Friday, June 3, 2016
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THE PULSE OF THE PENINSULA
Vol. 90, No. 23
GUIDE TO HARBORFEST
INDIAN TRADITION BROUGHT TO N. SHORE
D’URSO SEEKS RETURN TO SERVICE
PAGES 36-54
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Honoring the fallen heroes G.N. community turns out for 92nd annual Memorial Day Parade despite inclement weather B y J oe N ikic
Photo by Karen Rubin
Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company Chief Josh Forst leads firefighters down Middle Neck Road at the 92nd annual Great Neck Memorial Day Parade.
Great Neck Memorial Day Parade Chairperson Louise McCann said the Great Neck community observes Memorial Day better than some other communities by honoring those who have served our country rather than turning it into a celebration. “Great Neck has always revered Memorial Day as a day of respect and remembrance,” McCann said. “Unlike a lot of other Memorial Day parades that include floats and clowns and cotton candy, I believe that Great Neck is to be commended for maintaining the real reason for Memorial Day.” Despite the depth of clouds and threat of a downpour, hundreds of Great Neck residents gathered along Middle Neck Road to honor those who lost their lives in combat and support the various people marching in Monday’s parade. Veterans marched alongside midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Great Neck firefighters, religious groups, Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, Cub scouts and other social groups to a memorial service held at the Village Green. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s marching band kicked off the parade followed by hundreds of midshipmen. They were followed by the Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Rear Admiral James Helis, who was the grand marshal for the parade and ceremony. Helis served as an Army infantry officer for over 33 years after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. “As we enjoy this holiday today, let us not forget the meaning of Memorial Day or why we are able to gather with family and friends here as a community,” he said. While he said we were blessed for the “diverse, talented and hardworking people” that make up our armed forces, Helis said defending our nation’s rights “comes with a price.” “Over our nation’s history, time Continued on Page 73
Atria director by day, rock star by night B y J oe N ikic
Mill senior living community in Great Neck as its executive direcBy day, you can find Rocco tor. But at night, you can find Bertini handling the day-to-day operations of the Atria Cutter Bertini jamming out on the
drums at a local Long Island bar with his rock band, El Camino. “I’m a business manager, yet, outside of work I have this hobby of being a musician and a rock ’n’ roller,” Bertini said. “And having a good time doing it.” At a young age, he began his musical career playing in a drum and bugle corps, and
later, in his pre-teen years, he joined a marching band. Bertini said that because he grew up in the 1960’s, when rock ’n’ roll became a more popular genre of music, he had an infatuation with that style of music. “As rock and classic rock was born, all stemming off the Beatles, I was part of that whole music change,” he said.
When he was a teenager, Bertini said, he bought his first drum set and continued to play the drums until his early 20’s. He said he had to “put it down” for 25 years when he needed to focus on finding a career. After receiving his associate’s degree in hotel and restauContinued on Page 73
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