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Girl Scouts take over Village Hall Taking on administrator roles for Government Day in Malverne By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
Christine Rivera/Herald
Briella Bjelland, center, was mayor for the day, while Ava Gaitan, left, sat in for Deputy Mayor Scott Edwards, and Elany Cales took Trustee Perry Cuocci’s place.
The Girl Scouts took over in Malverne Village Hall last Saturday. On this day, local Girl Scouts were in charge, taking on the roles of village officials and administrators. Briella Bjelland sat in for Mayor Tim Sullivan, Camryn Ramsaroop took Police Reserve Chief Robert Olivia’s place, Lucy Sheridan substituted for Trustee Lori Lang and Andrea Frulio did the same for Village Historian David Weinstein. “It all started here in Malverne,” State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a former Girl Scout, told the girls, referring to her political career, which began when she was a Malverne village trustee. “Any one of you today could be the president, a governor, a senator, or even a village trustee, and have an impact on your community.” Girl Scout Government Day is a tradition in the vilConTinuED on PAGE 7
Lakeview discusses faith-based affordable housing By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
Faith leaders and housing advocates joined the Lakeview community on Feb. 19 to discuss solutions to Long Island’s affordable housing crisis. The roundtable discussion, which took place at St. Paul AME Church in Lakeview, centered on the role the FaithBased Affordable Housing Act could play in addressing housing issues. The act was introduced by State Senator Andrew Goun a rd e s a n d A s s e m bly m a n Brian Cunningham in December 2023 and carried over to the
2025-26 legislative session. It is currently in the State Senate’s Housing, Construction and Community Development Committee, and the Assembly’s Local Government Committee. The act is designed to tackle the state’s affordable housing shortage by streamlining the approval process needed for faith leaders to build affordable housing on excess and underutilized land. If approved, 60,000 new homes would be created across New York over the next 10 years, providing housing for as many as 180,000 residents, according to New York Faith Housing, a coalition of faith-based and housing organi-
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ogether, we can ensure every New Yorker has a place to call home.
REV. TRISTAN J. SAllEy zations that are championing the act. Many communities could be given a boost by transforming these empty and unused parcels of land owned by houses of worship into affordable housing, faith leaders said. The bill would not rezone entire com-
munities or change Long Island greatly. But it would allow the less than one-quarter of 1 percent of Long Island lots owned by faith organization the ability to create affordable, taxable housing options. “The need for affordable housing is undeniable, and faith leaders across the state are ready to be part of the solu-
tion,” said Asia Thomas, director of organizing at Open New York, a non-profit organization advocating for housing development and renter protections. “Every day, New Yorkers — from teachers to firefighters to high school students — struggle with housing insecurity, yet too often, there aren’t ConTinuED on PAGE 4