_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
HERALD
Also serving Lakeview
Senator honors soccer player
Schools promote overall well being
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Vol. 32 No. 49
DECEMBER 4 - 10, 2025
$1.00
Elections for commissioners on Tuesday BY MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
Skye Margies/Herald
Getting in the Thanksgiving spirit! The Malverne Chamber of Commerce held its annual Thanksgiving morning puppy trot. Community members and their furry friends began the holiday season with the festive event. See more photos on Page 3.
String musicians perform at West Hempstead Legion Hall By MADISoN GUSlER mgusler@liherald.com
More than 100 community members were entertained during the West Hempstead Violin Gemach’s fall concert held at the American Legion Cathedral Post 1087 on Woodlawn Road last Sunday. Bulgarian-American violinist Gergana Haralampieva opened the concert with an impactful 40-minute performance. An award-winning musician, Haralampieva has performed with ensembles across the country. A recent fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program, she has earned degrees from
the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. This marked Haralampieva’s second performance in West Hempstead, and Alla Bell, a chamber musician and teacher at the Great Neck Music Conservatory, accompanied her on the piano. Haralampieva, who’s also a music educator, said she’s passionate about making classical music accessible, which is why she enjoys taking part in community performances. She teaches students in her Commack studio and serves as the director of operations and educational proContinued on page 8
Fire commissioners serve an important role in their communities. They organize local fire departments, establish their operational procedures and, in so doing, decide how taxpayer money is spent. The West Hempstead and Lakeview fire districts’ fire commissioner elections will take place on Dec. 9. The candidates in each district are running for five-year terms on a five-person board of commissioners. In West Hempstead, incumbent Commissioner William D’Alessandro is being challenged for his seat on the board by firefighter Jonathan Poirot. Lakeview candidate Daniel McCrossin is running without a challenger. Malver ne doesn’t operate their firehouse this way, thus there are no elections to report for the village.
West Hempstead D’Alessandro, 66, a board member for eight years, has served as chairman since January. “I think we have a very good thing going with the five members of the board right now,”
Comissioner elections West Hempstead Fire Department 295 Hempstead Turnpike, West Hempstead Dec. 9 Voting open 6 to 9 p.m.
Lakeview Fire Department 891 Woodfield Road, West Hempstead Dec. 9 Voting open 6 to 9 p.m. D’Alessandro said. “We all get along, we get along with the chief ’s office, and we run like a very good clock. We do right by the taxpayers, we keep the budget as low as we possibly can, and we run the fire district very well.” A lifelong West Hempstead resident, D’Alessandro joined the Fire Department in 1977 after graduating from high school. “It was a family business,” he said. “My dad was a 50-year member. My two brothers were chiefs and commisContinued on page 16