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HERALD pOsT
Also serving Farmingdale, Massapequa, Massapequa Park and Plainedge
Fanning steps down from ASD board
Weekly calendar of events
Summer arts in Massapequa
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VOL. 74 NO. 33
AUGUST 6 - 12, 2025
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Alzheimer’s center opens in Amityville By CAROLYN JAMES
Carolyn James/Herald photos
The Rabinowitz family is joined by local officials at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Barbara Rabinowitz Education and Resource Center in Amityville.
cjames@liherald.com
Michael Rabinowitz still remembers the pain of watching his mother, Barbara, slowly slip away. For six long years, Barbara Rabinowitz battled dementia — a fight neither she nor her family fully understood at the time. “I lost my temper with her more times than I’d like to admit,” Rabinowitz said. “My understanding of what my mother was going through was very limited. The last thing on my mind was that she was suffering from some type of disease.” Barbara Rabinowitz died in 2022, leaving behind a family shaped by heartbreak — and determined to help others avoid the same confusion and isolation. “This is not something that only affects the individual,” Rabinowitz said. “It affects the entire family.” In response, the Rabinowitz family partnered with the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and longtime friend Charles J. Fuschillo, the foundation’s president and CEO. Together, they launched what they call a much-needed resource for families facing memory-related illnesses. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
SF Water District to receive $1.96M in PFAS settlement By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
The South Farmingdale Water District will receive a total of $1.96 million as part of a nationwide class-action settlement with 3M Co., the manufacturer of PFAS chemicals that have contaminated drinking water sources across the country. In a joint statement, the district’s Board of Commissioners said the first installment has been received, and a second payment is expected by the end of 2025. These two payments total an estimated $1.29 million, or about two-thirds of the full settlement. The remaining funds will be distributed in
eight additional installments through 2033. “This funding will help SFWD continue its commitment to providing high-quality drinking water while offering ratepayers some relief from the high costs associated with removing contaminants,” said Commissioner Ralph Atoria. The settlement is part of a $10.5 billion agreement involving thousands of water providers nationwide who sued 3M over PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—commonly known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and the human body. The Suffolk County Water
Authority also announced it expects to receive an initial payment of $32.1 million from the settlement. In total, the authority anticipates receiving $170 million through 2033. SCWA officials called the payout a historic milestone in holding polluters accountable but emphasized that the recovered funds will cover only a small portion of the long-term costs associated with installing and operating advanced PFAS treatment systems. “These forever chemicals have caused tremendous harm to our environment and have greatly impacted our solesource aquifer,” said Robert McEvoy, chairman of the Long
Island Water Providers. “Constructing and maintaining the treatment systems required to remove these contaminants is extremely expensive, and those costs should not fall on Long Island ratepayers.” SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo said the settlement funds will support the expansion of granular activated carbon treatment systems used to filter PFAS from
drinking water. “This is historic,” Szabo said. “It ensures we have the resources needed to continue rolling out these treatment programs.” Still, he cautioned that the settlement represents “pennies on the dollar” compared with the authority’s projected longterm expenses. “The good news,” Szabo CONTINUED ON PAGE 11