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Friday, May 31, 2019
Vol. 94, No. 22
GUIDE TO HARBORFEST
WU FINED IN QUEENS ELECTION RACE
TOWN TO FINE STOP WORK ORDER VIOLATORS
PAGES 35-78
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Fallen honored in Great Neck on Memorial Day Parade, ceremonies recognize veterans BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN
A volunteer with the Vigilant Fire Company marches down Middle Neck Road on Memorial Day with the American flag held high.
Great Neck residents paid tribute to service members at the 95th annual Memorial Day Parade and service on Monday morning, where veterans called on them to remember the fallen and their sacrifices. Midshipmen from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, veterans groups, Scouts, first responders and elected officials marched up Middle Neck Road, playing tunes, greeting crowds and waving flags. The march stopped at the Village Green for a ceremony to honor veterans.
Louise McCann, the chair of the Great Neck Parade Committee, said Memorial Day is meant to be a solemn occasion to remember the 1.5 million men and women who died in defense of the nation and ask: where would you be without the sacrifices they made? “We here, living today, have them to thank for giving all of their tomorrows so we could have ours today,” McCann said. “Today is not about celebrating the beginning of the summer or a day off from work or school – today is a solemn day of remembrance, a day that should Continued on Page 98
VGN challengers set agenda at forum BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
voters at a forum Tuesday night, calling for a more transparent, representative and responsive Great Neck mayoral hope- village government. The three candidates, who ful James Wu and trustee candidates Julia Shields and Harold are challenging Mayor Pedram Citron introduced themselves to Bral and Trustees Annie Men-
delson and Steven Hope, took aim at how the administration has handled matters revolving around “revitalization” of the Village of Great Neck and previously proposed changes to the village zoning code. Wu, a real estate specialist with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, said he wants to see a united community with an “actual transparent government” that “listens
to all of us” and considers the needs of residents, developers and businesspeople. Wu said he wants a careful, more balanced approach to “revitalization” that does not “maximize every square inch” of space within the village. He also said previously enacted zoning changes from 2014 should be given a chance and that he was open to a market survey to ask what residents are looking for.
“We are a peninsula, we have limited road infrastructure into and out of where we are, and we need to find businesses and ways of doing business that are suitable to our area and to our infrastructure,” Wu said. He also said he would not aim to obstruct the school district, as protecting the schools would also protect local property values. Continued on Page 98
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