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Vol. 74 No. 7
FEBRUARY 12 - 18, 2026
2024 2025
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Wantagh school building sale moves ahead
oper Brah Property Owners whose plan is build two homes on the site. The board’s vote did The Wantagh School District n o t f i n a l i z e t h e s a l e, bu t is moving forward with the sale advanced the process, which of its historic Beech Street still requires approval in a vote property, advancing a plan first by district residents, which outlined last summer and now would take place in May. Brah entering its final approval stag- Property Owners now enters a es following a Feb. 3 vote by the due diligence period of about 45 Board of Education. days. District SuperinThe board’s vote tendent John McNamarks the culminamara confir med tion of months of that the district has evaluation of the reached a tentative more than centuryag reement to sell old building. A the property, at 1865 school first opened Beech St., concludon the Beech Street ing part of the site in 1904, serving multi-year discuselementary stusion about the dents in Wantagh. future of the site. The original struc“We had leased ture was replaced that proper ty for JohN MCNAMARA in 1909 with a largmany years,” McNa- Superintendent, er two-story buildmara explained at Wantagh School ing, which continthe meeting at Want- District ued operating as an agh High School. elementary school “The lease expired until 1958. over a year ago, and the buildThe site later housed district ing needs a good amount of administrative offices before work.” He added that adding being leased in 1982 to Wee that the building is not “a Friends Nursery School and usable space for us as a district Day Camp, which operated any longer.” t h e re fo r m o re t h a n fo u r Board trustees unanimously decades. That lease expired last approved the contract for the summer, leaving the building sale, to Uniondale-based devel-
By lUKE FEENEY
lfeeney@liherald.com
T
Tim Baker/Herald
Joseph Scianablo, a Marine veteran, retired New York City police officer and former Queens prosecutor, announced on Feb. 4 that he will run once again for Hempstead town supervisor.
In supervisor race, it’s Round Two Joseph Scianablo challenges incumbent John Ferretti By lUKE FEENEY lfeeney@liherald.com
Joseph Scianablo, a Marine combat veteran, retired New York City police officer and former Queens prosecutor, announced his candidacy for Hempstead town supervisor last week, launching a rematch against the incumbent Republican supervisor, John Ferretti. Ferretti defeated Scianablo, a Democrat, last November. Town supervisors serve for two years, but because of a new state law that shifted all municipal elections to evennumbered years starting in 2025, Ferretti will return to the ballot this year. Scianablo argued that his campaign last fall helped bring attention to what he
described as backroom deals, inflated fees and political favoritism at Town Hall. A resident of Garden City, he focused on what he views as a lack of transparency on the current Town Board. Scianablo also campaigned on easing the strain of rising costs in the township, from a 12 percent property tax hike to increases in water, power and fuel bills. Now, he said, he’s returning “to finish the job.” “I am running because the people of the Town of Hempstead deserve a government that works for them, not for a handful of insiders,” Scianablo stated in a press release on Feb. 4. “What we uncovered was only the beginning, and it makes it clear there is still more that needs to be brought into the CoNtiNued oN page 16
he lease expired over a year ago, and the building needs a good amount of work.
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