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HERALD Teens donate to sick peers
Franklin Square moves forward
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Vol. 27 No. 9
FEBRUARY 27 - MARCH 5, 2025
$1.00
Homeless seniors live in fear and uncertainty By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Renee DeLorenzo/Herald
A long, empty corridor in an abandoned ward of the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility leads to rooms occupied by now homeless seniors who were once residents of the Foster Meadow senior cooperative.
Eight seniors from Elmont, who remain homeless after a September 2023 flood and a fire last December left extensive damage to their apartments in the Foster Meadow senior cooperative, say that Nassau County has left them in the dark about its plans for their housing. The building was demolished in early January, but its former residents were not notified. The county, under the direction of County Executive Bruce Blakeman, originally coordinated a temporary stay at the Marriott hotel in Uniondale for about a dozen of the seniors after the flood occurred. Blakeman spoke at a rally for the seniors at the county courthouse in Mineola in October 2023. Ophelia Scott, one of the seniors, said she remembered Blakeman assuring her and her displaced neighbors that their expenses would be covered for the 11-day stay at the hotel. During this period, some of the seniors moved in with family or found other housing. The county relocated eight of
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Elmont residents petition town for one-way streets
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authorities change the roads to ble,” Turner said. “It’s dangerone-way streets. ous. Constantly, people are According to the U.S. Depart- about to hit each other.” She explained that the curT he need for safer and ment of Transportation webimproved traffic patterns in s i t e, o n e - w ay s t re e t s c a n rent traffic flow forces motorElmont has inspired members improve pedestrian safety by ists attempting to travel the of the Locustwood Gotham simplifying crossings, as well opposite direction of Gotham Civic Association, an Elmont- as manage traffic patterns in Avenue, a northbound one-way street, to make a left turn onto based community group, to heavily congested areas. Sherie Turner, a member of Hempstead Tur npike. From rally for traf fic changes between Wellington Road and the civic association, said the there, she continued, they must traffic is unmanageable and make another left turn onto Holland Avenue. The side roads, currently outright dangerous to resi- Biltmore or Fieldmere Street in dents. She expressed concern order to travel south again. two-way, have been a source of However, she said, Biltmore safety concerns for years, mem- for two of her children who bers said. In response to the walk along the street they and Fieldmere are both twoApply online at mptrg.com/heraldwrap call 516.715.1280 reside on, Biltmore Avenue, to or way streets. This means any complaints, the board revealed plans during a Feb. 19 meeting their bus stop every weekday motorist forced to use those streets to tur n around will to submit a petition to the morning. Town of Hempstead requesting “The flow of traffic is terri- encounter other motorists from
By RENEE DeloRENZo
two different directions. That’s why, she said, there’s constant traffic buildup from motorists waiting to make left turns on the busy streets. In addition, she said there is a busy car wash on the corner of Biltmore and Hempstead Turnpike. Customers waiting in line for service also block motorists from making turns
onto the turnpike. The result, she concluded, is hazardous driving conditions involving road blockage and unsafe driving practices, such as motorists reversing their vehicles down side blocks. Bob Barker, president of the civic association, cited the increased traffic from tourism
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