Manhasset Times 2024_07_05

BEST OF NASSAU COUNTY 2024

HATE CRIME LETTER REVEALED AT PORT MEET

St. Francis proposes modernization

Flower Hill mayor said no drafted plans yet as still in the early phases

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center is proposing a campus modernization plan to update various facilities, relocate staff and provide private rooms to all of its patients being treated.

The Village of Flower Hill trustees discussed the hospital plans at their meeting Monday night but cautioned that they had yet to receive project details and might not see them soon.

“Let’s face it, we’re looking at years,” Deputy Mayor Frank Genese said.

Mayor Randall Rosenbaum said the plan’s main goal was to relocate hospital personnel off-site. Rosenbaum said this would benefit the village by reducing congestion in Flower Hill.

Rosenbaum said another goal is to implement wholly private rooms. He said about 10% of the hospital’s rooms are now single rooms.

The hospital will be working with the village on the project including addressing its trailers on the south annex of the property which the village has expressed a desire to have moved, Rosenbaum said.

The campus modernization will need to be approved by various village

boards, but it will also participate in community engagement forums projected for this fall.

Trustee Mary Jo Collins said the project has begun well by staying transparent with the community, which she said will be necessary to prevent community pushback based on misinformation.

More information on the modernization is available on St. Francis’ website. Individuals can also submit questions directly to the hospital through their website.

A slideshow of the presentation given to the village is also available on Flower Hill’s website.

Village trustees approved a policy Monday night to require homeowners’ consent to release building plans. The policy is intended to preserve the safety of homeowners and the integrity of architectural work.

Rosenbaum said building plans show “every possible way to enter a home,” which could diminish the homeowner’s safety if those plans are in someone’s hands.

Under the Freedom of Information Law, anyone can request these building plans. The village is proposing that requests for building plans require a consent to release form from

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MOVING ON UP

BY CAMERYN OAKES

District 7 state Sen. Jack Martins is calling for the removal of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after he dropped the charges against the pro-Palestinian Columbia student protesters in what Martins is calling a part of Bragg’s progressive political agenda.

“If ever there was an ideological demagogue shilling a political agenda, [Bragg would] be the poster child,” Martins, a Republican representative from Old Westbury, wrote

in an op-ed last week.

Protests at Columbia University endured for weeks, with hundreds of protesters setting up encampments at the school. The students called for the university to divest its funding of organizations supporting Israel and contributing to the IsraelHamas war.

On April 30, more than 300 protesters were arrested on Columbia’s Upper Manhattan campus after the group broke into a campus building.

Bragg announced June 20 that he would be dropping the cases

Munsey Park Elementary sixth-graders walk the halls of their school for the last time and high five fellow students before moving up to Manhasset Secondary School.

against 31 of the 46 individuals charged. He cited a lack of evidence available to prosecute their cases.

In an op-ed published in Blank Slate Media titled “New Yorkers Deserve Better,” Martins denounces Bragg’s dropping of the charges against the students and called for his removal from office – asking others to join him as well.

District 7 Democratic candidate Kim Keiserman, who is running against Martins in the November election, did not respond to a re-

Continued on Page 35

PHOTO COURTESY

St. Francis Hospital blooms in Elderfields

More than a 100-year history of world-class cardiac care

BY SOPHIA LIAN

One of the nation’s top cardiac care community hospitals is in Roslyn.

St. Francis Hospital is on the land that Flower Hill’s founding father, Carlos W. Munson, bought at his wife’s request after observing groups of drunken men congregating there around the year 1900.

This plot of land was the starting place for what eventually became the grounds of St. Francis Hospital.

The Munsons encountered nuns from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary when the nuns stopped at their door hoping to sell handmade embroidery for charity.

This meeting grew into the formation of a relationship between the

Munsons and the nuns that led the Munsons to offer 15 acres of their land and a house, known as “Elderfields,” to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

By 1922, the Elderfields land was used to host summer camps for poor children from New York City.

In 1937, St. Francis became a children’s cardiac sanitarium that worked to help impoverished kids suffering from rheumatic heart conditions.

In 1954, it expanded to treat adults. St. Francis Hospital is now part of a larger mission to fight cardiovascular disease. It is the hospital that performs the most open-heart surgeries and cardiac catheterizations in New York.

You can visit the Roslyn Landmark

Society’s website for more information about St. Francis Hospital and other local historic sites.

Sources:

Franciscan Missionaries of Mary USA Province. “St. Francis Hospital.”Accessed June 21, 2024. https://www.fmmusa.org/index.p

Roslyn Landmark Society. “The history of St. Francis Hospital by Mitchell Schwartz, the newest trustee for the Roslyn Landmark Society.” Accessed June 21, 2024.https://www. roslynlandmarks.or

Sophia Lian is a Roslyn Landmark Society 2024 Gardiner Young Scholars Program high school intern as part of the new “Young Historians” collaboration between the Roslyn Landmark Society and Blank Slate Media.

TO REACH US

Heights debates tree toppings

Resident asks for other solutions

BY EMMA JONES

Amateur arborists abound at the Plandome Heights Board of Trustees monthly meeting on Monday.

In light of the storm last Wednesday, which resulted in fallen tree branches, Mayor Kenneth C. Riscica said t it is residents’ responsibility to take care of trees on their property and to clear the sidewalk of twigs and branches on the sidewalk in front of their homes.

Rosemary Mascali, president of the Plandome Heights Civic Association, reported a tree on Bourndale North Road in front of a resident’s house that had been “topped,” a practice that involves removing large portions of branches and leaves from a tree’s crown.

The board had discussed topping the tree at its May meeting. Mascali presented images of the tree and voiced concerns that the practice is both visually unappealingand ecologically harmful.

She explained that arborist websites discourage the practice.

“When you top a tree. . .the new growth that comes in comes in with excessive growth and new shoots, causing them to grow rapidly, often with brittle branches,” she said.

Trustee Norman Taylor voiced strong support for tree topping if

done properly.

“God is going to make that tree grow the way it wants to grow,” he said.

Mascali suggested that the board may consider exploring other options for tree cutting in the future.

Taylor argued that while topping is not the best method, it is the only option in many circumstances for trees on residents’ property.

“What happens when people look out to their front yard, and the whole thing is overgrown, [is] they’ve got to cut them back,” he contended.

In wind storms, he added, trees that have not been topped can become “big sails.” He stated that the village should limit the planting of trees that often lose branches in storms, such as cypress trees.

The mayor pointed out that most pruning services are not run by arborists.

“I understand and agree with your point of view—” Riscica began, turning to Taylor.

“I doubt that, no,” Taylor said, cutting him off.

At the outset of the meeting, Riscica suggested using approximately $18,000 total for two projects: road maintenance on Bay Drive, and replacing street signs that are

Continued on Page 35

Cameryn Oakes 516-307-1045 x214 • coakes@theisland360.com New Hyde Park Herald Courier: Taylor Herzlich 516-307-1045 x215 • therzlich@theisland360.com

Manhasset Times: Cameryn Oakes 516-307-1045 x214 • coakes@theisland360.com

Roslyn Times: Taylor Herzlich 516-307-1045 x215 • therzlich@theisland360.com

Williston Times: Taylor Herzlich 516-307-1045 x215 • therzlich@theisland360.com

Port Washington Times: Cameryn Oakes 516-307-1045 x214 • coakes@theisland360.com

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD ARCHIVES.

Nancy Reagan at St. Francis Hospital in Flower Hill in 1983.

Keiserman takes aim at Sen. Martins

Democratic nominee says Republican sows division, rather than serve District 7 needs

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Port’s Kim Keiserman was recently nominated as the Democratic candidate for New York State Senate District 7 and has begun taking aim at Republican opponent Sen. Jack Martins ahead of the November election.

“Jack Martins is not getting the job done for District 7,” Keiserman wrote in a release. “He has openly called his legislative role a ‘part-time job,’ he’s voted against many critical priorities for our district and state, he’s shown more interest in sowing division than solving problems, and he’s embraced and enabled extremism–making him increasingly out of step with the people he was elected to represent.”

Martins denied providing comment on Keiserman’s claims.

“Senator Martins will not respond to Ms. Kaiserman’s [sic] gratuitous attacks, which are merely an attempt to draw attention to her campaign,” Martin’s Campaign’s Communications Officer Amanda Martins wrote in an email to Blank Slate.

Keiserman won the district’s Democratic primary Tuesday in a near 75% landslide victory against Roslyn resident Brad Schwartz – who was endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Attacks began before the election, though, as Keiserman touted her

Port Washington’s Kim Keiserman has begun to take aim at Republican opponent Sen. Jack Martins after claiming the Democratic nomination for the District 7 race.

ability to unseat the Republican who flipped the seat red in 2022.

Keiserman called the 2022 election different from this year’s because the 2024 presidential election was on the ballot. She said this would help draw in more Democratic voters.

She also added that voters would be coming to the polls this time with knowledge of Martins’ actions during his first term when he was called inactive in the district.

“Together, we’re going to vote him out because this district needs results-driven leadership,” Keiserman wrote.

The seventh district includes much of the North Shore and the Town of Oyster Bay as far east as Woodbury.

Keiserman is an education consultant and serves as a commissioner for the North Hempstead Housing Authority Board of Commissioners,

chairwoman of the Baxter Estates Planning Board and a board member of the Come to Believe Network. She is also president of the Port Washington Democratic Club, a zone Leader for the Nassau County Democratic Committee and co-president of the Baxter’s Pond Foundation. Her campaign platform advocated for reproductive rights, investing in public education, fostering gun safety legislation, lowering taxes,

bolstering affordability, protecting the environment and standing up against bigotry.

She said she intends to give Long Island a seat at the table at the state level, where Democrats control the Senate and the Assembly, to ensure their voices are heard.

Keiserman was endorsed during her primary campaign by Planned Parenthood Empire State Votes Political Action Committee, Everytown for Gun Safety, Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-03), Nassau County and New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs, and various other past and present Democrats.

The newly nominated Democrat applauded her win and the individuals in her campaign who aided in it.

“Through the course of this campaign, we knocked over 10,000 doors, made 182,000 phone calls, raised $600,000, planted over 1,000 lawn signs, and wrote hundreds of postcards. From the start, this campaign has been about uniting our community behind one goal—restoring meaningful, effective representation to this district,” Keiserman wrote. “Now, I’m proud to say that the intense enthusiasm we generated has brought us one step closer towards that goal.”

The general election will be held on Nov. 5.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KIM KEISERMAN’S CAMPAIGN, THE OFFICE OF SEN. JACK MARTINS

Town to talk to Port police HQ bond

$32M would go towards new building construction on Main Street, furnishings, equipment

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The Town of North Hempstead will hold its monthly town board meeting Tuesday night where they are scheduled to hold public hearings to issue a $32 million bond for the Port Washington Police Department’s new headquarters and establish a $10 fee for banks to request duplicate tax bills.

Starting this year, the town board has opted to hold separate meetings for its monthly public hearings and regular board meetings. The meeting Tuesday will be combining both once again. It will be the only scheduled town meeting in July.

A total of six public hearings are scheduled Tuesday night beginning at 7 p.m.

A public hearing is scheduled Tuesday to consider issuing the $32 million bond for Port Washington Police Department’s new proposed headquarters.

The Port Washington Police Department has been seeking to establish a new headquarters, with plans developing over the past year when the land was purchased in 2023.

The proposed 25,350-square-foot, two-story building would be located on Port’s Main Street. The Police Department has said this would meet its growing demands and offer a more centralized location for the community.

The Port Police Department is seeking a maximum $32 million bond through the town for the construction of the headquarters and purchasing headquarter furnishings, equipment and machinery.

Two public hearings are scheduled for this topic. One is to authorize the Police Department’s

improvements and another to issue the bond for it.

The board is also holding a public hearing to consider establishing a law that would require banks, lending institutions, financial institutions, title insurance companies or abstract companies or their agents to pay a $10 fee when they request a duplicate tax bill. This fee would also included if these same entities do not include the original bill

in their payment.

The final three public hearings scheduled concern changes in street signage and traffic signs.

The first is in response to a petition to designate a secondary honorary name for Roslyn Heights’ Miller Place as “Anita ‘GG’ Conrow Place.” This second street name would be from Carlyle Place to St. Marks Place.

The other two are to establish a “No Stop-

ping Here to Corner” restriction on the north side of Exford Place in Albertson and full stops of the northbound lane on Elm Street and eastbound on Dogwood Road in Roslyn.

Various other resolutions will be discussed Tuesday night, including the agreement termination with a law firm and the hiring of a new one for airplane traffic noise in the town, and multiple town agreements for a diversity of services.

Manorhaven resident gets hateful letter

BY CAMERYN OAKES

A Manorhaven resident said he received a homophobic and anti-Chinese letter in the mail and blamed it on one of the village’s trustees at the board of trustees meeting Wednesday night despite not having any proof to support his accusation.

“This has sunk our village to a new low,” resident Richard Li said of the letter he received.

Li, who read the letter written in Chinese, provided copies of the letter with an English translation he created.

The letter read: “Thankfully, no one on Wikipedia wrote that the Honorable Mayor John is president of the National Man-Boy Love Association this year and mailed it to everyone. Good dragon.”

The North American Man/Boy Love Association is a pedophilic group that seeks to abolish age-of-consent laws. The pedophilic organization has widely been denounced by LGBTQ+ organizations.

Li, who is openly gay and Chinese, said the letter was a hate crime against his sexual orientation and nationality

Mayor John Popeleski, who is also openly gay, denounced these claims as well.

Li said the letter was addressed to “Richard Capozzi Li,” referencing the former Manorhaven mayor and his late partner, Nicholas Capozzi. He said while he was in a relationship with Capozzi, he never took his last name.

He said he found the use of his late part-

response to a questioned property.

“They think they’re cute?” Li said. “No, this is not cute. This is disgusting.”

Li said he received the letter the night before the village’s election and alleged that it was sent to him by the challenging party, which included Trustee Jeff Stone, because he is an open supporter of Popeleski.

Stone ran against Popeleski in the village’s mayoral race on June 18 but lost to the incumbent mayor. Two newcomers, Rob Swerdlow and Nancy Rozakis, also ran alongside Stone against the two incumbent trustees but also lost.

Li could not prove that Stone or anyone from his party had sent the letter despite his accusations.

Stone denied that he or anyone from his party sent the letter. He said he holds no hatred towards the LGBTQ+ or Chinese community and condemned the hate in the letter.

Swerdlow, who ran alongside Stone for a trustee seat, also backed Stone and said he was also not responsible for the letter.

that baseless accusations not be made during the public forum.

“Having an accusation like that, without proof that it actually came from Jeff Stone or the Jeff Stone committee, this is part of the problem today that we have,” resident Mark Garman said. “We can’t do this to each other. We need to respect each other… I condone this behavior. But I also condone if something like this is brought up in a public forum without substantial proof that Jeff Stone did it himself. This is not the place to do it. Personally, I find this whole behavior despicable, period.”

Resident Francesca Zahner asked that the mayor stop accusatory comments like Li’s from being shared at public meetings.

Popeleski said individuals on social media have been targeting him and issued a warning against who is behind it.

ner’s last name a “disgraceful, disgusting and disrespectful” attack.

Also included in the letter was a fake $100 bill with “in POPELESKI we Trust” and “VOTE ROW B” printed on it, referencing the row Popeleski and his party were running on.

On the back of the fake bill was a quote from Popeleski printed by Blank Slate Media where he said “Everything we did was legal” in

Stone said Li has targeted him in the past and this is another example. Li has made attacks against Stone at the prior Board of Trustees meetings regarding other issues.

Li said he is filing complaints against Stone to the village’s Ethics Committee, Nassau County Police Hate Crime Unit and the ACLU. He said he would also petition a referendum to remove Stone from the board.

Multiple residents spoke out to denounce the letter and offer condolences to Li, but asked

“If I find this person on this one website, beware,” Popeleski said. “You’re saying a lot of stuff but you know what? Nobody’s going to do anything. What’s going to happen [is] one day there’s going to be shootings outside and that’s how it’s going to get resolved – the wrong way.”

Li was named on the agenda Wednesday night to also be appointed as the village’s new clerk-treasurer, but the board voted to table the appointment. The vote came before Li presented the letter in the meeting.

Popeleski said a new clerk will be appointed within the next month and a half.

LETTER COURTESY OF RICHARD LI

A copy of the letter Manorhaven resident Richard Li said he received in the mail.

PHOTO BY KARINA KOVAC

North Hempstead Town Hall in Manhasset.

Find the highest quality care at one of 100+ NYU Langone Health locations across Long Island.

Gun violence declared a health crisis

Assemblyman Lavine backs U.S. surgeon general’s designation in support of new safety measures

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Gun violence has officially been declared a public health crisis by the United States surgeon general, and state Assemblyman Charles Lavine is backing the designation.

“I could not agree more with this action which comes as we near the end of a month in which we’re supposed to raise awareness about gun violence,” Lavine wrote in a statement. “The reality, of course, is that we need no such reminders. All one needs to do is read, watch, or listen to any form of news and it won’t be long before we’re made aware of some senseless tragedy involving guns.”

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy announced the landmark designation on Tuesday, the first of its kind in history. He said firearm violence is an “urgent threat” to the “health and well-being of our country.”

“Firearm violence is a public health crisis. Our failure to address it is a moral crisis,” Murthy said in a video. “To protect the health and well-being of Americans, especially our children, we must now act with the clarity, courage and urgency that this moment demands.”

The advisory outlines methods to address gun violence, including prevention programs, greater mental health care for those exposed to or at risk for firearm violence and more research funding for prevention strategies.

It also outlines risk prevention strategies such as banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for citizen use and universal background checks.

“As a doctor, I’ve seen the consequences of

firearm violence up close and the lives of the patients that cared for over the years. These are moms and dads, sons and daughters, all of whom were robbed of their physical and mental health by senseless acts of violence,” Murthy said. “Unfortunately, the problem has continued to grow.”

“Firearm violence is a public health crisis. Our failure to address it is a moral crisis. To protect the health and wellbeing of Americans, especially our children, we must now act with the clarity, courage and urgency that this moment demands.”

— U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged one to 19 since 2020, according to the surgeon general. More children die from gun violence than in car accidents, from drug overdoses and cancer.

In 2022, 48,204 people died from gunrelated incidents. Which includes suicides, homicides and accidental deaths, according to the surgeon general.

“There really should not need to be a specified time to remind us we must do all we can to end the scourge of gun violence here in America,” Lavine wrote. “However, the staggering number of incidents along with (and caused by) the proliferation and accessibility of guns –combined with those willing to turn a blind eye to this – make it a necessity.”

Murthy added that about 54% of adults have experienced or know a family member who has experienced a firearm-related incident. These incidents also disproportionately affect different communities, Murthy said, including Black communities, Veterans, older white individuals and younger American Indian or Alaska Native people.

Murthy said that gun violence has “wider ripples of harm” throughout communities as people are victimized by violence, witness it in their communities or continuously read about it.

“Our children should not have to live in fear that they are going to get shot if they go to school,” Murthy said. “None of us should have to worry that going to the mall or concert, or house of worship means putting our lives at risk, or that we’ll get a call that a loved one in a moment of crisis has taken their own life with a firearm.”

Lavine touted New York State’s efforts to thwart gun violence before this public health

Continued on Page 35

Team effort in building clean-up station

BY CAMERYN OAKES

A new self-serve beach clean-up station has been installed at Sands Point Preserve, the result of a student-led initiative and partnerships with local organizations.

“Not only will the introduction of the beach cleanup station help reduce garbage and waste from entering the Long Island Sound and Manhasset Bay, but it will also inspire change and progress towards a cleaner future.,” Isaac Graubard, president of the Tree Huggers Club at Schreiber High School, said.

The clean-up station, unveiled on June 20, was designed by Relic and established in collaboration between the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, Schreiber High School’s Tree Hugger Club, and Transition Town Port Washington.

Relic has established more than 85 beach clean-up stations across Long Island.

The clean-up station has a “self-serve” format. Reusable baskets made of recyclable materials hold upwards of 50 pounds of trash.

The stations are located near trash cans, making it easier for visitors to dispose of the trash they pick up.

They are designed to promote environmental cleanup in an easy and approachable way and raise awareness about the environmental harm of single-use plastics.

“Cleanups will be done using reusable baskets and trash pickers so that no additional waste will be generated in the process,” Margaret Galbraith, president of Transition Town Port Washington, said. “In addition to helping to clean up the Preserve, the new stations will

also serve as educational centers, raising awareness about the blight that short-term-use plastics bring to our beaches and waters.”

Graubard said that this station will expand opportunities for individuals to get involved in cleaning their natural spaces.

“The beauty of this beach cleanup station is that anyone can participate at any time,” Graubard said. “No longer will we need to organize beach cleanups and get volunteers. Anyone at any time can simply pick up a basket, head down to the beach, and prevent trash from entering our waters. I am so excited to see how the community responds to this new method of removing trash from our beaches.”

Transition Town Port Washington has partnered with Schreiber students in the past few years to prompt environmental initiatives and raise awareness of the harm of single-use plastics.

Galbraith said the latest partnership for the clean-up station is another exciting effort they have worked towards together.

Graubard expressed his appreciation for working with Transition Town Port Washington, the Sands Point Preserve and Relic to establish the clean-up station.

Jeremiah Bosgang, executive director of the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, said the conservancy is thrilled to partner with the local high school and Transition Town Port Washington to establish this new beach clean-up station.

“This station will allow beachgoers to not only help keep the Preserve clean but also ensure that our majestic shores will be here for our children, grandchildren, and the generations to come,” Bosgang said.

PHOTO BY DAVID HEINLEIN

Isaac Graubard, president of Tree Huggers Club at Schreiber High School; Jeremiah Bosgang, executive director of the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy; and Margaret Galbraith, president of Transition Town Port Washington, celebrate the ribbon cutting at the installation of the new self-serve beach cleanup station at Sands Point Preserve.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis on Tuesday.

Minority Millennials host ‘We Are the Future’ summit

Minority Millennials, a nonprofit civic and youth development organization, hosted its 2nd annual “We Are the Future Summit” at Nassau Coliseum.

Powered by Sands NY, the summit featured an enriching lineup of sessions, keynote presentations from thought leaders, elected officials, and influencers.

Additionally, the event showcased live performances by the 80-member Uniondale Marching Band & Steppers, Uniondale Jazz Band, and Hempstead High School graduate Rising HipHop Star Chow Lee, adding a dynamic cultural element to inspire and engage attendees.

As the title sponsor, Sands NY supports a new initiative to create a diverse local talent pipeline through pre-apprenticeships and procurement opportunities connected to their proposal for a multi-billion-dollar integrated resort at the Nassau Hub.

This collaboration will enable minority millennials to further their mission of empowering young people of color with access to jobs, wealth building, and enhanced civic engagement.

Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands, added, “This partnership exemplifies our commitment to not only develop a world-class entertainment and hospitality facility but also to invest in the local workforce and community. We are excited to see how this summit will open doors for many young professionals across Long Island.”

Dan Lloyd, founder and president of Mi-

nority Millennials, highlighted the summit’s comprehensive approach: “We are thrilled to bring together an eclectic mix of culture, policy, and professional development at this year’s summit.

Alongside the inspiring talks and sessions, we will host a vibrant array of performances that reflect the cultural richness of our community.”

Haugland Group and Vineyard Offshore,

led as Workforce Development and Clean Energy Sponsors, helped feature an extensive career fair, allowing attendees to connect with leading companies and organizations from emerging industries such as offshore wind, construction, manufacturing, and more.

The career fair will include opportunities for on-the-spot job applications, interviews, and networking, helping to bridge the gap between Long Island’s youth and local economic opportunities

Although entrepreneurship is popular with many young people, Billy Haugland II said not to count out trade careers such as construction and touted the benefits of a union job. He’s the CEO of Haugland Group in Melville, an infrastructure services holding company.

“The wages are typically 20- to 50% more than a job that’s not unionized, and there’s health care, retirement benefits,” Haugland said. “It can give you the stability to let your entrepreneurial passions rise.”

“Clean energy not only preserves our environment for future generations, but it holds immense potential for sustainable and equitable career paths for youth and people early in their careers,” said AndreaBonilla, Senior Manager of External Affairs at Vineyard Offshore. “We are proud to partner with Minority Millennials to help make this clean energy future a reality.”

For additional information about the Minority Millennials please visit:https://minoritymillennials.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOCUS STUDIOS

Minority Millennials host 2nd Annual “We Are the Future” Summit Powered by Sands NY.

Manhasset’s Kang the Dartmouth salutatorian

Vinny Muldoon -

North Hempstead Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte recently attended the Science Museum of Long Island’s Sciencestock event, which featured two days of science, nature, and live music.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

North Hempstead Town Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte learning about local wildlife at the Science Museum of Long Island’s Sciencestock

Christopher “CJ” Kang was Manhasset High School class of 2020. CJ recently graduated from Dartmouth College, class of 2024, as a Salutatorian, Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

PHOTO BY JENNY KANG

Christopher “CJ” Kang, Dartmouth 2024, salutatorian, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

Dalimonte graduates civilian police academy JCC to rededicate library in honor of the Rosenthal family

North Hempstead Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte recently graduated from the Nassau County Police Department’s Civilian Police Academy, a 14-week specialized training course intended to open lines of communication and build trust between the NCPD and residents throughout Nassau County.

“During my tenure as an elected official in North Hempstead, I have had the privilege of working with both the Nassau County Police Depart-

ment and the Port Washington Police Department on a variety of issues,” said Dalimonte. “Over the years, I’ve gained a better understanding of what their day-today operations look like, but my desire to learn more has only increased, which led me to the Civilian Police Academy. I was truly honored to have been given the opportunity to enroll in the program, which I know will ultimately make me a better representative for my constituents.”

North Hempstead Town Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte graduating from the Nassau County Police Department’s Civilian Police Academy.

DeSena attends FCA scholarship breakfast

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena recently attended the Family & Children Association Scholarship Breakfast on June 25 at Nassau Community College.

Last week, Sid Jacobson JCC has announced the building’s library was named and dedicated in honor of the Rosenthal Family in recognition of their commitment and contributions to the agency and surrounding community.

Bob Rosenthal served as president of the board from 1988 – 1990.

Jodi Rosenthal served in the same position from 2017 – 2020.

Both Rosenthals remain active members of the JCC, with Jodi serving as a co-chair of the Cultural Arts Committee (which includes, among other programs, the “Jodi & Robert Rosenthal Author Breakfast + Book Signing Series”).

Most recently, she was honored at SJJCC’s 2022 Friendship Circle Luncheon, A Yellow Rose Event.

“It gives us great pleasure to have our names on the library of Sid Jacobson JCC, a place we both hold so dear to our hearts,” said Jodi and Bob Rosenthal. “We have dedicated so much time and energy into making this JCC the best it can be for more than 40 years and we are so proud to

have been a part of it for so long. The work was obviously not ours alone. There have been so many dedicated staff, board members, volunteers, and families who have made Sid Jacobson JCC the very best among the very best. We look forward to many more years of involvement and participation with our names now adorning the wonderful library at a place we both love so much.”

“The Rosenthal family is synonymous with wisdom, leadership, and generosity. We are profoundly grateful that they have helped steer this ship for decades,” said David Black, JCC executive director “Rededicating this room in their honor is a testament to their continued commitment to our mission and the lasting impact their contribution will have on our community.”

The Rosenthal Family Library currently features works of art by Alan Sloyer and serves as a versatile program, activity, and meeting space for community members to gather, learn, interact, build connections, and more.

Town to host Summer Wellness

Wednesday health initiative

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and the Town Board have announced that the town will again partner with North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center to host the 2nd annual “Wellness Wednesday” series at parks throughout North Hempstead.

The skin cancer screenings will give residents the opportunity to speak one-on-one with medical professionals from North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center about potential risks for skin cancer. They will also be given FREE skin cancer exams with appropriate referrals as needed.

This year’s keynote speaker was Anthony Robles, a three-time all-American wrestler. Since the inaugural scholarship breakfast, the Family & Children’s Association has given over $2 million in financial aid to students throughout Nassau County.

Last year’s series included initiatives such as “Healthy Eating for the Family” and “Meditation on the Beach.” This year, the Town, in conjunction with NSUH and LIJ, will host two Saving Lives Trainings and two free skin cancer screenings.

DeSena congratulated this year’s recipients and wished them all well in their future endeavors.

“This year’s Wellness Wednesday series helps teach residents how to save others while also potentially saving themselves,” DeSena said. “Last year’s introduction to the series was a big hit, and I can’t wait to see my neighbors at this year’s trainings and screenings!”

Dr. Mathew Foley, medical director at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, stated, “Community-based wellness programs are the bedrock of good health and prevention, so Long Island Jewish Medical Center is grateful to once again offer free health programming in the Town of North Hempstead this summer. Raising health in our communities is a guiding principle of our hospital and collaborations like this one offer us amazing opportunities to do so. We thank Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, the entire Town Board and the town’s parks department for working with us.”

The Saving Livestrainingwill teach attendees how to fashion tourniquets should someone be bleeding heavily, provide CPR to those who may have been rescued from drowning, use an automated external defibrillator on those experiencing cardiac events, and administer Narcan to reverse the effects of a potential drug overdose.

Dr. David Hirschwerk, medical director at North Shore University Hospital stated, “Following the success of last year’s inaugural Wellness Wednesday program, North Shore University Hospital is once again offering free health programs for Town of North Hempstead residents this summer. From free skin cancer screenings to the opportunity to learn life-saving skills like CPR, we look forward to continuing to connect with the community and raise public awareness about healthy living.”

North Hempstead’s 2nd Annual Wellness Wednesday schedule is as follows:

July 10: Saving Lives Training at Manorhaven Beach Park from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register here:https:// wellnesswednesdaynsuh.eventbrite.com

July 17: Skin Cancer Screening at Clinton G. Martin Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointments required.

July 24: Saving Lives Training at Whitney Pond Park from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Register here:https:// wellnesswednesday2.eventbrite.com

July 31: Skin Cancer Screening at Manorhaven Beach Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointments required.

For more information on the Wellness Wednesday program and where to find free sunscreen at North Hempstead facilities, please visit www.northhempsteadny.gov/sunscreen.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena with Family and Children Association Scholarship recipient Judy Rodriguez.

PHOTO CREDIT: SID JACOBSON JCC Jodi and Robert Rosenthal

OUR VIEWS Editorial Cartoon Opinion

Hurting the vulnerable to score political points

The county Legislature’s 12 Republicans approved a bill last week that targets a small, vulnerable minority to correct a problem that they acknowledged does not exist in Nassau.

The bill rubberstamps an earlier proposal by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to bar transgender female athletes from taking part in women’s sports on county properties. But not for transgender male athletes playing on men’s teams.

The law, approved in a 12-5 vote along party lines, would apply equally to private and public school teams, recreational leagues of all ages, charity events, and even competitive professional and amateur adult teams with their own rules on participation.

Blakeman has already lost two lawsuits trying to implement the ban by executive order enacted in February.

The New York Civil Liberties Union sued, claiming that the ban violated state and federal discrimination laws and guidance from the state Education Department against a group that faces a suicide rate of almost 40% and unprecedented violence.

A Republican State Supreme Court justice ruled Blakeman had exceeded his authority by issuing the order because there was no “corresponding legislative enactment.”

So, why would Blakeman try again? And why would all 12 Republicans go along?

Blakeman was unable to cite a single instance of a transgender girl or woman playing on a team that uses Nassau County facilities when he announced his executive order in February.

He failed again at a press conference held before the county Legislature’s vote to offer a single instance of a transgender girl or woman playing on a team that uses Nassau County facilities

The Republican legislators could do no better during the debate on the legislation.

They said transgender women and girls hold competitive advantages over

women and girls who were born female and could injure and take scholarship opportunities away from them.

But they could not name a single instance in Nassau of a woman or girl harmed by a transgender player. They had no data that those on teams playing against transgender players suffered more injuries.

Nor was there any research about which sports, if any,were more likely to have such injuries occur.

The county could only cite four cases, one in Canada, where an injury was reportedly caused by a transgender player. The county could not name one example of a team unfairly winning a sports event because there was a transgender woman on the team.

Victoria LaGreca, a lawyer with the county attorney’s office, said the law helps to uphold “the principle” of “protecting women from getting seriously injured and harmed.”

In doing so, LaGreca ignored the fact that there are large differences in height, weight and strength between girls and women now playing on sports teams — as there are among boys and men — and sometimes players get hurt.

Shouldn’t LaGreca also express concern about injuries when transgender girls and women are not playing?

By the Republican legislators’ logic, the county would also bar co-ed softball teams, mixed beach volleyball games, mixed doubles in tennis and even mixed doubles for pickleball played at county facilities.

The truth is that there are already better-qualified groups that ensure fairness on Nassau’s fields—sports leagues and the state Education Department.

They already set rules to ensure competitiveness and safety.

That’s why there are varsity and junior varsity teams. And why wrestling is divided into weight classes.

Why not leave it to these leagues and the state Education Department to determine who is allowed to participate and who is not when transgender girls and women are involved?

This begs another question: Why

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are Blakeman and Nassau County Republicans singling out transgender people, who make up less than 1% of the nation’s population, for special treatment?

The answer is politics.

Republicans across the country have made LGBTQ rights a centerpiece of the culture wars led by former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive pick for president this year.

Trump has promised that if re-elected, his administration will rescind federal policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and will assert that federal civil rights laws don’t cover anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

Republican-controlled state legislatures have already banned drag shows, gender-affirming care for minors and adults, and the teaching of sexual orientation from kindergarten through the third grade, including the passage of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.”

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, both appointed by a Republican president, have even cast doubt on the legality of the ruling that legalized gay marriage.

It is no surprise that Blakeman took up this culture-war fight led by Trump.

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COLUMNIST Karen Rubin

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

He served as the Nassau County Republican Party’s liaison to the 2020 Presidential campaign and has carried the Make America Great Again banner since being elected county executive in 2021.

In the past year, Blakeman has developed a program, in secret, to effectively control his own militia, attacked Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for indicting Trump and called for the firing of Hofstra University President Susan Poser by falsely claiming she did not respond sufficiently to campus protests about Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s response.

But there was a question of where the 12 GOP legislators stood — as Trump Republicans or traditional party members. Their vote on the transgender bar appears to have answered that question.

They have now joined Blakeman in a campaign to ban female transgender athletes, many of whom we expect are children in their teens who are already dealing with issues of their own sexuality and the taunts of fellow classmates.

The ban approved by the county Legislature requires a representative from each team participating at one of the county’s more than 100 facilities to sign a form stating that no transgender

Stacy Shaughnessy, Melissa Spitalnick, Barbara Kaplan, Bill Lucano, Angela Shirian

ART DIRECTOR

Yvonne Farley

women are on the team, even if the team accepts such individuals.

The enforcement agent would be a Parks Department employee.

One would think that if Blakeman and the Republican legislators could spend this much time on a non-existent problem, Nassau was problem-free.

But that’s not the case.

Nassau County has many serious problems that should be addressed immediately.

This includes the high cost of living, a dysfunctional property assessment system in which many property owners overpay their taxes and ridiculously high fees for all kinds of county services.

But instead of trying to solve these problems, we get Republican county legislators marching in lockstep with Blakeman on a problem that doesn’t exist in Nassau, stigmatizing a vulnerable population in the process.

The bill is likely to come due in the form of lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new county law.

But perhaps most troubling is that legal challenges may be just what Blakeman and Republican county legislators want: the public’s attention and votes.

Regardless of the price that transgender girls and women pay.

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OUR TOWN

Those dirty 4-letter words and how we use them

Have you ever had your mouth washed out with soap? I have. Back in the ’50s, before parents feared lawsuits from children that’s how kids were disciplined. They washed out your mouth with soap if you cursed.

They also used switches, sticks, and other assorted methods to teach us civility and etiquette. It wasn’t very effective, but it sure was memorable.

A female friend recently admitted to me that she cursed and used too many four-letter words when her kids dillydallied, didn’t make their beds, or did a variety of other slovenly, lazy, sloppy things that kids want to do.

She asked me how she could curb her use of foul language.

I have wanted to do a column on four-letter words, so this was an opportune moment. Perhaps if I explored this topic long enough, I might be able to help my dear friend correct her wayward ways.

The first thing I recall about the use of dirty words is the funny skit that George Carlin once did on “The Seven Dirty Words.”

Carlin had been instructed never to say certain words when he did his stand up routine on television. TV is fairly strict about this and one is not allowed to say ‘f..k’, ‘s..t’, ‘c..t’, ‘p..s’, ‘c..k’, and a few others.

Television and radio are serious about this. Years ago, I had a radio show,

and one guest cursed a lot during the show. We had a seven-second delay, so thankfully, they all got beeped out, or the station would have been fined $25,000.

The question is, why do people curse at all?

Cursing may be used to emphasize a point, get someone’s attention or express frustration or rage. I was a very angry child and did so much cursing that my father nicknamed me “Tom, Tom, the Atom Bomb.”

It was easy to explain my anger since I had an older brother who was bigger and smarter than me, and I would regularly express my impotence with rageful curse words.

As an example, when we played chess, he would quickly win and say ‘checkmate,’ and I would then say, “Holy S..t!!”

Kids do a lot of cursing. One of my favorite scenes in cinema was in the film “Fanny and Alexander” by Ingmar Bergman. Fanny was maybe 13 years old and Alexander was 11 and were siblings who had just lost their loving father to a sudden heart attack.

As they walk along in the funeral procession, the camera gives us a closeup of the two children close-up, softly repeating the phrase “s..t’ ‘p..s’ ‘f..k. over and over. Pretty funny.

Since I’m extremely comfortable with cursing I asked my friend why she wanted to stop cursing. She told me it wasn’t a good look and that cursing was

DR. TOM FERRARO Our

Town

a sign of having a weak vocabulary.

She may be right about those points. The funniest stand up comic on earth is Jerry Seinfeld who never uses ‘blue’ humor (dirty words.) I’ve always felt that Seinfeld is extremely gifted verbally and is well read.

But if my friend developed a better vocabulary and used more sophisticated words to discipline her kids, it would have to sound something like this.

”Darling, would you mind tidying and arranging your room a bit. It’s getting a bit cluttered and littered and I would appreciate it greatly and offer my sincere thanks if you would keep it less sullied. The sight of your rumpled bed is terribly perturbing to me.”

If she still sees no results with this more articulate form of discipline, I

KREMER’S CORNER

would recommend considering one of the following alternatives:

1) Mother’s tactics: Mom would simply go into the backyard, break off a good-sized branch from a tree and shave off the leaves. She would practice whipping it in the air and if it made the right swooshing sound she brought it inside and placed it atop the frig and say to me and my four devilish siblings that the switch will be used if the household rules were not obeyed.

This is discipline circa the 1950s. Of course given the legal expertise that the modern child seems to possess, one will also have to consult an attorney to gain clearance on this method.

2) Reinforcement: This is referred to as token economies or what some children refer to as bribery.

If the kids do what they are told, you give them a reward. For example, if they keep their room clean and get into the car in a timely fashion, you say thank you and give them a treat or some money at week’s end.

3) Response Cost: This is one of the few behavior modification techniques that seems to work.

You explain to the children that if they fail to clean their room and ignore your pleas that “it’s dinner time,” they will lose some privileges like using their phones.

Since taking a kid’s phone away is comparable to taking heroin away from an addict, rest assured that this is a pow-

erful technique.

The result of using any combination of these methods will be positive.

You will have a cleaner house and more well-behaved children. You will have less need to curse, which will, in turn, improve your self-image, enhance your vocal self-image you a better role model and reduce guilt or shame.

Of course, these new parenting interventions may lead your kids to curse more, and they may start to say things like “I hate you, mommy!” or “I’m calling a lawyer!”

You can regard all that as shallow, meaningless threats because any lawyer is going to demand a hefty retainer, which your kids will never be able to afford.

And furthermore, if the kids really start to curse a lot out of frustration you can always revert to my mother’s technique of the Ivory soap.

Three branches of the federal government at war

Recently, I was trying to remember when I had my first American history lesson. It was probably in the fourth grade, when my teacher spent about forty-five minutes describing the three equal branches of government.

It was simple, but it wasn’t dramatic or memorable. It wasn’t until many years later when I recalled again hearing the phrase “three equal branches of government.”

It was at that point in time when I questioned exactly what that expression meant. By any stretch of the imagination, the three branches of government aren’t respected as equal and if anything, they are all currently at war with each other.

Not a day goes by when there isn’t some skirmish going on between one or more of those so-called august bodies.

During the past few years, one part of the legislative branch, namely the U.S. Senate, has been conducting a continuous war over judicial misconduct.

Media investigations have unearthed questionable gifts to Justices

Gorsuch and Thomas. Each has freely accepted lavish trips or other benefits, all of which have gone unreported. Recently, Justice Thomas chose to report a few trips but failed to list others.

Beyond judicial ethics, the Supreme Court has brought controversy to its front door by its outright partisanship and twisting years and years of established precedent into right-wing philosophy.

I still vividly remember the confirmation hearings of Justices Kavanaugh, Barrett, Alito, and Gorsuch. Each one was asked if they would honor judicial precedent and specific cases were mentioned. Each one, under oath, lied to the Senate Judiciary members to ensure their confirmation.

Once those four justices assumed the bench, in case after case, they ignored any precedent, because they were committed to their own ultra-conservative beliefs.

What has come from the House is story after story of majority members attacking each other and members on the other side of the aisle.

Usually, the best-known member of the House is the Speaker, but in that body, it is Marjorie Taylor Greene (RGA), a bombastic member.

What has contributed to the House chaos, is the rules change that allow any one member to file a motion ousting the Speaker. It was invoked to kick out Speaker Kevin McCarthy and will no doubt be invoked if the Republicans can keep control of the House.

tion is poised to jump on the Democratic president on almost any matter, foreign affairs included.

What undermines the belief that there are three co-equal branches is the level of personal attacks on President Biden that we have never seen before.

Not a day goes by that there isn’t some media story highlighting some underhanded effort attacking the president’s sanity or physical stamina. These assaults are usually common in an election year, but this time the attacks have been consistent over

It is technically correct that there are three separate branches of government, but that is where the comparisons end.

What is even scarier is the recent habit of majority justices in raising issues about totally unrelated cases as a way of saying they would welcome new challenges consistent with their right-wing beliefs.

The possibility of an overnight revolution by any one majority member has made the House into a do-nothing body, which spends most of its time passing legislation naming post offices in far-off places.

Putting the Supreme Court aside, our legislative branch has failed to cover itself with glory. Other than some hardfought bipartisan legislation emanating from the Senate, there has been almost nothing coming from the House.

Once upon a time, presidents were given some degree of respect by members of the opposition party.

That was especially true in the case of foreign affairs, where presidents were given wide latitude on a variety of matters. These days, the Republican opposi-

The Supreme Court has become a cauldron of partisan bickering. The House and Senate are a periodic embarrassment and the president gets no respect from his adversaries.

When I first became immersed in history, they never warned us what the history of the branches would morph into.

Maybe things will change as time goes by, but I strongly doubt it.

JERRY KREMER Kremer’s Corner

Beware the chemicals in what you wear

If you’re one of those people who is aware that our planet is awash in harmful chemicals, you’re probably used to reading product and food labels. After a while, you begin to recognize some of the worst offenders and you try to avoid them when you can.

But what about those items that come with no ingredient list like your clothes? You may be surprised to know that clothing, especially synthetic clothing, is made using any number of toxic chemicals that can make you sick when you wear them and can make the planet sick when you discard them.

The clothes we wear make a statement about us, whether intentional or not. For some people, it’s incredibly important that they wear just the right thing. Other people aren’t so particular. But either way, everyone wears clothes and the clothing industry is big business.

As of 2023, the global apparel industry was valued at$1.7 trillion and is expected to grow to $3 trillion by 2030. Out of the global workforce of 3.4 billion people, approximately 430 million work in fashion, clothing and textile production.

Distinguishing your brand in the intensely competitive fashion industry means finding a way to make clothes keep their shape longer, repel water or stains, stretch as you move, retain their bright colors or have other attributes that make them desirable for consumers. And that’s where the trouble begins. Because many of these attributes that manufacturers and consumers want in their clothes are obtained primarily through the use of toxic chemicals that are hidden from consumers.

For instance, most men have no idea that formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, helps keep their “easy care” dress shirts wrinkle-free. Or that the chemical that repels water from that jacket is known to disrupt the endocrine system. Or that the fade-resistant dye used to make that stylish dress a standout is made possible by chemicals that can cause skin rashes, respiratory issues, neurological effects and even cancer.

Most people don’t think of their workout pants as a health hazard, but they certainly could be. We know, for instance, that water-repellant or sweat-resistant clothing usually con-

DOUG WOOD Earth Matters

tains one of the many chemicals in the family known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS – those “forever” chemicals that have been all over the news lately. PFAS have been linked with immune system dysfunction, developmental delays, reproductive problems and other serious illnesses. Now new research is showing that PFAS can be absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream. While you’re

busy at the gym getting into shape, the PFAS in your pants is busy finding its way into every part of your body.

Washing those workout pants or fleeces can produce hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fibers that go down the drain along with the wastewater. These fibers end up in our oceans, lakes and rivers where they’ll be consumed by aquatic animals, including the fish that could end up on your plate at a fancy restaurant. Talk about a circular system!

The legacy of toxic clothing laden with chemicals persists long after that old fleece or pair of workout pants has found its way into the waste stream. Synthetic plastic clothing can’t be incinerated without causing the production of very toxic air emissions, which result in a lower life expectancy for people living in the nearby area. Landfilling plastic clothes only delays the inevitable migration of chemicals into our environment as the plastic slowly disintegrates into microplastics and nanoplastics, which find their way into ground or surface waters, carrying along all of the toxic chemicals contained in the original garment.

We can do better than this for our planet, and ourselves. First, we can stop buying so much plastic clothing. We can buy cotton T-shirts instead of polyester ones. They’re more comfortable anyway. We can buy cotton dress shirts that may need a little ironing. We can buy wool sweaters and hats instead of plastic fleece and teach our kids why. After all, they’re the ones who will benefit most.

Second, we can demand that clothing manufacturers be more responsible. We can let fast-fashion merchandisers know that we want clothing that looks great, performs well, doesn’t cost a fortune but doesn’t harm our health or wreck the planet either. Surely if 50 years ago, we figured out how to send a man to the moon and return him to earth, we should be able to make a pair of workout pants that won’t hurt you or the planet.

For more information about the chemical toxins in clothes, I strongly recommend “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick and How We Can Fight Back,” by Alden Wicker. Find it at your local bookstore or library.

After debate, Dems must rally to support Biden

Imust confess, I felt a gut-punch in my stomach watching the presidential debate. But honestly, I felt a lot better watching Biden deliver a speech to a North Carolina rally the next day. And I was reminded about all he has accomplished, all he has set into motion, all he has laid the foundation for and I am not willing to give that up. Has Biden aged from four years ago? Sure, all presidents who actually work for the American people instead of their own profit, pleasure and power do — Obama was graying after his first term. It is telling that Trump did not “age” after four years in office, of which the equivalent of one full year was spent golfing at his resorts at a cost of millions of dollars to taxpayers.

The amount that Biden has accomplished is not just historic but extraordinary. There is no issue, no item on the long, long list of wishes and promises that he has not addressed, even going back again and again when facing malign obstruction from Republicans and now the ChristoFascist Supreme Court: student debt relief, reproductive rights, drug prices, cybersecurity, AI, housing, climate action, gun violence, health care, child care, junk fees, job creation, small business investments. With Biden, Infrastructure Week happens every week.

This is certainly because Biden not only has his priorities, his agenda, his values in place, but also because he has managed to assemble the most extraordinary team of hard-working public servants who are equally committed to carry out the mission of building a so-

ciety affording equal opportunity to all.

So the line that struck me — after Trump said he didn’t really want to be president and went on to either lie (30 times in 45 minutes), or go back to his rally script and never actually answer a question (child care, climate change or whether he would accept the results of the election) and never present anything resembling policy (except when he said he would withhold funding from any school that mandated vaccines and cut regulations) — is when Trump actually attacked Biden for not firing anyone.

That triggered the reminder of Trump’s time in office — the revolving door of his appointees (“only the best!”) who were fired for incompetence, corruption, or failing to be loyal enough to break the law for Trump’s benefit.

Democrats are panicking because they realize Trump poses an existential threat and are afraid to gamble that marginal voters either won’t turn out or will vote for a third party candidate, which would hand the Electoral College to Trump.

But let’s not also play into their hands — Trump and Republicans would like nothing better to see Democrats change horses this late in the game, just enough time for them to put their MAGA disinformation machine to work and destroy any candidate the Dems put up, because actually no one is perfect and anyone else would come with their own baggage, be easier to re-define.

Who has the name recognition, the record, the experience, the respect to appeal to all the various contingents and

that day’s popularity contest) for that candidate above all others and compared to Biden, across the different demographic categories.

A replacement would not have had the benefit of being vetted in primaries and debates and making it through a convention fight without getting bloodied – and btw, it has never happened that a candidate selected in an open convention actually won election.

Actually, polls show that Biden still does the best against Trump of all these potential replacements.

stead of racing for the exits (no call to replace Trump after convictions for 34 felonies, sexual assault, business fraud), rally around candidate Biden, and aim the attack where it belongs: on an evil, maniacal, serial criminal Trump, who only wants to win back the White House to stay out of prison and build his kleptocracy like his puppet master Putin (he told Big Oil he would reverse Biden’s climate actions if they gave him $1 billion.)

cohorts, the double-haters, the young progressives, and suburban Moms?

Who else should the Democrats look to for president? Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar are among the favorites, but there is little time to elevate them to the pedestal, and all the in-fighting and jockeying will only become ammunition against them.

I would only look to replace Biden if I had 99.9% guarantee the new candidate could beat Trump, based on outpouring of additional, new and on-thefence voters — especially in the seven swing states that will decide the Electoral College.

I would want to see multiple polls from different sources in those swing states that show decisive leads and elevated enthusiasm and turnout (commitment to vote, not just who is leading

And by the way, Biden picked Kamala Harris as his vice president for a reason, and she has proved herself to be competent, worthy of taking on whatever responsibility is placed on her, and top of the list to be top of the ticket herself. It’s not like Biden has a Sarah Palin or a Dan Quayle in the wings.

But there is a difference between campaigning and governing. Moreover, this campaign isn’t between an incumbent and an outsider who can promise or pledge anything. We have a clear comparison of the record of both. We have the video and we have the receipts.

A comatose Biden would still be better, more productive, more positive for our nation, our democracy and our world than a second Trump term when the dictator-wannabe sociopath Trump vows nothing but retribution and an end democracy — and for that matter, any MAGA-infected Republican armed with the Project 2025 playbook.

Going forward: maybe Democrats should emulate Republicans and in-

The decision of this Imperial SCOTUS majority basically making Trump a king, above the law, has made it all the more crucial to elect a president with values and character over someone who is supremely unfit for the office, who thinks he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and now get away with it. Trump is a fundamental threat to the nation, our freedoms, our rights, and “My Justices” just handed him a loaded gun and told him it was A-okay with them to go right ahead and shoot.

And this latest action by the Imperial SCOTUS (overturning Roe, affirmative action, the ability of federal agencies to regulate the environment, health, and safety) makes who we elect even that much more crucial.

Bottom line: Joe Biden represents the most consequential president of our lifetime, a proven champion for all of us who has spent his lifetime in public service. I’m not willing to discard that or give up on Joe Biden.

This contest is still about competence and character versus chaos and corruption. I trust Biden to “Finish the job.”

KAREN RUBIN

New Yorkers deserve better than DA Alvin Bragg

There’s plenty of hateful ignorance in the world and it certainly feels like we’ve been treated to a boatload of it the last few months.

Although it will ruffle some feathers, we shouldn’t be afraid to call it out. How else will reasonable people – on any side of an issue – recognize each other and agree on what’s unacceptable? Drawing attention to a problem is always the first step in correcting it.

That’s why this column is dedicated to New York City’s District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.

If ever there was an ideological demagogue shilling a political agenda, he’d be the poster child. This week Mr. Bragg shocked New York and good people everywhere when he dropped all the charges against protesters that had been arrested in April for taking over Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall.

You recall that mess. For weeks protesters openly chanted pro-terrorist, anti-Jewish and anti-American hatred

for the world to hear.

They disrupted the education of thousands of students who were minding their business and simply going to class. And in the end, Columbia was even forced to cancel their graduation commencement ceremony. So much for keeping your head down and working hard.

More disturbing still, these same protesters freely menaced and terrorized Jewish students for weeks without consequence.

They seized a historic building, held it for days, and caused untold property damage that others will most surely now pay for. The NYPD and their SWAT teams were called in to retake the building and restore order, putting themselves at risk. But despite being told to disburse and cease their attack, protesters dug in and were subsequently arrested.

Then we discovered that nearly half of those arrested were not even students, but professional agitators, there to make a bad situation worse. Others included

JACK MARTINS

New York State Senator

foreign nationals on student visas, who would normally be deported for having been arrested and violating the terms of their visas.

And when all this dust settled, do you know what the consequences were for the multitude of crimes, hatred, and

chaos? There were none. The District Attorney now claims there’s not enough evidence.

So, everything you and I saw for days on end with our own eyes – everything that millions of people saw – somehow was all a mistake. It’s a breathtaking insult to our intelligence and guess what? DA Bragg doesn’t care.

He’s been doing it since he got into office, selectively applying the law to advance what he considers a “progressive” agenda. He routinely releases violent, repeat offenders who go right back out onto our streets. He has single-handedly undone the work of thousands of hardworking police officers, breaking their morale and the spirit of the city.

But to my mind, what’s happening now is much worse. By this single, willfully ignorant act, District Attorney Bragg has essentially declared it OK to harass and assault Jews in New York.

I can assure you that stifling the law and its consequences only delivers negative outcomes and ignoring crime en-

Court

Icourages more of the same. So, we can most certainly expect an uptick in antisemitic hate crimes. And that number has already surged in New York City by more than 45% this year alone!

We’re crossing a point of no return and it worries me. Good people cannot remain silent while any of our neighbors are singled out and harassed. We saw this before and we know how it turns out.

Justice belongs to everyone. By his actions, the District Attorney is sending the message that Jews are somehow not entitled to that justice.

He is clearly beholden to a political ideology and placed that ideology ahead of his oath to protect New Yorkers and prosecute crimes. He has forgotten what it means to be a New Yorker.

I hope you join me in calling for Mr. Bragg’s removal from office. His job is to enforce the law with an even hand, not advance his own political ideology. New Yorkers deserve better. And all New Yorkers should call him out.

READERS WRITE

decisions deficient in STEM expertise, law

n 2009, the Supreme Court gave its horrendous decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. U.S. EPA lost in District Court, won at the Court Of Appeals, but lost when companies appealed to the Supreme Court.

A competent court decision required that all companies are 100% liable or that EPA and companies must determine cleanup percentages, as with most, if not all, other Superfund sites.

No one argued EPA had any liability, EPA had zero liability, which all rested with the polluting companies. The four viable companies each argued they had no liability—scorched earth approach.

The court instead applied a flawed liability formula of its own making and simply added the fractions that don’t = 100%. The court’s math = 87%, which is impossible since cleanup costs must be 100%.

The court made a fundamental math error when it multiplied and added fractions.

The process invariably leads to smaller and smaller fractions, the added result is less than 100%. Justices’ flawed formula resulted in EPA (we) paying 13% of the costs to cover the court’s gap, for viable major companies. Worse, the court let Shell Oil off the hook.

The case, which originated in 1992 when Shell Oil sued the State of California, was finally decided by the Supreme Court in 2009! That’s what well-heeled companies do. Think about it.

The West Virginia Et Al. V. Environmental Protection Agency et al., EPA, October Term, 2021, Supreme Court decision greatly impedes EPA’s ability per the Clean Air Act.

EPA sought tighter emissions from coal plants to limit pollution impacting

downwind states and reduce numerous pollutants and CO2. The Court ruled that Congress had not given EPA the sweeping authority to regulate the energy industry and that CO2 could not be regulated under the CAA nor was it relevant.

The CAA requires EPA to establish national air quality standards based on the latest science. States must adopt plans to achieve the standards within three years.

Plans must control emissions that cross state lines and impact air quality in downwind states. Congress designed the law to minimize pollution increases from growing numbers of motor vehicles, and from stationary sources (power plants, industrial plants, etc).

The law requires new stationary sources to be built with the best technology and allows less stringent standards for existing sources. It also includes a “good neighbor” provision to limit interstate air pollution and prohibit significant emissions that contribute to nonattainment or interfere with air quality standards in other states.

The CAA states that the EPA can regulate metals and other chemicals and toxins emitted by coal power plants (SO2 (acid rain), NOx (ozone), etc.). Congress rewrote provisions in 1990 because the EPA had only regulated some sources of seven pollutants.

The court ruled Congress did not intend to regulate CO2 or address climate change, regardless of whether other CAA pollutants are involved.

Moreover, one justice laughed at the “good neighbor” part of the law, saying wind is multidirectional; you can’t address or determine downwind impacts.

This ludicrous “finding” flies in the face of Law and science. Northeast states are downwind of major coal plants in

Ohio, W.VA… Our weather trends west to east, westerly, it’s how we get acid rain in the northeastern states including NYC area.

Several related Supreme Court CAA cases have been going this way since 2016 (10/2023, 6/2024). The court’s 6/2024 decision kicks remaining aspects back to lower Courts for burial with disparaging comments against EPA.

In Sackett Et Ux. V. Environmental Protection Agency Et Al., 2022, the Supreme Court limited EPA’s ability under the Clean Water Act to address water pollution through regulating discharges to wetlands.

The court ruled CWA does not allow EPA to regulate discharges into wetlands “near” bodies of water unless there is “a continuous surface connection” to those waters.

Ruling “CWA’s use of “waters” in §1362(7) refers only to “geographic[al] features that are described in ordinary parlance as ‘streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes’ ” and to adjacent wetlands that are “indistinguishable” from those bodies of water due to a continuous surface connection.”

This is contrary to science and how wetlands and groundwater function. It’s now up to (back to) states to regulate (or not) “non-continuous” wetlands.

Consider how we arrived at the major destruction and pollution of wetlands. Consider LA and TX’s wanton destruction of wetlands for oil and gas exploration, drilling, and pipeline channels or Florida’s destruction of the Everglades.

Another case involved a company I once worked for, Kerr McGee, and a who’s who of US companies. A 160-acre drum dump in Hardage Criner, Oklahoma, industrial chemicals and carcino-

gens.

Companies had 100+ well-paid attorneys focusing on the minutia of CERCLA cleanups. EPAs’ Remedy required the cleanup of worst hot spots coupled with monitoring.

That’s how the EPA handles such cases nationally. Companies shredded the EPA/DOJ’s defense. Moreover, Oklahoma’s DOH reversed its “findings” and supported the companies in court.

The court ruled that the EPA was arbitrary and imposed a remedy of “No Action with Monitoring,” basically capping, passive monitoring, passive vapor collection, and passive surface runoff collection forever.

Since the late 1980s, the site has remained under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for Western Oklahoma. This is a court-overseen remedy, not an EPA or CERCLA remedy.

In another case involving my former company, EPA/DOJ sued in N.Y. District Court, alleging fraudulent conveyance.

The company allegedly stripped off all its environmental problems into a holding company. (This also tripled KM’s stock value). The holding company went bankrupt just before the statute of limitations expired.

In 2015, EPA won a fraudulent conveyance decision and a $5 billion penalty.

Unfortunately, EPA/DOJ sued civilly not criminally. No one went to jail. Just money, white-collar shenanigans. The IRS never got involved. DOJ claimed it didn’t have the resources or time to sue criminally.

EPA detailed 15$ billion for 2,700 sites in 47 states, including a horrendous uranium mining and milling legacy (recall Karen Silkwood). The Court disregarded EPA’s estimates based on work to

date and reduced the total. Now we are responsible for all those former KM Sites.

The company threatened to appeal. A person I once worked with said the successor company was legally tapped out fighting its 15% stake in the Deep Water Horizon fiasco. Money talks. Oil, gas, uranium mining, and coal companies are among the top tier for poor environmental practices.

How courts interpret environmental matters is problematic. Specious arguments of original textualism are a joke that ignores law and STEM—rulings may be based on a poor understanding of science and natural complexity and ignore environmental Law.

Environmental rulings can be moderately competent, barely competent, or incompetent. Supreme Court is a misnomer not applicable for an advanced country based on STEM that’s changed and evolved beyond so-called originalism— another misnomer. Justices with little STEM education make decisive rulings in highly scientific spheres and greatly impact society.

STEM education is failing in this country, and the ramifications are farreaching beyond what many suspect. Justices are not current.

How about judges have term limits? Welcome to the modern world. More than 17,000 EPA Court cases are potentially impacted by the new Chevron ruling. Maybe worse, President Nixon created EPA through executive order to improve his flagging ratings because he couldn’t get his EPA Bill through Congress. EPA exists today by that executive order. To say I am troubled is understatement.

Stephen Cipot Garden City Park

Dr. Fauci did the right thing in fighting COVID-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci saved thousands of lives during the Covid pandemic, contrary to what George Marlin implies in his June 28 Opinion piece, “Dr. Fauci’s pseudoscience in Covid response.”

Dr. Fauci encouraged people to wear masks and to stay six feet apart from other people. He then encouraged everyone to get vaccinated with the Covid vaccine. Both Moderna and Pfizer tested their vaccines and found them very safe and very effective. There were very few minor side effects. There has never been a death attributed to

the Covid vaccine.

George Marlin in his Opinion piece condemns Dr. Fauci for not agreeing that the Covid virus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. There is no proof that the virus came from a lab or from a bat, or from the fish market, in China. What difference does it make where the virus came from?

We all agreed it started in China. President Trump smartly stopped all incoming flights from China. Democrats mistakenly called Trump xenophobic, but in retrospect Trump did the right thing by slowing the spread of the virus from

China to the U.S.

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, did not agree with Dr. Fauci about encouraging people to wear masks nor about getting vaccinated. DeSantis did not encourage people of Florida to wear masks or to get vaccinated. So Florida had the highest death rate from Covid in the country! DeSantis was so vehement in his opposition to vaccines that he went to court to try to prevent cruise lines from requiring passengers to be vaccinated, in order to prevent the spread of Covid on their ships. This court literally laughed at De-

Santis’ attorney and denied his request. DeSantis went to the Appellate court where he was again denied.

Dr. Fauci saved many thousands of lives by his smart, logical recommendations during the Covid crisis. Time magazine acknowledged Fauci and other frontline health workers as Guardians of the Year, 2020. He should have been named Man of the Year.

Delays ahead for future MTA capital projects

Without Congestion Tolling, the MTA has only $13 billion available to pay for the balance of $28 billion in remaining projects not yet underway as part of the current $51 billion 2020 — 2024 Five Year Capital Program. This will result in $15 billion of projects having to be postponed until the next 2025 -2029 Five Year Capital Program. The MTA is supposed to release the 2025-2029 Five Year Capital Program in October, less than five months away, It should be adopted on or before January 2025.

The MTA 2025-2044 Twenty Year Capital Needs Assessment released in October 2023 already identified more than $51 billion worth of safety and state of good repair projects to be funded out of the next 2025-2029 Five Year Cap-

ital Program. Many of the $23 billion 2020-2024 Five Year Capital Program projects currently underway will not be completed until 2025, 2026 or even 2027.

All of these projects have to be integrated with the annual 2025 and following years Annual Track Outage, Force Account (track, signal maintainers and other specialized craft in house employees), Routine Maintenance and Procurement Strategy plans for each MTA agency. This includes NYC Transit bus, subway, Staten Island Rail, Long Island and Metro-North Railroads, MTA Capital Construction and MTA Bus. It is necessary in order to support each agency’s respective capital programs. The plans provide a foundation to ensure projects will be initiated and completed on time and within budget ac-

companied by a minimum number of contract change orders that have been documented as fair, reasonable and justified.

There may not be enough resources to integrate the implementation of $15 billion or more carryover Congestion Price funded projects from the $51 billion 2020-2024 Five Year Capital Plan, $23 billion more in ongoing non-Congestion Price funded projects carried over into the upcoming $51 billion plus 2025 — 2029 Five Year Capital Plan.

The MTA lacks sufficient procurement, project managers, engineers, legal, and force account employees, along with track outage availability to proceed with all these projects in the same time frame. Billions of capital improvement projects will be delayed. Costs will increase due to

inflation and other factors as time goes by. The upcoming $51 billion plus 2025-2029 Five Year Capital Plan should include a master integration schedule for how the billions in carryover capital projects will proceed with $51 billion or more in the new five year capital program. This is the only way we can determine if the MTA has the technical capacity to advance a record number of capital projects and programs in coming years.

Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former Director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office of Operations and Program Management.

“William, you were always my hero. I wanted to be just like you, but I didn't play football or basketball like 'The Will', just didn't have your touch. I enjoyed watching you and was always proud to be your brother. Never does a day go by that I do not think of you. What would it be like to be able to call you. I have told my daughters about you letting me drive Mom and Dad’s new car around Tarboro although I was only 14 years old. October 2, 1970, Daddy’s birthday and the day that changed my life. You were my hero before Nam and you are still and one day I hope to walk with you again. I Love you. Mike”

Marshall Hubsher Port Washington

Larry Penner Great Neck

WILLIAM J ALLSBROOK Jr

Folk icons tribute at temple

Stephen C. Widom Cultural Arts at Emanuel will present, live, “A Band Called Honalee,” a tribute to Peter, Paul & Mary and Friends , on Sunday, July 14 at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Emanuel of Great Neck.

“A Band Called Honalee” is a tribute to the music of Peter, Paul & Mary, and their friends in the folk movement of the 1960s. Musically accomplished, interactive and energetic, you will again enjoy Peter, Paul & Mary’s timeless music onstage.

The show also includes songs by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, The Mamas and The Papas, The Weavers, Judy Collins, and other folk and folk/rock artists.

Songs include “If I Had a Hammer,” “Blowing In The Wind,” “Puff The Magic Dragon,” “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” “Early Morning Rain,” “500 Miles,” “If I Had My Way,” “The Times They Are A’Changing,” “The Lemon Tree,” “I Dig Rock And Roll Music,” “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?,” “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright,” “Both Sides Now,” “59th Street Bridge,” “For Loving Me,” “The Wedding Song,” “Turn Turn Turn,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “California Dreamin’,” “M.T.A.,” “This Land Is Your Land,” “Blackbird,” “The Great Mandala,” “Scarborough Fair,” and many others!

This program is funded by the Kisner-Levien Families in memory of Donna Levien.

Tickets are $25. For further information, to register and purchase a ticket online , go to: https://www.scwculturalarts. org/sunday-series or, call (516) 482-5701 to purchase a ticket over the phone. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Temple Emanuel of Great Neck is located at 150 Hicks Lane in Great Neck.

YOUR GUIDE TO THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND DINING

WWW.THEISLAND360.COM

A band called Honalee

Frank Latorre & the King Bees will perform at Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame on Aug. 11

Latorre, King Bees to play LI Music Hall

Frank Latorre & the King Bees will be performing live music at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village (97 Main Street in Stony Brook) on Aug. 11 from 3-4 pm. The event is free with general admission ticket purchase.

For details on this and upcoming events, please visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/museum/

Frank Latorre is a Long Island artist and musician 1970 formed the band

The King Bees in 1990. He won the Long Island Blues Society, Memphis Challenge 2014 Grammy certificate for harmonica work on Johnny Winter Step Back LP.

Now, as a three-piece blues rock ensemble, Louie features Giusto on Drums, Gary Grob Jr. on bass guitar, and Latorre on lead vocals, guitar, and harmonica.

They are now focusing on original material written and arranged by Frank Latorre.

Gala at the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy

Immerse yourself in wonder at the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy’s Avant-Garden Party Gala on Tuesday, July 16, 5:30-8:30 p.m., in the Hempstead House Garden.

This one-night-only magical affair will be an experience like no other, as exhilarating acrobats, sword-balancers and other performance artists astonish and delight. The experience promises to push the boundaries of creativity, while guests also enjoy dinner and cocktails in the Preserve’s four-season native-plant garden, with Long Island Sound as a backdrop.

The evening features a sumptuous buffet, including vegetarian fare and an open bar. Dinner will be followed by a not-to-be-missed dessert procession, complete with delectable treats.

Tickets are also available for the evening’s VIP Tea Parlor After-Party Experience. The afterparty will take place in Hempstead House’s transformed Breakfast Room, where partygoers can enjoy elixirs and mind-bending illusions while a mystic reads their tea

leaves.

“We are excited to welcome our supporters to the Preserve’s Avant-Garden Party Gala. This

The July 16 gala offers a onenight-only experience, while raising funds to support the Sands Point Conservancy

MERCER MUSEUM & FONTHILL CASTLE

year’s gala is designed to inspire and entertain with remarkable, one-of-a-kind performance artists in the heart of the Hempstead House Garden – it will be a very special evening,” said Jeremiah Bosgang, executive director of Sands Point Preserve Conservancy.

In the event of rain, the gala will be held inside Hempstead House, a former Guggenheim mansion. All proceeds from the gala will support the mission and operations of the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy.

Tickets for the 5:30-8:30 p.m. Avant-Garden Party, which includes food, drink, and entertainment, are $235 per person.

Ticket packages begin at $1,000 for the VIP reception, which includes cocktails, dinner, entertainment, the after-party experience, and tribute ads in a beautiful online journal, which will be posted on the Preserve’s website.

To learn more about the gala and Sands Point Preserve, visit www.sandspointpreserveconservancy.org

PHOTO COURTESY OF SANDS POINT PRESERVE

G.N. Library to exhibit paintings by Van Brunt

The Great Neck Library is having an art exhibit for Paintings by Jonathan Van Brunt from July 8 to July 26 at the Main Library LowerLevel Art Gallery at 159 Bayview Ave. in Great Neck.

The public is invited to attend a reception on Saturday, July 13 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information. Please contact Great Neck Library at (516) 466-8055 or email adultprogramming@greatnecklibrary.org.

Statement by Artist Jonathan Van Brunt

“I was born and raised in Freeport, and my love of the visual arts was inspired by illustrations in the books and magazines throughout my parent’s house. That and the hundreds of comic books I read with my four brothers. The pictures I connected with were dramatic book covers by artists like Stan Galli and John Berkey. It was representational art that bordered the abstract, where brushwork was rough and exciting.

“My formal training was at both Maine College of Art, where I earned a B.F.A. in printmaking, and Ohio University School of Art, where I taught two-dimensional design and earned an M.F.A. in painting. That training gave me a deeper appreciation for abstract art and the importance of composing a picture.

“I am constantly inspired by the forms and patterns found in nature. As a Type 1 diabetic, I push myself to hike and go for walks whenever I can, and whether with a sketchbook to record scenes or a reliance on memory, I create pictures based on what I see and feel when I am outside.

“I try to convey a dramatic sense of space in my work, and I use both brushes and painting knives to show movement.”

Summer Promenade Nights

in Great Neck Plaza

Setauket Harbor by artist Jonathan Van Brunt

FunDay Monday dates announced for 2024

North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and the Town Board announced the schedule for the 2024 FunDay Monday season.

This free senior program, held at North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington, takes place every Monday from July 8 to Aug. 19.

“FunDay Monday is always a fan favorite amongst our residents, and for good reason,” DeSena said. “I’m so excited for this summer’s program slate — hopefully, I can join in on a few beach walks and pickleball matches. Where else can you get such a wide variety of fun activities at no cost?”

Organized and hosted by the town’s Department of Community Services, FunDay Monday offers hundreds of seniors from across the Town the opportunity to gather for games, music, dancing, entertainment, and exercise.

Some of the program’s most widely attended events include the health fair, which will take place this year on July 29 and is sponsored by Northwell Health, and HomeTown USA Salute to the troops scheduled for Aug. 19, which honors our nation’s armed forces and veterans.

FunDay Mondays have plenty of fun activities, including fitness classes, games, arts & crafts, beach walks, and more! Come down each week for pickleball from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., yoga from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., line dancing from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Tai Chi for balance and health from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The 2024 FunDay Monday Summer Event Schedule at North Hempstead Beach Park at 175 W. Shore Road in Port Washington.

July 8: Welcome Back to FunDay

Monday Kickoff Event

July 15: Vegas Time

July 22: Hawaii – Aloha

July 29: Health Fair sponsored by Northwell Health

Aug. 5: At the Copacabana

August 12: Country Music and Dancing

August 19: HomeTown USA — An exciting celebration of American traditions with crafts, hobbies, demos, musical performances, a classic car show and a special Salute to the Troops.

Free bus transportation is available from various points throughout the Town. For further information or to find a nearby pick-up location, please call 311 or 516-869-6311.

Fri 7/05

Cuthbert Live: Solo at Great South Bay Brewery - Lindenhurst @ 7pm Great South Bay Brewery of Lindenhurst, 147 S Wellwood Ave, Lindenhurst

Sat 7/06

Sarah Gross: American Standard (Covers) @ 12pm American Standard Whiskey Bar & Grill, 53 W Main St, Bay Shore

ECHOES of LOVESHAYAR LIVE

@ 7pm / $50.85-$321.35 Tilles Center Concert Hall, Brookville

Sun 7/07

Great Neck Farmers Market @ 10am Shop small and shop local at the Great Neck Farmers Market Fire‐�ghters Park, 30 Grace Avenue, Great Neck. info@deeprootsfarmers market.com, 516-3185487

Nate Charlie Music @ 3pm

Six Harbors Brewing Company, 243 New York Ave, Huntington

Prenatal Yoga Workshop Series @ 11:30am Jul 7th - Aug 10th

Prenatal Yoga at Here and Now Yoga, Well‐ness & Arts Collective Sun. July 7 - Aug. 11, 2024 (11:30-12:30pm) 6-wk workshop for ex‐pectant mothers (2nd & 3rd trimester only) Reg‐ister: herenad‐nowyoga.com Here and Now Yoga, Wellness & Arts Collective, 22 Ver‐bena Avenue, Floral Park. info@hereand nowyoga.com, 516440-7057

Chris Devine Acoustic: Chris Devine Live at Tres Palms @ 4pm Tres Palms, 16 East Ct, Baby‐lon

Deanna Hudson @ 4pm Sun & Surf Beach Club, 2189 Atlantic Blvd, Atlantic Beach

Deer Tick @ 7pm R.J. Daniels, 279A Sunrise Hwy, Rockville Centre

Asia: The Heat of the Moment Tour @ 7pm / $49.50-$99.50

The Paramount, Hunt‐ington

Mon 7/08

Syosset, NY - Battle/ Euro Skating/Stickhan‐dling Offense/Defense Camp - BUILDING A COMPLETE HOCKEY

PLAYER 8:30a-4p

@ 8:30am / $899

Jul 8th - Jul 11th

Syosset, NY - Long Island

SPORTS HUB, 165 Eileen Way, Syosset. 855-459-2267

Total Soccer Camp: Baldwin Week 1

@ 9am / $200

Jul 8th - Jul 12th

Baldwin Park, Grand Ave, Bald‐win Harbour, Baldwin. 631-7042601

July 8 Boys Lacrosse Camp

@ 9am / $300

Jul 8th - Jul 11th

Manhasset High School, 200 Memorial Place, Manhasset. 516-356-2284

FAST Sports Camp 2024 - Week 1 - Full Day

@ 9am / $695

Jul 8th - Jul 12th

PAL Field Port Washington, 325 Main St, Port Washington. 516801-3533

Tue 7/09

Flag Football League (Coed)

@ 6:15pm / $90

Jul 9th - Aug 13th

Herricks HS Football Field, 100 Shelter Rock Rd, New Hyde Park

Dave Matthews Band

@ 7:30pm / $49.50$149.50 Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Wan‐tagh

Saturday Jul 6th

Deep Roots Farmers Market Glen Cove @ 9am

Garvies Point Park, 100 Garvies Point Road, Glen Cove. info@deeprootsfarmersmarket.com, 516-318-5487

Deep Roots Farmers Market offers locally grown vegetables, farm fresh eggs, fresh baked breads and sweets, artisan cheeses, fresh seafood, honey, prepared foods, jams, coffees and more. Weekly guest art and craft vendors. Live music, too!

Stray Cat Lee

Rocker: Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats @ 8pm

John J. Burns ParkMassapequa, Mass‐apequa

Wed 7/10

300 Live Portrait Draw‐ing & Painting (8 wks)

@ 10am / $525 Jul 10th - Aug 28th

The Long Island Academy of Fine Art, 14 Glen Street, SUITE 305, Glen Cove. 516-590-4324

Dan Reardon: Country Night at Sunset Club @ 6pm

The Sunset Club at Tappen Beach, 494 Prospect Ave, Sea Cliff

Alanis Morissette: The Triple Moon Tour @ 7pm Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, 895 Bay Pkwy, Wan‐tagh

Thu 7/11

Danny Go!

@ 12pm / $39.50-$69.50

The Paramount, Huntington

Bye Bye Birdie

@ 7:30pm

The Argyle Theatre at

Famous Food Festival 2024 - July 12th - July 14thDeer Park, NY @ 1pm / $12

Jul 11th - Jul 14th

Famous Food Festival "Taste the World" Re‐turns To Tanger Outlets (Deer Park, NY) this Summer | July 12th –14th. Featuring over 85 vendors and loads of activities! Famous Food Festival, 152 The Arches Circle, Deer Park. management@fa mousfoodfestival.com, 662-221-2223

Tots Yoga for 3-4 Year Olds @ 2:50pm

Jul 11th - Aug 14th

Tots Yoga (ages 3-4) at Here and Now Yoga, Wellness & Arts Collec‐tive Summer Sessions begin Thursdays, July 11-August 15, 2024 from 2:50-3:40pm Here and Now Yoga, Well‐ness & Arts Collective, 22 Verbena Avenue, Floral Park. info@here andnowyoga.com, 516440-7057

Fri 7/12

Dizzy After Midnight @ 6pm

Lily Flanagan's Pub, 345 Deer Park Ave #2360, Babylon

Dave Pettigrew: An evening of worship with davepettigrew @ 7pm East Meadow Benevo‐lent Hall, 170 Maple Ave, East Meadow

Jason Aldean's Highway Desperado Tour 2024 @ 7pm

Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, 895 Bay Pkwy, Wan‐tagh

Clare Bowen @ 7pm

Governor's @ The Brokerage Comedy Club, 2797 Merrick Rd, Bellmore

Lauren Jaimes @ 7pm Lilly's of Long Beach, 954 W Beech St, Long Beach

Calendar information is pro‐vided by event organizers. All events are subject to change or cancellation. This publica‐tion is not responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in this calendar.

Long Island Association holds evening of honors

On June 12, the Long Island Association held its third annual Evening of Honors event.

Approximately 400 members of the business community celebrated the achievements of innovative companies and their employees who have boosted Long Island’s economy and supported our region’s communities through philanthropic efforts.

The event was held at the Heritage Club at Bethpage.

“The Long Island Association is proud to recognize companies and individuals who have made a transformative impact on our region’s economy and contribute to Long Island’s unparalleled quality of life,” said Matt Cohen, LIA president & CEO, “They are all truly deserving of these honors, as they continue to lead the way to ensure Nassau and Suffolk Counties flourish now and in the future.”

“The Long Island Association can advocate and foster a positive business climate because of the support of our members, as well as the honorees and sponsors of the 2024 Evening of Honors,” said Larry Waldman, chair of the LIA Board of Directors, “With collaboration between the private and public sectors, the LIA can achieve its mission to spur growth and remain economically competitive.”

The Honorees included:Medal of Honor Award: Catholic Health

The Medal of Honor is the LIA’s most prestigious award. Catholic Health is the region’s second-largest private employer, with approximately 16,000 employees, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home health service, hospice, and a network of physician practices. Under the sponsorship of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Health serves hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders each year, providing care that extends from the beginning of life to helping people live their final years in comfort, grace, and dignity. Its facilities have been nationally recognized for excellence, including St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center, which has been rated among the top 10 hospitals in the region by U.S. News & World Report.

Dr. Patrick O’Shaughnessy, president and CEO of Catholic Health, said, “Catholic Health shares the LIA’s strong commitment to Long Island. Our mission is to provide exceptional health care services to communities across Nassau, Suffolk, and even parts of Queens. We do this not just at our six hospitals but at our expanding network of Ambulatory Care sites, always delivering outstanding care and treatment with a healthy dose of compassion.”

The Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service: Optimum: Jen Chapin, Harry and Sandra Chapin’s daughter, joined the LIA in recognizing Optimum for their widespread community support and treated the audience to a musical performance. Optimum is one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, with offices on Long Island. Their commitment to our region’s communities includes support of FIRST Long Island Robotics and the Optimum

Innovator Awards and their long-standing relationship with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Recently, Optimum Business teamed up with the LIA Foundation (the LIA’s charitable arm), Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, and Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to launch the L.O.C.A.L. Small Business Grants program that awarded $250,000 in direct financial support to 50 small businesses in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

“Optimum is honored to receive the Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award for Community Service from the LIA for our work in empowering and making a positive impact in communities across Long Island,” said Andrew Rainone, senior vice president, National Sales at Optimum, “This award is a testament to Optimum’s commitment to deepening its community presence throughout Long Island, and connecting our customers to what matters most, which includes supporting, understanding, and celebrating what makes each of our local communities unique. We thank the LIA for their support and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the organization.”

Key to the Island: Timothy Sams, president of the State University of New

York at Old Westbury

The Key to the Island recognizes someone who may not have been born on Long Island but has now become an adopted son or daughter of the region.

Sams was raised by his paternal grandparents on the South Side of Syracuse and attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, SUNY Albany, and Temple University in Philadelphia for his PhD in African American Studies.

Immediately before Old Westbury, Sams served as vice president of student affairs for Prairie View A&M University in Texas. He was appointed president of SUNY Old Westbury in January 2021, and his notable accomplishments include leading the institution to university status, expanding opportunities for students through a partnership with Brookhaven National Laboratory, and contributing to Long Island’s efforts to train the next generation of employees and ensure their stay in our region.

Sams, president of the State University of New York at Old Westbury, said, “It is an honor to be recognized with the Key to the Island and I thank the LIA Board of Directors and all of its members.

“While my time here has been just three years, I’ve come to recognize the

strength of our business and civic communities and am pleased to build here on the more than 50-year foundation that’s been created by SUNY Old Westbury as a leader on issues involving education, service and justice for our region,” he said.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Gene Bernstein

Gene Bernstein served on the LIA Board of Directors for many years in his capacity as chairman of Northville Industries Corp. and also was a co-chair of the LIA Energy and Environment Committee.

Bernstein’s career started as a Professor at the University of Arizona and University of Notre Dame, but he returned to Long Island to join Northville Industries as a 3rd generation family member.

Together with his brother Jay, Gene helped lead Northville’s highly successful wholesale, storage, pipeline transportation, and refined products trading businesses. Bernstein has actively participated on numerous philanthropic and civic boards, chairing many, including the Alfred University Board of Trustees, the advisory board of The Energeia Program at Molloy University, and the First Tee of Metropolitan New

York. Gene and his family started “The Northville Long Island Classic Champions Tour” golf tournament in 1987, which has raised more than $1 million for Cohen’s Children’s Hospital.

Bernstein said, “While there is a funny saying that ’No good deed goes unpunished,’ I am thrilled and honored to be recognized by the LIA with this Lifetime Achievement Award for my ’good deeds,’ and plan on more to come.”

The sponsors of the 2024 Evening of Honors included:

Official Event Sponsor: Bethpage Federal Credit Union

Medal Of Honor Sponsor: Catholic Health

Banquet Sponsor: Optimum Business Awards Ceremony Sponsors: Northville Industries PSEG Long Island

Dessert Sponsors: Hofstra University KPMG Newsday

PHOTO BY CRAIG COOPER

SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy Sams, center, receives the “Key to Long Island Award” from Long Island Association President Matthew Cohen, left, and LIA Board Chair Lawrence Waldman.

Town hosts annual Women’s Roll of Honor ceremony

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, Town Clerk Ragini Srivastava, and the Town Board proudly recognized the honorees for the annual May W. Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor, which was held on June 18 at the Clubhouse at Harbor Links.

The breakfast ceremony represents North Hempstead’s annual celebration of the achievements of extraordinary women throughout the town.

Generous sponsorships were provided by Americana Manhasset, Castagna Realty, Morici & Morici, LLP Attorneys at Law, Hanover Bank, Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP and King Kullen without cost to the event’s 250 guests.

The Albertson VFW performed the presentation of the Color Guard, and the United States Army Captain Ramona Jones performed the Pledge of Allegiance. The National Anthem was performed by Leah Del Orbe of the New Hyde Park Senior Chorus, the

Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, and Cristina Palumbo and Reilly of Kellenberg Memorial High School.

The Westbury Middle School Select Chorus, under the direction of Mr. Johnathan Fulcher, performed Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys.

Since 1994, North Hempstead has held the Women’s Roll of Honor to recognize and celebrate women who have contributed to their community or have accomplished significant achievements through public or private efforts.

The Women’s Roll of Honor is named after the late May W. Newburger, who served as North Hempstead Supervisor from 1994 to 2003.

Video footage from the event will premiere on NHTV channel 18 or 65 on Cablevision and channel 46 on Verizon FIOS and on the Town’s YouTube page: www.youtube.com/townofnorthhempstead. The schedule can be found on www.mynhtv.com.

The 2024 Honorees

Agnes Kirschner, East Williston

Dorothy Forte, Manhasset

Maggie Messina, Albertson

Mary Stein, New Hyde Park

Mary Sydor, Westbury

Michelle Golden, Roslyn

Parvaneh Sarraf Doustan, Roslyn

Rachel Fox, Port Washington

Sridevi Bhumi, Old Westbury

Theresa Greiner, Williston Park

Priti Jain, Roslyn Heights

Anna Hakakian, Kings Point

Joanna Palumbo, Carle Place

North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena and town officials honor the inductees for the 2024 Women’s Roll of Honor.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Business&RealEstate

Verifying permits can save you disaster

You’ve looked at 30-plus homes and are getting a bit concerned, tired, and depressed that you have not found one to meet your needs.

You think you have a deal and then get outbid. Worst of all, suddenly right before you sign your contract, another offer is provided that is not subject to an inspection and is waving the mortgage contingency.

Your offer is subject to mortgage approval and an inspection. It’s disappointing and challenging that you aren’t in a position to waive those important items. You are now experiencing what many purchasers lately are experiencing over the last few years; many are losing their deals for the former and latter reasons and there is nothing you can do about it.

Frustration sets in and now you are seriously contemplating leaving the area altogether and possibly moving out of New York State to another state with lower costs, no state income taxes, and just an easier lifestyle.

All of a sudden your agent calls you on a property that fits your specific “needs and wants” and you immediately rush out to take a look. In this market, speed in required to secure a home.

But wait, have you or your agent researched to be sure everything, including bathrooms, extensions, and other additions have the proper permits and completed certificate of occupancies?

I happened to have taken my clients to a home in Queens. Everything fit their particulars. But it turned out the complete second-floor extension had no CO and neither did the rear deck. So you know the end to that story.

You must be cognizant and aware of homes that have added some wonderful attributes, but without the proper permits or final COs you could have a problem with the legality of the home and a challenge getting approved on your mortgage.

I do understand that filing for permits puts your home out there and that you are improving it to the extent of either adding more living space, a deck, a finished basement, new windows, a roof, etc. No one wants to pay more real estate taxes as they are already high enough, along with prices, causing so many baby boomers, millennials, GenZ, and GenX to flee to other less costly locations.

For some, the cost of living is becoming so excessive and out of control that people are throwing in the towel and just abandoning the prospect of purchasing, staying in their rentals or in-laws’ homes, or worst-case scenario, just picking up and leaving altogether.

But if you are serious and planning to stay and purchase, the consequences of not having the proper permits and COs could be very costly in the long run.

Currently, the U.S. is short 6 million

balk at an idea; instead of fine-tuning that idea or concept to create a reasonable solution. There will never be a resolution that will be agreeable and please everyone. However, we desperately need much more housing.

No one party wants the other to win; this is also obvious in Washington, D.C.. I don’t think they work for us any longer as this “brain drain” has been happening for almost 40 years. It’s time everyone begins a serious dialogue to solve and remedy this dire situation.

If we don’t, we will be left with a further lack of employees for those jobs that most of us do not and will not consider performing. Service jobs are part of the lifeblood of Long Island and the surrounding areas.

well as its older population.

This will continue to have a major effect on our tax base and potentially our sales taxes, too! More important is the SALT Tax ex-President Trump initiated, mainly against the blue states where real estate taxes have been the highest.

You can still only deduct a maximum of $10,000 of your real estate, sales, and local taxes. However, there is a perfectly legal way to increase your deductions, which I won’t elaborate on here, so call me for a consultation to discuss further.

Lastly, when considering a home, you must ask as many questions as necessary to be sure any work done was completed legally with permits and has a final certificate of occupancy.

homes, and each year we need a minimum of 2 million homes to satisfy the demand of those entering the market who have begun their families or partnerships and can purchase to build their future wealth.

It just feels that part of our problem with the lack of adequate housing rests with our politicians locally and up in Albany. They are not working together cohesively and with a bipartisan attitude and mindset to have pragmatic and reasonable solutions.

When they try to accomplish something the other side or local politicians

Without viable help and solutions, businesses will suffer a greater loss of income than what is occurring today.

For many, it has become a real pain in the butt and quite frustrating to find even a starter home that has proper permits and certificates of occupancy. Some did improvements and upgrades before, not thinking they needed to file the proper paperwork and maybe relied on their contractors to perform this task, but didn’t!

But then again, avoiding increased real estate taxes is most likely the main reason. We are at a tipping point and I am convinced that New York State will continue to lose its younger generations as

Some will wave or not consider worrying about those most critical pieces of paperwork until they have to sell in the future and then it will potentially hit them in their pocketbook. Don’t put yourself in a position to buy a “money pit.” Remember th adage: “Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish.”

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. For a free 15-minute consultation, value analysis of your home, or to answer any of your questions or concerns he can be reached by cell: (516) 6474289 or by email:Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate. Comor via https://WWW.Li-RealEstate. Com

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1

St. Francis proposes modernization plan

Continued from Page 1

the homeowner signed by the mayor and have it notarized.

“It’s really a security issue,” Rosenbaum said. “It’s not cool that potentially bad actors can look at good people’s homes and use this information for potentially bad purposes.”

Another issue the village faces is individuals requesting dozens of building plans for inspiration for their homes. Genese called this “fishy” and said other methods exist to get floor plan inspiration.

Village Attorney Jeff Blinkoff said two sections of the law suggest this would be permitted, including protections from the invasion of privacy that could endanger someone’s life and another that could cause injury.

Blinkoff said these two exemptions could apply to building plans to protect the home-

owner’s safety and the integrity of the architect’s work.

He said he is comfortable with the building file privacy policy.

In other news, the village is beginning talks to re-evaluate its security patrol unit.

Rosenbaum said he is uncomfortable with the continued spending of the village’s patrol agency due to questions about its ability to deter crime.

“With the data I have there’s nothing that really says that this patrol we have has prevented or reduced crime,” Rosenbaum said.

Despite his concerns about speeding, Rosenbaum said crime is overall down in the village.

The security patrol was implemented earlier this year after a sharp rise in crime at the tail end of 2023. Now that crime has been fall-

ing in the village, Genese said the necessity of the patrol unit will be re-evaluated.

In the meantime, Rosenbaum asked for residents to submit letters of their opinions on the security patrol, with tentative plans to hold discussions on the matter in the fall.

A resident suggested the village implement license plate readers to deter crime.

Genese said implementing them is difficult because of the difficulty of catching individuals committing crimes in stolen vehicles and the dozens of entrances into the village.

The village will hold a public hearing on Aug. 5 to consider a local law changing the village code’s definitions of tennis and other courts and another amendment for its noise ordinance.

Martins urges DA Alvin Bragg’s removal

Continued from Page 1

quest for comment by the time of publication.

Martins accused Bragg of releasing “violent, repeat offenders” during his time in office as a part of his “progressive agenda.”

“He has singlehandedly undone the work of thousands of hardworking police officers, breaking their morale and the spirit of the city,” Martins wrote.

He cautioned against Bragg’s decision to drop the charges, saying it is greenlighting the harassment of Jews.

“Justice belongs to everyone. By his actions, the district attorney is sending the message that Jews are somehow not entitled to that justice,” Martins wrote. “He is clearly beholden to a political ideology and placed that ideology ahead of his oath to protect New Yorkers and prosecute crimes. He has forgotten what it means to be a New Yorker.”

Martins also denounced the student protesters at Columbia University, saying they chanted “pro-terrorist, anti-Jewish and anti-American hatred” and disturbing students’ education.

He wrote that these student protesters “freely menaced and terrorized” Jewish students and

faced virtually no consequences for these actions and damaging school property.

“And when all this dust settled, do you know what the consequences were for the multitude of crimes, hatred, and chaos? There were none.,” Martins wrote. “The district attorney now claims there’s not enough evidence. So, everything you and I saw for days on end with our own eyes – everything that millions of people saw – somehow was all a mistake. It’s a breathtaking insult to our intelligence and guess what?

DA Bragg doesn’t care.”

The state senator was vocal about his disdain for the protests while they occurred, also calling for the resignation of Columbia President Minouche Shafik in May.

Martins wrote in his op-ed that he knew the topic would “ruffle some feathers,” but he said it’s an action that should not be shied away from.

“How else will reasonable people – on any side of an issue – recognize each other and agree on what’s unacceptable?” Martins wrote. “Drawing attention to a problem is always the first step in correcting it.”

Heights debates tree tops

Continued from Page 2 faded or damaged.

Riscica then reported that $6,000 from the Local Government Records Management Improvement Grant was used for scanning documents, including historical records.

Another $7,000 went toward tagging scanned documents, allowing residents to search the digitized archives.

The village initially received approval for the $50,000 grant from the New York State Archives, a unit of the state Education Department, in August of 2022.

The work was set to be completed by June 30 of this year. The final report will be completed by the end of July, allowing Plandome Heights to receive reimbursement bythe fall.

The mayor also reported that the village closed the books early last week. The auditor will begin their review tomorrow.

“That’s better than the last two years when we fell behind in the reporting calendar. We should have no problem reporting to the state by the end of July,” he said.

The board then moved into executive session.

Firearm violence a health crisis

Continued from Page 8 crisis designation.

Initiatives include Gov. Kathy Hochul signing the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, which bans the sale and possession of ghost guns – or guns assembled by individuals and not by a manufacturer.

The legislation was named after Scott Beigel, who was a teacher killed while protecting his students during the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Lavine sponsored the bill in the assembly.

“It is intended, just as Scott intended, to save lives,” Lavine wrote.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF STATE SEN. JACK MARTINS

District 7 state Sen. Jack Martins.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, PUBLIC DOMAIN

Flower Hill Village Hall in the Village of Flower Hill on May 26, 2023.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Town of North HempsteadBoard of Zoning Appeals

Pursuant to the provisions of the Code of the Town of North Hempstead, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Zoning Appeals of said Town will meet at Town Hall, 220 Plandome Road, Manhasset, New York, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 to consider any matters that may properly be heard by said Board, and will hold a public hearing on said date to consider applications and appeals. The following cases will be called at said public hearing starting at 10:00am.

APPEAL #21532 - Petros & Alexandra Konidaris; 66 Quaker Ridge Road, Manhasset; Section 3, Block 145, Lot 94; Zoned: Residence-A

Variance from §70-31.A to construct a garage addition that is too close to the side property line and with smaller than required total (aggregate) side yards.

Plans are available for public viewing at https://northhempsteadny.gov/ bza.  Persons interested in viewing the full file may do so by any time before the scheduled hearing by contacting the BZA department via e-mail at BZAdept@northhempsteadny. gov.  Additionally, the public may view the live stream of this meeting at https://northhempsteadny.gov/ townboardlive. Any member of the public is able to attend and participate in a BZA hearing by appearing on the scheduled date and time.  Comments are limited to 3 minutes per speaker. Written comments are accepted by email up to 60 minutes prior to the hearing. Timely comment submissions will be made part of the record. DAVID MAMMINA, R.A., Chairman; Board of Zoning Appeals

Informed Voters Trust Newspapers*

* National Newspaper Association Survey

Tribute, Honor Foundation honors military-bound grads

On Tuesday, June 18, the Tribute and Honor Foundation proudly presented the 2024 Ben Farnan Scholarships to Mark LaRocca and Ruben Martinez, graduates of Glen Cove High School.

These exceptional young men, dedicated to serving their country by joining the military, each received $1,000 in scholarships from the Foundation, honoring their patriotism, dedication, and outstanding achievements.

The students were the first recipients of the award, which was established in 2023.

“When I suggested we create a scholarship and name it for Ben Farnan, there was no question in anyone’s mind that it was the thing to do. Ben is a pillar of our community, a dedicated veteran, and an inspiring educator,” said Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews, president of the Tribute and Honor Foundation. “I am incredibly proud of our board for committing to establish the scholarship, and I could not be more proud of the two young men being honored.”

As keynote speaker, Farnan shared his profound war experiences and lifelong dedication to service. He emphasized the importance of supporting young individuals like Mark and Ruben, who are about to embark on their military careers. “I am deeply impressed by Mark and Ruben, not only for their commitment to serve our nation but also for their outstanding character and achievements,” he remarked.

Mark LaRocca, a dual graduate of Glen Cove High School and Nassau BOCES Barry Technical High School, distinguished himself as an honors student and a dedicated athlete. He participated in numerous extracurricular activities and enlisted in the U.S. Navy through the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) in the summer of 2023.

Ruben Martinez, a Glen Cove High School graduate, excelled in sports and community service. Inspired by a family friend, he decided to join the Marines and will begin boot camp at Parris Island in August.

His involvement in various school clubs and community programs has shaped his commitment to service.

The ceremony featured several notable speakers, including Glen Cove High School principal Allen Hudson, Assistant Superintendent Andrew DiNapoli, and Glen Cove EOC Program Director Irma Jeanty.

The event was marked by a

strong sense of community. Veteran liaison members, including VFW Post 347 Vice Commander Howard Stillwagon and Glenwood Landing American Legion Post 336 Commander Luke Whitting, led the opening prayer, closing blessings, and the Pledge of Allegiance.

First Vice President Connie Pinilla and other board members present, including Secretary Angelina Stanco-Stone, Treasurer Thomas Bunger, and Online and

Media Content Officer Lydia Wen Rodgers, assisted StevensonMathews in presenting the scholarships.

Many of the foundation’s Liaison Members also attended, adding to the event’s significance.

The Tribute and Honor Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has distinguished itself through its Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala, honoring Long Island veterans and veteran

supporters, as well as through its ongoing support of veterans and veteran initiatives.

For more information on the foundation, including the upcoming announcement event and press conference on September 8th at the North Shore Historical Museum, the Awards Ceremony held annually on the first Saturday in February, and support opportunities,

The foundation is already ac-

cepting sponsors for the Fourth Annual Awards Ceremony and Fundraising Gala on February 1st of next year.

The Tribute and Honor Foundation thanked everyone who made the event possible, including Awards Ceremony sponsors, sustaining members, and volunteers.

Special thanks were given to Pastor Jerry Turner and the congregation of Salem Baptist Church for providing the venue.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY TRIBUTE AND HONOR FOUNDATION

Korean War veteran and scholarship namesake Ben Farnan addresses all gathered prior to scholarships being presented to Glen Cove High School graduates and future armed service members Mark LaRocca and Ruben Martinez.

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Publisher's notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Port Rowing makes waves at state, national championships

BY MICHAEL J. LEWIS

Over the course of a 6-plus minute rowing race, you wouldn’t think that one single stroke would matter all that much.

But good luck convincing the quintet of Port Rowing’s girls U17 4+ boat of that. Because as they learned at the New York State championships on May 11-12, every stroke counts.

The way it works at the state meet, held in Saratoga Springs, is that only the Top 3 boats in the grand final (the boats that finished in the Top 10 of the morning preliminary heats) make it to the U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals.

And there’s often so little difference between the top boats, Port Rowing’s Sophie Pevzner said, that every single stroke could make the difference.

“You’re pushing and pushing and you’re so tired, but you know if you take one stroke just a little lighter, the boat next to you is going to pass you and finish ahead,” said Pevzner, about to enter her junior year at Port Washington’s Schreiber High School. “All the training and everything you were hoping for, means you have to go hard on every single stroke.”

Pevzner and her teammates (Laura Kim, Charlotte Debler, Katherine Pupke and coxswain Alex Cherkas) dug deep and accomplished their goal, finishing third and making it to states by a mere 2.8 seconds.

It was just one of seven boats, consisting of 31 club athletes, that made it to Sarasota for the June 8-9 nationals.

“We had practiced so much leading up (to states), and we put so much pressure on ourselves to make it that when we finally did, it was a big relief,” said Van Villabos, another Schreiber junior who is on the boys U17 4+ boat that finished third at states as well. “The chemistry and the teamwork that you put in really paid off.”

Seven boats making nationals marked the end of yet another successful season for Port Rowing, which boasts more than 100 athletes.

Training at North Hempstead State Park, the club has grown and gotten better and better in recent seasons, and this year’s nationals showing was impressive.

Competing against the best boats all over the country in Florida on June 8-9, Port Rowing’s boats had several strong performances.

The best was turned in by that boys U17 boat, which finished first in the “B” final, meaning it was ninth-best in the country. The fivesome of coxswain Mio Lanfant, Luca Tizzano, Joseph Macri, Syros Baris and Villalobos beat all comers in the second-best final event.

“It’s just a huge sense of trust we have with each other in the boat,” said Macri, a junior at North Shore High School. “There

were a lot of nerves because we knew how good every boat (at Nationals) is; every race was a dogfight.

“So to get to win the B final, having other teams see that and see what our team can do, is really exciting.”

The girls U17 4+ boat that squeaked into Nationals placed third in the C final, while the girls youth 2- boat of Lauren Marino and Estella Woodside finished seventh in the C final.

“The best thing about our boat is we’re all like best friends and so supportive of each other,” Pevzner said. “We never blame anyone when something goes wrong, it’s all

about uplifting each other and doing better. If there’s a problem, we fix it and move on.”

Also on the girls side at Nationals, the youth 4+ boat of Coxswain Tea Cotronis, Olivia Burke, Christina Lago, Alexandra Burke and Anna Woodside were third in the D final.

On the boys side, in addition to the U17 4+ boat, the youth 4+ boat with coxswain Shayna Blumenfield, Jared White, Tilden Vaezi, Cooper Denninger and Dean Egen, placed fourth in the C final, while the Youth 4- team of Benjamin Ollendorff, Harris Breene, Vincent DiPalo and Emanuel Lago captured first place in the D final.

Finally, the boys U16 4x+ boat of cox -

swain Alec Oldis, Ben Dietrich, Roman Ertel, Boden Smith, and Alex Dietrich won the C finals in Sarasota. That feat is even more impressive when you consider that four members of the boat just finished eighth grade, showing how good they can still get.

For Pevzner and her teammates, the Nationals experience just made them hungry for more success.

“The competition at Nationals is just so hard, so to be there and see how good everyone is just shows us how hard we have to work to get even better,” Pevzner said. “It definitely motivates us to come back and do even better next year.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PORT ROWING

Members of the Port Rowing Boys U17 4+ boat competing at the U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals in Sarasota, Fla. on June 8-9. The boat finished 9th overall, the highest for a Port Rowing boat at nationals.