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New year brings new community movie theater By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
Christine Rivera/Herald file photo
Maria Dente and Nick Hudson shared their vision for the future of the Malverne Cinema and Art Center at the annual Lighting of Malverne last month.
On New Year’s Eve, Maria Dente and Nick Hudson had an extra reason to celebrate. At 3 p.m. that day, the pair signed a lease for the Malverne Cinema and Art Center. They picked up the keys to the theater on Jan. 2. “They finally signed the lease,” Malverne Mayor Tim Sullivan said at the Jan. 7 village board meeting. “It’s something that’s beloved for many of us in this village. We couldn’t be happier.” In September 2024, the Malverne Cinema, a village institution on Hempstead Avenue, closed. The theater, which opened in 1947, had been operated by Anne and Henry Stampfel since 1990. The original cinema had a single 700-seat theater, but the Stampfels altered the layout to eventually include five theaters. After a series of temporary closures, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic and the theater’s high operCoNtiNueD oN pAge 9
Meal complaints addressed at school board meeting By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
Representatives from a company that provides meals to the M a l ve r n e S ch o o l D i s t r i c t recently attended a school board meeting to address concerns from parents about the food being served to their children. Complaints from Malverne parents during previous Board of Education meetings ranged from their children being served expired milk, to food that doesn’t taste good or is burnt, or that they received the incorrect meal, and the menu lacked options.
Representatives of Whitsons Culinary Group, a familyowned food service management company, which was founded in Garden City in 1979, attempted to alleviate those concer ns during the Dec. 9 board meeting. Part of the Whitsons family of companies, the culinary group provides schools with fresh, nutritional meals that focus on local sourcing and meeting dietary needs, the company said. “Whitsons is willing to listen to the feedback and move forward in improving the options that students are being presented with on a daily
basis,” Maria Rianna, the school district’s superintendent, said. “We’re happy to do whatever we can to improve the dining program and work with the parents and the students,” Rick Cenicola, Whitsons’ district manager, said. “It’s about balance. There’s a lot of mouths to feed, and it’s difficult to satisfy them all, but we’re here to certainly try.” Whitsons provides meals to more than 1,000 students in the Malverne School District. In a comprehensive presentation during the board meeting, Cenicola detailed the federally funded Child Nutrition
Programs, which sets guidelines Whitsons must follow in feeding the students. Federal nutrition standards for school meals were established in 2010 following the passage of the Healthy, HungerFree Kids Act. Highlights included the introduction of whole g rain foods and the establishment of maximum
and minimum calories based on age group. “That was a lot different than anyone had seen before,” Cenicola said. “That lent a lot of structure to the food service dining program. It gave nutritional and dietary guidelines.” In 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated these CoNtiNueD oN pAge 7