Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
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Friday, May 13, 2022
Vol. 71, No. 19
N E W H Y D E PA R K
SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
HERRICKS TEACHER GETS DEAL OFFER
BLAKEMAN NAMES ACTING ASSESSOR
PAGES 25-32
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PAGE 9
4 running for two seats in F.P.-Bellerose School district’s adopted $36M budget for 2022-23 on ballot BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y Two contested races headline the ballot for the Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District alongside propositions for two schools budgets and capital reserve fund proposals from the district and the Sewanhaka Central High School District, respectively. The $36,013,163 adopted proposal is a 5.38% increase in spending from the current fiscal year and the proposed tax levy increase of 2.69% falls below the allowable tax cap. In the Board of Education races, incumbent Michael Culotta is running for re-election for a second three-year term against challenger Matthew Sexton. Culotta, a lawyer who moved to the district within the past 10 years, first got involved with the area during the redevelopment project at Belmont Park. One of Culotta’s initial focuses when running in 2019 was to ensure the small property that connects the end of Crocus Avenue, Floral Park-Bellerose School’s playground and the north lot of Belmont Park would be preserved and not interfere with the quality of life for residents. With the UBS Arena opened, both the Village of Floral Park and district have reached out to elected officials to maintain the area, called “the Triangle,” with greenery and allow the school to be granted an easement in parts of the area
for class use. “I felt like there was work to be done in a place in the district that we needed some more advocacy,” Culotta said. Two other issues that Culotta said he ran on three years ago were universal pre-K and expanding the two schools in the district, which was eventually secured with the help of a $17 million bond. Culotta said the district is currently in a transitional phase, naming the COVID-19 pandemic and returning to a sense of normalcy as one aspect while also calling for the need to engage in longterm planning. The incumbent said increased enrollment, aging infrastructure and the need to expand special education were a few of the many reasons for the community to sit down and plan ahead for what’s needed. “I would love for us to develop our long-term strategic plan for the next three to five years and reimagine the educational experience for our kids,” Culotta said. “We can establish new priorities, goals and just raise the bar to maintain the quality of life that we have here in Floral Park.” Sexton is a licensed clinical social worker who works as the director of social work for a health care company servicing patients throughout New York Continued on Page 37
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FLORAL PARK-BELLEROSE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Floral-Park Bellerose students team up to partake in the interactive educational game “The Brain Show” in April. See story on page 47.
Herricks, Roslyn movie theaters close doors BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y
demic. Herricks Cinemas in New Hyde Two North Shore movie venues Park and Roslyn Cinema on Old have closed in recent months, fol- Northern Boulevard have recently lowing a trend that has followed the shuttered their doors. Both locations were listed as for local area since the COVID-19 pan-
sale on LoopNet, an online marketplace for commercial property. In November, Herricks Cinemas on Hillside Avenue had reopened following temporary closures relatContinued on Page 38
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