________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD Reyes home demolition starts
Foodie festival brings the bacon
Stevie Wonder tribute rocks park
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Vol. 27 No. 34
AUGUST 21 - 27, 2025
$1.00
Backpack drive equips students ahead of school By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Courtesy Office of County Legislator Carrié Solages
Volunteers at the Jamaica Square Improvement League’s 5th Annual Backpack Giveaway hold colorful balloons during a tribute to late educator Al Harper, releasing them into the sky in his memory.
The Jamaica Square Improvement League, a civic association that serves Elmont, hosted its sixth annual Backpack Giveaway on Aug. 9, collecting more than 1,100 backpacks to give to Elmont School District students in need. On the day of the event, 549 backpacks were handed out to students, and 120 of the remaining backpacks will be given to the school district to be donated to other students lacking supplies. Claudine Hall, president of the civic association, has spearheaded the event, which takes place at Hendrickson Avenue Park in Elmont, since 2020. This year’s event kicked off at noon with a tribute to the late Al Harper, a longtime educator and leader in the Elmont School District who died on July 28. Volunteers held balloons as Hall shared a few words about Harper’s impact on the community. Hall and the volunteers then ContInued on pAGe 10
Locals bewildered by town supervisor appointment 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 Elmont criticized the Town of Hempstead after the appointment of Nassau Count Legislator John Ferretti as town supervisor on Aug. 5, saying the appointment was undemocratic and left constituents in the dark with no voice. “It’s not fair to the people,” said Charles Billup, an Elmont resident and a retired police officer. “It doesn’t give people a fair chance to voice their opinion.” Ferretti’s appointment came after Supervisor Don Clavin announced that he was step-
ping down during a town hall meeting. Clavin did not explain why he was resigning, but said it had been an “honor and a privilege” to serve. Joseph Cairo Jr., chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee, said in a statement that the appointment “ensures continuity of representation for residents of America’s largest township.” He added that the appointment practice is nothing new in Nassau County, and that both Democrats and Republicans have appointed their successors in the past. Carl Gerrato, a Franklin Square resident who attended
the meeting, recalled an “eruption” of the crowd after Councilman Tom Muscarella proposed appointing Fer retti supervisor. Half of the outburst, Gerrato estimated, was positive, and half was negative. “It’s disingenuous,” he said. “They have no respect for anybody in the Town of Hempstead, in my opinion.” Ferretti said he was notified that he would be nominated to replace Clavin, who announced in April that he would not seek a fourth term as supervisor, a few days before the August meeting. Town code states that in the event the supervisor steps
down, power will be transferred to the deputy supervisor, cur rently Dorothy Goosby. Goosby briefly acted in Clavin’s absence for the executive session of the Aug. 5 meeting before the Town Board nominated and appointed Ferretti. State law allows for the transfer of power on the town level by appointment.
Residents including Billup said the appointment gives Ferretti an advantage against his opponent, Joe Scianablo, in the months leading up to the November election. “Now you have somebody already in there that is acclimated to the job,” Billup said. He questioned why Goosby ContInued on pAGe 15