________ FrANkLIN squAre/eLmoNt _______
D&D club sparks kids’ creativity
Haitian art on display at gallery
library kicks off summer reading
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Vol. 27 No. 27
JUlY 3 - 9, 2025
$1.00
Activists rally for local immigrant workers By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Renee DeLorenzo /Herald
Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University, with Cecilia Martinez as Martinez shared her story of being a former TPS beneficiary during the Stories of Belonging celebration in Brentwood on June 18.
Labor organizers and activists from Elmont and other Long Island neighborhoods rallied for immigrant workers’ rights at the Stories of Belonging celebration, at Sisters of St. Joseph Preparatory School in Brentwood, on June 18. Among the organizations represented were Long Island Jobs with Justice, the Worker Institute at Cornell University, Sisters of St. Joseph, 1199SEIU, the Long Island Federation of Labor and the National TPS Alliance. Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages and Luis Montes Brito, Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez’s chief of staff, were among the attendees who expressed their solidarity with Temporary Protected Status designees. There are currently more than 56,000 TPS beneficiaries on Long Island. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to people from countries experiencing civil unrest or natural disasters. It protects them from deportation and allows them to work legally in the United States. They are also entitled to certain constitutional protections. The TPS designation does not, however, offer a path to citizenship or eligibility for public assistance. Recipients must renew their status annually, a process that includes biometric and work permit renewal fees. Solages, who spoke at the event, said while many in the audience have dedicated their lives to immigrant rights, the Trump administration posed serious threats to TPS holders’ safety. “This is a new fight for civil rights,” he said. “We have seen our progress ConTInUed on Page 2
Cherry Valley Avenue sparks traffic safety concerns By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Re s i d e n t s o f F r a n k l i n Square and nearby towns are concerned about traffic safety near the Cherry Valley Ballfields in West Hempstead. Many neighborhood children ride their bikes along the busy road to the ball fields and the Garden City Community Park. There are no crosswalks or sidewalks leading to the park, and residents said they do not want to wait until an accident happens to address the safety concern. Diane Hanson, a West Hempstead resident whose son,
Michael Hanson, often travels to the park with friends, said she has been trying to address traffic concerns on the dangerous road for over two years. She originally brought the issue to Town Councilman Thomas Muscarella in 2023, who met her on Cherry Valley Avenue to see firsthand her safety concerns. “My son used words like how ‘death-defying’ it is to ride your bike down there,” Hanson said. Michael, a rising senior at H. Frank Carey High School, said the lack of sidewalks has posed safety threats to him and his friends over the years, who nor-
mally travel north on their bikes past the ball field toward the community park. “My friend hit into a fire hydrant while he was riding a bike because it’s so tight over there,” Michael said, explaining that the stretch of road that does have a sidewalk is short and narrow. Michael ag reed with his mother and said he’d like to see the town install a sidewalk, crosswalk, new signage, or a traffic light. Gineta Lotrean, a Franklin Square resident, said she drives down Cherry Valley and has been concerned about traffic safety for years. She always
tells her two sons not to ride their bikes or play near the road because of it. “I see how cars fly by,” Lotrean said, referring to cars travelling south from Rockaway Avenue. “It’s a pretty dangerous area. It’s like a speedway.” In general, Lotrean said the area is not well maintained. There’s broken glass and dog
droppings on the narrow strip of grass that lines the road, making for a hazardous experience trying to find walking space. And, Hanson added, drivers don’t always abide by the existing crosswalk in front of the Stop and Shop on Cherry Valley. In early May, she witnessed ConTInUed on Page 20