Murphy, Chief Clerk Richard T. Kerins, Esq. Mahon, Mahon, Kerins & O’Brien, LLC (516) 538-1111 254 Nassau Blvd., Garden City South, New York 11530 NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law.

You are not required to appear.

If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have a right to have an attorney appear for you, and you or your attorney may request a copy of the full account from the petitioner or petitioner’s attorney.

WT 140797 4x 12/05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 #140797

WT

WT

File No. 2013-376000​/​A CITATION SURROGATE’S COURT, NASSAU COUNTY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, By the Grace of God Free and Independent TO: Travelers Casualty Vincent Matarese Kenneth Matarese Dawn Matarese Michael Matarese Linda Cacace Belmont Judith Cacace Davis Valerie Cacace Petrungaro Louis Cacace Donna Sclafani Grabel Stephen Sclafani Vincent Sclafani,Jr. Attorney General State of New York and any and all unknown persons whose names or parts of whose names and whose place or places of residence are unknown and cannot after diligent inquiry be ascertained, distributees, heirs-at-law and next-ofkin of the said VIRGINIA SECCHIA, deceased, and if any of the said distributees named specifically or as a class be dead, their legal representatives, their husbands or wives, if any, distributees and successors in interest whose names and​/​or places of residence and post office addresses are unknown and cannot after diligent inquiry be ascertained A petition having been duly filed

by Public Administrator of Nassau County, who is domiciled at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola, New York 11501, United States.

YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the Surrogate’s Court, Nassau County, at 262 Old Country Road, Mineola, New York, on January 28, 2015, at 9:30 o’clock in the fore noon of that day, why the account of Public Administrator of Nassau County, a summary of which has been served herewith, as Administrator of the estate of Virginia Secchia, should not be judicially settled.

(X) Further relief sought (if any): 1. Releasing and discharging the Petitioner from all liability, responsibility and accountability as to all matters set forth in the account of proceedings; 2. Allowing the commissions of the Petitioner in the amount of $23,028.58 pursuant to SCPA 2307(1) and the reasonable and necessary expenses of the office in the amount of $6,342.86 pursuant to SCPA 1207(4); 3. Fixing and determining the attorney’s fees of Mahon, Mahon, Kerins & O’Brien, LLC attorney for petitioner in the amount of $38,375.02 of which $9,375.02 has been paid and $ 29,000.00 is unpaid; 4.Fixing and determining the accounting fees of Rispoli & Co, CPA’s In the amount of $1,837.50 of which $687.50 has been paid and $1,150.00 is unpaid; 5. Releasing and discharging the surety; 6. Directing the net estate be paid to the New York State Comptroller on account for the unknown next of kin of VIRGINIA SECCHIA, decedent; 7. Granting such other and further relief as to the Court is just and proper.

Dated, Attested, and Sealed, November 20, 2014 Seal HON. EDWARD McCARTY, III SURROGATE S​/ Michael J Murphy Michael J. Murphy, Chief Clerk Richard T. Kerins, Esq. Mahon, Mahon, Kerins & O’Brien, LLC (516)538-1111 254 Nassau Blvd., Garden City South, New York 11530 NOTE: This citation is served upon you as required by law.

You are not required to appear.

If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have a

right to have an attorney appear for you, and you or your attorney may request a copy of the full account from the petitioner or petitioner’s attorney.

WT 140853 4x 12/12, 19, 26, 2104, 1/02/​2015 #140853

Notice of formation of 8 CARPENTER STREET, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/09/2014. N.Y. Office loc: Nassau County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him​/​her is 1551 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501.

Purpose of L.L.C.: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

WT 140883 6x 12/19, 26, 2014, 1/02, 9, 16, 23, #140883 2015 SUPREME COURT ​—​ COUNTY OF NASSAU HSBC BANK USA, N.A., Plaintiff against PEDRO DE LA CRUZ, ROSANN DE LA CRUZ, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on September 5, 2014.

I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in the Calendar Control Part (CCP) Courtroom of the Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, N.Y. on the 13th day of January, 2015 at 11:30 a.m.

Said premises known as 114-06 238th Street, Elmont, N.Y. 11003.

Tax account number: SBL #: 32-633-41.

Approximate amount of lien $ 381,370.15 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 002654-12. Mark Ricciardi, Esq., Referee.

McCabe Weisberg & Conway Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 145 Huguenot Street​—​Suite 210 New Rochelle, New York 10801 (914) 636-8900 WT 140854 4x 12/12, 19, 26, 2014, 1/02/​2015 #140854

LEGAL NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Board of Appeals of the Inc. Village of Williston Park will hold a public hearing (open to the public) as follows: DATE: Monday, January 12, 2015 TIME: 8:00 p.m.

PLACE: Village Hall 494 Willis Avenue Williston Park, NY SUBJECT: To consider an application filed by Donald Murphy, 457 Mineola Blvd., Williston Park, NY for the following variances to the Village Zoning Code: 1. Section 230-13 (C): to permit the extension of a non-conforming two family house by addition of a new deck, new rear extension, expanded basement area, and a new roofed over front porch, when the Village Code provides that a non- conforming use shall not be extended.

2. Section 230-6 (F): to permit a front porch with a front setback of 42 ft., where the existing front yard setback is 45.6 feet, when the Village Code requires that no building or part thereof shall be erected or altered to be nearer than the average setback of the buildings on the same side of the street within the same block (here 46 feet 7 inches).

Interested parties may hear and be heard at the aforesaid time and place.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS Brian Cunningham, Chairman Dated: December 22, 2014 WT 140913 #140913 1x 12/26

Arrests in alleged drug pipeline to L.I.

Ajay Carter

Santiago Juela

Luis Mendoza Rosas

Carlos Reyes

Cesar Romero-Astudillo

Miguel Tormo

heroin and funneled money made from drug sales between Romero-Astudillo and Mexico.

Upon learning in September that Mendoza Rosas and the two unnamed defendants were suspected of transporting drugs from Mexico to New York in the same vehicle, Rice’s office advised New Jersey State Police to monitor the vehicle, the DA’s office said. On Sept. 23, New Jersey state officers stopped the same Durango in Warren County and recovered five kilograms of black tar heroin hidden in the engine.

“It just looks like a couple of guys on vacation,” said Rick Whelan, chief of Rice’s Narcotics Bureau. “...

That car blends in...it’s unassuming.”

Romero-Astudillo and Belmontes are being held without bail. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Larry Stephen set bail for Mendoza Rosas at $1 million bond or $500,000 in cash, for Reyes at $100,000 bond or $75,000 in cash and for Juela at $100,000 bond or cash.

Romero-Astudillo, Mendoza Rosas, Reyes, Juela, Belmontes and the two unnamed defendants each face felony conspiracy charges.

Romero-Astudillo was also charged with first-de-

gree, A-I felony operating as a major trafficker, an A-I felony criminal possession of a controlled substance and A-I and B felony counts of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree. He faces a maximum life sentence if convicted of the top charge, prosecutors said.

Mendoza Rosas, Reyes and Juela were each also charged with first-degree, A-I felony criminal possession of a controlled substance. The two unnamed defendants each received two A-I and one B felony charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Belmontes faces up to 25 years in prison, while the remaining defendants face up to 20 years in prison.

Carter and Tormo each face A-I and B felony counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. Carter also received additional first and third-degree counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Nassau County Court Judge Teresa Corrigan set their bail at $5 million bond or $2.5 million cash.

Carter faces up to 40 years in prison and Tormo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the top charges. They are due back in court on Jan. 8.

Continued from Page 3 have received narcotics shipments directly from Mexico and provided Carter and Tormo with the drugs.

Rice’s office also alleged Romero-Astudillo received three kilograms of heroin through a series of “mules,” including Vincent Belmontes, 24, of Riverside, Calif., who swallowed packets of the drug and passed them in Romero-Astudillo’s Bronx apartment.

On Aug. 14, 2014, investigators said they discovered that black tar heroin was transported to RomeroAstudillo via Luis Alberto Mendoza Rosas, 34, also known as “Panzon,’ of the Bronx, who hid the drug in the engine of a gray Dodge Durango with falsified California license plates that he drove from Mexico with two unnamed associates described as a 57-year-old from Chula Vista, Calif. and a 21-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico - who posed as a family in the United States on vacation, prosecutors said.

The Durango, which had a red kayak and bicycles mounted to the vehicle’s exterior, was taken to an auto body shop in Astoria owned

by Santiago Juela, 33, of Brooklyn, who prosecutors said recovered and sold the

Sports

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The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

51

Post rallies to best Southern N.H, 71-65 B y Maxi m e Devilla z The LIU Post men’s basketball team traveled to Manchester, N.H.,on Saturday, Dec. 20, for an East Coast Conference tilt at Southern N.H. After being under 50 percent for the most part of the afternoon, the Pioneers sharpened their shots in the latter stanza to find the basket 54.2 percent of the time and secure a 71-65 win.

The Pioneers went on a 10-1 run to take the lead at the end of the second half as junior guard Dilion Burns opened the run with a layup. The Penmen went on to try and close the gap, but the Pioneers kept it all the way through. Senior forward Charles McCann and junior guard Chris Orozco secured LIU Post’s first win in a month, with back-to-back lay-ups in the last minutes.

McCann scored 14 points, one more than senior forward Tyuan Williams, who added in 13. McCann grabbed a contestbest 11 rebounds.

While most students have taken the route home for the holidays, head men’s basketball coach Erik Smiles will gather his team again on New Year’s Eve, when they will face Adelphi University in a nonconference match in Garden City. The game is scheduled at 2 p.m.

The LIU Post women’s basketball team visited St. Petersburg, Fla. on Saturday, Dec. 20, and fell short to Eckerd College in a non-conference tilt. The hosts were sharper from start to finish with a 57 percent shot rate from the floor, including 44 percent from the three-point area. The Pioneers shot 26 percent for the contest, and lost 79-49.

Eckerd scored the game’s first six points and never looked back. Eckerd kept increasing the gap between the two teams, with a consecutive 13-0 rally at the start of the second half.

LIU Post’s Nyasia Davis attempted to lift the team, as she led all players with her 19 points and seven rebounds, but her 7-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-8 from the free throw line was not enough.

Head women’s basketball coach Deirdre Moore and the Pioneers will also return to action on Dec. 31, when they take on Stonehill College in a non-conference battle at LIU Post’s Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville. Tip-off is set for 1.30 p.m.

This story was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer. com, and is republished by Blank Slate Media with permission of the Pioneer.

Charles McCan

Photo / Kimberly Toledo

Hat trick leads St. Aidan to soccer championship Ten minutes into the 6th grade CYO soccer championship game between Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Aidan’s, Luke Sommese, having started at center-back, asked his coach if he could move to the striker position.

The talented St. Aidan player explained that he “felt as if he was going to have a big game at striker” if he were moved to that position. Minutes after reentering the game at his desired position, Sommese jumped on a loose ball in front of the Lourdes net and drove home the first goal of the game.

The determined Lourdes team traded offensive opportunities with St. Aidan for much of the first half and the score remained 1-0 at the midway point.

St. Aidan’s commitment to

giving it their all for their first title was rewarded shortly after the second half began.

Co-captain Dylan Haase chased a ball into the corner

where he skillfully eluded two Lourdes defenders before driving a terrific cross in front of the Lourdes goal. Sommese timed it perfectly and dove into the cross

with a beautiful, hard header to redirect the ball into the back of the net.

Immediately after the restart, Sommese was at it again, pressuring the Lourdes defense and in a fantastic individual effort, tapped a ball free from the diving Lourdes keeper near the edge of the penalty area. Sommese then deftly eluded the keeper and an on- rushing defender before cutting in front of the goal and tapping home his third straight score.

Sommese’s striker teammates Massimo Fuduli and Ryan Burke would soon combine for another goal, with Burke slamming home a rebound in front of the opposing keeper. Haase would finish the scoring late in the half, sliding home a shot from just inside the penalty box,

completing the scoring at 5-0.

Throughout the game, St. Aidan’s played terrific defense, especially in the middle of the field. Center-back William Winski starred for St. Aidan, controlling the flow of the game and constantly turning aside the impressive attack from Lourdes.

Winski’s defensive mates Luke Sherry, Kieran Gilbert, Kevin Morrison and Eddie Gustafson had strong games for St. Aidan in front of keeper John Flemm.

Center-midfielder and cocaptain Liam Russelman, along with Colin Fisch and Aidan Scott contributed to a solid possession attack, especially in the second half.

The championship victory completed a special season for St. Aidan’s that saw them finish with an undefeated 12-0 record.

52 The Williston Times, Friday, December 26, 2014

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