________
Franklin square/elmont
_______
HERALD
Be S.M.A.R.T.
Save Money And Reduce Taxes
Get Results. Sign Up Today!
Quincy Velez is an Eagle Scout
Sign up today. It on ly tak Apply online at mptrg es seconds. .com/heraldnote or call 516.715.1266
Page 3 Vol. 27 No. 2
JANUARY 9 - 15, 2025
$1.00
Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Grou p, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Habl
1281265
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
amos Español
What do librarians do all day? Local librarian Mark Shimnoski explains the job By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
Renee DeLorenzo/Herald
Mark Shimnoski, Librarian II at the Franklin Square Public Library, holds one of his favorite childhood books JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”
Mark Shimnoski has been a librarian for over 12 years. After graduating with a master’s degree in library sciences from Queens College, completing both the Suffolk County and Nassau County librarian civil service exams, and working in the Wyandanch Public Library for almost eight years, Shimnoski finally found a home at the Franklin Square Public Library as a Librarian II. But, what exactly does he do all day? According to Shimnoski, quite a lot. “People have the assumption that a librarian just sits and reads a book,” he laughed. But, he said, the most important part of his job is not his love for books or knowing where to find them on the shelves. “Being a librarian is actually an incredibly diverse position. It isn’t just sitting and doing one thing from nine to five.” Shimnoski’s job as a librarian, along with the support of ConTInued on Page 11
DOE program helps businesses reduce energy costs By RENEE DeloRENZo rdelorenzo@liherald.com
The U.S. De par tment of Energy hosted a free online webinar on Dec. 17, detailing its new Onsite Energy Program, which provides small and medium-sized businesses with up to $300,000 in grant funding to improve their energy efficiency. About 40 Long Island business owners — including a solarenergy executive from Elmont — took part in the webinar, which was co-hosted by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, to learn details about the program and how to apply for the funds.
Businesses must meet three requirements to qualify for the program: They must have fewer than 500 employees, less than $100 million in annual gross sales and annual energy costs ranging between $100,000 and $3.5 million. According to the DOE, eligibility requirements can be determined using data from a business’s last completed fiscal year, or the year in which an assessment is undertaken by either a programsponsored assessor or a private entity. Clifton Yin, a senior supply chain deployment manager at the DOE, explained that the de par tment allows three
I
t makes sense. It’s cleaner energy that costs less. It’s a win for Long Islanders. DAlE DAVIDS Owner, 718 Solar options for completing an assessment: the department’s Industrial Training and Assessment Center program, which offers assessments at no cost; Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Partnerships, which provide technical assistance at no
cost; or third-party assessors, which are a mix of state programs and private entities. Assessors’ recommendations, Yin explained, are tailored to a company’s specific needs, and may include roof insulation, rooftop and ground solar units, heat pumps and geothermal systems. The business owner chooses a company
to contract with for the project, with the changes in energy technology and infrastructure intended to reduce energy costs and contribute to a clean-energy economy. In order for business owners to receive federal funding for their projects, they must fund half of the total cost. A busiConTInued on Page 10