Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston
$1
Friday, June 7, 2019
Vol. 94, No. 23
GOP LEGISLATORS’ OVERRIDE BID FAILS PAGE PA GE 2 24 4
CHARGES AGAINST DE RISI DROPPED
MANGANO’S TOP DEPUTY COPS PLEA
PAGE 2
PAGE 6
VGN candidates ask county to help in election
SHARING IS CARING
Mayoral hopeful says clerk inexperienced, alleges past issues on election nights BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN The Village for All Party has called on the Nassau County Board of Elections to oversee the Village of Great Neck election on June 18, suggesting in a letter dated May 28 that the “operation and integrity of the election process” is threatened. In a letter sent to the Village of Great Neck and Nassau County Board of Elections, mayoral candidate James Wu said the unexpected departure of village ClerkTreasurer Joe Gill earlier this year to become treasurer in Hempstead Village has left Great Neck without an experienced election supervisor. “This threatens the operation and integrity of the election process,” said Wu, who is running on the Village for All slate.“To ensure a smooth and fair election, the Village of Great Neck must ask the Nassau County Board of Elections to manage the upcoming village
election.” Wu also alleged there have been “election improprieties” in previous elections, such as improper processing of absentee ballots and failure to hold an election review in a public forum. In the letter, Wu also said the acting village clerk, Karen Green, initially said the village does not process campaign committee filings and “refused attempts to process such filings.” He also alleged she said candidate acceptance and declination filings should not be filed at all, while insisting use of a party logo “was not proper.” “Every time we tried filing something we were told, ‘we don’t do that here, we don’t take that,’” Wu said in a follow-up interview. Green did not respond to a request for comment about the letter and its allegations on Tuesday. Bonnie Garone, counsel to the Democratic commissioner for the Nassau County Board of ElecContinued on Page 69
PHOTO COURTESY OF GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS
South Middle sixth-graders assemble chemo care kits for pediatric cancer patients through the charity Golden Heroes as part of Global Youth Service Day.
G.N. teaching assistant killed in his Merrick home BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN A special education teaching assistant at Great Neck North High School was fatally stabbed in his Merrick home on Saturday night, according to Nassau County police.
Lt. Richard LeBrun of the Nassau County Police Department said that Evan Grabelsky, 32, was stabbed multiple times after someone entered the home, where he lived with his family. A struggle ensued throughout the house, LeBrun said, leaving Grabelsky with
defensive stab wounds on his arms and torso. Police said they responded to an “aided case” call and attempted to provide “life saving measures,” but it was quickly found that Grabelsky was not breathing. A police medic proContinued on Page 58
For the latest news visit us at www.theislandnow.com D on’t forget to follow us on Twitter @Theislandnow and Facebook at facebo ok.com/theislandnow