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VOL. 36 NO. 6
FEBRUARY 6 - 12, 2025
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Village kicks off centennial celebration By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
On a frigid January night, a few steps from Village Hall, Valley Stream residents converged to officially launch its c e n t e n n i a l ye a r with a flag-raising c e r e m o n y. T h e m o m e n t m a rke d the start of a yearlong celebration honoring the vill a g e ’s evo l u t i o n from a quiet farming outpost to one of the largest Q: What was the incor porated vilinspiration lages in New York behind the State. design of the The timing was Ed FARE centennial flag? deliberate. Nearly a Mayor, We love our offic e n t u r y a g o, o n Valley Stream cial Village logo Jan. 30, 1925, Valley and flag. We wantStream residents cast their votes to break from ed to keep its heritage, design, the Town of Hempstead and and meanings as we surmise our founding fathers were chart their collective destiny. What followed was a century thinking when they originally of rapid expansion—farmland adopted it as the official village gave way to suburban streets, a seal, 100 years ago. “Loyaute M’Oblige” is a few thousand residents became more than 40,000, and a once- French phrase that roughly sleepy village emerged as a translates to “loyalty gratefulness and faithfulness. “On the thriving community. Now, as Valley Stream turns Trail of the Rising Sun” more 100, village officials are pulling CoNtiNued oN pAge 24
I
Herald file photo
A crippling blood shortage and a ransomware attack have thrown the New York Blood Center into crisis, threatening its ability to supply hospitals and exposing deep vulnerabilities in the region’s health care lifeline.
New York Blood Center faces two crises in a matter of weeks By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
The New York Blood Center, the region’s blood donation giant, was already at a low point before the new year. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse. In December, a blood shortage — amplified by a holiday donation slump — sent its members scrambling to replenish blood supplies. Rather than beat the slump at the start of the year, the center declared a blood emergency as donations precipitously dropped 30 percent. The nonprofit, which delivers blood products to 150 hospitals, including Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, blamed factors like “inclement weather” and a pause in school and church donation drives for the “alarm-
ingly” dismal turnout of blood donors in recent weeks. Then, just as one crisis unfolded, another struck. A ransomware attack, one of several reported across the county, has disrupted the center’s information technology systems. The full extent of the damage hackers inflicted on NYBC’s IT systems last week remains unclear. As of press time, the center declined to comment on when it expects services to return to normal and how many of the system’s sites were affected. “We immediately engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to investigate and confirmed that the suspicious activity is a result of a ransomware incident,” wrote an NYBC spokesperson. “We took immediate steps to help contain the threat and are working diliCoNtiNued oN pAge 14
out all the stops. A parade, a block party, and a lineup of events throughout the year will commemorate the milestone. But beyond the pageantry, the centennial is a moment to take stock—to reflect on where the village has been, and where it’s headed next. Mayor Ed Fare sat down to discuss the weight of the occasion, starting with the centerpiece of the event: the centennial flag.
love this village, and I raised my three children here, the fourth generation of Fares to live here.