Friday, December 8, 2017
THE PULSE OF THE PENINSULA
Vol. 92, No. 49
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HOLIDAY GIFT, PARTY GUIDE
G.N. VIGILANT GETS NEW FIRE CHIEF
SCARAMUCCI RESIGNS FROM TUFTS BOARD
PAGES 31-50
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
G.N. fire near school leaves many homeless
COME TOGETHER
Home was registered for single family use, subject of complaints, sources say BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN A house fire on Brokaw Lane near Great Neck North High School left at least three families homeless last Wednesday night, including eight children attending the Great Neck Public Schools, claiming no lives but most of their possessions, fire officials and people helping the families said. The fire started at an electrical outlet and spread quickly from the basement through the walls and into the attic, fire officials said. “That’s a very difficult fire to fight,” Great Neck Alert Fire Company Chief James Neubert said. Great Neck Alert Fire Company had 40 firefighters at the scene at 36 Brokaw Lane, he said. Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department assisted with a firefighter assist and search team, ladder truck and more manpower, while the Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company responded with an ambulance, Neubert added. Two firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries. A spokesman for the Nassau
County Fire Marshal’s Fire Investigations Division said that “there were some issues in the property previously,” including electrical issues, and that the Red Cross assisted 13 people at the scene. The spokesman said that the fire started from a faulty electrical outlet, spread upward inside the wall, and that an older style of construction contributed to the fire spreading quickly. “The investigation is complete, the fire has been ruled accidental, and now it goes to the insurance companies,” the spokesman said. The home had been the subject of two violations and numerous neighbor complaints, according to Robert Barbach, the superintendent of the Village of Great Neck’s Building Department. One violation was for “garbage and debris that was strewn in the driveway and backyard,” Barbach said, and another was for a “deteriorating condition around the side door,” which suggested things could be “falling apart.” Additionally, Barbach said it Continued on Page 68
PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN
Students from the four public elementary schools and two private schools in Great Neck came together last week, singing songs like “America the Beautiful” and “It’s a Small World” and reciting motivational quotes. See story on page 3.
Nachmanoff, Stellato spar at commissioner forum and Tina Stellato last Thursday night, with the two sparring over issues ranging from proIt was a dispute over happi- gramming to each other. The election for one seat on ness and qualifications between Great Neck park commissioner the three-member Great Neck candidates Dan Nachmanoff Park District Board of Commis-
BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN
sioners will be held on Tuesday. Nachmanoff debated Stellato’s qualifications for the job, outlining his experience as the mayor of Russell Gardens, leading the Great Neck VilContinued on Page 69
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