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Friday, April 8, 2022
Vol. 10, No. 14
NASSAU SHIPS GEAR TO UKRAINE PAGE 9
NORTHWELL EMPLOYEE SHOT, KILLED
ZIMMERMAN RAISES $900K IN 10 WEEKS
PAGE 20
PAGE 7
DeSena touts transparency, collaboration
42ND STREET
Supervisor urges board to set aside partisan divisions State of Town BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y In her first State of the Town address, North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena touted the need for collaboration and transparency in town government. “I want to say we are doing this together,” DeSena said of her fellow Town Board members, four of whom were in attendance. “We are committed to doing the work for the town and we are committed to being collaborative and bipartisan in cooperation.” DeSena’s 30-minute address marked the 35th anniversary of the address and was the first to be delivered by a Republican supervisor since 1989. The early months of DeSena’s tenure have been marked by tension between her and the Democratic majority on the Town Board. And any ideas of bipartisanship seemed to dissipate after a Democratic member of the board, Veronica Lurvey, recorded a response that praised progress under DeSena’s Democratic predecessor and talked of Democrats’ priorities. Lurvey then was attacked by DeSena’s spokesman, who accused her of injecting partisan politics into town government. State, town and village officials
from across the county came to Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington for DeSena’s address, which was held in conjunction with a luncheon featuring the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset. As she has since beginning her campaign for office, DeSena emphasized her focus on streamlining government operations and making the town more efficient where possible. DeSena announced several proposals aimed at cutting through red tape and showing constituents how their government operates. North Hempstead TV in its decadeplus of running has not featured Town Board meetings. DeSena plans on changing that to make it more accessible to residents who cannot make it to Town Hall in Manhasset on Thursday nights or go to the town’s website, where it is livestreamed and recorded. “I believe residents should have greater access to watch our Town Board meetings,” DeSena said. “Town Board meetings are where the real business of government is conducted.” A second initiative DeSena described was holding town hall meetings in North Hempstead’s six districts Continued on Page 33
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MANHASSET SCHOOL DISTRICT
Manhasset High School put on a production of “42nd Street” last weekend.
Town sets hearing date for Building Department reforms BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y
board will consider the adoption of a local law amending town code to The North Hempstead Town require the building commissioner Board has set a date for a public hear- to make a decision on expedited pering regarding two changes for the mits within seven days and remove Building Department that Supervisor the Town Board’s ability to override the department’s decisions. Jennifer DeSena proposed recently. The resolutions are aimed at preAt the April 28 meeting, the
venting corruption and streamlining town government operations, DeSena has said. All six members present last Thursday night voted to set the date. Councilman David Adhami was not present due to illness. When DeSena originally made Continued on Page 34
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