Wantagh
WINNER OF
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HERALD
AWARDS
Citizen
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Motorcycle crash on Sunrise Hwy.
Broncos’ fall season in doubt
Panel mulls return of classes
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VOL. 68 NO. 35
AUGUST 27 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
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Councilman leads crackdown on town graffiti By J.D. FREDA jfreda@liherald.com
Courtesy Wantagh Schools
One watery scene Fifth-graders from Wantagh Elementary School enjoyed washing the Wantagh Fire Department’s trucks when they arrived at the car wash on Aug. 22. Story, more photos, Page 3.
In August 2019, Christopher Carini was just months away from being elected the Hempstead town councilman in the 5th Councilmanic District. Carini, 45, a former New York City and Port Authority police officer, was involved in the community as a civilian then, albeit a very proactive one. He was vice president of the Wantagh-Seaford Homeowners Association, and took on a range of issues in his typical energetic fashion. One problem that Carini battled constantly was the defacing of buildings and overpasses in Wantagh and Seaford with graffi-
ti. “[For] over a month now, we’re working on [having] the graffiti on the overpass of Seamans Neck Road [removed], and still have no time frame, because we’re told graffiti removal isn’t a priority,” Carini told the Herald last August. “Between the money we pay in property taxes and for the LIRR, it’s way too much for our community to look like this.” Fast-forward 12 months, and Carini has again taken aim at graffiti vandalism in his area, but this time as an official, rallying a group of civilians and elected colleagues to form the Town of Hempstead’s new Graffiti Watch Task Force. “I was elected as Councilman CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Brooks outlines long haul to economic recovery By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com
It would be difficult to conclude from the volume of traffic and the number of people out and about in Seaford and Wantagh last week that hard economic times may be just around the corner. But reports issued this month by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, County Comptroller Jack Schnirman and County Executive Laura Curran all pointed to a sharp downturn in revenue in the coming year, although they did not all agree on the extent of that downturn or the measures officials would
need to take to address it. Despite those ominous rumblings, both the county’s and NIFA’s credit ratings remained solidly investment-grade — A2/ Stable and Aa1/Stable, respectively — although Fitch Ratings lowered the county’s rating outlook to negative from stable. In its most recent report, Moody’s Investors Service predicted that the county’s significant ability to raise revue would likely offset even serious shortfalls in sales tax — one of the county’s chief sources of income. For residents of Seaford and Wantagh, an attitude of “what, me worry?” when it comes to the
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aising property taxes is a nonstarter — nobody wants that.
STATE SEN. JOHN BROOKS larger issues may seem understandable, with more immediate decisions being made in the coming days and weeks about school attendance, safety and a wider reopening of the economy. And with real estate values remaining high in a market that is red hot, according to local bro-
kers like Laura Dupkin Memisha, of Realty Advisors, and Tony Smith, of SAS Realty, both in Wantagh, families may be feel relatively insulated from the long-term economic effects of the pandemic — for now. “[Housing] inventories are high for the season, and I’m closing properties at an unbelievable rate,” Dupkin Memisha said.
With excellent schools in both Seaford and Wantagh, families eager to move to the area are making offers above original asking prices, sometimes even going to contract having never seen properties in person or been inside. When the pandemic will end is the great variable on which CONTINUED ON PAGE 9