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Friday, February 28, 2020
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HEALTH & BEAUTY
LIBRARY, STAFF REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
COUNTY OFFICIALS PRESS REVISIONS TO BAIL REFORM
PAGES 27-38
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Vol. 95, No. 9
Plaza approves new contract with Vigilant
P L AY ( P I C K L E ) B A L L !
Estates Mayor Warner objects, says no financial breakdown has been provided BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Despite the opposition of another Great Neck mayor, the Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees approved a new contract with the Vigilant Fire Department last Wednesday that calls for a 6 percent increase over last year. Budgeting for fire protection saw an increase from $799,499 in 2019 to $855,119 in 2020. Ambulance and other emergency services Vigilant provides increased from $131,258 to $137,801 this year. In total, the Vigilant contract increased from $930,757 in 2019 to $992,920 this year. Village Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen, who led the public meeting in the absence of Mayor Jean Celender, touted the work Vigilant has conducted over the past year and spoke for the board when he made the motion to approve the budget. “We salute the Vigilant Fire
Company as they have many men and women who perform tremendous service for us,” Rosen said during the meeting. “We support them and appreciate them working with us over the years.” But prior to the adoption of the contract, Great Neck Estates Mayor William Warner criticized Vigilant for not meeting with officials from other villages and their failure to explain the increase in cost over last year’s pact. “There was never a meeting between the Vigilant board and the affected villages to discuss this contract,” Warner said. “I find it to not be representative, and Vigilant took a step they didn’t have to take and shouldn’t have taken without consulting with the taxpayers who pay the bill.” The contract is presented each year to the municipalities that the department services. Vigilant provides fire protection to Great Neck Estates and Kensington along with Continued on Page 52
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY THE TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor with the local residents at the pickleball clinic at the Manhasset/Great Neck Economic Opportunity Council.
Newly enforced parking regs rankles VGN gym BY R OB E RT PELAEZ
ceived parking tickets, a first in the business’ 21 years of existence. For the past two decades, Kings Point Fitness owners Victor Bianchi and Jerry Kings Point Fitness has opened Cooney said their early-bird its doors to fitness enthusiasts customers have recently re- and those seeking specialized
personal training weekdays at 5 a.m. “Recently, my customers, my clientele, and my workers have been getting tickets between 3 and 6 [a.m.],” Bianchi Continued on Page 52
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