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Major crimes down 1%

First 5 months contrast with ‘22

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Major crimes in Nassau County as of May 29 have dropped by 1.07% compared to the same period last year, according to statistics provided by the Police Department.

The Nassau Police Department said on its website that 2,776 major crimes occurred from Jan. 1-May 29 this year, a 1.07% decrease. The website does not show a comparison between 2021 and 2022 when yearend crime statistics showed a 41% increase in major crimes.

The list of major crimes includes murder, rape, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, grand larceny, commercial robberies, other robberies, assault felonies, residential burglaries, other burglaries and stolen vehicles.

A total of 8,443 “other crimes” were reported by the department through the same time period, a 13.65% increase from last year.

Nassau has reported five murders, two sexual abuse incidents, one criminal sexual act and three rapes so far this year. By comparison, a total of two murders, six sexual abuse incidents, two criminal sexual acts and four rapes were reported last year during the same time period, according to the statistics.

Stolen vehicles were reported 281 times so far this year, a 40.84%

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ED BOARD BIDS FAREWELL TO VALURI, 17 EMPLOYEES

Alleged drunk driver pleads not guilty

Singh indicted on charges related to collision that killed 2 Roslyn teens

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The alleged drunk driver involved in the car crash that killed two Roslyn teenagers in early May pleaded not guilty Monday morning to the 15-count indictment he faces for his role in the wrong-way driving crash Roslyn resident Amandeep Singh, 34, was allegedly driving on the

wrong side of the road at 95 mph with a blood alcohol count of 0.15 four hours after his arrest and cocaine in his system, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press conference following his arraignment Monday. The speed limit posted in the area of the collision is 40 mph.

He faces a series of charges in the vehicular crash that killed young ten-

nis star Drew Hassenbein and Ethan Falkowitz. Two other teenagers on the Roslyn Boys Varsity Tennis team were in the car and injured.

“Four bright, athletic teenagers with their whole life ahead of them,” Donnelly said.

The Nassau County DA has added two more charges to Singh’s indictment to include two additional mis-

demeanor assault charges, according to court documents unsealed Monday morning.

Singh was charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated vehicular homicide, assault, driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and a drug, reckless driving and a felony

Continued on Page 42

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROSLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Roslyn High School graduating seniors return to their elementary schools for the 2023 Senior Walk. See story on page 2.

SANTOS DAD, AUNT PROVIDED BAIL MONEY GUARANTEE

Class of diversity with bonds between students

Roslyn H.S. honors connection of students at graduation

BY CAMERYN OAKES

When Roslyn High School Salutatorian Kristi Lam explored the woods of Long Island alongside a researcher, she said she was able to witness the diversity of nature working together in harmony.

In May, as she hiked through Yosemite National Park and looked around the forest, she was reminded of the interconnectedness of all things as she witnessed a vibrancy and blending of colors, shapes and sizes.

This reminded her of the four years at Roslyn High School, forming unique connections and dependency upon classmates, teachers and staf. Roslyn High School is their forest, Lam said, as it is comprised of a diverse student population who all bring an important contribution to the

N. Shore graduation honors late student

Seat left for classmate who died of cancer

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The North Shore High School class of 2023 took their seats at graduation Friday morning, but one seat remained open. That seat was set out for Nicholas Pedone, a classmate who had died 10 years earlier, but students wanted to ensure that he was included in their ceremony.

The ceremony commemorated the late student who died of cancer in 2013 at the age of 7. Students left a chair for Pedone and decorated it in his absence.

“He’s here graduating with us today,” North Shore High School Principal Eric Contreras said.

Students also invited Pedone’s parents, who received a standing ovation from attendees during the graduation ceremony.

A seat remained vacant during the graduation ceremony for their classmate Nicholas Pedone who died ten years prior. (Photo courtesy of the North Shore School District)

Conteras praised the class of 2023 for their unity and the nature in which they band together. He said this is the defning aspect that stands out for the graduating class.

“You as students live by the motto that we are one united family here at North Shore,” Contreras said.

He compared the class’s unity to the meaning of the United States’ national seal, which depicts a bald eagle clutching olive branches in his talons and reads “E pluribus unum” – ”Out of many, one.”

“When I think of all of our graduates here today, I think of the many ways you all have come together, the many ways you have united to create something wonderful,” Contreras said. “Time after time, your many North Shore journeys converged and create one shared North Shore community, because you understand the meaning of being united.”

A rainy Friday morning could not weigh down the North Shore High School graduation ceremony as attendees ran for cover to the high school’s gymnasium.

About 200 students graduated from North Shore High School. Of those, more than half received the New York State Seal of Biliteracy

The ceremony honored vale-

Continued on Page 43

school.

“As today marks the end of our high school journey, we will each venture out into the world in diferent directions,” Lam said. “Let us take a moment to cherish and nurture our relationships, old and new, and recognize the importance of this loving connection.”

About 270 Roslyn High School students sat on the Tilles Center stage at Long Island University Friday afternoon to embark on the last journey in their high school years: graduation.

The graduation commencement featured a performance of Jason Mraz’s song “Have It All” by the Roslyn High School Senior Chorus.

The ceremony honored class of 2023 valedictorian Jake Konigsberg and salutatorian Lam.

Student Council President Lindsay

Cohen shared a collection of memories the class of 2023 experienced from their days on the Heights School playground to the moment they walk across the stage to graduate.

“We were too young to understand it then, but these would be the frst interactions with those we would spend the next 13 years with,” Cohen said.

Cohen refected on the days of elementary school, with events such as Commerce Plaza where students were assigned pretend jobs to simulate a work day.

Cohen, who was assigned to be a lawyer, will now be attending Vanderbilt University to study pre-law.

“All these small moments and tips may have seemed insignifcant, but they built us up to be the people that Continued on Page 43

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PHOTO BY CAMERYN OAKES Roslyn High School graduating seniors take the stage for the Class of 2023 commencement.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NORTH SHORE SCHOOL DISTRICT

North Shore graduates throw their caps in the air at the conclusion of their commencement.

Talk of opportunity despite disabilities

Viscardi School for the medically fragile students awards diplomas to 12 grads at commencement

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Commencement speaker Alex Elegudin shared a poignant message with both the Henry Viscardi School graduates and their families Thursday night.

“What I’m here to tell you today is that life is about opportunities,” Elegudin, an advocate in the disability community since 2003, said. “You have to take those opportunities.”

Elegudin was involved in a deerrelated car accident as a college sophomore 20 years ago, an accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He went on to co-found Wheeling Forward in 2011, which helps recently disabled people who lack a support system and resources as well as the services they need.

Elegudin’s message was a common one heard throughout the graduation, held in the Henry Viscardi High School’s gymnasium. For the 11 graduates whose tassels turned to the left side of their caps, it was time to take what they learned at Viscardi with their teachers and friends into the next step.

“Thank you to all my fellow graduates for all they have done for me over the years to become the person I am today and shape the person I will become,” valedictorian Hana Music

told the crowd. “We are done with the HVS chapter of our lives, but we are not done with each other.”

Salutatorian Angela Yan, who has cerebral palsy, reiterated after her

four years at the school that for her and her graduates, the opportunities to make an impact are endless.

“Although my disability affects me a lot physically, I do not let my disability or physical limitations define

who I am,” Yan said. “I use them as lessons to overcome and tap into my strengths. I am patient, persevering and never giving up.”

Along with the 11 graduates who received their diplomas, a twelfth was

given in honor of Jaser Khowessa, who would had graduated Thursday night.

The Viscardi Center’s K-12 school serves medically fragile and se-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VISCARDI CENTER

Graduates of the Henry Viscardi School pose with Long Island elected officials following their commencement ceremony.

Mineola High, you’re on your own now

Taylor Swift’s words shared as a reminder of importance to maintain relationships from H.S.

BY BRANDON DUFFY

In the words of Taylor Swift, the scary news is you’re on your own now. But the cool news is also that you’re on your own now.

The same words the music star gave during her NYU commencement address last year rang true through the walls of the Tilles Center Saturday morning in Mineola High School Class of 2023 valedictorian Natalie Laszewski’s remarks.

Laszewski echoed Swift’s comments to reiterate the importance of maintaining the friendships she and her classmates cultivated at Mineola High as they take their next steps.

“Don’t let distance or language or any other barriers bring you apart,” Laszewski said. “Though Taylor Swift is right about one thing, you are on your own now, making your decisions about your future and more importantly which people you keep in your life.”

Laszewski added the past few weeks of getting ready to say goodbye to Mineola gave her a chance to refect on the true meaning of success, which she said was living life to the fullest and being surrounded by loved ones while doing so.

“Does that mean a strong career or a certain lifestyle? The reality is the meaning of success is up to interpretation,” Laszewski said. “When someone wishes you a successful future, it’s up to you to determine what that means.”

Salutatorian Mary Meola thanked the district from Willis Avenue to the high school for the eforts in helping her and her classmates reach this point.

Meola said while growing up the year 2023 represented both the class’s adolescence and the countdown towards adulthood. She refected on coming to school as an eighth grader,

learning through the COVID-19 pandemic as a freshman and sophomore and applying to college as a junior.

“The halls of Mineola have seen so much,” Meola said. “They have seen

friendships form and grow throughout our time in the high school, they’ve seen our community come together to help others, but most of all they have seen us grow from kids to

teenagers to adults. They have seen the memories we shared and the lessons we learned.”

Instead of giving his annual remarks, Superintendent Michael Nagler decided the best token of gratitude he could give Supervisor of Health and Physical Education Ralph Amitrano, who is retiring after 22 years in the district, was his spot to address the class of 2023.

Amitrano began by saying there is no need to recite famous song lyrics or quote celebrities because the graduates’ greatest role models are already sitting in front of them–—their families.

The outgoing administrator shared a personal story that traced his own early journey starting out as a pessimist, someone who considers the glass half empty, then an optimist, who considers the glass half full, and an opportunist, who drinks the cup and enjoys its benefts while the other two weigh the factors.

“Without knowing it then, I became the opportunist and it changed my course for the future,” Amitrano said. “Be ready to take the opportunities as they present themselves. Remember that success is where preparation and opportunity meet.”

Board of Education President Margaret Ballantyne-Mannion urged the graduates to forge their own path outside of Mineola, not just “a series of moments destined for Instagram.”

“May your road bring you happiness and love,” Ballantyne-Mannion said. “Enjoy every step of the way. We will be cheering you from the sidelines.”

St. Mary’s to expand campus over summer

BY BRANDON DUFFY

St. Mary’s in Manhasset is celebrating its middle school’s centennial and high school’s 75th anniversary by renovating their campus for the upcoming school year.

Over the summer the high school will expand into the third foor of Marist Hall, where the brothers of Marist Order previously stayed, and will be implementing a new Catholic Entrepreneurship and Design Experience program.

“At its core, CEDE is an education in discerning desires,” Father Dom Elias Carr, president of the high school, said in a statement. “As the students come to better understand their motivations – what they want – CEDE also inspires them to think about how they can use their gifts and desires to respond creatively to needs in our society.”

Middle schoolers will relocate to Immaculata Hall, which used to be the all-girls high school. Sixth, seventh and eighth graders will have their dedicated space that will “strike

the perfect balance for young people at a critical time in their development,” the parish said.

With the additional space, the elementary school will be renovating the middle-school wing into resource

rooms, dedicated spaces for reading, math, movement and other “enrichment activities.”

A pre-nursery school program will also be soft-launched next year in the elementary school, the parish said. It will serve infants, toddlers and their parents and caregivers in weekly classes.

Each building will also feature a chapel to be constructed this summer.

“We are very excited that our young people will have more time for prayer in the presence of our Lord,” Carr said.

St. Mary’s was originally named St. Michael’s in Flushing, starting in 1853, which was a mission church before relocating to Plandome Road in 1857. The present-day church on Northern Boulevard was dedicated in 1917.

The church regained its independence in 1912, marked by the arrival of Rev. William K. Dwyer, who built both the rectory and church.

St. Mary’s frst parochial school opened for classes on Feb. 1, 1926. The original high school, which was completed in 1950, later became an all-girls school after the all-boys school was built.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EILEEN SYMMONS

Immaculata Hall on the St. Mary’s Manhasset campus, will be the new home of the dedicated Middle School housing grades 6-8 come September.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MINEOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT

Mineola High School Valedictorian Natalie Laszewski.

Lab 18: A golfer’s newest oasis

Roslyn’s new business provides year-round training indoors for novices, veterans alike

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Whether you’re a professional golfer or someone learning the beginnings of the sport, Lab 18 is the newest business catering to a golfer’s pursuit of bettering their game on the course.

Lab 18, located at 18 Roosevelt Ave. in Roslyn, is a golf performance business ofering a diversity of resources designed to improve the performance of the avid golfer.

“Everything here is performanceoriented,” founder Josh Halegua said.

Lab 18 opened its doors in April after Halegua spent fve years developing the business model.

The new business includes a series of services such as a gym with a sports medicine therapist, golf club fttings and private golf lessons.

Other amenities cover a plethora of cutting-edge technology to upgrade your golf performance. This includes GASP Force Plates, which measure the force under the golfer’s feet to provide information on how to improve their swing; PuttView, an interactive putting green; and Quintic Ball Roll, which uses a high-speed camera to track the putter and golf ball and dis-

plays the analytical data.

The golf-performance studio includes a series of golfng bays equipped with Trackman 4, a virtual

reality technology that simulates the golfng experience by measuring and displaying the full trajectory of a shot. Each bay has a mini fridge with re-

Roslyn ed board bids farewell to Valauri

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The Roslyn Board of Education bid farewell to longtime member Bruce Valauri and 17 retiring district employees at the last meeting of the school year Thursday night.

Valauri did not run for re-election as trustee in the district’s May 16 election after serving on the board for 13 years.

All members of the Board of Education shared parting comments for Valauri, praising

him for the work he did on the board and the inspiration he has been to many of them.

“Bruce has served us with dedication and distinguishment for 13 years,” Board President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy said.

She said the board will miss him and thanked him for his service.

Valauri said he appreciated the support he received from the board as no one person can do the job without it.

Continued on Page 42

freshments and a table for friends and families to enjoy the sport in a climate-controlled environment.

Lab 18’s private upstairs reserved

for members only. (Photo by Cameryn Oakes)

Adam Troisi, Lab 18’s general manager, said these are the same technologies that golf professionals use.

“What we want to instill in people is you need to use the technology to get feedback and to improve,” Halegua said.

Lab 18 is a semi-private space, with the downstairs open to the public and the upstairs reserved for members featuring a full bar. Memberships include exclusive services and amenities with pricing starting at $3,000/year for individuals.

All services are ofered by appointment, which can be scheduled on the Lab 18 website. Members get priority bookings on services.

Lab 18 is also open for private events, providing an interactive and engaging environment for birthday parties and workplace bonding.

Lab 18’s golf ftting room wall display of golf club shafts. (Photo by Cameryn Oakes)

Troisi said that many entertainment golf businesses are akin to a bowling alley, providing a golfing activity to engage in for fun.

Continued on Page 43

PHOTO BY CAMERYN OAKES

Lab 18 features multiple Trackman 4 Bays, which offers virtual reality technology that simulates the golfing experience.

PHOTO BY CAMERYN OAKES

Superintendent Allison Brown honors retirees at the Roslyn School District’s retirement celebration Thursday night.

Rep. Santos’ father and aunt done it

Mystery of $500K bond co-signers for embattled congressman answered by court documents

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Embattled U.S. Rep. George Santos was bailed out of jail by two unknown individuals in May.

After weeks of refusing to reveal the names and fghting federal court rulings, court documents unsealed Thursday reveal the co-signers to be his father and aunt.

Santos’ father Gercino dos Santos Jr. and his aunt Elma Preven signed a $500,000 unsecured bond that bailed the representative out of jail after his arrest for 13 federal charges.

As the bond is unsecured, Santos’ father and aunt did not have to put down any cash or property to bail out the representative.

The two family members are responsible for Santos to appear in court and follow the terms of his release. If he does not, they would then be responsible for paying the $500,000 bond.

Under his bond agreement, Santos, who is running for re-election, may travel between New York and Washington, D.C., but must obtain advance permission for other trips.

For weeks, the representative and his attorney have fought the unsealing of the co-signers names, saying that Santos would rather go to jail

than release their names.

Santos, infamous for his deception that resulted in his election to federal ofce, pleaded not guilty last month to a 13-count federal indictment.

This included seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to Congress.

The 3rd District representative was arrested following the charges and released on a $500,000 bail bond that was co-signed by three individuals. Santos refused to release the names of the individuals, one of which repealed their sponsorship due to media coverage of the arrest.

News outlets, such as the AP and The New York Times, requested for the names of the co-signers to be released for transparency in the representative’s afairs.

A federal court ruling made by Federal Magistrate Judge Anne Shields determined that Santos had to reveal the names of the co-signers on his $500,000 bond.

Santos and his attorney Joseph Murray, whose law ofce is located in Great Neck, fought the ruling through a June 9 appeal.

The appeal letter from Murray stated that a “media frenzy” has ensued in the wake of 13 federal fraud charges granted fled on May 9 against Santos and his arrest the following day.

“These attacks have been extremely angry, anti-gay, anti-Republican and all around anti-social,” Murray states in the letter. “Moreover, even the government recognizes the unique and potentially dangerous/ harassing environment that Defendant has been subjected to in that the government was so kind to ofer assistance for Defendant entering the courthouse on May 10, 2023, by avoiding the mass of media that had appeared at the courthouse.”

Murray stated in the letter that releasing the names of the co-signers of his bail bond would subject them to the same harassment. He said due to the political climate, the threat of political violence, the co-signers’ ages and employment, their privacy interests are “more concerning.”

He said that if their names are released, it is “very likely” the co-signers, who we now know are Santos’ father and aunt, will withdraw as well land may subject Santos to pretrial detention and more onerous conditions.

Continued on Page 16

ERIC Comfort SHOES

ERIC Comfort SHOES

PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

U.S. Rep. George Santos.

15 added to town women’s roll of honor

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Women across the North Shore were honored Friday morning at Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington as the most recent additions to the May Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor were recognized.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the event, which first started as a way to further celebrate Women’s History Month and acknowledge the women in North Hempstead who have made meaningful contributions to their community, said Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, a 2020 honoree.

“Speaking from personal experience, the most special thing is to see your name enshrined with the other extraordinary women of our town,” DeSena said.

The Roll of Honor is named after former town Supervisor May Newburger, a Great Neck resident who served five consecutive terms from 1994 to 2003. Newburger was the first female town supervisor in Long Island and served in the state Assembly for eight years and on the town

board for two.

The 15 women honored at the breakfast Friday were Emma Azevedo and Carla Strauss of East Williston, Melody Aziz, Judy Liman, Farangiss Sedaghatpoor and Adrienne Vaultz of Great Neck, Antonietta Maria Manzi of Manhasset, Dr. Umilesh Arya of Old Westbury, Kimberly Keiserman of Port Washington, Hiyako Fellows of Roslyn Harbor, Samantha Rubin of Roslyn Heights, Jean-Marie Posner of Sands Point, Dr. Samarth Joseph and Julie Lyon of Westbury and Kelly Melore of Williston Park.

A special tribute was given to the Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness campaign, which was started in honor of New Hyde Park resident Colette Coyne, who died at 30 years old in 1998 from melanoma. The nonprofit works today to increase public awareness on the dangers and causes of skin cancer and melanoma in honor of Coyne.

“The honorees don’t fit one mold, it is a mix of youth and experience,” North Hempstead Clerk Ragini Srivastava said. “Their successes are an example that everything is possible.”

Temple Judea work for others

(Hebrew:

Temple Judea has a tradition of “tikkun olam”, (Hebrew: ), a concept in Judaism, literally meaning “repairing of the world.” A more general interpretation refers to various forms of action intended to meet the challenges and needs that may be presented in the community

The Social Action Committee of Temple Judea has often over the years, provided much-needed food, supplies and clothing to needy residents living in local Nassau County communities. The Committee actively engages in the concept of “repairing the world” on a very local basis.

In the Fall of this year, the Committee collected cleaning supplies, which in partnership with the Sid Jacobson JCC distributed an assortment of items to local agencies for distribution to needy families.

Most recently, the Committee, under the guidance of the two chairpersons, Alicia Munves and Rita Marcus,provided roast chicken dinners, side dishes and desserts to a local shelter for homeless women and children. Pictured below are the two chairpersons and members of the Social Action Committee preparing for the event.

Temple Judea offers a wide range of interesting, vibrant, and community-based programs year-round, in addition to engaging learning opportunities for children and teenagers. New members are always welcome. Temple Judea is located at 333 Searingtown Road, Manhasset (exit 36N on LIE); 516 621-8049; temple-judea.com.

Honored by memorial fund

The Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund has officially given out $1 million in grants to send at-risk children touched by gun violence to summer sleep-away camp.“Standing up against gun violence and for gun safety legislation has been a mission of my life. That is why I was so grateful and proud to be recognized by the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund,” Zimmerman said in a statement. “The unwavering strength and courage of my dear friends

Honoring heroes of World War II

Nassau County Legislator Arnold W. Drucker (D –Plainview) commemorated the heroes of World War II during a special event at the Museum of American Armor on Saturday, June 10.

Held as part of the museum’s annual World War II weekend, this tribute to America’s “Greatest Generation” and their courageous defense of freedom around the world included living historians portraying world leaders like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a Sherman tank crew. They were paired with the Museum’s extensive collection of historic armaments to cre-

ate an immersive and evocative experience for visitors.

“We will forever owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women whose valor and determination were instrumental in rescuing the world from the evil clutches of the Nazis during World War II,” Drucker said. “The Museum of American Armor’s event was a fitting celebration that placed their sacrifices in the forefront of all of our minds, and I thank Gary Lewi and everyone at the Museum for their tireless efforts to educate the public through immersive programs like their World War II weekend.”

Linda Beigel Schulman and Michael Schulman in the face of unspeakable tragedy are a constant source of inspiration for me. It is an honor to stand with them, remembering Scott’s dedication to children and honoring his legacy by sending atrisk youth touched by gun violence to sleep-away camp.”“We made Robert Zimmerman our 2023 Honoree because Robert has stood with us from the very beginning in supporting the mission of the Scott J. Beigel

Memorial Fund, to send at-risk underserved children touched by gun violence to summer sleep-away camp,” Linda Beigel Schulman said in a statement. “He believes, as I do, in pre-habilitation…keeping young children out of the criminal justice system and giving them hope and opportunity for their future. Robert’s staunch support of reasonable gun safety laws, on a statewide and national level, shows his dedication to the safety of children everywhere.”

Art Guild of Port awards 3 seniors scholarships

The Art Guild of Port Washington Inc. awarded scholarships this year to three high school seniors from a vast pool of applicants all over Nassau County. The scholarships were awarded to those seniors that would be pursuing the visual arts in their future after high school and display a strong commitment to art in the present.

The funding of this wonderful opportunity comes from the Kazickas Family Foundation, allowing each winner to receive $1,000. The foundation has been sponsoring this scholarship for 5 years now.

“The Kazickas Family Foundation continues to support young people in educational paths. Our belief is that the arts play an integral part of our history and culture. Art can express ideas that otherwise may not be communicated and has the power to incite change.

We are honored to support these talented students and the bright futures ahead of them,” said Marcie Kazickas.

Upon submitting their portfolios of 5 works,

along with brief descriptions for each, a judge reviewed the seniors’ applications and selected three winners. For the 2023 year, the judge was Stephanie Navon-Jacobson, an adjunct professor at St. John’s University.

After careful consideration, she chose the three 2023 winners: Natalie Hayes from East Rockaway High School, Julie Nabet from Locust Valley High School, and Georgia Na from Great Neck High School.

At The Art Guild’s annual Members Showcase on Friday June 9, Navon-Jacobson’s reasons for selecting each of the three were read.

For Natalie Hayes, Navon-Jacobson described her work as having a “lovely, narrative quality to each piece,” and expressed her as having “exceptional skill.”

In terms of Julie Nabet’s works, NavonJacobson’s comments discussed especially the topics which her works covered, including “the illustrative answer to societal sexism.”NavonJacobson’s comments also applauded Nabet on

Marceil Kazickas and scholarship winners

her varied use of mixed media.

Finally, for Georgia Na’s works, Navon-Jacobson expressed it as a “wonderful use of multiple mediums” and added that Na took an “innovative approach to illustrate being a tourist or

walker in a new city.”

All of these high school artists have plans to pursue art in the future and were in attendance at the showcase.

Georgia Na and Natalie Hayes will both be attending the Rhode Island School of Design and Julie Nabet will be attending the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“The Art Guild is thrilled to be part of the growth process these students are taking for their futures in the arts. We love to showcase and support their talents for the entire community to view and appreciate,” said Katie Bellomo.

The Art Guild will be continuing to offer this scholarship in the future — thus, high school seniors can begin preparing their portfolios now for the 2024 application.

“Going into a creative field is not always an easy path. I’m so glad that The Art Guild can help make that path a little easier with a scholarship,” said Lisa Grossman, executive director of The Art Guild.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TEMPLE JUDEA

Alicia Munves, left, Rita Marcus, committee chairs Anise Cherry, Nancy Fadem, Karen Blum, Allison Fox and Denise Perry, right.

PHOTOS COURTESY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARMOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT J. BIEGEL MEMORIAL FUND

Linda Biegel Schulman, from left, Robert Zimmerman, and Michael Schulman,.

Natalie Hayes, Julie Nabet, Georgia Na

E. Hills eyes nitrogen-reducing septics

Environmentally-conscious systems may be required for new construction in village’s future

created the S.E.P.T.I.C. program.

This grant program ofers up to $20,000 to eligible property owners to go towards the purchase and installation of one of these new septic tanks.

Eligible applicants are small businesses, residents or nonprofts that produce less than 1,000 gallons a day in sanitary fow, which is equivalent to a nine-bedroom home. It is also only available for replacements of an existing septic system and not for new construction.

The program has a total of $8 million in available funding, which can support 403 applicants. It is funded by state funds and federal American Rescue Plan funds.

Jobin said the program is seeking additional funding and is looking towards villages to support the initiative by passing ordinances that progress the use of nitrogen-reducing septic systems.

BY CAMERYN OAKES

The Village of East Hills is considering the requirement of nitrogen-reducing septic systems for new construction in the village in keeping with initiatives

from Nassau County to encourage environmentally conscious waste systems.

The Board of Trustees listened to a presentation given by Justin Jobin, an environmental scientist with Coastal Wastewater Solution, which is consulting with Nassau County on its initia-

Sport Psychology

tive to push nitrogen-reducing septic systems.

These environmentally-conscious systems are built to prevent the fow of nitrogen into local water sources.

Jobin said the North Shore is susceptible to nitrogen pollution from sep-

tic systems, which are responsible for a majority of water pollutants.

The efects of nitrogen pollution include fsh kills and harmful algae growth.

To promote the use of nitrogen-reducing septic systems, Nassau County

While the village did not make any decision related to the issues, Mayor Michael Koblenz said they are interested in requiring environmentally conscious septic systems in new and substantially improved homes.

The East Hills Board of Trustees will convene at 5:30 p.m. on July 18.

Manhasset surgeon dies in road rage assault

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Dr. Tom Ferraro has specialized in sport psychology for 20 years and works in the fields of golf, tennis, soccer, baseball, football, wrestling, lacrosse, figure skating, gymnastics, softball, fencing and more. He has helped professional teams, Olympians and elite young athletes learn how to manage the intense pressure of competitive sports. He appears on both TV and radio and has sport psychology columns in 5 different newspapers and has been featured in The New York Times, Wall street Journal and the London Times. Golf Digest includes him in their list of top mental game gurus in America. For a consultation see below:

Williston Park Professional Center

2 Hillside Ave, Suite E. Williston Park NY 11596

(building parallel to E. Williston railroad station) drtomferraro.com

drtferraro@aol.com

(516) 248-7189

A Manhasset doctor died June 16 after sufering a brain injury from a road rage incident in Brooklyn, police said.

Dr. Jaime Yun, 56, died of a brain injury after being punched in the face around 11:30 a.m. June 8 at Schenectady and East New York Avenues in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, police said.

Yun was a thoracic and cardiac surgeon and afliated with several hospitals in the area.

Dexter Alexander, 31, was charged with assault, intent to cause injury and menacing for his alleged involvement in the incident, police said.

Born in Venezuela, Yun moved to Colombia with his family before immigrating to New York in the 1970s, according to his obituary. Yun earned a bachelor’s degree at Columbia University and graduated from NYU Medical School, according to Fair Sons Inc.’s website.

Yun is survived by his wife, two children and fve brothers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRCHILD SONS, INC. FUNERAL HOME Dr. Jaime Yun, of Manhasset.

PHOTO BY CAMERYN OAKES

East Hills Board of Trustees listen to a presentation on nitrogen-reducing septic systems.

Sinanis shares truth with Herricks grads

“Simple, yet profound,” superintendent reminds seniors the importance of asking questions

BY BRANDON DUFFY

During his first commencement remarks in Herricks, Superintendent Tony Sinanis shared with graduates “a simple, yet profound” truth.

“Asking great questions is more important than having all the answers,” Sinanis said Friday evening during the 64th annual Herricks commencement ceremony.

The superintendent reminded graduates that the beauty of learning comes from both the answers they discover and the questions they ask.

“The willingness to embrace uncertainty and approach challenges with a curious mind is what sets apart those who merely exist, from those who thrive,” Sinanis said.

Friday’s ceremony started like many before it and like many after it will. Herricks High School Principal Joan Keegan invited graduates to the podium to welcome guests in a variety of languages spoken all over the world, representing the diversity within the community.

Board of Education Vice President Henry Zanetti and PTSA President Barbara Baur-Rizzo provided remarks during the ceremony. Each of the speakers expressed their gratitude and appreciation to Herricks staff and parents.

In a break from tradition, lifelong best friends valedictorian Jeylin Lee and salutatorian Ashley Lam gave a joint address.

Lam said while reflecting on their time at Herricks and trying to come up with a speech, it couldn’t be said without the other.

Lee added the high school journey was not one done alone but one full of companionship.

“Herricks is a beautiful journey built from

teamwork and collaboration,” Lee said. “What better way to demonstrate these values one last time than through a joint graduation speech?”

The two drew comparisons between their 12-year journey through Herricks and three of the twelve labors of Hercules, the mythological demigod known for his strength and courage.

Speaking on his battle with the nine-headed Hydra, the graduates noted the importance of prioritizing the most important tasks first and don’t be afraid to help.

Hercules’ second task, cleaning King Augeas’ stables, seemed at first insurmountable, the graduates said. It wasn’t until he diverted two nearby rivers to wash the filth, emphasizing the power of creative problem solving and thinking outside the box when confronted with challenges, Lee said.

The story of Cerebrus, the three-headed dog who guarded the underworld, embodied the willingness to confront danger in order to achieve a greater good.

“Similarly, we must remember to celebrate our own uniqueness, as each of us has distinct interests and talents,” Lee said. “Like Hercules, we can all overcome our own obstacles, slay our own monsters and become the heroes of our own story.”

Lee ended their remarks with what they learned from both Hercules and Herricks.

“Listen to your heart, but also your friends and know that you have the strength to find yourself find your place and find your people,” Lee said. “As Ashley and I have realized, we don’t have to do it alone. Let’s take some friends along on our journey to become heroes.”

WILLIAM J ALLSBROOK Jr

“William, you were always my hero. I wanted to be just like you, but I didn't play football or basketball like '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”

Help us find a photo for ever y name on The Wall

Each name on The Wall represents a family who was forever changed by their loss

Help us find photos for the Wall of Faces to ensure that those who sacr ificed all in Vietnam are never forgotten.

Vist www V VMF.org/Faces to lear n more

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Herricks High School celebrated the graduating Class of 2023.

OUR VIEWS Editorial Cartoon

Why county delay in release of crime stats?

In January, Nassau County police disclosed that major crime had spiked 41% in Nassau in 2022 led by a sharp increase in property crimes.

“There is a message out there that crime is on the rise and that’s true,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told Newsdaywhile pointing out the murder rate was the lowest in more than 60 years.

The 41% rise in Nassau crimes compared to a 15% increase in Suffolk County, according to Newsday’s report. New York City reported a 22% jump in major crimes for 2022 tempered by a year-end drop.

In April, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Ryder announced a new crime-fghting initiative to combat the rise in violent crime locally and across the country.,

The initiative, known as the Overwatch program, divided Nassau into four quadrants to be patrolled by 20 police ofcers in police vehicles focused on preventing potential crimes from occurring at places of worship, schools and other highprofle areas.

“This is not a place where it’s going to be opportune for you to commit a crime,” Blakeman said. “To our residents and our business visitors and our guests, this is a safe county and we’re going to keep it safe. We’re on the ofensive and we’re going to be proactive.”

The county executive, as he had routinely in the past, blamed cashless bail and raise-the-age laws that determine when minors are subject to adult courts as reasons Nassau should be more proactive.

Since April Blakeman and Ryder have gone silent on crime in Nassau and the impact of the Overwatch program.

The county had also been silent on the county’s crime rate in 2023 — until this past week.

For the frst time since October 2022, county police updated crime

statistics on their website and the results were generally very positive.

The department’s Strat-Com Comparison showed a 1.07 decrease in major crimes in the frst fve months of 2023 compared to 2022 led by a 41% decline in stolen vehicles.

Among the few negatives was a 13.65% increase in all other crimes, a 150% increase in murders from two to fve and a 25% increase in robberies.

The 3rd Precinct showed a 2.55% decline in major crimes. The 6th Precinct had an even larger decline with major crimes falling more than 32%.

The 3rd Precinct, located in Williston Park, serves the communities of Albertson, Bellerose Terrace, Bellerose Village, Carle Place, East Garden City, East Meadow, East Williston, FloralPark Center, Garden City Park, Herricks, Mineola, New Cassel, New Hyde Park, North NewHyde Park, Roslyn Heights, Salisbury, Searingtown, Stewart Manor, Uniondale, Westbury,and Williston Park

The 6th Precinct, located in Manhasset, serves the communities of East Hills, Flower Hill, Great Neck Plaza, Harbor Hills, Manorhaven, Munsey Park, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Manor, Plandome Heights, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, SaddleRock, Sea Clif, Thomaston, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Great Neck, Greenvale, Manhasset, Roslyn Heights and University Gardens.

Strangely, we have yet to hear from Blakeman or Ryder on the good news about Nassau

But Nassau County residents should not have had to wait until June to fnd out the positive trend in Nassau – especially because of the 41% spike in 2022.

This year’s decline shows that the county is holding even with 2022 — not that the 41% spike in 2022 was reversed.

BLANK SLATE MEDIA LLC

22 Planting Field Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577

Phone: 516-307-1045

E-mail: hblank@theisland360.com

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By contrast, New York City releases its crime statistics monthly, usually by the ffth of the following month. The city’s report breaks down crime by category. It also presents what the city is doing to bring the crime rate down.

The county Legislature should insist Nassau police do the same. Nassau residents should not have to wait six months or a year to fnd out about crime in the county or determine whether more needs to be done.

Blank Slate Media was also forced to use Freedom of Information Law requests, which requires Nassau police to respond, on several occasions in 2022 to obtain updated crime statistics during the year.

Nassau County and the Nassau County Police Benevolent Association agreed earlier this year to a 8-1/2-year contract running retroactively from Jan. 1, 2018 until July 1, 2026 that increases the top base pay for ofcers from $122,000 to $141,000. The starting pay for new ofcers would also be increased from $35,000 to $37,333.

“I believe this agreement keeps

our police department at the highest levels of salary in the nation, but at the same time has provisions that enhance the safety of our communities and guards the taxpayers’ money,” Blakeman said.

If Nassau police are going to be asked to pay for among the bestcompensated police in the nation, shouldn’t taxpayers and legislators receive more regular reports indicating how Nassau’s highly compensated police are performing?

But the only crimes that Blakeman has commented on since April are those that have taken place in New York City.

Blakeman traveled to New York City in May to hold a rally in support of Daniel Penny, a white former Marine from West Islip arrested for the chokehold death on a subway car of Jordan Neely, a homeless, 30-yearold black man sufering from mental illness.

The New York City medical examiner’s ofce said the cause of death was compression of the neck and ruled it a homicide.

Penny was arrested by New York City police and indicted on man-

slaughter charges by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a week later after the fatal subway incident.

Blakeman objected, citing the safety of Nassau County residents who work and play in New York City for his comments.

Blakeman also called the expected indictment of former President Trump on 34 felony counts related to payments to a porn star a “political and malicious prosecution” – fve days before the expected announcement of the charges by DA Bragg.

Newsday reported Saturday that political analysts say Blakeman, a Republican from Atlantic Beach, is playing to his party’s conservative base as it tries to build on wins in 2021, when the Nassau GOP fipped top countywide ofces, and in 2022 when it took two congressional seats historically held by Democrats.

Some black leaders and Democrats, they said, expressed concern that Blakeman may be trying to follow a political playbook that attempts to stoke fears of crime by using language that feeds on racial stereotypes.

Continued on Page 16

Choosing public service while bouncing a ball

There are young people who graduate college with a clear vision of what’s next. Others are lost. In 1973, I was lost.

This past May marks 50 years since I graduated from Rutgers University. I had no clear vision about what might be ahead. On a whim, I mailed an application to VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), which is the domestic equivalent of the Peace Corps, known today as AmeriCorps VISTA.

VISTA’s mission is to organize people to improve communities through national service and volunteering, a foundation of our national culture.

In the months following graduation, I returned to my childhood home and worked a variety of jobs in construction, warehouse work and security (bouncer at a bar).

Meanwhile, as my VISTA application was pending, I took a cross-country trip with three friends.

I distinctively recall the phone call which came when I returned

home, advising me that my VISTA application was approved and, should I choose to accept, my assignment was to be in Grand Island, Neb.

Grand Island? Where is that?

I pulled out a map from an old National Geographic magazine on my bookshelf (they always included lots of cool maps) and found that Grand Island is just about mid-U.S. I thought it over, decided to follow my heart, and I accepted.

They few me to Kansas City for a week’s training to orient me to the people, places, and, things I needed to know. I learned that I would be living with a local family in a low-income predominantly Mexican-American community until I found a place of my own.

As a volunteer, I received subsistence wages to cover bare necessities.

The good news was housing was inexpensive. I rented a house with three other VISTAs, as we were known, for $100 month (yes, $25.00 each!). The little yellow house we moved into was situated right on the edge of a

cornfeld.

As far as my VISTA “work assignment,” although it was never really formalized per se, I gravitated to working with at-risk teens.

While I was not a trained counselor (my college major was economics) I was naturally comfortable with children and teens. I had served as a “big brother” in a college service pro-

gram and had good role models in my father and uncles.

Intuitively, I knew that I could not engage the teens successfully without the consent of their elders, particularly since I was a gringo stranger new to town. I wondered, how do I engage these kids, gain the trust of their elders, and begin to organize something that might be meaningful.

“How do you organize?” asked civil rights leader Robert P. Moses. “You bounce a ball. You bounce a ball, and some little kids come by to play, and then some bigger kids arrive, and then some high school and college kids, and you begin to talk issues with their parents, and then you organize.”

I lived in an area of town with only dirt roads. My house was just across the tracks that carried freight trains day and night. The ever-present train whistle was a part of the daily soundtrack. A short walk beyond the tracks was a churchyard with a basketball hoop. I walked over to the church and bounced a ball.

I was 22 at the time, not much

older than the kids hanging out there. I bounced the ball and soon we had a game. It was that moment, and the decisions that led up to it that turned into a 50-year-long career in social work devoted to children’s mental health.

My VISTA roommates left Grand Island after their one-year commitment. I was ofered a job at a local community mental health agency, on the strength of my youth work that was devoted to alcohol and substance use prevention and strengthening cultural identity through the use of the arts (music, dance, poetry).

I stayed on in Grand Island, living in the little yellow house for two more years, until I was accepted into the Adelphi University School of Social Work, which provided me with the opportunity to advance my work with young people.

If you are a recent graduate and feel lost, as I did, don’t lose hope. Keep an open mind and heart. For me, national service became the path and infection point in my life.

Strange but true things in government

Lately there have been strange happenings within New York’s body politic. Here’s a sampling: Every three hours a person in New York City dies from drug overdose. There were over 2,600 such deaths in 2022 and over 1,300 so far this year.

What is the city Health and Mental Hygiene commissioner’s plan to address the crisis? In early June, Commissioner Ashwin Vasan unveiled a street vending machine that contains among other things “safe smoking” crack pipes and lip balm.

Items procured from the machine are free of charge. The city expects to include syringes in the future.

“The pretense,” the New York Post notes, “is that this will slow or stop the surge in overdose deaths, along with other grim side efects of drug addiction.”

Do you honestly believe free drug paraphernalia will combat drug abuse?

My guess: the free products will only further enable drug uses.

Speaking of drugs, the sales tax revenue the Hochul administration projected from the legal sale of marijuana is missing the mark by a mile.

According to a report commissioned the New York Medical Marijuana Operations, “the current state of the cannabis market in New York is an unmitigated disaster.”

The study concludes that “state cannabis laws are too restrictive for legal weed vendors while allowing an illegal market to fourish.”

While there are merely 15 legal dispensaries open at the present time, there are at least 1,400 illegal ones in New York City and hundreds more statewide that are not reporting sales taxes.

What’s being done to crack down on the illegal vendors? Very little. There is more talk in ofcial circles than action.

Shoplifting in retail stores is out of control. Struggling shopkeepers have been forced to expend scarce capital to install plastic anti-theft cases.

I wasted 10 minutes the other day in a New Hyde Park drugstore waiting for a worker to unlock a shelf that contained the toothpaste I wished to purchase!

In New York City there were 13,798 reported retail thefts in the frst quarter

of this year.

Thieves locked up are slapped with non-bail-eligible misdemeanors if they stole less than $1,000 in merchandise.

The results of no-bail in 2022: 327 people were responsible for 30% of the 22,000 shoplifting arrests.

Nallely De Jesus, owner of Associated Supermarkets in the Bronx, has written, “But the sad truth is too many workers have been attacked, too many

stores have been robbed, and too many customers have been placed in danger, which is why we need the state to step up with tougher penalties for recidivist shoplifters who attack retail workers.”

Will Albany legislators act on her plea? Don’t hold your breath.

Assembly speaker Carl Heastie, supports amending “Sammy’s Law” to drop New York City’s speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph.

However, the speed restrictions are often violated by state legislators.

The Post recently reported, “Speeding appears to be a way of life for the lower chamber. City Records show at least 125 trafc violations, overwhelmingly for speeding, by vehicles with Assembly-afliated license plates.”

Speaker Heastie’s car with a NYA-1 plate has been hit with speeding violations at least 11 times, the Post reported Monday.

My question: Were taxpayer dollars expended to pay the fnes?

The self-righteous former mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, who claimed he always “put the public interest frst,” was slapped with the biggest fne ever leveled by the City’s Confict-of-Interest

Board.

De Blasio has to fork over $155,000 in penalties and another $320,000 in reimbursement charges for using New York police ofcers for personal reasons.

The 40-page report released by the board lists de Blasio’s many abuses.

For example, cops were ordered to move his daughter’s personal efects from a Brooklyn apartment to her new residence in Manhattan.

Police ofcers were used as chauffeurs for members of the de Blasio family.

On one occasion, cops picked up de Blasio’s brother at an airport and drove for two hours to drop of the sibling at a New Jersey address.

The Confict Board concluded that de Blasio, time and again, ignored ethics guidelines and used police personnel during his ill-fated presidential campaign for political purposes.

De Blasio, as well as Speaker Heastie and his Democratic colleagues, apparently subscribe to the adage “rules for thee but not for me.”

I will report more strange but true political happenings in future columns. Stay tuned.

Heights, NY 11577.

When supercomputers become your confessor

“Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” The more things change, the more they remain.

Secularism grows and religious belief seems to shrink. Upon closer inspection, however, one can see how psychotherapy, a secular practice, parallels religious rituals in surprising ways. As an example, in Catholicism, everyone must regularly go to confession in order to cleanse the soul of previous sins of omission or commission. Confession allows the parishioner to be pure enough to receive the host on Sunday.

Confession is usually heard on Saturday afternoon when you are tak-

en to church and lined up with all of the other sinners and await your turn to enter the confessional. As you wait in line you need to fgure out what you’re willing to confess to the priest. It can’t be too grotesque but should be troubling enough to confess.

repeat the same thing next month.

People will suffer but who is there to listen?

The priest is seated within the confessional and hidden behind a screen. The screen is there so that your shame might be lessened somewhat and thus increase the chance that you’re willing to confess. As a teenager I came up with the standard venial sins such as lying, cursing or having “impure ‘thoughts.” These sins weren’t bad enough to lose sleep over since they were not mortal sins, which were a one way ticket to hell. Mortal sins were things like murder. When it was your turn, you entered the confessional, knelt down, made the sign of the cross and said: “Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been one month since my last confession…these are my sins.” I assumed the priest was listening to all of this without dozing of and after I recited my venial sins he would ordinarily assign some penance which was often “Please say three Hail Mary’s , three Our Father’s and the act of contrition.” I would then leave the confessional, kneel down in one of the empty church pews and say my penance. Then I would go home and

EARTH MATTERS

Similar to the priest in the confessional, the psychotherapist sits silently and out of sight as the patient tries to recall and to share repressed guilt or shame from their past in the hope that by sharing it, their burden will be relieved. And just like the priest, the therapist remains quiet and non-judgmental and is bound to silence and confdentiality. The only signifcant diference is that the priest assigns penance whereas the therapist assigns a fee. Maybe the patient ought to start by saying “Bless me doctor, for I have forgotten. It has been one week since my last recall. These are my memories.”

We live in secular times. Nietzsche announced that “God is Dead” back in the 19th century and Freud followed around 1900 by suggesting that religion was little more than a childish neurosis. But despite all these cultural changes people still feel guilty about a host of “sins” and therefore they still need a place to talk about these worries in order to become free of them.

It is not unreasonable to suggest that the therapist is now the culture’s new high priest, willing to listen nonjudgmentally to whatever the patient needs to share. When patients develop trust and begin to recall long-forgotten, traumatic moments, they be-

come free and more happy. Just like talking in a confessional, the sharing of pain relieves the soul of its burden.

Cultural institutions may come and go. Some come into vogue while others seem to disappear, but what remains the same is that people will always sufer and so there will always be a need to fnd someone to listen and to ofer solace, forgiveness and comfort.

My guess is that in the not too distant future therapists will be replaced by compassionate computers who listen well and also provide comfort and forgiveness. Mystics and oracles were in charge back in ancient Greece. This was followed by priests and clerics who rose to power and replaced the oracles. Then came the therapists, psychiatrists and social workers who took charge.

But soon our time will be over and we will be made obsolete by super computers who will have better memories, better voices and even better insight into the human psyche. Chat GTP is impressive enough, but in 40 or 50 years I guarantee every adult will have a super therapist within their computer who will be on call 24 hours per day, never get tired and will be able to ofer the best advice and encouragement available.

This brave new world is coming so you had better get ready.

The environmental nightmare of plastic

In Mike Nichol’s iconic 1967 flm “The Graduate,” the character played by Dustin Hofman is given one single word of advice from a helpful neighbor regarding his future.

“Plastic,” says the neighbor.

The joke was that at the time the movie was made, the word plastic was understood to mean something cheap, sterile and inconsequential — certainly not something for a young college grad to aspire to.

Today the word plastic has taken on another meaning for a new generation of college grads, and one which they can’t be happy about. Because the word now represents the hubris of mankind, the disregard with which we treat the natural world and our apparent collective inability to change or adapt our behavior even in the face of signifcant harm.

No doubt plastic is a miracle product. In 1907, Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland discovered that the chemical compound phenol could be combined under heat and pressure with formaldehyde gas to create a cheap, lightweight, almost unbreakable material that could be made into a wide range of consumer products. A relatively recent invention at the time, the telephone, was one of the frst to be mass-produced using the material called “bakelite.”

Baekeland’s discovery opened up a new and exciting feld of chemis-

try, and soon laboratories around the world were humming with activity, experimenting with combinations of fossil fuels and chemicals, creating new materials never seen before. Diferent combinations, many of them containing chemicals highly toxic to humans in their raw form, could yield materials that seemed to defy nature itself. New companies were formed to market the new discoveries, churning out amazing products that would revolutionize the way we live.

One of the greatest characteristics of the new products was that they were virtually indestructible. Things made from plastic could be broken into smaller pieces, but unlike products made from wood or metal or other natural materials, no combination of sun, rain, wind, biology or ocean waves could return them to their original state.

Another undeniable virtue of the new plastic materials was their low cost to manufacture, making plastic items cheap for consumers. And because they were cheap (and marketing being what it is), we were encouraged to throw away any plastic product that had broken or outlived its usefulness.

Apparently, few people viewed these two ideas as incompatible with the natural world. Throwing away something that was indestructible meant that every single piece of plastic ever created was going to remain on the Earth some-

PATTI WOOD Earth Matters

where, in some form. Anything made of plastic was forever.

They say that hindsight is 20/20, and in retrospect the manufacturers and purveyors of plastic (or the government that regulates them) should have been more vigilant in developing and implementing some kind of “return” system so that plastic products wouldn’t be so easily released into the world. And perhaps then we might have seen the handwriting on the wall.

Because not only has our entire world – our air, our water, our food and yes, our bodies – become contaminated with tiny pieces of plastic, but now we’re learning that the toxic chemicals we

believed were safely baked into plastic where they couldn’t escape, are also being released into our air, water and food, where they are impacting all life forms.

Well, you think, if we just collect all the plastic in the world, we can prevent further devastation of the environment. But it turns out that’s not as easy as it sounds. The plain truth is plastic recycling doesn’t work, and it’s worth noting that the industry knew this a long time ago. Crushing it releases microplastics into the air in tremendous quantities. Burning it releases toxic gases. Piling it in landflls eventually releases some of those same toxic chemicals into the environment as it degrades into smaller and smaller pieces. Trying to make energy out of used plastic by burning it under high temperatures has turned out to be a complete bust.

And once it’s created, it’s hard to make plastic into something else. Just as you can’t extract the eggs or the milk from a baked cake, you can’t take the chemicals out of plastic. Once it’s been manufactured under intense pressure and heat into a plastic bottle or plastic straw or television housing, it can’t be turned into a recycled product without creating even more chemicals.

The plastic industry is acutely aware of the problem it has created for the world and the public relations nightmare that is creeping up on it. The ad agency for the plastic industry has come

up with a multimillion-dollar campaign to try to convince Americans that plastic can be part of a clean and sustainable future. At the end of its current television commercial, a happy family dumps their used plastic into a beautiful blue recycling container as if their problem is solved. It’s not.

This summer millions of people will celebrate “Plastic-Free July,” a worldwide efort to address the plastic problem and seek other ways of conducting our lives that reduce or eliminate the use of single-use plastic. Take your own re-fllable cup or bottle to Starbucks or Dunkin. Ask the produce manager in the supermarket if you can have your zucchini without the Styrofoam tray and plastic wrap. Refuse the plastic bag at the store. Do not, do not, do not, buy drinking water in plastic bottles. Spend a few more pennies and support businesses which are packaging their products in reusable or biodegradable materials.

And remember: money talks. Wherever you can, stop buying things in plastic if you have an alternative. Talk to suppliers and store owners about their own use of plastic and whether they are trying to fnd alternatives.

And the next time you touch a plastic item, remember that it will be here on Earth long after you are gone, creating an environmental health crisis for someone else, your own children and grandchildren among them.

DR. TOM FERRARO Our Town

PHOTO BY TOM FERRARO IN ROME

Nassau residents cheated by casino deal

Nassau residents were bamboozled.

The Nassau County Legislature’s vote to approve the transfer to the Las Vegas Sands of the lease of the prime 70-acre HUB property that includes the Nassau Coliseum should be revoked.

Key elements that would have factored into the decision were deliberately hidden, including conficts of interest, the fact that NYU Langone was in talks to invest $3 billion in a new medical center at Nassau Community College (announced just three days after the vote, apparently without the legislators being aware the deal was in the works), the failure to disclose past legal difculties of Las Vegas Sands, which was represented as being “honest” and “trustworthy” and its big donations, fnancial ties and connections to decision-makers.

The Legislators, casting their “yes” vote also made a big point that Sands would not be taking a dime from the county but would be a cash cow in its cofers, when only days after winning the lease, the company announced it would seek tax abatement from the IDA. So in addition to reaping up some $2 billion that comes from gamblers’ losses (a big number of them Long Islanders), taxpayers will have to make up the diference in tax revenue.

Moreover, by giving Sands the 99year lease, the county lost all say in how the property would be developed, should the Sands want to transfer (sell) its rights to someone else – for example, if the New York State Gambling Commission respects local opposition and does

not award the Las Vegas Sands a casino license.

And while Long Island’s unions (led by John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, who also is on NCC’s board, which was strongly supportive) were the big cheerleaders for the deal, with three or four similarly large, multi-billion construction projects underway, where are all those construction workers coming from? Maybe the migrants who Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman wants to ban from the county would be good candidates.

Notably, John Durso’s daughter-inlaw, Dena Durso, sits on the Planning Commission, which Ok’d the lease – she was appointed by Blakeman in February. (Questions posed to Blakeman were not answered by presstime.)

Durso was also able to midwife a hospitality management program and workforce training programs for Nassau Community College that Sands will bankroll among the goodies (“community benefts”) Sands was able to sprinkle around key chambers of commerce and civic associations.

Presiding Ofcer Richard J. Nicolello presented the deal as once-in-a-lifetime and if the opportunity would be lost, the property would just lie vacant and decaying for years.

But he neglected to mention the NYU Langone proposal, when many of the residents who came out in opposition questioned why a high tech or life-sciences entity wouldn’t be a prime candidate to take over the property – just as Gov. Kathy Hochul has been promoting throughout Long Island, from Stony

KAREN RUBIN View Point

Brook to Northwell, with incentives and investments.

Apparently Nicolello, who responded to emailed questions through a spokesperson, also was not aware of the NYU proposal until after the vote – disturbing in itself. But, he added, “The preliminary concept regarding a potential medical center on the NCC property doesn’t impact the rationale behind the Coliseum lease property vote.”

Nor were the Democratic legislators aware of the proposal. (Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams recused himself, citing a confict of interest involving the employment of a relative.)

And then you have to wonder, instead of a life sciences or high tech HUB occupant that pays median salaries of $120,000, where will the 4,000 or so hospitality workers the Sands expects to hire – they claim at $70,000 – going to af-

ford to live? (Blakeman did his holy best to torpedo Gov. Hochul’s housing development plan, which she maintained was crucial if Long Island was to achieve its economic development goals.)

What else was omitted in the rosy depiction of the Sands and the claims, often made, that we can “trust” Las Vegas Sands to make good on its promises (paying community benefts, not taking tax money)? Oh yes, the fact that Sheldon Adelson paid out a $7 million criminal penalty to end a Department of Justice probe into the company’s violations of federal anti-bribery law, accused of making payments to win casino licenses in China and Macau.

The case against Adelson, an early mega-donor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, was erased on Jan. 19, 2017 (the day before Trump’s inauguration). Coincidence? Adelson also “donated” $5 million to Trump’s inauguration festivities. Adelson has since died, but there is no reason to believe that this is not the company’s business practice.

Meanwhile, Bruce Blakeman’s brother, Bradley, worked for Freedom’s Watch, a conservative lobbying entity that was majority-funded by Adelson, who was cast as the rightwing George Soros.

Also, the Legislature should not have voted to transfer the lease to the Las Vegas Sands until the lawsuit by Hofstra University was settled. As reported in the Long Island Herald, Hofstra is suing the Nassau County Planning Commission over claims of violating the state’s open meetings law by failing to give the public sufcient notice about a public hearing in March and for denying the public access

to work sessions related to the transfer of the property lease for the casino’s development. (https://www.liherald.com/ stories/hofstra-university-sues-countyplanning-commission-over-4-billion-nassau-hub-casino-proposal,174397)

The fact that John Durso’s daughterin-law is on the Planning Commission and did not recuse herself factors into Hofstra’s complaint.

Also, the dollar signs of proft – and the county’s share — that has so hypnotized the county legislators are projections – just like any gambler who expects the next roll to bring riches.

“County Executive Bruce Blakeman claims that he wants a massive casino in the heart of Nassau County because of the tax revenues,” The Say NO to the Casino Civic Association stated in response to learning of Las Vegas Sands seeking a tax abatements from the IDA. “Now that Las Vegas Sands has been awarded the land lease, it doesn’t want to pay its fair share of sales tax and real estate taxes. The pervasive negative impacts that a casino will bring to our county will require signifcant additional government and community resources to address.”

The group went on to say: “It is the height of hypocrisy for one of the world’s most proftable casino companies, with a market capitalization of $45 billion (and majority owned by a billionaire worth more than $34 billion) to ask for tax breaks from Nassau County residents. This is a company that plans to vacuum up gambling losses in excess of $2 billion a year, the majority of which are expected to come from Nassau County residents.”

AI, us and unintended consequences

The responses to developments in Artifcial Intelligence and generative computing (or machine learning from prompts) are increasingly loud. They include U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) proposals for new federal rules as European countries have done. They also include industry calls for a pause in developments that are already decades ahead of estimates.

Many assert that AI is as serious a threat as climate change and nuclear war because we are not prepared either individually or collectively to protect society from its nefarious uses. The concerns are not only about automation eliminating jobs and dislocating communities and families, but also about privacy violations and ruptures to cybersecurity.

We have witnessed the unintended consequences, as well as the benefts, of algo-

rithms. Some were designed to foster online communities and became tools to recruit radicals of every stripe. In praising the algorithms for increasing the numbers of those interested in streaming videos and other products, the progenitors failed to think of what harmful online communities, whether pornographic, terrorist, or hate-focused could be launched and promoted using the same tools.

Some advocates for a “pause” in the development of AI until safety concerns can be addressed are industry leaders. However, we question the adequacy of a pause and the sincerity of the advocates. Who can have confdence that a voluntary pause would be honored? Have we forgotten the lessons learned from the development of the internet, the status of voluntary compliance to health and safety standards, and the anti-regulation spirit in the country?

Why should we trust those who beneft most from the commercial development of AI, from the use and sale of our private information? Have they shown any conscience in policing their own behavior? They have even tried to dodge mandated compliance with federal protections for consumer information.

But we need to do something. We need to protect against the loss of human

judgment because of subservience to machines. We must be prepared for the “act” or “delay” decisions that could risk the extinction of human and animal life. These may be low probability events, but they are high-risk possibilities.

Imagine an AI-generated image of a missile headed toward the White House or a false image of Ukraine’s surrender to Russia or misinformation about basic medical

and health care. We need to be able to authenticate information quickly and accurately, even though machines can calculate at lightning speed.

One place to start in attempting to ensure the transparency, safety, reliability and management control of AI is to establish audit standards related to the material risks of AI. Other countries are doing this. These standards would require a recognition and sign-of of potential unintended consequences by directors and ofcers of both public and private companies. This is risk management at a new level.

President Truman created the Atomic Energy Commission to promote safety standards. Its mission was superseded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We now have the Cyber Safety Review Board’s Review of Inaugural Proceedings. It provides a roadmap for ensuring that the board “endures as a sustainable, replicable, and

professional model for publicprivate collaboration”. This could become a path to limit what is called computer-aided “surveillance capitalism.” Once it becomes law, it could help ensure that our systems will work to strengthen the security of critical infrastructure owners, operators, and users of all sizes, locations, and sectors.

As noted for many years, the so-called “law of unintended consequences” states that the actions of people always have efects that are unanticipated. While social scientists and economists have considered these efects for many years, politicians and the public generally ignore them at our peril.

The American sociologist Robert Merton identifed fve sources of unintended consequences, including “ignorance” and “error.” Another was the purposeful ignoring of unintended results, result-

ROBERT A. SCOTT, Ph.D. My Turn LEN KENNEDY, ESQ. My Turn

A refuge among the smallest of places

The sun set red.

A long dusk and we are lost on winding streets with hours of light yet this far north.

We arrived at this moment one day at a time, step by step on paths we made— sunrises, sunsets, darkness, heartache, and kept moving.

Though not always in the same directions. Gathering nourishment for love and strength— a dream or two along the way. There was never enough time to give up.

Starting out we were green with love, thoughts of many colors, our words promised a world not made of Puritan dreams.

Here a little crowd among lost streets, we are tired and hungry and wander in.

Tables in close quarters, locals guide us to perfect choices on a verbal menu in a language we don’t understand. Staying all night, we know love.

Stephen

Our $32.1 trillion national debt

There is no cause for celebration by President Biden and Congress now that our national debt exceeds $32.1 trillion. This averages $95,875 per citizen or $249,951 per taxpayer. (Source: June 26, 2023 National Debt Clock).There are thousands of employees who are familiar with the details of our federal budget. How difcult can it be to fnd billions in savings? This could assist in reducing our

periodic raising of the debt ceiling.

Millions of Americans cut their household budgets to make ends meet. It is time for Washington to live within its available existing revenues without excessive borrowing, just like millions of ordinary citizens.

The president and Congress have forgotten the old saying — a penny saved is a penny earned. Americans should send

both a penny to remind them that it is not a sin to save. Unless we change our ways, America is on the road to losing our status as the world’s No. 1 superpower to China. Just like mighty ancient Rome before the collapse, we are going down the path to become the world’s super debtor.

Larry Penner Great Neck

Why delay in county crime stats?

Continued from Page 12

They cited the Penny indictment and Blakeman’s efort to block a portion of the recent Summer Jam hip-hop concert at the UBS arena.

Blakeman denied race is a factor in his support of Penny or the Summer Jam lawsuit. In both instances, he said his views stem from a concern for the safety of residents.

“My job is to protect the people of Nassau County,” he told Newsday in an interview. “I represent a county that is larger than

10 states, and I think I refect the values of the residents. I think people appreciate my candor and I have heard from Democrats in Nassau who believe their party has gone too far.”

Blakeman cited similar concerns when he and other Republicans were running for countywide seats in 2021.

Their focus at the time was bail reform laws that they blamed on a spike in crime in New York following COVID.

Critics said there was no statistical corre-

lation between crime and the laws intended to protect people too poor to aford bail, mostly black and brown people, for being needlessly imprisoned for misdemeanors and non-violent crimes.

All this raises the concern that Blakeman is using crime statistics for political purposes, not the safety of Nassau residents.

He and Ryder can answer those concerns by releasing monthly Nassau crime statistics and explaining what the police are doing to combat wrongdoing.

AI, us and unintended consequences

Continued from Page 15

ing in conscious or unconscious bias. The fourth form he called “Basic Values,” by which he meant that hard work and asceticism can lead to their own decline through the accumulation of wealth and possessions. His fnal unintended consequence is the “self-defeating” prediction that proves false because the prediction itself alters the course of history.

While complaints of unintended consequences, especially due to ignorance and error, are often levelled at governmental programs, they occur in private enterprise and in our private lives as well. Think of businesses ignoring unintended results because they did not ft the expected results.

Given our vulnerability to unintended consequences of any type, it is especially important to map alternative outcomes in our planning. Cybersecurity is, or should be, a concern for all indi-

viduals and organizations. We have the ability if not the authority to wage war without the time for analysis and consultation.

Cyber-fraud of bank and credit card accounts, hacking of emails and other transmissions, some of high security, interference with the electrical grid, and even the fight paths of airlines and drones, are major concerns. Our homes are a hub for the internet of things because all appliances linked to the worldwide web may be accessible to others without authorization. The threats from unintended consequences in the use of AI are everywhere, and afect our nation, our communicates and even our relationships with others.

Our legislators need to follow Schumer’s lead in considering the outsized threats we have encountered in the digital age so far in government, civil society and private afairs, and embrace

the challenges posed by AI and generative computing. We need to protect individual rights, deter misinformation and expect trust between providers and users even as we seek to beneft from new technologies. It is incumbent upon leaders in these sectors to be active participants in the legislative process to ensure pragmatic results will follow if we are to protect ourselves and society from threats that have yet to emerge.

Robert A. Scott, president Emeritus, Adelphi University, and Len Kennedy, Esquire. Dr. Scott served in the Naval Security Group when on active duty in the United States Navy and was a member of the Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Committee under Secretary Jeh Johnson. Kennedy is a specialist in telecommunications and media law and Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School.

Santos’ bail co-signers revealed to be father, aunt

Continued from Page 6

It has not been revealed whether or not the two have now withdrawn due to their names being publicized.

There were originally three guarantors to secure Santos’s release, Murray said. But one of those people “had a change of heart” and withdrew their support, Mr. Murray wrote. He appeared to imply that the reversal was related to the media scrutiny of Mr. Santos’s legal case.

Santos has admitted to lying about his education and work history. But he has notaddressed other inconsistencies and has equivocated when asked about his business dealings and how they related to his political eforts.

Federal prosecutors accused Mr. Santos of orchestrating a scheme to solicit political contributions that he used for personal expenses; of fraudulently receiving more than $24,000 in pandemic unemployment benefts while he was actually employed; and of knowingly making false statements on House fnancial disclosure forms.

Santos is also being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Republican House members rejected a Democratic proposal to expel Santos from the House.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert decided that the names were to be disclosed to the public.

Santos’ next court appearance is scheduled for June

30.

If convicted of the top charges, Santos could face up to 20 years in prison.

Despite facing criminal charges and jail time, Santos has been adamant in running for re-election in 2024.

In an interview on Fox & Friends Monday, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA-20) laughed when co-host co-host Brian Kilmeade asked him if he was a part of Santo’s re-election campaign.

McCarthy said that he is not a part of Santos’ campaign and said the embattled representative should not run again.

Cipot

PHOTO BY STEPHEN CIPOT

YOUR GUIDE TO THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND DINING

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post has announced it will host a moderated conversation with Pulitzer Prize, GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning songwriter, actor, director, and producer Lin-Manuel Miranda on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Complementing the conversation and performing works from the Lin-Manuel Miranda songbook are Broadway stars Mandy Gonzalez (“In the Heights,” “Wicked,” “Hamilton”) and Javier Muñoz (“In the Heights,” “Hamilton”).

Music direction will be led by Dan Lipton (“The Band’s Visit,” “The Last Ship”). Moderator to be announced.

Tilles Center is proud to partner with the Miranda Family Fund in the creation of opportunities for artists of color and proceeds from this event will support these efforts. Tickets go on sale to Tilles Center Members on Wednesday, June 21 and to the general public on Friday, June 23, and can be purchased at tillescenter.org.

“Lin-Manuel Miranda is undeniably one of the most important voices of our time, as both an artist and an activist,” shares Tilles Center executive and artistic director Tom Dunn.

“At Tilles Center, we strive to entertain and enrich our community through arts performance, education, and advocacy. To host Lin-Manuel, Mandy Gonzalez, and Javi Muñoz not just in performance but also to raise awareness of opportunities for BIPOC artists squarely aligns with our enduring mission. It also promises to be another unforgettable evening at Tilles Center. I, for one, cannot wait to be present in the ‘room where this happens!’”

Lin-Manuel Miranda + Friends: An Evening of Conversation and Song will feature an intimate, thought-provoking conversation with Lin-Manuel that will cover his already legendary career, artistic process, and the causes he supports.

Interspersed throughout the conversation will be performances from Gonzalez and Mu-

ñoz featuring musical numbers from Hamilton, In The Heights, and more, backed by a live, four-piece band, led by music director Dan Lipton.

Miranda is the creator and original star of Broadway’s Tony-winning musicals, “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.’ “Hamilton” — with book, music and lyrics by Miranda, in addition to him originating the title role — was awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and earned a record-breaking 16 Tony Nominations, winning 11 Tony Awards including two personally for Miranda for Book and Score of a Musical.

Among his many accolades, Miranda is also a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award, the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, ASCAP Foundation’s Richard Rogers New Horizons Award, and the Portrait of A Nation Prize.

Crucial to Miranda’s work is his activism. For over 40 years, he and his family have created and championed initiatives and institutions that increase representation of underserved populations throughout the arts and government, supported relief efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Maria and Irma, and cofounded the Miranda Family Fund to support progressive values in the arts and government in which all people – regardless of race, origin, economic status, gender, sexual orientation, and/or disability – have access to education, the arts, fair elections, reproductive freedom, and inclusive voting practices; all of which are integral to American democracy.

Miranda also co-founded RISE Theatre Directory, which seeks to build a more equitable and inclusive theatre industry by centralizing DEIA tools and resources through a network of partners and a national personnel directory that focuses on uplifting those from underrepresented backgrounds, including but not limited to people of color, women, trans, nonbinary, deaf, and disabled theatre professionals.

“I happened to get the call for this event the day Lin-Manuel’s RISE Theatre Directory was announced, so the first thing I said was let’s use it!” shares music director Dan Lipton. “RISE was launched in partnership with MAESTRA, whose directory has become a major resource for me in hiring female musicians. Thanks to RISE, our band at the Tilles Center will amplify diversity while amplifying Lin’s songbook.”

Gonzalez is an accomplished film, TV, and stage actor, and author. She possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. Gonzalez has starred in Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler, In The Heights as Nina Rosario, for which she received a Drama Desk Award, and in Wicked as Elphaba.

Muñoz is an actor and activist whose impressive body of work spans theater, film, and television. He is best known for starring and co-creating the role of Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical Hamilton on Broadway for two years after Lin-Manuel Miranda departed the show (and was his alternate prior to that). Muñoz got his break starring as Usnavi in In The Heights.

Lipton conducted The Band’s Visit and Sting’s musical “The Last Ship” on Broadway. He’s arranged music and led bands for Kelli

Music supervision and orchestrations: “An Officer and a Gentleman” (2021-22 US tour), “The Other Josh Cohen” and “Don’t Quit Your Night Job” (off-Broadway), The Drama Desk Awards.Lin-Manuel Miranda + Friends: An Evening of Conversation and Song is sponsored, in part, by Diana and Randy Plotnitzky and Brenda and Jason Wilensky.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 23 and can be purchased at tillescenter.org.Tilles Center Members get early access to tickets on Wednesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. Membership support starts at $100 and includes exclusive presales throughout the year. Patrons can visit tillescenter.org/membership to become a member and purchase tickets before the public on sale.For more information, including performance dates, details, and tickets, visit tillescenter.org.

Tickets are available online at tillescenter.org or ticketmaster.com, in-person at the Tantleff Box Office or by telephone at 516.299.3100. The box office, located at 720 Northern Blvd. (Route 25A) in Brookville, New York, is open Tuesday to Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. Fees are associated with all orders. There are no refunds.

O’Hara, Audra McDonald, Brian d’Arcy James, Martha Plimpton, John Lithgow, Judy Kuhn and BD Wong.

For the first time since opening the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Museum in Stony Brook last fall, LIMEHOF recently awarded its annual music scholarships to five graduating students from across Long Island in a special ceremony held in the main exhibit hall.

This year’s Distinction in Music scholarship winners include Chris Hummel (Centerport, Harborfields High School), Jacob Leshnower (Dix Hills, Half Hollow High School East High School), Alexis Pabebianco (Williston Park,

Mineola High School), Luca Alexandru (Syosset, Syosset High School) and winning the Pat DeRosa Scholarship was Coleman Schubert (Babylon, Babylon Jr-Sr. High School).

The Pat DeRosa Memorial Scholarship was created to honor the memory of LIMEOHF inductee Pat DeRosa and was awarded specifically to a high school senior to continue their studies in Music on the saxophone or woodwind instrument.

“We are immensely proud of our scholarship

winners who have been granted the opportunity to pursue their passion for music through higher education,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF’s educational programs director. “Their talent, dedication, and commitment to their craft inspire us all. We believe that their journey will not only shape their own futures but also contribute to the rich musical legacy of our community and beyond.”

Both Patricia DeRosa Padden, the daughter of LIMEHOF inductee Pat DeRosa and her

daughter, Nicole DeRosa Padden(Pat’s granddaughter), were in attendance to present the scholarship in his name to Coleman Schubert.

Afterwards, they were presented with Pat DeRosa’s LIMEHOF inductee award trophy posthumously by LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo.

For more information about LIMEHOF’s scholarships and educational programs visit https://www.limusichalloffame.org/scholarshipsgrants/

The Lloyd Frazier Memorial Golf & Tennis Outing

Old Westbury Golf & Country Club 270 Wheatley Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568

LIMEHOF 2023 music scholarship winners Jacob Leshnower, from left, (Half Hollow High School East High School), Alexis Pabebianco (Mineola High School) Chris Hummel (Harborfields High School), Coleman Schubert (Babylon, Babylon Jr-Sr. High School) and Luca Alexandru (Syosset High School).

17 HILLSIDE AVENUE, WILLISTON PARK, NY 11596 • (516) 490-4877 OPEN HOURS: WED. - SAT: 12PM TO 10PM • SUN: 12PM TO 9PM BAR OPEN HOURS: WED - SUN 12PM TO 12AM • WWW.WILLISTONSWP.COM FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, July 17, 2023

Please Join Us!

Please Join Us!

SCHEDULE

The Lloyd Frazier Memorial Golf & Tennis Outing

The Lloyd Frazier Memorial Golf & Tennis Outing

Registration Begins at 10:00 a.m. Brunch

EVENT CHAIR: GERALD LAURINO

EVENT CHAIR: GERALD LAURINO

BRUNCH

Driving Range and Putting Green

HONOREE: CHRISTOPHER TSARSI

HONOREE: CHRISTOPHER TSARSI

Goody Bag Pickup

Chris & Tony’s Restaurant and 388 Restaurant

Chris & Tony’s Restaurant and 388 Restaurant

Monday, July 17, 2023

Old Westbury Golf & Country Club

270 Wheatley Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568

HRegistRation Begins at 10:00 a.m.

Driving Range and Putting Green

Goody Bag Pickup

Hmain shotgun staRts at 12:00 p m

Lunch on the Course

270 Wheatley Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568

HCoCktail ReCeption and dinneR: Begin at 5:00 p.m.

HdesseRt, pRogRam, and awaRds

CeRemony Begin at 7:00 p.m.

SCHEDULE

REGISTRATION

Registration Begins at 10:00 a.m.

Htennis CliniC and Round RoBin

Begin at 1:00 p.m.

HpiCkleBall Begins at 1:00 p.m.

Brunch

Driving Range and Putting Green

Goody Bag Pickup

Main Shotgun Starts at 12:00 p.m.

To register, you may fll in and mail the enclosed RSVP form, or simply log on to www.rmhcnym.org/events/golf2023/

Lunch on the Course

Tennis Clinic and Round Robin Begin at 1:00 p.m.

For further information, please contact Shauntelle Dixon, Special Events Manager at sdixon@rmhcnym.org, or telephone (516) 775-5683 ext. 135.

Pickleball Begins at 1:00 p.m.

Pickleball Begins at 1:00 p.m.

Cocktail Reception and Dinner Begin at 5:00 p.m.

Cocktail Reception and Dinner Begin at 5:00 p.m.

Dessert, Program, and Awards Ceremony

E V EN T CHA I R: G E RA LD L AURIN O H O NORE E : CHRI S TOPHER T SARS I C h ris & To ny ’s Restaura n t and 388 Restaura n t Lorem ipsum

Begin at 7:00 p.m.

Long Island Music Hall presents scholarships

Comptroller Elaine Phillips | Clerk Maureen O’Connell | Presiding Oficer Richard Nicolello | Legislator Howard Kopel Legislator Denise Ford | Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams | Legislator Siela Bynoe | Legislator Carriè Solages

Legislator Debra Mulè | Legislator C. William Gaylor III | Legislator John Giufrè | Legislator Mazi Pilip | Legislator John Ferretti

Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton | Legislator James Kennedy | Legislator Thomas McKevitt | Legislator Laura Schaefer

Legislator Arnold Drucker | Legislator Rose Marie Walker | Legislator Joshua Lafazan | Legislator Michael Giangregorio

EVENTS ARE BACK!

G.N. Library exhibit to cover the waterfront

The Great Neck Library is exhibiting “On the Waterfront: works by Ellen Piccolo” from July 10 to July 31 at our Main Library, 159 Bayview Ave., in Great Neck.

Piccolo is a representational oil painter with a focus on nautical abstractions. Many images capture commercial fleets in France and Spain.

Some are cropped large compositions that explore rigging, hulls, and equipment. Others appear to be abstracted riots of shape and color, but upon closer examination are actually enlarged micro-compositions. The location of the details and their exact purpose are a mystery.

Born in Brooklyn with initial training at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in her teens, she has evolved and honed her skills over many years while continuing to live and work in New York City. She received a Bachelor of Science at CUNY in 1977, followed by a Master of Fine Arts, Brooklyn College in 1981 under Samuel Gelber, Lennart Andersen and Ron Melhman.

She was formerly an art educator with the NYC Department of Education, and an adjunct professor at Queens College.

Since 1982, she has held numerous solo exhibitions with Prince Street Gallery, First Street Gallery, the NYC Arsenal, and the Knox Gallery in Massachusetts. Group exhibitions include the Prince Street Gallery, First Street Gallery, Albright Know Museum, Woodstock Artists Association, Chappaqua, and Ossam Gallery.

The Prince Street Gallery currently represents her work.

For more information, please contact Great Neck Library at (516) 466-8055 or email adultprogramming@greatnecklibrary.org.

Sing for Hope Piano at Queens Farm Museum!

A taste of the performing arts has arrived at Queens County Farm Museum! Sing for Hope Pianos has installed one of their signature instruments at the farm for guests to enjoy through July 5.

Queens Farm is one of ten guest sites to make music with this program in 2023.

The piano is located outside of the Farm Store and all guests are welcome to play.

Designed by local artist Arianna Santoriello, the inspiration was warm technicolor moss and vines growing through the urban landscape.

The pattern is whimsical and fun, and the bright harmonious colors will bring joy to all who walk by, calling them in to play the Sing for Hope Piano or simply dance along.

Sing for Hope harnesses the power of the arts to create a better world. Their creative programs bring hope, healing, and connection to millions of people in hospitals, care facilities, schools, refugee camps, transit hubs, and community spaces worldwide.

Learn more: https://singforhope.org/

DESIGN HOME

Future-proofing your home with tech

Some purchases just make sense. Like replacing your dishwasher when the old one breaks, or investing in a good pair of running sneakers if you have an active lifestyle.

Then there are the purchases that maybe don’t make sense, but we don’t have a lot of options for either. Like paying a ton each month for electricity.

Thousands of homeowners across Long Island are starting to question their monthly electric bills, not only because of the rising cost of electricity, but because of their environmental impact.

One of the best ways to reduce your home’s carbon footprint ahead of time is by investing in solar energy. Solar is a clean, renewable energy that can not only lower your level of greenhouse gas emission, but can reduce your electricity bill each month.

Many solar owners find their monthly utility bill reduced to around $20 each month, the required grid connection fee, which can help you save an estimated $100,000 over the course of its 25-year lifetime. Amid rising costs, locking in electric bill savings can help you future-proof your savings every month for the next two decades.

Solar panels have become much more efficient in recent years. They have also become much more aesthetically pleasing, with many homeowners opting to install all-black panels to match the design of their houses. Installing a solar array can also help homeowners increase the value of their home up to 4%.

The next step towards future-proofing your home is switching from a traditional

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system of interchangeable cassettes, but now with a simple press of a button on a handheld controller you can choose a sleeping position separate from your partner.

Dynamic combines the best that a traditional DUX to ofer, with the added advantage of adjustability. can you customize each side of the bed for optimal and comfort with our patented Pascal system of interchangeable cassettes, but now with a simple press of a on a handheld controller you can choose a sleeping separate from your partner.

Resolve to invest in your health. Visit a DUXIANA® store near you and discover why The DUX Bed is more than just a bed, it’s the frst step to a better, healthier way of living.

to invest in your health. Visit a DUXIANA® store near discover why The DUX Bed is more than just a bed, rst step to a better, healthier way of living.

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home heat source, like oil, with an electric heat pump.

After the heat pump is installed, it will be powered by your solar system, eliminating a separate heating and cooling bill for your home. The price of heating oil continues to rise, an electric heat pump can reduce your monthly bills.

Thousands of homeowners across Long Island have already taken advantage of fed-

eral, state, and local rebates to lower initial costs of future-proofing their home by investing in these technologies. By combining the available offers, some homeowners are able to reduce the costs of electrifying their homes by 50%.

As you evaluate these major home technology investments, there are smaller switches you can make around the home to help future-proof your appliances.

An electric cooking range that combines a stove and oven can further eliminate or reduce your monthly gas bill. You can also switch your current windows for more efficient ones that keep cold air in during the summer and warm air in the winter. This reduces your heating and cooling costs by keeping the temperature of your home more comfortable.

While not strictly a home improvement investment, many Long Islanders are also switching from driving traditional gasolinepowered cars to all-electric or hybrid vehicles. There are many public charging stations available, but the most convenient way of charging an EV is at home.

If you have solar panels, the electricity generated by the array can power your car using an EV home charger. This can greatly lower your monthly spend on gasoline, saving you upwards of $1,000 each year, and decrease your dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

When you go solar, the company you partner with will make sure to design a large enough system to support any additional home electrification technologies, allowing you to future-proof your home through the power of the sun.

If you’re interested in future-proofing your house with home electrification technologies, it’s important that you begin the process now to lock in savings and take advantage of all available rebates. The time is now, futureproof your home by going solar today.

Information provided by Abigail Sterling, EmPower Solar, www.empower-solar.com

YOU DESERVE A GOOD NIGHT’S REST.

Elevating space, optimizing your home

Far too many of us wait for the perfect time to get organized. Like with having a child or starting a new career trajectory, there is never a perfect time to start. As with taking on any new challenge, if you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting forever. Get started today with the following tips and tricks to declutter, reassess, and optimize any space, with the goal of saving yourself (and your loved ones and cohabitants) precious time, money, and energy.

Give yourself permission to take a crash course in the contents of your own home. With the goal of being able to move through your days with more intention and without having to spend or squander precious resources, be honest and ask yourself if you have recently or regularly thought, “I can’t find my ” or “I need to buy ”. Ultimately, 9 times out of 10, it’s there somewhere and no, you don’t need to buy it, you just need to uncover it. Once you do, you can work towards clearing out the extraneous items that were hiding it.

Start with a highly trafficked, low-emotion area. Allow yourself to experience the instant gratification of a decluttering challenge by starting with an area you use every single day, the contents of which you are not terribly emotionally attached to. Many people use the kitchen or

bathroom as their jumping-off point, emptying out all the contents therein, grouping them into categories, and assessing the items within those categories. 3 bottles of Tylenol, all partially full? Combine them into a single bottle and toss the other 2 bottles. 4 spatulas of the exact same size? Donate 3 of them, especially if you have a dishwasher. Regain the

awareness of just how much you own and make decisions about what it is you both want and need to keep.

Be honest, and if necessary, ruthless. Honestly ask yourself if you ever reach for that blouse, that blazer, that pair of trousers. If you spend the time looking at it and tossing it to the side every day, recognize that you’re wasting precious time as-

sessing options that you do not favor. The more items you feel negatively about, the more time you’re wasting. Donate or sell the items that you don’t wear or love. Get rid of one item a day. Challenge yourself to part with or use up at least one item every single day, whether it be a sock with a hole in it (toss this!) or an old bottle of sham-

poo (use this up!). Slowly but surely, you will see your space lean out, and you’ll force yourself to use up what you already have available.

Shop your home, but keep your backstock at the store. Try out a “buy nothing” day, followed by a “buy nothing” week, and so on. Before clicking “add to cart”, take a thorough look inside your cabinets and be certain that you don’t already have 3 bottles of ketchup or 6 cans of olives. While you’re at it, curb the habit of buying too much unnecessary backstock. The storage in your home is precious, and few people go through a bottle of ketchup that quickly.

Information provided by Samantha Karp Weitzman, Esq. (@thewellcuratedcloset).

Samantha is a licensed attorney and propertyand casualty insurance broker with a distinct passion and affinity for efficiency and frugality, achieved through home organization. Her philosophy centers around utilizing the items that already exist in a client’s home to create a streamlined and optimized space, without unnecessary expenditures and with the goal of reacquainting clients with their possessions and helping them make intentional decisions about whether to keepthem.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAMANTHA KARP

Tech to make gardening more fun

Many people take to the great outdoors to escape the increasingly tech-driven daily grind. Though that’s an understandable perspective, gardeners who aren’t deploying tech in their home gardens could be missing out on a host of benefits that could help their plants, flowers and vegetables thrive. Devices like smartphones and tablets have made many aspects of life easier and more efficient, and various tech products can do the same when working in the garden.

Plant monitor: Plant monitors are sensors that can keep tabs on the health of plants and deliver that information to gardeners. Plant monitors often connect to smartphones via Bluetooth and can deliver information on the amount of heat, light and water a plant is getting. Sensors vary in price, and some will provide more information than others. But these sensors are ideal for gardeners who love their plants but often forget to check up on them each day.

Garden camera: Critters and insects are the bane of many gardeners’ existence. Determining just what is nibbling away at flowers and plants isn’t always so easy, as many animals are savvy enough to restrict their dining to the middle of the night and insects are so small they can be hard to spot. Garden cameras can serve as the watchmen of a garden and gardeners can review footage to determine just who is compromising all of

their hard work. They can then use that knowledge to remedy the situation and give their plants a better chance to thrive.

Weather station: Even the most seasoned gardeners cannot document the conditions outside as effectively as a good weather sensor. Weather sensors track conditions such as temperature, relative humidity and air quality. This information can then be paired with irrigation devices to ensure plants get all the care they need to thrive throughout the season.

Garden hub: Avid gardeners have traditionally had to arrange for neighbors or loved ones to tend to their plants when they leave home for vacation or weekend getaways. Garden hubs can take care of that by pairing with smart irrigation systems that ensure plants are watered even when no one is home. Certain hubs even gather and analyze local weather conditions to develop a watering schedule to ensure plants thrive. These hubs aren’t just handy when on vacation, as they can be great for gardeners who want to know things about their plants that are not apparent to the naked eye. People may see their gardens as welcome respites from their devices. But garden gadgets can help plants thrive and make time in the garden that much more enjoyable.

Affordable ways to make homes more appealing to modern buyers

Home trends come and go. Today’s must-have items tend to become tomorrow’s outdated features in the blink of an eye.

Homeowners who plan to stay in their current homes for years to come needn’t prioritize modern trends over personal preferences. However, homeowners looking to sell their homes can consider these favored features to increase their properties’ appeal to modern buyers.

Separate laundry room: According to the National Association of Home Builders’ 2021 What Home Buyers Really Want report, a separate room dedicated to laundry was the most desired feature among prospective home buyers. Though it might not inspire the awe of an outdoor living room or floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a wooded backyard, a laundry room fills a direct and universal need. Perhaps that’s why 87 percent of buyers want a room dedicated to laundry in a home.

Exterior lighting: Drive through a modern suburban neighborhood at night and it won’t take long before you realize the popularity of exterior lighting. And that’s no coincidence, as homeowners everywhere appear to embrace exterior lighting. The NAHB report indicates that exterior lighting is the most sought-after outdoor feature. The good news for prospective sellers is that exterior lighting is an inexpensive and instant way to transform a property at night. Some solar-powered lighting along walkways and outside the front door can make a home feel more safe, while some uplighting of large trees in the backyard can produce a sight to behold once the sun goes down. Energy-efficient upgrades: Inflation has driven up the cost of just about everything over the last year-plus, and energy is no exception. So it should come as no surprise that 83 percent of prospective home buyers are looking for energy-efficient windows and appliances in a home. These features save money and

benefit the planet, making them a win-win among buyers.

Patio: Patio spaces have long been popular, but that popularity reached new heights during the pandemic. When forced to stay at home for long periods of time, millions of people longed for ways to spend more time outdoors without breaking lockdown rules. Patios provide outdoor living spaces, and 82 percent of buyers indicated they wanted a patio with their next property.

Side-by-side sink: A double or side-by-side sink is among the more affordable features buyers are looking for. At less than $1,000 on average, a side-by-sink is an affordable way to make a home more appealing to modern buyers.

Modern buyers want a lot out of their homes, and sellers can do their best to meet those desires while getting the most money for their properties.

The basics of container gardening

Gardening is a rewarding hobby that has been linked to health benefits like reduced stress and improved mental well-being. Gardening also can lead to an inviting home landscape full of attractive blooms and/or delicious foods. Backyard gardens have long been planted after clearing a plot of land, tilling and amending the soil, and planting rows of favorite crops. However, gardening can be less labor-intensive and even more successful when people consider the many benefits of container gardening.

What is container gardening?

As its name implies, container gardening is growing plants inside of containers. These containers can be flower pots, rectangular deck boxes or even large raised garden beds.

Pros to container gardening

One of the advantages of container gardening is that plants can be moved in and out of sunlight to ensure the right growing conditions. This isn’t as easily achieved when gardens are stationary. Also, beginner gardeners may be more able to control soil conditions inside of a small container rather than a vast ground-based garden, which will require a good deal of manual labor. Pots and boxes also can be grouped together to create eye-popping displays, usually at lower costs than the sheer volume of plants that would be needed to fill out an expansive landscape.

Cons to container gardening

Container garden plants will not have direct access to the ground, so they need gardeners to create the ideal growing conditions. Developing the right care formula can be challenging. The home and garden resource The Spruce says that drainage is an important factor in container gardening, and most containers do not offer enough

drainage holes. If water cannot escape the soil, the roots of the plants can rot and die. It’s not enough to add stones or gravel to the bottom of containers. Drill additional holes in the bottom (1⁄2-inch in diameter for small or medium-sized pots; one inch in diameter for larger pots). Also, be sure to check on soil moisture so that watering can be adjusted. During hot stretches, plants may need to be watered more frequently.

Plan for plants that play well

Grouping plants together can create visually stunning combinations. However, it is important to choose plants that require the same amount of light and moisture. Look at plant tags when visiting the garden center and select complementary plants, or ask a store employee. Mixing different plant shapes, colors and leaf textures, as well as plants of various heights, can help containers look filled out.

Feed plants accordingly

Plants need nutrition to thrive in containers. Quality potting mixes will contain fertilizers, but nutrition will wane over time. Every couple of weeks, container plants will need either fresh potting mix or granular fertilizer added to feed them. Oregon State University Extension Services suggests using a slow-release fertilizer or worm castings several times throughout the season.

Container gardening is a great way to add plants to smaller patios, reduce the workload involved in maintaining expansive gardens, and customize conditions for optimal growth.

Tips when painting shutters

There are many ways to give a home’s exterior a new look. Though it might not be as grand as replacing siding, repainting shutters affords homeowners a chance to try a bold new color or simply replace fading colors, and each option can make a home more appealing.

Homeowners who have never before painted shutters can consider these tips as they prepare to begin the project.

• Don’t go it alone. The most important step homeowners can take before beginning a shutter painting project is to enlist the help of a friend or family member. Someone to hold the ladder can make the project safer. Enlisting a third individual, working on the ground, who can take the shutters from the person on the ladder may be a wise move as well.

• Remove the shutters. When painting shutters, homeowners want to remove them from the house. It might seem easier to leave the shutters on and then paint them carefully with a brush, but that’s both time-consuming and a potential safety risk. Some shutters are installed with fasteners that look like screws, but that appearance is misleading and shutters installed in this way cannot be removed with a drill or screwdriver. Homeowners should determine which material their shutters are made from, and then look for a corresponding removal tutorial on YouTube. Homeowners who can’t find one can contact the manufacturer or a contractor to determine the best way to remove the shutters.

• Clean the shutters prior to painting them. It’s likely been years since the shutters were last painted, and over that time they’ve no

doubt accumulated a lot of dirt and mildew. Homeowners can try a garden hose to clean them, and if that doesn’t work a power washer may be needed. If using a power washer with wooden shutters, be especially careful, as the force of the power washer may damage the wood. Vinyl shutters, like vinyl siding, can typically handle a strong power washing without being damaged. Wooden shutters also will need to have old paint removed before they can be repainted. The experts at TrueValue® note that paint can be removed from wooden shutters with a sander or by applying a chemical paint stripper.

• Prime wooden shutters before painting. Though vinyl shutters won’t need to be primed unless the old paint is peeling, wooden shutters must be primed before they’re painted. Priming can be a tedious process, so homeowners should leave themselves ample time for this part of the project.

• Rent an airless sprayer to paint the shutters. Many hardware or paint stores rent airless sprayers, and these can be the quickest way to paint shutters. Professionals typically apply two coats of paint, and the first coat should be allowed to fully dry before the second coat is applied.

• Re-hang the shutters after they have fully dried. Only after the shutters have fully dried should they be placed back on the house. Employ the same buddy system when re-hanging the shutters, having one person hold the ladder and another pass each one up one at a time.

Painting shutters can give a home a fresh look without costing homeowners a lot of money.

7 characteristics of modern houses

7 characteristics of modern homes

Homes contain a variety of components that appeal to homeowners with different ideas about the perfect place to call home That starts with the style of a home

7 characteristics of modern houses

Buildings are classified according to share components A Craftsman style home will have a covered porch with a set of wide base columns, while a Cape Cod home is often defined by a gabled roof and dormer windows Modern houses, which are sometimes called contemporary homes even though the terms are not interchangeable, will have their own sets of unique characteristics Here’s a look at seven features that make modern homes unique oach: modern homes proach that leans , including clean es are open and tter of too many l details While y have some esign, s are all about an alette: Modern ze a neutral color homes may use s, such as wood and at do not look rustic omes rely on a lack and white with r other neutral

4 Large, unadorned windows: Most modern homes showcase a lot of natural light by utilizing large windows that are not covered up by heavy window treatments or elements like shutters and thick trims

Large windows are the focus of the interior and shift attention to the view outdoors

Homes contain a variety of components that appeal to homeowners with different ideas about the perfect place to call home That starts with the style of a home

Buildings are classified according to share components A Craftsman style home will have a covered porch with a set of wide base columns, while a Cape Cod home is often defined by a gabled roof and dormer windows Modern houses, which are sometimes called contemporary homes even though the terms are not interchangeable, will have their own sets of unique characteristics Here’s a look at seven features that make modern homes unique

5. Open floor concept: A hallmark of modern interior design, the open concept floor plan removes many of the walls that tend to separate common areas of a home This helps to foster the spread of natural light and maintains the emphasis on simplicity of design

4 Large, unadorned windows: Most modern homes showcase a lot of natural light by utilizing large windows that are not covered up by heavy window treatments or elements like shutters and thick trims

Large windows are the focus of the interior and shift attention to the view outdoors

6 Smart elements: Thanks to the proliferation of smart technology, smart homes are cropping up with greater frequency While smart devices can be included in any home style, they tend to feel like they were designed specifically for modern homes In a similar vein, modern homes may include environmentally friendly elements, such as solar panels, upcycled materials, added insulation, and energy efficient lighting

1. Minimalist approach: Contemporary and modern homes both employ an approach that leans toward minimalism, including clean design lines Spaces are open and airy without the clutter of too many ornate architectural details While modern homes may have some curvature to their design, contemporary ones are all about an angular look

2. Neutral color palette: Modern homes tend to utilize a neutral color palette Modern homes may use “earthy” elements, such as wood and brick, in ways that do not look rustic Contemporary homes rely on a color palette of black and white with shades of gray or other neutral colors

hapes: Modern ng horizontal and vertical elements that showcase geometric shapes in their designs Contemporary homes often have flat roofs, while modern homes may not

5. Open floor concept: A hallmark of modern interior design, the open concept floor plan removes many of the walls that tend to separate common areas of a home This helps to foster the spread of natural light and maintains the emphasis on simplicity of design

6. Smart elements: Thanks to the proliferation of smart technology, smart homes are cropping up with greater frequency While smart devices can be included in any home style, they tend to feel like they were designed specifically for modern homes In a similar vein, modern homes may include environmentally friendly elements, such as solar panels, upcycled materials, added insulation, and energy efficient lighting

7. Updated kitchen spaces: The clean lines and attention to technology and open space generally extends to modern kitchens Modern kitchens tend to feature efficient, toptier appliances with additional storage and space amenities that keep the room from feeling cluttered While some may consider modern homes austere, many others are right at home among their clean lines and airy spaces.

3 Geometric shapes: Modern homes have strong horizontal and vertical elements that showcase geometric shapes in their designs Contemporary homes often have flat roofs, while modern homes may not

Te rise in all-electric homes

7 Updated kitchen spaces: The clean lines and attention to technology and open space generally extends to modern kitchens Modern kitchens tend to feature efficient, toptier appliances with additional storage and space amenities that keep the room from feeling cluttered While some may consider modern homes austere, many others are right at home among their clean lines and airy spaces

When asked to think of modern homes, ght think of minimalism, pen concept floor without treatments es are components of qualifies as “modern” n a reflection of what d lately, many buyers are looking for all-electric homes

Te rise in all-electric homes

When asked to think of modern homes, many people might think of minimalism, neutral colors, open concept floor plans, and large windows without treatments While each of those features are components of modern homes, just what qualifies as “modern” is ever-changing and often a reflection of what buyers are looking for And lately, many buyers are looking for all-electric homes

of homes in the United States used only electricity All-electric homes are generally considered more environmentally friendly because they lessen homeowners’ carbon footprint by reducing their need for fossil fuels like natural gas Electric heat pumps, induction stoves and electric fireplaces are just some of the technologies that can be found in allelectric homes

A 2015 study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the number of all-electric homes had increased over the previous decade In fact, the EIA study found that 25 percent

A 2015 study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that the number of all-electric homes had increased over the previous decade In fact, the EIA study found that 25 percent

Though the design style of all-electric homes needn’t be modern, there’s no denying that the growing popularity of such homes makes them an option for homeowners with modern sensibilities

of homes in the United States used only electricity All-electric homes are generally considered more environmentally friendly because they lessen homeowners’ carbon footprint by reducing their need for fossil fuels like natural gas Electric heat pumps, induction stoves and electric fireplaces are just some of the technologies that can be found in allelectric homes

Though the design style of all-electric homes needn’t be modern, there’s no denying that the growing popularity of such homes makes them an option for homeowners with modern sensibilities

Do-it-yourself devotees cite a desire to save money as their primary motivator when attempting DIY home improvements. A survey of more than 1,000 homeowners from the insurance provider Clovered found that 85 percent of respondents indicated a chance to save money as their top reason for attempting a DIY home improvement project. The chance to save money was an even greater motivator for homeowners than the opportunity to improve (79 percent) or repair (66 percent) their homes. Those savings can be signifcant because homeowners won’t have to pay labor costs, which the renovation experts at BobVila.com note can cost anywhere from $20 to $150 per hour per laborer. Though the cost savings of DIY can be hard to resist, homeowners considering a DIY renovation are urged to make an honest assessment of their skills before attempting a project on their own.

The Como Brothers @ 7pm FIRE ISLAND VINES (FIV), 17 E Main St, Bay Shore

Earth Wind & Fire Tribute Band @ 7pm Tanner Park, 400 Baylawn Ave, Copiague

Cuthbert Live: Solo at Insieme Wines @ 7pm Insieme Wines & Tasting Room, 3333 Lawson Blvd, Oceanside

Motor City Revue: The Ultimate Motown Tribute @ 8pm / $38

Capturing the Distinct Motown Sound Motor City Revue: The Ulti‐mate Motown Tribute Jeanne Rimsky Theater, 232 Main Street, Port Washington. boxof�ce @landmarkonmain street.org, 516-7676444

Lenny Michelle Band at My Father's Place @ 8pm / $35

The Lenny Michelle will be playing at My Fa‐ther's Place on June 30. Advanced tickets are $35, and tickets the day of the show are $40. My Father's Place, 3 Pratt Boulevard, Glen Cove. myfathersplaceproduc tions@gmail.com, 516580-0887

Graztopia Live@Alibi

Speakeasy & Lounge @ 8pm Alibi Speakeasy & Lounge, 230 Main St, Farmingdale

Candis Alek: Head Over Heels - The Musical @ 8pm

Cultural Arts Play‐house, 170 Michael Dr, Syosset Mobile Home Park

Gimme Gimme Disco @ 9pm / $20

Mulcahy's Pub and Concert Hall, 3232 Rail‐road Avenue, Wantagh

Sat 7/01

Glenndon Gifford: Neil Forever @ The Jones Beach Bandshell @ 8pm Jones Beach Bandshell, Jones Beach, Wantagh

Kamran Hooman Sasy @ 9pm / $85-$150

The Space at Westbury Theater, 250 Post Avenue, Westbury

Thursday Jul 6th

Grease @ 7:30pm

The Argyle Theatre at Babylon Village, 34 W Main St , Babylon

With a hip-shaking rock 'n' roll score featuring hits like "Summer Nights," "Greased Lightnin'," and "We Go Together," Grease cele‐brates Rydell High's class of 1959 in all their duck-tailed, bobbysoxed, gum-snapping glory.

Wed 7/05

Syosset, NY - Goalie Camp 8:30a-4pm @ 8:30am / $599

Jul 5th - Jul 7th

Syosset, NY - Iceworks, 175 Underhill Blvd., Syosset. 855459-2267

Deanna Hudson @ 5pm THE CLUBHOUSE LONG IS‐LAND - BELLMORE, 134 Club‐house Rd, Bellmore

Guided Nature Walk at Sands Point

Preserve @ 10am / $10-$15

Discover the living and non-living things that call our beach home. We’ll explore the animal and insect life on the beach, and identify shells, and rock forma‐tions. Sands Point Pre‐serve, 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point. info @sandspointpre serve.org, 516-5717901

Marliii in Long Beach: Breathe the Fire PreRelease Party @ 12pm The Cafe, 780 W Beech St, Long Beach

Michelle Jameson: Catchers Fish house @ 12pm Catchers �sh house, 301 Woodcleft Ave, Freeport

NYCFC II vs. Philadelphia Union II @ 7pm / $10-$15 Belson Stadium, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica

Elementary Wrestling Program: Grades 1-5 @ 6pm / $120

Jul 3rd - Jul 31st

Savage Wrestling Academy, 403 Oakwood Rd, Huntington. 570709-9105

Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws @ 7pm Maimonides Park, 1904 Surf Ave., Brooklyn

KC and The Sunshine Band @ 7pm Point Lookout Beach, 1300 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach

Red Baraat: Huntington Summer Arts Festival 2023 @ 7pm Heckscher Park, NY-25A & Prime Ave, Huntington

Steve Miller Band with Joe Satriani @ 7:30pm / $29.50-$199.50

Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, 895 Bay Park‐way, Wantagh

Yacine Boulares: Tabou Combo @ 8pm Eisenhower Park, 1899 Park Blvd, Westbury

Belmont Park Admission @ 11:30am / $5

Belmont Park, 2150 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont

Karen Bella @ 5pm THE CLUBHOUSE LONG IS‐LAND - BELLMORE, 134 Club‐house Rd, Bellmore

Dan Reardon @ 6pm Sunset Club Old Tappan Beach, Glen Cove

Social Singles @ 6:30pm / $12

Join us at the Mid-Island Y JCC for ongoing social program‐ming for singles ages 55+ to connect with one another. MidIsland Y JCC, 45 Manetto Hill Road, Plainview

New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury @ 7pm / $30-$1100

Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn

Swim League - Green Training Group @ 12am / $449

Jul 6th - Aug 13th Suffolk Federal Credit Union Arena, Crooked Hill Rd, Brent‐wood. 631-123-1234

UB40 @ 8pm / $40-$55

The Space at Westbury Theater, 250 Post Av‐enue, Westbury

Luke Bryan: Country On Tour 2023 @ 7pm / $59.50$189.50 Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater, 895 Bay Parkway, Wan‐tagh

The 90's Band @ 7pm Salt Shack, 100 Ocean Pkwy, Babylon

Three Dog Night @ 8pm / $39.50-$99.50

The Paramount, 370 New York Ave, Hunting‐ton

Fri 7/07

Reverend Jefferson / Spiral Eye at My Father's Place @ 8pm / $35

Reverend Jefferson and Spiral Eye will be playing at My Father's Place on July 7. Ad‐vanced tickets are $35, and tickets the day of the show are $40. My Father's Place, 3 Pratt Boulevard, Glen Cove. myfathersplaceproduc tions@gmail.com, 516580-0887

The Disco Nights @ 8pm / $15-$35

The Paramount, 370 New York Ave, Huntington

Warped Tour Band @ 9pm / $15

Mulcahy's Pub and Concert Hall, 3232 Railroad Avenue, Wantagh

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Fair opens Friday

The Empire State Fair returns to Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale June 30 — July 16 with firstrate family entertainment, thrilling midway rides and games for all ages, and classic carnival cuisine for every appetite.

Free with fair admission:

• Royal Hanneford Circus (edge-of-your-seat high-wire, trapeze and motorcycle thrill shows and more under the big top)

• World of Wonders Amazement Show (10 old-time sideshow acts including a sword swallower, fire eater and contortionist)

• Houdini-style Escape Explosion

• Educational Eudora Farms Exotic Petting Zoo

• Fireworks by Grucci (July 2, 4, 8, 15)

Admission: $10 (free for kids under 36″ tall with paying adult). Parking is free.

Unlimited ride wristbands (for riders 36″ and taller) are $35 on-site Monday — Thursday and $40 Friday — Sunday while supplies last, or online before 5 pm June 30 for $25.

Ride tickets are also available at the carnival for $1.50 each, $30/20 tickets, or $60/50 tickets plus 1 free ride. (Rides take 2 or more tickets each.) Pre-sale special: $45/50 tickets + 1 free ride

Fair hours: 5-11 pm June 30; noon-11 pm Saturdays, Sundays, July 3-4; 5-11 pm July 5-7, July 10-14

Please check the website for event updates before attending the fair. No unaccompanied guests under age 21.

More information: 866-666-FAIR (3247) or Empire State Fair

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Photo of the Dream Wheel

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Business&RealEstate

Buying a vacation or retirement home

Some of you who have been quite successful over the years have expressed interest in a vacation, investment, and potential retirement home. I have helped numerous families and individuals locate their special vacation or retirement homes here and abroad. This requires quite a lot of researching and digging to ascertain the exact and proper information so as to make a wise and pragmatic purchase.

There are some countries, like the Dominican Republic, according to Colleen Valeiro of DR Properties, that have a onetime fee of 3% (a transfer fee as we call it in the United States.). However, there are no real estate taxes whatsoever. There is also an IPI tax of 1% per year on all properties based on their current value above $150,000. But if you are 65 or older, you are currently exempt from that yearly tax, as long as you do not own any other properties in his or her name. However, one should be aware and know that this could be subject to change sometime in the future.

There are other taxes that are levied, so you must research and check depending on your temporary or permanent residency and where your income is derived from, etc. Most important if you are purchasing as an end user or investor, you should look for developments where builders and developers had or have applied and are being approved for what is called a “Confortur” by Dominican law; which will grant tax exemptions to own-

ers of specifc properties for 10 years, which in the United States is called “tax abatement.” Obviously, the R.O.I will be much more lucrative in those situations.

As of June 19, 2023, $1 equals 54.9 DOP (Dominican Pesos).

There are more than 250,000 members of the population in the Dominican Republic — or 12% — who are emigrants or ex-expatriates from the U.S. and Canada and other destinations. Here is our U.S. government site for more information: purchasing in the Dominican Republic. There are numerous laws and regulations in their IRS code that you need to check, especially if you are a high-income earner and plan to live there part-time or permanently. Here is some valuable information and criteria that will be helpful for you to know, info provided by Colleen Valeiro.

MOVING TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

If you are planning on staying in the country longer and moving to the Dominican Republic, you may wish to apply for a residence visa.

HOW DO I BECOME A RESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC?

There are two steps to becoming a resident of the Dominican Republic. The frst step is to apply for temporary residency in the Dominican Republic. The second step is to apply for permanent residency. Each step typically takes up to 6 months from the date of application.

To qualify applicants should be able to

demonstrate that they are in good health, have sufcient fnancial means to support themselves, and are of good standing (i.e. have a clean police record).

The application process is relatively straightforward but we would generally recommend that you seek the advice of a local attorney to assist with your application, particularly if you are not fuent in Spanish.

TEMPORARY RESIDENCY

If you would like to live in the Dominican Republic,you can apply to the Migration Ofce of your local Dominican Consulate for “provisional residency” via

a temporary residency permit. Temporary residency permits are valid for 1 year.

To apply, you must submit a package of properly prepared documents including the following, together with a completed application form:

Your passport (original),Photo,Certifcate of good conduct,Birth certifcate,A doctor’s letter confrming you are in good health,Recent bank statements demonstrating sufcient funds and/or sufcient monthly income,Letter of Guarantee from a Dominican citizen or company signed by a notary in the Dominican Republic and legalized by the Attorney General’s ofce Letter of application, stating your reasons for seeking residency and personal circumstances, which may include: marriage to a Dominican citizen (in which case must provide marriage certifcate), ownership of property (in which case must provide relevant documents), job with a Dominican company (in which case must provide contract and certifcate of Labour), retirement (in which case must provide pension statement and monthly income from pension),Non-refundable visa fee.

Documents and certifcates should be translated into Spanish and apostilled.

Upon completion of the application process, successful applicants will receive a Provisional Residency Card which is valid for 1 year and non-renewable.

For further details, please contact your local Dominican Consulate.

MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION (MFA)

PERMANENT RESIDENCY

Individuals who have resided in the Dominican Republic for 1 year with temporary residency status may then apply for permanent residency.

Applicants are required to submit a package of documents together with the results of a health check.

Successful applicants will receive a Letter of Deposit which entitles the applicant to a Permanent Residency card. Permanent Residency Cards are valid for 2 years and can be renewed for a fee at the Immigration Department for periods ranging from 2 to 10 years.

Philip A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck. He has 42 years of experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute and also as a Certifed International Property Specialist as well as the new “Green Industry” Certifcation 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: HouseBrokerOne@GMail.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.

Most likely, you are already using MFA. If you’ve received an email that sends you a code to enter, or a text message that dings to alert you to take action, that is MFA. The common thread is they require additional proof of identity, beyond the log-in, when accessing sensitive information.

With cybercrime now exploding, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) must be proactive to protect their critical data. This includes access to their networks, accounting systems and operational systems, hosted both locally and in the cloud. Every SMB has its own considerations. Some need email encryption, most need secure VPNs to support remote workers.

President and Founder Sandwire Technology Group

Sandwire advises and implements robust cybersecurity services to shield SMBs from harm. MFA is but one arrow in our quiver.

IT SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

PHILIP A. RAICES

Real Estate Watch

Business& RealEstate

Friedman Team ranks nationally

The Friedman Team, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty’s top producing sales team companywide, was recognized for its powerhouse sales performance in the 2023 RealTrends “The Thousand” rankings.

The annual report ranks America’s top 1,000 residential real estate agents and teams based on 2022 annual sales volume and transaction sides. The Friedman Team numbered 46th out of 250 teams in the Medium Teams ranked by Volume category.

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty is one of the nation’s leading realtors and the top-ranked luxury real estate organization serving Long Island, Brooklyn, and Queens.

Led by real estate advisors Jason Friedman and Sarah (Rudi) Friedman, the Friedman Team works out of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty’s Great Neck office.

In 2022 the team sold just shy of $232 million of real estate, including a $12 million estate in Mill Neck, 6 condominium units at the Residences at Glen Harbor and other waterfront and luxury estates along Long Island’s Gold Coast. The Friedman Team also placed among the top 100 in Sotheby’s International Realty teams.

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty Chief Executive Officer Deirdre O’Connell congratulated the team for its continuing excellence.

“The inclusion of the Friedman Team on The Thousand rankings is a significant achievement, showcasing their exceptional capabilities and dedication to providing outstanding service in the luxury real estate market while further solidifying Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty as the premier real estate company on Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens. Congratulations to the Friedman Team for this well-deserved recognition and their continued leadership in the real estate industry.”

“It comes as no surprise that once again, more Sotheby’s International Realty agents command the sales volume rankings compared to any other real estate brand,” said Philip White, resident and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty. “Today’s luxury buyers and sellers turn to our award-winning real estate advisors for their superior expertise and top-notch service. Our agents not only expertly navigate the market, but also work tirelessly to achieve positive outcomes. It is truly gratifying to witness their achievements being acknowledged, and I consider it a privilege to collaborate with these industry leaders.”

The Sotheby’s International Realty network currently has more than 26,000 affiliated independent sales associates located in approximately 1,100 offices in 81 countries and territories worldwide. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Recent Real Estate Sales in

190 Harbor Lane, Roslyn Harbor

6 bd, 6 ba, 3,236 sqft, Sold On: 6/2/23, Sold Price: $2,250,000

Type: Single Family, Schools: Roslyn

194 Parkside Drive, Roslyn Heights

4 bd, 4 ba, Sold On: 4/24/23, Sold Price: $950,000

Type: Single Family, Schools: Roslyn

73 Schoolhouse Lane, Roslyn Heights

5 bd, 3,5 ba, 4,500 sqft, Sold On: 4/18/23, Sold Price: $1,400,000

Type: Single Family, Schools: East Williston

18 Elm Street, Roslyn Heights

4 bd, 4 ba, 2,722 sqft, Sold On: 5/8/23, Sold Price: $1,298,000

Type: Single Family, Schools: Roslyn

Editor’s note: Homes shown here were recently sold in Roslyn by a variety of real estate agencies. This information about the home and the photos were obtained through the website Zillow.com. The homes are presented solely based on the fact that they were recently sold in Roslyn and are believed by Blank Slate Media to be of interest to our readers.

Alleged drunk driver pleads not guilty

Continued from Page 1

count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.

He faces a maximum of 32 years in prison if found guilty.

Singh appeared for his arraignment Monday morning at the Nassau County Court House. In attendance were more than a dozen family members and friends of Hassenbein and Falkowitz, and a dozen family members attending for Singh.

During the arraignment, Assistant DA Michael Bushwack said his ofce had provided Singh’s attorney, James Kousouros, with the DA’s discoveries on the case.

These included statements Singh made to law enforcement at the time of his arrest and while in custody and body camera footage from Nassau County Police. Donnelly said she was unable to share the details of the body camera footage during the press conference.

Kousouros said he had not received the

items of discovery that morning, so he requested the matters to be suspended to next month’s court appearance.

Singh’s bail status was upheld and he remains in custody. Donnelly said her ofce hopes to keep him in custody until his trial or a plea deal is made.

Donnelly said that based on their investigation, Singh allegedly attended a party the afternoon of the day of the collision where he was drinking. After that, he allegedly went to other establishments where he continued to drink.

At 10:19 p.m. on May 3, Singh, suspected of being under the infuence of alcohol and cocaine, was speeding south in the northbound lane of North Broadway in Jericho when his truck struck the Alpha Romeo occupied by the four teenagers.

As a result of the collision, the Alpha Romeo then hit a 2023 Volvo occupied by a driver, 49, and a passenger, 16. Both were treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to police.

Donnelly said Singh fed the scene afterward and was found by law enforcement hiding near a dumpster in a nearby shopping center parking lot.

When approached by Nassau County Police, Singh asked them why they were there as he believed he was in New Jersey, Donnelly said.

“A reckless driver stole the lives of two extraordinary young men,” Donnelly said.

She expressed her deepest condolences to the Hassenbein and Falkowitz families, as well as their friends and the Roslyn community.

“Think before you drink,” Donnelly said. “Not only could you ruin someone else’s life, but you’ll also ruin your own.”

Singh was previously charged with driving while intoxicated as a youthful ofender, meaning he was under the age of 19.

Singh was scheduled to appear in court again on July 25.

Major crimes down 1.07% in Nassau

Continued from Page 1

decrease from last year. Commercial robberies and other burglaries have increased this year by 24.29% and 31.48%, respectively.

In Nassau’s 3rd and 6th Precincts, which make up a majority of the North Shore communities, 927 major crimes had occurred as of May 29 this year, compared to 1,064 last year, a drop of 12.87%.

Roslyn BOE bids farewell to Valauri

The 3rd Precinct, located in Williston Park, serves the communities of Albertson, Bellerose Terrace, Bellerose Village, Carle Place, East Garden City, East Meadow, East Williston, Floral Park Center, Garden City Park, Herricks, Mineola, New Cassel, New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Roslyn Heights, Salisbury, Searingtown, Stewart Manor, Uniondale, Westbury, and Williston Park.

The 6th Precinct, located in Manhasset, serves the communities of East Hills, Flower Hill Great Neck Plaza, Harbor Hills, Manorhaven, Munsey Park, North Hills, Plandome, Plandome Manor, Plandome Heights, Roslyn, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock, Sea Clif, Thomaston, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Great Neck, Greenvale, Manhasset, Roslyn Heights and University Gardens.

The 3rd Precinct reported a 2.85% decrease in major crimes from last year, with 681 as of May 29. The 6th Precinct reported a 32.23% decrease in major crimes, with 246 this year.

In the frst fve months of 2023, 35 residential burglaries have occurred this year, up 53.17% increase from the same span last year in the 3rd Precinct. Commercial robberies have

increased in the 3rd Precinct by 21.05%, with 23 reported this year.

The 6th Precinct’s biggest two biggest decreases in major crimes included zero sexual abuse incidents compared to two last year, and fve assault felonies compared to 19 last year, a 73.68% decrease.

There were no murders or criminal sexual acts reported in the 6th Precinct this year as of May 29, the same as last year. One rape was reported during the same time period while none were reported through the same time last year.

Eforts to reach Nassau police for comment were unavailing.

Viscardi grads leave with endless impact

Continued from Page 3

provides support and advocacy beyond a participant’s tenure at the center.

The other side of the center ofers programs to disabled adolescents and adults and school districts looking for transitioning planning services, prevocational work, testing and job placement. The center places roughly 120 people a year in competitive, integrated employment and

Attending Thursday night’s graduation were several elected ofcials: North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, Council Member Peter Zuckerberg, state Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti and state Sens. Jack Martins and Monica Martinez.

Sillitti spoke about the positivity she felt throughout the school when visiting for the frst time after being elected, specifcally from a student she told her the only time he ever felt happy was at the Henry Viscardi School.

“As long as there is breath in my being and I have this job I will advocate for these students,” Sillitti said. “I’m so proud of the graduates and parents and everything you’ve done to get here.”

Continued from Page 5 verely disabled children with a graduation and college acceptance rate of 86%. The center, located in Albertson, provides after-school athletic programs, transportation and modern technologies, and curriculums designed to give students an accessible but rigorous academic experience.

Martins, who has served on the Viscardi Center’s Board of Trustees, shared how far the reach of Viscardi is and the impact it has had on New York.

“My colleagues in Albany know the wonderful work we do here at Viscardi and they know the diference it makes to empower children in such a special way,” Martins said.

He thanked the community for the privilege, opportunity and support they provided him during his time on the board.

“I hope that I served well and I hope that everyone feels this place is a little bit better from the work we’ve done as a group and I’ve contributed to,” Valauri said.

The Board of Education also celebrated the retirement of 17 district employees honored during a retirement celebration held at the conclusion of the board meeting’s business portion.

“I’d like to let each and every one of them know that they will be deeply missed and to ensure them that their legacies will live on forever in the hearts and minds of all those you have touched during your time here,” Superintendent Allison Brown said. “Each and every one of you has had an incredible impact on our students.”

During the board’s meeting, they also discussed the district’s funds from the American Rescue Plan and an increase in Foundation Aid.

The American Rescue Plan money, which is federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds, was used for multiple initiatives such as safely returning students to in-person learning, maximizing in-person instruction time, purchasing educational technology and addressing the impacts of the pandemic on students. It will continue to be used for students’ social, emotional and mental health needs.

The Foundation Aid, or New York State school funding, is being used to increase graduation rates and eliminate achievement gaps, support students who are at risk of not meeting state learning standards, provide additional support to English language learners, reduce the tax levy and upgrade facilities.

The school district is required to disclose what the Foundation Aid funds are used for if they receive more than a 10% increase.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASSAU COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT Roslyn resident Amandeep Singh.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A Roslyn class of diversity and connection

Continued from Page 2

we are aiming to become,” Cohen said.

She also took a moment to honor Todd Rosbash, a fellow classmate who would have been graduating with them but died of cancer in 2018 at the age of 12.

“We will always remember and love you, Todd, and we will make you proud of us in the future,” Cohen said.

All students donned pins in honor of Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein, the two middle school boys killed when an alleged drunk driver crashed his truck into the car they were traveling in May 3 after their tennis victory. Both teens played on the high school’s varsity boys’ tennis team.

“It is our tradition and our culture that even in the moments of our greatest joy, we are to remember loss,” Board of Education President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy said. “We are after all only human.”

Ben-Levy said that one of the biggest contemporary challenges that professionals face today is the introduction of artifcial intelligence and its competition with work done by humans.

To illustrate this struggle, Ben-Levy drafted a commencement speech with ChatGPT, an artifcial intelligence software that provides detailed responses based on prompts.

She said that while it touched on all the expected talking points of a graduation speech, it lacked something: humanity.

Her advice to the graduating class was not to avoid artifcial intelligence, but rather to use it, not be used by it.

“Do not discount the impact of your humanity, your sensibilities, your kind, compassionate thoughts and ways as you go forward in a technological world,” Ben-Levy said.

North Shore honors late student at graduation

Continued from Page 2

dictorian Ava Bartoli and Salutatorian Ruben Shonik, who both delivered speeches during the ceremony.

Valedictorian Ava Bartoli delivers a speech during the commencement. (Photo courtesy of the North Shore School District)

Bartoli commended her peers for enduring the trying times of high school, exacerbated by the pandemic, and said the challenges have taught them many lessons.

“We learned to value the time we have together and we also had the opportunity to be

learning in a diferent way,” Bartoli said.

She said they are now ready to face anything thrown their way.

“We must take our lessons and experiences and use them to become the people we want to be,” Bartoli said.

Shonik shared a personal story of a challenge he faced just months prior to graduating.

He was responsible for coordinating the TriM mock NYSSMA, an opportunity for students to perform their solo pieces before the annual New York State music competition.

With a busy schedule, Shonik said he realized far too late that he did not have time to cre-

ate a schedule for the mock performance until the day beforehand.

Salutatorian Ruben Shonik speaks at the high school graduation ceremony. (Photo courtesy of the North Shore School District)

“I was immensely disappointed in myself and feared that I had completely dropped the ball on the whole event,” Shonik said.

When he fnally released the schedule with every performer’s time, Shonik was then inundated with emails from parents and students time changes due to scheduling conficts and a few dropping out of the performance entirely.

Shonik said he experienced unrelenting

Lab 18: A golfer’s newest oasis

Continued from Page 5

While Lab 18 provides a similar service with its Trackman Bay rentals, he said that is not the main purpose of the business.

Troisi said their services are tailored to a diverse customer base of golfers with varying skill sets, from the retiree looking to improve his swing to the competitive golfer on tour.

He said the private nature of Lab 18 is benefcial for golf beginners who may be apprehensive to learn from scratch on public golf courses.

Halegua said his idea for Lab 18 was inspired by Golf & Body NYC, a New York City business that provided golf services but is now closed.

“This is that place on steroids times a thousand,” Halegua said.

He said he wanted to expand upon the idea of bettering one’s golf swing by providing services tied to the body’s mechanics to enhance one’s performance.

“The concept that everyone has the same golf swing just didn’t really work,” Halegua said. “Everybody’s body can’t move exactly the same.”

Halegua said with the summer months many golfers are enjoying the warm weather and golfng outside, but Lab 18 will be a valuable asset during the fall and winter months.

While weather entices people to be outside, Halegua said this is not a seasonal business.

“People will need to maintain consistency if they truly want to improve,” Halegua said. “And we give them all the tools and assets to do so, whether with a pro or on their own.”

Halegua said Lab 18 is still in its infancy but has already been received well by the community.

Halegua said one of their goals is to foster a culture and community among members at Lab 18, where a cross-section of golfers have a place to compete, meet and improve their technique.

“Let this be like an oasis for them to come and hang out and escape that most people use the golf course for, that this will be the complement to that,” Halegua said.

mental pressure in dealing with the chaos of the event. But as it became more burdensome, he said it turned into a challenge that he was determined to overcome.

The performance ended up being an overwhelmingly positive experience for everyone involved.

From all of this, Shonik said he gained invaluable knowledge on meeting challenges, which he imparted to his fellow graduating peers as they all embark on an unprecedented moment in their lives.

“In the coming years, it is guaranteed that we will all feel sufocated by a task or several that seem overwhelmingly out of reach,” Shonik said. “However…leaning into work like this, rather than avoiding or fearing it due to lack of confdence in yourself, which can lead to lasting resentment, is rewarding.”

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HELP WANTED

The Village of South Floral Park is looking to hire a part-time Court Clerk. Key responsibilities include processing court documents by legal requirements and court procedures, scheduling court hearings, and performing bank reconciliations. Qualified candidates should possess at least one year of experience in a legal setting or relevant vocational training, proficiency in SEi Courtroom Program, Microsoft Word and Excel, and QuickBooks. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to handle confidential information with discretion are also required for the position. If you meet the qualifications and are ready to bring your expertise to our team, please apply with your resume and salary requirements via email to Villageclerk383@optimum.net or by fax to 516-352-0651. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Background and reference checks will be conducted. We thank all applicants for their interest in our municipality.

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Receptionist Part Time needed for Port Washington Animal Hospital. Including evenings/ weekends. Please call for interview/more info 516-883-2005

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Excellent opportunity to work with editors with many years of weekly and daily newspaper experience.

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n SALES. FULL TIME.

We are looking for a highly motivated. self-starter with excellent communication and customer service skills to sell newspaper advertising, digital services and event sponsorships. To apply, send your resume to: sblank@theisland360.com.

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NOVENAS/PRAYERS

NOVENA TO THE BLESSED MOTHER

Oh Most Beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, Fruitful Vine, Splendor of Heaven. Oh, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea, help me herein and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart to succor me in my necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh, Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee (say three times). Holy Mary I place this cause in your hands (say three times). Amen. This prayer is never known to fail and is to be said for 3 consecutive days. In Gratitude (M.T.F.)

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Items to Consign? Email photos (with sizing info) to: store@atstewartexchange. org All proceeds benefit The Garden City Historical Society Like us on Facebook & Instagram

INVITED ESTATE SALES BY TRACY JORDAN is doing VIRTUAL TAG SALES and ONLINE AUCTIONS now! Sell the contents of an entire house or sell just a few things! You can host your own sale on invitedsales.com and Facebook and Instagram or we can do it for you. We can photograph, advertise and handle the winning pickups for you within a week! Don’t worry about your closing date, we can get your house ready on time! We are a one stop service for all your needs when you are moving or selling a property! Selling, donating, discarding and cleaning out services can be done to meet your time frame with minimal stress. Contact info@invitedsales.com for more information or call 516-279-6378 to schedule a consultation or receive more information. Visit us at www.invitedsales.com for a listing of our upcoming Virtual Tag Sales and Weekly Auctions!

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Manhasset boys lacrosse honored for state championhip

BY MICHAEL J. LEWIS

It was moments after Manhasset High School’s boys lacrosse team had clinched its second consecutive state championship, on June 11, and Jack Lamarca had a message to deliver.

The senior defender raced over to his goalie, junior Matthew Im, and grabbed him in a huge bearhug.

Then he screamed a few words in Im’s ears.

“You guys have to go do it again.”

That’s the burden and expectation on Manhasset lacrosse now: You’re supposed to win a state title. That’s what we do here.

Lamarca related that story on a cloudy Thursday afternoon in front of the school, as he and his teammates were honored with their second consecutive parade down Plandome Road and the surrounding streets.

As dozens of locals waved and cheered (a slightly smaller crowd than

last year, which was not surprising, since last year’s parade honored two state championship lacrosse teams, the boys and the girls from Manhasset), the victorious Indians players listened to bagpipes playing, waved from fat-bed trucks and were honored at a ceremony presided over by Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman.

“As Yogi Berra once said, ‘this is deja vu all over again,” Blakeman said. “What an incredible accomplishment for these young men, and their parents and families who supported them all the way up to this point.”

As the Manhasset players proudly sported their blue state-championship shirts and goofed of on stage behind a parade of speakers that included Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jen DeSena (a Manhasset resident, she proudly pointed out) and County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip, coach Keith Cromwell soaked all in and

even put senior co-captain Jack Peterson on the spot by calling him up to the microphone.

Peterson, headed to Harvard in a few months, opened with “I had no idea I was going to be speaking today” but was able to express his gratitude for his teammates.

And those teammates happily embraced the pressure and expectations that come with winning. This spring was Manhasset’s frst back-to-back Class C crown since 2009-10.

“It’s going to be hard, and we’re going to have to work for it, because we’re losing a lot of guys,” Im said.

“But we also have a lot of guys coming back and we have great coaches.”

” We’re trying to get to that level, where the kids expect (a state championship) every year,” Cromwell said.

“”That’s become our culture the last few years; the seniors from one year get the job done and come through, and the year after them doesn’t want

to let anyone down, and continue to show what they’re all about.”

This year’s Manhasset team was dominant, losing only one of its 22 games, to rival Chaminade by one goal. It was led by a bounty of future Division I players, like Cal Girard (headed to Duke after being honored as Nassau County player of the year last week), James Lapina (Boston U.), Matt Cargiulo (UMass) and Liam Connor (Colgate).

But it also won games due to its conditioning. Player after player during the postseason said they were winning games in the fourth quarter due to conditioning, and all credited assistant coach Joe Fallon with getting them in the best shape of any team on Long Island.

“He prepares us for what we have to face, with all the running and weight room work,” Girard said. “We run a lot, a whole lot. “It sucks in the moment but we know at the end of

the day we’ll be prepared, and we were in the playof games we won.”

As Manhasset’s latest championship team received county citations from Blakeman, and the group of 16 seniors looked at each other with goofy grins and knew they were together as a team for the fnal time, the returning players knew that a threepeat was the only goal now.

The potential heroes of next year’s team, players like Mikey Mondiello, Daniel Kolin and Jack Mulholland, know their time has come.

“You can see it in the locker rooms, and on the bus rides home, how our seniors pass the knowledge on,” Cromwell said “We’ve been very fortunate that our guys, the seniors, they are in the young guys’ ears, and now it’s their turn to see where they can take this thing.”

It might just be taken back to another parade, 12 months from now, down Plandome Road.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL J. LEWIS

Members of the Manhasset boys lacrosse team ride down Plandome Road during a parade celebrating the team’s second straight state title win.

Field Day festivities fuel school spirit Officials attend GOP club

Attending the June meeting of the Albertson-Roslyn Heights Republican Club were veteran color guard Peter Gong, Albertson Water Commissioner and North Hempstead Town Board candidate Ed Scott, Village of Flower Hill Trustee and North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes candidate Mary Jo Collins, Henry Golis, club secretary Lorraine Bello, club president Howard Abbondondelo and Albertson Water Commissioner Brian Hassan, right. Not pictured guest speaker state Assemblyman Ed Ra who had to leave early.

Mineola learners got to enjoy a day full of activities and challenges and blow of some endof-the-school-year steam during their annual Field Day events.

The energy-flled events, which took place at Mineola’s Hampton Street School, Jackson Avenue School, Meadow Drive School and Middle School, are celebrations of the Mineola spirit that brings the entire school community together and creates lasting memories for all participants.

Hampton Street School Field Day.

East Hills summer blood drive

North Hempstead Council Member Peter Zuckerman attended the Village of East Hills’ annual Summer Blood Drive event at the Park at East Hills on June 4.

Zuckerman thanked all the volunteers for assisting with the event and for helping those in need of

Morgan Park music festival

emergency blood donations. The New York Blood Center also has a convenient donor center located in Lake Success. Appointments can be scheduled for that location or at any other donor center by visiting the New York Blood Center’s website at www.nybc.org.

For the latest news, visit us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.theisland360.com

Morgan Park Summer Music Festival (MPSMF) kicks of its 64th year of free, professional family concerts in Glen Cove’s Morgan Memorial Park at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 2 with Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney performed by Tony Kishman who played the role of McCartney in Broadway’s Beatlemania.

The Festival’s $1 Million Title Sponsor is the Terian Family and Rallye Motor Company. “We are so very grateful to the Terian Family and the Rallye Motor Company for their incredible support,” stated Tom Suozzi, chairman of the festival.

The packed 2023 season is designed to appeal to all ages and all musical tastes. From the Music of Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, and Billy Joel, to The Allman Brothers, Broadway, Big Band, and more. There is also an Italian Night!

The 2023 Summer Season is as follows:

July 2 — Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney performed by Tony Kishman.

July 9 — 100 Years of Broadway, Neil Berg’s homage to the music of the Great White Way sung by top Broadway vocalists.

July 16 — Tom Cavanagh returns to the Morgan Park stage with Walking the Line, his very popular show recreating the music of Johnny Cash.

July 23 — July 23 — Italian Night presents magnifcent Italian arias as well as current Italian music featuring the duo of Massimiliano Barbolini and Claudio Mattioli

and jazz vocalist Vanessa Racci.

July 30 — Glen Cove’s own Marvin Floyd heads up D’Votion, a show honoring music by Earth Wind and Fire.

August 6 — the uniquely American sounds of the Big Band Era fll the park in a concert by Steve Shaiman’s Swingtime Big Band.

August 13 — The Allmost Brothers Band with David Losee, a favorite of Long Island and regional audiences, celebrates the music of The Allman Brothers Band.

August 20 — Billy Joel’s songbook is center stage on when Morgan Park star, Richie Cannata, joins with The Lords of 52nd Street in an exciting All-Billy Joel concert.

August 27 — an evening of John Denver’s music as presented by the incomparable Ted Vigil.

All concerts are held at Morgan Memorial Park in Glen Cove, overlooking the harbor at Germaine Street between Landing Road and McLoughlin Street.

Morgan Park Summer Music Festival is an all-volunteer nonproft organization. The high-caliber professional concerts ofered each summer are free to the public and are completely funded through generous donations from businesses and individuals. Taxpayer money is not requested nor received to fund these seasons of family entertainment. The Title Sponsor is The Terian Family and Rallye Motor Company.

In case of inclement weather, check with MPSMF’s Facebook page or call the hotline, (516) 671-0017.

Throughout

Nassau County and Eastern Queens flock to Glen Cove’s Morgan Memorial Park each Sunday evening for the free, top-notch musical performances presented by Morgan Park Summer Music Festival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MINEOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT

North Hempstead Council Member Peter Zuckerman with volunteers at the Village of East Hills’ annual Blood Drive.

PHOTO COURTESY MORGAN PARK SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL

the summer, enthusiastic audiences across