Malverne/West Hempstead Herald 03-05-2026

Tapping Hempstead Lake State Park’s maple trees

By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com

People of all ages gathered at Hempstead Lake Park’s Environmental Education and Resiliency Center last Saturday for the park’s third annual Maple Festival. The interactive educational experience gave visitors a chance to learn about the production of maple syrup and the history of the practice.

“When I moved to Long Island from upstate, I really wanted to showcase that you can get maple syrup from trees in your own backyard and trees at Hempstead Lake State Park,” the park’s director, Kate Gross said. “You can literally make maple syrup with one tree from your own backyard.

“I think one of the coolest things about this event for me,” Gross added, “is watching the kids taste our maple syrup, knowing it came from a tree here in the park.”

The festival featured five activity and educational stations. Families had the opportunity to make maple leaf crafts, including dot art and leaf embroidering, or enjoy a maplethemed book in the storybook corner.

They also got to sample syrup made at the park, and learn about the different grades of maple syrup. A grading system created by the International Maple Syrup Institute is used to determine whether a syrup is Golden, Amber, Dark or Very Dark. The grades have similar flavors, but serve different pur-

Former Hamas hostage speaks at synagogue

By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com

Yosef Chaim Ohana, a former hostage who spent 738 days in Hamas captivity, was the guest speaker at a packed Congregation Anshei Shalom, 472 Hempstead Ave., last Saturday evening, when he shared a harrowing story of survival with the West Hempstead Jewish community.

Ohana attended the special talk with his friend, Daniel Sharabi, who acted as Ohana’s translator and was also present on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Nova Music Festival massacre took place.

EOhana eventually took shelter with several people, all of whom were killed by Hamas militants before they abducted him. Ohana was one of 251 hostages taken that day and held captive in the Gaza strip.

ven in the darkest place, I could still choose to see hope and believe that one day we will be free

YoSEf CHAIM oHANA former hostage of Hamas

The pair had been enjoying the festival with friends when the attack occurred, they said. A former member of the Israel Defense Forces, Ohana helped evacuate those who were wounded in the massacre. Sharabi was also helping wounded when he and Ohana were separated.

During his two years in captivity, Ohana recalled being beaten, tortured, starved, and psychologically abused. He also recalled being held in underground tunnels and being forced by his captors to choose which of his fellow hostages would be injured or killed.

He recalled “the knowledge of how close the end was, just one breath away,” Ohana said through Sharabi.

“The hardest part is the psychological impact of what happens when you’re hungry like that,” Sharabi said, translating for Ohana about his experience of being fed a piece of pita bread each day. “It’s the war inside.” Ohana shared with the audi-

Continued on page 16

NAACP Youth Council honor Black history

By MADISON GUSLER mgusler@liherald.com

To wrap up Black History Month, Lakeview’s NAACP Youth Council celebrated Black history at its the general monthly meeting at the Lakeview Public Library on Feb. 25. Attendees took part in a group discussion about important black figures in history, leaders, and the current day culture creators.

Parker Leary, council president, researched Malcom X after watching the 1992 biographical film “Malcom X” directed by Spike Lee.

“Malcom X was one of the most influential and powerful leaders of the Civil Right Movement,” Leary said. “He quickly became known for his bold speeches and strong belief in Black pride, self-defense, and economic independence.”

“He encouraged African Americans to reclaim their identity, learn their true history, and build strong communities,” Leary continued. “Today, Malcom X is remembered as a fearless leader who challenged American to confront racism directly.”

Club advisor Stuart Oates also encouraged the group to learn more about less well known figures in history, who still created change.

Caleb Crawford presented on Roy Wilkins, a civil rights leader who led the National Association for the Advance -

ment of Colored People for many years and made significant contributions to African American literature. “He worked as a journalist at The Minnesota Daily and became editor of The Appeal, an African American newspaper,” Crawford said. “And after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1923, he became the editor of The Call, another African American newspaper.”

Malia Nembhard researched Mary

Eliza Mahoney. “At a time when African American women were largely excluded from professional spaces, Mahoney became the first black person in the U.S. to earn a professional nursing license,” she said. Nembhard was inspired to learn about Mahoney as she also wants to enter the medical field.

“Beyond her medical roots, she recognized that individual achievements wasn’t enough to change a biased sys -

tem, leading her to co-found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses,” Nembhard said. “By blending medical excellence with civil rights activism, and becoming one of the first women in Boston to vote after the 19th amendment was passed, Mahoney didn’t just practice medicine, she turned it into a more inclusive profession for everybody.”

Michael Nembhard wrote about Earl Lloyd, the first African-American basketball player to play in the NBA. Romelo Waddell dressed up as the singer, songwriter, musician, dancer and actor, Prince, who pioneered the Minneapolis sound and influenced various genres of music.

Oates also researched his own historical figure, Madam C. J. Walker, the first female self-made millionaire in America. Walker made her wealth by developing her own line of cosmetic and hair care products for Black women, which she was inspired to do after suffering from hair loss. “She had to fight through the layers of oppression being black, on top of the layers of oppression being a women,” he said.

The committee ended the conversation by discussing modern Black figures that inspire them, including singers, actors, streamers, directors, and athletes, all of whom are contributing to a wider conversation about race in America.

Maple Festival returns at the state park

poses.

Amber syrup is the most commonly used because of its versatility. Served on pancakes and waffles, it can also be added to salad dressings and sauces, hot cocoa and coffee. Golden syrup is used in maple cream, candy and sugar and drizzled on ice cream. Dark syrup pairs well with roasted and baked vegetables and meats, or with other smoky foods, while the Very Dark variety is used mostly for cooking or baking.

Lighter syrups are made with sap that was tapped from a tree earlier in the maple-sugaring season, while darker syrups are produced from saps extracted later in the season. The park offered attendees samples of Golden syrup.

Sap can be collected from late winter to early spring, when the temperature is below 32 degrees at night and around 40 during the day. “The freeze-thaw cycle is what allows the sap to flow in the tree,”

Nicole Insolia, an environmental educator, explained. Given the necessary conditions, maple syrup is produced largely in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States.

To harvest your own maple syrup, you need a spile, or tap, for the sap to flow through once it is inserted into the tree; an electric drill with a clean bit that is the same size as the spile, to drill an inch or two into the tree; a hammer to secure the spile in the tree; a collection bag or bucket to collect the sap, which is then boil down into syrup.

“The message we’re trying to get across to people is, you just need one tree and a few tools to be able to do this at home,” Insolia said. “But you do need 40 gallons of sap to make just one gallon of syrup.”

Pam Hunter, another environmental educator, described the history of maple sugaring and demonstrated the traditional methods of boiling sap into syrup. Before it was boiled in a kettle over a fire, sap was collected into hollowed-out log troughs and boiled by dropping fire-heated stones into the sap, which evaporated the water.

“They would boil the sap down until it was a block of maple sugar because they didn’t want to travel with syrup,” Hunter said of syrup pioneers. “So they would use the block of sugar and added water to it if they needed syrup.”

Native Americans have been harvesting sap and making maple sugar for at least 400 years, with records dating back to 1609. While syrup’s discovery is unknown, Haudenosaunee legend claims that a chief threw his ax into a maple tree, and when the sun came out the next day, sap flowed from the cut. The chief’s wife used the sap to cook and the meal was extra sweet, so they decided to collect more, and discover the sap’s properties.

“During colonial times, maple sugar actually was cheaper then white sugarcane, which came from the Andes region,” Hunter said. “But now it’s reversed, and maple sugar isn’t used as much.”

Sugaring eventually grew into an

east rockaway’s marta Zielinska learned how to make maple syrup from marc mauritzen, an environmental educator.

industry that has overcome economic, environmental and political challenges to create the product we enjoy to this day.

Beyond the Maple Festival, Hempstead Lake State Park offers public programs during the sugaring season

where attendees have the chance to tap a tree themselves. “It’s cool to have this opportunity in a relatively urban area,” Insolia said.

For more information, the park can be contacted at HempsteadLakeEE@ parks.ny.gov.

CRIME bRIEf

Andrew Dykes defense returns to court

By Madison Gusler mgusler@liherald.com

Andrew Dykes, the Florida man accused of murder in a decades-long cold case, did not return to court for a hearing last Wednesday.

Dykes attorneys, Joseph LoPiccolo and Robert Schalk, represented their client at Nassau County Court on Feb. 25 in front of Judge Tammy Robbins.

In December, Dykes pleaded not guilty to murdering Tanya Denise Jackson at the Nassau County Court House last month. In June 1997, parts of Jackson’s dismembered body were found in Hempstead Lake State Park. Her body was unidentifiable at the time and she was referred to as “Peaches” due to a heart-shaped peach tattoo located on her chest. Officials released Jackson’s identity last April.

In 2011 more of Jackson’s remains, along with the body of an unidentified child, were discovered buried alongside Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach during a search for victims of the Gilgo Beach serial killer. In 2016 DNA evidence linked Peaches to the body of Baby Doe as mother and daughter.

An American Army veteran and former Tennessee state trooper, Dykes is the father of Jackson’s daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes, who was also murdered. Her remains were found near Cedar Beach in 2011. Dykes and Jackson

How Giving Increases Wealth

CRIME

LaRCEny fRoM auto

A man reported that between Jan. 2 at 11:15 p.m. and Jan. 3 at 8 a.m. an unknown person or persons removed the steering wheel, horn, and airbag from his vehicle while parked at 303 Hempstead Ave., West Hempstead.

A man reported that at 1 a.m. on Feb. 11 an unknown person or persons

were not married at the time of the murders. His DNA was found at the crime scene via a vaginal swab on Jackson’s remains. Detectives in Florida tailed Dykes and recovered a discarded straw, which was found to be a match.

The next hearing for the case is set for March 27, during which the district attorney’s office is expected to turn over evidence to the defense.

watCh

removed $200.00 from his vehicle while parked at 1265 Dekoven St., Lakeview.

PEtIt LaRCEny

On Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. a victim reported that an unknown man removed several items from the West Hempstead Stop & Shop at 50 Cherry Valley Ave.

People named in Crime Watch items as having been arrested and charged with violations or crimes are only suspected of committing those acts of which they are accused. They are all presumed to be innocent of those charges until and unless found guilty in a court of law.

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Rogoszinski advocates for women in financial planning community nEWS

By MADISON GUSLER mgusler@liherald.com

Ronit Rogoszinski, a West Hempstead resident and mother of four, was recently elected to the Financial Planning Association of Long Island’s board of directors as the new director of women in finance. The founder of Women+Wealth Solutions in Carle Place, Rogoszinski works closely with women and families navigating major financial life transitions.

managing monies for clients based on the context of their life since then.

I got my B.A. in economics at Queens College and was hired by Citibank to be in a two year management training program. I eventually transitioned over to the investment side, got licensed, insured, and then in 2011 I qualified for the Certified Financial Planners designation.

Q: Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

A: I’ve been in the financial service industry for about 36 years. I opened my own practice, Women+Wealth Solutions, in 2006 and have been actively

Q: What is a Certified Financial Planner?

A: A Certified Financial Planner means you can perform financial planning for clients. You can act as a fiduciary, which means acting on behalf of the client’s interests. It gives you depth of knowledge, as far as money management within the

context of legal and accounting structures, taking in a clients life and helping them manage their money. It’s my job to help the client understand what their financial picture looks like. Then we can rebalance, edit, or continue managing the money to get them where they want to be. If they have long term goals like retirement, college, buying a home, then making sure they understand where their finances stand and what we need to do to accomplish those goals.

Q: How did you become interested in this career path?

A: I’d finished my management training and became a branch manager in Glendale, Queens. I was expecting my first child and I realized the financial advisor at my branch had a more flexible schedule. I was curious to understand more about what he was doing. In order to work on the investment side I resigned from Citibank before I was hired by Citi Corporate Investment Services. I went into the role for the flexibility, but within a day I fell in love with the idea of really being there to guide and service clients from an active money management perspective.

I was there for 18 years before I learned you could be an independent financial advisor. I

really wanted the independence to treat my clients the way I wanted, so I opened my own practice and 20 years later, it’s the best decision I ever made.

Q: What is your mission with Women+Wealth Solutions?

A: I realized over the years many of my clients are women. I have male clients, couples I advise, but women gravitated towards me. I wasn’t offering a different investment vehicle, but the style, approach, and conversations we were having made me more relatable.

I decided to name my practice and put it out there I was helping women, because if that could take away a fraction of hesitation a women might have about coming to the table, that’s what I wanted. We tend to put a lot more barriers on ourselves as women when it comes to talking about money, and anything I can do to do away with some of those barriers, I want to do.

Q: What is the Financial Planning Association of Long Island?

A: The FPA of LI looks to be an advocate for the industry and the financial role of a CFP. They provide continuing education classes, because CFPs have to go through 30 hours of continuing education every two years. The FPA provides accred-

ited classes for all CFPs.

In 2011 when I got my accreditation the FPA reached out and asked if I wanted to join.

The FPA also does pro bono work for the community. So if individuals don’t have the ability to pay for a financial plan they can get some guidance. For example, I consult with women who are going through divorce.

The FPA gives us CFP’s the opportunity to network and connect with other professionals doing similar work. There’s a camaraderie within the group and we help each other.

Q: How does it feel being elected to the board as director of women in finance?

A: It’s my first time serving on the board. I’ve realized there’s not enough women in the industry and I think those of us that are, and have been in this industry as long as I have, need to be much more visible and vocal in order to attract younger women to this industry.

For me, this is a real privilege. There’s a lot of experienced women in this group with years of knowledge. If we can work to continue to grow, support each other, and learn from one another, I think we can really open this industry to more young women. Anything we can do to promote more knowledge is something we should be doing.

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celebrating women’s history month

The physical therapist with a mission to serve

By HAILEY FULMER hfulmer@liherald.com

Emilian Emeagwali has built a life rooted in service, driven by a deep, generational commitment to uplifting and supporting the community around her.

Born and raised in Onitsha, Nigeria, Emeagwali, 60, emigrated to the United States in 1992, where she faced a dramatic change of lifestyle. In Nigeria, she had been surrounded by support, with help raising a baby girl and managing her daily responsibilities. “Everybody was helping with the baby,” she said. “I was like a queen.”

In America there was no such support system, leaving her to adjust to life with just her husband and their daughter, and to take on a variety of responsibilities herself, from child care to cooking and cleaning.

Determined to adapt, Emeagwali immersed herself in American culture. She spent time watching movies, listening to the news and reading books to better understand her new environment. Even everyday things like food and weather required adjustment.

After moving from Nigeria, Emeagwali received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brooklyn College. In 2003 she enrolled at Stony Brook University, where she earned a doctorate degree in physical therapy. Balancing school and family life proved difficult, because she was commuting 50 miles from Elmont and now caring for two children.

Despite these challenges, Emeagwali remained focused on her goal of helping others. After finishing her degree, she was motivated to continue her education by a desire to make an impact.

Her psychology classes helped her understand how to approach and connect with people, but she ultimately felt she could make a greater difference through physical therapy. While working as a therapist’s assistant in hospital settings, she became dissatisfied with the fastpaced environment, in which she often treated multiple patients in a short period of time.

Wanting to provide more personalized care, Emeagwali decided to open her own practice. In 2007 she founded State of the Art PT OT, a clinic in Valley Stream that has now been serving patients for nearly two decades. Her approach centers on treating people with the same care and attention she would give her own family.

That philosophy, she said, stems from her upbringing. As a child, she watched her parents give money to people in need, ensuring that they had food to eat. That instilled in her a lasting commitment to helping others and giving back.

“That is how I was raised,” she said. “I think that was embedded in me when growing up.”

In 2009, Emeagwali expanded that mission by founding the nonprofit Giving Back to Community Corp., headquartered in Valley Stream. The organization, which is funded by fundraisers and donations, focuses on providing food, educational resources and other support to underserved people in surrounding communities as well as in Nigeria.

Whether through her clinic or her nonprofit work, Emeagwali’s impact extends far beyond individual patients, strengthening entire communities and carrying forward the values that first inspired her to give back.

At South Nassau, a steady hand in cardiac care

By ABIGAIL GRIECO agrieco@liherald.com

As director of noninvasive cardiology at Mount Sinai South Nassau, Dr. Pilar Stevens-Haynes has built a career centered on precision, compassion and the belief that medicine can be both life-saving and lifechanging.

That sense of connection is what ultimately steered her toward cardiology. Born and raised in the Elmont/ Valley Stream area, Stevens-Haynes discovered her love of science in high school, drawn to biology and fascinated by a senior-year anatomy and physiology elective.

Though she once envisioned herself as a surgeon, clinical rotations changed her mind. “I thought I would just love surgery,” she said. “But I actually found I loved speaking to patients. In surgery, your patients are unconscious.”

Instead she chose a field that allows her to combine long-term patient relationships with moments of dramatic intervention. While many areas of internal medicine focus on managing chronic illness, StevensHaynes noted that cardiology allows physicians to intervene in acute, life-threatening situations — heart attacks, heart failure or dangerous arrhythmias — and dramatically improve outcomes.

“In cardiology, you can treat someone and sometimes give them back the life they had before,” she said. “I find true joy in taking care of people over time and watching them heal.”

A graduate of SUNY Geneseo, Stevens-Haynes completed her medical training in the Mount Sinai system before joining South Nassau over a decade ago. Her current role centers on cardiac imaging, from

electrocardiograms and echocardiograms to multiple forms of stress testing. Four days a week she oversees the lab, ensuring that the facility meets national accreditation standards.

“The lab has to do what it says it’s going to do,” Stevens-Haynes said. “We have to perform the studies accurately and meet the standards that are set.”

Patient care remains central to her. “I’ve got the best

of both worlds,” she said. “I get to practice medicine, but I also get to do a little bit of curative medicine.”

Throughout her career, she has also navigated the realities of being one of few women — and often the only woman of color — in the room. “You have to get very comfortable by being the one and only,” StevensHaynes said. Early on, she admitted, she was “very, very quiet and shy,” hesitant to draw attention to herself. Over time, however, she came to recognize the importance of representation.

“Patients will say how wonderful it is to see women physicians and to see people that look like them take care of them,” she said. “They trust me because I look like me.”

Mentorship has become one of the most meaningful aspects of Steven-Haynes’s work. She recalled sitting down with a tearful young physician who worried that starting a family would jeopardize her medical career. Stevens-Haynes encouraged her to do both. That physician is now a cardiology fellow.

“It’s important that women know they can have grand professional goals and personal goals — and achieve them,” she said.

Stevens-Haynes credits academic medicine with offering flexibility that has allowed her to balance professional growth with family life. She and her husband, Hector Luna, are raising four children in Baldwin. She remains driven by the passion that first led her into medicine, and by her belief that physicians can build meaningful careers without sacrificing the aspects of life that matter most.

“Even if it feels overwhelming or like an all-boys club, you can find your niche anywhere,” she said. “Chase your dreams. You don’t have to sacrifice.”

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Submit a nomination of approximately 100 words or less describing the student’s leadership in promoting sustainability: What motivates them? What impact have they had?

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An invisible threat in Long Island’s waters

Researchers study acidification and its potential effects on the future of oysters and clams

By ABIGAIL GRIECO, WILL SHEELINE & JOSEPH D’ALESSANDRO of the Herald Community Newspapers

Third installment in a series about water.

For generations, the waters surrounding Long Island have defined its identity — from the wide-open waterfronts of the South Shore to the shellfish beds of the North Shore. But beneath the surface, a quieter transformation is underway.

Ocean acidification is often called climate change’s “evil twin,” and refers to the lowering of the water’s pH, the scale used to measure the concentration of hydrogen ions in the water. While global warming refers to rising temperatures, acidification describes a shift in seawater chemistry.

The science begins with carbon dioxide. As levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase — predominantly from the burning of fossil fuels — the ocean absorbs roughly 25 to 30 percent of it. When carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, making the water more acidic, and lowering its pH.

farmers — industries that have experienced both revival and setbacks in recent decades — these chemical changes aren’t just theoretical. They are measurable, seasonal and, increasingly, part of daily operations.

The ‘evil twin’ of climate change

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a nonprofit advocacy organization in New York and Connecticut, describes ocean acidification as a hidden but mounting crisis for Long Island’s waters — one intensified by warming temperatures, nitrogen pollution and poor circulation in local bays.

“It’s commonly understood that roughly a third of all carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere are absorbed by the marine environment,” Esposito said. That absorption increases acidity levels in bays, estuaries and the open ocean.

The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning that even a small numerical drop represents a significant shift in chemistry. The ocean is naturally slightly alkaline, but since the Industrial Revolution, average ocean surface pH has dropped by about 0.1 units — roughly a 30 percent increase in acidity. That shift reduces the availability of carbonate ions, the building blocks shellfish such as oysters and clams need to form their calcium carbonate shells.

Ryan Wallace, assistant professor of environmental science at Adelphi University, explained that these acidity levels are not evenly distributed.

On Long Island, acidification is not driven by global carbon emissions alone. Local factors intensify the problem. Nitrogen discharged from wastewater, septic systems and fertilizer runoff flows into bays and harbors, fueling harmful algal blooms. When those blooms die and decompose, the process consumes oxygen and releases additional carbon dioxide in the water, further lowering pH.

The result is a compounding effect: global atmospheric carbon dioxide combined with local nitrogen pollution accelerates acidification in shallow, enclosed estuaries.

Warming waters add another layer of stress. As temperatures rise, marine organisms’ metabolic demands increase, but warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen. Together, warming and acidification can weaken shellfish during their most vulnerable larval stages, making it harder for them to survive and build shells.

For Long Island’s oyster and clam

Some bays and harbors on the North Shore are measured at 450 parts per million, close to the ideal level of roughly 300 ppm, while others, particularly in the western portion of Long Island Sound, measured as high as 2,000 ppm.

Wallace emphasized that while these may not sound like huge differences, even minor changes in CO2 levels can have a drastic impact.

“To put it into perspective, over the last 800,000 years or so, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was only about 300” parts per million, Wallace explained. “Two thousand is a lot more than that, so when you get to concentrations that are that high, this can have implications for, you know, organisms that are living in these ecosystems.”

While the data reflect a global pattern, the consequences are being felt at the regional level as well. As Esposito noted, Long Island’s problems do not exist in isolation.

“It’s being exacerbated by an increase in temperature of the waterways and more nutrient runoff, such as nitrogen, going into waterways,” she said. “All of that causes unfortunate degradation to our water bodies.”

While algae is an important part of a healthy ecosystem, excess nitrogen can fuel algal blooms that, when they die off, consume oxygen and further stress marine life — compounding the chemical impacts of acidification with biological ones.

In the South Shore’s Western Bays, limited water circulation compounds the problem. Research by Stony Brook

University has shown that it can take up to 180 days for water to fully flush out through an inlet into the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, Esposito said, the water “sloshes back and forth” before eventually reaching the ocean, trapping heat and pollutants in the process.

Coastal areas such as the western portion of the Sound are especially vulnerable because of limited circulation. Wallace stressed that scientists differentiate between open-ocean acidification and coastal-ocean acidification because of the unique challenges those areas face.

In Hempstead Harbor, the issue of acidification has been a focus for local environmental organizations for decades. The Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor was formed in 1986 to address a range of environmental issues facing the area, including acidification.

Michelle Lapinel McAllister, the coalition’s programs director, explained that pH monitoring is one of the core services that the nonprofit provides for the harbor. Measuring occurs yearround, with particular emphasis from May to October, when the harbor, in

common with other waterways, sees annual spikes in nitrogen levels.

“Each season we will see periods of low dissolved oxygen, and whenever dissolved oxygen gets low, then we’ll see pH drop as well,” Lapinel McAllister said. “That will typically happen around the hottest part of the year.”

Another complication is the fact that enclosed waters respond more quickly to environmental stressors than the open ocean, meaning local ecosystems can feel the impacts sooner and more intensely.

“The more stagnant the water body is, the more these acidity levels build up,” Esposito said. “The more the temperature builds up, the more damage the increase in acidity levels can do.”

She described three primary consequences of ocean acidification: “reduced water quality, the impact on shellfish and finfish and the degradation of the overall habitat due to low oxygen.”

Shellfish such as oysters and clams struggle to build and maintain their shells in more acidic conditions, while

Rising acidity, rising stakes for coastal shellfish

Continued from PreViouS PAGe

finfish larvae have lower survival rates — threatening both the ecosystem and the region’s maritime economy.

“Acidification actually reduces the availability of carbonate ions that are needed for these organisms to build their shells, so that’s a major issue,” Wallace said. “Like shellfish aquaculture, it can impact fisheries, and then there’s this cascading effect that can influence things like recreational activities and tourism.”

This is especially relevant because shellfish play an important role in regulating nitrogen levels. An adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, depending on size and environmental conditions, while a clam can filter roughly half that.

Across Long Island, and across the country, local environmental organizations and governments are throwing their support behind shellfish hatcheries and protection programs, including the towns of Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Babylon. Lapinel McAllister explained that while these efforts serve an important role in safeguarding healthy ecosystems, they can’t singlehandedly save marine ecosystems.

“On their own, shellfish can’t improve the water quality to healthy levels,” she said, “but having a good, healthy, strong population is going to be part of that overall puzzle of maintaining the stability of pH over long term.”

While local efforts to restore wetlands, upgrade sewage-treatment plants and rebuild shellfish populations are making progress, Esposito said the root cause remains global. “The main culprit of ocean acidification is the burning of fossil fuels,” she said. “The only thing we can do is support more renewable energy so that we’re not pouring more carbon dioxide into the waterways.”

The wet work of marine scientists

Across Long Island, scientists are working together to find ways to improve the quality of local waters. A leading solution is all-organic: Restoring local populations of filter-feeders could, with careful management, bear the brunt of decontamination efforts.

The Flax Pond Marine Laboratory, in Old Field, is nestled in the marshes of the North Shore, overlooking the Long Island Sound. This laboratory is a research hatchery, working toward “improving local coastal water quality and replenishing natural shellfish populations,” according to its shellfish restoration manager, Peter Martin.

The facility’s current focus is the Ribbed Mussel Bioextraction Project, in which staff test what growth strategies lead to the healthiest shellfish that could be reintroduced to coastal waters to rejuvenate them.

“There’s a lot of coastal communities and little inlets and even out-of-use small pockets of water that are just polluted and are in need of cleaner water,” Martin said. “Fundamentally … shellfish are natural filters. All they do is filter feed, so they’re cleaning the water as they grow.”’

“One of the big pollutants that we’re focused on is nitrogen removal,” hatchery Research Specialist Ashley Lopez said. “Shellfish take in the bad form of nitrogen, process it in their body, and they still expel some nitrogen, but it’s a safe and more bioavailable kind of nitrogen.”

The ribbed mussel program is exploring new methods of shellfish cultivation; according to Lopez, there is no consensus in the field about growing large amounts of these shellfish. In their nascence, ribbed mussels have delicate health — a larva is as small as a grain of sand. The Citizens Campaign for the Environment staff regularly sterilize equipment and filter externally sourced seawater to minimize diseases and infections from plankton and bacteria.

The researchers grow eight different varieties of algae to feed adult ribbed mussels, which are kept in temperature-stabilized basins. This conditioning pro-

nonprofits like the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor play a vital role in the fight against acidification. Staff members such as michelle Lapinel mcAllister, right, programs director, and Carol diPaolo, water-monitoring coordinator, track pH levels and coordinate a shellfish restoration program to keep the harbor healthy.

Acidification, by the numbers

■ 30 percent of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean.

■ From 2008 to 2017, fossil fuel burning and land use changes were responsible for 40 billion tons of emissions per year.

■ Surface waters are 30 percent more acidic than their pre-industrial levels.

■ While the ocean on average has seen a 0.06 decrease in pH units, meaning increasing acidity, since 1985, the Long Island Sound has seen a decrease of 0.04 per decade, according to UConn Marine Sciences.

■ In the past 25 years, the $6 billion clamming industry has seen a 93 percent reduction in harvests, according to the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation.

■ More than 12,000 acres of Long Island waterways have been closed to shellfishing due to algal blooms, according to the Suffolk County Health Department.

■ 76 percent of the nitrogen in the waters off Long Island — home to 40 percent of the state’s population — comes from faulty septic systems.

cess is meant to “ripen the gonads” of the mussels and help them reproduce as effectively as possible, according to Martin.

“What we’re doing is trying to find out the best way

to grow a lot of them from birth on and have them actually survive,” Lopez said. “And the starting point, we think, is the feeding regimens that we’re giving them. So that’s why we’re doing different diets — to see what kind of spawn they produce and see how the larvae survive after that.”

“This two-year project is Phase Two of a larger project,” Martin added. “Phase One was from ’23 to ’25. Each phase is getting further and further, doing more to figure out the best way to grow these things.”

In addition to ribbed mussel cultivation, CCE staff are involved with other restoration efforts, including a Community Aquaculture Restoration and Education program, in which scientists partner with community volunteers to sow “spat-on-shell” oysters into local estuaries, from which larvae will grow and mature into underwater custodians.

The Flax Pond hatchery works with groups ranging from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and Stony Brook University to the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. It is one ecological collective of many working toward improving the quality of local waters from the east end of Long Island to the shores of Nassau County.

Setting course for a healthier future

Even as Long Island’s waterways face the threat of rising acidification, the experts emphasize that all is not lost. Thanks to the efforts of the Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor and other environmental groups, the region’s waters have bounced back from near-toxic levels of acidity, not to mention numerous pollutionrelated threats of the 1980s.

According to Wallace, the efforts of scientists and local volunteers, from the South Shore to coastal Connecticut, to monitor and address these issues have already made an impact.

“There’s been a lot of positives,” he said, “but we can’t stop there. There’s more work to be done.”

HERALD SchoolS

Readers go for the gold at the Book-lympics

Students at Malverne’s Davison Avenue Intermediate School are going for the gold in reading as part of a Book-lympics program that combines literature, global learning and friendly competition.

Beginning Feb. 9, classes launched the Book-lympics by exploring books across four genres: Folktale, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction and Fantasy. Each day, students read three books within a specific genre and work together to evaluate and rank them, awarding bronze, silver and gold medals based on thoughtful discussion and reflection.

As they make their selections, students consider guiding questions such as: What makes this book exciting or engaging? How do the books compare to one another? Would you read it again? Would you recommend it to a friend? The winning titles are proudly displayed on a podium at the end of each day, allowing the school community to see which books have earned top honors.

Adding to the excitement, classrooms have embraced a global theme, with each class representing a different country. Classroom doors have been transformed into vibrant displays that highlight the culture and identity of their chosen nation. Students posed proudly in front of the decorated doors, celebrating both their classroom “country” and their love of reading.

The Davison Avenue Book-lympics not only encourages students to think critically about literature, but also fosters collaboration, creativity and a deeper appreciation for diverse stories and cultures from around the world.

–Madison Gusler

Jack Brennan and

Harewood, and

n Bjelland and Alisha Admiettre.

School BriEFS

Avenue Student Council members showcase their new “Free Little Library,” a student-led project that encourages classmates to take a book or share one of their own.

Students open a Free Little Library

Students at Davison Avenue Intermediate School have created a new “Free Little Library” to promote literacy and community. The library was designed to give students the opportunity to take a book or share one with others.

The project was led by the Davison Avenue Student Council and brought to life by Head Custodian Mr. Valone, who constructed the library using

recycled materials. An old easel was creatively repurposed to serve as the library’s roof, highlighting the school’s commitment to sustainability.

The “Free Little Library” is located outside the Davison Avenue cafeteria and is already serving as a welcoming space for students to discover new books and foster a love of reading.

–Madison Gusler

Malverne High School junior Lillian Motherwell, center, was selected to have artwork displayed at the prestigious “Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum” art exhibition.

MHS student selected for art exhibition

Malverne High School junior Lillian Motherwell was selected to have her artwork featured in the prestigious “Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum” exhibition.

Lillian’s piece was one of 84 works chosen by a juried panel of artists from more than 400 submissions by

students across Long Island. Her artwork will be on display at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington from March 29 through May 3. This distinguished honor highlights Lillian’s exceptional talent, creativity and dedication to her craft.

–Madison Gusler

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New ICE office in Woodbury sparks concerns

By ROKSANA AMID ramid@liherald.com

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is renting office space in Woodbury for what could be dozens of agency attorneys, a move that is drawing concern from immigration advocates and prompting calls for transparency from local officials.

Last month, ICE began leasing offices in a four-story building at 88 Froehlich Farm Blvd., according to Craig J. Padover, president of the Hauppaugebased Aresco Management, which owns the property. The space, Padover said, is being used for legal offices, but he did not confirm the size or extent of the lease, nor could he verify how many ICE attorneys would ultimately work there.

He added that the space would not be used to house detained immigrants.

The expansion comes as controversy intensifies over President Trump’s deportation campaign. ICE received nearly $80 billion in funding through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed last July, increasing the number of agents from roughly 10,000 to 22,000 this year, making it the largest-funded federal law enforcement agency.

ICE already maintains a presence at the federal courthouse in Central Islip and at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, where detained migrants are housed. Agents covering

Long Island are based primarily in New York City offices.

“One of the most important things to remember is that the Department of Homeland Security and [Secretary] Kristi Noem has not been transparent about what’s going on,” Sylvia LivitsAyass, a partner at Livits Ayass Baskin PLLC and the immigration chair of the Nassau County Bar Association, said.

In Central Islip, marked and unmarked vans have been seen near district courts. Attorneys from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor represent the Department of Homeland Secu-

rity in immigration-removal proceedings, and can facilitate warrants and enforcement actions.

“My guess is that there will be a ramp-up in ICE presence in Nassau and Suffolk, and they’re probably going to try and facilitate these enforcement actions through warrants and by supporting these operations,” Livits-Ayass said, emphasizing that that remains speculation.

She explained that there are different types of warrants. An administrative warrant is not reviewed by a federal judge, and is often signed by an ICE offi-

cer or agency official. A judicial warrant, by contrast, must be signed by a U.S. District Court judge and typically identifies the court, the name and birth date of the subject of the warrant, and the address to be searched.

“Just because they have a warrant doesn’t mean they can go wherever they want,” Livits-Ayass said.

Because immigration court for downstate New York is at Federal Plaza in Manhattan, she added, the Woodbury lease is surprising. She suggested that it could signal expanded enforcement operations, but also noted that it could simply be cost-effective for ICE to house its attorneys on Long Island. “The bottom line is we don’t know,” she said, “because they’re not telling anybody.”

In a letter to Noem, Rep. Tom Suozzi wrote that he was “seeking transparency,” and asked if the lease was accurate and how ICE has engaged with local governments.

In a statement to the Herald, Suozzi wrote, “Expanding deportation operations in safe communities creates fear and undermines trust in local enforcement, and would be a bad policy. Our focus should be on removing dangerous criminals while protecting families who contribute to our local economy and way of life.”

ICE offices in New York City did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment.

STEP RIGHT UP

Ringling reinvents the Big Top

By Abbey Salvemini

Get ready to cheer, dance and gasp — the legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is back, and it’s dazzling audiences in ways few could have imagined. The self-proclaimed “Greatest Show on Earth” has been boldly reimagined for a new generation, bringing a high-voltage spectacle to UBS Arena from March 6 through March 8.

This is not the circus of decades past. Gone are the traditional three rings and animal acts; in their place is a fast-paced, immersive experience that blends worldclass acrobatics, cutting-edge choreography, live music and vibrant storytelling. The arena transforms into a colorful celebration that feels as much like a concert and dance party as a circus performance.

The energy begins the moment everyone walks through the doors. An interactive pre-show sets the tone, introducing audiences to the dynamic Ringling Hype Crew — a lively cast of dancers and performers who invite everyone to move, clap and join in the fun. Before the first aerialist soars or the first stunt takes flight, the crowd is already part of the action.

At its heart are the performers.

• Friday March 6, 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.

• Tickets start at $39.35, $20 kids tickets for all performances; available at ticketmaster.com

• UBS Arena, 2400 Hempstead Tpke., Elmont

The 65-person cast, representing 17 countries, is a truly international ensemble that fuses time-honored circus traditions with bold, contemporary feats. Among the most buzzed-about moments is the crisscross trapeze act, in which elite aerialists launch themselves along intersecting flight paths, slicing through the air in breathtaking near-misses that leave audiences holding their collective breath.

The stars of this new incarnation of circus include 33-year-old trapeze artist Miles Postlethwait. He grew up in Florida, attending Ringling shows (and Disney on Ice). Caught up in the spectacle, he in love with trapeze at age 10. A trapeze performer for 10 years (six professionally), he landed at Ringling in November.

Recalling his early circus memories: “I remember going to see Ringling Bros when I was very young. Honestly, what I remember most was the toys (specifically the dragon sword) and the cotton candy. But my mom tells me I was enamored with the acrobats.”

That fascination stuck, leading him to his tour “home” and what’s now billed as “The Greatest Party On Earth,” according to the Ringling mantra.

“Who wouldn’t want to be a part of The Greatest Show On Earth? I saw the previous tour multiple times and loved the show. It’s nonstop fun because you’re part of the show the whole time, interacting with other performers and the audience,” Postlethwait says.

The vibe is fueled by today’s cultural influences — reimagined through the lens of pop culture, concerts and festivals.

Back to the aforementioned trapeze stunt, he points out that the crisscross rig is unique and requires intense precision, but years of training make the nearmisses almost instinctive.

“It keeps me on my toes, and the crowd’s reaction

STEPPING OUT

Photos courtesy Feld Entertainment

A 150-year tradition leaps into the future as the reimagined spectacle delivers fresh thrills, bold artistry and gravity-defying feats that redefine the modern circus.

is incredible.”

The thrills keep on coming. Other highlights include the Double Wheel of Destiny, in which four daredevils leap and jump rope on spinning wheels. A Chinese acrobatic bicycle act, created exclusively for Ringling, features gravity-defying human pyramids and fearless athleticism, with one acrobat running across the backs of nine moving bike riders. Salsa Colombia, a fiery dance and acrobatics troupe, brings the energy of Latin rhythms to the arena floor. And audiences are fascinated by Cam, a content creator and unicycle rider, who stacks up to 25 wheels towering nearly 35 feet high. Also watch out for Bailey the Robo Pup, a high-tech canine character and PT (Party Time), Ringling’s first-ever hype character, who keeps the crowd engaged and amplifies the celebratory atmosphere.

Giant LED screens and cameras capture acrobats from impossible angles, giving every seat the feel of front-row access.

Music powers the show. A DJ spins everything from hip-hop to Latin beats, driving the action from start to finish, with beat drops, live drumming and dance battles.

Those in the audience are not just spectators — they’re all in. Kids are drawn into onstage interactions, while the LED screens highlight stunts from content creator Cam, adding an extra layer of excitement. From split-second trapeze timing to jaw-dropping acrobatics, the spectacle keeps everyone on the edge of their seats while leaving lasting memories for all involved. The result is a full-on celebration with a festival-style energy that transforms classic circus elements.

Postlethwait sums it up simply: “It’s a super fun, energetic party. Families come and say everybody had a blast. It’s a show where kids aren’t just watching — they’re a part of the action.”

Perhaps most importantly, according to Postlethwait, the spectacle inspires young audiences to dream big.

“I hope they see that anything is possible. Circus acts show that humans’ limits go so much further than we think.”

Whether you’re in it for the stunts, the music or the interactive fun, this version of “The Greatest Show On Earth” promises something for everyone. Experience firsthand why Ringling Bros. has thrilled audiences for generations — now with a fresh, modern twist that makes the circus feel entirely new.

Jessie’s Girl

Drag out that neon once again and give your hair its best ‘80s ‘do. Those crazy days are back — as only Jessie’s Girl can pull off, on the Paramount stage. The band of NYC’s top rock/pop musicians and singers gets everyone into that “Back To The Eighties” vibe with the latest edition of their popular concert experience. With a lineup including four pop-rock vocalists dressing and performing as 80s icons, backed by a dynamic band, this is the definitive ‘80s experience. Jessie’s Girl’s primary line-up includes a team of NYC’s top rock and pop vocalists: Jenna O’Gara, Jerome Bell-Bastien, and Mark Rinzel. They are backed by one of the tightest bands in the city comprised of 20+ year veterans of the NYC music scene, each with dozens of credits performing with authentic ‘80s icons who made the music famous to begin with! Their motto: There’s no decade like the Eighties and no party like Back To The Eighties with Jessie’s Girl.

Friday, March 6, 8 p.m. The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or paramountny.com.

South Shore Symphony welcomes Jane Monheit

With a voice radiating warmth, refinement and emotional depth, jazz vocalist Jane Monheit brings her celebrated interpretations of Great American Songbook classics to the Madison Theatre in a special collaboration with the South Shore Symphony Orchestra. Renowned for breathing fresh life into beloved standards, she headlines an unforgettable afternoon, blending the intimacy of jazz with the grandeur of full orchestral sound. Under the baton of Music Director Adam Glaser, the South Shore Symphony accompanies her in a series of orchestral arrangements that highlight both her vocal artistry and the timeless beauty of these enduring songs. The program also offers audiences a more intimate jazz club feel, with Monheit backed by a trio, including Glaser on piano, for several selections.

Sunday, March 8, 3 p.m. Molloy University campus, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre. Tickets available at madisontheatreny.org or (516) 323-4444.

Your Neighborhood CALENDAR

mar

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Molloy University’s CAP21 Musical Theatre students tackle Shakespeare. The Bard’s beloved comedy is a magical tale that explores the irrationality of love, desire, friendship, jealousy and magic. When the mortal worlds of four young lovers and a bungling group of amateur actors collide with a feuding fairy kingdom in a mystical forest on a midsummer eve, romantic misadventures ensue, causing chaos that only a bit of fairy magic can sort out.

• Where: Madison Theatre, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre

• Time: 8 p.m.; also March 7, 2 and 8 p.m.; March 8, 3 p.m.

• Contact: madisontheatreny.org or (516) 323-4444

Malverne High School

musical

The Malverne High School Theater Department welcomes all to experience “Chicago: Teen Edition.”

• Where: Howard T. Herber Auditorium 75 Ocean Ave., Malverne

• Time: 7 p.m., also 2 and 7 p.m. on March 7

• Contact: malverneschools.org

Family theater

Long Island Children’s Museum stages “Pete the Cat,” the charming musical based on the book series by Kimberly and James Dean. Life is certainly an adventure for Pete, no matter where he winds up. So the minute the groovy blue cat meets The Biddles, he gets the whole family rocking. That is, except for young Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on planet Earth. But when Jimmy draws a blank in art class during the last week of school, it turns out Pete is the perfect pal to help him out. Together, they set out on a mission to help Jimmy conquer second grade art, and along the way, they both learn a little something new about inspiration. $11 with museum admission ($9 members), $15 theater only.

• Where: 11 Davis Ave., Garden City

• Time: 10:15 a.m. and noon; also March 7, March 11-12

• Contact: licm.org or call (516) 224-5800

Belly Dancing workshop

Feel the energy as you enjoy this fun class at Lakeview Public Library. Perfect for everyone, no matter your mar

Celtic Woman

The Grammy-nominated global sensation returns to the stage with their highly anticipated new tour, Celtic Woman — A New Era. Featuring the mesmerizing talents of Mairéad Carlin, Muirgen O’Mahony, Ciara Ní Mhurchú, and the dynamic new addition Caitríona Sherlock, this production fuses the ensemble’s signature ethereal harmonies with innovative orchestrations, captivating stagecraft, and a contemporary energy that honors Ireland’s rich musical and cultural legacy while embracing Celtic Woman’s ongoing evolution. Audiences will be transported on a spellbinding journey through Irish music, from timeless classics to stirring original compositions. The evening promises breathtaking vocal performances, intricate instrumental mastery, and the rhythmic grace of traditional Irish dance. Accompanied by a full ensemble, the performers bring to life Celtic staples — including the bagpipe, bodhrán, tin whistles, and Uilleann pipes — creating a lush and immersive soundscape that resonates with both tradition and modernity. From evocative Irish ballads and contemporary favorites to classical masterpieces and fresh original songs, their tour celebrates the vibrancy of modern Ireland while paying tribute to centuries of musical heritage. It is a concert experience that blends elegance, passion, and cultural storytelling, offering audiences an unforgettable evening of artistry, energy and enchantment. mar

• Where: The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington

• Time: 8 p.m.

• Contact: ticketmaster.com or paramountny.com

stage have filled the rafters of Lincoln Center and Dublin’s National Concert Hall in Ireland. His talent and versatility allow him to deliver a variety of songs directly to the audience’s hearts; Andy is surely one of the best on the Irish music scene today. The New York Times christened him “Irish America’s Favorite Son,” a title he richly deserves! $40, $35 seniors.

• Where: 700 Hempstead Tpke., Elmont

• Time: 2:30 p.m.

• Contact: PlazaTheatrical.com or call (516) 599-6870

jun

St. Patrick’s Day scone workshop

Join Melinda from “Them’s the Breaks Chocolate & More” for a traditional Irish Scone preparation at Malverne Public Library. Make three kinds of scones, also sample each variety including cranberry walnut, lemon blueberry, and traditional raisin. $5 fee.

• Where: 61 St. Thomas Place, Malverne

• Time: 1:30-3 p.m.

• Contact: malvernelibrary.org or (516) 599-0750

experience level. Wear clothing that allows movement and bring water. Open to adults and teens. $5 fee for non-Lakeview residents. Register in advance.

• Where: 1120 Woodfield Road, Lakeview

• Time: 9 a.m.

• Contact: lakeviewlibrary.org or (516) 536-3071

Professional Championship Bull Riders

Buckle up — ’cause you ain’t seen nothin’ like this before. The PCB has been a full-throttle tour de force: a mano-a-toro showdown where the toughest cowboys on the planet face off against the rankest bulls in the game. May the boldest rider win. And it’s not just the cowboys. Watch the cowgirls blaze through barrel racing, showcasing speed, agility and sheer determination in a race for the fastest times.

• Where: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale

• Time: 7 p.m.

• Contact: ticketmaster.com

Climate Change: How To Help Our Planet

Long Island Children’s Museum welcomes families with kids

ages 6-10 to explore how climate change impacts our environment and learn ways both scientists and families can help protect it. These workshops are part of a scientific study surrounding climate education.

• Where: 11 Davis Ave., Garden City

• Time: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m.

• Contact: licm.org or (516) 2245800

Larson Legacy Concert

Acclaimed composer and 2025 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient Dylan MarcAurele performs at Adelphi University Performing Arts Center continuing Adelphi’s tradition of showcasing emerging talents in musical theater.

MarcAurele, recognized for his innovative contributions to the genre, performs selections from his current projects, including the critically acclaimed musical “Pop Off, Michelangelo!” that recently enjoyed a successful London run. His concert is a cabaret-style showcase of music from past and future productions (including his upcoming parody musical “Heated Rivalry” that sold out performances in a matter of hours). Joining him are Taylor Fagins, Mateo Chavez Lewis, and Yael Rizowy.

• Where: Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave., Garden City

• Time: 3 p.m.

• Contact: adelphi.edu/pac or (516) 877-4000

Jane Monheit in concert

8Internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist

Jane Monheit joins the South Shore Symphony for their next concert. Monheit’s signature warm, expressive sound enhances the lush orchestral arrangements. Known for her elegant interpretations of jazz standards and contemporary classics, she brings her rich vocals to the symphonic stage for a performance that blends jazz sophistication with the power of a full orchestra.

• Where: 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre

• Time: 3 p.m.

• Contact: madisontheatreny.org or (516) 323-4444

Andy Cooney’s Irish Celebration

Plaza Theatrical welcomes sensational vocalist Andy Cooney to its stage at Elmont Memorial Library His outstanding voice and dynamic

West Hempstead BOE budget session

The West Hempstead Board of Education holds its first meeting to discuss the district budget.

• Where: West Hempstead Secondary School, 400 Nassau Blvd., West Hempstead

• Time: 7:30 p.m.

Malverne BOE meets

The Malverne Board of Education holds its monthly session.

• Where: Malverne Performing Arts Center, 80 Ocean Ave., Malverne

• Time: 8 p.m.

Having an event?

Items on the Calendar page are listed free of charge. The Herald welcomes listings of upcoming events, community meetings and items of public interest. All submissions should include date, time and location of the event, cost, and a contact name and phone number. Submissions can be emailed to kbloom@ liherald.com.

Public Notices

LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE OF VILLAGE TREASURER’S SALE FOR TAX LIENS ON REAL PROPERTY IN THE INC. VILLAGE OF MALVERNE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE

That pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Real Property Tax Law and the Village Law of the State of New York and pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Malverne, Nassau County, New York adopted at a meeting held on the 4th day of February, 2026 the undersigned as Treasurer of said Village will sell at public auction in the manner prescribed by law, on the 12th day of March, 2026 at 11:00 o’clock in the forenoon of that day and on succeeding days, in the Courtroom of the Village Hall, 99 Church Street, Malverne, New York, as much of each of the following parcels of real estate upon which Village taxes remain unpaid as will be sufficient to discharge the taxes, interest and charges thereon which may be due at the time of such sale. Such real estate will be sold subject to any unpaid assessment thereon levied by said Village and any unpaid lien purchased and held by said Village, and all liens on property included in this sale and sold subject to the provisions of the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. Each purchaser at such tax sale shall pay the amount of his/her bid to the Village Treasurer within ten (10) days after the sale, and upon such payment the Treasurer shall give the purchaser a certificate in writing describing the real property purchase and the sum paid therefore. THE NAME(S) OF THE OWNER(S) SHOWN ON THIS LIST MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE THE NAME(S) OF THE PERSON(S) OWNING THE PROPERTY AT THE TIME OF THIS ADVERTISMENT. SUCH NAME(S) HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM THE 2025/2026 ASSESSMENT ROLLS AND MAY DIFFER FROM THE NAMES OF THE OWNERS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

The following is a list of lots, pieces, and parcels of real estate to be sold and the total amount of taxes, interest, and charges thereon.

Incorporated

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU LAKEVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC, Plaintiff AGAINST KEVIN D. WILLIAMS, TERRELL STALEY, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered July 28, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the North Side steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on March 31, 2026 at 2:00 PM, premises known as 274 Coventry Road, West Hempstead, NY 11552. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being at Lakeview in the Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of New York, Section 35 Block 514 and Lot 17. Approximate amount of judgment

$672,939.98 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #604974/2023. For sale information, please visit Auction.com at www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832. Scott H. Sille r, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 23-001125 88888 158547

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Annual Organization Meeting of the Inc. Village of Malverne will be held on April 8, 2026, at 7:30 PM at Malverne Village Hall, 99 Church Street, Malverne, NY. At that time the first Wednesday of each month will be designated for holding the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees at 7:30 PM, and the third Thursday following the Regular meeting of the Board, will be designated for the Architectural Review Board meeting at 7:30 PM. Prior to the meetings there will be Work and Executive

Sessions beginning at 6:30 pm. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Inc. Village of Malverne Jill Valli, Village Clerk Dated: March 5, 2026 158677

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the Public Hearing to discuss the tentative budget for fiscal year June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027 will be held on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM at Malverne Village Hall, 99 Church Street, Malverne, New York. All interested persons will be heard at the above-mentioned time and place. A copy of the tentative budget will be available at the Office of the Village Clerk and at www.malvernevillage.g ov. TAKE FURTHER

NOTICE that the tentative budget provides that the maximum compensation to each member of the Board of Trustees from all sources is as follows:

Mayor $14,500; Trustees (4) $11,000 each.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to present oral and written comments at said Public Hearing.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Inc. Village of Malverne Jill Valli, Village Clerk Dated: March 6, 2026 158678

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the final assessment rolls of the Inc. Village of Malverne for this fiscal year June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027 will be available for inspection at the Malverne Village Hall, 99 Church Street, Malverne, NY during regular business hours and at www.malvernevillage.o rg starting April 1, 2026.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Inc. Village of Malverne Jill Valli, Village Clerk Dated: March 5, 2026 158679

Town of Hempstead Local Law No. 22-2026, and following the close of the hearing the Town Board duly adopted Town of Hempstead Local Law No. 22-2026, to amend Section 197-5 of the Code of the Town of Hempstead, to include “ARTERIAL STOPS” at various locations.

Dated: February 24, 2026

Hempstead, New York BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD

JOHN FERRETTI

Supervisor

KATE MURRAY Town Clerk 158649

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD

LOCAL LAW NO. 232026

Road, Malverne, NY 11565. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Incorporated Village of Malverne, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau, State of New York, Section 38 Block 118 Lot 8, 9, 10 & 11. Approximate amount of judgment $817,202.98 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 600336/2020. Foreclosure auction will be held “Rain or Shine”.

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF ARCHITECTURAL & SITE PLAN REVIEW BOARD HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE BOARD OF ARCHITECTURAL & SITE PLAN REVIEW of the Inc. Village of Malverne will hold a PUBLIC HEARING at the Malverne Village Hall, 99 Church Street, Malverne, New York 11565 on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7:30 pm to hear the following cases: Claude & Fred Limprevil 67 McIntosh Ct.; Residential “A” District Building Permit Application #2025-0839

Proposes to construct conversion of 263 sq. ft. existing garage to living space; new 43 sq. ft. footprint rear two story addition; new 551 sq. ft. second story addition over existing first floor and former garage with three fixture bath; and new front entry concrete ramp. All interested parties

should appear at the above time and place. The Architectural & Site Plan Review Board Meeting will be preceded by a work session of the Board of Trustees. BY ORDER OF THE MALVERNE BOARD OF TRUSTEES INC. VILLAGE OF MALVERNE Jill Valli, Village Clerk Dated: February 25, 2026 158676

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD LOCAL LAW NO. 22-2026 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to Article 9 of the New York State Constitution, the provisions of the Town Law and the Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York, both as amended, a public hearing was duly called and held on the 24th day of February 2026, by the Town Board of the Town of Hempstead, on the proposed adoption of

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to the N.Y. Constitution Article 9, N.Y. Town Law, and N.Y. Municipal Home Rule Law, as amended, the Hempstead Town Board called and held a public hearing on the 24th day of February, 2026, regarding the proposed adoption of Town of Hempstead Local Law No. 23-2026, and following the close of the hearing the Town Board duly adopted Local Law No. 23 -2026, to enact Chapter 153 of the Hempstead Town Code to be entitled “Cat and Dog Litter Registry”.

Dated: Hempstead, New York

February 24, 2026 BY ORDER OF THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD

JOHN R. FERRETTI

Supervisor

KATE MURRAY Town Clerk 158562

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NASSAU DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., Plaintiff AGAINST Frank J. Gombocs a/k/a Frank Gombocs; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered March 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the North Side Steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on April 9,2026, at 2:00PM, premises known as 72 Cedar

Robert Aiello, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792

Dated: February 10, 2026 158690

LEGAL NOTICE CASE NO.7179 RESOLUTION NO. 2502026

Adopted: February 24, 2026

Councilmember Goosby offered the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION DETERMINING PARCELS BENEFITED BY CONSTRUCTION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF SIDEWALK AREA IN; BALDWIN, BELLMORE, BETHPAGE, EAST MEADOW, ELMONT, FRANKLIN SQUARE, INWOOD, ISLAND PARK, LEVITTOWN, MERRICK, NORTH BALDWIN, NORTH BELLMORE, OCEANSIDE, ROCKVILLE CENTRE, ROOSEVELT, SEAFORD, SOUTH HEMPSTEAD, UNIONDALE, WANTAGH, WEST HEMPSTEAD, WOODMERE IN THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, NASSAU COUNTY, NY, ADOPTING PROPOSED ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR THE COST THEREOF AND CALLING A PUBLIC HEARING THEREON. WHEREAS, pursuant to the following Resolutions adopted by the Town Board: TOWN BOARD RESOLUTIONS DATE 7179 2/21/2017 267-2021 2/23/2021 693-2022 5/24/2022 508 4/25/2023

6365 4/9/2024

992-2024 9/17/2024

Public Notices

151-2025 2/25/2025

814-2025 8/5/2025 NOTICE WAS GIVEN TO ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS DIRECTING THEM TO CONSTRUCT OR RECONSTRUCT SIDEWALK AREA ON : AMBROSE CT, BABYLON TPKE, BALDWIN AVE, BARBARA ST, BAY FRONT DR, BONNIE DR, BROADWAY, CARNATION AVE, CHALADAY LN, CHESTNUT LN, CLEARMEADOW DR, COLONY ST, COLUMBUS AVE, CONDOR RD, COOLIDGE AVE, COURT ST, COURTNEY LN, DALE PL, DAY ST, E ROOSEVELT AVE, EASTERN PKWY, EVELYN AVE, EVERS LN, FARM LN, FENWORTH BLVD, GRAND AVE, GUN LN, HAMILTON AVE, HAMPTON RD, HANCOCK ST, HENRY ST, HOPATCONG AVE, HOWARD PL, HUDSON AVE, IVANHOE DR, IVY CT W, JEFFERSON ST, KINGSTON AVE, LAKEVIEW RD, LAUREL AVE, LINCOLN BLVD, LINCOLN ST, LINKS DR W, LYDIA PL, MANOR PKWY, MARILYN DR, MARJORIE LN, MATTITUCK AVE, MCDONALD AVE, MEADOW LN, MEADOW RD, MERRICK AVE, MERRICK RD, MILBURN AVE, MONACO AVE, MONROE ST, N JERUSALEM RD, NORTHERN PKWY, ORIOLE AVE, OWL PL, PAMLICO AVE, PARK AVE, PARKER AVE, QUARRY LN, REMSEN ST, ROCKWOOD AVE, ROOSEVELT ST, ROYAL AVE, SCHREIBER PL, SKILLMAN AVE, SPRAGUE AVE, SPRUCEWOOD DR, STEPHEN ST, SUNSHINE AVE, SURREY LN, WADLEIGH AVE, WAUKENA AVE, WAVERLY AVE, WESTMINSTER RD, WILLIAM PL, WOLCOTT RD, WOLFSON DR, WOOD PARK DR

WHEREAS, the owner(s) who were so notified had failed to construct or reconstruct sidewalk area as required by such Notice and the Town Board has caused said sidewalks to be constructed or reconstructed; and WHEREAS, such construction or reconstruction was completed by the Town at the Total cost of $148,883.11 and which sum includes appropriate administrative fees, which amount has been paid by the Town of Hempstead, pursuant to resolution adopted by the Town Board, subject to assessment against

the property benefited thereby pursuant to Chapter 181 (Part 1) Code of the Town of Hempstead, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the actual and completed cost of the construction and reconstruction of sidewalk area on the property hereinabove be assessed against the parcels benefited thereby pursuant to Chapter 181 (Part 1) Code of the Town of Hempstead, is hereby determined to be $148,883.11 and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the parcel(s) listed in the assessment roll be attached hereto and made a part hereof under the heading “PARCELS BENEFITED” are the lots and parcels especially benefited by the said improvements as they appear on the Nassau County Land and Tax Map; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the assessment roll attached hereto is hereby made a part hereof and shall constitute the completed assessment roll for such improvements under Chapter 181 (Part 1), Code of the Town of Hempstead and that the figures under the heading of “ASSESSMENT” on the same line with the said lot designations, is the amount assessed against said lots or parcels and that under the headline “PAID”, and the Receiver of Taxes shall indicate the parcels of land for which assessments shall not have been paid before the return thereof to the Supervisor and that such assessment roll be forthwith filed with the Town Clerk; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the assessment hereunder may be paid in one installment without penalty or interest, or at the option of the payer, in five (5) annual installments with interest thereon, if the benefit is in excess of $100.00; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Board meet at the Town Board Room (Pavilion) of the Town Hall on March 10, 2026, at 10:30 o’clock in the forenoon of that day to hear and consider any objections which may be made to said assessment roll; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk publish at least once not less than ten (10) or more than

twenty (20) days before the time above specified, for said meeting in a newspaper published within the Town of Hempstead, a notice that said Assessment roll has been completed and that at the time and place above specified the Town Board will meet and hear to consider any objections which may be made thereto.

The foregoing resolution was seconded by Councilmember Dunne, Sr. And adopted upon roll call as follows:

AYES: SIX (6)

NOES: NONE (0)

NOTICE OF COMPLETION OF ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF SIDEWALK AREA ON:

AMBROSE CT, BABYLON TPKE, BALDWIN AVE, BARBARA ST, BAY FRONT DR, BONNIE DR, BROADWAY, CARNATION AVE, CHALADAY LN, CHESTNUT LN, CLEARMEADOW DR, COLONY ST, COLUMBUS AVE, CONDOR RD, COOLIDGE AVE, COURT ST, COURTNEY LN, DALE PL, DAY ST, E ROOSEVELT AVE, EASTERN PKWY, EVELYN AVE, EVERS LN, FARM LN, FENWORTH BLVD, GRAND AVE, GUN LN, HAMILTON AVE, HAMPTON RD, HANCOCK ST, HENRY ST, HOPATCONG AVE, HOWARD PL, HUDSON AVE, IVANHOE DR, IVY CT W, JEFFERSON ST, KINGSTON AVE, LAKEVIEW RD, LAUREL AVE, LINCOLN BLVD, LINCOLN ST, LINKS DR W, LYDIA PL, MANOR PKWY, MARILYN DR, MARJORIE LN, MATTITUCK AVE, MCDONALD AVE, MEADOW LN, MEADOW RD, MERRICK AVE, MERRICK RD, MILBURN AVE, MONACO AVE, MONROE ST, N JERUSALEM RD, NORTHERN PKWY, ORIOLE AVE, OWL PL, PAMLICO AVE, PARK AVE, PARKER AVE, QUARRY LN, REMSEN ST, ROCKWOOD AVE, ROOSEVELT ST, ROYAL AVE, SCHREIBER PL, SKILLMAN AVE, SPRAGUE AVE, SPRUCEWOOD DR, STEPHEN ST, SUNSHINE AVE, SURREY LN, WADLEIGH AVE, WAUKENA AVE, WAVERLY AVE, WESTMINSTER RD, WILLIAM PL, WOLCOTT RD, WOLFSON DR, WOOD PARK DR In the TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK,

and of meeting to hear and consider objections thereto.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 181 (Part 1) CODE OF THE TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD, the Town Board of the Town of Hempstead has prepared and filed with the Town Clerk of said Town, the completed assessment roll for the construction or reconstruction of sidewalk area on: AMBROSE CT, BABYLON TPKE, BALDWIN AVE, BARBARA ST, BAY FRONT DR, BONNIE DR, BROADWAY, CARNATION AVE, CHALADAY LN, CHESTNUT LN, CLEARMEADOW DR, COLONY ST, COLUMBUS AVE, CONDOR RD, COOLIDGE AVE, COURT ST, COURTNEY LN, DALE PL, DAY ST, E ROOSEVELT AVE, EASTERN PKWY, EVELYN AVE, EVERS LN, FARM LN, FENWORTH BLVD, GRAND AVE, GUN LN, HAMILTON AVE, HAMPTON RD, HANCOCK ST, HENRY ST, HOPATCONG AVE, HOWARD PL, HUDSON AVE, IVANHOE DR, IVY CT W, JEFFERSON ST, KINGSTON AVE, LAKEVIEW RD, LAUREL AVE, LINCOLN BLVD, LINCOLN ST, LINKS DR W, LYDIA PL, MANOR PKWY, MARILYN DR, MARJORIE LN, MATTITUCK AVE, MCDONALD AVE, MEADOW LN, MEADOW RD, MERRICK AVE, MERRICK RD, MILBURN AVE, MONACO AVE, MONROE ST, N JERUSALEM RD, NORTHERN PKWY, ORIOLE AVE, OWL PL, PAMLICO AVE, PARK AVE, PARKER AVE, QUARRY LN, REMSEN ST, ROCKWOOD AVE, ROOSEVELT ST, ROYAL AVE, SCHREIBER PL, SKILLMAN AVE, SPRAGUE AVE, SPRUCEWOOD DR, STEPHEN ST, SUNSHINE AVE, SURREY LN, WADLEIGH AVE, WAUKENA AVE, WAVERLY AVE, WESTMINSTER RD, WILLIAM PL, WOLCOTT RD, WOLFSON DR, WOOD PARK DR OF HEMPSTEAD, NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK, and PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that on March 10, 2026, the Town Board will meet at the Board Room of the Town Hall Pavilion, Hempstead, New York at 10:30 o’clock to hear and consider any objections which may be made to said assessment roll.

DATE : February 24,

Former hostage shares a message of peace and love

Continued from page 1

ence the three tools he relied on to survive. “Peace, love and sympathy helped me to stay strong,” Ohana said through Sharabi.

“Even in the darkest place, I could still choose to see hope and believe that one day we will be free,” Ohana added. “That belief was a compass, giving me not just the will to survive but to think about the future.”

Those who attended last Saturday’s special program at Congregation Anshei Shalom said they held out hope that Ohana would one day be released.

“I prayed for him everyday,” Sergey Kadinsky, a West Hempstead resident, said. “I never thought I’d see him in West Hempstead.”

Ohana was set free on Oct. 13, 2025, on Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of the Jewish holiday Sukkot. Ohana was one of the final 20 living hostages returned to Israel as part of an agreement to end the war with Hamas. Before he spoke, a video of Ohana reuniting with his father was played.

“For two years, all of us, and Jewish people around the world, carried names on our shoulders, engraved in our hearts, our minds,” Rabbi Elon Soniker, of Congregation Anshei Shalom, said. “The names of hostages, soldiers, the names of the fallen. We all felt the relief, the happiness, this past Hoshana Rabbah, when clips emerged from Israel of families reuniting after two years being a hostage.”

Ohana told the audience that he greatly appreciated all the prayers and support that they had shown him and the other hostages.

“The knowledge that a lot of people, the Jewish people around the world,

2026

they remember me, they love me, and everything they’ve done for me,” Ohana said. “For me to be here today and to see that, thank you,” he told the audience, remarking that without the continued action of the global Jewish community calling for the release of the hostages, he may not have been freed.

In addition to Congregation Anshei Shalom, also sponsoring the free event were Stand With Us, Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park, Chabad of West Hempstead, Young Israel of West Hempstead, and Bais Torah U’Tefilah of West Hempstead.

In the future, Ohana said he would continue sharing his experience with the public.

Public Notices

Hempstead, New York

John Ferretti Supervisor Town of Hempstead 158651

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT NASSAU COUNTY U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR VELOCITY COMMERCIAL CAPITAL LOAN TRUST 2023-1, Plaintiff against NYCT PROPERTIES LLC; VISHWANAUTH RAMCHARAN; KAVIA SMITH, et al

Defendant(s) Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Stern & Eisenberg, P.C., 20 Commerce Drive, Suite 230, Cranford, NJ 07016 and 1131

Route 55, Suite 1, Lagrangeville, NY 12540. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered January 14, 2026, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at North Side Steps of the Nassau County Supreme Court at 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY 11501 on April 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM. Premises known as 70 Wolf Avenue, Malverne, NY 11565-1544. Sec 35 Block 234 Lot 1-2. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Incorporated Village of Malverne, Town of Hempstead, County of Nassau and State of

New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $617,115.49 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 613196/2024. During the COVID-19 health emergency, Bidders are required to comply with all governmental health requirements in effect at the time of the sale including but not limited to wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet apart) during the auction, while tendering deposit and at any subsequent closing. Should a bidder fail to comply, the Referee may refuse to accept any bid, cancel the closing and

hold the bidder in default. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale. If proper social distancing cannot be maintained or there are other health or safety concerns, then the Court Appointed Referee shall cancel the foreclosure auction. Foreclosure Auctions will be held “Rain or Shine.”

Sean C. Acosta, Esq., Referee File # NY202300000510-1 158688

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PRINTING PRESS OPERATORS FT & PT. Long Island Herald has IMMEDIATE openings for Printing Press Operators in Garden City. We are a busy print shop looking for motivated and reliable individuals to assist in various duties in the shop. Hours vary, so flexibility is key. Salary Ranges from $20 per hour to $30 per hour. Email resumes or contact info to careers@liherald.com

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Hudson Steals the Show

Taking a contractor to court

Q. We are suing our contractor and need some advice. A year ago, we finished our second-floor addon and first-floor kitchen and rear family room remodel by opening up walls to join them. Everything seemed fine until it rained the first time. The windows began to leak at the bottom, and then around the tops and sides. Our new sliding glass door did the same. The basement flooded, and we are not in a flood area. Then the air-conditioning company said somebody disconnected the ducts, and when we opened the ceilings, more water poured down. The house is now filled with mold, which we clean with bleach where we can get to it, but we couldn’t move out and have two small children under age 4.

Although we have many questions and hired an attorney, we’re wondering whether we should hire an architect to go over all the problems and identify them, with remedies, or hire one of the contractors who said they could fix the problems, or wait until the lawsuit is finished to make it possible for a jury to see the damage. The job architect, whom we never met, has now had their license revoked for the next two years, but we wouldn’t go to them, anyway.

A. Ugh! This is more common than you would think. It starts with not having the architect working for you and instead working for the contractor. I can guess that the contractor was contacted first, and you hired them to get their architect and provide plans. That was your first mistake.

Next, people are lazy, expecting that anyone they hire knows all the best techniques to build and knows all the rules, codes and laws. That was mistake number two. Even though you hire people, you should have gone over critical details, especially about waterproofing and structural techniques on the plans, to make sure that the building owner looks for those steps to be carried out. You, the building owner, I always say, are the “eyes and ears” on the job, since the architect often isn’t there at critical times, when waterproofing membranes and materials are joined.

Mistake number three was not doing a water test with a garden hose when the finish siding, windows roofing, etc., had been applied. Simulating rain by pointing a hose skyward so that the water cascades down — not a direct fire-hose hit — tells you right away if something is failing.

You’re going to need a licensed expert — an architect or an engineer — to work with your attorney. Document everything with videos during simulated or storm events to show the water coming in and whatever other failures, such as leaking and disconnected air ducts, and hire people who can do the job correctly as soon as you can. You need to have a healthy home for your family, and a lawsuit could take years while you possibly get sick from the mold and the chlorine you’re breathing. Good luck!

© 2026 Monte Leeper

Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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The Town of Hempstead needs a checkup

Like members of many families in the Town of Hempstead, I sit at my kitchen table and look at the same numbers you do. Mortgage. Property taxes. Utilities. Groceries. Gas. Insurance.

Everything costs more than it did a year ago. When you’re stretching every dollar just to keep up, the least you should expect from your local government is straight answers about where your tax money is going.

That’s why I formally requested that the New York state comptroller conduct an independent audit of the Town of Hempstead’s finances.

The comptroller’s office exists to provide independent, professional oversight of municipal finances. That kind of objective review strengthens public confidence and protects taxpayers. When questions arise, independent verification reassures everyone. The last publicly available audit on the town’s website is from 2019. Since then, leadership has changed. Budgets have shifted. Taxes have gone up. Financial decisions have been made that directly affect residents across the town.

Article XII, section 1205 of the Nassau County Charter makes it clear: “It shall be the duty of the county Department of Public Works as a county charge to remove snow as rapidly as may be from all county highways and county roads within or without any city or village.”

So too does Chapter 67, Section 3 of Hempstead Town Code:

“The Superintendent of Highways shall be responsible for the removal of snow from any and all specified areas, together with all Town parking fields, and shall have the right, subject to the approval of and financing by the Town Board, to hire personnel for such purposes and to provide for the supervision of such personnel.”

The directives are clear and straightforward, but as we know all too well in a hyper-partisan age of government, their execution is not always that simple.

After the Jan. 24-25 winter storm dumped nearly a foot of snow, sleet and

Yet updated, audited financial statements are not readily accessible to the public.

Earlier this year, the town acknowledged in a public filing that its audited financial statements for fiscal year 2024 weren’t submitted on time. Officials said that a third-party firm had missed the deadline. But accountability ultimately rests with the town.

IAn audit isn’t just a stack of paperwork; it’s the public’s window into how their government manages their money. It tells taxpayers whether finances are stable, whether spending is sustainable, and whether today’s decisions will become tomorrow’s tax increases. Without clear, timely audits, residents are left guessing, and guesswork is no substitute for accountability.

account. Reserve funds are meant to provide stability during true emergencies or unexpected downturns. Just like a family’s savings, that money is there for when something goes wrong.

When that savings account is tapped, residents deserve to understand why, how much was spent, and what the long-term plan is to replenish it. If savings aren’t rebuilt, the pressure often shows up later as higher taxes, layoffs, or reduced services.

’ve requested that the state conduct an independent audit of the town’s finances.

Last year the town approved a 12 percent tax increase. By the end of the year, officials boasted that they would deliver an 18 percent reduction. But many residents say they didn’t feel meaningful relief. Some homeowners, particularly those outside incorporated villages, are reporting higher 2026 town tax bills. When the government says one thing but families experience another, confidence erodes.

The town has also drawn from its reserve funds — essentially its savings

That’s why transparency matters now, not years from now.

I’ve spoken with neighbors who attended budget hearings, hoping for straightforward answers, only to leave more confused than when they arrived. I’ve heard from residents who submitted Freedom of Information requests and received extension after extension, delaying answers they’re still waiting for. I’ve watched financial questions at Town Board meetings get redirected instead of answered directly.

Taken together, these concerns point to a simple conclusion: the need for clarity. An audit isn’t an attack. It’s a checkup. If everything is being managed properly, an independent audit will confirm that. If adjustments are needed, better to identify them now, before small con-

The politics of snow removal

ice on our region, I took to the roads of Legislative District 3, and saw a significant difference in how Town of Hempstead roads were plowed. Take a look at the videos on my social media pages and you’ll see how Franklin Square’s roads were cleared more promptly than comparable residential roads in Elmont.

IThese communities pay taxes to the same township for the same services. Their roads aren’t used just by Democrats or Republicans — they’re roads everybody relies on. So why was there such a noticeable disparity in services?

the same county as other areas that were better served. Democrats and Republicans use this road and rely on the sidewalks to cross the overpass. What, then, is the common thread?

n a hyperpartisan era of government, the execution isn’t always that simple.

Then there is the Woodfield Road overpass on the Southern State Parkway, an essential county road serving the communities of Lakeview and West Hempstead. Five days after the storm, an adjoining sidewalk remained untouched, forcing pedestrians to walk in the heavily traveled main road. With icy conditions directly adjoining, people were taking their lives in their hands every time they walked this path.

Again, Lakeview and West Hempstead taxpayers send their payments to

cerns become larger financial burdens for families already feeling squeezed.

I’m a Marine combat veteran. I later served as an NYPD officer and as a prosecutor. In each of those roles, accountability wasn’t optional; it was the foundation of trust. You follow the rules, meet deadlines, answer for your decisions. Government should operate by those same principles.

The same applies to the town animal shelter, a taxpayer-funded service that recently closed. Residents deserve clear explanations about decisions that affect services and tax dollars alike.

Families are working hard to stay in the Town of Hempstead. Seniors are trying to remain in the homes they’ve owned for decades. Young couples are wondering if they can afford to own a home and raise a family.

I know what matters to my family. Stability. Honesty. Affordability. Like you, we sit at the kitchen table and plan for the future. We count every dollar. We shouldn’t have to worry about surprises from Town Hall, because when every dollar matters at home, it should matter in government.

At the end of the day, this is about whether the people who built this community can afford to stay in it. That’s what I care about, and that’s what I’m fighting for.

Joseph Scianablo is the Democratic candidate for Town of Hempstead supervisor.

Snow removal should never be political, but in this case I can’t overlook the fact that the areas in District 3 that seemed to be neglected are bases of Democratic registration — and the areas that were cleared faster are in areas of traditional Republican strength. At present, the Hempstead Town Board is controlled by a 6-1 Republican supermajority, and county government is dominated by County Executive Bruce Blakeman, whose hyper-partisan approach to governance is well documented.

Faced with urgent needs, I felt there was no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I used my social media platforms to call out the Town of Hempstead’s inaction, communicate with constituents to identify trouble areas, and demand an equitable, prompt response from the town. In Lakeview, with traffic control assistance from the auxiliary

police, I joined a group of volunteers in clearing the Woodfield Road walkway. Public shame seemed to do the trick in this case: The following day, Blakeman dispatched County DPW resources to Woodfield Road at long last, and they cleared the sidewalk.

Let me be clear: I don’t fault the hardworking men and women at the town and county DPWs who toiled day and night to clear the snow after that first major winter storm. Their efforts were deeply appreciated, and their hard work must not go unnoticed. I just wish that, for residents in every corner of our town, there were more thorough preparation so that those workers could be better deployed by their superiors and the elected officials who are ultimately responsible for results.

We are in a La Niña cycle, and that means bitter cold and significant snow will likely be with us for the remainder of this winter season. It is incumbent on all of us to apply the lessons we learned during the January storm to achieve better results for all of Nassau County’s communities — and to take the politics out of the delivery of this most basic and essential service.

Carrié Solages represents Nassau County’s 3rd Legislative District.

Incorporating:

Malverne Community Times 1964-1994

West Hempstead Beacon 1950-2020 Madison Gusler Senior Reporter

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Sunshine week keeps democracy in the light

eHERALD

very March we observe Sunshine Week, a national initiative dedicated to one of democracy’s most powerful disinfectants: light. This year, Sunshine Week will be celebrated March 15 to 21, anchored by Freedom of Information Day on March 16, the birthday of James Madison. The timing is symbolic and significant. Sunshine Week reminds us that open government is not a luxury. It is a necessity.

Launched in 2005 and rooted in the pioneering 1972 Colorado Sunshine Act, Sunshine Week was created to raise awareness of the public’s right to know. At its core is a simple but profound idea: Democracy works best when the people can see what their government is doing. Transparency is not about satisfying curiosity, it’s about accountability, trust and ensuring that power remains where it belongs: with the citizens.

Sunshine Week’s foundation is the principle that government records and proceedings belong to the public. Taxpayer dollars fund government operations; therefore, the public has both a legal and moral right to understand how decisions are made and how money is spent.

Freedom of Information laws at the federal and state levels give citizens access to public documents, from village board minutes to federal agency communications. But these laws are only as strong as the public’s willingness to use them. Like muscles, transparency laws weaken without exercise. When citizens

stop requesting records, attending meetings and asking questions, secrecy grows stronger.

Open meetings and public records are not bureaucratic technicalities; they are the mechanisms that keep democracy breathing. Transparency reveals how taxpayers’ money is spent, how contracts are awarded and how policies are shaped. It enables watchdog groups, journalists and everyday citizens to trace decisions from proposal to outcome.

Without openness, the risk of waste, fraud and abuse increases. History repeatedly shows that secrecy breeds complacency and, at times, corruption. Open government, by contrast, ensures that decisions must withstand scrutiny. It does not weaken institutions — it strengthens them. Sunshine Week underscores a critical truth: When the public can see the process, officials are more likely to act responsibly.

In times of crisis — economic downturns, national security challenges or public health emergencies — secrecy often expands. Officials may argue that swift action requires less oversight. While emergencies can justify temporary discretion, they must never become permanent excuses for opacity.

Democracy demands vigilance. Sunshine Week serves as an annual reminder that transparency must be defended, especially when it feels inconvenient. Freedom of information cannot be indefinitely sidelined without eroding public trust.

Supporting Sunshine Week means protecting democracy itself. Openness prevents the concentration of unchecked power and ensures that elected officials remain responsive to citizens rather than to special interests.

Transparency helps parents question school board policies, residents examine zoning proposals and taxpayers track infrastructure spending. It provides communities with the tools to advocate for fair and effective governance.

It also allows us, as journalists, to do our jobs. We rely on open-records laws to uncover stories about misuse of funds, conflicts of interest and public safety failures. It’s why studies show that the presence of a local newspaper in a community mitigates waste, fraud and abuse.

Public trust in government is fragile. One of the most effective ways to build and sustain that trust is through transparency. When agencies proactively release information and conduct business in public view, suspicion diminishes.

Transparency does not guarantee agreement. Citizens, and government officials, may still debate policies and priorities. But openness fosters understanding, and understanding is the bedrock of trust.

So this Sunshine Week, take a moment to reflect on the importance of open meetings and public records. And vow to step up whenever someone tries to turn off the light of transparency.

It’s ‘the power of the state against the people of the nation’

To the Editor:

Re Peter King’s column, “There are better ways to resolve the immigration crisis,” in the Feb. 12-18 issue: Immigration is a problem, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement exemplifies the real, much larger crisis. Immigration is a longstanding issue, and many “better ways” have been proposed over the past 30 years, as Mr. King knows. In fact, one such proposal was on track for bipartisan approval last year until President Trump and his allies killed it. ICE has operated for decades with little notice. Violence was seldom used, citizens were not arrested, and habeas corpus was observed — until Trump. The Border Patrol previously confined its racist brutality close to the Mexican border, until Republicans expanded the “border” to a 100-mile-wide

opinions Protecting those that can’t protect themselves

in the Town of Hempstead, we believe in putting compassion before convenience and responsibility before profit. That belief guides our approach to public safety, quality of life and, increasingly, animal welfare. Today it compels us to confront a growing problem in communities across the nation: unlicensed backyard breeding of cats and dogs. Let me be clear — this is not about responsible, licensed breeders who follow the law and treat animals humanely. This is about unregulated, profit-driven operations that put money over the well-being of animals. It’s about puppies and kittens born into overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. It’s about animals separated from their mothers too early. It’s about preventable suffering.

Protecting animals is not a fringe issue. It is a reflection of who we are as a community.

When breeding is left unchecked, the consequences ripple far beyond a single household. Overpopulation strains local shelters. Inbreeding leads to serious, lifelong health problems. Animals raised without proper veterinary care

Letters

or humane conditions often become sick or behaviorally distressed. Too many are ultimately abandoned or surrendered when medical bills mount or behavioral challenges become overwhelming.

At the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter, we see the results firsthand. Our dedicated staff works tirelessly to rehabilitate, treat and rehome animals that deserved better from the start. I’m proud to say that our shelter is a no-kill facility, committed to longterm case management, specialized rehabilitation, behavior training and strong partnerships with rescue groups and sanctuaries. But even the best shelter can’t solve a problem that begins with irresponsible breeding practices.

waccountability where, too often, there has been none.

e’re cracking down on the unlicensed breeding of cats and dogs.

Additionally, the legislation limits female cats and dogs to no more than one litter in a 12-month period. This will help prevent overbreeding, which can be physically taxing and dangerous for animals. The law will also prohibit the transfer or adoption of puppies or kittens before they are 8 weeks old, unless a veterinarian determines it is medically necessary. Those first weeks are critical to an animal’s development. Separating them too early can lead to long-term health and behavioral issues.

on proper medical care. They rely entirely on us. When breeding becomes a backyard business driven by quick cash, animals pay the price — with their health, their safety and sometimes their lives.

This legislation is about prevention. It targets a root cause of shelter overcrowding and animal suffering. By requiring registration, limiting excessive litters and ensuring that basic standards are met, we can reduce the number of animals that end up abandoned, neglected or surrendered in the first place.

That’s why we are passing legislation to crack down on unlicensed backyard breeders and establish meaningful oversight.

Under our proposal, any litter of puppies or kittens born in the Town of Hempstead must be registered with the town within 30 days. The registry — operated through the animal shelter — will document the approximate birth date, species and breed, the address where the animals are housed and the veterinarian providing care. This simple step will introduce transparency and

zone. Even then, cities were not invaded — not even El Paso or Brownsville, much less Portland or Milwaukee — until Trump.

The Department of Homeland Security pursued its intended mission: defending against 9/11 or Beirutand Benghazi-style attacks by foreign terrorists, seldom making the news. Then Trump decided that the homeland itself — Chicago, Los Angeles, Springfield, Ill. — was the “enemy within,” rife with “domestic terrorists” like Alex Pretti, who must be prevented from voting. Meanwhile, Trump allied himself with Saudi Arabian interests, the major sources of the 9/11 and other “homeland” assaults. Remember Jamal Khashoggi.

The FBI, formerly our premier law enforcement agency, is now Trumpified, refusing to investigate homicides by federal agents, interfering with state ballots, arresting journalists and charging members of Congress with sedition. In earlier times, Peter King himself might have been among those in such felonious jeopardy. The depth, breadth and pervasiveness of corruption in all of this is obvious, with beneficiaries openly paying well for more of this new form of republican government — modeled on ancient Rome’s republic of patricians and plebes, paterfamilias all. Our government is using the power of the state against the people of the nation. That is the crisis. Currently, the best — and perhaps only — way to resolve both the crisis and the problem is to end MAGA’s abuse of government, from Blakeman and Garbarino to Vance and Trump.

BRIAn KELLy Rockville Centre

Violations would carry fines starting at $250 and increasing to $500 for repeat offenses. But our goal is compliance, not punishment. Enforcement will largely be complaint-driven, empowering residents to report suspected illegal breeding in their neighborhoods. Our Building Department and the animal shelter will work together to investigate and enforce the law.

Some may ask: Why focus on this? Why make it a priority?

Because the way we treat animals speaks volumes about our values.

Animals cannot advocate for themselves. They cannot report abuse, demand clean living conditions or insist

Communities across the country are grappling with the consequences of backyard breeding. Here in the Town of Hempstead, we intend to lead. We have long been at the forefront of animal welfare initiatives, and we will continue to make animal safety a priority of this administration.

Protecting animals is not only the right thing to do — it strengthens our entire community. Fewer animals in crisis means fewer strained resources, safer neighborhoods and more successful adoptions. Most important, it means fewer animals suffering in silence.

In the Town of Hempstead, we are proud to say: paws before profits. And we will continue working every day to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

John Ferretti is the Town of Hempstead supervisor.