_________________ bellmore ________________
HERALD A night at the train carnival
Page 3
Page 10
Vol. 28 No. 23
Over 20 Years of Experie nce & Dedication 2300 merrick road office 516 -623-2771 • , merrick, ny 11566 direct 516 -445-0657 gus.lafkas
@elliman.com Residential / Commercia l
$1.00 $1.00
JUNE 5 - 11, 2025
licensed associate real estate broker
1289243
A beautiful day for a track meet
gus lafkas
Free speech is the highlight of league meeting mental freedoms central to American democracy. It guarantees the rights to freedom of What exactly does the First speech, religion, the press, Amendment protect — and peaceful assembly, and to petition the government. what doesn’t it cover? These protections form the That was the focus of a recent discussion led by attor- foundation of civic life in the ney Christine Quigley at the United States, though their Levittown Public Library, interpretation continues to where community members evolve through legal challenges gathered to help unpack one of and court rulings. t h e m o s t d e b at e d According to parts of the U.S. ConQuigley, the First stitution. Amendment prohibQuigley, a member i t s C o n g re s s a n d of the Nassau Counstate gover nments ty Bar Association, from making laws w a s t h e f e at u re d that infringe on speaker at a meeting speech and other hosted by the League protected rights — of Women Voters of but it does not apply East Nassau, where to private compashe aimed to clarify nies. T hat means common misconcepemployers can genert i o n s a b o u t f r e e PEggy StEIN ally set their own speech, freedom of Member, League of rules around speech the press, and other Women Voters in the workplace, First Amendment unless a government rights. entity is involved. The league is a nonpartisan, “In order to have a constitugrassroots organization dedi- tional challenge to say ‘you’re cated to protecting and expand- infringing on my rights,’ you ing voting rights while empow- first have to determine what’s ering voters through education the governmental actor here,” and advocacy. During the May she said. 21 meeting of the East Nassau What happens when a public chapter — representing com- school tells its student body munities such as Wantagh, Sea- that it must participate in ford, Levittown, Bellmore, Mer- morning prayers? Quigley said rick and East Meadow — Quig- that while prayer itself isn’t ley focused her remarks on the inherently wrong, the problem scope and limitations of the arises when a gover nment First Amendment. institution sends a message — The First Amendment, rati- especially to young, impresfied in 1791 as part of the Bill of sionable minds — that a particRights, protects several funda-
By CHARlES SHAW
cshaw@liherald.com
I
Courtesy Barbi Frank
Muazzammel Faizy, left, uses a piece of adaptive equipment to dance with John F. Kennedy students Ella Cullin and Abby Finklestein.
Friendship and inclusion at prom A celebration of milestones through shared experiences By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDRo jdalessandro@liherald.com
The Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County values giving its patients, many of who face physical limitations, access to typical life experiences. For the students enrolled into the Children’s Learning Center, that includes a classic prom night. Learning center Principal Kevin Loughlin oversees the nonprofit’s special education school. “One of the things that we like to do here is to provide an education that is similar to every other school,” he said. “We want to make sure (students) can experience some of the same things that you will see at a typical high school or junior high school.”
The school prioritizes socialization as a key value, according to Loughlin. “Socialization is one of the biggest things that determines success, and we want our students to be accepted into typical society and show that they can contribute,” he said. The association’s annual prom night was made possible in partnership with John F. Kennedy High School and its Advanced Science Research Program. 17 students from the program came to the learning center’s fourth prom night on May 22. “Our kids like the exposure,” Loughlin said. “They’ve actually gone over to that high school and visited some of the classes over here, and the JFK kids love coming over here, working with our kids and enjoying ContinuEd on pAgE 4
hope that we know that you certainly can petition your government.
ContinuEd on pAgE 9