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Friday, December 23, 2016
Vol. 4, No. 52
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NEW YEAR’S DINING GUIDE
MUNSEY PARK EYES TRAFFIC CAMERAS
NIFA OKAYS COUNTY BUDGET
PAGES 31-42
PAGE 2
PAGE 6
Nassau cops’ pay: twice NYC Average salary hits $150,292 BY J OE N I K I C Nassau County Police Department employees earned an average salary last year that was more than double the average for the New York Police Department. According to data compiled by the Empire Center for Public Policy, the average pay for Nassau Police Department employees was $150,292 compared with the $73,676 average pay for NYPD employees. Suffolk County Police Department employees earned an average salary of $161,463, about 7 percent higher than Nassau Police Department employees, which is the highest average of any county or city in the state. The NYPD has a total of 65,868 employees, while the Nassau Police Department and Suffolk Police Department employ 2,344 people and 2,397 people, respectively, according to the Empire Center. The starting salary for a police officer in Nassau is $34,000, Continued on Page 58
PHOTO BY STEVEN HANDELMAN
Bob Young, the owner of the Flower Hill home decorated with an extravagant lighting display, said this may be the last year he puts up lights.
Homeowner weighs end of lights display Says village regulations, neighbors’ complaints dampen fun BY ST E P H E N ROMANO The owner of the Flower Hill home that puts on an extravagant holiday lights display every year said this year might be the last because of village-imposed
regulations and a neighbor’s complaints. Bob Young, who has been decorating his home at 9 Sunnyvale Road with computer-generated holiday lights synchronized with music, said the experience “is not the same anymore.” “It used to be fun, but neighbors started complaining and the village imposed some regulations and things changed,” said Young, who has been decorating his
home since 1996. After receiving complaints of noise and traffic problems from neighbors on Sunnyvale Road, the village imposed changes to ease traffic and control the music. The village passed a law in October turning Sunnyvale Road into a one-way street from Nov. 25 to Jan. 19, between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. The board also passed laws suspending parking on Sunny-
vale Road, Wood Valley Road and Cherrywood Road and prohibiting right turns when traveling north at the intersection of Wood Valley Road during the same hours. The village also stationed two security officers to make sure traffic is flowing smoothly on the street and the volume of the music is controlled. “We did a good job planning this whole situation out,” Mayor Continued on Page 68
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