________________ LONG BEACH _______________
HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
VoL. 36 No. 14
Memorial hockey returns Saturday
Meet LBHS’s new principal
Page 3
Page 11
APRIL 3 - 9, 2025
$1.00
Playing pickleball for more than fun Second annual event benefiting breast cancer research sells out By BRENDAN CARPENTER bcarpenter@liherald.com
Danny Gillespie/Herald
Joanne Ameruoso, the organizer of Pickleball for a Cause, and her son, Christian Dano, had a blast on the court at the Long Beach Tennis Center last Friday, while benefiting breast cancer awareness.
Each year in the United States, roughly 240,000 women, and more than 2,000 men, are diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease has hit one local woman’s family hard, and she is doing something about it. Joanne Ameruoso wants to increase awareness of the disease and raise money for research. To do so, she hosted a special night in Long Beach last week, bringing people together with paddles and pickleballs. Ameruoso, 58, of Merrick, hosted the second annual Pickleball for a Cause last Friday at the Long Beach Tennis Center, on Monroe Boulevard, where she once played tennis. She invited anyone and everyone to play, for fun and to support the cause. There was a $40 entrance fee, and the friendly competition was sold out, with about 45 people, ranging from teens to seniors, packing four courts. “It was beautiful,” Ameruoso said. “The community is amazing. They’re so supportive. They have become my ConTinueD on PAge 10
Council reviews infrastructure projects, new funding By ANGELINA ZINGARIELLo azingariello@liherald.com
The Long Beach City Council met on Tuesday to review updates on several ongoing infrastructure projects, discuss new funding opportunities and address other community initiatives. The meeting covered a range of topics, from progress on flood protection efforts to new grants aimed at improving local facilities and supporting future development. Greg Buckley, an engineer with D&B Engineers and Architects, the engineers working on the North Shore Critical Infrastructure Protection Project,
provided an update on the work being done. The main components of the project include bulkhead sheeting installation from the municipal boat launch, at National Boulevard, to the Long Beach Tennis Center, on Monroe Boulevard; stormwater drainage improvements; and the construction of a new pump station on Riverside Boulevard, between Park Place and Water Street. “The players in this project — all the utility companies — we are working to protect all of their infrastructure, as well as the local residents, especially the North Park community,” Buckley said. “That’s the main
W
e’re accepting over $6 million in grants tonight from the state. JoHN BENDo Councilman goal of this project, to provide protection for them.” About 90 percent of the bulkhead work is finished. The remaining areas requiring attention include Monroe Boulevard, the Long Island Rail Road crossing, the area near National Grid’s facility, off
Park Place and Riverside Boulevard, and the Long Beach Boulevard bridge. Delays in these sections stemmed from dif ficulties locating underground utilities, particularly unknown conduits in the LIRR area. To resolve this, pit tests — small excavations to verify the location and condition of buried utilities — were conducted.
Recent results are promising, and discussions with engineers and railroad officials are ongoing to finalize the necessary work schedule. Construction of the pump station, which will be capable of process up to 33 million gallons of stormwater per day, is progressing. The structure is ConTinueD on PAge 13