Serving Roslyn, Roslyn Heights and Old Westbury
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Friday, September 25, 2015
vol. 3, no. 39
ation careers & educ
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Kaplan says seniors, kids are her focus
SeWING tHe SeeDS
Councilwoman touts accomplishments, outlines re-election campaign platform BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO North Hempstead Town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan (D-Great Neck) said Thursday she credits Republican Mary Kay Barket’s desire to serve her community by running for the council, even if it’s in a bid to unseat her. But Kaplan said she thinks her record in prioritizing the issues of senior citizens and children by seeking affordable housing and enhancing parks will resonate with voters in November’s election for the town’s 4th council district. “I am blessed in so many ways, and I want everybody to know it is an honor to represent these residents,” said Kaplan, of Great Neck. “I take pride in my work and I feel blessed every day.” Kaplan was elected to the town council in 2011 and also served as a Great Neck Public Library trustee and member of the North Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals.
The town’s 4th council district includes the villages of Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, North Hills, Great Neck, Great Neck Gardens, Kensington, Kings Point and Thomaston, as well as the unincorporated areas of Manhasset and Great Neck. Kaplan emigrated to the United States at age 12 from Iran following the Islamic Revolution there in 1979, receiving political asylum. Originally arriving in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, she lived with a foster family in Chicago while attending high school and was later reunited with her family. “This country has given me so much,” she said. “I went from having political asylum to holding elected office. That’s the American Dream. That doesn’t happen elsewhere.” In mid July, Kaplan was among a group of town and county Democrats who signed a letter to New York federal lawmakers opposing the Iran nuclear deal, “in the interContinued on Page 55
Students from the Viscardi Center’s Youth Transition Services program plant flowers during the New York State Industry for the Disabled Works! event at the “Yes We Can” Community Center in Westbury last Thursday.
Fastenberg tops Weinberg in Old Westbury election BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO
trustee Andrew Weinberg, 497440, and joins new trustees Cory Baker and Marina ChimeLeslie Fastenberg has been rine in overtaking the village declared the winner of a run- board’s majority as part of the off election for a Village of Old grassroots New Voice For Old Westbury. Westbury trustee position. “I am humbled by the enorShe defeated incumbent
mous support and confidence this vote has expressed,” she wrote in a lengthy post Thursday on the New Voice For Old Westbury’s Facebook page. Fastenberg, who will serve a four-year term, participated Continued on Page 54
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