New Hyde Park 2022_12_23

Ex-teach pleads guilty

Russo vaxxed teen last year

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Laura Parker Russo, the former Herricks High School teacher charged with injecting a minor with a COVID-19 vaccine, pleaded guilty Friday and will avoid jail time.

Russo, of Sea Cliff, Russo was arrested on New Year’s Eve last year for allegedly injecting her son’s 17-year-old friend with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Nassau County detectives said they were alerted by the teenager’s mother after he returned home from Russo’s Sea Cliff residence. The youth had gone to her home and was administered an injection by Russo, to which his mother had not consented, officials said.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to attempted unauthorized practice of medicine, a misdemeanor, and a disorderly conduct violation, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

Nassau County Judge Howard Sturim placed Russo on interim probation for one year. She must complete 100 hours of community service, attend therapy sessions twice a week and have no contact with the teen, according to the DA.

“Based on the defendant’s longstanding ties to the community and her lack of a criminal record, the NCDA has agreed to this disposition,” said spokesman Brendan Brosh in a

GUIDE TO WINTER

HO! HO! HO!

Officials question Santos’ resume

GOP congressman-elect faces calls to step down in face of newspaper report

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

Droves of elected officials throughout New York and the nation have bashed Republican Congressman-elect George Santos for allegedly providing false educational and professional experience for his biography after The New York Times unearthed the discrepancies earlier this week.

Santos, who was elected to the state’s 3rd Congressional District in November, was accused by The Times of lying about earning degrees from NYU and Baruch College as well as working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Neither college could confirm his enrollment to multiple media outlets while neither company could confirm his employment.

Robert Zimmerman, the Democrat Santos defeated in the November election, said in a statement the Republican has violated the public’s trust and called on him to resign from his position.

“The reality is Santos flat-out lied to the voters of NY-03. He’s violated the public trust in order to win office and does not deserve to represent

Long Island and Queens,” Zimmerman said. “Santos’ failure to answer any of the questions about these allegations demonstrates why he is unfit for public office and should resign.

It demonstrates why there must be a House Ethics Committee, Federal Elections Commission, and U.S. Attorney investigation immediately.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN TAKACS

The Lakeville Estates Civic Association held their holiday parade earlier this month.

Wendling contesting GCP district election

Fire, water commissioner race decided by one vote

Suspect charged in ‘88 terrorist attack

Pan Am bombing killed F. Park man

BY BRANDON DUFFY

A former Libyan intelligence operative has been charged for his involvement in the 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing that killed a man from Floral Park, the U.S. attorney general announced.

Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi appeared in a U.S. court on Dec. 12 and was charged with destruction of aircraft resulting in the death and destruction of a vehicle in foreign commerce by means of an explosive, prosecutors said.

On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed 38 minutes after taking off from London on its way to John F. Kennedy Airport while flying over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Gabriel Della Ripa, 46 at the time, was a Pan Am employee returning home to Floral Park after seeing his relatives in Itay. He left behind his wife Luisa and daughters Carmela and Maria.

Della Ripa was one of at least 12 victims from Long Island.

Of the 190 Americans who died, 35 were Syracuse University students coming back from a semester studying abroad. In total, 270 people from 21 countries were killed.

It was the deadliest terrorist attack against Americans until Sept. 11.

“Nearly 34 years ago, 270 people,

including 190 Americans, were tragically killed in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Since then, American and Scottish law enforcement have worked tirelessly to identify, find, and bring to justice the perpetrators of this horrific attack,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

“Those relentless efforts over the past three decades led to the indictment and arrest of a former Libyan intelligence operative for his alleged role in building the bomb used in the attack.”

Saying Mas’ud is now in U.S. custody, Garland said, “This is an important step forward in our mission to honor the victims and pursue justice on behalf of their loved ones.”

Mas’ud is the third person connected to the bombings who has been charged. In 1991, Abdel Baset Ali alMegrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, also Libyan intelligence operatives, were arrested for their roles.

Megrahi, who died in 2012 at age 60, was sentenced to life in prison while Fhimah was acquitted.

The Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Inc. said on their Facebook page “With the USA gaining custody of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud, the pursuit of justice has taken an important step. Our loved ones will never be forgotten, and those who are responsible for their murder on Dec. 21, 1988 must face justice.”

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Joe Wendling is contesting his narrow loss in the commissioner race for the Garden City Park Fire and Water District, the candidate told Blank Slate Media on Thursday.

Wendling, a New Hyde Park native, ran against Rob Mirabile for the open seat left vacated by Commissioner Kenneth Borchers, who did not

seek re-election after serving since 2007.

The district confirmed Wednesday 303 total votes in the election were tallied with Mirabile winning by one. The results were unofficial as of Wednesday morning but certified at the commissioner’s meeting Wednesday night.

Wendling said four people who live in the district were denied their

right to vote by a ruling of the commissioners and that he is contesting it.

The district covers parts of Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, parts of New Hyde Park, parts of Mineola, parts of North Hills, parts of Roslyn, parts of Williston Park, parts of Albertson and parts of Garden City.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

New Hyde Park Herald Courier: Brandon Duffy 516-307-1045 x215 • bduffy@theisland360.com

Manhasset Times: Robert Pelaez 516-307-1045 x203 • rpelaez@theisland360.com

Roslyn Times: Steven Keehner 516-307-1045 x214 • skeehner@theisland360.com

Williston Times: Brandon Duffy 516-307-1045 x215 • bduffy@theisland360.com

Port Washington Times: Steven Keehner 516-307-1045 x214 • skeehner@theisland360.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Pan Am Flight 103 that was bombed in 1988 while flying over Lockerbie, Scotland.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CANDIDATES

Rob Mirabile, left, and Joe Wendling are running for Garden City Park Fire and Water District commissioner.

Scramble in face of triple epidemic

BY STEVEN KEEHNER

The Rule of Threes suggests a trio of entities is more amusing, fulflling or efective than other numbers. This winter it might also prove to be dangerous.

The seven-day average of positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people on Long Island climbed from 24.3 to 43.7 — a 79.8% increase — from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15, per state data. This, combined with an increase in infuenza and respiratory syncytial virus cases, has created a “triple epidemic.”

The state has already begun planning and spreading information about the potential hazards this winter.

“New Yorkers can’t get complacent in our fght against the triple threat of COVID, RSV and infuenza,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a presser. “We have to take advantage of the resources at our disposal so that we come out of this winter season healthy and happy.”

Dr. Mary Bassett, the state health commissioner, is also urging New Yorkers to get vaccinated.

“We have highly efective, safe vaccines for both fu and for COVID,” she said. “The vaccine for COVID is the new bivalent vaccine, the one that is for the frst time keyed to the circulating variants that we have. If you

haven’t gotten the bivalent vaccine, that’s the one you should get.”

This uptick in COVID-19 cases in Nassau County has already prompted some institutions, such as Nassau Community College, to reimplement mask mandates. (School ofcials

changed their judgment hours later and ofered a recommendation instead.)

But as the pandemic enters its third year, the combined efect of exhaustion and fatigue has prompted medical ofcials, such as Dr. Adrian

Popp, chair of Infectious Disease at Huntington Hospital, to encourage vigilance.

“Last year we barely saw any infuenza. Last year we barely saw any respiratory viruses,” he said, “because the population was at large ‘behaving’

and respecting or following these protection measures.”

The more a virus circulates, the more likely it is to develop. These changes can lead to a virus variant that is better adapted to its environment than the original, including COVID-19.

Popp said the current variant is not the same as the one from 2020 and is less lethal, but can still afect anyone. Those under threat then, such as the elderly and those with underlying health concerns, are still at serious risk.

He said he’d deal with infuenza at its height in January or February, as more people are inside. But this year, it has moved up to November. He added other viral infection cases are also rising.

“We became complacent,” said Popp. “Barely anybody’s wearing masks right now. People go and do whatever they like, hang out in restaurants and crowded places and it shows. All these viruses were at bay for the last couple of years. Now they are returning with a vengeance and that has to do with our behavior.”

Popp said individuals were more at ease as restrictions loosened. As a result, the resurgence of mask requests has displeased some.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A face mask used to keep COVID-19 from spreading. According to state data, the seven-day average of positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people on Long Island increased by 79.8% from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.

Town appoints new head of highways

BY BRANDON DUFFY

North Hempstead Democrats voted to appoint Douglas Schlaefer as superintendent of highways in the town and reject Republican Supervisor Jennifer DeSena’s pick for comptroller Thursday night.

Following Schlaefer’s appointment in a 4-3 party-line vote, DeSena withdrew a resolution to vote on her own pick for highway superintendent, Gerrard Losquadro.

A resolution to appoint John Morris, a former Smithtown comptroller with over 15 years of municipal accounting experience, was also rejected. Morris has previously served as treasurer for the Villages of Mastic Beach and Westbury and director of finance for the town under Supervisor May Newburger from 1998 to 2001.

Schlaefer is coming out of retirement to work for the Town where he was an employee for 31 years. His previous positions include highway maintenance supervisor II, where he recorded the highest score on the civil service exam administered by Nassau County, and highway construction supervisor.

“I love this Town and am extremely proud to have been presented with such an extraordinary opportunity,” Schlafer said in a statement. “It will be my honor to serve as highway superintendent, and I look forward to serving the entire North Hempstead community.”

The position had been left vacant when Democrats in May voted to remove acting Highway Superintendent Harry Weed.

During the same meeting when Weed was removed, a resolution appointing Thomas Tiernan, a former North Hempstead highway superintendent who resigned in 2016 amid a probe into overtime earnings between 2011 and 2016, was tabled and never brought to the floor again.

Schlaefer’s additional experience includes chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals, commissioner of public works and highway superintendent for the Village of Manorhaven.

His salary will be $155,000 a year.

“During Mr. Schlaefer’s long career, he has demonstrated extensive knowledge and skill regarding the daily operations of the Town’s Highway Department,” said Council Member Veronica Lurvey. “He was eminently qualified, and we are excited to have him take the lead as

superintendent of highways for the Town.”

Democrat Robert Troiano said Schlaefer “proved to be a valuable asset to the Town” when the two worked together during Troiano’s time as the Town’s director of operations.

DeSena said in a statement she is glad the position has been filled but was critical of the Town Board majority’s decision to vote down her choice for comptroller.

“I am pleased that the Town has installed a new highway superintendent six months after the majority council members chose to recklessly terminate our acting highway superintendent without a replacement in line,” DeSena said in a statement. “Throughout the interview process, Mr. Schlaeffer showed himself to be a capable and qualified candidate for the highway superintendent position, and I look forward to seeing his leadership and experience in action during the upcoming winter storm season.”

Lurvey told Blank Slate Media it was her understanding that Deputy Supervisor Joe Scalero offered the position to Schlaefer and that DeSena put forward the resolution to name Losquadro shortly before the deadline to submit the agenda.

“We looked at over 20 resumes and interviewed several finalists and the deputy supervisor offered the position to Mr. Schlaefer. And then five minutes before the deadline to put items on the agenda she submitted somebody else’s name.”

Scalero said in a statement his last conversation with Schlaefer was to discuss salary, which was the same discussion he had with Losquadro.

“Neither of these calls ended with a job offer. When it came time to submit an item for the agenda by the deadline, it was made clear to their staff prior to submission that the supervisor’s choice was Mr. Losquadro,” Scalero said.

The supervisor also said she was concerned by the majority’s “partisan attempts” to delay the hiring of a comptroller, which has been vacant since DeSena took office in January.

“This Town has been without a comptroller or chief deputy comptroller for a full year now, and that is both shocking and absolutely unacceptable,” DeSena continued. “At this point, it’s clear that they are actively blocking the hiring of a new comptroller solely for political gain, espe-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Douglas Schlaefer.

DeSena’s ethics board pick rejected

Port’s Rachel Fox voted down in party-line vote amid concerns over personal friendships, diversity

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Another one of North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena’s picks for the town’s Board of Ethics was rejected Thursday night.

Rachel Fox, of Port Washington, was voted down by Democrats in a 3-3 party-line vote, with Democrat Mariann Dalimonte abstaining.

Dalimonte cited personal relationships Fox has with both her and DeSena, a Republican, as her reason to abstain.

“I made it clear to the supervisor that this could easily be presented as a confict of interest,” Dalimonte said before the vote was called. “We really aren’t supposed to appoint people we have personal friendships with for obvious reasons.”

DeSena said Fox is an active member of the Port Washington community and someone she has gotten to know during her year as supervisor and that she is still a fne candidate.

“Friendship is simply not a factor in whether someone is deserving and would serve well on the Ethics Board,” DeSena said. “It is not a factor we have considered before.”

The seven-member Board of Ethics is responsible for implementing the provisions of the town’s Code of

Ethics, according to the town’s websites.

When DeSena took ofce, the Board of Ethics at the time was completely made up of members who

were in holdover status and could be removed at any time.

Its responsibilities include approving and reviewing fnancial statements, rendering advisory opin-

ions to Town employees on the Code of Ethics and enforcing the code while determining penalties, among other things.

As of now, the town’s Board

of Ethics is made up of Chair Joseph Sciame, Robin Bolling, Isma Chaudry, Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Rabbi Robert Widom, Justice Richard Kestenbaum and Betty Leong.

Derek Chan and Francisco Vazquez were both voted down by Democrats in a 4-3 party-line vote in October. Melissa Slobin was also rejected in a 4-3 party-line vote in September.

Of the current seven board members, only Bolling, Chaudry, Perl and Sciame are serving defned terms after they were appointed earlier this year. The remaining three are serving unexpired terms and can be removed at any time.

Council member Robert Troiano, a Democrat, said the supervisor had not consulted with him and other members on the town board about her pick and that appointing Fox would take away from the ethnic diversity of the current board, two concerns he previously brought up earlier in the year on other ethics recommendations from DeSena.

“I’ve mentioned that it’s important that members of the Ethics Board look like the town,” Troiano said. “This is not a vote against Rachel, this is a vote for diversity.”

If appointed, Fox would have replaced Betty Leon, an Asian woman.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE

Some members for North Hempstead’s Board of Ethics are operating on unexpired terms.

Increased police during Hanukkah

Blakeman calls out threats against all religions, hatred during holiday season in Nassau

BY STEVEN KEEHNER

Nassau County police will beef up their presence at public Hanukkah celebrations, County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.

The eight-day Jewish holiday began Sunday night. Blakeman, who is Jewish, said the county will not accept antisemitism and hatred.

“We have a country where we have religious freedom and we want to keep it that way,” he said. “There have been some encroachments on religion that are unacceptable, and we want to make sure that does not exist, at least here in Nassau County.”

Several notable cases of antisemitism have occurred throughout Nassau. Examples include hateful flyers being distributed on the South Shore, swastikas discovered inscribed inside bathroom stalls at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford and a woman requesting that Rockville Centre trustees amend the village code so that “a synagogue cannot be on every street.”

Warmest

County leaders formed a special legislative task force in January to confront antisemitism. Along with highlighting the causes and prevalence of county antisemitism, they also advocate preventative measures like community collaboration and education.

Blakeman said the county is aware of threats made against all religions, not just Judaism.

“This is going to be a county where people of all religions can celebrate in their own unique way — we will not tolerate hate in this county,” he said. “We will celebrate all religions, all people, all races and every ethnicity. We are a very, very diverse county and that’s what makes us a great county.”

An Anti-Defamation League audit said New York led American cities in recorded antisemitic incidents in 2021.

The 416 occurrences reported made up a 24% increase over the 336 instances the organization recorded in 2020. It also accounted for 15% of all reported antisemitic events nationwide.

Holiday Season

DeSena Town of North Hempstead Supervisor

Jennifer

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

County Executive Bruce Blakeman at a press conference announcing Nassau police will enhance their presence at public Hanukkah celebrations.

Lafazan

light fine reduction

BY STEVEN KEEHNER

Members of the Nassau County Legislature’s Minority Caucus joined Legislator Joshua Lafazan (D-Woodbury) to reveal his plan to reduce fines on county red light camera citations.

Debra Mulé (D-Freeport) and Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) also accompanied Lafazan. His plan includes lowering the driver responsibility fine from red light camera citations from $45 to zero, the mortgage and deed recording fee from $300 to $50 and the tax map verification fee from $355 to $50.

“People need relief and they need it now,” said Lafazan. “Government has aresponsibility to meet this moment. And the very first place to do it is addressing some of the onerous and unjustified fees this county charges.”

The county Legislature has a Republican majority and executive, which means that Democrats would need their cooperation to enact any reforms. Lafazan claimed that Republicans had previously supported these cutbacks and they should support them now.

“If the plan was good enough 12 months ago, it’s certainly good enough right now to enact and the Democratic caucus stands ready to get this plan done,” he said. “Let’s be very clear: It is wrong to use a fee as a backdoor tax increase. It’s the same money coming out of people’s wallets running on a platform of not raising taxes while raising fees is quite simply wrong.”

Lafazan argued that these fees should never have been so expensive and that the money belongs to the taxpayers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEGISLATOR JOSHUA LAFAZAN’S OFFICE

Nassau County Legislators Debra Mulé, Joshua Lafazan and Arnold W. Drucker, in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building, on Dec. 19. Lafazan outlined his intention to cut county red light camera fees.

Campaigning against gun violence

Northwell Health launches advertisements, commercials to promote firearm education

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

Northwell Health’s continuing fght against gun violence in America now features a multiplatform public awareness campaign, encouraging hundreds of other healthcare systems throughout the nation to follow suit.

Online advertisements, television commercials and printed messages targeting the rampant deaths of kids and children every day as a result of gun violence began circulating earlier this fall. Dr. Chethan Sathya, director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, said the campaign was launched to make parents aware of questions that should be asked about safe frearm storage and violence prevention.

“It’s translating what we do as a health system into the public as well,” Sathya said in an interview. “It’s inspired a lot of conversations among parents, which is great and what we want people to focus on. We really want to frame this as a public health and safety issue.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data earlier this year that showed more than 45,000 frearm-related deaths in the United States in 2020, a new peak. Over 4,300 children ages 1-19 died from gun violence in the United States in 2020, the leading cause of death for children and teens, according to the data.

Sathya underscored the importance for people not to view this campaign or any of Northwell’s eforts to combat gun violence as an at-

tack on the Second Amendment. Gun violence in America, he said, has become a safety issue rather than a political one, despite some individuals still claiming the health-care system is pushing for the repeal of frearms.

“The majority of gun owners in this country are for frearm safety, responsible gun ownership and safe storage,” Sathya said. “But there

are millions of Americans who are frst-time gun owners and just don’t know about the dangers of having a gun in the household.”

Sathya said having a frearm in the house increases the risk of accidental injury, suicide and homicide, so providing educational resources for gun owners is an initiative Sathya lauded.

Northwell currently screens its patients for

frearm injury risk, asks questions related to frearm safety and, if needed, ofers a variety of counseling and violence prevention resources. As a pediatric trauma surgeon in Chicago, Sathya said, seeing a 6-month-old child with a bullet wound led him on his advocacy journey to address gun violence in America.

“Seeing what the parents go through and the fact that this could be your own child… how could you not prioritize this,” Sathya said. “It was defnitely a transformative experience for me and one of the big reasons why I am so passionate about this.”

In 2020, Sathya was awarded $1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop and implement a universal screening protocol among those at risk for frearm injury as part of Northwell’s ‘We Ask Everyone. Firearm Safety is a Health Issue” research study. The protocol tracks patients’ responses to questions about frearm safety and uploads them to their electronic health records.

Sathya mentioned that other health-care systems have a surplus of funding on the state and federal level that can be utilized in eforts to combat gun violence and said more hospitals and organizations are taking the steps to address the issue.

“This is the leading cause of death in kids. It’s going to get worse and worse and continue to be the leading cause of death unless we collectively prioritize this,” he said.

Private outings limited to 1 day at Harbor Links

BY BRANDON DUFFY

The North Hempstead Town Board Thursday night unanimously passed a resolution to extend the management contract with Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington while it rebids the terms of the agreement.

Included in the contract’s amendment is limiting the number of private outings to once a week on Mondays. Currently, there are no limits on how many outings the course can hold.

Built in 1998, Harbor Links is owned by the Town of North Hempstead and operated by Arnold Palmer Golf Management.

It features an 18-hole championship course, nine-hole executive course that is not closed of to the public during private events, a driving range, pro shop, athletic felds and a full-service banquet hall and restaurant.

Since at least 2013, the town has had a management agreement with the golf course, according to a fnancial and operational review released in 2016.

Councilwomen Veronica Lurvey and Mariann Dalimonte expressed some concern with how limiting the private outings would afect the revenue projections in the 2023 budget, which was adopted in November. But they said Deputy Supervisor Joe

Scalero reassured them there was no reason for worry.

“Our revenue projection during the budget was a very conservative number and based on what we think the number of rounds there will be,” Scalero said. “We’ve already accounted for that.”

In the town’s budget for 2023, expenses for Harbor Links are projected to be $6,840,819, up $425,000 from $6,416,575 in 2022.

During the summer golf season, multiple residents were critical of the course’s limited availability to town residents because of the private outings.

Port Washington resident Jack Genicof told the board during a July meeting the course was to be partially closed to the public on 66 of the 109 weekdays from May 1 to Sept. 30 –61% of the time.

James Viras, general manager at Harbor Links, previously confrmed to Blank Slate Media the championship course is closed when outings are going on and reopened to the public following the event the same day.

In the month of June, Harbor Links had private outings on June 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 27 and 29. In July, Harbor Links had private outings scheduled for July 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 22, 25 and 28.

For North Hempstead residents, a round of golf on Saturdays, Sundays

and holidays on Harbor Links’ championship course costs $100 from open to 8 a.m., $95 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and $90 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with prices dropping to $75 and lower

throughout the end of the day.

At Bethpage State Park Golf Course in Farmingdale, the Black Course costs $85 for a round of golf for state residents.

Since 2000, Bethpage State Park’s Black Course has hosted three men’s major golf championships, including the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009 and the PGA Championship in 2019.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

An aerial view of Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

Dr. Chethan Sathya (left) and Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling (right).

F. Park hosting Q&A on ambulances

Proposal from NYU Langone includes stationing vehicle in village amid staffing shortages

BY BRANDON DUFFY

The Floral Park Board of Trustees will have a question-and-answer with NYU Langone on Tuesday, Jan. 3 as they continue to weigh potentially increasing ambulance services in the village.

Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo said in her report Tuesday night the fire department recommended supplementary ambulance services for a variety of reasons that include response times and staffing, among other things.

“In many cases, wait times are increased because an ambulance, either ours or the county’s or mutual aid’s, are dealing with a prior call or delayed at the hospital with a prior patient,” Pombonyo said.

Pombonyo added that NYU Langone and Northwell both gave a presentation to fire department leadership before they recommended Langone and the proposal will be discussed at the first meeting of the new year.

“The board is seeking information and input regarding this growing problem and appreciates the hard work of the fire department,” Pombonyo said.

Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said a few

of the factors that helped lead to this include an overall decrease in volunteering, staffing and increased time for training to become an EMT compared to years past.

Fitzgerald said if the board de-

cides to go through with Langone’s proposal, which includes designating an ambulance stationed in the village, a decision can come by the second board meeting in January.

Before adjourning for the year, Fitzgerald on behalf of the entire

board thanked the staff at village hall for their hard work over the year and wished those in attendance a happy holiday and new year.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into this village every day and we see it first hand,” Fitzgerald said.

“Thank you for everything you all do for our village and residents, we are a tight-knit family that gets a lot done for our residents and I know they appreciate it. We’re lucky to sit up here and see it firsthand.

you were always my hero. I wanted to be

football or basketball

'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”

WILLIAM J ALLSBROOK Jr.

“William,

just like you, but I didn't play

like

PHOTO BY BRANDON DUFFY

(Pictured left to right) Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo, Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald and Mayor Frank Chiara.

Herricks students update board Herricks SADD student of month

At the Dec. 8 Herricks Board of Education meeting, Herricks Middle School Assistant Principal Gina Horton along with nine middle school students gave shared key takeaways from three fall assemblies that focused on

helping students make good decisions, learning from mistakes and being the best person possible both on-line and in-person. Ms. Horton shared the importance of the social and emotional learning aspects each program ofered

the sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

The sixth-grade assembly, “Emotional Regulation in a Digital World”, was presented by Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD). The program shared ways for the students to manage their emotions while using social media to make good decisions.

The seventh-grade assembly, “Don’t Press Send,” served as a reminder to the students to always be mindful when interacting online and before sharing anything as it will impact their digital footprint. The assembly also highlighted the dangers and risks associated with using smartphones and computers inappropriately.

For eighth graders, an interactive program called Challenge Day centered around fve areas: selfmanagement, social awareness, selfawareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.

Three students from each grade thoughtfully shared and refected what they learned from each of the fall programs at the board of education meeting.

Herricks High School student

Remi Zisselman was recently highlighted as the SADD student of the month for November by Students Against Destructive Decisions organization.

Herricks High School student

Remi Zisselman was recognized by Students Against Destructive Decisions as the November student spotlight of the month. SADD is a student health and safety organization known nationally with chapters in high schools all over the country. Zisselman was selected by the New York SADD Student Leadership Council and the New York SADD State Coordinator for being an outstanding member of the Herricks SADD chapter.

She has recently taken the reigns and is now the chapter president, helping to lead monthly activities, developing a full council of students taking on diferent tasks and responsibilities within their chapter. The November student of the month said, “I love educating other teenagers on healthy decision making, as well as safety. SADD has become my second family at school, and I am so grateful to be a part of the organization.”

Punctuating with Pear Deck Students, village at school board meet

John Lewis Childs School fourth graders in Mrs. Zilinek and Ms. Phannemiller’s class have been using the Pear Deck app during their grammar lessons. The app is an engaging, interactive way for the students to

practice their work while teachers can formatively assess their progress.

During the lesson on Dec. 13, students used Pear Deck to practice proper use of quotation marks and punctuation when writing quotations

from text. With the app, they were tasked with identifying the correct use of punctuation from a few sample sentences and also had to add proper punctuation to sentences written without any punctuation.

Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District welcomed students and the Bellerose Village Mayor to speak at the board of education meeting on Dec. 12.

The meeting began with a presentation on the district’s Book of the Month Initiative. Both Floral Park-Bellerose School and John Lewis Childs School select a book each month that students read schoolwide. The texts often celebrate diversity, kindness and respect.

Five students from Floral ParkBellerose School– Nicholas Faster, Lily Henderson, Jacob Kligman-Wiskof, Casey Raleigh and Ryan Tinneny –

spoke about the books they’ve read so far this school year. The students are from both Mrs. Goldberg’s fourth grade class and Ms. Flomer’s frst grade class who meet monthly to read the Book of the Month as Buddy Classes. After reading December’s book, “The Smart Cookie,” the two classes wrote shape poems together, which they read aloud at the meeting.

Following the students’ presentation, Village of Bellerose Mayor Kenneth Moore spoke as part of the district’s Civil Service Series. Village of Bellerose Trustees Ann Marie Byrnes, Kate Dorry and Daniel Driscoll were also in attendance at the meeting.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Herricks Middle School students surrounded by members of the Herricks Board of Education and members of Herricks administration after the Dec. 8 meeting.

The Floral Park-Bellerose School students who presented on the district’s Book of the Month initiative are pictured with Interim Superintendent Lisa Ruiz and members of the Board of Education.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FLORAL PARK-BELLEROSE UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

John Lewis Childs School fourth graders in Mrs. Zilinek and Ms. Phannemiller’s class used the Pear Deck app to practice punctuation on Dec. 13.

L.I. Cares Scott Martella government affairs event

Nassau County Legislator Arnold W. Drucker (D — Plainview) joined his colleagues in government for Long Island Cares Inc.’s 14th annual Scott Martella Government Affairs Breakfast on Friday, Dec. 9.

A panel of guest speakers led a conversation about “The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health: Lessons Learned & Next Steps” towards ending food insecurity on Long Island and

across America.

The breakfast is named in honor of Scott Martella, a former Long Island Cares board member and communications director to Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone who was tragically killed in a horrific August 2016 car crash.

“While I am gratified that we are continuing to make important

strides toward fulfilling Harry Chapin’s mission of ending food insecurity here on Long Island and across the nation, Friday morning’s presentation made it clear there is a great deal of work ahead of us on the road to achieving that goal,” Drucker said. “I thank Paule Pachter and everyone at Long Island Cares for organizing this important forum and everything they do throughout the year.

NHP Memorial students honored for donation

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, Councilman Dennis Walsh, Assemblyman Ed Ra, and members of the Town’s Veterans Advisory Committee recently honored the Student Congress of New Hyde Park Memorial High School for collecting $1,500 worth of gift cards in a week’s time and donating them to the Town’s Veterans Donation Drive. The donation drive benefits the Northport VA Hospital and their “Hero Hunger Help” Project.

“This extraordinary outpouring of support from these impassioned students is truly inspiring. These students are true role models, and their inspiring actions are a testament not only to their appreciation for the importance of giving back to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for us, but also speaks volumes about the amazing teachers and administrators at New Hyde Park Memorial High School, especially Principal Richard Faccio and Director of Student Activities Christine Vosswinkel-Blum,” Supervisor DeSena said. “On behalf of the Town, I am proud to accept the donation to our collection drive, and in turn, honor these students for their remarkable efforts. These students truly are the leaders of tomorrow.”

The Hero Hunger Help Project began in 2006 and helps veterans combat food insecurity. As part of this drive, the Town has been collecting gift cards for grocery stores and pharmacies, that in turn will be given to the Northport VA for distribution amongst veterans who frequent its facility. The Veterans Donation Drive will run through December 31st. Over $5,000 has been collected so far this year as part of the Town’s Veterans Donation Drive.

For those interested in donating, there is still time to drop off gift cards at one of the following locations:

North Hempstead Town Hall, Supervisor’s Office – 220 Plandome Road, Manhasset

Clinton G. Martin Park – New Hyde Park Road & Marcus Avenue

Michael J. Tully Park, Front Desk – 1801 Evergreen Avenue, New Hyde Park

New Hyde Park Village Hall – 1420 New Hyde Park Road

In addition, for those who wish to donate but have no way to drop off gift cards, contact Rich DeMartino of the Veterans Advisor Committee at (516) 652-6865.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR

OUR VIEWS Editorial Cartoon

Fixing broken business districts

One thing certain about downtown business districts on the North Shore is that major changes are coming – whether or not village governments and the Town of North Hempstead take action.

The question is what those changes will look like and what the villages and the town will do to make those changes good or bad.

The Mineola village board set an example of what to do last week when they voted for zoning changes along Jericho Turnpike and the downtown district to allow for mixed-used buildings that include retail on the bottom floor and apartments above.

This is an approach widely accepted by planners and developers across Long Island with the housing units providing additional store traffic for the businesses on the ground floor along with muchneeded affordable housing.

This is simply a matter of facing reality.

“The motivation for me, as someone who grew up here, I remember seeing outside village hall a hardware store, liquor store, clothing stores,” Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira correctly said. “Those other businesses are not coming back and what we have is empty storefronts.”

Mineola is not the only downtown district on the North Shore to have seen stores shuttered by the growth of shopping malls and online shopping. In fact, most downtown districts on the North Shore face the same problem.

But at the moment Mineola is one of the only villages on the North Shore to develop a plan to address it.

Why?

Unlike areas in the northern part of North Hempstead, Mineola can speak for itself with a single government.

In contrast, areas like Great Neck –which is comprised of nine villages – lack a unified voice, to put it kindly, with each governed by its own board with its own views on redevelopment.

Mineola has already spent years working on a plan for redevelopment, which has resulted in the construction of four upscale transit-oriented residential projects near the Mineola LIRR station.

The key to this approach, seen in successful redevelopment efforts across Long Island, is bringing all groups together to develop a strong community consensus.

Other villages have not done this.

Great Neck’s nine villages recently began to respond to years of shuttered stores in its once vibrant downtown along Middle Neck Road by at least trying to work together.

The Great Neck Village Officials Association, which consists of all nine mayors, held a meeting that featured a presentation from Destination: Great Neck, a grassroots organization whose mission is to aid Great Neck’s business district.

Destination: Great Neck co-founder and local attorney Janet Nina Esagoff discussed ways to transform Middle Neck Road and the entire business district starting with establishing an “anchor” business.

Esagoff said her organization would like to utilize the Squire Cinemas building, which was permanently closed in September 2020. The Great Neck theater is one of five to close in recent years, leaving just a location in Manhasset

While the former Squires Cinemas building is privately owned, she said the intent is to potentially utilize the space to provide live entertainment to Great Neck residents and outsiders.

This is a good idea that has been discussed since the theater closed, but so far no concrete plan has been developed.

And even if approved, much more is needed along a stretch of road pocked by empty storefronts that runs through five villages and town property.

The mayors in attendance offered pieces of what might become a plan— and reasons why that might not happen.

Almost all were the same heard in response to projects across North Hempstead, including Manhasset, Roslyn and Port Washington.

“There are people that want nothing built and don’t want any change,” said William Warner, the mayor of Great Neck Estates and the president of the association. “They want it to go back to the 1940s, but we’ve gone past that.”

Village of Great Neck Mayor Pedram Bral correctly pointed out that developers

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often need tax incentives to build. But he said many residents in his villages oppose approving needed tax incentives.

Other mayors cited the usual concerns about increased traffic and the cost to school districts of additional students.

School district officials have opposed projects large and small in recent years— even as many see enrollment decline.

One wonders how school boards in the past managed rapid growth in enrollment but current districts cannot.

Traffic is a problem in Nassau County both on its highways and local roads, especially the roads running north and south in North Hempstead.

It seems inconceivable that Lakeville Road, the primary street connecting New Hyde Park and Great Neck, turns into a one-lane road from the LIE service road to Northern Boulevard, guaranteeing traffic jams on a daily basis.

Too many people also commute to work in New York City by car, clogging highways running through Nassau County. This is a good reason for Nassau officials to support the proposal for congestion pricing in Manhattan.

But are local developments causing traffic problems? In the overwhelming majority of cases, no. Especially projects built near LIRR stations.

Also unexplained is how traffic was handled before malls and the internet

REPORTERS

helped shutter businesses in local districts.

Unmentioned at the Great Neck meeting was the needless red tape and sometimes business unfriendly attitudes of village officials that greet developers and people trying to open a business—or to keep a business operating.

Villages can do much to become more business-friendly by backing the kind of zoning changes approved by Mineola, which let developers know what can be built without going through the costly and time-consuming process of getting exceptions to existing zoning.

Developers can and do look to work elsewhere because of the uncertainty created by village zoning laws.

Village officials do face an unsaid objection to mixed-used developments from residents that is one of its benefits – an increase in housing.

The shortage of housing in Nassau hurts young people seeking to rent, seniors hoping to downsize, young couples wanting to buy a home by driving up the cost of renting and owning an apartment. It also accounts for the difficulty faced by some local businesses in finding staff and increases the cost of hiring.

But for people already living in Nassau the housing shortage increases the value of their homes. And those already living here are the ones who currently

Robert Pelaez, Brandon Duffy, Steven Keehner COLUMNIST Karen Rubin

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Stacy Shaughnessy, Melissa Spitalnick, Wendy Kates, Barbara Kaplan

ART DIRECTOR Yvonne Farley

have the votes in local elections.

This problem is not limited to Nassau County.

In fact, the veto of local residents to new housing is one of the primary reasons for a national housing shortage.

This has resulted in states across the country looking for ways to reduce the influence of local zoning laws either through legislation or incentives.

Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed legislation in February to require municipalities to allow a minimum of one accessory dwelling unit on all owner-occupied residential zoned lots in an effort to increase housing on Long Island.

This drew a firestorm of opposition from Democrats and Republicans, who said it would be the end of suburban living as we now know it. Hochul, who was running for re-election, quickly withdrew the plan.

This should confirm a message to village officials seeking to spur redevelopment.

Downtowns have been at the center of villages for many decades, offering convenience and a sense of community to its residents.

But be prepared to take the time to build a consensus in developing a plan to restore these business districts. It will take a village and more to fix what is now broken.

BACK ROAD

Words of the year from 2016 to 2022

There were times as a young reader that I jotted down all the words I did not understand. I then looked up the words, handprinted the definitions and reviewed them until I learned their meaning.

Words can be captivating.

Searching for meaning and attempting to navigate misinformation (false information with no intent to deceive) and disinformation (misleading information with an intent to deceive), is one of the most important things we can do today, especially living in a post-truth era where the lines can be fuzzy between truth and falsehoods.

WORD OF THE YEAR

Every year since 2003, MerriamWebster selects a “Word of the Year,” based on what words online dictionary users have been searching most frequently.

The word of the year often captures the zeitgeist of the day — some compelling aspect of the current cultural context.

Merriam-Webster says they track two kinds of word lookups: “perennial words that are looked up day-in and day-out, and words that spike because of news events, politics, pop culture, or sports.”

What does the chosen word of one year portend for the next? Is it a prophecy or omen pointing ahead? The residue of what just passed by? An amalgam of the two? Or, “a wrinkle in time,” as filmmaker Ava DuVernay explained, “a metaphor for what we can all do in our lives.”

To see how recent years stacked up in capturing the time through a single word, I present Merriam-Webster’s top words for the last seven years, 20162022.

SURREAL 2016

Merriam-Webster chose “surreal” as its 2016 Word of the Year. In November of that year, reality TV host Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States.

Surreal was also the most looked up word after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack against America.

FEMINISM 2017

The Word of the Year in 2017 is “feminism.” The #MeToo movement advanced a deeper national conversation about women, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape culture.

How things have changed since.

As the composition of Supreme Court took a dramatic shift to the right, reproductive rights that were the law of the land for nearly half-a-century have been ripped away, compromising millions of women’s wherewithal to secure self-sovereignty, a future, a life.

JUSTICE 2018

Topping the charts for 2018 is “justice,” a central theme in of many of our national debates that year including social justice, racial justice, criminal justice and economic justice. Justice is a core concern for Americans, whether it involves local law enforcement battling street crime or federal agencies investigating and prosecuting large-scale cor-

ANDREW MALEKOFF The Back Road

ruption, terror threats and political violence. In the end, all Americans want to feel safe and secure and reassured that there is, in fact, a rule of law that no one, regardless of their station in life, will rise above.

THEY 2019

In 2019 “they” was the Word of the Year, which demonstrated that even a seemingly simple personal pronoun can be transcendent.

As Time Magazine explained, “The singular “they” is a pronoun used to refer to a person whose gender identity is nonbinary,” a word that itself was added to the dictionary.

Horrifyingly, LGBTQ+ Americans remain under siege as was so tragically evidenced during six minutes of hate-fueled terror at the Club Q nightclub mass

KREMER’S CORNER

shooting in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19, 2022. Five innocent people were killed and at least 25 more were injured.

PANDEMIC 2020

It should come as no surprise that the 2020 Word of the Year was “pandemic,” as COVID-19 exploded into our lives leading to untold trauma, tragedy and grief for many millions of people worldwide.

I doubt that the indelible images of refrigerated tractor-trailer trucks parked outside hospitals in New York City will ever leave me. Observing those mobile morgues idling on the street waiting for their human cargo to be loaded was emblematic of one of the darkest times in memory.

VACCINE 2021

“Vaccine,” for obvious reasons, was the Word of the Year in 2021.

For many months the ex-president employed the magical thinking of a toddler (“It will disappear”) to wish away COVID-19, under the guise of not wanting to panic the public. He floated a number of questionable treatments (injecting bleach) and was ambivalent at best about the use of masks for prevention. Although he wasn’t a full-throated advocate for their use, he can be credited with helping to fast-track the manufacture of effective vaccines (Operation Warp Speed) that, ultimately, did save lives.

GASLIGHTING

misleading someone especially for one’s own advantage; behavior that’s mind manipulating, grossly misleading, and downright deceitful.”

The essence of gaslighting is best described by comedian Groucho Marx’s line: “What are you going to believe? Me or your lying eyes?”

Naturally, this brings to mind the dishonest and meritless efforts by the ex-president and his loyalists to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the 2020 presidential election by any means possible including violence. Such efforts continue to this day, more than two years later, with the ex-president’s latest gambit an open call to terminate the U.S. Constitution, which would only plunge us further into the abyss of a deeply divided nation.

DEMOCRACY 2023

Moving beyond Merriam-Webster and word of the year convention, I will take the liberty here to select “democracy” as my opening word for 2023, in tribute to three groups that have served us well as America’s guard rails in 2022.

2022

This year, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “gaslighting,” which is defined as, “the act or practice of grossly

They are the law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; members of the bipartisan United States House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol; and, my fellow Americans who came out and voted in the 2022 midterms, in a collective effort to beat back the insidious advance of authoritarianism.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Some timely advice for Gov. Kathy Hochul

By now, most of our readers have been saturated with politics and political talk. We need a breather, but I can’t help but mentioning Jan. 10, 2023.

That is the date when Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers her first “State of the State address.” This event will give her an opportunity to tell the residents of New York State what her priorities are and give them an idea of how she will govern during the next four years.

While I know the Governor personally from my days as Chair of Ways and Means, where she was a staff intern, I am not her speechwriter or a member of her inner staff, but as a former state official, I can at least offer an opinion on what she should say.

New York’s voters spoke very loudly on Election Day and their number one issue is crime. I don’t think the problem is as bad as the Zeldin campaign commercials, but the public is focused on this

issue and they are looking for some solutions.

If you state the word “crime,” what it really means is that the current bail laws do not allow judges to decline bail for certain types of crimes. It is possible that even with a major overhaul of the bail laws, some judges will decide to release criminals just to keep them out of the Rikers Island jail.

There are a lot of progressives in the Assembly and Senate who don’t want bail reforms, but being a governor is not a popularity contest. There has to be some changes in the current law and it is the responsibility of the governor to speak out on the issue.

After all of the tumult with former Gov. Cuomo, New Yorkers are looking for a simple message. They want to know who is in charge and is there a leader in the house?

Running a state is a very hard job, but your life is made easier if you assure

JERRY KREMER Kremer’s Corner

the public that you are on the job, have a vision, and are listening to their concerns.

New York State is facing a lot of challenges. The homeless population is grow-

LETTERS POLICY

ing in all 62 counties. New York City has failed to come up with any programs that will wipe away the vision of people sleeping in doorways in the middle of this cold winter.

It is up to the state to force some changes. Mental illness is a serious headache and simply locking up people without aftercare is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Another topic for the Governor’s attention is public education.

There is no doubt that New York State is extremely generous when it comes to dollars for our public schools. But beyond money, parents want to know if we are giving their children the skills that they need to succeed. That means making sure that every child in this state gets a good education regardless of where they live.

While our school aid formulas have definitely improved, there are still districts that get shortchanged when it comes to the distribution of dollars and

those discrepancies must be corrected.

Gov. Hochul has been in office since August 2021 and even though she has gone through a tough and costly campaign, the voters don’t know her. The State of the State speech is her first real opportunity to define herself and establish the fact that she has a strong grip on the steering wheel.

She doesn’t have to promise the world but she must lay out her agenda in a way that people will be open to her future plans.

When you are in a seat of power, you get very few chances to define yourself with the voters. Having been to over 40, yes, 40 State of the State addresses, I know what a heavy lift it can be for any governor to set the right tone for the years ahead.

I wish this new governor the strength as she shoulders the responsibility of being the state’s leader. She will need strength and a lot more.

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The United States is a nation of outsiders

Being an outsider is an issue that plagues most Americans.

If your ancestors are Irish, Italian, Jewish, Indian, Asian, Latino, Middle Eastern or African, you will be seen at some point in your life as a pariah and outcast and untouchable. This is a grim fact of life. The signs of your stigma are impossible to hide.

Perhaps it’s your name. If your name ends in a vowel like mine does, chances are you have been called a Wop, Guinea, Grease Ball, Guido or

Dago. Signs of being stigmatized may be seen in the color of your skin. In America lightness is seen as good and darkness is considered bad. Margaret Mead, the great anthropologist remarked on this finding and said that those with blonde hair are considered saintly, elevated and pure and the rest are considered children of a lesser God.

Being stigmatized or seen as an outcast was described by Nathaniel Hawthorne in “The Scarlet Letter” published in 1850. This was a work

DR. TOM FERRARO Our Town

of historical fiction set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1642. The beautiful Hester Prynne conceives a child out of wedlock and is subjected to public humiliation in the public square and then forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest to symbolize “Adulterer.” D.H. Lawrence described this book as “the perfect work of the American imagination.” America still has a strong Puritan streak despite recent loosening of mores in the Millennial cohort.

It is hard to predict when an act of shame will be labeled as such. If you are a professional golfer on tour and you happen to utter an anti-gay slur on air, you run the risk of losing sponsors as Justin Thomas realized. He

was caught uttering an anti-gay slur and Ralph Lauren promptly removed him from their ranks and cost him millions. If you show too much anger on tour and snap a club on air, you will be fined $25,000 and labeled a hot head. But you don’t have to be a tour player to be turned into a pariah. Country club life seems benign and gracious to outsiders, but all is not bliss within those hallowed walls. If you wear a collarless shirt or God forbid blue jeans, you will be getting a letter from the Board of Directors. So I don’t have to tell you what happens if you have an affair with someone else’s wife. The rigidity of rules, the sanctions and the stigma that unfold are every bit as harsh, hypocritical and as permanent as what Hester Prynne faced in “The Scarlet Letter.”

Being stigmatized, ostracized and marginalized is not limited to golf pros, country club people or an ex-patriot. Children are exceptionally cruel in their aggression so if you happen to be overweight, shy, too short, too tall, too smart or learning disabled, you have most assuredly been bullied, spit upon, hurt, insulted and/or ridiculed. And it is hard enough to be dehumanized as an adult, but when this occurs as a kid, you will be shadowed by this feeling of being an outcast for the remainder of your days.

A large part of the work I do as

a psychoanalyst is to uncover and repair this damage. If a youngster was labeled stupid at one point in their life, it does not matter if they have an IQ of 130 and have a medical degree. They will still harbor feelings of stupidity. And if a child was told they are ugly by a peer or a parent, they will look at themselves in the mirror and feel disgust, no matter how pretty or handsome they turn out to be.

In the final analysis, 100% of America is made up of outsiders and ex-pats who are now insiders but don’t realize this. In an odd way, we all carry the scarlet letter “A” inside of our heads, due to some heinous distant memory of being ridiculed and insulted for no good reason.

And it is no small task to turn that stigma around. Being stigmatized occurs when you are called fat or stupid or ugly or worse. When this memory is discovered and shared with someone you trust, you can be helped to see that the scarlet “A” does not mean Adulterer but could mean Alpha or AOK or Alright.

We have all been shamed at one point in our life but that was due to prejudice and not because of any inner flaw. Being stigmatized produces anger, fear, isolation and depression and is one of the most problematic and insidious aspects of life in America.

EARTH MATTERS

Imagining possible in climate change fight

Climate change news can be depressing and overwhelming. It can leave you feeling powerless and hopeless. It is incumbent upon us therefore to imagine a future with possibilities because it is belief in the possible where change happens. That change begins with each of us.

The question, of course, is what is the change that is needed? Environmental issues, like most topics, are complicated. You pull a thread of a topic you come across and quickly, without much effort, you realize that thread is connected to many more threads that are tangled and leading in many directions. You can start to go down the proverbial rabbit hole, chasing the threads, trying to find where they lead, but the journey is ongoing.

For example, I recently started to read a bit about the pros and cons from an environmental perspective of living in a city vs. the suburbs or the country. After a few articles, it became clear that there is no definitive answer. While the city offers certain efficiencies because of more condensed living, it also may have a greater energy demand because of technology and offers less exposure

to nature, which can have a negative effect on people’s interest in caring for the environment.

As I read, there was more information for each column: city living is better or suburban/rural living is better. As with many decisions we make each day and over our lifetime, it can be complicated and require us to value certain outcomes, effects, and consequences more than others. It matters that we make these choices with as much awareness and knowledge as we can manage because the choices are the basis for the change necessary to achieve the possible.

I had a brief conversation a few days ago with an environmental entrepreneur active in various environmental efforts. She talked about the value of talking with a farmer who can speak from personal experience about the environmental difference in raising free-range chickens, organic chickens, grain-fed chickens and other types of chickens when at the grocery store faced with the decision of what kind of eggs to buy. That can be a daunting decision. There are many kinds of eggs available these days. Which ones do

you pick? And how do you factor the packaging the eggs come in into your decision? What about taste and cost? Did you ever think that your choice of which eggs to buy would have a global impact?

So many decisions we make these days are fraught. There is so much consequence to the choices. And the choices are not simple because the issues are complicated. The free-range eggs are

good because the chickens are able to contribute to the life cycle of the fields they range in, but are the fields being treated with pesticides or herbicides? So should you get the organic eggs because of the health concerns from pesticides and herbicides? But those eggs come in plastic packaging and we know plastic never goes away and contributes to climate change and causes a long list of other problems.

It’s no wonder we’re hearing more about diagnoses of climate anxiety and rising rates of depression sometimes linked to climate change concerns and other global problems. If buying a dozen eggs requires a Ph.D, how do most of us feel good about the decisions we make all day every day that we know are having long-term environmental consequences? We can’t possibly keep up with all the information and know all there is to know to make the “right” decision. And we cannot ignore the mental and emotional toll this can take as well – worrying and thinking about every choice and decision and what the outcomes of each will be.

Activism, as practiced in an array of ways, can help. Making a conscious

choice about which eggs to buy can be your activism, that step you take to make a difference in the world. And that step can feel good and help to realize the possibility of the future. The key is to pick something that matters to you and do something about it. Make a social media post, make a purchasing decision, read a book or an article, join a group or make a donation.

The point is not to sink into the mass of information and be buried by it or immobilized by it, but to focus on an issue or an idea that resonates with you and to get active in a way that works for you. Your actions can affect others and that is how individual steps become collective steps and how we make change and achieve the possible.

As the time for resolutions approaches, think about some promises for the new year like being a conscious consumer or learning more about how your lifestyle impacts the environment and climate change. There is plenty to choose from when it comes to issues needing our attention. All that needs to happen is for us all to act in whatever way we can and whatever way we choose.

PHOTO PERMISSION GRANTED BY NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

“Clover Street” by Gregory Crewdson

LYNN CAPUANO

Earth Matters

VIEW POINT

N.Y. gets serious in combating antisemitism

Antisemitism is on the rise across the United States. The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitic behavior nationwide, found 2,717 incidents in 2021, a 34 percent increase over 2020, accompanied by an unabashed rise and weaponization of fascism and political violence, the attacks more brazen, more violent, more deadly and more politically strategic. For example, Charlottesville (where a woman was murdered, after which Trump said there were “good people” on both sides) and The Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh.

“This is the highest total we have ever tracked in more than 40 years of doing this work,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League said on “The Newshour” on PBS. “And we should keep in mind that antisemitic acts were going down in the United States for almost 15 years, and then, in 2016, they started to move up. And we’re now at the point where we have nearly triple the number of incidents today that we did in 2015.”

In 2022, assaults increased 167 percent, with increases in incidents of vandalism and harassment.

“So I think antisemitism really isn’t just a Jewish problem. It’s an American problem,” he asserted. “[Antisemitism] is typically the canary in the coal mine. And so as things are beginning to unravel more broadly, the Jewish community is often the target of scapegoating and victimized in that way.”

Antisemitism is not new in America, but Greenblatt warned: “We have never seen a situation like this before. You had Jews being beaten and brutalized in broad daylight, say, in the middle of Times Square or Los Angeles or the Strip in Las Vegas, where people who were simply identified as Jewish came under assault and attack. That was new. And I think what you’re seeing is a kind of normalization of antisemitism and extremism.”

Celebrities like Kanye West, who command the following of millions, use social media to incite attacks on Jews. Only last week, a 63-year old man was attacked in Central Park by a man who shouted antisemitic slogans and had a sign, Kanye 2024.

In just the few weeks since the recent takeover of Twitter by billionaire Elon Musk, who fired moderators and brought back those who were thrown off for inciting violence, hate-filled tweets have increased five-fold.

“The Holocaust didn’t begin with the systematic murder of 6 million Jews, it began with rhetoric, normalization of rhetoric that the average person picked up on and ran with; it began with attacks on individuals, businesses, communities, perpetrated by citizens with permission by rhetoric,” Rabbi Michael Knopf, Temple Beth-el, Richmond, told “All Things Considered’ on NPR.

“We ought not to wait around for another Charlottesville, another [Tree of Life Synagogue massacre in] Pittsburgh.

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, chairing the first-ever White House summit to combat antisemitism and hatefueled violence, cited “an epidemic of hate, a rapid rise in antisemitic rhetoric and acts. Let me be clear, words matter. People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud, they are literally screaming them.”

President Biden is taking action, establishing an inter-agency group led by Domestic Policy Council staff and National Security Council staff to increase and better coordinate federal government efforts to counter antisemitism, Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination. The president also

has secured the largest increase in federal funding ever for the physical security of non-profits, including synagogues and Jewish Community Centers.

One can almost understand antisemitism rearing up in places where there are few Jews and therefore so easy to fabricate the fantastical conspiracies and caricatures. But New York City? Long Island? New York State, which has the largest population of Jews outside of Israel and is the most richly filled melting pot of nationalities, religions, races on the planet? What does that say?

Gov. Kathy Hochul came out to a recent Shine a Light on Antisemitism event in Times Square after announcing the launch of a new statewide Hate and Bias Prevention Unit, within the state’s Division of Human Rights. The unit is charged with leading public education and outreach efforts, serving as an early warning detection system in local communities, and quickly mobilizing to support areas and communities in which a bias incident has occurred.

“We will not let the rise in hate incidents that we see happening online, across the country and across the world, take root here at home,”Hochul said.

The governor announced $96 million in state and federal funding to safeguard nonprofit, community-based organizations at risk of hate crimes and attacks and directed $10 million in state grant funds to support county governments as they develop domestic terrorism prevention plans and threat assessment and

management teams.

“We live in a very challenging world, and the only thing we can use to overcome hatred, intolerance, prejudice and antisemitism is light because light overcomes darkness and hatred,” Nassau County Legislator Arnold W. Drucker (DPlainview) said at a “Latkes and Lights” celebration at the county executive building.

Drucker, a member of the county’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which was formed in May, said “the biggest problem is education.” He has reached out to Hochul’s office to be named a Long Island representative in the satellite offices she is setting up throughout the state.

But, in fact, there are many instances of anti-Semitism on Long Island, including leaflets left in neighborhoods suggesting a Jewish cabal is controlling government, and only weeks ago, a Long Island man arrested at Penn Station with weapons who had made threats against the Jewish community.

Just this month, Municipal Leaders Against Anti-Semitism was formed to counter an uptick in antisemitic incidents in Nassau County. There were 28 so far this year, compared to 24 in 2021.

At a Hanukkah reception at the White House, Biden said “silence is complicity and we must forcefully say that all forms of hate, antisemitism and violence can have no safe harbor in America.”

Happy Hanukkah for all those who celebrate — proudly.

MY TURN

The value of ‘Third Sector’ in education

Colleges and universities are promoting voluntarism and other forms of community service.

Adelphi University and St. Joseph’s University-N.Y. are among those that combine community outreach with service-learning courses and credits.

In a truly ambitious project, Metropolitan State University in Denver created a Public Service Institute to foster teaching and research in the subject and promote government service as important to democracy.

The goals of these efforts are to fulfill a mission to serve the public that grants an institution’s charter, encourage civic engagement, promote work in public service, assist students in engaging in democratic processes, and teach about the third sector of society. The first sector, of course, is for-profit business.

The second sector is government, whether local, regional, state, or federal. The third sector consists of numerous non-profit, tax-exempt organizations. Think of houses of worship, schools and colleges, food pantries, hospitals, United Way, and after-school programs for atrisk youth in under-resourced neighborhoods, among many others.

The United States is unique among nations in having such organizations and embedding them in the tax code.

Following a nine-month visit to the United States in 1831-32, the French civil servant, Alexis de Tocqueville, marveled at the affinity of Americans to join associations to find common cause.

He wrote about the “not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations which aimed to serve the public good and improve the quality of human lives.”

Many of our neighbors belong to at least one and perhaps several organizations that rely on voluntarism and taxdeductible donations, a benefit that was made law for individuals in 1917. The tax-exempt status of organizations dates to 1894.

Such organizations were created by an individual or a group hoping to promote an idea, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving or the Long Island Arts Alliance, sponsor research into a disease such as breast cancer, promote climate action, and assist those who need food, shelter, or protection from abuse.

Long Island, with its population of 2.8 million, has thousands of tax-exempt organizations. There are churches, mosques, and synagogues, PTA’s, unions, and service clubs such as Lions and Elks.

There also are fifteen colleges and universities on Long Island, and they represent a particular kind of tax-exempt institution. They enroll over 160,000 stu-

A. SCOTT, Ph.D.

My Turn

dents, employ some 34,000 full-time and part-time staff pay, salaries and benefits of about $3.2 billion, and spent another $1.8 billion on other than personnel.

They have endowments of $1.5 billion and have about $3 billion of capital projects underway or anticipated in the next five years. These institutions bring major amounts of federal aid to the region and generate income, sales, and FICA taxes.

While these institutions are, in many ways, different from what we mean, generally, by tax-exempt organizations, they

share many of the same characteristics. They must balance their government-approved mission with their ability to meet new market demands and changes in demographics, economics, and technology.

They must decide when to compete and when to cooperate, when to build a new program, partner with another provider, or even merge. They must develop governing boards that honor the difference between oversight and management. They must engage in succession planning, a particular challenge for smaller non-profits run by the founder.

The opportunities for working in and with the “third” sector are enormous. Think of the opportunities for lawyers, accountants, managers, suppliers of equipment and energy, hotels and restaurants, and other businesses and professions.

When I was at Adelphi, we saw opportunities in this sector, even as we were part of it. We created the Center for Nonprofit Management and Leadership to provide strategic planning, succession planning, and board and leadership development to tax-exempt organizations of all sizes.

We also created the Jaggar Community Fellows Program that provides trained and paid student interns to nonprofit organizations in the greater region

each summer. The groups were helped; students learned about the non-profit world and earned a stipend, and we fulfilled our mission as the “engaged” university. We were always seeking ways to enhance the environment for teaching and learning and to serve the larger community.

The unique attribute of forming organizations observed by Tocqueville in 1831 still exists, and our nation is more vibrant and resilient because of it.

Our society functions well when the three sectors function well. Businesses take risks and can generate profits needed for sustained development, community benefit, and taxation. Government is intended to provide a safety net for times of travail, preserve order through uniformly administered laws, and provide for the common defense.

The third sector, the non-profit or tax-exempt sector, initiates functions that often are too small, too local, or too new for either business or government to take on. It can challenge business and government to be more mindful of the needs of the citizenry.

Robert Scott is president emeritus, Adelphi University; Author, “How University Boards Work,” Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018, Eric Hopper Book Prize Awardee, 2019

KAREN RUBIN View Point

ROBERT

“When it manifests, it requires calling out.”

Town

The experiment of voting in a Republican North Hempstead supervisor has been a mammoth mistake. Every month, we have to read another series of soliloquies from Supervisor Jennifer DeSena or her taxpayer-funded political spokesman, droning on about how the evil Democrats are thwarting her sweeping reforms. In reality, the Democrats are, thankfully, preventing an inexperienced and ill-informed Republican from running roughshod over the Town.

Earth to DeSena, Democrat is only a bad word in your wacko Republican

circles. The lunatic pals you associate with—statewide loser Lee Zeldin and Ultra MAGA madman George Santos—cheer every time you vilify the Dems. So does Medium MAGA Elaine Phillips and Extra MAGA Jack Martins. However, the vast majority of North Hempstead residents don’t show up to Town Board meetings in red hats and write letters to the paper about how the Dems need to let you do whatever you want. No checks and balances needed against you in GOP land, of course.

Carefully choreographed press conferences where DeSena feigns

DeSena unfit to serve

outrage in scripted remarks are wearing us out. Putting forward windowdressing resolutions like the ones we’ve seen about the Building Department and her exhausting Ethics Board takeover are not aimed at reforming anything. The woman in lieu of a supervisor is simply trying to generate headlines with fabricated controversies. By the way, her latest effort was to appoint her BFF to the Ethics Board and a pair of Republican hacks to high-ranking positions — how impartial of her.

DeSena’s goal should not be scoring political victories over her

perceived opponents on the Town Board. If she cared about governing (SPOILER: she doesn’t), she would be working WITH her colleagues on common-sense initiatives that everyone can agree on. That’s what consensus builders do (e.g., Supervisor Bosworth).

North Hempstead residents are not stupid—save for the random “stone” throwing Trump lover who defends DeSena’s ineptitude. We can all see what’s going on here. We see the bait and switch. DeSena campaigned as a “nice” person who pretended to be reasonably independent.

She never once attacked Supervisor Bosworth and her successful administration. The offensive talk came after the election, which she just barely won (thanks solely to a boost from the right-to-life Conservative Party). She then took a skin-of-her-teeth victory and labeled it a mandate based on “corruption” and “partisanship” in Town Hall. Give us a break.

We went from Judi to this? What an embarrassment. The good news is November is just 10 months away.

Eric Lawrence Manhasset

NYC Transit President Richard Davey’s agreement with the Transit Workers Union

Local 100 to preserve the jobs of 2,000 station agents primarily assigned to subway station booths makes no sense. Worse, is his commitment to hire several hundred more.

As NYCT completes the conversion to One Metro New York (OMNY) cards, staffing of station booths becomes obsolete. Converting former subway booth attendants to station ambassadors represents featherbedding. We have entered the digital age of OMNY fare-payment system, which

lets riders go through turnstiles by tapping credit cards, debit cards or smartphones.

Giving former station agents cell phones to use when observing criminal activity to notify transit police will not be meaningful. Those committing criminal acts are not going to wait around for transit police to arrive. Having former station agents periodically walk the platform several times an hour and be available to answer questions or provide directions does little to enhance service. More riders use apps to obtain this information.

The public’s priority is safety and

security, open bathrooms and curtailing $500 million yearly fare evasion. Real management would not hire more station agents to perform these new functions outside obsolete token booths. Why not assign station agents remaining on payroll to stand by turnstiles and emergency exit gates and attempt to curtail fare evasion? This would save $1 million a month currently spent in hiring 200 private security guards assigned to deter fare evaders.

Let the existing station agents keep their jobs. With attrition as they retire in coming years, reduce the

headcount. Reallocate funding to pay for more transit police. They can be assigned to support safety, security and curtail fare beating station by station. This would go further to enhance ridership comfort who utilize the New York City Transit subway system and are concerned about criminal activity.

This needs to be dealt with if the MTA wants to see a return to its preCOVID-19 ridership of 5 million plus. It is time to return to the days when a transit police officer was assigned to ride each train and patrolled subway stations. Along with installation of security cameras on trains and stations,

this might help to reduce vandalism and crime. The long-term NYC Transit management goal over time should be to convert all NYC Transit station agent positions serving as “Station Ambassadors” to finance increasing police protection in our subway system.

(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.

common room where a mechanical red—green—yellow switch alternately pressed in expanded the shadows and edges under the raw colors of a traffic light down the street. It somehow reminded me of being back in my dorm.

What I Remember

Two people barely adult holding hands on a small bed with the moon streaming through a window. Enjoying our innocence and the electric joy we discovered. I’d watch your luminous face and see your happiness mirrored in our smiles as moonlight dissolved the spaces between us. In summer when there was no breeze I might rinse my face with a cool washcloth before drifting off to sleep. Mornings were just as special.

You lived on the second floor of a three-story wood frame apartment in the center of town on Main Street—or was it a city, if it could be called that? The building dated from the 1920s and looked like it hadn’t been updated since codes required fire escapes on old wood buildings; when was it you started seeing them, 1960s? A heavy iron structure hung off the back, which

tenants hung out on after nightfall to get out of stuffy rooms when not freshened by a breeze. Often in summer, especially after the sun went down. As the tallest structure around it was blasted by the sun all day. No elevator, no AC. Classically old, no amenities, but OK for students on a budget.

Apartments were originally rented to families and service workers employed in local businesses, and to the families of workers who commuted by ferry to the large industrial city directly across the sea in Connecticut— heavy industry, defense, factories and machine shops. Now rented to singles who worked shifts in local restaurants and bars, and students who attended the university next town over. I don’t recall seeing a family.

The port had been in decline until the state built the nearby university on a large tract of bequeathed land, which was a sore point for locals who did not

like so-called “transients.” Businesses were favorable, of course.

The one saving grace—the building was designed when prevailing sentiment favored fresh air and natural light as architectural features. Each small bedroom had a wonderfully oversized window, the living room had two, long wide-plank hallways had a window at each end. Even the kitchen had a window that let in sunlight and a refreshing breeze. In winter energy efficiency simply meant the boiler was cranked up, opening windows regulated the temperature. There were no thermostats, radiators constantly streamed hot so windows offered the only relief—open, close, open, was a steady ritual.

At dusk the ferry stopped and the streets quieted. Besides the clanking radiators the only other reminder of passing time, that weekends don’t last forever, was the incessant glow in the

In the early hours restaurants and bars closed, and the heels of returning tenants clicked on the stairs and down halls that almost never seemed to end but did when a door closed with a bang followed by more clicks. And silence.

I looked forward to getting away from my dorm weekends. Suite mates were streetwise derelicts from the city. My roommate was a harmless enough pot head and a music major who played a Moog synthesizer at odd hours in the style of “Phantom of the Opera.” The others were what I called pushers, who supplied half the college with one pill or other. One of whom was sleeping with the hall monitor, which I learned the hard way after I complained. Their weekends began after class Thursdays and ended Mondays in a stupor. The dorm was appropriately named Hendrix.

I had fled a similar if more studious

suite of pre-med students. There my roommate suddenly surprised me with weekend self-loathing manifested by cutting himself and showing the scars, another thing I was not prepared to learn. I took my chances on the room lottery and ended up nowhere better.

Yup, I really looked forward to weekends. All week I thought of the apartment like a luminous prophecy, the silent street running down to the sea before tourists spilled off the ferries, sun rising languidly behind the hill. Before when years later, different city, different state, you turned to say you made the right decision.

After all, what I remember is we realized nothing would ever go wrong between us. Sometimes it’s enough just to remember a time when we began to understand time, the world we were making. This little chunk of our childhood selves, month after month, year after year, in darkness and light, still together in spite of it all.

Stephen Cipot Garden City Park

Larry Penner Great Neck

YOUR GUIDE TO THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND DINING

FEROCIOUS YEAR ENDER AT DINOSAUR CARNIVAL

The Center for Science will be hosting an end-of-the-year Dinosaur Carnival at its Dinosaurs! Exhibit in Rockville Centre. Children and families will enjoy games, face painting, dino activities, giveaways and prizes. The Carnival will be open on Monday, Dec. 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31 (Closed on Wednesday, Dec. 28).

Tickets are $12 for children ages 2-13, $15 for children and adults ages 14 and up and $12 for seniors over 65. The carnival is free for anyone who has paid admission into the exhibit.

Refreshments such as cotton candy and more will be available for purchase. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

“As we approach the end of the year, families are looking for activities to do during the holiday break. The Center for Science has created a fun and interactive educational experience for our families here on Long Island. Through the exhibit’s Dinosaur displays, children and their parents can engage in various activities while learning about the adaptation and evolution of

dinosaurs and animals that live right around us today,” said Dr. Ray Ann Havasy, executive director of The Center for Science.

The Dinosaurs! and Live Animals Exhibit is the only family tourist and educational attraction of its kind on Long Island. The exhibit gives visitors a unique and up-close-and-personal experience where they can learn how animals adapt and survive, which is demonstrated through a unique intermixing of dinosaur models and live animals together.

Families and children can also enjoy floorto-ceiling hand-painted prehistoric dinosaur murals and an assortment of live wild animals, including owls, emus, golden pheasants, goats, alligators, lizards, turtles, frogs and more.

As a science and STEM education-focused not-for-profit organization, CSTL is dedicated to providing people of all ages with a place to engage in both formal and informal learning. For more information, please visit, www.cstl. org.

Create a winter-friendly outdoor living space

For many homeowners, the arrival winter marks an end to time spent lounging and dining al fresco on the patio. But cold air does not necessarily mean patio furniture must be packed up until flowers bloom anew in spring.

In its recent Home Design Trends Survey, the American Institute of Architects found that consumers continue to emphasize practical features that expand the functionality of their homes via heavy investment in outdoor living spaces. By taking measures to make their outdoor living spaces winterproof, homeowners can enjoy these areas of their homes even more.

· Cover your deck. A covered deck may appear to make the space less enjoyable during spring and summer. However, covered decks can protect residents from the sun on especially hot days while also making the space more functional in winter. An overhead shelter on a deck can be outfitted with heaters (and fans to provide a cooling effect in summer) and allow residents to sit outside and watch snow fall without getting wet.

· Plant the right trees. Coniferous trees prevent wind, which can be especially harsh in winter. Homeowners who are unsure about which direction wind typically comes from can consult a landscape architect to determine where to plant the trees to ensure they're most effective.

· Fire up the patio. A firepit or fireplace can warm up an outdoor living area, making such a space warm and cozy even on a cold winter night. A patio with a built-in firepit can cost a pretty penny, but such an addition can withstand winter weather better than a standalone firepit, which might be vulnerable to being tipped over by winter winds.

· Install lighting. The sun sets early in winter, so homeowners won't be able to rely on natural light to illuminate their outdoor living spaces well into the evening like they do in summer. Heat lamps can be used to both warm and illuminate a space, serving dual, budget-friendly functions.

keep on going green this winter

Each season presents its own unique set of challenges. From summer heat waves to spring rainstorms to snowfall in winter, the planet throws a lot at its inhabitants.

Living an eco-friendly lifestyle is often simple. But sometimes the weather can make it hard to maintain a commitment to going green. Winter weather can be particularly challenging, as it can be hard to sacrifice convenience and comfort in the face of harsh weather. But there are ways to stay true to your eco-friendly roots even when winter weather is at its most unpleasant.

· Save your fireplace ashes. If your home has a fireplace that you like to cozy up next to in winter, you can make great use of the ashes left behind when the fire goes out. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, ashes from wood-burning fireplaces can be added to compost heaps. Once added, these ashes help to create a soil

amendment that can deliver valuable nutrients to your garden. After each fire, collect the ashes rather than sweeping them up and discarding them. Then add the collected ashes to your compost pile when the weather permits.

· Install a programmable thermostat. If you don’t already have one, install a programmable thermostat in your home. The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy notes that homeowners can save as much as 10 percent a year on heating and cooling costs by turning their thermostats back 7° to 10° F for eight hours per day. Set the thermostat to drop 10°F when the family leaves for work and/or school in the morning, programming it to return to a more comfortable level when the family returns home at night.

This saves you from sitting in a cold home while also saving you money by making sure you are not paying to heat an empty house.

· Have your home heating system inspected before winter hits full swing. Home heating systems, including boilers and furnaces, should be inspected by a professional each year, ideally before the arrival of winter. Heating systems that are not operating at peak efficiency will cost homeowners money and waste energy. If you notice yourself frequently increasing the temperature on your thermostat just to keep your home warm and comfortable, call a local HVAC professional to inspect the system. Scheduling such

an appointment prior to the arrival of winter can save you the cost and discomfort of living with an inefficient system.

· Choose an electric snowblower. Many homeowners now use snowblowers instead of shovels to remove snow from their properties. While snow shovels are the most eco-friendly snow removal tool, even the most eco-conscious homeowners recognize how snowblowers make snow removal easy and more efficient. But gas-powered snowblowers consume substantial

amounts of fuel. If you must use a snowblower, choose an electric one instead of one powered by gas. Even though electric snowblowers consume electricity, the EPA notes that such products leave a smaller carbon footprint than gas-powered snowblowers because they do not emit greenhouse gases.

Harsh winter weather can make it challenging to live in an ecofriendly way. But there are many ways to withstand winter and do so in a way that does not hurt the planet.

Beat cabin fever with winter renovations

When the weather outside is frightful, homeowners and renters can turn their interior spaces into something delightful. Residents can banish feelings of cabin fever by using time spent inside to make subtle or even substantial improvements to their living areas.

Individuals may find that winter is a great time to tackle delayed or unfinished projects or to put plans for major renovations in motion. Homeowners may find that they have some extra time on their hands when weather and early evening darkness reduces how

much time they can spend outdoors. The following projects can help homeowners make the most of their time indoors.

· Start painting. One of the easiest ways to transform the look of a room is with a fresh coat of paint. Painting a room or rooms is an inexpensive project that can be completed over the course of a single weekend. Painting in lighter colors can help illuminate dark spaces and make a home feel more vivid and inviting, especially during the winter. And painting need not be reserved for

walls only. Homeowners may want to sand and paint furniture to give items a trendy arts-and-crafts feel.

· Reimagine flooring. Thanks to the bevy of laminate, composite materials and vinyl flooring options, homeowners can engage in do-it-yourself flooring projects to perk up tired interior spaces. Many “floating” flooring systems are user-friendly and can instantly update spaces. Some systems may not even require adhesives or nails to complete.

· Redress the furniture. New furni-

ture can be expensive. For those who are happy with the lines and scale of their current furniture, a facelift may be all that’s needed to give rooms a new look. Slipcovers can make sofas, love seats and chairs look like new or blend with an entirely new color scheme. Slipcovers come in fitted and loose varieties and in many different materials. Other pieces can be updated with throws, new linens or a coat of paint or stain.

· Address drafts and other inefficiencies. Colder temperatures alert

homeowners to drafts, leaks and even insect or rodent infiltration. Homeowners can scout out rooms and remedy situations.

· Organize the home. Rainy or snowy days are great moments to address organizational issues, such as messy mudrooms or cluttered kitchen cabinets. Get a jump-start on spring cleaning before the warm weather arrives.

Time spent indoors can be put to good use by engaging in renovation projects.

Enjoy more time outdoors (even when it’s cold)

The amount of time people spend outdoors has dramatically decreased, as the Environmental Protection Agency now reports the average American spends 87 percent of his or her time in a residence, school building or workplace.

Being outside is linked to better moods, more physical activity and less exposure to contaminants (concentrations of some pollutants are often two to five times higher indoors). Also, people who spend time outside may not come into contact with surface germs or develop various illnesses spread as often as those who spend a lot of time indoors.

Cold weather can make the desire to be outside less appealing, but it is important for one’s mental and physical well-being to get outside. The following activities might coax people outside for some crisp air.

Create snow critters

Why do snowmen and women get all of the fanfare this time of year? Just about any living or fictional creature can be molded from snow and embellish landscapes. Use food-grade coloring in spray bottles to added even more creative flair to snow designs.

Go on a nature hike

While many plants and animals hibernate in winter, there is still plenty to see. Bring along a sketch book or cam-

era and capture nature in winter. Whitewashed hills can be beautiful to behold, and many small animals and birds look even more vivid against the white backdrop of snow.

Make an obstacle course

Turn an area of the yard or park into a homemade obstacle course. It’s much more difficult, - and a great workout - to try to jump over snow mounds or run down paths when decked out in warm layers. Engage in lighthearted competitions with friends and family members.

Build a bonfire

Children can set off in different directions to gather up firewood to craft a bonfire with adults in a safe location. S’mores taste equally delicious whether it’s warm or cold outside, and in winter they can be accompanied by toasty mugs of cocoa.

Get sporty

Sledding, skating, snowshoeing, and ice hockey are just a few of the winter sports that can get the heart pumping and muscles working outside. These activities are entertaining and also great exercise.

When venturing outdoors in winter, dress in layers. This way clothing can be put on or taking off to reduce the likelihood of hypothermia

warm up winter with a bowl of linguine

Warm and hearty dishes tend to be most sought-after in cold weather. Stews and soups might be go-to meals to warm us up in winter, but a rich dish of pasta featuring a savory, slightly spicy sauce and fresh clams can add a touch of heat that warms from within.

This recipe for "Razor Clam Linguine" from "Edible Seattle: The Cookbook" (Sterling Epicure) by Jill Lightner is sure to please this winter. While linguine is the pasta of choice in the recipe, spaghetti can be a suitable substitute. For a decorative touch, consider placing a few steamed clams on top of the plated pasta for instant impact if hosting guests.

Razor Clam Linguine

Serves 4

1/2 stick unsalted butter

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup finely chopped onions 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 pound linguine

11/2 cups chopped (1/2-inch) razor clam meat

1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano Red pepper flakes (up to 1 tablespoon)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

2. Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the onions and garlic, season to taste with salt and black pepper and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Adjust the heat to medium-low, add the wine, and simmer until the liquid reduces by about two-thirds, about 10 minutes. When you add the wine, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions.

3. Add the clams, parsley, oregano, and red pepper to taste to the reduced sauce; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to heat the clams through. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and black pepper if needed.

4. Drain the pasta and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and parmesan cheese and toss until well mixed. Serve immediately, topped with more cheese, if desired.

Cleaning tip: Drop clams into boiling water for a few seconds until their shells pop open. Snip off the tough, skinny neck; slice them lengthwise and cut out all the dark, digestive bits, leaving the white meat. Give them a final rinse to remove any last bits of sand.

factors to consider to maintain winter safety

Many changes are to be expected as fall gives way to winter. Temperatures drop for much of the country, and depending on where one lives, snow, wind and ice are to be expected.

As beautiful as snow-covered landscapes can be, winter presents unique hazards, notably slippery roads and surfaces. Chilly temperatures also can put people at risk if they spend prolonged periods outdoors unprotected.

According to the insurance company Carsurance, more than 156,000 crashes occur annually due to icy roads. Roughly 17 percent of all vehicle crashes happen in winter conditions. Winter hazards are not exclusive to driving, however. That means winter safety involves a consideration of a host of factors.

1. Changing visibility

While slippery surfaces may contribute to some accidents, visibility can quickly change with winter weather. Blowing snow can contribute to whiteout conditions. In addition, fog can be hazardous to drivers, aviators and mariners and contributes to thousands of travel accidents every year, advises the National Weather Service. It’s important to slow down, leave plenty of distance, use your low-beam headlights, and recognize when it may be safest to pull over, such as when visibility is significantly compromised.

2. Snow removal

Shoveling snow or using a snowblower are common wintertime activities. Yet strenuous levels of activity in cold temperatures could put people at risk of heart attack, particularly if they are not acclimated to physical activity. Always warm up prior to shoveling snow to prepare the body for exercise. Go slowly and take frequent breaks. Avoid twisting and tossing snow over your shoulder, which can contribute to back injuries.

3. Carbon monoxide poisoning

Winter weather means turning up the heat or doing more indoor cooking. Carbon monoxide is produced through the burning of fuel in various forms, including stoves, engines, gas ranges, portable generators, and grills. The National Safety Council says carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can go undetected as it builds up in enclosed spaces. Never warm up the car inside of a contained garage. Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors, and have furnaces, water heaters and other fuelburning appliances checked and serviced by a qualified technician annually. Be sure that carbon monoxide alarms are on every floor of the home, and take it seriously if the alarm goes off

4.

Black ice

Black ice is a common winter foe. Black ice forms when temperatures rise above freezing during the day, melting any snow on the ground and causing surfaces to become wet. If the temperature drops once more while the ground is wet, a thin, transparent sheet of ice can form. Black ice also may occur if moisture in the air condenses and forms dew or fog, and then the temperature drops below freezing, says the National Weather Service. Black ice gets its name because it looks black on asphalt roads. However, it also can form on sidewalks and overpasses, or spots shaded by trees or other objects. Slowing down and exercising extreme caution are essential.

Winter is a beautiful season. But it can be just as hazardous as it is awe-inspiring. Taking steps to stay safe in unpredictable conditions is a necessity each winter.

comfortable winter entertaining ideas

Getting together with friends and family can be enjoyable even when the weather outside is frightful. When Mother Nature takes a chilly turn, those who don’t want the party can consider the following entertaining ideas.

· Indulge in sweet treats. Comfort foods can make even the most blustery winds easier to tolerate. Invite people over for a dessert party. At a dessert pot luck party, everyone brings along a favorite decadent dessert, from molten lava chocolate cake to warm bread pudding. Serve alongside tea, coff ee and hot chocolate. Adults can enjoy the added punch of spiked beverages, which can warm everyone up instantly.

· Host a “snowed in” party. Spending a day cooped up inside when the roads are covered in snow might not be your idea of fun, but invite a mix of friends and neighbors who live nearby over, and this impromptu party can make the cabin fever disappear. Ask guests to bring one food item or beverage. Light a fire in the fireplace and set out some cozy throw blankets. If possible, invite everyone outdoors to build a snowman.

· Get physical. Get physically active with friends or family members

by staging mock Olympic events in the yard. These can be fun “sports” created by participants or variations on fun winter activities. Sledding races, snowball dodging contests, ice skating obstacle courses, and much more can make for an entertaining afternoon.

· Get cooking. Cooking can certainly pass the time, and it can be even more enjoyable when done in the company of others. Send out an invitation for friends to stop by for a meal or plan a meal prep party.

· Host a movie marathon. Handpick some favorite films and invite everyone over for a movie marathon. Fill the family room, home theater room or living room to capacity and host a group for a film fest. If space permits, set up one room with a children’s movie for youngsters, while the adults retire to another room for movies that are more their speed. A buff et table set up with assorted snacks will help keep bellies full while guests watch some favorite flicks.

Winter days and nights are ripe for entertaining possibilities. These events help squash the cabin fever that can sometimes develop during the colder times of year.

Coffee enjoyed with a group of friends can warm hearts on cold winter days.

Roslyn Times Williston Times Port Washington Times

Herald Courier Great Neck News Manhasset Times

Business&RealEstate

Planning to retire, contemplate moving?

Winter is here and you may begin staying inside for a longer period of time, especially with the advent and ramping up of increased COVID, RSV, and flu breakouts occurring locally and nationally. You have more time to think about retiring and getting out of the cold and snowy weather to a warmer destination.

There is quite a lot to think about when and if you are going to retire. How much time do you provide your employer? If self-employed, will you be selling your business or having one of your children take over? Will you need to take on a part-time job to pay your real estate taxes? It’s obviously a huge decision to come to grips with and you need to set aside the time to formulate a plan to keep the stress to a minimum.

Another decision is whether you will be selling your home and downsizing. According to the National Association of Realtors survey, back in 1985 the average time Americans would reside in a home was only five years. Since then the amount of time has increased and is now an average of 10 years. Lifestyle changes and specific needs and wants may have you thinking about other possibili-

ties to enhance your living conditions and surroundings.

Your home also may be larger than necessary. The costs of heating, taxes, and upkeep are putting a strain on your finances. I have been told that the last thing many are thinking about is shoveling snow or even hiring someone to perform that task.

As we grow older there may be discussions with your children about moving closer to them (as was seen in a survey done by the National Association of Realtors) so in case of any issues arising, they will be able to help. Another benefit could be spending more quality time with your grandchildren.

Prices have never been as high as they are today. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency prices throughout states and locally vary, but have increased nationally on average by 60.6% over the last five years and 288.7% over the last 30 years. Cashing out now will put more money in your pocket than waiting as prices depreciate in 2023 and interest rates continue to rise, softening demand.

If you are married, you are allowed $500,000 over your original

PHILIP A. RAICES

Watch

purchase price, plus any capital improvements over the years subtracted from your sale price as savings before capital gains are considered. If you are single, then it is a $250,000 exemption, plus your original buying price and all the capital improvements made subtracted from the sale price as to whether or not capital gains would have to be paid. Depending on your income, the rate for long-term capital gains is from zero

to 20%. However, this should be discussed with your CPA and/or your certified financial planner.

Everyone has different retirement goals and ways to satisfy what they are trying to accomplish. Planning ahead and creating a checklist will enable you to see the pros and cons of retirement as well as considering downsizing, staying local or moving farther away. Knowing what type of property you want, the price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as whether you will have enough cash to pay outright for your purchase or will need to finance a portion of it are critical steps in shaping your plan.

Although interest rates have increased, depending on the amount to be financed, it may still be a comfortable situation, and you could always refinance as rates come down. From now through February is an excellent time to search for a new place as there is much less competition until spring arrives. If you really want to retire and perhaps earn some income part-time, this may be an excellent decision and make your day a bit brighter, knowing that the 9-5 daily grind will be in your review mirror.

WHAT IS THE DARK WEB?

Whatever you decide, look at all your options to make your transition as smooth and worry-free as possible. Continue to Donate to the Ukrainian Crisis and save a life or 2:

IOM’s Ukraine Response OR The International Organization for Migration a 501(c) 3 Corporation: OR:http://donate.iom.int

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 40 years of experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S) as well as the new “Green Industry” Certification for eco-friendly construction and upgrades. 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) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or via https://WWW.Li-RealEstate. Com Just email or snail mail (regular mail) him with your ideas or suggestions on future columns with your name, email and cell number and he will call or email you back.

The Dark Web is an intentionally hidden world where cyber criminals access illegal information, goods and services. Hackers trade in stolen passwords, identities and other exposed vulnerabilities to wreak havoc on the legitimate internet, spreading viruses, ransomware and the like.

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Our clients gain the advantage over the cybercriminals by updating access to passwords and using MFA, multi-factor authentication, to preserve the privacy of sensitive data.

Angela Wambugu Cobb has been promoted to serve as the vice president for institutional advancement at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury. She previously served as the College’s senior associate vice president for institutional advancement.

“Angela Wambugu Cobb possesses great depth and breadth in the full scope of institutional advancement,” said President Timothy E. Sams in making the appointment. “We look forward to her insight and partnership as we strive to strengthen our resources in support of our mission of preparing students to lead in a more just, sustainable world.”

As vice president, Wambugu Cobb will oversee key areas related to fundraising including major gifts, annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, estate and gift planning, as well as alumni relations, community engagement and program development. In addition, she will serve concurrently as the executive director of the Old Westbury College Foundation Inc.,

Business&RealEstate

years of fundraising and strategic planning experience working with higher education, social justice, international human rights, health and social service organizations.

She came to Old Westbury in March 2022 after 14 years with the City University of New York, having served most recently as Assistant Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Bronx Community College. She also held leadership roles with CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College, St. John’s University, and Amnesty International U.S.A., among others.

Wambugu Cobb’s skillset includes private and grant-based philanthropic fundraising, community engagement, operations management, development of DEI and campus-focused initiatives, historic preservation and public/motivational speaking.

A New York native and resident of Queens Wambugu Cobb earned a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from St. John’s University and a Master of Arts in Urban Studies from Queens College.

Fairway Consulting Group, a leading recruiting firm focused on providing outstanding talent solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic, and medical device industries, announced its president, Dan Gold, is acting as a mentor and advisor to life science entrepreneurs through the Long Island BioMentor Initiative program.

LIBMI was developed in an alliance between the Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University, Accelerate Long Island, and MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service. T his model, used by leading organizations worldwide, employs a team mentoring approach that is guided by a statement of principles to ensure confidentiality and a conflict-free environment.

“The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University provides gold-standard programs to life science entrepreneurs. Having access to seasoned mentors who can provide actionable guidance and support can have an immeasurable impact on success,” said Dan Gold, president of Fairway Consulting Group.

“Having been in the life science field for over 20 years, and having scaled my own business over the last eight years, it is rewarding to share my knowledge. I encourage other experienced life science business professionals to get involved, and for motivated bioentrepreneurs to apply if they are interested in mentorship.”

Currently Gold is mentoring several life science entrepreneurs, as part of the program that currently has 30 entrepreneurs enrolled.

a private 501(c)(3) organization which is charged with advancing the mission and strategic goals of

SUNY Old Westbury to support of student success, research, special initiatives and community service

through fundraising and community partnerships. Wambugu Cobb has over 20

READERS

Christmas story from a former sailor

Two days before Christmas in 1973, it was cold and beginning to snow when I set out from Great Lakes, Ill., at 6 a.m. to get home to see my boys on Long Island. I was in the U.S. Navy then. My boys, Tommy and Bobby, were in a foster home in Levittown because my wife had left us. I was in the Navy and did not have enough money to fly home. I had always kept my promises to my boys and didn’t want to disappoint them.

Roger, a naval buddy, had a car and could take me as far as Ohio. I could get a Greyhound bus there, which would cost less. The roads were starting to get icy. All of a sudden Roger’s car skidded and hit the back of a truck. We were lucky, though, and escaped unhurt. Then I had to hitchhike. As I was hitchhiking, I recalled a poem by Robert Frost which went as follows, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep.” Which I really had to do. I was 50 miles from Indianapolis. Seeing me in my dress blues, a man picked me up and said he never picked up hitchhikers, but it was Christmas and he felt he should drop me off in front of a ramp going into Indianapolis. Just then another man driving a snowplow spotted me and told me to jump aboard and he would give me a ride to the beginning of Indianapolis. He told me the bus station was about a mile away. I thanked him a wished him a Merry Christmas. I was walking with my seabag over my shoulders in about six inches of snow, when a young couple

saw me and offered me a ride to the bus station and when I got out, I also wished them a Merry Christmas. The station was crammed with many homebound soldiers and sailors. There were more people than buses. I struck up a conversation with a young woman who was going home to see her daughter. Greyhound had a plan where couples could go first, so we took them up on that and said we were a couple. I finally got to the Port Authority in Manhattan at 7 a.m. Christmas Eve. I than got on a F train subway and took a bus to Queens Village, where my ex-father-in-law named Charlie and my ex-mother-law named Barbra, who was suffering from cancer, welcomed me with open arms. We had breakfast and decided to pick up my boys at the foster home. I rang the doorbell and the older, who was Tommy, saw me first and said to his little brother Bobby that “New Daddy” was here. He said this to show the difference between me and their foster parents. Later that night we all had dinner in Queens Village and afterward I opened my seabag and gave the boys their toys and told them Santa Claus gave the toys to me to give to them when I was at the North Pole. At that they both jumped on me and told me they loved me. That truly was a Christmas to remember. Now let me say to all our brave men and women serving our country, may God see to it that they get home safely.

R. Bedell Jr. Bellerose

Frederick

Santos bashed for alleged phony resume

Nassau County Legislator Josh Lafazan (D-Woodbury), who lost to Zimmerman in the Democratic Primary election earlier this year, held a press conference on Tuesday calling for Santos to resign. Melanie D’Arrigo, who also ran in the Democratic Primary against Lafazan and Zimmerman, bashed Devolder-Santos in a tweet.

“So the Republican who directed a Ponzi scheme, fnancially supported insurrectionists, attended a gala with white supremacists, and had his election campaign funded by a Putin-aligned oligarch may have also invented his entire back story?” D’Arrigo tweeted.

Democrat Laura Gillen, who also lost to Republican Anthony D’Esposito in the state’s 4th Congressional District race, praised The Times for its reporting “on the kind of fction the Nassau County GOP regularly serves up to voters.”

Joseph G. Cairo Jr., chairman of the Nassau County Republican Party, told the Times that the allegations raised “serious” issues that he believed Santos should address.

Eforts to reach ofcials from Cairo or the New York state Republican Party for further comment were unavailing.

Santos, in a previously-published biography on his campaign website, described himself as “an associate asset manager” in Citigroup, but a company spokesperson told The Times that they could not confrm his employment. The spokesperson also said Citi sold of its asset management operations in 2005 and was unfamiliar with Santos’ job title listed on his biography.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson also failed to confrm Santos’ employment, while the Republican did not list a specifc time frame for his time at the companies in biographies.

The Times also questioned the tax-exempt classifcation of Santos’ charity, Friends of Pets United.

The Internal Revenue Service was unable to provide The Times with any information showing that the charity had tax-exempt status. The charity’s 2017 fund-raising event had a $50 entry charge, according to the newspaper, but a representative from the event’s benefciary said it did not receive any of the proceeds.

The congressman-elect was also reportedly fned more than $12,000 in May 2017 after a Queens landlord claimed he was owed more than $10,000 in rent over a fve-month pe-

riod.

Additionally, Santos called out tenants for “taking advantage” of rental assistance ofered during the coronavirus pandemic, claiming he and his family had not been paid rent on their 13 properties in nearly a year, according to the Times.

The Times’ analysis of property records databases in Nassau County and New York City did not show any deeds associated with anyone in the Santos family or their company, the Devolder Organization.

Santos described the company, according to the Times, as one that managed $80 million in assets. The Republican also described it as a capital introduction consulting company on his congressional fnancial disclosure forms.

Several election law experts told the Times that omitting the company’s clients on the fnancial reports “could be problematic” if the clients exist.

Santos loaned his campaign more than $700,000 during this year’s election cycle while donating thousands more to other candidates over the last

BY BRANDON DUFFY

“George Santos represents the kind of progress that the Left is so threatened by a gay, Latino, frst-generation American and Republican who won a Biden district in overwhelming fashion by showing everyday voters that there is a better option than the broken promises and failed policies of the Democratic Party,” Murray continued.

Murray did not deny any of the allegations made in The Times article in his statement.

The Times report has garnered a national reaction from political pundits and commentators, including Jennifer Rubin, an opinion writer for the Washington Post.

“Utter fraud, if accurate,” Rubin tweeted in response to The Times article Monday. “Must step down. Need special election.”

“Can the American people trust anything that Extreme MAGA Republicans like George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene have to say?” U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jefries (D-NY) tweeted.

The Lincoln Project, a political action committee formed in 2019 by Republicans to oust former President Donald Trump from the White House, criticized Santos for the allegations laid out in the article and the failure of Democrats to uncover his inconsistent accounts during the campaign.

Rick Wilson, co-founder and board member of the committee, said the “George Santos story is political malpractice from the Democrats.”

and he’ll abide by it,” Madden told Newsday.

Republicans have a 222-213 majority in Congress for the frst time since 2018 following the results of this year’s midterm elections.

Santos has been criticized by Democratic ofcials for his ties to far-right politicians such as U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose recent comments about the Jan. 6 insurrection landed her in hot water with the White House.

Greene was criticized for saying at the Young Republicans dinner in Manhattan that Santos attended that the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol building would have featured “armed” rioters if she and Steve Bannon, the chief strategist under former President Donald Trump, had organized it.

Santos was quoted as saying he was “at the Ellipse on Jan. 6,” the day of rioting at the U.S. Capitol, and is quoted on video saying he “wrote a nice check for a law frm” to aid the rioters who stormed the building.

Additionally, data from the Federal Election Commission revealed the Republican received nearly $30,000 in campaign donations from Andrew Intrater, the cousin of Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekslberg, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

two years, according to the Times. The Republican reported a $750,000 salary and more than $1 million in dividends from the Devolder Organization, according to the Times.

The Times also reported that in 2008, when Santos was 19, he stole the checkbook of a man his mother was caring for, according to Brazilian court records.

Police and court records show that Santos used the checkbook to make fraudulent purchases, including a pair of shoes. Two years later, Santos confessed to the crime and was later charged.

The court and local prosecutor in Brazil confrmed the case remains unresolved, the Times reported.

Santos did not respond to an ofcial summons, and a court representative could not fnd him at his given address, records show.

Joseph Murray, Santos’ attorney, released a statement in response to The Times article, saying the publication was “attempting to smear his good name with these defamatory allegations.”

Nassau County and New York state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs told The Times that Congressional Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) should delay seating Devolder-Santos pending a probe into the allegations.

Eforts to reach Jacobs for further comment were unavailing.

Santos recently took to Twitter in support of McCarthy becoming the new House speaker on Twitter.

“We have the opportunity of a lifetime to deliver results for the American people,” Santos tweeted Sunday. “We MUST give the gavel to [Kevin McCarthy] to ensure we stop the disastrous policies the Dems have pushed for the last 2 years.”

Kevin Madden, a top aide for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, told Newsday that the chances that an Ethics Committee investigation be launched into Santos are small.

“McCarthy is sitting on a razorthin congressional majority, so his default position will likely be to say the people of New York’s 3rd Congressional District made their decision

Vekselberg, who was born in Ukraine, made his frst million from selling scrap copper before purchasing several aluminum smelters and forming the conglomerate Sual Holding in 1996, according to Forbes. Vekselberg merged Sual Holding with Russian Alumnium to create UC Rusal.

The oligarch’s $90 million, 255foot yacht was seized by the Spanish government in April at the order of the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice said the yacht “was subject to forfeiture based on violations of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering, and sanction statutes.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission also accused Harbor City Capital, Santos’ alleged most recent employer, of operating a $6 million Ponzi scheme.

Harbor City allegedly used $6.5 million of the $17.1 million it raised from clients to repay early buyers of its securities while misrepresenting those transactions as returns on investment, ofcials said in a complaint.

Santos, who was named Harbor City’s New York regional director in June 2020 but was not named in the complaint fled by the SEC in April 2021, told The Daily Beast that he was “as distraught and disturbed as everyone else is” by the allegations.

Scrambling in the face of a triple epidemic

“We’re paying the price of being complacent over the last several months with lowering our guard against protection against respiratory viral illnesses,” he said. “That’s what we see.”

A national survey from Monmouth University in October found that a ffth of Americans

think the pandemic isn’t over. Yet, it says that most feel it is time to abandon pandemic-era limitations such as mask and vaccine regulations.

The polls said only 21% of the public believes the pandemic is over, while 26% believe it will be over soon. Half (50%) believe it will

never end and that people will have to accept it.

On prevention, Popp said while boosters do not totally guard against new variations, they are still efective. He added that fu shots are also helpful.

But, most importantly, he recommended common sense. This includes avoiding crowded

places and wearing masks in public.

“A lot of these infection control measures are not rocket science. It’s not that we try to impose them on certain people or whatnot,” said Popp. “It’s just common sense that you protect yourself and protect your friends, neighbors and people who you don’t even know.”

PHOTO

Congressman-elect George Santos during his election night watch party.

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to vaxxing teen

statement. “As part of the plea, the defendant is expected to perform 100 hours of community service and serve one year of probation. If those terms are met, the misdemeanor plea will be vacated.”

Russo was fired from Herricks months ago after a state-appointed hearing officer found in favor of the district to remove Russo.

“During the 2021 – 2022 school year, the Herricks School District received information about an employee engaging in behavior outside of school that put the safety of a minor at risk. The board, in partnership with the district leadership team, took swift action to investigate the allegations,” Herricks Board of Education President Jim Gounaris said during an October meeting.

“Once confirmed, the staff member was removed from the classroom to ensure the safety

of our students and the district thereupon took the necessary steps to initiate the Education Law Section 3020 — a process seeking termination of employment. The district was notified earlier this week that the hearing officer found in favor of the district and directed that the employee be terminated…the board will implement the decision of the hearing officer pursuant to a formal board resolution wherein such employee is terminated.”

In a video obtained by NBC 4 New York, Russo is seen injecting a male with a COVID-19 vaccine. The male’s identity was covered in the video.

Russo was removed from the classroom following the incident.

Gerard McCloskey, Russo’s defense attorney, told Newsday the last year has “been difficult on her family” and “this plea allows her to move on.”

Town adds highway super, rejects comptroller

cially given the fact that Councilwoman Lurvey and members of their staff agreed Mr. Morris was a qualified and capable candidate following our joint interview. Our residents deserve better than elected officials who would prioritize playing politics over what’s in the best interest of our Town’s fiscal health and bond rating.”

Lurvey, who said during the vote Thursday night the Losquadro resolution came without any warning before voting no, contended the supervisor puts forward names when she knows it will not get the votes.

“I think it’s horrible government and it’s not fair to these people. It erodes the trust in our government,” Lurvey said.

Council member Mariann Dalimonte, a Democrat, cited a Newsday article that reported Morris was not re-hired as the Smithtown comptroller and that council member Robert Creighton said his term “didn’t work out to our satisfaction” before she voted no.

Brian Devine, spokesman for the supervisor, said Morris was the only candidate left after a

year-long bipartisan search process and “the only reason Councilwoman Lurvey and her members would vote against his appointment would be to stall the process even further in yet another sad attempt to hinder the progress made by Supervisor DeSena’s administration over the past year.”

The next meeting for the North Hempstead Town Board will be Jan. 12.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Former Herricks High School teacher Laura Parker Russo pleaded guilty Friday to injecting a minor with a COVID-19 vaccine.

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G.N. doc charged with illegal prescriptions

Allegedly issued oxycodone in exchange for cash

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

A Great Neck doctor was charged with illegally distributing oxycodone prescriptions in exchange for cash, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.

Dr. Roya Jafari-Hassad, 56, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not-guilty to the 18-count indictment that included a charge of witness tampering, officials said. Jafari-Hassad allegedly prescribed more than 1,000 pills to a pair of patients between August 2020 and January 2022, according to court documents.

The prescriptions, officials said, “had no legitimate medical purpose” and the cash payments Jafari-Hassad allegedly received were in addition to her charging the patient’s insurance for the prescriptions. Officials believe Jafari-Hassad profited more than hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from the cash payments from patients.

“As alleged, the defendant abandoned her medical oath to operate a pill mill in Nassau County, illegally dispensing oxycodone to patients for a cash fee,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.

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A Great Neck doctor was charged for allegedly distributing oxycodone prescriptions in exchange for cash, officials announced.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted an 18-month investigation into the Great Neck-based doctor from Bayside, officials said, and used an undercover agent posing as a patient to obtain the prescriptions from JafariHassad. The undercover agent received oxycodone prescriptions from JafariHassad at every visit, including the first one, officials said.

“Health care professionals have a duty to prescribe medication responsibly to ensure the well-being of their patients. Failing to do so puts the health and safety of patients at risk and undermines critical measures to address the opioid epidem-

A prescription pad in the wrong hands can be a deadly weapon.

Frank Tarentino

DEA SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE

ic,” Acting Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Susan A. Frisco said.

Upon further investigation through a search warrant executed at JafariHassad’s Great Neck office, officials said, the doctor reached out to patients and

convinced them to modify their testimony about the fraudulent prescriptions she provided them. The doctor was reportedly released on $500,000 bail Wednesday, according to Newsday.

Her attorney, Bruce Barket, told Newsday that the Great Neck medical practice on Bond Street will remain open and said the charges against her are “allegations and not proven facts.”

“A prescription pad in the wrong hands can be a deadly weapon,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in a statement. “The diversion of prescription medication is inexcusable for medical professionals and I applaud the hard work by DEA and our law enforcement partners who brought these charges against Dr. Jafari-Hassad.”

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Submit Your Events TODAY with our simple add event form then let us create you a ticketed page automatically from the event submission workfow. #Exciting

Submit Your Events TODAY with our simple add event form then let us create you a ticketed page automatically from the event submission workfow. #Exciting

Promote all your events via our network of 5000+ events calendars, listing sites, email and print services.

Promote all your events via our network of 5000+ events calendars, listing sites, email and print services.

Promote all your events via our network of 5000+ events calendars, listing sites, email and print services.

60 seconds to create, ticket and promote your event, so what are you waiting for!

60 seconds to create, ticket and promote your event, so what are you waiting for!

60 seconds to create, ticket and promote your event, so what are you waiting for!

PROMOTE YOUR EVENTS TODAY AT https://theisland360.com/local-events/

PROMOTE YOUR EVENTS TODAY AT https://theisland360.com/local-events/

PROMOTE YOUR EVENTS TODAY AT https://theisland360.com/local-events/

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Hillside Public Library events

The Hillside Library is combining with the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless in doing a Hats, Scarves and Glove Drive. There is a bin at the library in which donations could be placed. Our community has always been very generous to our Donation Drives, and we thank you for your continued generosity.

The Hillside Public Library is taking this opportunity to wish our community a Very Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

The Library has a new addition to our Museum Pass Program for Hillside PL card holders. It is the New York Hall of Science which is situated at 47-01 111th Street, Queens, NY 11368-2950.

PROGRAMS and EVENTS

Literacy Nassau English Class Registration – Modular Room, 1st Floor, Tuesday, January 3, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Register in-person for Free ELL/ESL Classes! **To make an appointment visit: www.literacynassau.org/appointment or Call: 516-867-3580, or Email: mail@literacynassau.org

Classic Book Club – Modular Room 1st Floor and Zoom, Wednesday, January 4 at 6:30 p.m. The book being discussed is Wide Sargasso Sea, a 1966 novel by Dominican-British author Jean Rhys. The novel serves as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre (1847), describing the background to Mr. Rochester’s marriage from the point-of-view of his wife Antoinette Cosway, a Creole heiress. Antoinette’s story is told from the time of her youth in Jamaica, to her unhappy marriage to an English gentleman, Mr. Rochester, who renames her Bertha, declares her mad, takes her to England, and isolates her from the rest of the world in his mansion. Antoinette is caught in a patriarchal society in which she fully belongs neither to Europe nor to Jamaica.

Defensive Driving Part 1 – All Purpose Room, Saturday, January 7, 10:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Part 2: Saturday, January 14, 2023, 10:15 am-1:15 pm. Please register only 1x for this series. Our favorite Driver’s Safety Instructor, Gennie Vann, is back! Completion of this 2-part program entitles you to a 10% NYS insurance discount and point reduction.**Bring to class: One check or money order $30.00 per person payable to “It is Well Driving School”; Your valid NY State Driver License (Ages 18+); A blue or black pen.

Trivia Time – All Purpose Room, Monday, January 9 at 6 p.m. Start the New Year with a fun game of trivia at the library!

St. Francis Hospital Mobile Health Outreach Bus – Library Parking Lot, Tuesday, January 10, 10 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Contact: St. Francis Community Health, Education &

Outreach 516-629-2013. FREE In-Person Health Screenings and Flu Shots! The screenings include a brief cardiac history, blood pressure, simple blood test for Cholesterol, and Diabetes screenings with appropriate patient education and referrals as needed for clients above the age of 18. **No appointments necessary — First come, First served.

All About Calcium Scores and Heart Health, Tuesday, January 10 at 12 noon. A CT cardiac calcium score can assess coronary heart disease, which is often asymptomatic and is the most common cause of death for patients in the United States. Join Lenox Hill Radiology’s Dr. Morgenstern as he details more about this simple, non-invasive test and who may be a candidate for screening. Barry R. Morgenstern received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine.• This program is brought to you courtesy of Nassau Libraries Health Share.

Fiction Loves History Book Club – Modular Room 1st Floor and Zoom, Tuesday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m. The book being discussed is: The Royal Governess by Wendy Holden. “Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden brings to life the unknown childhood years of one of the world’s most famous figures, Queen Elizabeth II, and reveals the spirited young governess who made her the icon we love today”

Fresh Fiction Book Club – all Purpose Room and Zoom, Wednesday, January 11 at 6:30 p.m. The book being discussed is: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich“Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C.”

Start the New Year With Meditation – Virtual, Thursday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. Join Dr. Matthew Raider, long time meditator for this powerful workshop. Dr. Raider has been inspiring audiences on how to practice and learn this very simple technique which provides many benefits. There will even be a little meditation sitting at the end. Bring joy, peace, positivity and relaxation into your daily life and begin the New Year with a fresh start.

Paint Night: Sketching and Acrylics with Alma – Virtual, Friday, January 13 at 7 p.m. Tonight: Serene Snowy Landscape with Deer. Grab a cup of hot chocolate, boot up your computer next to your easel, and paint the night away in the cozy warm comfort of your home! Learn new techniques, share sketch and paint hacks, gather with friends, and relax. For beginners to advanced sketchers and painters. Everyone is welcome. For a list of supplies needed, please go to the library’s website.

Lakeville Estates civic tree lighting

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, Council Member Veronica Lurvey and Town Clerk Ragini Srivastava attended the Lakeville Estates Civic Association’s annual tree lighting celebration held in New Hyde Park on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Before the event a car parade took place throughout the neighborhood. The event included holiday music from New Hyde Park Memorial High School students, dancers from the American Dance Studio, and a visit from Santa.

The Lakeville Estates Civic Association’s annual tree lighting celebration was held in New Hyde Park on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Sports

Amalfitano scores with dad’s help

advice to motivate him

BY MICHAEL J. LEWIS

It happens before every game, without fail. Sometime during the day of every basketball game Schreiber High School junior Trevor Amalfitano plays, his father Jon will give him a pep talk.

If Trevor has been playing very well, Jon’s speech may be designed to keep his son’s ego in check and bring him down a peg or two.

If the kid has been struggling on the court, then Jon will seek to boost his son’s spirits, and remind him of all the talent the 6-foot-2 guard possesses, and maybe bring up some past success.

“My dad is my role model, and he’s the voice I trust most,” Trevor said after a recent Schreiber practice. “Usually he’ll have written a paragraph or two and read it to me before I go out there, and it always helps me.”

Given how well Amalfitano has performed for the past season and the start of this one, it would seem that the first talk mentioned is the one he’s giving most, keeping his son from getting too high.

Bursting onto the varsity last year, the smooth scorer boosted the Vikings and made a name for himself in Nassau County hoops. He pumped in 15.1 points per game to go with 4.1 rebounds as Schreiber advanced to the Class AA semifinals.

Driving and scoring in the paint, and also showing strong range from the outside, Amalfitano quickly became the must-stop player for opponents.

His highlight may have been on Feb. 1 against Massapequa, when he erupted for 38 points in a 73-70 Schreiber win, capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key with three seconds left to win the game.

“That was pretty special,” Amalfitano says with a smile. “I didn’t realize I had that many points, but when the 3-pointer went in and the crowd was going wild, it was a lot of fun.”

After a summer spent playing with the Nassau Pride AAU team, and growing a few inches, Amalfitano has continued to impress early in the 2022-23 campaign.

Through the first six games the shooting guard was averaging 14 points, six rebounds

and 2.5 assists per contest.

“We thought he was going to be good when we saw him, but we didn’t know he’d be this good,” said Schreiber coach Sean Dooley. “His ability to score from so many different areas was something that really helped him, and once he saw that we believed in him, I think he got even better.”

Dooley said by far Amalfitano’s biggest asset is his footwork.

“Basketball is 90 percent footwork, and his is excellent on both ends,” Dooley said. “He’s really good at setting (defenders) up with his feet, and getting the advantage when he has the ball.”

Camren Welker, a Schreiber senior, said Amalfitano’s strength and quickness have improved this season.

“He’s stronger and he knows how to use his body to score,” Welker said. “And him getting so much attention (from defenses) helps all of us get open shots.”

Amalfitano had basketball in his blood, with dad Jon and uncle Chris both starring in high school on Long Island, with Chris playing in college as well.

Trevor started taking the sport seriously around fourth grade and loved it immediately.

“I just loved the competition and that you can get better every single day you play,” he said. “I’m pretty hard on myself because I know I can improve a lot.”

That improvement, Dooley said, can come with improving his athleticism and getting stronger to withstand contact. Especially this season, as defenses key on Amalfitano, being able to fight through traffic to score will be crucial.

“He’s definitely learning and improving all the time,” Dooley said.

Amalfitano is just beginning the college recruiting process, and hopes to play for a Division I school someday. He said he has no favorite or preference; he’s just enjoying being on a strong Vikings squad this year that will compete for a county title.

“The dream is to win states of course,” Amalfitano said, aware that just down the road, Manhasset High School did that very thing last season. “I think we have a great team and as long as we play together and keep getting better, we’re going to be really good.”

Schreiber junior basketball player Trevor Amalfitano (11) is hoping to lead the Vikings to a county title this season.

Port Washington senior leads Schreiber basketball, aided by some fatherly