Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
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Friday, January 5, 2024
Vol. 73, No. 1
N E W H Y D E PA R K
LIVING 50 PLUS
DANNY MASTERSON GOES TO PRISON
SUOZZI PRESSES FOR DEBATES WITH PILIP
PAGES 19-22
PAGE 25
PAGE 6
Red Great Neck a key factor in DeSena’s win Once a Democratic bastion, community provides large margin in Republican’s race BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y For years, Great Neck was a Democratic bastion on the North Shore. That longtime trend may have changed, according to an analysis by Blank Slate Media. Unofficial data from the Nassau Board of Elections shows that North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena won re-election in November due in part to a strong plurality in the Great Neck as well as the Manhasset, New Hyde Park and Williston areas. DeSena defeated Jon Kaiman, a former North Hempstead supervisor who has served in recent years as the Suffolk County deputy executive. DeSena secured 60% of the 11,155 total votes in Great Neck, a 2,216 vote advantage; 72% of the 3,801 total votes in Manhasset, a 1,640 vote advantage; 61% of the 5,984 total votes in New Hyde Park, a 1,422 vote advantage; and 55% of the 12,885 total votes in the Williston area, a 1,349 vote advantage. In Great Neck, where Kaiman lives, DeSena had a strong showing among three of the four election districts that had a total of over 1,000 votes cast. She won 73% of the vote in the Village of Great Neck — 1,357 more votes than Kaiman, 86% of the vote in Kings Point with 1,454 votes to Kaiman’s 237 and 87% of the vote in the Village of
Great Neck Estates with 798 of the 1,252 votes cast. Kaiman won in the villages of Great Neck Plaza, Lake Success and Russell Gardens with more than 60% of the vote. The Republican support in Great Neck is a major shift from decades of Democratic leadership, where much of town and county representation was Democratic. North Hempstead had three straight Democratic supervisors from the area, including May Newburger, Kaiman and Judi Bosworth heading the town from 1994 to 2021. At the county level, the 10th Legislative District was represented by Democrats Lisanne Altman, Bosworth and Ellen Birnbaum from the Legislature’s first election in 1995 through 2021, when Mazi Melesa Pilip defeated Birnbaum, becoming the only candidate to flip a district that year. At the town board level, Democrat Lee Seeman represented the town’s 5th District from the 2000s to 2021, where Republican David Adhami won her vacant seat after Seeman’s retirement. Republicans have used higher turnout margins in off-year election cycles to make inroads on Long Island, despite being greatly outnumbered by registered Democrats. Continued on Page 37
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MANHASSET-LAKEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
About 20 people were displaced from their homes following a garage fire at Acorn Ponds in North Hills. See story on page 2.
Herricks elementaries ranked in N.Y.’s top 100 BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Seven of the North Shore’s 27 public elementary schools were ranked in the top 100 in New York State, according to rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The top seven schools on the North Shore belong to the Great Neck, North Shore Central, Herricks and East Williston School Districts. Great Neck’s Lakeville Elementary secured the highest ranking on the North Shore at No. 12 in the
state. According to U.S. News, the school enrolls 696 students with a ratio of 12 students per teacher. Great Neck Public School’s elementary schools garnered some of the highest rankings on the North Shore, with two of the four ranking in the state’s top 100. The other Great Neck school breaking into the top 100 was Elizabeth M. Baker Elementary School, which secured the 88th position in the state. The last two Great Neck el-
ementary schools were Saddle Rock School and John F. Kennedy School, which took the No. 112 and No. 123 spots, respectively. Falling right behind Great Neck’s Lakeville Elementary School is the North Shore Central School District’s Sea Cliff Elementary School in 14th place in the state. The school enrolls 331 students with 10 students per teacher, according to U.S. News. The North Shore Central District’s two other elementary schools Continued on Page 38