Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
$1.50
Friday, December 1, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 48
N E W H Y D E PA R K
GUIDE TO THE HOLIDAYS
FIRE DISTRICT ELECTIONS
SANTOS FACES 3RD HOUSE EXPULSION VOTE
PAGES 21-32
PAGE 2, 3
PAGE 6
Panetta cites shortcomings for resignation
H O L I D AY P U P S
Ex-trustee left G.N. library board after dispute over NHP branch BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Former Parkville Library Trustee Donald Panetta, who resigned in August after a public dispute with the director over the temporary closing of the branch, said the board is dysfunctional and shortchanging the library’s patrons. Panetta, who lives in New Hyde Park, said he resigned during the August meeting after what he described as “total frustration” with the library administration’s handling of the Parkville Branch closure – the only library located in New Hyde Park. “You know I feel like we’re an appendix,” Panetta said. “We’re an afterthought. They really don’t care about us.” Panetta said the library was closed for renovations on July 1. Renovations will be taking place for about six months, according to the library website. Library Director Denise Corcoran said at the last board meeting the branch was on schedule to open either at the end of December or the beginning of January. Some of Panetta’s frustrations lie in the way in which residents were informed since they could only find out about the closure by visiting the li-
brary’s website. Panetta said he fought back against this, advising the library to inform the resident through other avenues. On July 2, Panetta said they put a sign up on the library’s door announcing the closure. His other frustration with the branch’s closure was the library’s lack of services to New Hyde Park residents. He said that in February when the library administration knew about the branch’s upcoming closure, options included a bookmobile or a new temporary location at an empty storefront. Yet neither of those options was brought to fruition. According to the library’s website, book holds can be picked up at the Hillside Public Library and museum passes and borrowed items from the Library of Things can be picked up and returned at the Station Branch Library. Books can still be returned at the Parkville Branch book drop. Panetta said Corcoran determined opening a temporary branch at an empty storefront was “not feasible.” He said this was decided after she drove around looking at properties without a realtor. Continued on Page 42
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LAKEVILLE ESTATES CIVIC ASSOCIATION
The dogs of Cindy and Neil Verwys, members of the Lakeville Estates Civic Association, celebrate Thanksgiving.
F. Park OKs Centennial Hall site agreement BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y The Floral Park Board of Trustees Tuesday night approved a host community benefit agreement between the village and developers of the apartment complex currently being built at the former site of Centennial Hall. Community benefit agreements are contracts between developers and local municipalities to mitigate the impact of infrastructure projects.
Centennial Holdings LLC, the owners of the property, are building a $11.9 million, 30,512- squarefoot, 24-unit apartment building at the corner of Carnation and Tulip avenues. The group was also given preliminary approval for economic incentives in late October by the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency. Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said the village will receive payments directly from the property owners once the project is complete
in addition to the payment-in-lieuof-taxes, otherwise known as PILOT, from the IDA. The mayor added that municipalities have little ability to oppose whether or not tax breaks are given to developers and that the cost of providing services to the property should not be put on the taxpayers. “These combined payments will roughly equal over the term of the proposed PILOT the Village tax payments projected for this property,” Continued on Page 43