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Friday, April 8, 2022
Vol. 71, No. 14
N E W H Y D E PA R K
NASSAU SHIPS GEAR TO UKRAINE PAGE 9
TOWN HEARING ON BUILDING DEPT.
ZIMMERMAN RAISES $900K IN 10 WEEKS
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DeSena touts transparency, collaboration Supervisor urges board to set aside partisan divisions in State of Town BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y In her first State of the Town address, North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena touted the need for collaboration and transparency in town government. “I want to say we are doing this together,” DeSena said of her fellow Town Board members, four of whom were in attendance. “We are committed to doing the work for the town and we are committed to being collaborative and bipartisan in cooperation.” DeSena’s 30-minute address marked the 35th anniversary of the address and was the first to be delivered by a Republican supervisor since 1989. The early months of DeSena’s tenure have been marked by tension between her and the Democratic majority on the Town Board. And any ideas of bipartisanship seemed to dissipate after a Democratic member of the board, Veronica Lurvey, recorded a response that praised progress under DeSena’s Democratic predecessor and talked of Democrats’ priorities. Lurvey then was attacked by DeSena’s spokesman, who accused her of injecting partisan politics into town government. State, town and village officials
from across the county came to Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington for DeSena’s address, which was held in conjunction with a luncheon featuring the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset. As she has since beginning her campaign for office, DeSena emphasized her focus on streamlining government operations and making the town more efficient where possible. DeSena announced several proposals aimed at cutting through red tape and showing constituents how their government operates. North Hempstead TV in its decade-plus of running has not featured Town Board meetings. DeSena plans on changing that to make it more accessible to residents who cannot make it to Town Hall in Manhasset on Thursday nights or go to the town’s website, where it is livestreamed and recorded. “I believe residents should have greater access to watch our Town Board meetings,” DeSena said. “Town Board meetings are where the real business of government is conducted.” A second initiative DeSena described was holding town hall meetings in North Hempstead’s six districts accompanied by the council member from that district to “make it easier to Continued on Page 34
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALBERTSON-HERRICKS LITTLE LEAGUE VIA INSTAGRAM @ALBERTSONHERRICKSLITTLELEAGUE
Two players walk in the Albertson-Herricks Little League parade on Saturday. See story on page 47.
Northwell employee fatally shot in NHP parking garage BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z A Northwell Health employee was fatally shot in the parking garage of a Northwell health care facility in New Hyde Park last Thursday. Northwell Health officials said the victim, Amelia Laguerre, 33, was shot “late [Thursday] afternoon … in the publicly accessible parking ga-
rage” at 1999 Marcus Ave. Officials said several team members attempted to treat Laguerre, a Queens resident, at the scene before she was transported to a nearby hospital. Laguerre was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to officials. Northwell representatives said the health care system “mourns the
heartbreaking loss of our colleague and team member” and is providing counseling services for employees who seek them. Nassau police Detective Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, in a press briefing, said law enforcement officials believe the shooting was a “targeted incident” and that “there is no risk to Continued on Page 33
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