INCORPORATING THE WEST HEMPSTEAD BEACON VOL. 75 No. 49
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December 4 – 11, 2025
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Don Ryan celebrated by Hempstead village
New biography showcases legacy and impact of coach, teacher, trustee By REINE BETHANY Special to the Herald
Don Ryan, Hempstead’s renowned youth basketball coach, high school teacher, village trustee, and former mayor, will be honored for his contributions to village life at two major events next week. Hempstead’s current Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr., and his administration will stand with Ryan at the juncture of Atlantic and Terrace Avenues on at 1 p.m. Dec. 10. The entire length of Terrace Avenue, where Ryan grew up, will receive the honorary designation of “Hon. Donald L. Ryan Way.” Street signs with the new designation will be added to the avenue signs. The public is invited. In the recreation building of Kennedy Memorial Park, Ryan and his longtime colleague, Mike Hickey, will hold a book launch for Hickey’s new biography of Ryan, “When Basketball Was a Game,” at 4 p.m. on Dec. 11. The book commemorates Ryan’s 60 years as a basketball coach for the Salvation Army youth sports program. The Salvation Army church and gym where he worked is still in operation on Atlantic Avenue. COntinued On Page 5
Courtesy Don Ryan
donald L. Ryan, left, congratulated his 2003 youth basketball team’s Most Valuable Player, 12-year-old Jahi Fields, at a competition in Orlando. Looking on were famed Hempstead High School basketball coach ted adams, and longtime volunteer and team sponsor Marlon Bottoms.
String musicians perform in West Hempstead Community concert fills American Legion hall with classical sounds across the country. A recent fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program, she has earned degrees from the More than 100 community members Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, were entertained during the West Hemp- Pennsylvania, and the New England Conservatory of Music in stead Violin Gemach’s Boston, Massachusetts. fall concert held at the This marked HaraAmerican Legion lampieva’s second perforCathedral Post 1087 on mance in West HempWoodlawn Road last stead, and Alla Bell, a Sunday. chamber musician and Bulgarian-American teacher at the Great Neck violinist Gergana HaraM u s i c C o n s e r vat o r y, lampieva opened the concert with an impact- GERGANA HARALAMpIEvA accompanied her on the piano. ful 40-minute perfor- Violinist Haralampieva, who’s mance. An award-winning musician, Hara- also a music educator, said she’s passionlampieva has performed with ensembles ate about making classical music accessi-
By MADISON GUSLER
mgusler@liherald.com
O
ur mission is to bring world-class classical music directly to Long Island.
ble, which is why she enjoys taking part in community performances. She teaches students in her Commack studio and serves as the director of operations and educational programs at Long Island Chamber Music, or LICM. “Our mission is to bring world-class classical music directly to Long Island,” Haralampieva said. In 2020, Haralampieva and her husband, Eric Huckins, a hor n player,
founded LICM, a nonprofit organization, with the mission to make professional classical music accessible to Long Island audiences. LICM’s professional musicians bring classical music to local communities through concerts and educational programs, partnering with schools, libraries and community groups to foster an understanding of classical music COntinued On Page 6