Williston Times_20221104

Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown

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Friday, November 4, 2022

Vol. 71, No. 44

HOME & DESIGN

Ex EW TEACHER, DEM LEADER DIES

SHIMMERING SOLSTICE TO RETURN

PAGES 27-34

PAGE 11

PAGE 23

Stakes high, vote begins Congress, state gov to be decided BY B L A N K S L AT E M E D I A E D I T O R I A L S TA F F Williston area residents will be voting on a variety of state and local elections, including a gubernatorial race between Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), on Nov. 8.

3rd Congressional District Democrat Robert Zimmerman is running against George DevolderSantos to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District. The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who lost in the gubernatorial primary against Hochul.

Zimmerman, who is running on the Democratic and Working Family Parties lines, is the co-president of ZE Creative Communications on Bond Street in Great Neck, a public relations firm he started 33 years ago with Ron Edelson, and a Democratic national committeeman.

After graduating from Brandeis University, he worked as a congressional aide on Capitol Hill for Congressmen Lester Wolff, James Scheuer and Gary Ackerman. Additionally, he served on the board of the American Museum of Natural History as a government representative for 20 years.

Continued on Page 13

PHOTO BY KAREN RUBIN/NEWS-PHOTOS-FEATURES.COM

First Lady Jill Biden (center), Congressional candidate Robert Zimmerman (left) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (right) rallied Democrats at a campaign volunteer event on Sunday in Plainview. See story on page 6.

1 year in jail for killing 2 puppies Ellie Knoller of Mineola pleads guilty of murders, abuse of 3rd dog

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y A Mineola man was sentenced Wednesday to one year in jail for fatally beating two puppies and seriously injuring a third during a three-week span in 2019.

Ellie Knoller, 32, pleaded guilty in March to three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Knoller also received five

years probation and a 50-year ban on owning animals.

Knoller adopted a 10-12-week-old shepherd mix named Tucker in February 2019 from a local pet adoption agency.

Nine days later the puppy died from a kidney rupture inflicted by Knoller, causing internal eternal bleeding before dying.

Knoller and his wife, Jessica Kunc-

man, also purchased a brown Goldendoodle puppy named Cooper from a Pennsylvania breeder on or about Feb. 18. Two days later, the dog was brought into Garden City Veterinary Care in cardiac and respiratory arrest.

Cooper’s cause of death was determined to be from a lacerated liver inflicted by blunt force trauma from Knoller, leading to internal bleeding, police said.

“Three defenseless puppies were subjected to extraordinary violence by this defendant,” Nassau District Attorney Donnelly said in a statement. “The internal injuries these animals sustained are uncommon – even in animal abuse cases – and are consistent with terrifying blunt force trauma. This case stands apart in the decades of animal crimes Continued on Page 50

Visit thewillistontimes.com or theisland360.com for the latest in breaking news.

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The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Accuser’s panic attack NHP man pleads delays Masterson trial guilty to fatal crash Woman had testified about being stalked by Scientologists

Driving drunk, Steven Sharma injured 3 others

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y

One of the three women accusing actor and North Shore native Danny Masterson of rape had a panic attack on the witness stand, reported ABC7 Los Angeles.

Jane Doe #3, known as Chrissie B., said she couldn’t breathe, was afraid to go into the courtroom’s hallway and said she had endured harassment and stalking by Scientology since reporting to the police six years ago of her alleged rape, ABC7 reported.

Masterson, known for his role in “That 70’s Show,” who grew up in East Williston and Garden City, is standing trial on three counts of rape filed by separate women who have accused Masterson of assaulting them in 2001 and 2003.

The Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member, has reportedly played a significant role in the case against the actor, whose credits include the sitcom “Men at Work” and the 2008 Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man.” All three women accusing Masterson are former Scientologists, according to Deadline.

Chrissie B. said she was in a relationship with Masterson for six years, according to Deadline.

On direct examination, she told the jury that after dinner in December 2001 she had one or two glasses of wine and doesn’t remember anything after leaving the restaurant, according to ABC 7.

The next day, she said she woke up naked with her anal area “torn and bleeding,” ABC 7 reported.

Masterson is not charged with the alleged sodomy-rape in December 2001, but is charged with a November 2001 suspected rape., according to ABC 7.

One of the rapes Masterson is charged with includes Chrissie B. waking up one night to Masterson raping her and fighting him off by pulling his hair, according to the AP. “I was sleeping, I woke up and he was having sex with me and I didn’t want to. … I told him I didn’t want to have sex, and he wouldn’t stop,” Jane

A New Hyde Park man pleaded guilty Wednesday, Oct. 26 to aggravated vehicular homicide in a drunk driving incident that killed one and injured three others during a 2021 car accident in East Farmingdale.

Steven Sharma, 24, was driving on a Route 109 exit ramp on the night of Sept. 19, 2021, when he lost control and crashed into a median on Route 110, according to police.

Brandon Nazirbage, 22, of Floral Park, was killed in the crash after the 2018 BMW blew through a stop sign

PHOTO FROM RED CARPET REPORT ON MINGLE MEDIA TV

Actor and North Shore native Danny Masterson.

Doe #3, aka CB, said of the encounter at their Hollywood Hills home,” reported Deadline.

Masterson has pleaded not guilty and was released on a $3.3 million bail he posted last year.

The charges against the 46-yearold actor could result in up to 45 years in state prison if convicted, reports say.

The actor was seen last week attending the first day of the trial with

members of his family and wife, according to ABC 7.

Thomas Mesereau is Masterson’s lead attorney and also represented Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson in their respective sexual misconduct cases.

Mesereau told the court that the three women and the witnesses in their respective cases were “tainted by anti-religious bias” against the secretive church, according to the AP.

at 76 mph on the exit ramp, prosecutors said. The three other passengers with Nazirbage were taken to a hospital at the time of the accident, including one man with broken legs, according to police.

The blood sample Sharma provided while being treated returned with a blood alcohol concentration of .22% while also testing positive for THC, police said.

Sharma has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter of the second degree and two counts of assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Steven Sharma, 24, was driving on a Route 109 exit ramp on the night of Sept. 19, 2021, when he lost control and crashed into a median on Route 110.

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Rev. Calvin Butts III, activist, dies at 73 Pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church served for 11 years as president of SUNY Old Westbury

BY ST E V E N K E E H N E R Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, a senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a prominent religious leader and a former president of SUNY Old Westbury, died on Friday at 73.

“It is with profound sadness, we announce the passing of our beloved pastor, Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts lll, who peacefully transitioned in the early morning of Oct. 28, 2022,” the Abyssinian Baptist Church tweeted. “The Butts Family & entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers.”

Butts had a large role in New York City issues and politics. He was the pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of the city’s largest congregations, for nearly three decades. He had been a part of the church since 1972.

Butts was born in 1949 in Connecticut and raised in New York. After graduating from Flushing High School in Queens, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He later returned to New York to complete his doctorate in ministry at Drew University in New Jersey and his master’s degree in divinity at Union Theological Seminary.

Butts was the president of SUNY Old Westbury from 1999 to 2020. Under his leadership, Old Westbury received significant national and international recognition. This included receiving recognition for its academically embedded civic engagement pro-

gram for first-generation college students for nine consecutive years.

“I had the pleasure of engaging with Dr. Butts a few times since my arrival on campus,” Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams, who succeeded Butts, said in a statement. “I was, and always will remain, impressed not only by his love for this institution and its people, but for his belief in the powerful role SUNY Old Westbury must play in providing access to a high-quality education and for its historic commitment to social justice.”

Butts, also asocial activist, battled poverty and racism. He established the nonprofit Abyssinian Development Corporation to construct low-income housing, retail, schoolsand other community projects.

Butts encouraged church leaders to support AIDS-related initiatives in the 1980s. A COVID-19 vaccination clinic was recently established in Abyssinian to encourage locals to become immunized against the virus.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III,” Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement. “For 50 years he nobly served Abyssinian Baptist Church and SUNY Old Westbury fighting for equality. He was a dear friend and I often sought his counsel. My prayers are with his family and the many lives he touched with his ministry.”

Butts’ wife, Patricia, three children and six grandchildren survive him.

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PHOTO BY AJ LETTEREL

Rev. Calvin O. Butts III. A senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a prominent religious leader and a former president of SUNY Old Westbury, he died on Friday at 73.

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The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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DeSena, Lurvey clash over budget cuts

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y

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North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena was critical of the Democrats on the town board majority following last week’s budget workshop.

The town board unanimously approved amendments to the tentative budget for the year 2023 that include a 5% tax cut during the special meeting.

The amendments were submitted on Oct. 24

by Town Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey.

Prior to unanimously passing the amendments submitted by Lurvey, the four Democrats, who make up a majority on the seven-person board, abstained from voting on amendments DeSena submitted on Oct. 11 to her original budget, which includes an 11% tax cut.

“Last night’s budget hearing was incredibly disheartening for our Town residents, as the majority Councilmembers refused to approve my amendments to the budget which would have delivered an 11% tax cut for all residents. I’m even more disappointed that they didn’t even have the courage to vote no to my proposal, and instead abstained from voting at all, leaving my proposal one vote shy of passing and blocking millions of dollars of tax relief for our residents,” DeSena said in a statement last week.

“Not only did Councilwoman Lurvey reverse course and deliver budget amendments that increased taxes and spending as compared to my proposal, but she and her fellow majority Councilmembers went on to callously and coldheartedly mock the financial impact that an 11% tax cut would have had for our residents.”

Lurvey said in a statement to Blank Slate Media the amendments allow for capital improvements and maintain a stable fund balance.

“After first proposing a tax increase, the supervisor’s tax cut proposal was irresponsible and essentially guaranteed extreme tax increases in future years. I believe the taxpayers will recognize quality-of-life projects in the form of street paving, road repairs, flood mitigation, caring for trees, and beautification initiatives are more valuable than the $18 she is suggesting means “much more” for the average homeowner,” Lurvey said.

The councilwoman continued by adding that DeSena’s actions have not delivered on the most transparent process in the town’s history that she promised ahead of the budget workshops.

“First, she offered up her tax-increase budget. Then, after it had been public for two weeks, she implemented a bait and switch with a brand-new budget book while board members, department heads, and residents were reviewing her original budget,” Lurvey said in a statement. “Then, she came out with a calculated political stunt, blaming her about-face on an allegedly withheld fund balance policy. When that was exposed as untrue at a board meeting, she never explained her real reason for changing course. The taxpayers need to know that she has been called out on this calculated political stunt.”

When DeSena proposed her additional amendments, she said “once this information came to light, we sharpened our pencils and found a way to deliver this massive tax cut,” while describing the town’s reserve funds, in a press release.

During the Oct. 20 budget hearing, town Democrats pointed out that in a March 1 review given to Moody’s Investors Service by Deputy Supervisor Joe Scalero, the supervisor’s Director of Finance Paul Wood and Director of Governmental Research Steven Pollack, the town’s fund balances and their status were presented.

In 2011, the town board enacted a fund balance reserve policy for the town’s general fund, requiring the town to maintain a fund balance reserve that is at least 10% of the town’s total general fund budget for the year.

“The supervisor also refused to offer her proposed revisions in an itemized list. We were supposed to trust she wouldn’t alter any other changes. Again, that was proven to be false as there were dozens of changes, including a new section at the end, modifications to the Harbor Hills tax levy, and more,” Lurvey added.

Democratic Councilwoman Marianna Dalimonte also said during the Oct. 20 hearing she could not vote on DeSena’s amendments without seeing changes to each line item in writing.

Continued on Page 50

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SUPERVISOR’S OFFICE

The North Hempstead Town Board will vote on the 2023 budget on Thursday, Nov. 3.

The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

First lady, Hochul back Zimmerman

BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z First lady Jill Biden attended a campaign event Sunday evening for Democrats Robert Zimmerman, who is running for the 3rd Congressional District seat, with Gov. Kathy Hochul, telling those in attendance that this election will not only have a significant impact on New York, but also the nation.

“New Yorkers, what you do on Nov. 8 won’t just set the course of the future for your state, you’ll decide the future of this country as well,” Biden told the crowd of more than 200 in Plainview.

Biden touted the work of her husband’s administration in combatting the coronavirus pandemic, addressing inflation and providing jobs for citizens throughout the country. Those accomplishments and others, she said, will be helped carried out by voting for Zimmerman to keep Democratic control in Congress, she said.

“This district, this seat could mean the difference between losing the House and keeping it,” she said. “Right now, voters have a choice to make between two drastically different visions for our future.”

Zimmerman, who is running against Republican George DevolderSantos to represent the seat in Congress currently held by U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), said standing up for mainstream values including bi-

cent conversations, he said, have resulted in building momentum as Election Day nears.

“I’m being approached by people who want to see mainstream values back in government and to see someone elected who is working in a bipartisan way to deliver for our district and bring results,” Zimmerman said.

A Great Neck resident, Zimmerman is the co-president of ZE Creative Communications on Bond Street in Great Neck, a public relations firm he started 33 years ago with Ron Edelson and a Democratic national committeeman. He is running on the Democratic and Working Family Parties lines.

Devolder-Santos, a first-generation American born in Queens, has a background in Wall Street as a financier and investor, working extensively in capital introduction, real estate, biotech and capital markets. A Baruch PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ZIMMERMAN CAMPAIGN College graduate, he followed in his mother’s footsteps by participating in First lady Dr. Jill Biden (left) voiced her support for Democratic Congressional candidate Robert Zimmer- a variety of philanthropic work to help veterans and at-risk children. man (right) in Plainview on Sunday.

The state’s 3rd Congressional District includes the entire Town of ing he “wrote a nice check for a law North Hempstead including parts of partisanship and preserving the quality sponse was just overwhelming.”

Zimmerman has been a harsh crit- firm” to aid the rioters who stormed Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Garden of life is what this race comes down to.

“Having the First lady with us was ic of Devolder-Santos’ stance on abor- the building.

City, Mineola and Westbury villages.

Zimmerman, a small business While the 3rd Congressional District a very important reminder of what’s at tion, climate change and for wanting stake in this election, advocating for to stop the vote count during the 2020 owner and community activist, said he under the newly-drawn maps does has been approached by Democratic, not extend as far west as the Bronx mainstream values versus the extrem- presidential election.

Devolder-Santos was quoted as Independent and Republican voters or Westchester, it does stretch to more ist positions my opponent has taken,” Zimmerman said. “That’s why it was saying he was “at the ellipse on Jan. to discuss the issues facing the district southern parts of Nassau County such very exciting to have her here. The re- 6,” and appears on another video say- throughout the campaign. Those re- as Hicksville and Massapequa.

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Lavine says bail reform not Extremism main the cause of rising crime threat: Kaplan

BY ST E V E N K E E H N E R State Assemblyman Chuck Lavine (D-Glen Cove) said that bail reform has nothing to do with the recent increase in crime in an interview with Blank Slate Media.

Lavine, 75, has been a fixture in state politics since 2005 when he was elected to represent District 13. He is running for re-election on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines.

“I’m an old New Yorker, even though I didn’t grow up here,” said Lavine. “And as an old New Yorker, I’m tough. I am not easily scared or frightened. Bail reform had absolutely nothing to do with crime rates which are occurring in all the states — states in which bail was never changed or modified whatsoever.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHUCK LAVINE AND WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Chuck Lavine and a pair of handcuffs. Lavine said that bail reform has nothing to do with the recent increase in crime in an interview with The Island 360.

Ruka Anzai, his opponent, is running on the Republican and Conservative tickets. She declined invitations to debate or take part in a one-on-one interview.

Nassau County is on track to record over 7,000 major crimes this year. That is a 34% increase from the 5,230 major crimes reported in 2021, according to Nassau County Police Department statistics.

The county reported 4,675 major crimes in the first eight months of 2022, according to statistics obtained by Blank Slate Media under a Freedom of Information Law request submitted to county police. This accounts for nearly 90% of the total major crimes reported countywide in 2021.

Lavine said that despite this rise, the state remains “relatively safe” because of its tough gun laws.

“There are increases in crimes that are property crimes. Stolen automobiles, stolen catalytic converters. That sort of criminal conduct is too high,” he said. “And I am sure that we will return to Albany in January and we will consider what has to be done to try to put an end to that. But bail reform had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

New York’s bail reform laws went into effect in January 2020, with modifications passed in April the same year. State officials said the amended laws eliminated pretrial detention and optional cash bail in an estimated 90% of cases.

Opponents argue the reforms allow criminals to repeatedly commit crimes and result in many failing to appear in court. Yet, while controversial, the actions have not resulted in significant changes in rearrest rates, the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services reported in September.

“If someone is out without bail and commits another crime, they are taken to a judge,” said Lavine. “And the judge has an awful lot of discretion with respect to setting bail on that person.”

Lavine said the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the rise in crime as many could not work, so they began committing crimes.

Continued on Page 54

BY B R A N D ON DUFFY Democrat state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills) said she is running for re-election in the state’s 7th Senate District because she refuses to let extremists “dismantle our democracy” in an in-

terview with Blank Slate Media.

“We all watched the horror on Jan. 6 as the insurrection incited by Donald Trump was attacking our democracy. All I could do that day was to think how could this be happening here in America,” Kaplan said.

Continued on Page 48

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills) is running against former state Sen. Jack Martins on Nov. 8.

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Man grabbed Zimmerman says nation’s girl, 9: in New democracy at stake in vote Cassel: police

BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z

BY ST E V E N KEEHNER Police are seeking tips about a man who allegedly followed and forcibly touched a 9-year-old girl in New Cassel last week.

The incident occurred Oct. 25 at 8:50 a.m. Police say a 9-year-old girl noticed a black/dark gray pickup truck following her as she walked north on Urban Avenue. The unidentified male subject got out of his vehicle at Park Avenue and began following her on foot toward the Park Avenue Elementary School.

The subject caught up to the victim and inappropriately grabbed her. A nearby 56-year-old female witness saw the man and yelled at him to stop. He then fled west on Park Avenue and then south on Urban Avenue on foot.

Continued on Page 48

Democrat Robert Zimmerman warned “the future of our democracy is at stake” in the November elections, including the race he is running against Republican George Santos for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

“The issues that have inspired me, motivated me and brought me into public affairs are all on the line,” Zimmerman said during a virtual interview with Blank Slate Media.

“Everything I believe in is on the line.”

Zimmerman, 67, criticized Santos for his support for stopping the vote count during the 2020 presidential election and for financially aiding the U.S. Capitol rioters on Jan. 6. Santos was quoted as saying he was “at the ellipse on Jan. 6,” and appears on another video saying he “wrote a nice check for a law firm” to aid the rioters who PHOTO COURTESY OF stormed the building.

“The most important thing we can do NASSAU COUNTY POLICE on Nov. 8 with our votes is to make it clear that we respect and support free and fair A Nassau County Police elections,” Zimmerman said. “We hold those Department composite of accountable who try to overturn the election a man who is accused of for personal agendas.”

A pro-choice advocate, Zimmerman following and then forcibly echoed his commitment to codifying Roe touching a nine-year-old v. Wade into law, if elected. The decision to girl in New Cassel last have an abortion should be one made beweek. tween a doctor and the patient, he said, crit-

SCREENSHOT BY ROBERT PELAEZ

Democratic Congressional candidate Robert Zimmerman said the future of the country’s democracy is at stake in the upcoming November elections. icizing Santos for previously telling Blank Slate Media he would vote to support a nationwide ban on abortions in 2020. “[Santos] said he actually wanted to prosecute doctors who provided abortion services, actually advocated no exceptions for abortions and he did say that women would actually use rape as an excuse to get an abortion,” Zimmerman said. “Such a hateful, misogynistic thing to say.”

Charley Lovett, Santos’ campaign manager responded to Zimmerman’s comments about his stance on the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 insurrection and abortion laws in a statement.

“Robert Zimmerman is doing everything he can – including lying about George’s positions – to try to distract voters from the

disasters that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi’s policies have caused with Robert Zimmerman’s full support,” Lovett said. “His policies have resulted in out-of-control cost of living and surging violent crime. We are confident that the voters in the 3rd Congressional District will see right through it, because they’re focused on issues that impact their daily lives.”

Santos was not present at the virtual forum despite invitationsfrom Blank Slate Media.

Zimmerman said he believes that, while the bail reform laws contributed to the increase in crime on various levels, other factors such as the coronavirus pandemic have played a role as well.

Continued on Page 54

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The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Mary Ita Dwyer, ex- 5 weapon possession charges teacher, dies at 88

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y Former East Williston teacher Mary Ita Dwyer died on Oct. 19 in Greenport, according to the Weigand Brothers Funeral Home. She was 88.

Dwyer was a retired East Williston School District Teacher and served as the head of the North Hempstead Democratic Party in the 1980s.

Dwyer’s husband, Thomas W. Dwyer, served as a county district court judge for 14 years, winning his seat on the bench in 1986 as the sole Democrat elected. Thomas W. Dwyer died died in 2000. The two were married for 42 years, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

Dwyer’s son, Thomas, is a former North Hempstead councilman.

He was originally appointed to fill a vacancy in 2002 representing the 2nd District before resigning in 2013 as he was preparing to take a consulting job that would leave him

too little time for his town board duties.

The child of Irish immigrants, Dwyer was born in Manhattan and went on to graduate from St. Joseph’s College in 1955, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

She was a teacher at East Williston’s North Side School where she was vice president of the teacher’s union before retiring in 2000, according to the paper.

After moving to Shelter Island in 2001, Dwyer worked organizing and strengthening the Democratic Party on the island and also launched a writing program 2 Rs 4 Fun, which paired third and fourth graders with senior mentors to improve literacy, according to the Reporter.

Dwyer’s wake was held at the Weigand Brothers Funeral Home on Sunday, Oct. 23. Her funeral was held at St. Aidan’s in Williston Park.

Dwyer is survived by six children and 13 grandchildren.

Five individuals were charged with criminal possession of a weapon in Mineola after one of the defendants pointed it at a 23-year-old male on Thursday, Oct. 27, police said.

Police were called to an incident where the victim said Darryl Walker, 27, of Amityville, pointed the weapon at him from inside a silver Acura MDX on Jericho Turnpike near the intersection of Willis Avenue, officials said.

Walker was traveling southbound on Holly Avenue near the intersection of Front Street before the car was stopped and four adults and a female juvenile were detained, police said.

The three other adults in addition to Walker include Inaya Rabsatt, 22, of Uniondale, Lamel Robinson, 29, of Copiague and Alexis Clark, 25, of Buffalo.

Walker is charged with criminal possession of a weapon of the second degree, criminal use of a firearm of the second-degree criminal possession of a firearm and menacing of the second degree.

Rabsatt, Robinson, Clark and the

16-year-old juvenile were all charged with criminal possession of a weapon

of the third degree and criminal possession of a firearm.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASSAU COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

G.N. car dealer nominated for TIME award

BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Hugh “Jack” Weidinger IV, dealer principal at North Bay Cadillac Co. Inc. and community activist throughout the North Shore community, was nominated for a prestigious award

by TIME earlier this month.

Weidinger, a third-generation car dealer, was one of 48 individuals nominated for the 54th annual Dealer of the Year award out of an initial group of more than 16,000 throughout the country. Being immersed in the automotive industry from a young age, he said, sparked his passion to follow in the family business at Weidinger Automotive Group.

“My father and grandfather worked hard to establish our reputation in our market, and I am committed to carrying on that legacy by investing in our employees, our facilities and our communities,” Weidinger said in a statement Trips to the family’s Jaguar dealership starting around eight years old and working in the parts and service departments during the summers, he said, provided him with an insight into how the business ran.

Weidinger attended Lehigh University in 1994, earning a bachelor’s degree in finance heading to Manhattan and getting a job on Wall Street.

After a year of working in the financial sector, he joined the family business in 1996, with rapid changes ahead.

The business sold Infiniti in 2002 to take on Hummer to construct a new Cadillac Hummer store in Great Neck. As dealer principal, Weidinger also added Buick and GMC in 2010 before the appointment of a Land Rover franchise in Freeport five years ago.

“While growing up in the dealership I worked hard to earn the respect of my coworkers, some of whom are still working for us today,” Weidinger said. “As the strongest guide in my life, my father taught

me the value of caring deeply for the well-being and success of our dealership employees.”

Weidinger said the role has also underscored the value of a loyal community that surrounds busi-

nesses. Aside from distributing cars to the Great Neck peninsula and beyond, Weidinger also aids in the distribution of winter coats to those who are in need.

Working with the Greater New

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICK CRISPE

Jack Weidinger, dealer principal at North Bay Cadillac Co. Inc. in Great Neck, was nominated by TIME for a prestigious award.

York Automobile Dealers Association and Operation Warm, a nonprofit organization that manufactures new, high-quality coats and shoes for children in need, has helped provide the charity with thousands of dollars to help with their manufacturing costs.

“Giving back to our Great Neck community is a fundamental part of the Weidinger Auto Group philosophy and we are pleased to help whenever we can,” he said. “This year we will again be working with Operation Warm to provide brandnew warm winter coats to those who need them most. COVID has presented many challenges for families and if we can help make a difference in a child’s life by giving them a warm coat we will.”

“We commend Jack and his staff for their incredible collective effort to provide hundreds of new warm coats to children in need,” Operation Warm Executive Director Grace Sica said in a statement. “They have gone above and beyond to help those less fortunate in Great Neck and the surrounding area.”

Weidinger has also served on the board of the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club at Lincoln House, which provides safe and essential after-school services for children ages 6-18. Understanding the community a business serves and helping whenever possible, he said, is something that has been a family tradition.

“As a third-generation dealer, the keys to running a successful business and continuing our family tradition have been ingrained in me. Our team prides itself on being honest, respectful and attentive to the needs of everyone who comes through our dealerships and we treat everyone the way we want to be treated.”

12 The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Biz leaders honored by chambers 6 North Hempstead businesspeople recognized for achievements, contributions to community

BY ST E V E N K E E H N E R

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSLYN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Jim Zanfardino, owner of Roslyn Village Delicacies. He was one of six North Hempstead business and community leaders honored at the 37th annual Business Person of the Year and Legislative Breakfast Friday.

Six North Hempstead business and community leaders were honored at the 37th annual Business Person of the Year and Legislative Breakfast Friday.

The Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce hosted the event at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. It brings together and recognizes the best businesspeople from all of Nassau’s commerce chambers.

Those honored from North Hempstead included Jim Zanfardino, Roslyn; Jeff Stone, Port Washington; Thomas Mazzini, Great Neck; Edward Stone, New Hyde Park; Michael Jakob, Floral Park; and Nancy Millus, Covert Avenue.

Zanfardino owns Roslyn Village Delicacies, which has grown in both size and scope and has been a community staple for over 30 years. He has been in the eaterybusiness since 1985, owning bagel shops, cafes, delicatessensand corporate cafeterias.

Jeff Stone volunteers in and around Port Washington. He is a member of the Kiwanis and Lions clubs, and the Adult Activities Center board. He is also a licensed Douglas Elliman real estate salesman.

Mazzini has worked in financial management for over 20 years in Great Neck. He takes pride in his ability to adapt to market shifts and in his com-

mitment to always striving for better. He is also the treasurer of the local Social Center and Rotary Club.

Edward Stone is a member of the Greater New Hyde Park commerce chamber board and website committee. Ed Stone Photography is a division of Stone3MultiMedia and has worked with the U.S. Marines at Parris Island and the Coast Guard Auxiliary during Fleet Week and other training operations. He is also a lieutenant in the Nassau County Auxiliary Police and has worked for the Nassau County Police Department for over 45 years.

Jakob is the Carriage Trade Insurance Agency’s principal and co-founder. He has focused much of his practice on risk management and insurance consulting for non-profit organizations. He is also a member of the Floral Park commerce chamber and the president of the Martin Luther School’s board.

Millus has been a member of the Covert commerce chamber for nearly a decade. She became the secretary of the commerce chamber in 2015, after serving as the artistic director of community newspapers. She also volunteers at Bellerose Village and Our Lady of Victory Parish.

The Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce is an umbrella organizationof nearly 50 local chambers. They collectively represent over 10,000 businesses.

Town eyes change for commercial properties

BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y The North Hempstead Town Board will be continuing a public hearing at the Dec. 15 meeting to discuss amending a zoning law that

would allow the town to revoke certificates of occupancy or existing use.

Currently, there is a procedure in place to revoke both certificates on residential properties, not com-

mercial ones.

The seven-member board unanimously agreed to continue the hearing during the Sept. 22 meeting after multiple residents and business owners objected to the wording of

the local law.

Since the September meeting, councilmembers have said they are working through the resolution with residents and business owners.

If passed in its current form, the

PHOTO BY BRANDON DUFFY

Frank Scobbo speaks to the North Hempstead Town Board on Thursday, Sept. 22.

steps needed to be taken before removing either certificate include an investigation from the commissioner of Building and Safety Inspection and Enforcement and writing a notice of violations if they are found to be creating a hazard to public health or safety, among other steps.

If the owner of the commercial property found to be in violation fails or refuses to comply with the previous steps, the town board may hold a public hearing where they may direct the commissioner to revoke the certificates afterward.

Multiple town board members previously said in September a similar law is in place for residential properties and the amendment fills a gap in the town code.

Many residents said during the September meeting the loose verbiage of the code means that anyone can call in a fraudulent complaint on a business and trigger an inspection from the town, which would be expensive to combat regardless if a business owner was found in violation or not.

Port Washington resident Frank Scobbo said public safety is a broad brush and could possibly make businesses more susceptible to potential investigations.

“Businesses are very easy targets,” Scobbo said in September. “I think that the way that it’s written is ambiguous and can be interpreted in a lot of different ways.”

Members from the town board clarified at the time that business owners operating within the intended use of the certificates would not be found in violation.

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13

Stakes high as Willistons, Mineola vote Continued from Page 1 Santos, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, is a first-generation American born in Queens whose parents immigrated to the United States in pursuit of the “American Dream,” an opportunity the candidate mentions he wants to help provide to all his potential constituents.

Santos, who ran against Suozzi in 2020, has a background on Wall Street as a financier and investor, working extensively in capital introduction, real estate, biotech and capital markets. A supporter of former President Donald Trump, Santos urged officials to intervene in the counting of votes during the 2020 Presidential election.

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

Zimmerman is an advocate of preserving women’s reproductive rights, saying he would codify Roe v. Wade and vote to defend same-sex marriage if elected. He has expressed his commitment to funding law enforcement organizations and programs and to modifying the state’s bail reform laws to tackle the rising crime rates throughout Nassau County and New York.

Santos is a strong opponent of the state’s bail reform laws, saying they should be repealed in order to combat growing crime rates on a local and statewide level. Santos also bashed the Biden administration and the Democratic Party for their lack of commitment on energy independence, again touting the need to create thousands of domestic jobs and lower the cost of living.

The state’s 3rd Congressional District includes the entire Town of North Hempstead including parts of Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Garden City, Mineola and Westbury villages. It also stretches to more southern parts of Nassau County such as Hicksville and Massapequa.

4th Congressional District Democrat Laura Gillen is running against Republican Anthony D’Esposito in the state’s 4th Congressional District. Current Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) is not seeking re-election.

Gillen, 53, is running on the Democratic Party line. She served as Hempstead supervisor for the largest township in the United States from 2018 to 2019. She was the first Democrat elected to the position in a century in an upset over incumbent Anthony Santino. Before being elected as supervisor, Gillen was involved in public service as a volunteer at South Nassau Communities Hospital and Camp Anchor.

D’Esposito, a councilman who represents the Town of Hempstead’s 4th District, is running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines. He is a retired NYPD detective who lives in Island Park. As an NYPD detective, he made more than 600 arrests in connection with murders, assaults, bribery, shootings and possession of illegal

firearms.

Aside from his service within town government, D’Esposito’s efforts during the recovery from Superstorm Sandy led him to be appointed cochairman of the state’s Community Reconstruction Plan. As a councilman, he has provided aid to local businesses, healthcare providers and families throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Gillen said during a Newsday debate with D’Esposito that public safety is a paramount concern of hers and other mothers throughout the district and state. She said that universal background checks and supporting other legislations to get firearms off the streets are some of the best ways to protect children and other individuals.

In the same debate, D’Esposito said he believes in ensuring that individuals with illegal firearms are arrested and establishing task forces on the federal level as the best ways to combat gun violence. He also said word of cashless bail not retaining offenders quickly spreads through the streets to others who believe they can get away with certain criminal activities.

The 4th Congressional District currently includes the communities of Baldwin, Bellmore, East Rockaway, East Meadow, the Five Towns, Lynbrook, Floral Park, Franklin Square, Garden City, Garden City Park, Hempstead, Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Malverne, Freeport, Merrick, Mineola, Carle Place, New Hyde Park, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Wantagh, West Hempstead, Westbury and parts of Valley Stream.

7th State Senate District Democratic state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills) is running for re-election to the 7th Senate District against Republican Jack Martins.

Kaplan, who is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines, is an Iranian immigrant whose parents sent her to the United States for her safety. She was an active member of the Great Neck community before her time in government.

Kaplan was elected to serve the Town of North Hempstead’s 4th District as a councilwoman in 2011. In 2016, she sought election to the House of Representatives but lost to current Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in the Democratic primary. Kaplan defeated former Flower Hill Mayor Elaine Phillips in 2018 to represent the 7th Senate District.

Martins, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, previously represented the 7th District from 2011-2016. The mayor of Mineola from 2003-2010, Martins also serves as an attorney for Harris Beach, PLLC. In 2008, he ran an unsuccessful congressional campaign against former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy before defeating incumbent 7th District Senator and Democrat Craig Johnson in 2010. Martins also ran for Congress in 2016, losing to Suozzi, and ran for Nassau county executive, ultimately losing to Laura Curran.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE CANDIDATES

The Willistons and Mineola residents will vote on a variety of state and local elections on Nov. 8.

Kaplan said she supports the Equality Rights Amendment, which needs to pass two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before New Yorkers vote on making it an amendment to the state constitution in 2024. On the subject of bail reform, the incumbent said she had issues with the changes made, which were included in the 2020 budget. She said she voted for the budget because of the importance of the overall package but was open to changes in bail reform laws in the future.

A rise in crime and high taxes, Martins said, are some of the biggest factors for individuals deciding to leave New York. He also attributed the trend to a lack of parental discretion and more statewide mandates.

Martins acknowledged the hardships the coronavirus pandemic had on all individuals, but referred back to giving parents discretion over what is best for their children.

The state’s 7th Senate District includes Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Williston Park, Mineola, Garden City Park, North Hills, Albertson, Old Westbury, East Hills, Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Estates, Albertson, Searingtown, Lake Success, Manhasset, Munsey Park, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, and the Great Neck and Port Washington peninsulas.

19th State Assembly District Republican Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Sanjeev Jindal of Williston Park in the state’s 19th Assembly District.

Ra, 40, has been in his current post since 2013 and was previously

starting his own business. Jindal has a degree in town and city planning from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

In 2021, Jindal was a candidate in the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 23.

Jindal is a supporter of a woman’s right to choose, affordable healthcare for all and ending gun violence, according to his campaign website.

He supports lowering taxes and lessening regulations for small businesses, affordability and expanding science and technology programs in schools and curriculum that improves literacy, reading, writing and emphasizing the arts.

New York’s 19th Assembly District stretches into North Hempstead, Hempstead and Oyster Bay. Communities include Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Garden City South, Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Westbury, Carle Place, Mineola, Williston Park, East Williston, Westbury, Old Westbury, Brookville, Old Brookville, Upper Brookville and Glen Head.

New York State races The race between Kathy Hochul, who is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines and Lee Zeldin, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines, continues to narrow as Election Day nears.

The gubernatorial race headlines other statewide elections that will be on the ballot for Nassau voters.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is running for re-election against Republican Joe Pinion and Independent Diane Sare. Schumer is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines while Pinion is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. Sare is running on the LaRouche line.

Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who initially launched a campaign for governor before dropping out in December, is running for re-election against Republican Michael Henry. James is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines while Henry is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who is running on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines, is running for re-election against Paul Rodriguez, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Antonio Delgado is running for lieutenant governor on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines against Alison Esposito, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines.

The single proposition up for a vote in New York State this Election Day is the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022. The act would allow the sale of state bonds up to $4.2 billion to fund environmental protection, natural restoration, resiliency and clean energy projects in order to address and combat the impact of climate change and environmental damage.

the representative of the state’s 21st Assembly District from 2011 to 2013.

The incumbent is running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines.

After graduating from Loyola College in Maryland, Ra earned his law degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 2007 and a Master of Laws degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2008. Prior to his election to the state Assembly, Ra served as deputy town attorney for the Town of Hempstead and as a legal aide in the Office of the New York State Attorney General.

Ra serves as the ranking minority member of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which vets bills with fiscal implications. Previously, Ra served as assistant minority leader pro tempore and as ranking member of the Assembly Education Committee.

Ra’s legislative priorities include emphasizing transparency and accountability in the state budget process, rooting out public corruption and promoting public safety, according to his Assembly page.

Ra told Blank Slate Media in a recent interview that he is in favor of more judicial discretion when it comes to cashless bail reform and is an advocate for better defining the “health of the mother” when it comes to abortion.

Jindal, of Williston Park, is the CEO of Ace Agent Financial LLC, an insurance brokerage company, and founded the nonprofit organization South Asians For Empowerment.

After arriving in the United States Contributing reporting by Branover 20 years ago, Jindal worked in a liquor store and drove a taxi cab be- don Duffy, Steven Keehner and Robert fore becoming a trained engineer and Pelaez

14 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

Opinion ENDORSEMENTS

Gov. Kathy Hochul offers clear choice for N.Y. Kathy Hochul versus Lee Zeldin Would you like to vote for Donald Trump for governor of New York?

Well, the former president is not on the ballot, but you could get the next best thing – Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Suffolk County Republican who is running for governor.

Like Trump, Zeldin is seeking to exploit people’s legitimate fears with solutions to problems that don’t exist and ignoring the real problems and real solutions.

Contrast this with Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has governed sensibly and effectively since taking office following Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation in August 2021.

Zeldin rose to national prominence by serving as one of Trump’s point men in opposition to the first impeachment probe That was the one in which Trump attempted to extort Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fish up dirt on Joe Biden’s son in exchange for releasing military aid approved

by Congress for its war with Russia.

Zeldin called the impeachment probe a “charade,” a “clown show” and a “cocktail” that is House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff ’s “favorite drink to get America drunk on.”

On Jan. 6, Zeldin emerged following the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters that threatened the lives of elected officials and left

more than 140 police officers injured to essentially exonerate Trump again by blaming others for the attack.

“This isn’t just about the president of the United States,” he said, referring to what prompted the riot.

“This is about people on the left and their double standards.”

Hours later, Zeldin joined 146 other Republicans in seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

When a bipartisan congressional commission was proposed to investigate the most serious attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812, Zeldin was the lone dissenting vote among Long Island’s congregational delegation.

Now, Zeldin is running against Hochul, saying he is the best qualified to fight crime and supports police 100% — apparently other than the 140 police whose lives were threatened by a mob incited by the former president he still supports.

Zeldin is not the best qualified to combat crime. Nowhere near it.

Like almost every Republican now running for office in the state, Zeldin is blaming New York’s rise in crime on bail reforms put into effect in 2020, amended later that year and amended again this spring.

There are two problems with Zeldin blaming New York’s bail laws on the spike in crime. The first is that a similar increase in crime is being seen post-COVID in the other 49 other states, none of which reformed

Kathy Hochul their bail reform laws since 2020.

The second is that Zeldin’s claim is contradicted by facts. An analysis by the state and the media show that bail reform has had little or no impact on crime.

Still, ads from Zeldin’s campaign use threatening images of black men to stoke panic. One features a crime that took place in California.

He has recently taken to promising to fire democratically elected county prosecutors he believes are not doing enough to fight crime. For someone who refused to support an investigation of Jan. 6, this is a frightening thought.

Zeldin raises the same fears by saying he will declare a state of emergency to fight crime. And do what?

It certainly would not be to do

something about guns — one of the legitimate reasons for the rise in crime. On the subject of gun safety, Zeldin is radical in the extreme.

He said in the wake of the Buffalo shooting in May that left 10 dead that New York should dump its red flag law, loosen permits for concealed weapons and allow New Yorkers to “stand your ground.”

Zeldin later lauded the decision of the six Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices when they ruled in June to overturn New York State’s century-old law strictly limiting carrying guns outside the home.

The decision, Zeldin said, “reaffirms their inherent right to safely and securely carry to protect themselves, their families and their loved ones, and the principle that this Constitutional right shall not be infringed.”

Claiming the right to carry guns “shall not be infringed” goes well beyond anything the Supreme Court has ever said.

On abortion, Zeldin called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade “a victory for life, for family, for the Constitution, and for federalism.” In Congress, he voted for legislation to ban abortions after 20 weeks with few exceptions.

For her part, Hochul has made smart appointments to key positions such as the state health commissioner and the MTA. She has worked with New York City Mayor Eric Adams on crime and transit issues.

She passed a comprehensive package of gun safety laws to close loopholes in the state’s laws, bar the purchase of semiautomatic rifles by anyone under 21, tightened red-flag laws and prohibited the purchase of body armor with the exception of those in specific professions.

She also persuaded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to tighten enforcement of laws in the county – in contrast to Zeldin, who said he would fire the No. 1 law enforcement officer in New York County.

Hochul is also driving changes in a state reimbursement system that gave health institutions disincentives to add psychiatric beds, which should result in 1,000 more of them in New York facilities, and she is finding ways to quickly get the personnel needed to staff those beds.

Acting with the state Legislature, she has also expanded Kendra’s Law to give doctors stronger authorization to involuntarily hold people who have acted out and been brought in for observation.

Hochul understands the current acute housing shortage and is more wisely exploring other options to expand housing availability in partnership with local governments and looking to new private incentives to build what’s needed.

We strongly endorse Hochul.

New York needs a competent manager to run the state, not an extreme ideologue.

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE. ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2022.

POLLS OPEN 6AM TO 9PM. BLANK SLATE MEDIA LLC 22 Planting Field Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 Phone: 516-307-1045 E-mail: hblank@theisland360.com EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Steven Blank OFFICE MANAGER Holly Blank

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

15

ENDORSEMENTS

Robert Zimmerman the sensible choice for 3rd CD Robert Zimmerman versus George Devolder-Santos House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently clarified the stakes of the race for New York’s 3rd Congressional District and every other district in the country.

McCarthy said if Republicans win control of the House, the GOP will use raising the debt limit as leverage to force spending cuts – which could include cuts to Medicare and Social Security – and limit additional funding to Ukraine.

He also promised to investigate the Department of Justice, telling Attorney General Merrick Garland to “clear your calendar.”

Senate Republicans have suggested that Social Security be eliminated as a federal entitlement and be subject to review every five years or even annually. House Republicans are talking about impeaching President Biden.

For what? They’ll figure that our later.

The stark differences offered by which party controls the House is equaled by the choice offered by the two candidates for the 3rd District.

Robert Zimmerman is a sensible voice, informed by his time as a

congressional aide, political activist, member of the Democratic National Committee and owner of a communications business where he worked with people from both parties.

His experience has given him a deep understanding of the enormous issues that face the district and the nation, from climate change and immigration to social issues and infrastructure.

Zimmerman speaks particularly passionately about protecting democracy – at a time that the Madisonian system of government given us by our founding fathers is under serious threat.

Zimmerman supports reproductive freedom for women, a ban on assault weapons and limits to magazines, and LGBTQ rights.

Zimmerman also advocates a path to citizenship for the millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States along with stepped-up border security.

He rightly focuses on the environment, noting that he’d like to see infrastructure dollars go toward protecting Long Island Sound and improving water quality.

In contrast, George Devolder-San-

Robert Zimmerman tos is an extremist who would become part of the problem if he were elected.

Devolder-Santos was at the Ellipse in Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally where former President Donald Trump incited his audience on Jan. 6, 2021, and defended the people who assaulted the Capitol following the speech.

“Imagine breaking into your own house and being charged with trespassing,” Devolder-Santos said on a recording made in February 2022 at a “restore public safety” vigil.

He said he was funding efforts to help those arrested for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election by threatening the lives of Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other elected officials.

All this and he has made fighting crime and backing law enforcement a top issue.

Like virtually every Republican running statewide, he has blamed bail reform on the rising crime rate in New York – even though all data shows that it has had little or no effect.

And he has tried to pin state bail reforms on Zimmerman in which the Democrat played no role.

Zimmerman has actually called on the state to tight lax national gun laws while focusing on the main culprits — the economic dislocation caused by the COVID pandemic, mental health problems and drug addiction.

Devolder-Santos told Blank Slate Media two years ago he supported overturning Roe v Wade and would be in favor of criminal charges for doctors who performed abortions.

He recently compared abortion to slavery, calling both “barbaric.”

Zimmerman has said he supports

a women’s right to choose and would support legislation to codify Roe v.

Wade nationally.

Devolder-Santos also called the Mueller Report on Russian interference in the 2016 election a “hoax” and echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin in the lead up to his assault on Ukraine.

“Look, if the Ukrainians really hated Russia so bad, the eastern border of Ukraine wouldn’t’ have welcomed Russia into the provinces,” he said.

“They feel more Russian than Ukrainian.”

Zimmerman has staunchly supported Ukraine’s defense of its homeland and the United States’ leadership in NATO in preventing Russia from violating the country’s territorial integrity.

Devolderer-Santos has also repeatedly ducked questions in debates, canceled other forums and refused to sit down with Blank Slate Media and Newsday.

The stakes in this election could not be clearer. Neither is the choice between Devender-Santos and Zimmerman.

We could not more strongly endorse Zimmerman.

Anna Kaplan our choice for 7th Senate District Anna Kaplan versus Jack Martins State Sen. Anna Kaplan is running for re-election in the 7th state Senate district by offering sensible solutions to state and district problems as well as real achievements.

Her opponent, Jack Martins, is running to reclaim the 7th District state Senate seat he once held with the same unhelpful scare tactics he tried in his unsuccessful bid for county executive five years ago.

Martins’ campaign ended five years ago with a mailer sent on his behalf that was awful on several levels, beginning with a race-based appeal to fear.

The photo used in the mailer, taken in Central America, showed three shirtless Latino men covered in tattoos. The headline said “Meet Your New Neighbors.”

The text beneath the headline said his opponent in the race, Laura Curran, “will roll out the welcome mat for violent gangs like MS-13,” which had committed many crimes in Nassau.

The mailer added that “Laura Curran: She’s MS-13’s choice for County Executive.”

Message: Be afraid, be very afraid.

Curran was elected, despite the mailer, and in the next four years,

Nassau was named the safest county in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

Five years later, Martins campaign is again focused on exploiting people’s fears about crime.

One recent Martins mailer, featuring a grainy, black and white photo of Kaplan, says she “Voted for cashless bail, freeing killers and thugs” and putting “criminals on the streets.”

“End the violent crime wave sweeping Nassau,” the mailer says on the backside.

For the record, Nassau has reported five murders, eight sexual abuse instances, two criminal sexual acts and six rapes during the first eight months of 2022, according to county crime statistics provided following a Freedom of Information Law request by Blank Slate Media.

That compares to a total of 10 murders, 11 sexual abuse instances, 10 criminal sexual acts and 19 rapes reported in 2021. Not much of a change.

Martins is no different than most Republicans running this year in blaming New York’s spike in crime since 2020 on changes made to state laws that eliminated bail for the tens of thousands of people arrested – but not convicted – of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.

An analysis of arrest data by the

Anna Kaplan state and media companies shows that bail reform has had little or no effect on crime in New York at a time when all 50 states have seen a spike in crime during the COVID pandemic.

But, for many, fear appears preferable to facts.

Kaplan defends the bail reform laws, which were amended twice since their rollout in January 2020 to give judges greater discretion and increased the number of crimes subject to bail. She points to the many people, overwhelmingly black and brown, sent to jail because they lacked the money for bail.

More important, she rightly says access to guns has helped fuel

the rise in crime in New York and around the country and touts her role in promoting a ban on ghost guns, red-flag laws to prevent dangerous people from purchasing guns, efforts to extend the waiting period for gun sales, closing of loopholes in the background check process and raising the age for people to purchase semi-automatic weapons to 21.

Kaplan has also been active in opposing the growing threat of antisemitism and other forms of bigotry n Nassau County.

She helped lead a successful campaign to oppose MTA plans to reduce the number of express trains on the Port Washington branch of the LIRR – an important gain for commuters and the communities along the line.

But Kaplan has focused most of her attention in the campaign on abortion and her support of protecting reproductive rights in New York and Martins’ opposition to the Reproductive Health Act later approved by the state Legislature.

Martins said at the time that his opposition was based on the language surrounding exceptions for a woman’s health.

He said he supported restrictions, made by state legislators, on women and their physicians in making those decisions.

We have seen that scenario play out disastrously across the country and want no part of that.

Kaplan also touts her role – greatly aided by federal COVID dollars – in bringing additional funding for schools and roads.

Martins, who served as mayor of Mineola before being elected state senator in 2010, was an effective advocate for his constituents at the time.

He helped develop a community-wide effort to plan to boost the village’s downtown with transit-oriented housing.

As a state senator, he worked well with officials of both parties and rescued money for important capital purchases jeopardized following the loss of his opponent in 2010, state Sen. Craig Johnson.

But he also opposed Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s now nearly complete and much-needed 3rd track project expanding LIRR transportation on Long Island, calling it “dead on arrival.”

Fortunately, he was wrong and the project went forward.

Martins now opposes the MTA’s proposed congestion pricing plan for Manhattan, calling it a commuter tax. Which it’s not.

Kaplan supports the proposal.

We strongly support Kaplan for the 7th state Senate district.

For the latest news, visit us at w w w.theisland360.com

16 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

ENDORSEMENTS

Ed Ra right choice for 19th Assembly District, L.I. Ed Ra versus Sanjeev Jindal State Assemblyman Ed Ra, who is running for re-election for a seventh term in the 19th District on the Republican and Conservative Party lines, uses a word seldom heard in discussions on bail reform – “nuance.”

In this case, Ra believes this nuance should come in the form of giving judges more discretion.

Whether or not we agree with the need for additional judicial discretion, we appreciate Ra’s measured approach at a time when many other Republicans are calling for a return to a broken bail system that imprisoned tens of thousands of people, overwhelmingly black and brown, accused of committing misdemeanors and non-violent felonies simply because they were poor.

This measured approach is some-

thing that characterizes Ra’s way of handling the job of assemblyman and makes him an effective representative in an Assembly controlled by Democrats with a large majority.

At age 40 with six terms already under his belt, Ra has the added advantage of serving as the ranking minority member on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which vets bills with fiscal implications.

Previously, he served as assistant minority leader pro tempore and as the ranking member of the Assembly Education Committee.

These leadership positions and his 12 years in the Legislature give him the Ed Ra ability to represent Long Island in an Assembly dominated by New York City repcrime. resentatives.

But he did not support the legislation Ra said bail reform has become a catch-all for a broader set of policies that passed after the U.S. Supreme Court overhe says has contributed to an increase in turned a more than century-old New York

law that tightly restricted the concealed carry of firearms.

“There were good ideas in there, I have no problem with requiring training and certain locations being off-limits for carrying but some of that went too far,” Ra said.

Likewise, Ra opposed the Reproductive Health Act that expanded abortion rights in New York State because he said it did far more than codify Roe v. Wade, removing a “host of protections” for the fetus.

He said this included how the health of the mother was defined in allowing late-term abortions.

We believe this decision should be left with a woman and her physician. Not politicians.

Ra is opposed by Sanjeev Jindal, who is running on the Democratic Party line.

Jindal, worked in a liquor store and drove a taxi cab before becoming

a trained engineer and starting his own business. He was a candidate in the Democratic primary for the New York City Council District. 23.

He has run, at best, a low-key campaign.

He is a supporter of a woman’s right to choose, affordable healthcare for all and ending gun violence, according to his campaign website.

He said he also supports lowering taxes and lessening regulations for small businesses, affordability and expanding science and technology programs in schools and curriculum that improves literacy, reading, writing and emphasizing the arts.

Ra is a lifelong resident of his district with the knowledge and temperament to work across party lines to represent Long Island well.

We strongly endorse Ed Ra for reelection.

Gina Sillitti delivers for 16th Assembly District Gina Sillitti versus Vibhuti Jha Gina Sillitti is a clear choice for reelection in the state Assembly’s 16th District.

Sillitti, who is running on the Democrat and Working Families lines, was first elected in 2021 after nearly two decades of public service that spanned various posts for Nassau County and the Town of North Hempstead.

Sillitti’s experience, knowledge of the district and command of the issues are reflected in a productive first term.

As she said in an interview with Blank Slate Media that she was “able to deliver” for her district in the form of state aid and infrastructure improvements.

Sillitti also voted for what she termed “common-sense” changes to

bail laws, giving judges additional discretion for repeat offenders.

But unlike Republicans who blame bail reform for the spike in crime in New York since 2020 Sillitti points to the real culprits in the rise in crime, including gun laws, problems with mental health and drug addiction and the need to give law enforcement the tools to crack down on crime.

She also points to her support of “zero tolerance” for illegal guns and tougher laws surrounding the sale and possession of firearms as well as legislation targeting two major sources of crime in Nassau County — the Gina Sillitti theft of catalytic converters and cars.

A resident of Manorhaven, Sillitti helped lead a successful campaign to oppose MTA plans to reduce the important gain for commuters and the number of express trains on the Port communities along the line.

Sillitti is opposed by Vibhuti Jha, Washington branch of the LIRR – an

a first-time candidate running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines.

Jha, who has an impressive resume with advanced degrees in international management and economics, began his business career after emigrating from India to work at American Express.

Now a specialist in business turnaround and a former banker, Jha said he would use his business and finance experience to fix what is wrong in Albany. We certainly believe his knowledge of finance would be an asset in these challenging times for the state.

But like other Republicans running for statewide office, Jha claims that bail reform has freed killers, drug dealers and gang members and that if elected, he will strive to reverse these laws.

Here the data contradicts Jha. Jha also said that Long Islanders need tax relief, which he intends to provide by working to make the gas tax rollback permanent rather than an “election-time gimmick.” And he opposes congestion pricing.

We agree with the “election-time gimmick” comment but oppose rolling back the gas tax as unsound financially and a disincentive for New Yorkers to drive less – at a time when this country needs to do everything it can to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Jha does bring the kind of civil voice to political discussions so sorely needed at this time But based on Sillitti’s experience, knowledge of the issues and first-term accomplishments we strongly endorse Gina Sillitti for a second terms.

Charles Lavine right choice for 13th Assembly District Charles Lavine versus Ruka Anzai Charles Lavine is the clear choice for re-election in the state Assembly’s 13th District.

Lavine, a Democrat who was first elected to the Assembly in 2004, brings a wealth of experience, the respect of his peers and a deep knowledge of the issues facing the district, the state and the country.

He worked as a staff attorney for Legal Aid early in his career, as a partner in a Queens law firm and is now as a sole practitioner specializing in criminal defense work.

In the Assembly, he serves as chair of the judiciary committee. As chairman Lavine oversaw an investigation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that found overwhelming evidence of misconduct

– notwithstanding his party affiliation or what he saw as the former governor’s considerable accomplishments.

Lavine correctly cites the threat to democracy posed by election deniers and Republican efforts nationally to suppress the will of the people in elections as the greatest threat to our freedoms.

He recognizes the lie behind state Republicans’ No. 1 election claim – reform of the state’s bail laws is behind the rise in crime in New York since 2020. And he offers real solutions to an increase in crime, particularly violent acts, that has hit every state in the Charles Lavine union.

The solutions include red-flag laws and bans on ghost guns and assault weapons. He also offers creative ways intended to keep young people from to combat crime such as using schools straying into crime.

He acknowledges the threat posed as community centers offering services

by climate change and the need to better prepare Long Island for its consequences.

Lavine is opposed by Republican Ruka Anzai, a real estate agent who lives in Jericho and has never served in government.

Anzai declined an invitation by Blank Slate Media to debate Lavine or speak to us one-on-one. She also declined to meet with Newsday’s editorial board.

On her website, she praises Nassau County’s low crime rate and like other Republicans blames the spike in crime in New York City on bail reform.

She also calls for the state Board of Education to “create flexibility for families “when it comes to challenging topics,” which sounds like an invitation to interfere with school curriculums in which discussion of slavery, Jim Crow

and LGBTQ issues are suppressed.

Taking a page from national Republican campaigns inspired by President Trump, she said Gov. Kathy Hochul “has brute-forced medical procedures on people and threatened to lock up anyone who is vaguely defined as a threat to public health.”

This is simply not true.

She also raises false concerns about election integrity in New York, calling for two forms of identity for in-person voting and a more comprehensive security protocol to “protect the integrity of mail-in ballots.”

These are problems that simply don’t exist.

New York has enough issues to deal with without making them up.

Charles Lavine offers a welcome alternative. We strongly support his reelection.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

17

ON THE RIGHT

Final thoughts before the 2022 election

B

efore you cast your vote for congressional candidates on Nov. 8, I ask that you mull over the following: President Joe Biden recently told us that the national economy is “strong as hell.” Do you honestly believe that?

The stock market is down over 20% this year. Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s have cratered.

Corporate giants are restructuring and laying off workers. Mortgage interest rates have jumped from 3% to 7%.

Then there is the soaring inflation that is wrecking family budgets and wiping out wage gains.

Larry Summers, a leading Democratic economist, cautioned in 2021 that reckless federal spending would unleash the worst inflation in decades. Ignoring his warning, Biden and congressional leaders approved a $1.9 trillion-dollar stimulus spending bill.

The result: in the past year coffee has gone up 18.7%, bread 16.1%, chicken 14.9% and eggs 39.8%. Overall groceries have gone up 13.5%.

In 2021 it cost about $832 a month to feed a family of four. It now

costs $1,400.

Biden’s energy policies—canceling domestic pipeline construction and a moratorium on new oil leases of public land—have been a disaster.

In addition to the surge in prices at the gas pump, home-heating fuel will be up over 17% this winter. The average household will have to shell out an extra $1,200 to stay warm.

These facts do not translate into an economy that is “strong as hell.”

Instead, they indicate the nation is heading toward a severe recession.

Next, there is the ridiculous claim made ad nauseam by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that our Southern border is secure.

It is impossible to reconcile their position with the fact that after rolling back Trump administration border policies, a record-breaking 2.7 million migrants crossed our border between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022.

In September alone Customs and Border Protection reported 227,000 people crossing the border: up 18.5% vs. September 2021.

Since Biden took office over 4 million migrants have jumped the border.

By the way, those of you who are angry about migrants being shipped

GEORGE J. MARLIN On The Right to New York, the fact is about 75% of them arrived via air, courtesy of the Biden-Harris administration.

Thanks to teacher union-driven COVID school policies, 38% of eighth grade students performed below the basic achievement levels in math.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said, “These mathematics results are historic… [They are] the largest decline in mathematics we have observed in the entire history of this assessment.”

That’s not the only bad news on the education front. ACT test scores, which are used for college admission, have been a disaster.

The national average ACT score for the high school class of 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported, “fell to 19.8 out of 36, down from 20.3.”

Over 40% of seniors did not hit any of ACT’s benchmarks.

Commenting on these dismal results, Janet Godwin, the CEO of ACT, said there are “a rapidly growing number of seniors leaving high school without meeting the college-readiness benchmark in any of the subjects we measure.”

So much for Zoom classes.

There is much to criticize, and sadly, those who dare to disagree publicly with the president he dismisses as “semi-fascists.” So much for Biden’s pledge to unify Americans.

Here is something else to contemplate before entering the polling booth: the Progressive mindset.

The noted Democratic analyst, Ruy Teixeira, made this trenchant observation in an essay he penned for substack.com: “Let’s face it, today’s Democrats have a bit of a problem with patriotism. It’s kind of hard to

strike up the band on patriotism when you’ve been endorsing the view that America was born in slavery, marinated in racism and remains a white supremacist society, shot through with multiple, intersecting levels of injustice that make everybody either oppressed or oppressor on a daily basis… Hmm. This doesn’t seem like a very inspirational approach….”

Public opinion surveys indicate this Progressive attitude is not clicking with many Americans, particularly minorities.

While 66% of Progressive activists are not proud of America, 62% of Asians, 70% of Blacks and 76% of Hispanics disagree. They are proud to be Americans.

These statistics help explain why many minorities are deserting the Democratic Party and moving into the Republican camp.

I, for one, have had enough of the policies and demeanor of Joe Biden and his band of Washington radical Progressives. And to check their destructive power, on Election Day I intend to cast my vote for RepublicanConservative congressional candidates.

I recommend you do the same.

A LOOK ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

The look, the taste, the smell…of autumn

F

all has always been my favorite season — whether I was swishing through shin-high drifts of fallen leaves on my way to school or stomping on acorns and trying to pop them — even though I was probably allergic to all of it. (My allergist once said, “I call it the witching season, and not just because of Halloween.”)

Still, I love the crisp tang in the air, the leaves turning bright colors, the bird calls which seem to travel a little farther in the no-longer-soggy fall air and how my very favorite smell starts dancing on the breeze. No, not Pumpkin Spice, which I regard as the “Hallmark greeting card” of the aroma world.

I am talking about that wood smoke smell, drifting around the neighborhood, invisibly lifting my spirits.

I believe that the burning of leaves has been banned, here on Long Island, and probably wood is next — which makes that aroma all the sweeter to encounter. There is just something about

it that brings back happy memories.

Some of my happiest are of raking leaves in our back yard with my father and brothers, making one big pile, and — what else? — jumping joyfully in and out of it with my brothers until essentially we had undone all the work of raking. Then my father would rake it all back in — in one tenth of the time without our “help” — and light the bonfire, while we all stood around watching it burn. There were no big plastic bags of leaves at the curb (and shouldn’t those bags be made of something that burns cleanly anyway? Like paper?). This this is just what everyone did with their leaves.

Dad always had a fire in the fireplace for the first night of Chanukah, and usually also for Thanksgiving. But I never paid much attention to the minutiae of how to stack the wood, or layer in the smaller twigs, until Hurricane Sandy hit us here in Long Island, knocking out the power on the North Shore for 10 increasingly colder days and nights. That’s when my husband and I finally brushed the cobwebs out

JUDY EPSTEIN A Look on the Lighter Side of our fireplace and let our high schoolage son make a fire in it, almost every one of those nights. He got very good at it.

Sitting around a campfire is easily the best part of any camping experience. This is true even though it somehow always means putting up

with those stories people feel required to tell about the one-handed maniac, creeping up on the teens in a car on Lover’s lane, whose bloody prosthetic claw is discovered hanging from the car’s door handle after the kids have driven away. Now that car doors have nothing to hook onto, I no longer fear him!

Campfires also meant the making and consuming of s’mores — which usually led, at least for me, to a burnt marshmallow and burnt roof of the mouth. Patience was never my best virtue.

My favorite campfires of all time were the ones our leader started every morning of my high school group’s two-week trip around the American West. These featured the aromas of bacon and coffee, commingled with that lovely wood smoke. If only I could find an alarm clock that released a puff of that every morning, I think I could almost have become a morning person.

The evening campfires were almost as wonderful, except they were invariably followed by KP (Kitchen

Patrol) duty where, according to the group leader, I slowed down the whole process no matter what station he put me on. I, of course, saw it differently; is it so wrong to want to clean EVERY leftover morsel off the plates?

Rinse ALL the suds away? Or get the dishes actually dry? This is also where I learned it is apparently a mortal sin — a capital offense almost — to clean a skillet that has been coated in years’ worth of grimy bacon grease. OK, so now I know.

I don’t know how much longer we will be allowed to have these lovely experiences. Climate change is a real thing, as Hurricane Sandy finally drummed into my reluctant brain, and I do understand that it is hastened a little bit by every fire that turns lockedup-carbon, be it in coal or wood, into carbon dioxide and smoke. That is why I intend to make the most of every minute we’ve got, from now on. So if you see me wandering around my neighborhood, nose first and long after Halloween, at least you’ll know why.

Happy Autumn!

LETTERS POLICY Letters should be typed or neatly handwritten, and those longer than 750 words may be edited for brevity and clarity. All letters must include the writer’s name and phone number for verification. Anonymously sent letters will not be printed. Letters must be received by Monday noon to appear in the next week’s paper. All letters become the property of Blank Slate Media LLC and may be republished in any format. Letters can be submitted online at theisland360.com/submit-opinion/ or mailed to Blank Slate Media, 22 Planting Field Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577.

18 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

THE BACK ROAD

Superstorm Sandy viewed 10 years later

S

uperstorm Sandy landed in my hometown of Long Beach in the waning days of October 2012.

The evening before we evacuated Long Beach, my wife and I attended a performance of “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway. We had been holding tickets for almost a year. It was a beautiful evening in New York City — the proverbial calm before the storm.

A week earlier, with news of the coming hurricane, I booked a room at the Red Roof Inn in Westbury for the projected dates of landfall. I’ve never been one of those “I’ll ride it out” kind of guys.

I take all hurricane warnings seriously, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

Hurricane Iris came to town one year before Sandy, in August 2011. I booked a room at the same hotel. Before that, the last big one was Hurricane Gloria in September 1985. We left town to stay with family out of state.

Neither Gloria nor Iris did any major damage to Long Beach. As you know, Sandy was a different story altogether, even though the meteorologists exchanged the “hurricane” title for “superstorm.”

Regardless of what you call it, Sandy was devastating.

The first chance I had to drive home from the hotel was an eerie evening trip.

The Loop Parkway, off the Meadowbrook Parkway south, was closed so I had to travel west on Sunrise Highway to a barren Long Beach Road, where I proceeded south through Oceanside.

There were no working traffic or street lights. I crawled south on Long Beach Road for six miles in total darkness, except for my car’s headlights which were of little help.

Several boats had washed up in Island Park. It was only a matter of time until I became completely disoriented. I couldn’t make out any landmarks. It felt like I was on the moon.

My next trip was in daylight, which allowed me to see the full extent of the widespread damage. Everyone, with rare exception, was affected.

The National Guard was already patrolling the streets and handing out rations to families from a truck a few blocks from our home, outside of the local elementary school.

We live in a high ranch in a section of northeast Long Beach known as “the canals,” closer to the bay than the ocean.

The first floor of our house took almost three feet of water.

Neighbors who were foolhardy enough to “ride it out” said that five or six feet of water surged down our street. One

It wasn’t until about eight weeks later that we were able to move home, as it took all that time to find someone to set us up with plumbing, heating and electricity. Contractors were few and far between, overloaded with work needed by thousands of beleaguered residents.

Although there were volunteers willing to help anyone who needed it, we learned that some older residents remained in their houses for months, without removing the saturated sheetrock that had turned to mold.

I had reserved a hotel room for just a few days, unaware of the full extent of the damage and the long-term recovery that confronted us. When I tried to The Back Road extend my stay, the hotel was already family spoke to the terror they experi- booked. We ended up sleeping on the enced when a car caught fire and spit out floor of my office on the North Shore flames that ultimately took down several until we were able to get back into the hotel, a few days later. houses on the block just behind us.

I remember my legs swelling up.

We lost almost everything on the first I couldn’t figure out what that was all floor of our house. Fortunately, our living about until I was advised that eating space (kitchen, bedrooms, living room) out at restaurants and diners every day was on the second floor. In a matter of meant a greater salt intake. Thus, the days our destroyed belongings were piled swelling. high on the curb in front of our house.

When we did move back home, What news reporters referred to as it took many months before we were debris, were our memories; photographs, whole again. There were lots of meetpaintings, albums and much more. ings with flood insurance assessors and

ANDREW MALEKOFF

government officials assigned to help families with financial needs. It was chaos. There were changing personnel, epic delays and promises made and not kept – bureaucracy at its finest.

I watched Superbowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013, in what was once our den, with a good friend who lived down the block and was still displaced.

The den was empty, except for the TV which was set high enough on a cart to withstand the surge of water. The linoleum flooring was by then pulled up and sheetrock ripped out to prevent mold.

The furniture was long gone. We sat on lawn chairs with an upside-down crate between us, a makeshift cocktail table for beer, sandwiches and snacks.

The Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in a game that was marred by a 30-minute power outage in the Superdome in New Orleans, La.. Could it have been a cosmic whisper on behalf of Hurricane Katrina?

Sandy was not another Katrina.

However, it killed more than 45 people and caused an estimated $19 billion in damage in New York alone.

I’ve shuddered, every hurricane season since when the parade of nicknames travel north.

VIEW POINT

If GOP gets it way, guns will everywhere

I

s there any doubt if Republicans take over as governor or control the Legislature, the state will happily see its gun safety laws overturned and guns – including assault weapons and high-capacity ammo clips – on the railroad, in subways, in places of worship, in schools?

Lee Zeldin is following Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s model: Arm school teachers instead of getting guns off the street or addressing mental health in schools and communities. And Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman wants people to have guns in synagogues.

No doubt, Blakeman reacted with glee at a federal court’s ruling overturning key parts of the new New York gun law, put into place after the SCOTUS6 overturned New York’s 100-year-old gun safety regulations that kept the state’s gun violence statistics low. In a press conference, Blakeman called the law “arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional”.

Specifically, the federal judge said it should be a-okay to bring a gun onto the LIRR and subway and into Times Square and other “sensitive” locations. The ruling would (temporarily) keep restrictions in place that bar firearms in schools, places of worship and government buildings (because judges and government officials don’t want to be terrorized, but it’s “free speech” to allow armed vigilantes to hover over voters trying to cast their

ballot).

Gun violence is not an actual thing in Nassau County – evidence of the benefit of strong gun regulations. Property crimes are up, pushing up county crime rates by 34 percent. Does Blakeman envision the concealed carry being used to foil a car theft? Last I heard, theft wasn’t a capital crime, but he must envision vigilantes pulling out a gun to “make my day.” But that increase in the crime rate also reflects hate crimes and domestic violence – one wonders how easing access to guns would improve those situations.

Blakeman didn’t answer a straight question for data to justify wanting more guns in Nassau County, which has been rated the safest county of its size in the country (before promoting concealed carry). The rates we found were: 3.76 deaths per 100,000 compared to 7.49 in New York State and 20.71 in the USA in 2018 (https:// www.livestories.com/statistics/newyork/nassau-county-gun-firearm-violence-deaths-mortality) The elephant in the room is the source of the increase in crime. Actually, violent crime had been going down – that is until Trump legitimized hate, bigotry and violence as political weapons. The number of incidents involving political violence and threats, which had been growing since President Obama was in office (900), has increased tenfold; hate crimes have

KAREN RUBIN View Point hit new records, and domestic violence surged to record levels during COVID (over 3,300 incidents in Nassau County in 2021). How would these incidents be “safer” if guns were even easier to get?

The number of gun deaths in the United States has actually risen from an inexcusable 33,000 a year (a 9/11 every month) BEFORE Trump ascended to an incomprehensible 45,222 in 2020, during Trump’s reign of terror.

Per capita murder rates are 40% higher in states won by Trump – where access to guns is easier than to the ballot box or a doctor’s office — than in those won by Joe Biden. Texas has a 67 percent higher rate of gun deaths than California.

“The surge in gun violence comes

as firearm purchases rose to record levels in 2020 and 2021, with more than 43 million guns estimated to have been purchased during that period, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data on gun background checks. At the same time, the rate of gun deaths in those years hit the highest level since 1995, with more than 45,000 fatalities each year.

You know what else happened in 1995? The assault weapons ban, which George Bush allowed to expire in 2004, when mass shootings began to really take off (more than 300 so far this year).

Contrast that with the fact that in September New York City posted a 23.5% decline in murder over 2021 and a 13.2% decline in shootings – after the city and state cracked down on illegal guns. In fact, Nassau County’s gun problem is over illegal guns transported from other states.

Even after six major mass shootings in Texas since he became governor, Greg Abbott signed a permitless carry law that makes it easier to carry a loaded gun in public without any background check, training, or permit, and the number of gun deaths doubled. Moreover, instead of raising the minimum age to buy an assault weapon to 21 (as Florida did after Parkland), Abbott sent DNA kits to parents to identify their children’s bodies after they’ve been shot up beyond recognition rather than to do

anything to protect their lives.

Here’s how Blakeman explained wanting people to be able to carry guns in houses of worship, in shopping malls, in Times Square, on public transit: “There is nothing in the law that protects the public from an active shooter. ..if a law-abiding citizen can’t carry in house of worship where they may be subject to attack, it makes no sense.”

The statistics connecting the rampant, easy access to guns and gun violence (an epidemic unique to the United States), are clear: the easier the access to guns, the more gun violence and death. Period. There is no data to support the opposite case.

So If the new New York law is overturned and/if we continue to have rational (Democratic) leadership, the state should re-write its gun law to match the Constitution’s Second Amendment exactly: A well regulated mlitia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

That is: to possess a gun, you have to be part of a well-regulated militia established to PROTECT the state, not murder or terrorize elected officials or people exercising THEIR democratic rights of free speech, free assembly, protest, voting, and to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

No court could argue with the constitutionality of that.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

19

OUR TOWN

What it takes to be an entrepreneur

E

ntrepreneurship is defined as “the art of setting up a business, taking on financial risk in order to make a profit.” The word comes from the French word “entreprendre,” which means “to do something or to undertake,” but for my money the word sounds more American since it conjures up of creativity and independence, two primary American attitudes.

I decided to investigate the character of the entrepreneur, but since I had no immediate access to Elon Musk, instead I chose a more local entrepreneur.

Let me introduce you to Ethan Haber, a friend of my sons and a kid I have known for many years.

When Ethan was a youngster, he was always the one who joked around, had enormous energy and liked to talk and have fun. He also took an interest in making stuffed plush animals and managed to market them to the gaming industry, which used them in their marketing campaigns. All this when he was still a teenager.

But his true entrepreneurial sense emerged during college. Ethan had a hamster Mooksie, which he loved. One day while sitting in the quad at Wake Forest University, he saw a student walking a dog and he began to wonder why

he shouldn’t be able to walk his little hamster Mooksie the way other people walked their dogs.

And this is where Ethan’s creativity, tenacity and fortitude kicked into full gear. Lots of people have clever ideas, but Ethan took his unique idea of ways to walk his hamster and converted it into a business plan.

Now if you know what a hamster looks like, you will immediately know that a hamster harness is not the way to go here. Hamsters are too small to have a leash attached to them and I don’t think they would like walking in a straight direction down the street the way dogs do. This is not a workable idea.

But Ethan’s idea was far more creative than mine. He invented a beautiful looking product called “The Halo,” which allows you to take your hamster on walks like dog owners do. You carry “The Halo” and it holds a clear globe with a treadmill inside, which your hamster can run on while it views the great big world outside.

Now let us get into the nitty-gritty of what it really takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Indeed, you need to have a heart as big as Ethan’s which prompts you do some good in the world, in this case do good for your hamster. But you

stainless steel, 12-foot-tall replicas of balloon dogs. He sold one of his balloon dogs last year for $58.4 million. Never snicker at a man who believes in what he is doing.

Ethan Haber is just such a man. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someday Ethan Haber winds up selling his Happy Habits company for $52 million. Hey, you never know.His start-up sells all things for little animals, including small animal bedding, tiny treats like peanut butter or banana snacks, plush pillows that look like cute hamsters, and even DR. TOM FERRARO an Ecoflex Mojave Small Pet Lounge for Our Town little critters that deserve some pampering.But lest you think that entrepreneurwill need far more than just a heart. ship requires nothing more than some You will also need an unrelenting will creativity, a good heart and strong selfand self-belief in order to actualize your belief, let me inform you of a few other dream. This is one of the secrets of great- traits that seem to be needed.

You will need serious knowledge ness.

In the world of art, Andy Warhol and about how to market your product, a Jeff Koons are two geniuses who have serious design and engineering team to such self-belief, in the face of skeptics create your product, how to package and naysayers. Andy decided he wanted your product, an ability to negotiate to paint Campbell Soup cans. Really, shipping costs, enormous emotional inCampbell Soup cans. One of his paint- telligence, which will help you to sell the ings of Campbell Soup cans recently sold product, tenacity in order to withstand for $23 million (“Big Campbell Soup the rejection of skeptics, and lots and lots Can with Can Opener (Vegetable”). of patience. And if you have all of that, Jeff Koons decided he wanted to make then the answer is “yes” as to whether

you should quit your day job.

Ethan Haber has all of the traits of the entrepreneur and I would say his Happy Habitats, company is in very good hands. And if you have a little creature at home like a hamster, a gerbil, a mouse, a guinea pig, a ferret or a rabbit, and you want to pamper them or take them for a walk in the great outdoors, well “The Halo” may be just what your furry little friend is looking for.

PHOTO BY TOM FERRARO

The Halo is the creation of Ethan Haber, a product designed to make you little pet happier.

E A R T H M AT T E R S

Birds mourn the loss of their trees

T

he noise was deafening, slicing through the quiet morning like a giant buzz saw, shattering the calm of our tranquil neighborhood. In the span of just a few minutes, our sleepy street was transformed into an active deconstruction site, with giant machines clawing and scraping away the undergrowth of the now empty lot. Chain saws were started up and one by one, giant limbs were cut from a 150-year-old majestic spruce tree that had held court over our street for generations. The tree that defined our neighborhood was coming down.

When the charming home from the 1800s was torn down and the big tree remained, we hoped that perhaps the developer from out of town might actually see the value in preserving that tree – that he might find a way to squeeze in his two new houses without taking it down. Preserving mature trees on residential lots increases their attractiveness, value and marketability by providing aesthetic and other important values like shade and cooling, an incentive that now seems particularly prescient. Research shows an

increase of 12% in value where trees are preserved. Smart developers who understand these values realize that it is in their best interest to prioritize the preservation of mature trees. But this was not the case on our street.

We watched in horror and sorrow as the limbs continued to fall from the hundred-foot tree. Men holding ropes wrapped around the trunk ensured that the top sections of the tree fell in the right direction. The man wielding the chain saw made precision cuts, and before long the tree had no branches, and nearby homes shuddered with each fall of the heavy trunk sections as they followed.

The limbs were dragged to the waiting chipper and then the remaining stump sat silently, waiting for the end to come as the stump grinder was pulled into place. The once stately tree had been successfully slain by men with their machines.

Well, we thought, at least there were some large oak trees along the property line, so it would not be a complete loss. But the man in the bucket in the sky with the buzzing saw swiveled

PATTI WOOD Earth Matters around and began methodically cutting the limbs off the largest oak tree.

Why was he cutting down the beautiful 70-year-old pin oak? It’s wasn’t in the way. It was a perfect specimen, rising 60 or so feet into the air. It was home to birds, squirrels and raccoons.

Its leaves had just turned a gorgeous leather brown but hadn’t yet dropped to the ground.

One by one, every single tree on the property was denuded and summarily toppled to the ground where the smaller limbs were fed into the whining chipper and the large sections of trunk were grabbed by giant claws and lifted onto a flatbed truck.

After the last trees were gone and the chipper was towed away, a strange quiet settled over the neighborhood.

Suddenly the sky was full of birds. Thousands of birds converged on the scene of the crime, swooping through the now empty space, flying from tree to tree on surrounding properties, landing and taking off in the open space and then repeating the pattern. This went on for more than an hour. I had never experienced this show of grief and loss by birds before, but apparently it is not unusual.

Habitat fragmentation is what this unfortunate loss is called. The ability of trees to capture CO2 and provide oxygen, improve and maintain the quality of water, soil, and air and to remove pollutants is well known, but the fragmentation of habitats is less understood by the public.

We hear about rain forests being

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leveled for monoculture plantations and primate habitats destroyed in the name of progress, but this was just typical real estate development, chopping up wildlife corridors into smaller fragments or patches. These corridors maintain the connectivity and functionality of ecosystems and its loss has enormously negative consequences for wildlife. Until the birds came, it was something none of us on our street had really considered as we were just mourning the loss of nature’s beauty, something that had made living on our street special. It clearly meant something more to our feathered coinhabitants.

Two new houses will be built on the now cleared and subdivided lot, each one within a couple feet of each other and the adjacent homes. There will be barely enough room for a small patch of grass and some decorative shrubs once the driveways are constructed. The developer lives in a nearby, very upscale wooded community, where people love living with their lush tree canopy and their bird feeders.

Letters Continued on Page 39

20 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

Sit back and relax.

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REACH OUT AMERICA PRESENTS

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RE YOU CELEBRATING, MOURNING, NEITHER OR BOTH? We hope that you post carded, phone called, canvassed, registered and voted your brains out; in our first post election meeting we will share emotions and strategies, celebrating what worked and lamenting what didn’t. See you right after the results are in; no matter how this will have turned out, let’s re-dedicate ourselves to the activism that is essential to protecting democracy.

W ednesday, November 9, 12:30, Great Neck House, 14 Arrandale Avenue

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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22 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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BLANK SLATE MEDIA November 4, 2022

YOUR GUIDE TO THE ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND DINING

SHIMMERING SOLSTICE RETURNS TO O. WESTBURY

BY ST E V E N K E E H N E R Old Westbury Gardens’ Shimmering Solstice, which offers visitors a walkthrough display of holiday lights, sights and sounds, returns Nov. 25.

The Old Westbury Gardens, at 71 Old Westbury Road in Old Westbury, will be the setting for the enchanted light displays and festive music. Show dates are between Nov. 25 and Jan. 1,

2023.

Created by Lightswitch, a collective of wellknown lighting, media and visual designers, the show offers stunning visuals.

New for this year includes a redesigned interactive area with three new exhibits; seasonal music throughout the expanded illuminated event path; a new illuminated water feature on the West Pond; an updated Westbury House fina-

le show; and The Garden of Appreciation will be transformed into a warming area with a concession stand for seasonal snacks and drinks.

The world-famous Walled Garden, Rose Garden, South Lawn and Allée are a few of the pathways that one can travel on. They will present the finale for this year on the south face of Westbury House.

The exhibition will be open from Nov. 25

to 27; from Dec. 3–4, 9–11, 16–19, 21–23 and 26–31; and Jan. 1. Tickets are not available at the event — one must buy them beforehand.

Old Westbury Gardens Members receive 20% off adult tickets, 50% off kids tickets and free premiere parking. Non-members can get 10% off adult tickets and buy one adult, get one child 50% off with the code “BOGO50,” which expires Nov. 24.

PHOTO COURTESY OF OLD WESTBURY GARDENS

Shimmering Solstice at Old Westbury Gardens, which offers visitors a walkthrough display of holiday lights, sights and sounds, returns Nov. 25.

24 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

G.N. Social Center welcomes Heather Forest Great Neck’s own Womenspace is honored to present Heather Forest, the award-winning master storyteller.

Womenspace is located at the Great Neck Social Center, 80 Grace Ave. in Great Neck. This exciting free program will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. and is open to all Nassau County seniors.

Forest will be reading and singing folk tales with members of the Womenspace Program. She is a master storyteller and incorporates music as a vehicle to tell her rich and engaging stories. Her unique minstrel style of storytelling blends original music, folk guitar, poetry, prose and sung and

spoken word.

Forest has toured her repertoire of world folktales for the past thirty years to theatres, major storytelling festivals and conferences throughout the United States and abroad.

Her full-length folktale collection was published in “Wisdom around the World” and “Wonder Tales from Around the World.” Both were awarded Storytelling World Anthology Awards. She has also published seven children’s picture books based on folktales. Following her presentation, there will be a lively discussion into the joys, sorrows, and fears of the human experience.

Forest holds a Masters’s Degree in Storytelling from East Tennessee State University and a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University.

She is also a founder and executive director of Story Arts, a cultural arts organization in Huntington, NY. The Womenspace group was created several decades ago to discuss and discuss women’s issues in the workplace and daily life. Today, the group is tuned in to what goes on in the world. The members care about literature, the arts, and issues in daily human life. The group meets every Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the center.

The Great Neck Social Center provides women and men over the age of 60 from Nassau County with opportunities for social, physical and intellectual classes. Programs include World in Depth, Tai Chi, Yoga and Yogaerobics, Singalong Music with Mindy, Art Studio, Persian and Chinese Programs, Card Playing and others.

The Town of North Hempstead Project (senior) Independence also has an office located at the center, with a Northwell Nurse available on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

For further information about Womenspace or the Great Neck Social Center, please call 1-516-487-0025.

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26 SCHOOLS & EDUCATION • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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28 HOME & DESIGN • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

Making home sweet home even sweeter Home Sweet Home. Three simple words written on the doormats or on the wreaths of many homes…

Do these three words make you smile and really affirm how you, and your loved ones feel about your home or is it a phrase and feeling that you are aspiring to have, or even hoping for in this holiday season ahead? One thing for sure is that we always learn in the holidays…there is always hope.

One of our greatest joys, is to bring people to the place where they literally walk through each of their rooms and look around in awe and amazement, with such gratitude in their hearts and restored hope in their eyes.

They can breathe once again, taking in all of the beauty of their home.

A restored, beautiful, clean, organized home where just a few strategies and systems are figured out together to make their every day lives easier, brighter, more productive and fuller.

That sense of awe on their faces, is as wonderful and beautiful as the faces of children during the holidays.

There’s no place like home for the holidays, and like you, “Together” is our favorite place to be. Memories are made around the table, around the counter, around the living room… memories are made when we gather together, and relationships grow deeper and stronger.

Do you need a little motivation and help to get your “Home Sweet

Put under each plate or fold in a napkin. We have even folded the paper very small and baked them inside crescent rolls or biscuits. You can create your own questions, or buy them already created (Tabletopics.com) Ideas for questions—What was your favorite gift you ever gave or received? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you could share a day with anybody in the world, past or present, who would it be? If you could have any superpower what would it be?)

Home” ready for the weeks ahead?

Here are just a few of our favorite strategies, systems and ideas that we’d love to share with you…

A Few Organizing Gifts From Our Family to Yours Around the table…

The night before gathering, set your table and/or buffet. Place all serving pieces and serving utensils out in their designated places. Place a post-it note on each dish with what is being placed into it. (ex: meat, broccoli, bread, gravy, etc)—Not only is

this such a time saver for you, but it also allows your family/guests to be able to help you when the food is ready.

Every time you create a beautiful table display that you love, take a photo. When the holiday or event is over, pack everything from that table creation into a bin (non-perishable items). Place the photo on the bin, and it’s all ready for the next holiday event.

To create great memories, laughter and wonderful conversations around the table, we love to have “conversation starters” at each place.

Around the home Time to “winterize”- Go through your coat closet and make sure everything fits everyone. It’s a great time to donate and bless others. Have a basket/bin for each family member for their hats, gloves, etc If your closet does not fit all seasons, place a rolling rack elsewhere to hang out-of-season coats/clothing. Place a zip cover over it to keep it clean.

If you switch out your winter/ summer bedding. Store all quilts and pillows in a jumbo ziploc bag with zipper.

all dates and names for that month.

Leave room to write gift bought For the Holiday Gift Giving notecard, list all of the people you will buy for during the holidays. Again leaving a space to write gift.

Use these lists to save time and money throughout the year purchasing “off season”. Whether “Steals and Deals” or the “O List” comes out, or you are at a fair/ event with great vendors, take out your list and match the perfect gift to the perfect person, buy it and write it down.

Gift Wrapping Station- keep gift wrapping materials organized in a gift wrapping bin or organizer. Use a dresser and desk or folding table or closet. Items to have on hand: Scissors, tape dispenser, ribbon, gift bags, tissue paper, gift tags. (Great hint: Use your child’s art work from school to wrap gifts. Wrap the whole gift or place one of the art pieces on top of the wrapped gift as a “special touch”. Make sure to write “artwork by ______” underneath the special masterpiece.

In this beautiful season of gratitude and gathering, of giving and receiving, and renewed faith and hope, awe and wonder…..each time you open your door , may your beautiful home rise up to meet you… and cause you to whisper, home sweet home.

Gift Giving Gift Lists-Keep 2 notecards in your bag (or 2 lists on your phone) 1).

Birthdays 2). Holiday.

For the Birthday Gifts notecard: Submitted Jane’s Addiction Orgadivide the notecard into months, Jan.- Dec., under each month place nization Team

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29

30 HOME & DESIGN • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Hints for a smart shopper for your home Confusion is probably the word on the minds of most homeowners when it comes to upgrading their home and finding a contractor.

Here are six tips to use while shopping for home improvements that could help any homeowner choose the right contractor to work with:

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company that does not work out of a showroom, factory, or professional storefront. Even though the price will be lower, anyone who works out of a house, truck, or post office box, can disappear into thin air. Take the time to go out and see the place of business, even if the contractor comes to give you an in-home estimate.

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS: GET DIRECT ANSWERS: The biggest mistake most people make is If a company is honest, you should be able buying from a person they don’t entirely trust.

You should never buy anything from any com- to get direct answers over the telephone, includpany or person you don’t trust and feel one hun- ing prices and descriptions without having to give your name or address and without talking dred percent comfortable with. to a specific person. An honest company should have nothing to hide.

SEE THE PRODUCTS: You should never sign a contract without GET EVERYTHING IN THE CONTRACT: seeing the product first and never be afraid to Before signing a contract, make a quick list tell your contractor just that. An honest contractor will understand your apprehension and wel- on your own of everything you expect from the come you to go to the showroom before signing job and everything the contractor promised you. a contract. Always ask for a sample and don’t be Then compare your list with the contract to be sure each item is clearly written. Don’t hesitate afraid to ask questions. to have the contractor add what is missing.

When it comes to upgrades for your home DO YOUR HOMEWORK: A company’s reputation says it all. Always you want to make sure you hire a professional check with Consumer Affairs and the Better company who has been in business for a long Business Bureau to determine when the com- time to ensure your home is in good hands. Dopany was first licensed to ensure they didn’t ing your own research and talking to multiple change names along the way or go out of busi- companies can help you get a better understandness. This information will give you a good idea ing of the industry, products available on the market, and types of contractors in your area. about a company’s experience.

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31

Advice on how to prepare trees for winter Each fall, as the temperature drops and leaves begin to fall, homeowners routinely prepare their property by cutting back perennials and winterizing lawns, but most neglect to properly prepare their trees for the cold, harsh winter season.

Long Island’s Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum, which is known for its world-class arboreta, is regularly approached by homeowners, requesting tips on how the Level II Arboretum cares for and maintains its 500-acre property with its diverse assortment of prized trees.

Ertugrul Kasap, the master gardener for Pinelawn’s meticulously maintained landscape explains, “Many trees that are not prepared for winter might be subject to stress, disease, fungus and physical damage. In New York especially, our trees undergo a large amount of stress from the cold, wind and ongoing wet conditions, but if you take the time to care for them now, you will help your beloved and beautiful trees withstand the harsh winter weather to ensure their vitality and growth come spring.”

Kasap emphasizes that homeowners should take tree soil samples which should be done twice a year – in the fall and in the spring. Tree soil sample kits can be purchased at local home stores and will indicate if the soil needs fertilizer.

“If a tree has the proper soil, it will have a huge health advantage,” explained Kasap. “This is comparable to a person having a healthy immune system — they are more likely to be able to fend off colds, viruses, and infections. If a tree has healthy soil, it is more resilient to fungus, disease, insect problems, physical damage, and climate / environmental conditions.” When purchasing the kits, it’s important to note that different types of trees, even in different parts of the yard, may require different types of fertilizer.

Kasap encourages homeowners to inspect their trees now to check for vulnerability which can be identified by yellowing leaves or needles, early loss of foliage, thin canopy, decay, insect, or physical damage and broken branches, which can be dangerous. “If a tree is weak prior to the winter, it may have trouble surviving it,” said Kasap. If the tree is showing signs of vulnerability, a local arborist should be contacted. He also suggests homeowners research the type of trees they have and keep up with the geographical data in their area to understand which trees may be most vulnerable during winter.

In regards to recently planted trees, Kasap advises watering them before temperatures freeze. He also explains that some recent fall plantings may require protection from

harsh wind, which can be remedied by wrapping them in burlap. To prevent damage from heavy snow, he warns some trees may need to be tied up to reduce the chances of the weight breaking their branches.

Lastly, homeowners should know

that winter is the best time for structural pruning for most trees. “When the tree is dormant, cuts that need to be made will be less stressful to the tree,” sayid Kasap.

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International Arboretum Accreditation Program, ArbNet in 2021, is home to three distinct collections of trees.

This includes their Noteworthy Collection, which boasts 10 of its highest priority and valued trees, including a Weeping Beech, its oldest tree at over 120 years old, with a crown size spread of 74 feet, and the Nikko Maple, its rarest, whose species originated in Japan. Pinelawn has also been recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants.

With a focus on education, Pinelawn annually organizes and hosts annual events that are free of charge and open to the public to educate them about the variety of special arboreta on its property, including its Fall Foliage and Spring Arboretum Tours. To find out more details about these and other events, click here to see the full 2022 calendar of events and to sign up for email updates.

“Our staff takes great pride in maintaining a healthy, tranquil and beautiful environment for families throughout our gardens,” said Justin Locke, president of Pinelawn. “We are happy to be able to share our knowledge with the community so that together, we can enjoy the natural beauty of the environment.”

32 HOME & DESIGN • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

How to pick paint for home interiors Many components combine to define a home's interior. Some homeowners may be partial to certain styles, such as ultra modern or farmhouse, while others may opt for a more traditional look that cannot necessarily be categorized as one style or another. Though many homeowners may spend considerable time and devote a lot of energy to making their home embody a certain style, those who aren't willing to commit to a particular look can lean on one component to make a stylish statement all their own: paint.

technique when recommending color schemes to their clients. Choose a standout color from existing furnishings, such as the dominant color from a patterned decorative pillow or piece of furniture, and then · Take stock, and photographs, look for the same shade to paint the of your current furnishings. Many walls. A photograph of the item can interior designers rely on a simple be handy when visiting the paint heads may be spinning as they try to narrow down their options. The following tips can help homeowners pick the perfect paint for their home interiors.

store. · Lighten colors as you go up.

The home renovation and design experts at HGTV recommend picking darker color values for the floor, medium color values for the walls and light values for the ceiling. This approach mimics the look of the great outdoors, where the ground

tends to be darker than the trees, and the trees are darker than the blue sky. · Utilize paint to create the vibe you want. The home renovation experts at This Old House note that colors evoke an emotional response. Cool colors like blue and green give off a relaxing vibe, which makes them ideal for bedrooms and bathrooms. Red is an intense color that can up the energy ante in any room, which can make it an option for homeowners who want to spark debate around their dinner tables. · Give personal preference its place at the table. Though interior designers may have years of experience picking paint colors for a home and researchers may have determined how certain colors can be utilized to create a desired ambiance in a given room, ultimately homeowners are the ones who will be living in the home. So it's important that homeowners pick colors they like for their home interiors.

Color can be a part of every homeowner's design arsenal. Bold colors can be used to create a stunning accent wall, while homes with open concepts often utilize color to define rooms. Homeowners who want to revitalize their home interiors can do so with paint, and this approach doesn't require homeowners to commit to a whole new design style.

Though paint may seem simple to novices, homeowners who have painted home interiors in the past recognize how complicated the process of picking paint can be. Paint retailers have a seemingly endless swatch of paint colors to choose from, and before long homeowners

Paint is an inexpensive way to transform a room. Homeowners can rely on a combination of color strategies and their personal preferences as they try to decide which colors they want on their interior walls.

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022 • HOME & DESIGN

Variables to consider when choosing a media room

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The term "home theater" once made homeowners who love movies and sports dream of the day when they could dedicate a large area in their home to watching the big game or their favorite films.

Such rooms are now widely referred to as "media rooms."

Though the terminology may have changed, media rooms are not all that different from home theaters.

SPECIAL

Before choosing an area of their home as their designated media room, homeowners must consider a host of variables to ensure they get as much out of the room as possible. · Location and shape: Of course the location of the room is of the utmost importance.

Media rooms tend to be more social settings than traditional home theaters, which were often designed to be isolated from the rest of the home so noise and natural light did not adversely affect the film-watching experience. Homeowners may not want their media rooms to be in high traffic areas of their homes, but they needn't be completely secluded, either.

The renovation experts at the DIY Network note that the shape of a room should be considered before designating it as the media room. In general, square rooms are not ideal, as such rooms can produce harmonic distortions. A rectangular room likely won't produce such distortions, especially when homeowners place their screens and primary speakers on short walls. It's important that homeowners do not downplay the importance of sound, as media rooms, unlike tradi-

33

FREE tional home theaters, may be used for listening to music just as much as they are for watching films or sports. Viewers may not recognize distortions when watching something, but homeowners may notice these abnormalities when listening to music. · Windows: Media rooms are multi-purpose rooms, so homeowners don't need to remove rooms with windows from consideration. But the experts at the DIY Network note that windows are hard surfaces that can reflect sound and distort audio, and the light that gets in through windows can produce reflections on the viewing surface. Each of those factors can adversely affect your listening and viewing experience. A room with windows can still make for a good media room, but you may want to invest in some black-

out curtains to mitigate some of the disadvantages of having windows in the room. · Wall colors: The colors of the walls in the room is another variable homeowners will have to consider. Homeowners won't want to host guests for the big game in rooms with darkened walls, as that can create a dreary atmosphere and potentially make people tired. But especially bright colors will reflect light and adversely affect the viewing experience. Neutral colors should not affect the colors on the screen, making them the ideal color choice for media room walls.

Media rooms are high on many homeowners' renovation lists. Considering a host of variables prior to designating an area for a media room can ensure the finished product is as enjoyable as possible.

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022 • SCHOOLS & EDUCATION

How parents can govern screen time

Children ages six and older The AAP does not provide specific information regarding how many hours children ages six and older should use screen media. However, the AAP advises parents to make sure such media does not take the place of adequate sleep, physical activity and other behaviors essential to health.

In addition to following AAP recommendations about screen time as closely as possible, parents can take steps to ensure their children are not spending too much time using their devices.

echnology has transformed nearly all facets of life, including education. While desks and blackboards can still be found in the classroom, technology has become more and more influential in regard to how students learn.

• Promote extracurricular activities.

Urging children to participate in extracurricular activities that do not employ screen media, such as sports, music lessons and academic clubs, can be a great way to get kids to put down their devices and engage in in-person interactions with their peers.

Many teachers now employ tablets and other devices to help students better understand their coursework. Devices can make for useful learning tools, but when does screen time cross over from useful learning tool to something that’s potentially harmful to students’ overall health? The American Academy of Pediatrics has produced age-specific guidelines that can help parents determine if their school-aged children are spending too much time staring at screens.

• Establish no-device hours at home.

The AAP recommends that parents designate certain times of the day as media-free times for the whole family, and not just children. Parents can put down their smartphones and tablets and engage with their children without the television on. In addition, make sure devices don’t make it to the dinner table, as nightly, device-free dinners together can help families build strong bonds.

Children between two and five years of age

• Establish media-free zones.

Designate certain areas of the home, such as the kitchen and dining room, as device-free zones. Keep devices out of bedrooms unless children need them to do their homework.

T

Parents should limit screen time for this age group to one hour per day of highquality programs. The AAP advises parents to co-view with children in this age group so they can help kids understand what they’re watching and how it applies to the world around them.

Devices in the classroom can help young students fulfill their academic potential.

Parents can govern their use outside the classroom by adhering to some simple strategies.

St. Thomas honors program thrives The Honors Program at St. Thomas Aquinas College is growing and for a significant reason. The unique program gives students the experience of the inter-relatedness of knowledge while introducing a passion for learning that goes beyond the classroom.

Offering small classes and purposefully curated experiential learning opportunities, honors program students engage in a rigorous core curriculum designed to challenge and inspire.

A key element of this program is the opportunity to study at Oxford. The experience allows honors program students to spend 3 weeks studying at the University of Oxford during the summer before their senior year under a full scholarship provided by the college.

Dr. Meghan De Witt, honors program director, noted: “We are proud to have welcomed our largest honors class earlier this fall. Honors students at STAC lead the school in-service opportunities, academic success, and leadership throughout their four years of study. They experience unique classes, culminating in the

amazing opportunity to study at Oxford.

This experience provides a paradigm shift for our students as they experience a global learning environment and are exposed to ideas and experiences that are life-altering and unforgettable.”

Along with taking classes at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, honors program students immersed themselves in the culture and history of the United Kingdom, traveling throughout England and visiting sites such as the British Museum, Stonehenge, The Prime Meridian, and Big Ben. To supplement their studies, they also visited many notable literary landmarks, touring the homes of Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, and J. R. R. Tolkien, and visiting the Charles Dickens Museum. When the students weren’t in class or sightseeing, they enjoyed dining at Merton Hall and studying in the breathtaking Bodleian Library.

STAC President Ken Daly resides in Port Washington

35

36 SCHOOLS & EDUCATION • Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

How students can start clubs at school students may not find the right fit when looking for extracurricular activities, prompting them to explore starting their own clubs at school. Such an endeavor can be rewarding, and there are certain steps students can take to make their efforts more successful.

xtracurricular activities can enrich students’ school experience. An enjoyable extracurricular activity can help students apply lessons learned in the classroom while also making it possible for them to expand on those lessons while having some fun and meeting some new people.

E

Many students find extracurricular activities that can provide both social and academic benefits.

For example, student-athletes may learn the value of perseverance and working with others by participating in team sports. However, some

Simple ways to encourage young artists

• Speak with school officials. It’s best to get the go-ahead from school officials before doing too much heavy lifting. Schools may have rules in place that prohibit certain types of clubs. For example, schools may prohibit poker clubs or other activities rooted in games of chance. So it benefits students to get the go-ahead from school officials before moving forward. Officials also may mandate that any club officially affiliated with the school must have a designated faculty advisor, so students should have someone in mind once they learn the club is allowed.

all-inclusive and not exclude potential members because they’re underclassmen.

• Decide your goal. Extracurricular clubs should have a defined purpose so members can get the most out of it. For example, a school film club may aspire to introduce classic movies to young film fans, but also to discuss the techniques filmmakers employed in making the films. A stated purpose can help ensure club meetings stay the course and don’t get sidetracked.

• Learn the ropes of being a club officer.

School-sponsored clubs require some considerable effort to maintain. Students who want to start their own club can speak with officers of existing clubs for pointers on everything from organization to fundraising. Clubs should have some structure, and officers from existing clubs can be great resources when trying to develop that structure in a new clubs.

• Gauge student interest. Students thinking of starting their own club should gauge the interest of fellow students as well. Some schools may require a minimum number of members, so speak with friends and classmates to gauge interest. High school students can speak with students in all grade levels, as extracurricular activities should be

• Have fun. Of course, one of the goals of any extracurricular activity is to have fun. Club founders and officers should keep that in mind and aim to make sure each meeting is fun for all members.

o two students are the same. Some students may love to read and naturally gravitate toward English class, while others may be fascinated by the world around them and find nothing stokes their academic passions quite like the study of physics.

N

addition, a recent report from Americans for the Arts found that art education strengthens problemsolving and critical-thinking skills. If parents recognize the value of art, students are more likely to follow suit and reap all the rewards that art education provides.

A passion for a given subject can make students more excited about school. But what about students with a passion for art? Many school districts have drastically cut back on fine arts classes. For example, a recent analysis of data from the State Department of Education in Oklahoma found that schools in the Sooner State cut more than 1,100 fine arts classes between 2014 and 2018.

• Allow children the freedom to create. While technique is important for artists, young artists can benefit from some space. Other subjects are necessarily structured, but art sessions can be a great time for kids to simply explore their creativity without much interference from parents or educators. A designated room for arts, including arts and crafts, can illustrate to children that their interest in the arts is important and worthy of exploration.

In the face of such budget cuts, parents may need to take a more active role in support of their children’s passion for art. The following are some ways parents can encourage that passion.

• Recognize the educational value of art. PBS notes that creative activities are some of the building blocks of child development. While schools may be shifting their focus to common core subjects like mathematics, parents should recognize that art can be incredibly valuable to young minds as well. For example, art can help young children develop language skills, as creating art projects, even while just a toddler, often compels children to talk about their art. In

Students who start new clubs at school can employ various strategies to ensure such clubs are fun for all.

• Keep supplies well-stocked. Much like parents of young athletes enroll them in sports leagues or purchase the latest equipment, parents of children with a passion for art can indulge that passion by enrolling them in local art classes and keeping them well-stocked with art supplies. Even if the supplies are as simple as crayons and construction paper, their availability can send kids the message that their passion for art is not taken lightly.

The arts can benefit students in myriad ways. If local school districts no longer offer art programs, it’s up to parents to find ways to encourage their children’s love of art.

BLANK SLATE MEDIA WELCOMES YOUR SUBMISSIONS. PLEASE E-MAIL THEM TO NEWS@THEISLAND360.COM

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

37

Long Island band on the road to Memphis are seen by record company representatives on hand during the week.

“The challenge at Katie’s was The Kelli Baker Band is heading to Memphis to represent Long Island heated and all of the bands showed in the International Blues Challenge, rising to the top of a spirited local competition held recently at Katie’s of Smithtown.

The Huntington-based quartet energized the room and collected top scores from a panel of four judges.

The band, led by the charismatic Kelli Baker, performed a mix of original music and interpretations of classic blues tunes.

“We are thrilled to have been a part of the competition,” said Baker.

“We were absolutely blown awayby the overwhelming talent Long Island has.

“It’s a true honor to represent the Long Island Blues Society in Memphis.”

The Memphis event features four days of blues at more than 20 clubs up and down Beale Street, where legends such as W.C. Handy, B.B. King, Memphis Minnie, Rufus Thomas and others pioneered what is known as Memphis Blues. It runs from Jan. 24-28.

According to the Blues Foundation, the IBC represents the worldwide search for bands and solo/duo performers ready to make the leap onto the international stage. Winners are offered spots at Blues festivals and

BY T O N Y D AV E N P O R T

that the blues is alive and well on and we are proud to be sending Kelli Long Island,” said “Harmonica” Bill and her band to Memphis to represent Lifford, president of the LI Blues Soci- Long Island.” ety. “All of the bands were impressive, The other bands competing this

year, all with members from across the island, were the Hitman Blues Band, which recently finished a tour of Great Britain; the Bubba Jam Blues Band; Emanuel Casablanca Band; newcomers Next Step; and Big Bad Wolf.

Tal Naccarato from Queens was the winner of the Solo/Duo competition and will also be headed to Memphis. He edged West Islip-duo Halfway There in the Solo/Duo Category.

The Long Island Blues Society is a registered not-for-profit organization that, aside from running the yearly challenge, presents blues shows and joins with members to promote open mics across the area.

The entire land mass that is Long Island – Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk – is represented by the Long Island Blues Society. The LIBS is affiliated with the Blues Foundation based in Memphis.

“We are committed to the furthering of blues music and culture as a living art form,” Lifford said. “We support bands playing live blues and work toward preserving blues as a unique American musical tradition.”

For more information on the Blues Society, visit www.LIBSNY.org or email info@libsny.org.

Tony Davenport is the Secretary of the Long Island Blues Society. He can be emailed at tonyd@libsny.org

It’s a dog’s life — and you can make it better STAFF UP NOW FOR

BY J U DD S P OD E K Shep, an Old English Sheepdog, was a most enthusiastic pet. He jumped at exciting moments—especially when visitors or vendors came to the door.

But not everyone enjoyed his enthusiasm, particularly when a dog of Shep’s size jumped so his front paws were on the visitor’s shoulders!

But Shep was smart (his owners thought him “brilliant,” but that’s probably stretching it). He was definitely trainable.

He learned how to differentiate among couches and furniture that were off-limits and those that welcomed him (the teenager’s bed, for one). He learned to sit and stay, even when some tempting food morsels were a few feet away. He learned tricks: when to roll over, when to play dead, when to shake hands (“give me your paw”) and so on.

The grandmother in the house taught Shep to follow commands in Italian. On a leash, Shep accompanied the father on bike rides around the neighborhood. And the dog learned to stand quietly when he was given a bath or during the frequent brushing that was required for his long haired-coat.

Shep and his family were not my clients, but I have heard for years about that dog’s exploits. You may not want your dog to have as complicated a repertoire as Shep’s, but should you train your pet?

And why?

As a professional dog trainer on Long Island, for more than 20 years, I am often asked many of the same questions from my customers, as well as when the subject comes up in conversation.

I’m a firm believer and advocate that all dog owners—those who are new or those with years of pet ownership—should take their responsibility se-

riously. To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than a well-mannered pet that can be taken along with you and not left at home.

To enjoy the parks, trails, beach and when visiting friends or relatives: Why feel you should leave your pooch alone and miss all the fun?

Why exactly should you train a new puppy or any dog in the first place?

The simple answer: Your dog is training itself if you’re not providing it with the guidance and structure it needs. Without that, your pooch will just go about what it thinks is the right way to behave (or not!)

Since this is all they know, dogs’ instincts allow them to think they should take charge, which leads to behaviors such as barking, jumping and possibly destructive behaviors.

On the other hand, training your dog will build confidence, and provide mental and physical stimulation while strengthening your human-animal bond.

Future articles will review different types and theories of dog training and what may or may not be the right approach for you and your dog. Some questions you might ask a trainer include whether private in-home one-on-one lessons or group lessons are for your pet.

You could also look into the ever-so-popular “board and train” option. I discuss all these and more with my customers, and only after every question is answered and each option is fully explained, do we begin the process.

Judd Spodek runs Sit Happens Inc., in Roslyn.

He trains dogs in many local areas, including Manhattan. Contact him at Sit Happens Dog Training, 516-523-8449; www.sithappensny.com.

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39

READERS WRITE

West Texas Zeldin fails to uphold rule of law

O

nce again Lee Zeldin demonstrates Yesterday I remembered my younger days working in Texas, his utter and complete contempt like the time I was winter camping in Big Bend for the rule of law by coordinating when a Norther came wrenching through one night. with a vile Dark Money super PAC. Lines strained and tents bellowed. Suddenly grommets tore He demonstrated his contempt for the and tents flew away on the wind. I doubled up but couldn’t sleep. rule of law with his active participation Next morning a rude layer of ice and snow coated everything.

The day before hit a balmy 72 degrees. Gear scattered everywhere on the ground, we set out recovering it or there’d be no breakfast. No rest for the weary. I lost a few things.

Two weeks mapping mineral deposits, there and a nearby county with the permission of some large ranches.

Owners hoped we were looking for oil or gas.

I said “No, unfortunately. Volcanic activity a few million years ago cooked everything.”

We hiked and camped and enjoyed the wilderness and its arresting beauty, moving through alternate layers of heat and cold, and rugged unmarked trails at ease, recording everything.

At one location an angry rancher charged up in a pickup and threatened us with a shotgun. I had used my 4-wheel’s horn to shoo some cows assembled near a cattle gate.

Little did I know the horn was their feeding signal.

We were soon surrounded by hundreds staring at us.

The man threw out bales of hay then lowered his gun at the hindquarter of a large female. We all shrieked when it went off, but the cow barely protested and slowly ambled off with the rest in tow. “Rock salt,” he barked…

Do it again next time I’ll use it on you.”

In the waning light of a warm day after the storm I took a photograph of my teammates on top of Emory Peak, the highest point in Texas. That night we camped at a refreshing hot spring. I used to think they were the best of colleagues and friends anywhere.

Now I barely wonder who and where they are.

in the Jan. 6 coup attempt, the same con- line. How many times, how many ways tempt displayed for his congressional oath does Lee Zeldin have to show us that he is unfit for public office? of office and his military officer’s oath.

His further contempt for the rule of law Eric Cashdan was demonstrated by his attempt to pass off fraudulent petitions for a phony ballot Port Washington

Vote for change in New York

I

f you keep voting the same way, you’ll keep getting the same results — empty promises. New York State has a “super majority” with Democratic control of the state Senate and the state Assembly.

This reality with a Democrat governor should have given residents confident reasons to re-elect incumbents. New York State having the “highest tax burden” of all 50 states destroys this notion.

How can an incumbent state senator’s political mailing state: “Fighting For Us” when 75% of New York State retirees do

not enjoy an exemption from state and local taxes on their private pensions like municipal retirees enjoy? How can incumbent politicians claim in political mailings that they fought for important fixes to bail reform to give judges more discretion ?

New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has been stonewalled by the state Legislature and Gov. Hochul in denying his request to give judges more discretion in deciding whether to release crime suspects. Crime is a reality on the North Shore of Long Island — just inquire at the Fendi

store at Americana Mall, the Wheatley Plaza jewelry store and the BP gas station on Plandome Road to name a few.

This “independent” voter knows that change is long overdue in Albany. I only hope that fellow independents, as well as Republicans and Democrats, see the reality of getting the same results when politicians are not held accountable. Vote for Change on Nov. 8. Maybe promises will be fulfilled.

Joe Campbell Port Washington

Shelve artwork for better LIRR rides

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he MTA just announced that its Arts & Design Department has awarded contracts to two artists for work at the new East Side Access Long Island Rail Road Grand Central Madison facility. The artists are tasked with creating a “culture corridor.” This would include Time means you think there is always at least another day 2,400 square feet of floor-to-ceiling mosafollowed by the next one in series. ics. The longest corridor would be 100 feet.

Now, the period seems to begin and end everything.

MTA usually has a 1% Arts in TranWho knew? sit requirement for capital construction projects, such as the new Grand Central Stephen Cipot Madison Terminal. Is the 1% based on the Garden City Park

original 2006 Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement for $6.3 billion or is it today’s $11 billion plus promised cost at completion? Given the $5 billion-plus project cost overrun and the MTA’s looming multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in coming years, is this making the best use of increasing scarce capital dollars?

Artwork may be pleasing to the eye, but safe, clean secure facilities with adequate security devoid of homeless people, working bathrooms, secure passageways,

exits, elevators, escalators and waiting rooms is a higher priority than these expenditures in art. Commuters and taxpayers might prefer these millions be spent on investments that give riders real tangible benefits.

Larry Penner Great Neck Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.

Port school district amassed $7.4M

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he Port Washington School District’s audited financial statements and supplementary financial information for the school year ended June 30, 2022 disclose that our school district made a profit of $7,429,233 for that year, which I am sure was a record annual profit for the district.

However, since our school district is a “not-for-profit” operation, we cannot call the figure that I’ve just cited a profit. We must call it the excess of revenues received by the district, over district expenses and encumbrances paid, or incurred, for the year. How did the amount of $7,429,233 come about?

First, we are told that the district received $1,941,179 more in revenues for the year, than had been budgeted for. Revenues are primarily received from school taxes paid by you and me, from PILOT payments (payments in lieu of taxes paid by certain commercial property owners) and from various state and federal school aid programs.

Then, we are told that expenditures and encumbrances actually paid, or in-

curred by the district for the year, were under what had been budgeted for by an amazing $5,488,054.

Some 80% of district expenditures are for salaries and for the major employee fringe benefits of Social Security, health care insurance and pension benefits. The remaining 20% of the expense budget pays for insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, BOCES, busing, etc. etc.

Will the $7,429,233 excess be returned to the school taxpayers of Port Washington? No. As allowed under the education law, the excess has already been “salted away” by our school officials in various reserve accounts and in our district’s “rainy day” fund. When was the last time that it rained on our school district? I can’t remember the time.

Chances are operations of our school district for the current school year will result in an excess at least as large as last year’s. What can you do about this constant pilfering of money out of your pockets by our school district? It is a very difficult situation,

since our teachers and school administrators will fight any proposed changes that they fear will slow down money flowing into their pockets.

First, contact our state legislators and demand that Albany change the archaic education laws that we now have so that local school districts are administered by expert educators, based in Albany and not by local mothers and fathers, who are easily intimated by our teachers and school administrators. And stop financing local school districts by property taxes and finance them instead through the state income tax system, so that all earners in the state pay something to finance our public schools. Next, vote No on the next proposed school budget, whatever the proposed amount is and do not vote for any school board candidate who has a child in the schools.

Things can change, but it will take a lot of pushing and shoving on all our parts to make the change come about.

Joel Katz Port Washington

40 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

READERS WRITE

Casting your ballot for candidates in New York

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ov. 8 is a very important Election Day. As vice president of the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset, I’d like to reassure voters that New York State elections are secure and reliable.

New York’s election process is administered by a bipartisan team of election workers. Workers represent-

ing both major parties oversee ballot counting, a common practice nationwide to provide checks and balances in the election process.

Election administrators, board employees, and poll workers have to be residents of your county. The people who run our elections are not strangers. They are members of our communities – neighbors, friends, and family.

Every step of our election process is monitored and secured from the voter registration process to the post-election audit. The voter registration process in New York State ensures that only those meeting state eligibility requirements are able to vote, and it helps keep track of who has cast a ballot.

Registered voters can vote early in person, on Election Day in person, or

by absentee ballot. All ballots must be returned by mail or in person. Ballots are submitted to election machines that have been pre-approved by the New York State Board of Elections.

Each piece of election equipment is tested before being used on election day and all voting machines are barred from connecting to the internet. Finally, all county boards of elections must

conduct post-election audits to further verify results.

Whichever way you choose to vote this year, know that by doing so you are making democracy work.

Michele C. Lamberti Vice President League of Women Voters Port Washington-Manhasset

Gilliar should check her facts about G.N. Library

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n article in your editorial section, “Great Neck Library Lawsuit Brought to Light,” penned

by Rebecca Rosenblatt Gilliar, appeared over the Halloween weekend, appropriately so, as it contains tricks but no treats and is not truthful. This has caused me, Marietta DiCamillo and Marianna Wohlgemuth to respond.

We had tried to maintain a low profile in the current, very divisive Library election, which has been labeled a cultural war, or that it is based on political lines, or a gigantic power play. Sadly, Ms. Gilliar felt obliged to bring us into the mix. This response will appear after the dust has settled and the votes have been counted, but we believe the public has a right to know the truth concerning Ms. Gilliar’s innuendos, half-truths and outright false statements.

• NO lawsuit, we repeat, NO lawsuit,

was ever served on the Library, trustees, or staff on behalf of Ms. DiCamillo, Ms. Wohlgemuth or Dr. Smith. The Board of Trustees agreed voluntarily to follow the bylaws by not installing the puppet board member who, against the governing bylaws of the Library had been appointed to replace the resigned seat of Ms. Chelsea Sassouni. Their decision to do so nullified the necessity of the lawsuit. Ms. Gilliar should check her facts.

• Every member of the Library Association is entitled to serve as a trustee or member of the Nominating Committee provided they are members in good standing of the library association and over the age of 18. They are entitled to be given fair and equitable consideration, regardless of their losing in prior years.

The Nominating Committee does NOT discriminate on any level. Ms. Gilliar should check her facts.

• On Free Speech we do agree wholeheartedly with Ms. Gilliar. Free Speech is a treasured commodity. Banning books, book burnings are words used to trigger fear of losing our valued First Amendment rights. After all, many wars have been fought because of it. Ms. Gilliar might be interested in learning the ability of the public to comment on a resolution has been eliminated by President Hu. An attendee at a Board meeting is permitted, a grand total of three minutes to speak to any/all items on the agenda to be voted on. I have found myself speeding through the agenda hoping to make my salient points only to be told “thank you for your comments.” One must then sit quietly; hands clasped in lap and listen. Then, if attendee is still awake, free speech is again enacted. One is permitted three minutes to discuss

anything relevant to the library EXCEPT the prior agenda items. Years past, during more enlightened times, a member of the association was able to voice their concerns over an agenda item during the discussion, before the vote. Ms. Gilliar should check her facts.

• As the foot high stack of court documents Ms. Gilliar reviewed will confirm, the Board of Trustees initiated the action demanding our immediate removal as members of the Nominating Committee. Oddly, although a defendant, the entire Nominating Committee was not required to be removed. Why? Ms. Gilliar should check her facts. The Nominating Committee is a committee of five, a quorum consists of four and an affirmative selection necessitates a majority. Do the math. Two votes are not the majority. Ms. Gilliar, should check her facts.

• Last, Ms. Gilliar’s recall of the 2020 election is certainly selective. She should remember vividly the two votes cast as a write-in for herself. The loss being an ironic twist of fate. Our reason for the write-in vote was simple and pure. We knew, according to the bylaws, without a quorum of four, the Board of Trustees would have had to appoint two people to the Nominating Committee, opening the door to the potential of an unfair advantage. Would the 2021 election also have no nominees for the Nominating Committee? Would Ms. Gilliar be as vocal if she had been able to enlist six people to vote for her, thereby winning?

• Oh, yes, Ms. Gilliar did check her facts, we are most definitely sisters. The proudest damned sisters in the world.

Marietta DiCamillo Marianna Wohlgemuth

In support of candidates who work for us

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wish to acknowledge with pride the North Hempstead candidates: the re-election campaign of our New York State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, Robert Zimmerman’s stunning congressional candidacy, the re-election campaigns of New York State Sen. Anna Kaplan and Assemblymember Gina Sillitti.

Each in their own right and collectively, they are the embodiment of decency, integrity, intelligently operate on an “open door” policy and search for optimum legislation to benefit their constituents.

The following are some of the accomplishments provided by these candidates: Fighting fraud, managing the State Pension Fund, providing oversight for New York taxes and prudent financial accountability are the important issues that have concerned our deeply principled comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, since he was first elected in 2007. Public service has been his mantra, which he has so ably demonstrated since his tenure as an assemblymember after winning the post in 1986.

Waste, fraud and abuse by public officials is like waving a “red flag” in front of Comptroller DiNapoli.

Recognition of these abusive activities have resulted in hundreds of ar-

rests and tens of millions in restitution. New York’s State Pension Fund is highly regarded due to DiNapoli’s leadership. Comptroller DiNapoli has invested millions of pension dollars for advantageous solid growth and returns.

New York’s tax dollars are of enormous concern to DiNapoli. It was particularly evident after the COVID-19 outbreak. He paid close attention tracking job loss, economic recovery and pandemic relief programs and warned of the consequences on restaurants, retail, the arts, culture, construction and tourism industries.

While Robert Zimmerman is a first-time candidate, he is quintessentially familiar with the political arena as a lifelong political leader, activist and a member of the National Democratic Committee. Zimmerman’s visibility has been noted due to his opinions sought and televised on national television. His credentials include the co-founding of a successful communications firm (which he will sell to his partner if he is elected). The firm has had connections to the government, which provided avenues to reach out on both sides of the aisle.

He is a moderate and clear-thinking person on important issues such as reproductive rights, gun safety, the economy and infrastructure develop-

ment.

Since Sen. Anna Kaplan’s election in 2018, her tenure has been nothing but laudatory on many fronts: She has strongly fought against hate, extremism and antisemitism. She has demonstrated unequalled support of the LGBTQ community, women’s reproductive rights, taxes, improving services in schools, protecting the environment, support for small businesses, gun safety and the rights of abused children.

Sen. Kaplan combined her efforts with Assemblywoman Sillitti focusing on hateful crimes against the Asian and community. With the rise of antisemitism and Holocaust misinformation, she passed the Holocaust Education Bill that will establish courses taught on the history of the Holocaust to New York students.

She has fought to pass a permanent cap hike on property taxes. In the interest of making home ownership affordable, she delivered a $2.2 billion homeowner tax rebate. While her efforts to keep taxes low, she has also been a tireless advocate for our schools to provide an optimum education.

Her focus on the LGBTQ community resulted in amending the state constitution to confirm and protect marriage equality. The senator has

also vowed to protect our environment. Consequently, she passed the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Bond Act to invest $4.2 billion in green jobs and infrastructure. Understanding the financial struggles of small businesses following the impact of COVID-19, she passed legislation to help small businesses get direct assistance from the New York State agencies and regulators in addition to promoting the state’s local manufacturing sector.

Sen. Kaplan’s steadfast commitment for women’s reproductive rights has been visibly demonstrated in many ways. For example, she wrote a new law protecting medical professionals who provide legal abortions to out-of-state patients. She has vigorously fought for sensible gun safety legislation, such as safe storage legislation, raising the age to buy semiautomatic weapons, creating legislation against carrying a concealed weapon and enacted $224 million for gun violence prevention programs, including for local law enforcement. She has stood up for children, passing the Child Victims Act, which allows survivors of childhood sexual abuse more time to seek justice from their abusers and those who knowingly allowed their abusers to continue to prey on children.

Although Gina Sillitti has been an assemblymember for only two years, her accomplishments, services and legislation to benefit her constituents have been far-reaching and most valuable. They include: co-sponsoring a bill requiring social media companies to provide users with an easy method to report hateful conduct.

She hosted the “Stop Asian Hate with Education” project to illustrate the rise of anti-Asian crimes in New York State and Long Island which resulted in supporting the Assembly bill to teach Asian-American history in New York public schools. Assemblywoman Sillitti created legislative action for the one-year Homeowners Tax Rebate Credit program and has been a staunch activist for gun safety measures and women’s reproductive rights.

Acknowledging all of the attributes of these candidates, I consider myself to be fortunate to live in the Town of North Hempstead and governed by people who demonstrate enormous concern for each and every constituent. Please join me in your vote of support. You would be doing yourself a great service in addition to the North Hempstead community.

Lois Schaffer North Hempstead

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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READERS WRITE

Misrepresenting crime rates pays (for the GOP)

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atching Republicans working themselves into a lather about crime is a lesson in the power of public perception. It took time, but someone finally pointed out that America’s “heartland” is far more crime stricken than our major cities.

How far does the delusion go about “Democrat run” city crime?

During the Oklahoma gubernatorial debate, the Democratic candidate pointed out that crime was far higher in Oklahoma than it was in New York. Reacting to this assertion, the GOP candidate was practically beside himself shaking with laughter behind his podium.

Unfortunately for him, it’s true. In fact, Oklahoma’s violent crime rate is 25% higher than New York State’s and higher than California’s. It’s 50% higher than New York City’s.

Doesn’t quite fit the image of the simple, wholesome folk of the flyover states, does it?

Because of the news coverage provided by outlets like Fox, whose mention of the crime issue has spiked since early September in anticipation of the election, millions of people think New York is a crime-infested hellscape.

This is absurd.

In fact, crime in New York City today is lower than at any point during

Mike Bloomberg’s three terms. That’s right, even the hapless Mayor DeBlasio saw even lower crime rates, but of course, COVID upended that trend. If you doubt that, just check Compstat.

And when that trend broke, crime spiked. But it spiked far worse in the red areas where guns are as easy to get as chewing gum.

Since the GOP has nothing else to complain about, its minions and media boffins have been flogging the issue to literally scare up votes. And it’s working!

The local media is no better. With cameras in every store and subway platform, the filmed violence is as irresistible to a news producer as a Quentin

Tarantino film clip.

But the fact is, this presents a skewed picture of things. It’s just not that bad out there, but everyone is acting like their hair is on fire.

That’s what happens when you’re constantly subjected to these images every single day.

Some violent crime has, in fact, trended down in 2022. But no one is telling that story, and I imagine as the disruption COVID caused fades away, so too will crime rates.

COVID tore a big hole in this country’s psyche, and I have yet to see a good explanation for it. People talk about a “social fabric.” The pandemic tore a big

hole through it in ways we do not understand.

The great thing about the crime issue from a political standpoint? No matter how low crime rates get, it will always be there. We will never experience zero crime, and as an issue, it can be used and abused perpetually.

Don’t get taken in. The Republican Party, as it is configured now, is utterly worthless. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/ nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/ cs-en-us-city.pdf Donald Davret Roslyn

Help us help others to celebrate Thanksgiving well

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ince 1996, our family has coordinated a program in which we provide the fixings for families in need to make their own Thanksgiving dinner and deliver full hot turkey dinners to homebound senior citizens on Thanksgiving Day. While the first 5 years of this were done through JB’s Pub, a bar/restaurant we owned in Mineola, since 2001 we have been coordinating this program from our home with the support of many wonderful people and organizations.

Though Covid restrictions may not be as strict as last year, we still plan to take a cautious approach to ensure

that all involved are safe.

Due to current economic conditions, the need for assistance at the holidays is as great as ever. With that in mind, the following is what we are planning and how you may be able to contribute.

We will be providing all the fixings for 30 local families to make their own meal, which includes a large amount of fresh produce. We would appreciate donations of the following items: cans of cranberry sauce; 48oz-64oz plastic bottles or cans of fruit juice, V-8, or ice tea as well as single-serving plastic bottles/cans of the same.

We kindly ask — no glass bottles,

no juice boxes, no water, no soda. We will also need 30 16-20 pound frozen turkeys for the families. These items can be dropped off at our home at 35 Maxwell Road in Garden City. Please call us as soon as possible to coordinate a convenient drop-off time.

We will be providing full hot dinners for approximately 225 homebound seniors. We will be accepting homemade desserts and breads this year, but will not be asking anyone to roast and slice any turkeys for us as we will be purchasing the turkey cooked and sliced for us from a local market.

If you are unable to purchase or bake items needed, we gratefully ac-

cept financial donations.

Hot meals will be delivered on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, starting at 12 noon.

Visits this year will be allowed, but we urge you to exercise caution. Due to the age of our recipients, we ask that you wear a face mask while delivering the meals. We would recommend that a safe distance be kept from the recipient.

We deliver meals throughout Nassau County; please call us if you are able to help with the delivery of the meals.

This year will be the 27th year we have coordinated this project! It is

a special part of our family tradition, and we invite you to make it part of yours, as well.

Your generous donations of food, money, and time have made the deliveries a tremendous success each year.

With your help, we can continue to bring a meal and a smile to those who are alone on the holiday.

Feel free to contact us at 516-7468331 regarding any part of this program.

We thank you all for your continued support each year!

Melinda and John Alford Garden City

State Sen. Anna Kaplan fits our community well

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e need State Sen. Anna Kaplan. At a recent event, she was asked about people breaking into cars parked in driveways around here. Sen. Kaplan answered with a detailed discussion of legislation already on the books and new measures making their way through Albany. But then she added a note. “Lock your cars at night,” she said. That’s when she proved her fundamental value this election season.

Sen. Kaplan instinctively applied the crucial one-two punch of all political solutions: systemic governmental reform and personal responsibility.

Exclusive reliance on the former is the mirage of the left while the right too often regurgitates the latter as a panacea for everything. But Sen. Kaplan understood the necessity of weaving both methods together for workable solutions. That’s the balance she brings to the job. Her opponent used to hold that job, sweeping in as part of the Tea-Party wave of 2010. Jack Martins sat in that job long enough to vote for tax cuts benefiting the superwealthy and fare hikes on the LIRR. He has a consistent record of doing whatever his GOP superiors tell him to do. From the corruption of Dean Skelos to cancer that is Donald Trump, Martins has always been an enabler

of the worst instincts in politics. He’s wrong for this community. It’s about more than just this one race, of course.

Republicans everywhere have been seeping into positions to do real damage to democracy itself. Rubberstamping extremism is just the beginning. Banning abortions, putting guns in every school, making excuses for violent Christian Nationalists on every level, Republicans have been letting their most outrageous voices enforce their agenda.

State legislatures have been a particular focus of this attack due to their below-the-radar profile and their considerable power to control the mechanics of power like elections and the vast funding potential that comes from every state capital.

The belief that ‘the Republicans I know wouldn’t stand for that’ has proven naive time and time again.

Right now anyone with an R next to their name is a vote to exonerate Donald Trump and adopt his model of tyranny. We need to rip that weed out by the roots and salt the earth where this insurrectionist species grows. Only then can responsible republicans come back to public life without the threat of another cop-beating mob trying to overthrow the government.

This can only happen by standing

up against the cheap thugs co-opting the GOP. We have to let Republican leaders know that they’ve gone too far. We have to take a stand against the poison infecting our democracy.

Every Democrat is a bulwark against our society’s worst evils. Republicans like Martins, Zeldin, Santos, and Jha are the benign mask of a lynch mob on the march. Any vote they receive is implicit support for the anti-democratic movement they represent. But voting against Republicans isn’t enough. I want to vote for someone, for some-

thing positive.

Sen. Kaplan is that. Responsible government and personal responsibility unite in her example. She supports a balanced tax policy that encourages growth while building what’s best in our community for everyone.

She’s toughened laws against hate crimes, domestic abuse and the threat of mass shootings across the state. And she’s been a real leader in protecting abortion rights that are under attack

by Republicans on every level. These policies — sensible, constructive, and

focused — reflect the broad values of Long Islanders. Sen. Kaplan’s personal history matches her legislative accomplishments. She came to New York as a Jewish refugee from the Iranian Revolution. Arriving all by herself at age 13, the future senator lived with a foster family until her own parents could flee the Ayatollah.

Hard work propelled her through college and then law school and a growing family in Great Neck. As an immigrant, as a striver, as a working mom trying to give her family a better life, Sen. Kaplan is the best of the American dream. There can be no bothsidesing in this election. Any instinct for balancing left and right is corrupted when the right is channeling authoritarianism.

Fortunately, we don’t have to compromise our values with our votes.

In the balance that is baked into her character and in her essential grasp of systemic causes and individual responsibility, Senator Kaplan is right for this community. I’m proud to know state Sen. Anna Kaplan. I’ll be proud to vote for her. She’s by far the best choice on the ballot. She’s by far the best fit for the job.

Douglas Parker Port Washington

42 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

COMMUNITY NEWS

Northwell cardiac programs earn America’s Best ratings Four Northwell Health hospitals across Long Island today earned national accolades as part of Healthgrades’ 2023 America’s Best Hospitals list, led by the cardiac programs at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.

The Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at NSUH has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery and one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention, according to new research released by Healthgrades, the leading marketplace connecting doctors and patients.

In addition, SSUH has been named one of America’s 50 Best Hospital for Cardiac Surgery and America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care and Coronary Intervention by Healthgrades.

The ratings are based outstanding clinical outcomes for coronary intervention and cardiac surgery and puts both cardiac programs among the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide for

cardiac surgery and coronary intervention.

“These Healthgrades accolades reflect what the New York State Department of Health reported earlier this year as well as the Society of Thoracic Surgeons: Namely that outstanding cardiac patient outcomes happen at the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at NSUH,” said Dr. Alan Hartman,senior vice president and executive director of cardiothoracic surgery at Northwell Health.“We’ve built an excellent team at an academic, quaternary care hospital that is renown nationally for its array of cardiac services.”

NSUH’s recognition marks seven straight years of earning Healthgrades’ 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery award and 12 straight years ranking in the 100 Best for Coronary Intervention.

The hospital has also received Healthgrades accolades for Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence (four straight years) Stroke Care Excellence (12 consecutive years) and Outstanding Patient Experi-

ence (four years in a row).

This marks SSUH’s sixth consecutive year rating as one of Healthgrades’ 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery.

It’s also back-to-back years as one of the 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care and 100 Best for Coronary Intervention.

“Northwell Health’s investments meant to transform South Shore University Hospital into a cardiac center of excellence are paying off,” said Dr. Robert Kalimi, chair of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at SSUH. “When a catastrophic coronary event strikes, time equals heart muscle. Having complex care in your backyard makes all the difference. We’re bringing complex, life-saving care with top surgeons and in state-of-the-art facilities to the South Shore to ensure Suffolk County residents get the exceptional health options they deserve.”

As New York State’s largest health care provider, Northwell Health hospitals were broadly recognized by

Healthgrades. Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan has been named one of America’s 100 Best for Cardiac Care, 100 Best for Coronary Intervention and 100 Best for Prostate Surgery.

Staten Island University Hospital earned 50 Best Cardiac Surgery and 100 Best Coronary Intervention. Two other Long Island hospitals were recognized: Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson as one of America’s 100 Best for Gastrointestinal Surgery; and Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead as one of America’s 100 Best for Coronary Intervention.

“We are incredibly proud of these data which show that Long Islanders have incredible access to the highest quality cardiac care across Northwell,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kuvin,senior vice president of cardiology for Northwell’s Central and Eastern regions. “The data tell the story: Northwell’s cardiac surgery and coronary intervention outcomes are exceptional.”

Healthgrades evaluated patient

mortality and complication rates for 31 of the most common conditions and procedures at nearly 4,500 hospitals across the country to identify the topperforming hospitals for specialty care.

This year’s analysis revealed significant variation in patient outcomes between America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery, as well as America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention and hospitals that did not receive these distinctions.

Between 2019-2021, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery Award have, on average, a 56 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated in hospitals that did not receive the award.* Additionally, patients treated at hospitals receiving the America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention Award have, on average, a 47.3 percent lower risk of dying than if they were treated at hospitals that did not receive the award.*

Veterans parking at Scout’s gift to Ronald McDonald N. Hempstead parks At the Oct. 27 Town Board Meeting, Councilmember Peter Zuckerman and the Town Board unanimously approved a resolution allowing the designation of reserved parking spots for veterans at parks across the Town.

“With Veterans Day approaching, I wanted to do something special to give back to those who served our country,” said Zuckerman. “Having reserved parking spots at many different parks in

North Hempstead is just one small gesture we can do to thank our veterans.”

Reserved parking spots will be marked by a special sign and will be at: Caemmerer Park, Charles J. Fuschillo Park, Clark Botanic Garden, Clinton G. Martin Park, Manorhaven Beach Park, Martin “Bunky” Reid Park, North Hempstead Beach Park, Whitney Pond Park and “Yes We Can” Community Center.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Councilmember Peter Zuckerman and the new veterans parking signs.

Eagle Scout candidate Max McConville, 16, of Oyster Bay, NY, joined Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro (RMHC NYM) CEO Matt Campo and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House to unveil a colorful sandbox he constructed and donated to RMHC as a gesture of thanks for the kindness extended to his family when he was born, here today.

The unveiling took place in the playground area of the Ronald McDonald House where the red, yellow and blue sandbox will stay.

“I like that the sandbox will be used by the children,” said Max. “I definitely wanted to do something that would benefit not just the house by the families staying at the house.”

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New York Metro keeps families seeking medical treatment for their sick

children near the care they need and the families they love.

Max was born in 2006 with medical complications that required an extended stay in the Cohen Children’s NICU and his parents stayed, for free, in the nearby RMHC NYM house next door. His mother, Amy, was able to have a comfortable and nearby place to rest and relax in between taking care of her newborn, rather than travel back and forth to her and her husband John’s home in Oyster Bay. The kindness extended by RMHC stuck with the McConville family and became part of their family’s history, so much so, that when Max needed a project to contribute to his pursuit of becoming an Eagle Scout with Troop 299 in Oyster Bay, he chose to build the sandbox and donate it to the house.

“When his Eagle Scout project came about, he said Mom, Dad, I know exactly

what I want to do, I want to give back to the Ronald McDonald House,” said Amy McConville, choking back tears.

“It’s been 16 years and it’s been difficult.

But look at him, he’s an amazing smart, strong, courageous boy and look what he’s done. We’re so proud of him.”

“The spirit of the Eagle Scout project is to provide leadership, and the Ronald McDonald House provides the same to the community, so I wanted to channel my leadership into theirs. It taught me a lot about leadership but it also taught me about giving back,” said Max. “It’s about the positive emotion of helping others and I think we all need to pursue that in life.”

“It’s so meaningful to see this family coming back to an organization that once gave to them to now give back to the families that are staying with us,” said Matt Campo, CEO of RMHC NYM.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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COMMUNITY NEWS

County celebrates Law group aids cancer fight Italian culture On Oct. 24, the Nassau County Legislature celebrated Italian Heritage and Culture Month by recognizing the achievements of Italian and Italian American Nobel Prize Laureates.

Joseph Sciame, president of the Sons of Italy Foundation Inc. and chair of the Board of Directors of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, presented the Legislature with a poster recognizing this year’s theme.

Italians and Italian Americans have been awarded Nobel Prizes in all categories, including Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Peace, Physics,

Physiology and Medicine. 26 Italian or Italian American Nobel Prize Laureates are recognized on the poster, and a 27th was awarded a prize after the poster was created.

“Nassau County is home to tens of thousands of Italian Americans, and their vibrant culture is present all around us,” Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello said. “I am very proud to celebrate Italian Heritage and Culture Month and recognize these great Italian and Italian American trailblazers.”

2022 is the 46th Anniversary of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee.

Fighting pancreatic cancer is a cause that resonates with Makofsky Law Group. “We have seen so many individuals, including clients and their families, and our own family and friends suffer through the pain of pancreatic cancer,” said partner Lisa Valente. That’s why the firm partnered with the Lustgarten Foundation for the second year in a row as part of Lustgarten’s Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research to raise funds to combat the disease.

It’s not just a professional cause, it’s a personal one.

“Raising money for pancreatic cancer research is very personal to me and our firm as my own dad is currently battling pancreatic cancer,” said Valente. “And others in the office have lost loved ones to this horrible disease.”

The firm exceeded its fundrais-

ing goals, with Valente raising almost $8,000 single-handedly.

“I am extremely proud of our firm’s efforts this year in raising almost $13,000 for pancreatic cancer research. What makes it even more special is the outpouring of support and generous donations we received from not only our own family and friends, but from clients and other colleagues.”

Although the Makofsky team did not walk at this year’s Lustgarten Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research due to inclement weather, they gathered to celebrate their accomplishment, wearing team shirts and the color purple to support the cause.

“Almost everyone I speak with knows someone who has been affected by this terrible disease,” said Valente.

“It is heartwarming to know that the money we raised will go to helping

find more treatment options, earlier detection and hopefully, a cure for this awful disease.” Donations are still happily accepted at https://events.lustgarten.org/team/430598

N.Y. Tech, IDC grow partnership

Kyra’s Champions ring opening bell Jacqueline Franchetti, founder of Manhasset’s Kyra’s Champions, an advocacy organization focused on protecting children from abusive parents, is surrounded by Wall Street firms and supporters at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) as she rang the opening bell for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Kyra’s Champions work is in memory of Kyra Franchetti, a Manhasset toddler who was

murdered by her abusive father. Immediately after the bell ringing, Cboe hosted a fireside chat with Jacqueline where she discussed the bills she has passed in multiple states and on the federal level, Kyra’s Law, their policy initiatives, their Student Ambassador Program, and the work being done at Kyra’s Champions to protect children from abusive parents on Cboe’s worldwide stage

The IDC Foundation, a legacy of the Institute of Design and Construction, has awarded the School of Architecture and Design at New York Institute of Technology two additional grants — a $250,000 innovation grant and $100,000 for student scholarships. This additional $350,000 in IDC Foundation grant funding brings its total support of New York Tech to nearly $3 million since 2018.

The driving force behind the newest grant award is to help New York Tech achieve technology equivalency among fabrication lab facilities and resources on both of its New York campuses as well as to support training for architecture and design students at all levels, from introductory training to developing the most sophisticated, advanced skills.

The $250,000 innovation grant will span two years and will contribute to the following: Expanding the existing School of Architecture and Design fabrication lab on New York Tech’s New York City campus by adding a Robotic and Advanced 3-D Printing Smart Lab. This expansion will increase the footprint of the lab by more than a third and includes renovations to the existing 3-D printing/laser cutting area.

The goal is to ensure the New York City campus lab has similar stateof-the-art equipment and resources as the IDC Foundation Digital Fabrication and Robotic Matter Design Labs that opened on New York Tech’s Long Island campus last year. Initiating the first phase of a Bio-Technology Research Lab (BTR-Lab) on New York Tech’s Long Island campus to investigate opportunities and promote in-

novative research, including the creation of a “healthy materials” lab for research on architecture and design solutions that support sustainable environments. Skills training for students on new software and equipment and topical workshops that focus on design processes to help both develop and accelerate students’ abilities in digital design, fabrication, computational design and more, as well as prepare students for current industry demands.

The $100,000 grant for student scholarships will help to attract and retain the most talented, promising students. The funding will also provide graduate research scholarships as well as spur graduate program development for the School of Architecture and Design.

“We are extremely grateful to the IDC Foundation for the continuing trust and generous support of New York Tech,” said School of Architecture and Design Dean Maria Perbellini. “The School’s student population

is growing and we are raising the bar by setting evolving ambitions. Specifically, students need to become familiar with 3-D printing and robotic technology early in their design processes, so the availability of digital tools at the New York City campus that are comparable to the technology in the Long Island campus Fab Lab will be helpful for students’ initial training and then as they prepare to access the emerging and more sophisticated fabrication equipment in the Long Island campus lab.”

Perbellini also noted that the equivalency of the state-of-the-art equipment and resources in both New York campus fabrication labs will support accreditation standards. “Larger, highly advanced labs will provide the opportunity to attract more talented students for innovative, experimental, and pioneering design courses. Our partnership with the IDC Foundation is the perfect place not only to grow but thrive. Thank you so much, IDC,” she added.

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44 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

Business&RealEstate Better to renovate, expand than to move?

R

ates have risen again this past week topping 7% on fixed 30-year mortgages and consumers who were contemplating moving are now thinking twice. Those who have much lower interest rates are now deciding on staying where they are or possibly moving to lower-priced states. Most important depending on where you are currently residing, finding that the prices of homes going to your next destination are more than the proceeds that you might receive on the sale of your current home could cause some anxiety and fear to set in.

Taking on another mortgage with considerably higher rates and purchasing at the very top of the market have some rethinking their course of action. This might be a major deterrent in moving, especially if you need a mortgage with the highest rates in 20 years since April 2002 when gas at that time was $1.37 per gallon. We all are experiencing how so many important things have increased in price and have become so much more costly since then.

But if you are making an out-

right purchase in cash, then you might begin to have a bit of an edge over those financing as “cash is king” as and an advantage in this ever-changing and challenging market. The savings on not having to pay those higher rates will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. Faster closings can occur without a bank involved.

Planning on renovating your current home to accommodate your growing family or just lifestyle changes can be a solution that can be a better way to go. If you need more room and have the lot size to accomplish this or if you can add or expand with a second floor and build up and out to add more square footage, then these are possibilities to consider. Also, as the population ages, one can surely make one’s home more handicapaccessible by enabling wheelchairs to go under tables and installing stair lifts to gain access to a second floor. To make access easier, have a primary bedroom and bathroom constructed on the first floor.

There will be trade-offs on whether or not you can continue to stay in your home, while construc-

PHILIP A. RAICES Real Estate Watch tion is taking place and whether there is enough space to live in.

Depending on the style, splits and high ranches many times can enable you to stay while upgrading one area of the home and living in the other section as my daughter and son-in-law are currently doing during their renovation process.

Sacrifices can be made when visualizing the big picture and finally seeing the end results. You will also

add appreciation to your home over the long run. If and when rates subside and come down to what you feel makes sense for you and your family, you could then potentially sell at a higher price or could also refinance and be able to take out more money than you could have otherwise before your expansion.

For investment, business purposes or anything else you desire without any tax consequences, a mortgage is a loan and not considered income. But you must be very prudent and think pragmatically when considering refinancing and not to over-leverage yourself financially; because you are obviously obligated to pay the lender back.

The lack of inventory has caused many to continue to rethink what they should do: whether staying and renovating and/or increasing their living area or moving away from their current state to those locations where lower prices are beginning to exist, making for better deals. Whatever you decide to do, take enough time to cross your t’s and dot your i’s to come to your best solution.

Continue to Donate to the

Ukrainian Crisis and save a life or 2: IOM’s Ukraine Response OR The International Organization for Migration a 501(c) 3 Corporation: OR:http://donate.iom. int Philip A. Raices is the owner/ Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 in Great Neck.

He has 40 years of experience in the Real Estate industry and has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (G.R.I.) and also as a Certified International Property Specialist (C.I.P.S) as well as the new “Green Industry” Certification for eco-friendly construction and upgrades. For a “FREE” 15-minute consultation, value analysis of your home, or to answer any of your questions or concerns he can be reached by cell: (516) 647-4289 or by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or via https://WWW.TurnKeyRealEstate.

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.

TECH The “Internet of Things” and Smart Clothing

the future is now

You’ve probably heard of the Internet of things, but thought, “what does it mean to me?” To answer that exciting question, let’s first understand the term itself: The Internet of things (IoT) is the interconnection, via the internet, of computing devices into everyday objects giving them the ability to send and receive data.

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“Soon, the Internet of Things will meet Gucci in the form of smart clothing. For example, swimwear can include UV sensors to prevent overexposure to harmful radiation. Smart footwear may improve your running technique or monitor the mobility of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Manufacturers might embed haptic feedback into textiles to correct your posture or improve your yoga pose. And don’t forget the accessories, such as the Ray-Ban Stories smart sunglasses (that provide a window to social media when the user is otherwise offline).” - William Diggin, Accenture President and Founder Sandwire Technology Group

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BUYER’S GUIDE ▼

Kaplan says extremists attacking our democracy

LAWN SPRINKLERS

Continued from Page 8 Kaplan is running against former state Sen. Jack Martins, who held the seat from 2010 to 2016.

Running on the Democratic and Working Families Parties line, Kaplan has served in the Senate since 2019 when she defeated Republican incumbent Elaine Philips. Kaplan also won re-election in 2020 against former Port Washington Police Commissioner Dave Franklin.

Prior to the Senate, Kaplan was elected to serve the Town of North Hempstead’s 4th District as a councilwoman in 2011.

On the subject of bail reform, the incumbent said anything that affects our public safety demands a higher level of scrutiny.

“We want to make sure our communities feel safe or people feel safe in their communities. I’m happy to work with whoever I need to do whatever I need to do to keep our communities safe,” Kaplan said. “I believe we made these changes and I advocated very strongly for these common-sense fixes. We’ve given judges discretion and we are taking repeat offenders and violent criminals of the streets. I want to make sure that we do everything to give our law enforcement the tools they need to do their job.”

New York implemented bail reform laws in January 2020, with modifications passed in April of that same year. State officials said the modified laws eliminated pretrial detention and optional cash bail in an estimated 90 percent of cases.

Kaplan said she initially ran in order to codify Roe v. Wade and that abortion is a major point in her race.

“We saw ourselves how the extremist Supreme Court has overturned a 50-year-old law, a law that so many women fought for,” Kaplan said. “To see us right now and have it overturned is, in my opinion, a crisis in this entire country. I hope everyone thinks of this as a huge huge reason to go out and vote and make their voices heard.”

On housing, Kaplan said the problem is not just unique to Long Island but is a crisis everywhere in the country. The senator said more incentives have been and need to be given to local municipalities to improve infrastructure to withhold additional housing and alleviate school districts that are facing higher enrollment numbers.

“I think it is imperative for us to work with local governments and bring them on the ride with us. We also can and are and need to do more in terms of bringing incentives to be able to build,”

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Kaplan said. “I hear from some of the schools that are at max capacity and we need to give them the tools to be able to absorb these children.”

When a municipality considers rezoning business districts to provide a spark downtown, similar to what Mineola is considering, Kaplan said there needs to be a “buy-in” from the community spearheaded by local chambers community leaders on top of town and state help.

“All of us have to work together to get this done,” Kaplan said. “But it is also imperative that people are brought, in the community’s input is taken into consideration and that their concerns are being heard.”

On congestion pricing, Kaplan said Long Islanders deserve safe, clean and on-time trains and any plan that hurts Long Island she will not support.

“I’ve made my position very clear that I want to make sure Long Islanders get the benefit that they need and deserve,” Kaplan said. “If a plan were to hurt Long Island and Long Islanders, I will be the first to speak in opposition of its implementation.”

The MTA’s proposed congestion pricing plan, according to the project’s environmental assessment, could increase the daily entry fee into Manhattan. The plan calls for a toll to enter a zone that extends from 60th Street to the Battery.

Kaplan said over the last four years she has listened to her constituents and worked to be their voice and advocate in Albany.

“I’ve continuously stood up for women’s rights and it’s something I believe in wholeheartedly. I want to do everything possible to make the lives of my residents easier,” Kaplan said. “We’ve worked with our residents, and irrespective of what the issue has been, whether it was unemployment insurance, whether we’re getting a vaccine, whether we’re getting tests, whether they’re getting their power back, whether they’re putting legislation to take dangerous guns out or standing up for women’s rights or for getting money for our clean water or clean air. Those are some of the issues I have continued to fight for.”

The state’s 7th Senate District includes Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Williston Park, Mineola, Garden City Park, North Hills, Albertson, Old Westbury, East Hills, Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Estates, Albertson, Searingtown, Lake Success, Manhasset, Munsey Park, Plandome, Plandome Heights, Plandome Manor, and the Great Neck and Port Washington peninsulas.

Man followed, grabbed 9-year-old girl: police Continued from Page 9 The subject is described as being in his mid20s, with a light complexion, black hair and a medium heavy build. He is between 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8, according to a police composite. Wit-

nesses say he was wearing a yellow or light lime traffic vest.

Officials ask that anyone with information call the Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

FOR THE LATEST IN COMMUNITY NEWS VISIT US 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK AT WWW.THEISLAND360.COM

The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

WT

49

Recent Real Estate Sales in the

413 Congress Avenue, East Williston

152 Marcellus Road, Mineola

3 bd, 4 ba, 2,570 sqft, Sold On: 8/26/22, Sold Price: $1,200,000 Type: Single Family, Schools: East Williston

4 bd, 3 ba, Sold On: 6/27/22, Sold Price: $865,000 Type: Single Family, Schools: Mineola

48 Sumter Avenue, East Williston

147 Cornwell Avenue, Williston Park

3 bd, 3 ba, 1,662 sqft, Sold On: 8/26/22, Sold Price: $960,000 Type: Single Family, Schools: East Williston

3 bd, 3 ba, 1,564 sqft, Sold On: 8/24/22, Sold Price: $850,000 Type: Single Family, Schools: Herricks

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

Mike Fink

Licensed Associate Broker 193 Hillside Avenue, Williston Park, NY 11596 Office: 516-743-9953 | Cell: 516-647-3737 mfink@bhhslaffey.com % (MZMWMSR 3J ,I \RXU KRPH LV FXUUHQWO\ OLVWHG ZLWK DQRWKHU EURNHU WKLV LV QRW PHDQW DV D VROLFLWDWLRQ RI WKDW OLVWLQJ $OO ¿JXUHV DSSUR[LPDWH $OO LQIRUPDWLRQ IXUQLVKHG UHJDUGLQJ VROH SURSHUW\ VDOH UHQWDO RU ¿QDQFLQJ LV IRUP VRXUFHV GHHPHG UHVSRQVLEOH 1R UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ LV PDGH WR WKH DF FXUDF\ WKHUHRI DQG LW LV VXEPLWWHG VXEMHFW WR HUURUV RPLVVLRQV FKDQJH RI SULFH UHQWDO FRPPLVVLRQ RU RWKHU FRQGLWLRQV SULRU VDOH OHDVH RU ¿QDQFLQJ RU ZLWKGUDZDO ZLWKRXW QRWLFH

50 The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

WT

One year in jail for DeSena, Lurvey clash killing two puppies over budget cuts Continued from Page 1 this office has prosecuted as one of the worst we’ve seen.”

The two fatalities followed an investigation after the couple brought a lethargic and lifeless 11-week-old female Goldendoodle puppy named Bella to the Veterinary Referral & Emergency Center of Westbury in late February 2019.

Veterinarians found multiple fractured ribs, bruises on her lungs, bleeding behind her eyes and a broken leg.

Doctors performed surgery on Bella and had to insert a metal rod to repair her leg and a steel plate to hold her bones in place.

One of Bella’s legs was subsequently amputated, police said.

Kuncman did not take Bella to a veterinarian for about 15 hours after she appeared to be in pain, prosecutors alleged at the time.

Bella has since been adopted by a Long Island family and has recovered, police said.

Donnelly also called to strengthen laws against animal abuse.

“New York State’s animal crime laws need to be strengthened and we encourage PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASSAU COUNTY DISTRICT our legislators to review the horrors associATTORNEY’S OFFICE ated with this case,” Donnelly said. “I thank our partners at the Nassau County Society Ellie Knoller, of Mineola, pleaded guilty to fatally for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and beating two puppies and injuring another in the local veterinarians who assisted our investigation.”

March.

Continued from Page 4 Democratic councilmembers during the hearing said that DeSena’s revised budget that was provided to them was on paper, not digital and more difficult to evaluate compared to years past.

“Supervisor DeSena has yet to provide us access to editable, electronic budget spreadsheets,” Lurvey continued. “Town Board members must have access to the same information that she does.

It is wrong of Supervisor DeSena to deliberately withhold documents from us, keeping her colleagues in the dark. She keeps playing politics with the budget process, and that makes it difficult for me to trust her administration.”

On Oct. 11, DeSena called for an 11% tax cut to be included in the $158.4 million tentative budget for 2023 she had previously proposed.

The amended budget includes $89,235,036 in expenses for the general town budget, a $136,882 increase from the tentative budget due to the addition of four employees that includes laborers, an enforcement officer and an animal warden. Additional funding was also included for the town’s oyster program.

General fund revenues are projected at $61,319,927, a $200,000 increase from the tentative budget due to the addition of a code enforcement officer for the town.

For amendments to the town’s outside village fund, which covers services for residents who live outside incorporated villages, the budgeted expenses are $44,772,898, a $4.25 million increase from the tentative budget.

The increase was the result of $2 million being allocated for street paving, $1 million allocated for concrete sidewalk and road repairs, $1 million allocated for tree trimming and removal and $250,000 for beautification projects.

Lurvey said the general appropriated fund balance will be at 19.57% of the general fund budget, which complies with the 2011 policy mandating it be at least 10%.

The fund, she said, gives an approximate twomonth cushion for emergencies that bond rating agencies recommend, which is 15% or 16%.

For the town outside the village fund reserve balance, the amendments would leave it at 17.09% of the town outside village fund, which complies both with the policy and also gives a two-month cushion for emergencies, Lurvey said.

DeSena added that residents are “misled” and that the town board is saving money for proverbial rainy days.

“I am in disbelief that the majority councilmembers would stand in the way of millions of dollars of tax relief for our residents, and instead peddle falsehoods about how these bloated reserves came to be,” DeSena said. “The truth is, interest rates are soaring, inflation has hit 40year highs, and our residents need as much tax relief as possible, something that the majority Councilmembers seem to struggle to understand.

Instead, they are intent on putting politics ahead of people.”

The North Hempstead Town Board will be voting on the 2023 budget on Thursday, Nov. 3.

The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

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W HOME IMPROVEMENT, SERVICES SERVICES

SERVICES

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22 Planting Field Rd, Roslyn Heights, 11577 www.theisland360.com

821 Franklin Avenue, Suite 208 Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 294-8900 www.gcnews.com

Bail laws not behind the rise in crime: Lavine Continued from Page 8 But he said that addressing crime must begin at the source. This includes promoting programs that help underdeveloped areas. In addition, it means increasing the number of officers in areas where crimes most often occur.

Lavine also addressed criticisms leveled at him and other Democrats for allegedly calling

for the defunding of the police. He said he is unaware of anyone in the state government who has made such a request.

“As a matter of fact, Gov. Hochul is providing record amounts of funding for police services and additional police services,” he said.

“And in my own case, I’ve just gotten $250 million for new squad cars for the Glen Cove Police

Department.”

Lavine was referring to Hochul announcing new initiatives to strengthen interagency enforcement in high-theft areas and legislation to combat catalytic converter heists earlier this month. She said that $20 million will be available to assist local police departments and sheriff ’s offices.

“Here’s my observation: if anybody should have been in favor of bail reform, it should have been many of my Republican political colleagues,” joked Lavine, “who ended up being in front of judges any number of times over the course of the last few years.”

One can view the interview on Blank Slate Media’s YouTube channel.

Zimmerman says nation’s democracy at stake Continued from Page 9 “We also have to consider and look at the impact of the pandemic, the amount of homelessness, the amount of mental health crises that exist,” he said. “People being put out of their jobs and people living in very abject, desperate conditions, there are a lot of factors that contribute to it.”

Supporting the police and expanding gun safety legislation, he said, are imperative to curb growing crime rates and gun violence throughout the state. Implementing red-flag laws and background checks, he said, will help lead the efforts to get assault weapons off of the streets.

Regarding foreign policy, Zimmerman said the United States should have a role in preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin

from occupying Ukraine and potentially other territories in efforts to reassemble the Soviet Union. While domestic issues are important, he said, ensuring greater safety is also a paramount concern of his.

“I think there are steps we can take to alleviate the burdens here, but a much greater tragedy for our nation and for the world would be to in any way appease Vladimir Putin and allow him to march forward, occupy or take over part of Ukraine or expand beyond Ukraine.”

While it may be necessary to rely on fossil fuels in the short term, Zimmerman said, he does not want to move to offshore oil drilling on either coast. Investing in solar, wind and other renewable energy resources would help stabilize the energy marketplace also help combat climate change throughout the nation.

“We’ve got to understand the future is going to be in recognizing the climate crisis and making sure tocreate clean energy union jobs and prepare America to move into the new economy,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman stressed the importance of finding ways to achieve bipartisanship in Congress.The presence of extremism and divisive political figures in office, he said, will present some obstacles for him.

“It’s my job, if I’m given the privilege of serving, to find those Republicans I can build common grounds with,” he said. “But there are many members of Congress who don’t think that I’m entitled to the same rights they are because I’m a gay man. And that’s painful and difficult.”

Both Zimmerman and Santos are openly

gay and would become the first such member of Congress from Long Island and Queens.

A Great Neck resident, Zimmerman is the co-president of ZE Creative Communications on Bond Street in Great Neck, a public relations firm he started 33 years ago with Ron Edelson and a Democratic national committeeman. He is running on the Democratic and Working Family Parties lines.

The state’s 3rd Congressional District includes the entire Town of North Hempstead including parts of Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Garden City, Mineola and Westbury villages.

While the 3rd Congressional District under the new proposal does not extend as far west as the Bronx or Westchester, it does stretch to more southern parts of Nassau County such as Hicksville and Massapequa.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

55

COMMUNITY NEWS

Harbor Child a bag Fund expands support of Cohen program beneficiary Harbor Child Care has been selected as a beneficiary of the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program for the month of November 2022!

The Stop & Shop Community Bag Program, which launched in May 2019, is a reusable bag program that facilitates community support with the goal to make a difference in the communities where shoppers live and work.

Harbor Child Care was selected as the November 2022 beneficiary of the program by store leadership at the Stop & Shop store located at 95 Old Country Road, Carle Place. Harbor Child Care will receive a $1 donation every time the $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at this location during November unless otherwise directed by the customer through the Giving Tag attached to the bag.

“It’s more important than ever to help reduce single-use plastic in the environment,” said Florence Barbour,

Executive Director of Harbor Child Care. “We hope you’ll support us in November by purchasing one – or two! –Community Bags at our local Stop and Shop!” “Donations will help support Harbor’s mission of providing early childhood education and care to young children of working families.”

For more information on the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program, visit stopandshop.2givelocal.com.

The Children’s Medical Fund of New York continued their commitment and support of the Cohen Children’s Medical Center with a $10 million donation dedicated to the purchase of two state-of-the-art MRI machines and a space-themed designed room at the Children’s Medical Fund Center for Diagnostic Studies at the New Hyde Park-based hospital.

The center, which is located on the fourth floor of the hospital’s new 120,000-square-foot pavilion is expected to treat more than 4,500 children annually. T he MRI center is the only program on this floor as well as a room for minor procedures with dedicated elevator access from the lobby entrance of the new pavilion.The addition of the MRI machines will help support pediatric programs in Neurology, Neurosurgery, Oncology, Cardiology, and Orthopedics. Young patients will no longer need to use the adult MRI services at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and now have easy access to imagery in a more child friendly environment “An MRI can be a very scary experience for a child, especially when using a very intimidating machine made for adults, said David Blumenfeld, chairman, Children’s Medical Fund.

That’s why we created a special center designed exclusively for children.”

Blumenfeld added, “We are so proud to have reached our $10 million goal to outfit the Children’s Medical Fund Center for Pediatric Diagnostic Studies at Cohen Children’s Medical Center.”

Children are able to pick the color of the room and choose which videos to be projected onto the walls while the MRI is taking place. There are special MRI goggles that allow children to watch movies during the examination.

The positive distractions are help-

ful to pediatric specialists so they can quickly gain access to images of the brain, the heart, the skeletal system and virtually all other vital organs. Using a space exploration motif on the walls and ceilings, the interior design helps alleviate a child’s fear by adding an element of fun and imagination and reduces the need for sedation during the procedure.

In addition, CMFNY provides toys before the procedure so the children feel as comfortable as possible as well as resources for parents, such as a welcoming waiting room.

Two years ago, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, Long Island’s premiere children’s mental health agency, launched one of its most important programs ever: the Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project, named in honor of the son of Ellen Feldman and Donald Feldman.

On Oct. 19, the Guidance Center welcomed the Feldmans, their son Matthew and other guests to its Roslyn Heights headquarters for the unveiling of the Butterfly Wall, which features brass butterfly plaques recognizing donors to this lifesaving initiative.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24, with more teenagers and young adults dying from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza and lung disease combined.

With the Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project, the Guidance Center addresses high-risk cases with a thorough evaluation for suicide risk; multiple weekly sessions of individual, group and family therapy; and a culturally sensitive treatment plan that focuses on safety strategies, healthy coping skills and relapse prevention.

Evaluation with a psychiatrist regarding the possible use of medication is also provided, along with in-home treatment and referrals to programs and services that will support parents’ efforts to protect their children.

“Suicide among young people

is truly an epidemic,” said Elissa Smilowitz, director of Emergency, Triage & Suicide Prevention Services at the Guidance Center. “The Feldman’s generous gift has allowed us to make a real difference in the lives of so many young people.”

Ellen Feldman says the Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project has been instrumental in the journey her family has been on since the loss of her beloved son.

“Very soon after Doug died, Donald and I knew we wanted to do something that would prevent this tragedy from happening to other families,” she said. “I grew up in this community and raised my children here, so having the Guidance Center as the

beneficiary of our donation to help young people who are struggling with suicidal thoughts made perfect sense.”

“I’m so proud of the work being done by the Guidance Center,” she added. “They are truly saving lives, and I can’t imagine a better way to honor our son.”

If you know a young person who may be at risk for suicide, contact the Guidance Center at 516-626-1971.

The organization promises to see high-risk cases within 24 to 48 hours.

For immediate help in a crisis, call 988, the new suicide hotline. To learn more about supporting the Douglas S. Feldman Suicide Prevention Project, contact Lauren McGowan at 516-6261971, ext. 320.

Town celebrates Hispanic heritage Addressing suicide prevention The Town of North Hempstead recently hosted its annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration on October 12 at the “Yes We Can” Community Center.

The event included beautiful artwork from the students of the Westbury School District. Attendees were treated to live performances and music from Fiesta Tropical Triple M Band, Flamenco by Vito Genna, Ranchoritos Krisia and Kristian Romano, and Yuliana Mata Bonilla. There was also a poetry reading by Deilyn Martinez Melara.

The Town honored Hispanic Americans throughout the community who have made a difference in North Hempstead and beyond. This year’s honorees included: • Luis A. Burgos • Krystal Fernandez

• Efrain Florez • Aixa Karina Guintanilla • Adriana Marquez • Anna Munoz Trijilio • Dr. Manuel Norona • Davis Orellana • Jonathan Romero Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated each year from September 15 to October 15. September 15 marks the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, with Mexico’s anniversary of its independence on September 16.

To see video footage from the event, please visit: www.youtube. com/townofnorthhempstead The North Hempstead “Yes We Can” Community Center is located at 141 Garden Street in Westbury.

56 The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Williston Park Library happenings

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American Legion scholarship applications are now available at the library. If you’ve borrowed a museum pass, we ask that it be returned in the library by 10am on the due date to ensure timely pick up for the next patron on the waiting list. If you wish to return the pass prior to the due date and the library is closed, please put in the book drop. We appreciate your cooperation. The library is distributing Covid-19 self-test kits while supplies last.

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New titles added to the collection: Hunt—Faye Kellerman House on Blueberry Lane—Brenda Jackson Girl Forgotten—Karin Slaughter Lost Girls of Willowbrook—Ellen Marie Wiseman Manhattan Girls—Gill Paul Ninth Month—James Patterson Ink Black Heart—Robert Galbraith Death by Beach Read—Eva Gates Vacationland—Meg Mitchell Moore Dreamland—Nicholas Sparks Adult Programs Reiki Circle—Thursdays—November 3 & 17; December 1 & 15—6pm in the Assembly Room of Village Hall. $10 p/person, p/session. Call the library (742-1820), email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com or stop by the library to register.

Bracelet Workshop with Ofra Jewels—Tuesday—November 1—6pm in the Library. $10 p/person. Limited to 12 participants.

Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@ gmail.com to register.

Book Discussion—Wednesday—November 16—7pm in the Assembly Room of Village Hall and via Zoom. Copies of Orphan Collector will be available at the Circulation Desk. Author Ellen Marie Wiseman will join the discussion via Zoom. https:// adelphiuniversity.zoom.us/j/ 96885670102?pwd= VGtSYnkyUW9acVJyV0tyNUtUZnMyZz09 Meeting ID: 968 8567 0102 Passcode: WPBookClub Or just call 1-929-205-6099 on your phone and it will ask for the meeting id and password above.

Snowman Cookie Jar Craft—Monday—November 28—6pm

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in the Library. $25 material fee due at registration. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

Empire Safety Driving Course—Wednesday—January 11, 2023—10am-4pm in the Assembly Room of Village Hall. $20 p/ person. Limited to 25 participants. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

Children’s Programs Story Time for Tots—Tuesdays—November 8, 15, 22 & 29; December 6 & 13—11-11:45am in the library for children ages 1-4 with a parent or caregiver. Call the library (742-1820), email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com or ask at the Circulation Desk to register. Maximum of 15 children. No walk-ins!

Kids Candy Corn with Them’s the Breaks—Saturday—November 5—11am-Noon in the Assembly Room of Village Hall for children ages 5+. $6 p/kit. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

Sensational Playtime—November 7, 14 & 21—10:30-11:30 am in the Assembly Room of Village Hall for children 18-36 months. This program will emphasize developing motor skills through sensory play and movement. Limited to 15 children and their caregiver. Per vendor, please meet in the library at 10:20.

Strollers are to be left in the library. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

Sign Language for Babies & Toddlers—Wednesday—December 14 & 21—11am in the library for children ages 3 months-3 years old. Per vendor, program is limited to 15 children. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

DIY Christmas Wood Ornaments—Saturday—December 17—11am-Noon in the library for children ages 3+. Limited to 16 participants. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

Petra Puppets Holiday Talent Show—Tuesday—December 27—10:30am in the Assembly Room of Village Hall for children of all ages. Call the library (742-1820) or email willistonparkprograms@gmail.com to register.

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LIKE US ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/ THEISLAND(+% LIKE US ON TWITTER: @THEISLAND(+%

CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/ THEISLAND360 AND TWITTER: @THEISLAND360

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The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

WT

57

C O M M CUONM I TMYU & NIT SY C HNOEOWLSN E W S

Guild displays Water quality challenge grant Herricks student Herricks High School junior Gabby Cardone will have her artwork on display at The Art Guild’s 2022 Nassau County High School Exhibit taking place in November. In addition to being part of the exhibit, she will be considered for an award as well.

In September, Gabby was the school’s September Art Student of the Month and was chosen for her motivation, dedication and talent. She is always looking to practice, improve and experiment with new mediums and pushes herself as an artist and her efforts are proving to be successful.

Congratulations Gabby on your recent art accomplishments!

Herricks High School students Aieshah Ashfer, Ananya Chaubal, Emily Eng, Shivani Kapoor, Vishnitha Karunakar, Sitaara Kesavan, Krishay Matneja, Samaira Pai and Zunairah Sikder were recently presented with a $2,500 grant as 2021-2022 winners of the Long Island Regional Planning Council’s Long Island Water Quality Challenge.

The team of nine developed their ‘Say NO to Nitro!’ project which will result in the planting of indigenous wildflowers in three locations at the high school. These wildflowers have natural denitrifying qualities that help reduce nitrogen entering the ground and surface waters from school grounds.

In preparation for their project proposal, the Herricks students conducted extensive scientific literature reviews and met with school administrators to learn more about how they could make changes on school grounds to reduce nitrogen. The self-driven group PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS dedicated substantial time and effort towards their proposal that will have a Herricks High School junior Gabby Carpositive and lasting impact within the Herricks school community. done pictured with her artwork.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Herricks High School seniors (pictured left to right) Samaira Pai, Shivani Kapoor, Emily Eng, Zunairah Sikder, Krishay Matneja, Sitaara Kesavan, Aieshah Ashfer, Vishnitha Karunaker, and Ananya Chaubal recived a $2,500 grant from the Long Island Regional Planning Council for their ‘Say NO to Nitro!’ proposal.

Herricks Middle’s new library suite On Oct. 27, Herricks Board of Education Vice President Henry Zanetti, Superintendent of Schools Tony Sinanis and members of Herricks administration officially opened the new Library Learning Suite at Herricks Middle School.

Library Specialist Jodi Thompson was excited to share, “The transformation of the room will provide a tremendous amount of flexibility with

the new multifunctional furniture.”

“Seating areas, tables and chairs are all versatile and can all be easily moved and rearranged to meet the needs of the day or a particular class,” said Thompson.

The newly renovated space will provide an inviting atmosphere for students to collaborate in large or small group settings, explore creative possibilities or simply read a book.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERRICKS PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Herricks Middle School Library Learning Suite.

Plaque to honor Halloween for L.I.’s tiniest patients St. Paul’s Church On Saturday, October 22, 2022, Mayor Paul Pereira, Trustee Donna Solosky and Members of the Mineola Historical Society dedicated a commemorative plaque at the sight of St. Paul’s Methodist Church, formerly located at 136 Willis Avenue from 1899 to 1971.

Mayor Pereira thanked the Mineola Historical Society for keeping our history alive. The Mineola Historical Society is located at 211 Westbury Avenue and is open from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM Monday thru Thursday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VILLAGE OF MINEOLA

A commemorative plaque was dedicated to the sight of the St. Paul’s Methodist Church on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Some of Long Island’s tiniest babies got in the spooky spirit with Halloween costume festivities in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island. This much-anticipated annual tradition, features the likes of mini-witches and mermaids, candy corns and Cookie Monster, fledgling astronauts and more. Costumes are often lovingly handmade, as they must fit babies who may be only a couple of pounds in size. Nearly two dozen babies took part in the Halloween event.

The holiday event also provides the parents of these newborns, including many born prematurely, the opportunity to create a special memory while their infants are still in the hospital, since they cannot yet stroll among trick-or-treaters in their own neighborhoods. Fortunately, the infants have excellent PPE—incubators!

The NICU is a special nursery for babies born prematurely (before 37 weeks) or with other medical problems such as breathing disorders, feeding issues, heart problems, infections or conditions requiring surgery.

Premature babies often have more than one problem because their systems are immature, and they need to grow before they can go home. NYULangone—Long Island’s NICU is ranked among the best in the world regarding its outcomes, both in terms of overall sur-

vival and survival without complications in extremely premature babies. This is when compared to more than 1,000 NICUs by the prestigious Vermont Oxford Registry Network, an authority on the measurement of care and outcomes for high-risk infants.

58 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, November 4, 2022

COMMUNITY NEWS

SUNY O. Westbury Holocaust Center dedication gets $1.5M for center SUNY Old Westbury has been awarded $1.5 million in state funding to build a childcare center.

The funding is part of a $15.6 million funding plan to expand childcare services across New York’s state university campuses. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the plan last week.

“Expanding high-quality, affordable child care options is an essential piece of creating a more equitable and accessible higher education system for New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said.

“My administration remains committed to ensuring all parents have access to quality child care, and this funding is a critical step toward ensuring parents have the support they need to pursue a quality education and build a better future for themselves and their families.”

SUNY Old Westbury is currently in early stages of planning the new center on campus, which could ultimately serve up to 100 children. The center would serve the college’s faculty and staff, local families, and SUNY Old Westbury students who have children.

SUNY has made expanded child care

facilities a high priority, with the eventual goal of having one center available at every campus.

“Increasing access to child care could be game changing for our student parents and to the many families living near our campus,” said SUNY Old Westbury President Timothy E. Sams. “For our students particularly, providing this service can help ensure them the opportunity to pursue their studies and put them on a more stable path to graduation. This funding is a first critical step in the process of building the new facility, and we are thankful to Governor Hochul and SUNY for their support.”

The co-principal investigators for the project are Jo-Ann Robinson, executive vice president and chief of staff, and Diana Sukhram, dean of the School of Education.

In advance of creating the new facility, SUNY Old Westbury expects to reopen this year its current child care center in the College’s Campus Center following a more than two-year closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Temple Judea of Manhasset to dedicate Irving Roth Holocaust Resource Center. On Sunday, Nov. 6, Temple Judea will honor its beloved teacher and Holocaust Center Director, survivor Irving Roth z”l, by renaming the Center in his memory.

The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2:00 p.m. and will feature a musical program of Holocaust remembrance by Dr. Elizabeth Glennon and remarks from Dr. Richard Quinlan, Scholar-in-Residence, as well as memories and reflections offered by those who were inspired by and taught by Mr. Roth. Roth, a prolific speaker, Holocaust educator, and author, served as the director of the Center from 1997 until his death in February 2021.

In addition to speaking to thousands of schoolchildren all over Long Island, he lectured all over the world and accompanied students on trips to Auschwitz through the March of the Living organization.

Irving developed the Adopt-aSurvivor program, a nationwide educational program in which students meet with survivors and pledge to give their testimony to others after the survivor is gone. He trained Sec-

ond Generation (2G) Children of Survivors to share the testimony of their parents.

In addition, he oversaw the Nita Lee Memorial Art Project, which offered opportunities for high school student artists to hear testimony and then create art that was displayed in the Center. Irving Roth was also the recipient of many humanitarian awards for his work teaching about the Holocaust. Born in 1929 in Czechoslovakia, Irving lived with his parents, grandparents, and brother. In 1942, most of the Jews of Humenne were taken away by the Nazis. Irving’s family then moved to Hungary in 1943 where Jews were still safe.

However, two years later, at the age of 14, he was sent to Auschwitz with his brother, grandfather, grandmother, aunt, and cousin. Irving and his brother were separated from the rest of their family and later learned that they had been murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. Irving and his brother managed to survive Auschwitz. But, in January 1945, they were forced to march over 500 miles on a “death march” only to be separated upon arrival in Buchenwald.

Irving was finally liberated from

Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. He returned to Humenne to find that his parents had suffered through their own terrible times but thankfully had both survived, assisted by the kindness of a Christian woman. Sadly, his brother did not survive. Irving and his family immigrated to the United States in 1951. He earned a degree in electrical engineering then married and raised two sons in Williston Park.

Temple Judea’s Holocaust Resource Center was established in 1994 by a group of congregants who wanted to honor family members who were Holocaust survivors. The mission of the center is to educate young and old on the evils of prejudice, teach the lessons of the Holocaust, and combat ignorance, hatred, and violence.

The Center’s teachings about the dangers of anti-Semitism have become even more relevant today. For more information about the event, to learn more about Irving Roth, or to schedule a tour of the Irving Roth Holocaust Resource Center, please contact Lauren Resnikoff, director at(516) 621-8049. Temple Judea is located at 333 Searingtown Road in Manhasset at exit 36 off of the LIE. https://www. temple-judea.com/holocaust-center

N.Y. Tech esports, GE Healthcare collaborate New York Institute of Technology’s Center for Esports Medicine today announced a research collaboration with GE Healthcare that will seek to analyze the lean body mass of competitive esport athletes and help establish the sport’s first body composition benchmarks.

While sport-specific body composition benchmarks have been developed for traditional athletes, they have yet to be established for competitive gamers, who practice up to 10 hours per day and perform upwards of 600 action moves per minute.

These repetitive, isolated forearm and upper arm movements can set the stage for career-ending overuse injuries, particularly in the hand and wrist. In fact, the average age of retirement for professional gamers is just 26 years old.

Identifying and treating early changes in body composition, such as muscle loss, can improve performance and prevent long-term injuries. Whereas higher percentages of lean body mass often equate to greater strength and agility, lower percentages tend to signify muscle weakness—a common precursor to musculoskeletal damage.

To analyze and help establish the

necessary body composition benchmarks, New York Tech’s Center for Esports Medicine will leverage GE Healthcare’s Lunar iDXA device with enCORE v18 software to perform the total body analysis of gamers’ fat, muscle, and bone, as well as an in-depth analysis of regions of interest, including the forearms.

The center’s researchers will then use the collected data to propose sportwide body composition benchmarks and respective injury prevention guidelines. Study participants will include 30 college-aged competitive gamers and a control group of 30 non-gamers (controlling for age, sex, and body mass index).

“Our previous findings showed that gamers who played more than four hours per day had lower lean body mass and higher body fat counts than nongamers of the same age and same body mass index. Now, we aim to analyze a region prone to overuse gaming injuries and propose benchmarks and interventions that could enable players to avoid or, at least, delay the development of chronic injuries that could shorten their careers,” said lead researcher Joanne Donoghue, associate professor and di-

rector of clinical research at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM).

The research outcomes could also have broader applications. For example, esports body composition benchmarks could help to inform injury prevention standards for populations with similar occupational hazards, including military drone operators, who are also at risk for hand and wrist overuse injuries.

“We are excited to collaborate with New York Institute of Technology for a better understanding of body composition of the esport athlete,” stated Claudio Mejia, lunar segment leader for GE Healthcare. “Our DXA devices are used by sports teams worldwide for analyzing lean and fat mass. We anticipate this research will provide valuable insights for esport athletes as they continue to establish standards for this new and evolving sport, while also helping their athletes avoid injury.”

Other New York Institute of Technology researchers involved in this study include Medical Director Hallie Zwibel, D.O., NYITCOM Associate Dean of Research Kurt Amsler, and Exercise Science, B.S. Instructor and Coordinator Alexander Rothstein.

CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/THEISLAND360 AND TWITTER: @THE ISLAND360

The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

WT

59

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60 The Williston Times, Friday, November 4, 2022

WT

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