Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston
$1
Friday, October 19, 2018
Vol. 93, No. 42
GREAT NECK AUTOFEST
CHALLENGE TO G.N. ON ‘GREAT GATSBY’
PHILLIPS, KAPLAN MAILER SLUGFEST
PAGES 39-42
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Man hospitalized after house fire in Great Neck Cause of blaze unclear; victim released BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN SCHWARTZ
Firefighters battle a blaze at 920 Middle Neck Road.
A fire ripped into a four-bedroom home at 920 Middle Neck Road last Thursday morning, resulting in one man being transported to a county hospital and two firefighters treated for “minor injuries.” Great Neck Alert Fire Company Chief Steven Schwartz said the blaze, which broke out at 8:52 a.m., took about three hours to contain and drew help from multiple agencies. Schwartz said a man home at the time was transported to Nassau County University Medical Center’s
burn unit. “He had been singed,” Schwartz said. Mike Uttaro, an assistant deputy chief with the Nassau County fire marshal’s office, said on Friday that the man, who had to be airlifted, was treated for “critical burns” but has since been released and “is doing well.” A fallen beam also hit a firefighter in the head and another required stitches due to an incident with a hydrant wrench, Schwartz said, “but they have been released.” Schwartz said the home is now uninhabitable. Continued on Page 54
Middle Neck Pharmacy slated to close BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
ness, according to its general manager. Full pharmacy services ended Monday and the store is Middle Neck Pharmacy in slated for likely closure in late Great Neck will close its doors January. Gregory Conta, the genafter more than 40 years of busi-
eral manager of the pharmacy for over a year, said the lease was"ending in late January and the business could no longer afford the rent. The pharmacy"has been open since 1971. He said Middle Neck Pharmacy is in the process of liquidation and selling goods at a discount while the pharmacy business itself is merging with CVS across
the street. “We’re in the process of electronically transferring all information to them and our customers will be able to access the system tomorrow,” Conta said on Monday. “Today we’re doing full pharmacy [service], trying to get all last doctor calls in, every refill, everything we can do to help our clientele that’s been very faithful to us and very loyal.”
“It’s upsetting, even myself being here for a short term, but again, we have some of the best customers I’ve ever seen,” Conta later said, adding that Great Neck is a “great town” with “great people.” The Great Neck peninsula has struggled with vacant storefronts in the past, with an overall vacancy rate greater than 10 Continued on Page 66
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