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Friday, February 2, 2024
Vol. 73, No. 5
N E W H Y D E PA R K
40 UNDER 40 A THRIVING JIU JITSU SUOZZI, PILIP SPECIAL SECTION BIZ IN NEW HYDE PARK AD BLITZES
A BLANK SLATE MEDIA
SPECIAL SECTION
PAGES S1-S40
| FEBRUARY 2, 2024
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PHOTO BOOTH SPONSOR
Islamic Center rebuffed
HOOPS FOR HOPE
Town GOPers nix expansion BY C A M E RY N O A K ES After more than seven months of public hearings, the Town of North Hempstead voted along party lines to deny the Hillside Islamic Center’s expansion plan, citing concerns about public safety and other concerns presented by neighbors. The Hillside Islamic Center in New Hyde Park had proposed a plan to expand the existing mosque by building a third story on the already existing two-story structure and increasing the square footage from 5,428 square feet to 6,600 square feet. The proposal also included expanding the center’s parking lot onto the three surrounding parcels of land, which the mosque purchased, to provide 63 more parking spaces. The expansion was intended to relieve congregation and ease traffic impacts on the neighborhood. The attorney representing the mosque, Kathleen Deegan Dickson, said the proposal was intended to accommodate the center’s current congregation, not to increase its size. “‘If we build it they will come’: that is not the purpose of this application,” Deegan Dickson said. “This application is really ‘they have come’ and we need to build something so that we can accommodate them and try to alleviate some of the pressure Continued on Page 38
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SEWANHAKA CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Sewanhaka High School boys varsity basketball hosted the annual Hoops for Hope game to raise money for SIBSPlace.
DeSena pledges town master plan Housing, building department at top of supervisor’s agenda in speech BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Touting unity and her accomplishments in her tenure so far, North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena delivered her State of the Town address in which she said going forward the town will be focusing on developing a new master plan, addressing its building depart-
ment and delivering on its capital project plans. “None of this would have been possible if we did not work together,” DeSena said, “if each of us in this room did not put aside politics and ego, roll up our sleeves and get to work for this town. That’s why we are here. That’s why the residents of the Town of North Hempstead put us
all here. We owe them nothing less.” DeSena delivered her State of the Town address Friday afternoon in front of a room full of local elected officials and residents. The supervisor said that in her second term she will be focusing on developing the town’s new master plan, which was originally devised more than 40 years ago and has not
been updated since. She said the new master plan is necessary to address the current needs of residents and the town’s new generations. “We must update our master plan to address quality of life and sustainability expectations,” DeSena said. “Doing so will deliver the results that the original plan once sought.” Continued on Page 39
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