Issuu

Friday, March 16, 2018

THE PULSE OF THE PENINSULA

Vol. 93, No. 11

Neck Guide to Great ything Great Neck Your official go-to guide for ever

GUIDE TO GREAT NECK

G.N. VILLAGE ELECTION PREVIEW

MANGANO TRIAL BEGINS

PAGES S1-S64

PAGE 2

PAGE 6

Cop kills man in G.N. to end bat rampage

A WORLD VIEW

Suspect allegedly bashed two car windows, skulls, after crime spree BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN A Nassau County police officer shot and killed a man on the border of Great Neck and Manhasset on Monday after the suspect attacked two men with a baseball bat in a road rage incident near the Equinox gym and then refused to drop the weapon when confronted by the officer, the police said. News reports identified the man as Michael Ward, who has also been listed as a suspect in a New Jersey carjacking and a crime spree in New York City. According to an NYPD spokesman, the man’s spree allegedly began in Bordentown, New Jersey, where he allegedly robbed an individual of a vehicle. He later allegedly robbed a 77-year-old man and fled in that man’s car before striking and killing a 50-year-old man in Brooklyn two days later. The spokesman said Ward then

allegedly stole a newspaper deliverywoman’s car before repeatedly punching a man, stealing his vehicle, evading police and ending up in Nassau County driving a Volkswagen. “He was all over the place,” the spokesman said. Police sources said the suspect’s vehicle was stopped at a stop sign at Bayview Avenue and Maple Street. After being honked at, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said, the suspect allegedly exited his vehicle with a baseball bat, struck the windows of two cars behind him, and hit one of the drivers in the head when he tried to confront him. “The subject’s vehicle was stopped at the stop sign here behind us,” Ryder said, gesturing. “Two vans were pulled up behind him. He was not moving, they beeped their horn, and then the subject got out and started his attack on those individuals.” The rookie oﬃcer, a February Continued on Page 47

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaks to congregants at Temple Emanuel of Great Neck on what a sound foreign policy should look like. See story and photos on page 11.

North Shore students join nationwide walkouts BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I , JANELLE CL AUSEN, REBECCA KL AR AND LUKE TORRANCE

Thousands of North Shore students left their classrooms Wednesday morning as part of a nationwide walkout in a call to action and a memorial for the 17 people who were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a month earlier.

Manhasset Superintendent Vincent Butera said the students brought the idea to the administration, and Manhasset High School Principal Dean Schlanger and the administration supported the decision. Continued on Page 71

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The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

School districts likely Familiar faces in to see tax levy boosts G.N. village elections North Shore currently averaging increase over 2% Mostly incumbents running, all unopposed BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN Great Neck’s 16 uncontested village races will mostly feature familiar faces on Tuesday, with 14 incumbents facing no opponents and a Kensington zoning board member running for a trustee position. Two mayors, 12 trustees and two village justices are on the ballot in six of Great Neck’s nine villages. In the Village of Kensington, Neil Garfinkel, an attorney and Zoning Board of Appeals member, aims to fill Philip Bornstein’s PHOTO BY AMELIA CAMURATI expiring trustee seat. Bornstein, a three-term Roslyn school district Assistant Superintendent of Business Joseph Dragone, second from trustee, previously said he wants to give other residents a chance left, discusses the proposed 2018-19 budget with the Board of Education. to enjoy public service. in flux because PILOT calcula- recent security concerns raised “For much of that time I BY JA N E LL E tions are still being calculated, by parents, his district’s budget served as deputy mayor, which CL AUSEN according to some school budget and levy could possibly undergo was very rewarding as I served as the ‘right hand man’ to Mayor The majority of North Shore presentations and assistant su- changes in the coming weeks. Herricks schools calculated a Susan Lopatkin who is an inschool districts will take ad- perintendents for business, but vantage of a higher allowable initial estimates had to be re- 2.55 percent tax levy increase in credibly bright, knowledgeable property tax levy, early budget ported to the state comptroller’s their budget presentation, with and thoughtful public servant,” school officials noting the aver- Bornstein said. “However, when presentations suggest, with only office by March 1. The Great Neck Public age increase in recent years – in- it comes to politics, I am in favor one North Shore school district increasing its tax levy less than Schools currently expect to have cluding this year – has averaged of term limits to give new resia 2.47 percent property tax levy about 1.44 percent. dents a chance to participate in 2 percent. “Herricks has established their government and so I have Under the state tax cap, first increase, with the maximum passed in 2011, districts gener- allowed right now calculated efficient, cost-effective opera- chosen to term limit myself into ally cannot increase their prop- at 2.85 percent, translating to tions,” Michael Ganci, a spokes- retirement for now.” Lopatkin, the mayor of Kenserty tax levies by more than 2 a boost of $4.9 million from man for the school district, said percent or the rate of inflation, $198.56 million to $203.46 mil- via email. “When creating our ington since 2008 and uncondraft budget, we always try to tested in this year’s elections, according to the state comptrol- lion. John Powell, the assistant balance the needs of our stu- previously said she has “loved ler’s office. But, school districts and municipalities can levy superintendent for business at dents with strong fiscal respon- beautifying the village” through more for “certain excludable ex- the Great Neck Public Schools, sibility and respect for our tax- landscaping and infrastructure projects. penditures” or override the levy described the increased tax levy payers.” Roslyn schools projected a as a “double edged sword” both Garfinkel, a five-year memlimit if necessary. None of the schools ap- for his school district and North 2.42 percent tax levy increase, ber of the Board of Zoning Apwhich will help pay for more peals, previously said he wanted peared likely to breach their Shore schools in general. “The increased tax authority than $600,000 worth of planned to get to know the village’s resibudget caps, which are each calculated through a state equa- helps to balance the budget, but security improvements in wake dents better and that Lopatkin tion taking the prior year’s tax it’s also painful to the resident of the mass shooting at Marjory had reached out to him to conlevy, tax base growth factor, pay- taxpayer and the business own- Stoneman Douglas High School sider running for trustee. Kensington Trustee Jeffrey ments in lieu of taxes, deductible er,” Powell said Tuesday evening. in Parkland, Florida. According to its last budget Greener, who has served since expenditures and other factors “So that’s one of the reasons we presentation, the East Williston 2012, is running for re-election didn’t go to the maximum.” into account. Powell added that in light of uncontested. Currently the tax levies are Continued on Page 47

Village Justice Richard Dennett is also seeking re-election. Kensington polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, located at 2 Nassau Drive. Ronen Ben-Josef is running for the seat of Manny Alani, a Village of Saddle Rock trustee who did not file papers for reelection, according to the village clerk. Kamran Barelli is running for re-election as a Saddle Rock trustee. Saddle Rock residents can vote at Village Hall at 18 Masefield Way from noon to 9 p.m. Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender, who has been mayor since 2000 and on the Board of Trustees since 1984, is seeking another term uncontested. Trustees Pam Marksheid, who was first elected in 2008, and Ted Rosen, who serves as a deputy mayor and has been on the board since 1985, also are uncontested in their re-election bids. “I think the opportunity to serve the public is a very special Continued on Page 60

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Ted Rosen

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The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Lipinsky heads south for Polar Plunge Following cancellation of North Hempstead event, Great Neck resident braves Tobay Beach BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN When Great Neck resident Erin Lipinsky heard that North Hempstead’s Polar Plunge was canceled this year due to aggressive tides, he said his initial reaction was “bad.” But rather than sit this year out, Lipinsky headed to the icy waters of Tobay Beach on the South Shore, with junior members of the Alert Fire Company there in support. “I made a promise,” Lipinsky, who plunged for the third year in a row, said in an interview. “He didn’t want to disappoint all the people that donated to him,” added Joan Lazaunik, who went to Tobay Beach with Lipinsky. “He was the top fundraiser for North Hempstead.” Lipinsky raised $13,818 this year, according to the North Hempstead Polar Plunge event page, with all proceeds going toward Special Olympics New York. This was more than any other individual or team participating in North Hempstead. North Hempstead’s scheduled polar plunge, which would have taken place in North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington, raised $41,130 in total. Special Olympics New York has

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

Erin Lipinsky, flanked by supporters and members of the Alert Fire Company, came down to Tobay Beach to be “freezin’ for a reason.” 68,547 athletes training and competing year-round, with it costing $400 to support training and competition for one athlete each season. Lipinsky also surpassed his roughly $12,000 fundraising total from last year. “He goes from store to store for

months to raise money for the [Special] Olympics,” said Mike Green, the chairman of the Alert Fire Company’s Board of Trustees. “He makes fliers up and he hands them to people and the local fire departments pass the hats around during meetings. He puts a lot of effort in.”

In addition to reaching out to stores and the fire departments, Lipinsky sold wrist bands and donated those proceeds as well. George Motchkavitz, a former fire chief of the Alert Fire Company, said the company has come out to the polar plunges for many years to help with ground control. But the fire company and its junior members also have a “special interest,” Motchkavitz said, because Lipinsky frequently visits the firehouse and has worked hard to get where he is. “They know about Erin, they admire Erin, and they know it’s important to him to get as much support as he can,” Motchkavitz said. When asked what he would tell people who aren’t sure they want to run into the cold water, Lipinsky offered a few words of advice. “Just do it,” Lipinsky said. “It’s for the kids. That’s what we do it for.” As for whether or not he intended to tackle both Tobay Beach and North Hempstead Beach next year, Lipinsky said he’s up for the challenge. “This is not my last plunge,” Lipinsky said, noting he intends to do even better in 2019. “Next year will be my fourth year.”

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Town could see further ethics changes After Troiano tax lien issues, spokeswoman says any announcements could come ‘in a few months’ BY JA N E LL E C L AUS E N Further changes to the Town of North Hempstead’s ethics code and financial disclosure process could come within “a few months,” a town spokeswoman said, following issues with former senior adviser Robert Troiano’s tax liens. Blank Slate Media previously reported that Troiano listed $81,533 in federal income tax liens and a $749,264 lien on a house he owned facing foreclosure on his 2016 financial disclosure, but that he failed to list federal tax liens on at least one financial disclosure form before that. At the time, town spokeswoman Carole Trottere said this suggested the financial disclosure process “needs to be tightened further” and town officials “are doing that,” with a new requirement stating senior appointees must submit financial disclosures prior to being employed with the town. She also said no tax liens were listed on earlier financial disclosure forms. Trottere, after consulting with Town Attorney Elizabeth Botwin, highlighted a previous statement given to Blank Slate Media saying officials are “continuing to review and enhance our policies and procedures as needed.” “As of now this previous statement … is still accurate,” Trottere said via email on Tuesday. “Any announcement regard-

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

North Hempstead Town Attorney Elizabeth Botwin, as seen at a previous Town Board meeting. ing new policies and procedures would be a few months out.” When asked to clarify how many months was meant and how many senior appointees are aﬀected by the change, Trottere said she “cannot be more speciﬁc than what I stated.” Messages left for Town Board mem-

bers Viviana Russell, Peter Zuckerman, Angelo Ferrara, Anna Kaplan, Lee Seeman and Dina De Giorgio requesting comment on changes being considered for the ethics code and ﬁnancial disclosure were not returned. Between 2014 and 2017, Troiano served as the town’s director of operations

and as the senior policy adviser to Supervisor Judi Bosworth. He left the town to join County Executive Laura Curran’s administration in January as a commissioner for traffic and parking violations. A day before his confirmation hearing, Troiano stepped down as acting commissioner for traffic and parking violations after his tax issues were revealed. Troiano maintains that he left for other reasons. Troiano was later appointed as a director of special projects in the county Board of Elections with a salary of $140,000 per year. It is unclear whether the Curran administration or campaign officials were aware of Troiano’s tax liens. A year ago, the town announced it had strengthened its ethics codes following disclosures that Gerard Terry, the former head of the North Hempstead Democratic Committee who held two jobs in the town, racked up nearly $1 million in unpaid state and federal taxes between 2000 and 2017. Terry pleaded guilty to tax fraud in September. Among the changes were requiring town employees to include more information in financial disclosures and beginning to reinforce a 25-year-old rule mandating town political committee leaders file financial disclosure forms.

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The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Plans outlined for First Playhouse Developers, pols hope to see old G.N. building transformed into new apartment complex quickly BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN Developers from First Playhouse of Great Neck Corp. came before the Great Neck Estates trustees seeking to amend an incentive zoning permit on Monday night, outlining safety measures for the playhouse’s demolition and how long it will take to replace it with an apartment complex. Ely Sakhai, the chief executive oﬃcer of the corporation, has planned to redevelop the site with a 20-unit, 35-bedroom apartment building with retail space. The plan, which keeps the building’s original facade and foundation, was ﬁrst approved in its original form in 2007 but has been contemplated since the early 2000s. The theater, located at the corner of Middle Neck Road and Maple Drive in Great Neck Estates, straddles both Great Neck Estates and Great Neck Plaza. It dates back to 1925 and attracted acts like the Marx Brothers and Irving Berlin. William Bonesso, an attorney

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

Sean Mulryan, the head of Mulryan Engineering, outlines the phases of the project and how they plan to mitigate its impact. representing the developers, said that because the 2007 approval was based on a contemplated building diﬀerent from the present version, they needed to make amendments to the permit. The zoning permit essentially acts as a precursor to the securing of a building permit to

eventually build the complex, Bonesso said, with demolition “starting even before that.” Brian Newman, the director of architectural services at Newman Design, said the five-floor building would feature a ground floor of retail space with a residential entrance in the center.

There would also be a parking garage and setbacks for the various ﬂoors. William Bonesso, an attorney representing the developers, said the project would occur in stages and could take two and a half years to complete. The demolition stage would

take approximately six months, Bonesso said, being mostly a “manual labor job.” “You’re not just going to have walls caving in on the property,” Bonesso said. Sean Mulryan, the head of Mulryan Engineering, a traffic engineering firm, said a portion of Maple Drive would be closed to allow construction vehicles and workers easier access, with the rest of Maple temporarily becoming a two-way street so affected neighbors can leave their homes. There would also be a temporary crosswalk installed, signage and detour signs placed by the developer, Mulryan said. In a later phase, Mulryan said, Maple Drive would be reopened to one lane and once more converted to a one-way road. A set of parking spaces on Middle Neck Road would also be turned into a temporary traffic loop. Bonesso described the next phase as the “initial superstructure portion of the project,” where the new building would Continued on Page 60

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Mangano, Venditto corruption trial starts BY LU K E TORRANCE The trial of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, his wife, Linda, and Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto for corruption began on Wednesday in Central Islip as prosecutors gave their opening statement. A federal prosecutor said that Mangano accepted gifts from restaurateur Harendra Singh to maintain a lavish lifestyle after he took a $114,000 pay cut to run Nassau County, according to Newsday. Because of that, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz said, the Manganos accepted vacations, gifts and a no-show job for which Linda Mangano was paid $450,000. Venditto and the Manganos also received free meals at Singh’s restaurants in return for contracts and loan guarantees, prosecutors said. All three have pleaded not guilty. The defense attorneys

were scheduled to give their statements Wednesday afternoon. Craig Burnett, a professor of political science at Hofstra University, said on Tuesday that the defense would likely try to undermine Singh, who confessed to bribing public officials in documents unsealed by prosecutors earlier this year. He is expected to take the stand on Thursday and will be cross-examined next week, according to Newsday. “It will come down to whether the jury believes that Singh is telling the truth and is not just somebody out for retribution,” Burnett said. He said that Singh’s claims that he tried to bribe a New York City official – identified in news reports as Mayor Bill de Blasio — could affect the case in Nassau County. “He has made claims about de Blasio, and if he can’t show his bribes or illegal dealings with de Blasio, that might cast doubt on his dealings with Man-

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Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, as seen leaving the federal courthouse in Central Islip last year. gano,” he said. “There has to be a solid witness and … actual corroborating evidence.” Federal authorities said they were able to obtain the latter on Mangano’s underling, former Nassau County Deputy Executive Richard “Rob” Walker. The FBI received an envelope containing a $5,000 payment that Walker had tried

to return to a contractor, prosecutors said. According to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s oﬃce, Walker tried to return the money after learning he was under investigation by federal authorities. In February, Walker was charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements. He has pleaded not guilty.

“Typically these cases take a while to build, so by the time you find out someone is watching you, it’s probably too late,” Burnett said. Even with all the evidence that has been gathered on Nassau officials, Burnett said, prosecutors have struggled recently to get convictions in corruption cases. “With other cases like [Sen. Bob] Menendez, it is harder to prove bribery,” he said. “Prosecutors have been having a hard time getting a conviction to stick, even if there is a mountain of evidence.” Burnett said corruption cases had become harder to prove due to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. In a case involving former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the court narrowed the definition of what constitutes corruption for a public official. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that acts such as receiving money to arrange a meeting or to tell an underling

to consider a matter did not count as corruption. The decision was cited by a federal appeals panel in the decision to overturn the 2015 corruption convictions of Dean Skelos, the former majority leader in the New York Senate, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. But Roberts also wrote that public oﬃcials could still be prosecuted for “concrete” actions, such as ﬁling a lawsuit or awarding a contract. Burnett said he was unsure whether the case against Mangano and Venditto was strong enough for either to face jail time. But he said the trial would continue to generate bad publicity for Nassau Republicans as long as it continues. “You have a case that will generate headlines as long as it is going on,” he said. “It could be six months to a year, or possibly even longer, of negative headline after headline … it might accelerate the county’s shift toward the Democrats.”

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Assembly gun bills head to state Senate BY REBECCA KLAR The state Assembly last Tuesday passed a package of five gun control bills with wide support from across the aisle that would ban the sale of bump stocks and keep weapons away from people deemed dangerous. The bills are in the hands of the Republicancontrolled state Senate, which recently voted against similar gun control measures when the minority attached the proposals to an existing bill. Included in the package of bills is a measure to establish a 10-day waiting period before a gun is delivered to a purchaser not yet cleared a background check. Another measure would prevent domestic violence abusers from having access to weapons. State Assemblyman Chuck Lavine (D-Glen Cove) said he doubts the bills will make it to a vote in the state Senate. “The NRA has too much strength in the Senate,” Lavine said. “To the extent that if you want to find some of these senators you have to put your hand so deep into the NRA’s pocket that you’ve got to brush aside ancient lint and copper pennies to find these senators, that’s how deep they are in the NRA’s pocket.” State Sen. Elaine Phillips (R-Flower Hill) released a statement last Monday in support of gun control measures similar to the ones passed in the Assembly. Her statement followed her no vote, along with her Republican colleagues, on

Assemblyman Chuck Lavine the measures when the Democrats tacked them onto the previous bill. Though Lavine is doubtful the bills will pass in the Senate, he said the bipartisan support in the Assembly “provided a real ray of hope.” State Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) said the bills strike a balance between protecting Second Amendment rights and ensuring public safety. Ra said the bump stock ban bill was important to help clarify that those devices are not legal in New York. Ra said he was also happy to vote for the extreme risk order protection bill, which aims to keep weapons out of the hands of potentially dangerous people because it helps ensure public safety and respects an individual’s due process rights. “When there are people sounding the alarm that somebody is dangerous to themselves or to others that there would be an opportunity, particularly for law enforcement, to come in and go before a judge and make a case as to why weapons need to be removed from an individual,” Ra said. Recently, in a meeting with lawmakers from both parties, President Donald

Trump suggested taking weapons away before allowing for due process. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said at the meeting. Ra also noted the school safety bills that the Senate recently passed. The bills include measures to provide new security funding and increase the availability of school resource officers, improve mental health coordination in schools, enhance information sharing and strengthen penalties for school-based crimes. He said there are “merits to a lot of those as well,” and added that he thinks both houses will come together and find a common ground in these areas. Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso (D-Great Neck), who co-sponsored all five bills, said in a statement that the package of bills aims to prevent and reduce gun violence in the state. D’Urso said that Long Island has had its share of gun violence, noting that it is the 25th anniversary of the Long Island Rail Road shooting. In December 1993, Colin Ferguson, a passenger on a Long Island Rail Road train, murdered six people and wounded 19 others as the train pulled into the Merillon Avenue station. “When it comes to gun violence we need more than thoughts and prayers,” D’Urso said. “It is my hope that the state Senate will approve the legislation and that other states and the federal government will soon follow. “

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Employee Narcan training workshop Town, Northwell partner to teach employees how to aid people overdosing on opioids BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I The Town of North Hempstead recently partnered with Northwell Health to offer free Narcan training to employees during work hours to help residents found overdosing from heroin or other opioids around the town. “Our employees interact with the public every day, and you never know when someone may be in a car and we discover them overdosing or in one of our facilities, in one of our parks, or in one of our buildings,” Supervisor Judi Bosworth said. “It’s important that our employees have the training to deal with it. This isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, unfortunately. It’s unlikely that you would encounter anybody who doesn’t have somebody they know that is dealing with addiction problems.” Bosworth said the training on March 2 was open to the first 75 town employees who registered from across all departments and was full within the first day. Much like CPR training, which is required for town employees, Bosworth said the Narcan training is a necessity in today’s society. The official statistics for 2017 have not been calculated for

with an introduction to addiction as a disease and options for treatment before the training. “It was really very interesting to see how engaged our employees were,” Bosworth, who stayed for the workshop, said. “You could have heard a pin drop in the room throughout the entire presentation, which was about two hours. No one was losing interest.” Bosworth said this was the first time the committee had partnered with a municipality for training and all workers, union or nonunion, were invited to PHOTO COURTESY OF TOWN OF NORTH HEMPSTEAD participate. Bosworth said the training was to instruct employees on the use of the NarThe Town of North Hempstead hosted a Narcan training workshop for interested employees on March 2. Pictured are Spencer Kramer, Project Manager of can inhaler and also to change the stigthe Opioid Management Steering Committee; Linda DeMasi; Heather Hugelmey- ma of addiction. Employees were also given a kit at the end of the workshop er, Program Director of the Garden City Treatment Center; Danielle Piatkowsky; with two Narcan inhalers, latex gloves, Bruce Goldman, CASAC Director of Substance Abuse Services at Zucker alcohol wipes and other necessities. Hillside; Supervisor Judi Bosworth; Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Director of Screen“There was a time when if someone had a diagnosis of cancer, you’d hear ing, Brief Intervention and Referral Treatment and Departments of Emergency them whispering with their hand over Medicine, Internal Medicine and Psychiatry/Behavioral Health; Laura Harrison; their mouth about it as if it were someMelanie Ritter and Bernard Robinson, Operational Manager for EMS. thing to be ashamed of,” Bosworth said. “We have to change the attitude toward Long Island, but officials in Nassau and Nassau. addiction as well so that people are Suffolk counties are projecting about The two-hour training was conduct- more comfortable discussing it, which 600 Long Islanders died last year from ed by the Northwell Health Opioid Man- will lead to them getting the help they overdoses — 400 in Suffolk and 195 in agement Steering Committee and began so very much need.”

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The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

since 1911 COMING APRIL 2018 156 BROADWAY BROOKLYN NY 11211 NEXT TO PETER LUGER’S STEAK HOUSE.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MALLORY WEBER AT TEMPLE EMANUEL

Wilkerson talks foreign policy at G.N. temple BY JA N E LL E C L AUS E N Lawrence Wilkerson, the former chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, discussed what he viewed as ideal foreign policy with Temple Emanuel congregants in Great Neck on Friday night, cautioning against repeating the mistakes of the Bush administration. Wilkerson also said that the United States, which billions of people believe is the greatest security threat according to polls, needs to make efforts to change its image as “the big bully of the world” to more closely align with its idea of being a strong protector of human rights. To create a more ideal foreign policy, Wilkerson recommended embracing more humbleness and cooperation, using bodies like the United Nations and putting the most qualified people there in positions of authority. “At the end of the day, you have to be able to say to yourself the same thing that I said when I came into this congregation: ‘I came to strengthen and will strengthen,'” Wilkerson said. “And you have to be able to say that to the majority of the world. That’s great power foreign policy.” Among the topics Wilkerson touched on were planned negotiations with North Korea, the rise of China, the Syrian civil war, and an “unconstitutional war” in Yemen, as well as Russia’s attempts to project itself as a power. Wilkerson, now a professor of government and public policy at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., was also an associate director for policy planning with the State Department and in the U.S. Army for 31 years.

His previous talks at Temple Emanuel focused on America’s changing role in the world and the national security implications of climate change.

• O U R L O C AT I O N S •

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson spoke to congregants at Temple Emanuel in Great Neck about what a sound foreign policy should look like.

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12 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

A robotic first in surgery for country at Northwell BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I After Elodie Trouche tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation in 2015, she decided to pursue a preventative double mastectomy — but on her terms. Trouche, 45, a French native now living in Nyack, opted for the test after her sister’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2015. The results were the beginning of Trouche’s two-year search for a team of surgeons who could perform a nipplesparing mastectomy, which removes breast tissue while saving the existing nipple and areola, and her search led her to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. Trouche was the ﬁrst patient in the United States to undergo a robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery on March 4 and spoke of her experiences alongside her surgeons, Dr. Alan Kadison and Dr. Neil Tanna, at a news conference last Tuesday. Trouche said despite her test results, she “refused to be mutilated.” “I knew I had some time because I was having surgery as a preventive measure. I wasn’t sick,” Trouche said during the news conference. “I knew about robotic surgery and made up my mind that this was the best way for me. Once I found my team here at LIJ, I never

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

The surgical team at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park performed the country’s first robotic NSM mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery on March 4. looked back. I have found this entire experience to be very empowering. By educating myself and saying ‘no’ to what I didn’t want, I had the exact type of sur-

gery that I was hoping for.” According to the National Cancer Institute, about 12 percent of women in the general population will develop breast

cancer sometime during their lives. By contrast, a recent study by the institute estimated about 72 percent of women with a BRCA1 mutation and about 69 percent of women with a BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 80. Tanna said conventional forms of nipple-sparing mastectomies involved a long incision on the breast itself. “By doing the surgery robotically, incisions and scars are placed away from the breast, sitting instead on the chest wall near the armpit,” Tanna said. “This surgery was performed as an investigational study following strict Institutional Review Board protocols. We hope to be continuing this study with other women who are interested in considering this alternative to traditional surgery.” Kadison said he has seen advantages to using the Da Vinci technology for nipple-sparing mastectomies because it gives patients a shorter hospital stay, less post-surgery pain and an easier recuperation period. “So many women will be aﬀected by breast cancer or the threat of it because of the BRCA gene,” Trouche said. “Through education and empowerment, we can learn about new technology that will help us get through this together.”

COMMUNITY NEWS

Temple’s Purim project On a recent Sunday, congregants of Temple Judea as well as 10 other synagogues and temples on the North Shore met at the Sid Jacobson JCC to participate in a special project called “Pack It Up For Hatzilu 2018”. Together, 35 volunteers helped to sort and assemble packages filled with essential supplies for 100plus families that receive ongoing support from Hatzilu Rescue Organization. In the coming weeks, Hatzilu will add these packages to regular food deliveries dispatched from its kosher food pantry. The purpose of this project was to send bags of needed items to elderly and poor through an organization called the Tikkun Alliance of the North Shore. Each synagogue or temple was assigned to bring 100 of a specific type of household supplies which would then be organized into bags so each recipient would receive an assortment. In the past, these bags were filled with food items,

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIGILANT FIRE COMPANY PHOTO PROVIDED BY TEMPLE JUDEA

Social Action Committee: Rita Marcus, Alicia Munves, Nancy Fadem.

Two of Vigilant Fire Company’s newest paramedic response vehicle and ambulance sit stationed outside the firehouse.

G.N. Plaza postpones fire, EMS hearing to March 21 PHOTOS PROVIDED BY TEMPLE JUDEA

Completed bags ready for distribution but this year it was decided that the recipients would receive cleaning products which are also greatly needed. Congregants of the temples and synagogues along with their children all participated in ﬁlling over 100 bags ﬁlled with items

such as detergent, paper goods and bath products. Each bag also contained a hand-written note, mostly written and illustrated by the children, wishing the recipients a “Happy Purim”, “Happy Passover” and other good wishes.

BY JA N E LL E C L AUS E N Great Neck Plaza oﬃcials postponed a scheduled hearing for Vigilant Fire Company’s ﬁre and ambulance contracts with the village last Wednesday in response to an incoming snowstorm. “Due to the impending storm and its possible severity, the Village of Great Neck Plaza is cancelling the Wednesday, March 7 Board of Trustees meeting,” the village’s website said. “The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 21 at 8 p.m.”

The $2,875,660 budget, which is $15,913 – or 0.55 percent – higher than last year’s budget, provides ambulance service to seven Great Neck villages, including Great Neck Plaza, as well as the Town of North Hempstead. It also provides fire services to four Great Neck villages in addition to the town. Under the proposed 2018 fire and ambulance budget from Vigilant, Great Neck Plaza would pay $929,295 for its share of services – nearly a third of the fire company’s total budget. Continued on Page 47

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Battling blood cancer with fundraising North Shore Hebrew Academy students hope to raise $30,000 in honor of family members BY JA N E LL E C L AUS E N Avi Nessim never met the grandfather he was named after, but he has raised nearly $20,000 in his honor since the fifth grade to help find a cure for the blood cancer that killed him more than 40 years ago. “He just always said, ‘I’m doing this for grandpa Abraham,’” Karen Nessim, his mother, said on Thursday. Since then the chances of survival have improved greatly, Avi Nessim, a 15-year-old North Shore Hebrew Academy sophomore, said, with the chances of survival now over 90 percent and a final cure possible within his lifetime. “It’s great. It just makes me so happy,” Nessim said. “Back when my grandfather was alive, there was a 3 percent survival rate.” Now Nessim is once more trying to raise as much money as he can for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization focused on funding blood cancer research, education and services. This is the second year in a row Nessim has been chosen to participate in its Students of the Year campaign, the first time being last year when he led “Team Cancer Busters,” where high school students raise money for the society over a

dedicated teammates,” Nessim said. Together they form “The A Team,” Karen Nessim said, referring to the first letters of Avi Nessim and Ashley Gordon’s names, as well as grandfather Abraham Nessim. “It’s incredible how they feel so close to him and yet they’ve never met him,” Nessim said of her father-in-law. “It’s pretty incredible.” The campaign kicked off on March 8, and will continue until April 26. In addition to direct donations, they are holding three donation day fundraisers – one held Wednesday at California Pizza Kitchen in Westbury, another on March 27 at Shake Shack in Westbury, and a third at Moe’s Southwest Grill in Oceanside on April 8. Avi Nessim said fundraising involves a big commitment and is not always easy. But for anyone reluctant to try fundPHOTO COURTESY OF THE LEUKEMIA; LYMPHOMA SOCIETY raising, Nessim said it pays off. “It’s definitely not easy. But keep in Ashley Gordon and Avi Nessim, the core of “The A Team,” are raising mind, you’re saving people’s lives,” he money to try finding a cure for blood cancer. said. As for what he plans to do next year, seven-week period. ters Kaylie and Emily. Nessim said he hopes to keep fundraising Joining him this year are his younger The two friends also invited several for the group throughout high school and siblings Jacob and Gabi, as well as his other people, many of whom they have beyond. friend Ashley Gordon, who is fundraising gone to school with. “I think I’m still going to be constantly in honor of a cousin, and her younger sis“At the moment, we have some very helping them out,” Nessim said.

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14 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Opinion OUR VIEWS

Fixing county’s assessment mess

assau County Executive Laura Curran recently said she expects to complete a full reassessment of all properties in the county by the time a new tentative tax roll is issued at the beginning of 2019. In most of the known universe, this would hardly be cause for celebration. But this is Nassau County and it’s been a while since the rules of the universe have applied here. In 2011, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano froze all assessment increases. But, this being Nassau, he continued year after year to grant reductions to property owners and tax appeal firms that filed challenges on the value assigned to the properties by the county. The tax appeal firms received an estimated $500 million in business thanks to this system, and county politicians received large campaign contributions. Property owners who filed challenges also usually won, sharing their savings in most cases with the tax appeal firms. The losers in this system were anyone who did not challenge their property taxes and the county. A Newsday investigation found Mangano’s system created a $1.7 billion shift in the tax burden, overwhelmingly onto lower-valued homes and office buildings. And the county faced the expense of paying for the rebates. This year the cost to the county – and county taxpayers – was $70 million. So Curran deserves a good

deal of credit for trying to create an assessment system that is fair. She is also going to need some help in educating people when county residents get their tax bills next year. Which might not be easy. County Legislature Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said of the planned reassessment, “Whatever is proposed must be fair to the already overburdened property taxpayers.” This is either troubling, strange or both. A reassessment does not change the amount the county collects — just who pays for it. Under the current assessment system, there are many people who are paying too much in property taxes because their property is valued too high in relation to other property owners. Which means that under a new, fairer and more accurate system people paying too much will see their taxes go down. And others, many of whom have successfully filed appeals, will see their taxes go up. Relatively speaking, at least, those who have successfully challenged their taxes — often at the urging of town and county officials — are and have been underburdened property taxpayers. One way to soften the blow to residents facing higher tax bills would be for Nassau County to reduce overall spending. Good luck with that. So get ready for the cries of taxpayers who enjoyed the benefits of this system complaining about their taxes going up as well as the cheers of others who see

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Editorial Cartoon

them go down. This is the price of bad governance — both on the part of Mangano and the county legislators who allowed this to happen. And it is not as if they couldn’t have seen this coming. In 2000, Nassau County undertook reforms after settling a lawsuit alleging it had — surprise, surprise — overtaxed homeowners in minority neighborhoods. In 2003, there was a countywide reassessment and then property values were updated regularly until Mangano stepped in. Congressman Tom Suozzi, who served as county executive during the reassessment, said when he left oﬃce in 2008 Nassau had the ability to reassess property on a yearly basis.

Former Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos advocated yearly reassessments based on real value last year during his primary campaign against Curran. This is a concept that should be familiar to everyone who has bought or sold property in Nassau County. Buyers, sellers and the just plain curious routinely go online to see what comparable homes sold for on the Multiple Listing Service or county Tax Assessors’ Oﬃce website. Curran can leave a lasting legacy if she can create a system in which all property in the county is reassessed every year. In the year 2018, that should not be asking too much. The yearly reassessments

would ensure that property owners are paying their fair share – no more, no less. Prevent disruptions like the one taxpayers are about to experience. And stop the county’s bleeding from tax challenges. “It is an important issue that the county must get its arms around in order to reduce the large amounts of tax refund claims and its negative impact on the budget,” said Adam Barsky, chairman of the county’s ﬁnancial control board. The state-authorized control board has overseen the ﬁnances of Nassau County, one of the wealthiest counties in New York, since 2000. It is time that state control ended. A rational assessment system is a good place to start.

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

ON THE RIGHT

Gov. Cuomo’s tax and spend budget

report released in February determined that New Yorkers pay the highest combined state and local taxes in the United States. “Facts and Figure 2017: How Does your State Compare?” compiled by the well-respected research organization, Tax Foundation, stated that 12.6 percent of citizens’ income is paid in New York taxes. That averages out to about $2,208 per person in income taxes, $2,581 in property taxes per capita and $662 in sales tax collections. Connecticut came in second, with taxes paid as a percent of income at 12.6 percent. The thirdplace award goes to New Jersey where taxes as a percent of income are 12.2 percent. Additional bad news: New York is the most expensive state to live in after Hawaii. Despite this grim data, for Governor Andrew Cuomo its business as usual. To to balance his proposed $163 billion budget for the 20182019 ﬁscal year that commences on April 1, he raises taxes and fees and employs ﬁscal gimmicks. According to the report on the

Executive Budget by the Office of State Comptroller, led by Tom DiNapoli, Cuomo’s claim that operating fund spending will increase by a modest 2.6 percent is problematic. That number is questioned because there are “budget actions that contribute to the appearance of lower State Operating fund growth.” In other words, the governor is employing fiscal slight of hand shenanigans that include “shifting expenditures to capital project funds, which is outside the scope of state Operating Funds: moving expenditures off budget to a public authority or an off-budget fund or account; specifically, excluding certain spending from the calculated growth of State Operating Funds; restructuring programs such that the cost is reflected on the revenue side of the ledger rather than as spending; deferring expenditures to future years; and others.” This kind of smoke and mirror accounting brought New York City to the brink of bankruptcy back in 1975. The Cuomo budget also includes $5.6 billion in anticipated revenue from either temporary

GEORGE J. MARLIN On The Right or non-recurring from the federal government and in non-federal resources. In other words, “oneshots.” Sadly, the governor has squandered close to half the settlements received from financial institutions and insurance companies to balance his budgets, including $838 million in this year’s financial plan. Since 2014, fines received by the state have totaled approximately $4.5 billion. Of that amount, 49.4 percent

have been dedicated to state budget relief while 46.7 percent has been deposited in the Dedicated Infrastructure Investment Fund. Frankly, all the Wall Street settlement money should have gone to rebuild New York’s decrepit infrastructure. Cuomo has done a grave disservice by siphoning off these precious one-shot revenues to balance his bloated budget. According to the State Comptroller, the Governor’s Executive Budget Financial Plan is subject to a laundry list of risks and uncertainties, including “federal aid for health care, education, transportation and other purposes, and many programs that drive current funding levels may be subject to change based on current budget and policy discussions in Washington.” Most disturbing, the financing resources for the $8.3 billion the governor has committed to the MTA for its 2015-2019 capital plan have not yet been identified. Cuomo’s budget contains tax and fee increases including a 14 percent fee on health insurer profits, an excise tax on opioids, the elimination of the sales tax exemption on energy services, amended tax rate on cigars and a tax on va-

por products. As for the transparency, Cuomo promised New Yorkers when he first ran for governor in 2010, the Comptroller warned, “certain elements for the SYF 2018-2019 Executive Budget falls short with respect to high standards of transparency, accountability and oversight. These include broad grants of unilateral authority to the executive to manage or reshape the Budget; broadly defined allocations of state resources; and use of budget actions that obscure the level and growth of state revenues, spending and obligations.” In other words, this is a budget that the Comptroller rightly concludes “may diminish New Yorkers’ confidence in their State government.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be emulating Gov. Mario Cuomo’s flimflam approach to state spending. And sooner or later it will catch up with our present governor just as it did with Mario in 1994 when voters booted him out of office.

A LOOK ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

It’s that time of the year again

was at my desk when it happened. “Oh, no,” I moaned. “What’s the matter?” my husband asked. “Are you in pain?” “Not pain, exactly,” I told him. “But I don’t have a single idea for this week’s column, and it’s due today!” “Oh dear, that is a dilemma,” he said. His words sounded sympathetic, but the eﬀect was ruined by a smile from ear to ear. “I’m suﬀering and you’re happy?” “No, of course not. It’s just that, every time you’re stuck in your writing, you start to clean. The last time this happened, I noticed the grout in the bathroom shower was suddenly whiter. Now I see you’ve been dusting in the dining room.…” “You saw that? What gave me away?” “I can tell what color the placemats are, again.” “You know, there’s nothing stopping you from cleaning, too! I bet you can use the vacuum cleaner even better than I can.”

“Oh, but I don’t want to get in your way.” “At least, help me pull the ladder over here. I have to get those cobwebs oﬀ the light ﬁxture.” He helped me get to the cobwebs. But anytime my husband looks that happy, I know I’ve done something wrong. So I quit dusting and went back to my desk. Or tried to. “How is it I’ve never noticed this stack of dirty dishes before?” I asked him. “Don’t ask me, I’ve been nudging them a little closer to your keyboard every day.” “You could just wash them yourself, you know.” “And deny you the pleasure? I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. “Besides, you’re better at it.” We both know I’m not. More to the point, he knows that I am never interested in cleaning anything until I’m on a deadline for something else. The trouble is, then I’m doing two things badly, instead of one! Perhaps you know the fable about the donkey that was equally placed between two piles of

JUDY EPSTEIN A Look on the Lighter Side hay, and starved to death because it couldn’t decide which one to eat? I’m just like that donkey, except that I am fatally suspended between two things I equally hate — house-cleaning, or ﬁnishing a piece of writing when inspiration has failed to strike. Stumped for ideas, I start reading online articles about how to jump-start the brain. Here’s one, about how some people think that if you grunt while ex-

erting yourself — like Monica Seles playing tennis at Wimbledon, or me looking for a soup can at the very back of the cabinet — it can actually improve your efficiency. I give it a try. “What’s happened now?” my husband calls from another room. “Did you hurt yourself?” “No, I’m just trying to improve my efficiency.“ “Is it working?” “Not very well,” I must confess. I’ve forgotten what I was looking for. Other articles say it helps to smile, and might even improve your metabolism. That’s too ridiculous to even try. Besides, my spouse might believe I’m enjoying myself, and nothing could be farther from the truth. Back at my desk, I can’t help noticing all the dust on the bookshelves over my head. I decide that I must stop everything to dust them off. Three shelves later, it occurs to me that all I’ve done is knock a years’ worth of dust onto my keyboard…so it’s practically a health

requirement that I head out the door for some air! On my way out, I walk past a clock. I’ve only written three paragraphs, so far, but hey! I’ve also washed a few dishes, dusted some shelves, even organized a soup can or two — and it’s only 4 o’clock! Which is really 3 o’clock, when you factor in that this is the first day of Daylight Savings Time. “Oops! Sorry, Judy, that’s the one clock I forgot to change,” says my beloved. So it’s not 4 o’clock, after all, it’s really 5. In the blink of an eye, I’m two hours behind! How can it be so late, and me with nothing to show for it? “Say, Judy — if you’re not going to clean anymore, and you’re not getting anywhere with the writing, either, there is one thing I could use some help with: preparing our taxes.” That’s all the inspiration I need! Suddenly I’m back at my keyboard, fingertips flying. Turns out all I needed was the right motivation.

16 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

THE FOGGIEST IDEA

Islanders’ return puts taxpayers on ice On a stretch of track over the Cross Island Parkway, Long Island Rail Road trains whiz by at up to 80 mph on their way to Penn Station. Belmont Park can be seen in the distance looming over the vast expanse of concrete parking lots that is slated to become the 18,000-seat new home for the New York Islanders in 2021. It is here that a westbound LIRR train would have to stop and pull oﬀ what Aaron Gordon of the Village Voice has equated to “doing a three-point turn in the middle of a highway, but with a train.” All to access a rarely used rail spur that leads directly to Belmont Park on game days, which mostly fall on the tail end of the evening rush hour. MTA Chairman Joe Lhota expressed his concerns about Belmont’s limited LIRR access at a state budget hearing in January 2018, saying, “We’re at capacity on the main line during rush hour, and so we’re going to have to look at that and weigh that in. I’m concerned about how that’s going to all ﬁt in at any one particular point in time.” This troubling transit issue is just one of two problems that have arisen in recent weeks regarding the redevelopment of Belmont Park. The other directly hits taxpayers’ wallets. After being promised that the Belmont endeavor will be the

product of ample private investment, it turns out that taxpayers will be footing part of the bill to keep the Isles on ice. Essentially, a much-needed $1 billion reinvention that was to be fueled by private investment has turned into a public charity project for a professional sports team that is virtually inaccessible from where most of its Long Island fans live. All this to assist an NHL team that arguably has not been a dynamic draw even before it moved to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. If things weren’t bad enough for the Islanders, the new venue has all but sapped fan enthusiasm even further. In recent years, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has acquired a taste for bombastic infrastructure projects such as a new Tappan Zee Bridge (to be named after his father) and LaGuardia Airport. Now he has proposed that while the new arena is being built for the Islanders in Belmont, the team will come back to play at “the barn” in Nassau County. But as it turns out, in order to make this move possible, New York State will spend $6 million to bear the burden of costs that are necessary to upgrade NYCB Live, the privately owned and recently renovated Nassau Coliseum to accommodate the team. County voters had snubbed a proposal from Nassau Coun-

RICHARD MURDOCCO The Foggiest Idea ty Executive Ed Mangano, a Republican, to foot the bill to construct an all-new venue in 2011—and the improved rink was going to remain right in their own backyard where the team had played for decades. This past season, the Islanders were ranked last in fan attendance, attracting just over 12,000 a game thanks to lackluster accommodations in Brooklyn. Beginning this October, the team has committed to playing 12 games in Uniondale during the regular season, and 48 games over the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. To welcome them back, even temporarily, the “new” Nassau Coliseum will need some upgrades to host them. These “enhancements,” according to a release by the governor’s press oﬃce, include

necessary improvements so the venue can meet NHL requirements, such as investing in ice plant redundancy and dehumidification, as well as in media and broadcast cabling infrastructure. The project is expected to be completed by the fall. Newsday took a strong stance on the issue, complaining that it’s a “slippery slope” for the state to contribute $6 million so the Islanders can play hockey in Nassau County— while Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the private developer who owns NYCB Live and Barclays Center, is let off the hook. The editorial raised another key question: Who exactly will be paying for the infrastructure to support the Islanders’ move to Belmont, including the muchheralded LIRR access that supposedly put the Islanders’ bid over the top in the first place? Thanks to the difficult logistics of enhancing access, those costs could be steep for the already cash-strapped MTA. Politicking and payments aside, the team seemingly can’t get out of Brooklyn fast enough. In late February, Barclays Center chief executive Brett Yormark compared his soon-to-be former tenants to a “rent-a-team.” He vented about the challenging market and wished them luck in building a new venue in New York State after his own arena took nearly a decade to construct. His concerns

didn’t sit well in the governor’s office, which was quick to restate New York’s commitment to Belmont. As reported in Newsday’s The Point, “An Empire State Development official told The Point that the environmental review of the redevelopment at Belmont will begin ‘shortly.’ Construction is expected to start in 2019.” Between the obstacles with Belmont’s access and the sudden reliance on taxpayers’ pockets, what once was clearly a winning proposition is now on thinner ice. Why weren’t the upgrades done to the Nassau Coliseum in the first place, and why weren’t the limitations of increasing LIRR service to the new arena clearly outlined earlier? It is likely the snafus will be eventually ironed out – but they don’t inspire the public confidence that these complex regional projects require. Richard Murdocco is an award-winning columnist and adjunct professor in Stony Brook University’s public policy graduate program. He regularly writes and speaks about Long Island’s real estate development issues. More of his views can be found on thefoggiestidea. org or follow him on Twitter @ thefoggiestidea. You can email Murdocco at Rich@TheFoggiestIdea.org.

FROM THE DESK OF JACK SCHNIRMAN

Independent approach to county’s audit As comptroller, it is my responsibility to guide my office to be the watchdog of the county’s finances. That is why I announced this week that I will be revitalizing the county’s Independent Audit Advisory Committee, an established citizen oversight function that has been underutilized for too long. The Independent Audit Advisory Committee, first created in 2003, is tasked with monitoring the county’s financial statements and providing input on the county budget and external audit plan. The committee is intended to be composed of five Nassau

County residents who have no conflicts or business related to county government and hold no position in any political party or local government. This is a vital layer of muchneeded fiscal oversight, and its existence and operations are too important not to be a regular oversight function of county government. We are looking for applicants with experience and expertise in accounting, financial reporting, and finance who will be independent, and grounded in professionalism. The committee members will bring their knowledge of accounting and finance from

JACK SCHNIRMAN Nassau County Comptroller the private sector to help identify best practices and guide the

Comptroller’s Office to be more efficient and effective by monitoring the preparation and external audit of the county’s financial statements. Positions on the Independent Audit Advisory Committee will be unpaid, and anyone interested in applying is asked to visit https://www.nassaucountyny. gov/4489/Independent-AuditAdvisory-Committee and download the application form. Unlike in previous years, the committee will meet on a quarterly basis to provide additional oversight to generate timely reports, regularly report back to the comptroller’s Office, and insist upon corrective actions

when needed to improve operations. The Oﬃce of the Nassau County Comptroller will review submissions from members of the public who wish to serve on this committee. Once the committee is set, a meeting schedule will be established so that this group can get to work looking out for the taxpayers. My oﬃce will soon announce additional opportunities for members of the public with applicable talents and experience to contribute to our mission of improving public oversight and transparency to drive reform.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

VIEW POINT

Guns and butter debate comes to G.N.

all it what it is: the NRA Tax. This is Great Neck’s hysterical reaction to the threat of gun violence after a misconstrued Facebook post triggered a rumor mill, magnified by social media set off a panic. Some 30 percent of students stayed home from school, despite the notices sent around after the Nassau County Police Department thoroughly investigated and found absolutely no basis to a threat (unlike a more credible threat in two other school districts). North High School’s auditorium was standing room only for the March 5 School Board meeting, scheduled to be the first budget hearing. The board, joined by senior administrators and two Nassau County police officers, spent 3 1/2 hours answering questions and hearing comments from concerned parents (none of whom, stayed for the actual budget hearing which started around midnight). America’s gun violence epidemic is properly called “domestic terrorism.” It is really frightening to hear from parents who had previously lived in Israel, even served in the military and fought in Israel’s wars, expressing their terror. The perceived threat that was perceived has resulted in a new threat put to the school board: either you spend millions of dollars more on security (despite the fact they had not

been aware before of the level of security measures already in place), or we will work to defeat your budget. (The district’s safety plan can be reviewed online but building safety plans are conﬁdential.) They didn’t seem to care that the district is already spending more than $2 million on security – I call it the NRA Tax. One man actually poohpoohed the 600 surveillance cameras, the automatic door locks, the database system that checks ID. He wants two armed police oﬃcers on duty at every one of the district’s 18 buildings, 24/7. Another woman suggested building safe rooms in every classroom. “It would only cost $1000 per student.” Another man who said he had purchased a Kevlar shield to insert into his child’s backpack, wants the district to supply the 6,000 students, at a cost of $300 each (but you could probably get a bulk discount!). I estimate just the cost of added police security at about $5 million a year. That amount would overwhelm this year’s increase of $4.9 million to $223.3 million. That 2.1 percent increase falls below the 2.85 percent that would be allowed under the cap; if the district increased spending to the amount allowed, they could squeeze out $1 million more for security. But to what purpose? There was an armed sher-

KAREN RUBIN View Point iff ’s deputy on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a 19-year old former student with an assault rifle massacred 17 students and teachers and injured 17 more. Two more deputies were outside. And it is dubious what they could have done – it took mere minutes for the shooter, armed with a military-grade AR 15 and high-capacity ammo clips, to get off dozens of rounds, then slip out among the fleeing students. And that meme used by Trump that a shooter would be intimidated by an armed guard also fails to take into account that most shooters expect to be shot dead. It’s in their plan. (Read this chilling account in the Washington Post, “Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150’”, goo. gl/8VoJFL) Even the former Israeli soldier, who fought in the Yom Kippur War, said, “Guns are not the

answer.” One of the fathers most adamant in pressing to spend unlimited dollars – millions – on armed guards, said that his child stayed home from school out of fear and that lost day might result in failing to get into the college of her choice. “It will be your fault.” J’accuse. But what if the cost of having armed guards means losing science research, Model UN and Mock Trial, losing art, music, theater, team sports? After all, despite these parents’ dubious assurances that the community will happily accept higher school taxes, the district has had to work within the state’s ridiculous tax cap. What if armed guards come at a cost of small-class size, probably the most important factor in how successful our district is and the best defense against a child with psychological problems falling through the cracks? What will he say then, when his child’s resume can’t compete with other kids for that Ivy League spot? Whose fault will that be? But thank heavens, New York is not Florida, Kentucky, Colorado, Nevada. Thank heavens, we have the strictest gun control laws and don’t have the warped view of “freedom” as the right of a would-be mass murderer to wield a weapon of war. Gov. Cuomo, who succeeded in passing the SAFE Act shortly after Sandy Hook school

massacre, is working to address other threats, forming a regional coalition of states. The woman who vaguely said that parents need to get active and get elected representatives to do something should be more precise. That energy needs to be directed at the Do-Nothing Accomplices in Congress: restore the assault weapons ban; ban high-capacity ammo clips and bump stocks; enforce universal background checks; bar purchases to mentally ill and domestic abusers. Require smart-gun technology so only the registered, licensed, presumably trained and responsible gun owner can ﬁre it. Bring your passion for protecting your children to the halls of Congress and the White House. And let the schools be a place for knowledge and understanding, personal growth and achievement. Join the March For Our Lives, March 24. I’m headed to Washington D.C., but there will be local marches as well (some 725 scheduled), including at Fireﬁghters Park, Great Neck Plaza (3 p.m.); Port Washington (6:30); SUNY Old Westbury (4:15 p.m.); Glen Cove (11 a.m.); 5 Towns, Cedarhurst (2:30 p.m.); Long Beach 2 p.m.); Farmingdale (11 a.m.); as well as a major march in Central Park, NYC (10 a/m.). See marchforourlives.com.

Bill O’Brien the right choice for W.P. trustee

want to take this opportunity to give my support to Bill O’Brien for Williston Park village trustee. I’ve known Bill for several years and have been extremely impressed with his dedication to our village. Bill has served as the Williston Park Little League’s vice president for many years and has worked tirelessly to improve all of our children’s baseball and softball experience. When I was asked to join

the little league board and ultimately become president, and knowing that there is a tremendous amount of eﬀort required to do this job, I rapidly knew that I had someone who was one of the hardest working people I ever met by my side. Bill is the glue that holds it all together and there is no doubt his hard work, calm demeanor, and extraordinary dedication will be exactly what all the residents in this wonderful village will get!

This made my choice very simple for leading our little league and it should be your choice for having him as one of our trustees! I also wanted share with you great news about our Little League and the support we received from the current village administration. As many of you know, a few years back we requested two grants from Jack Martins. The ﬁrst has already paid for new equipment and the scoreboard.

In addition to this, we will be commencing a project with the remaining funds to relocate the batting cage and place new bleachers in the outﬁeld, including a canopy. The second grant we submitted was for a large project to place a new turf inﬁeld at Kelleher Field. We are excited to work with Mayor Ehrbar and Deputy Mayor Kevin Rynne, who have committed to complete this project with us.

We anticipate being ﬁnished prior to the beginning of the 2019 spring baseball and softball season. These two individuals are truly committed to our village, and with the addition of Bill O’Brien to their team, I have no doubt they will meet the needs of our great village for years to come. Joe Manopella Williston Park resident and president of The Williston Park Little League

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18 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Why wireless is an essential utility

t’s no secret that Long Island has deficient cell phone service. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has even urged carriers to improve coverage on the island, where more than 200 cell phone dead zones were identified in late 2016 as well as poor quality network speed, reliability and performance. As a longtime resident of Shoreham and as someone who served for several years as the First District’s assemblyman, I know the vital importance of seamless wireless connectivity for our personal lives and for businesses. My interest in improving the quality of mobile networks has grown even stronger since serving as executive director of the state’s Business Incubator Association, which helps develop and grow startups throughout the state. I’ve witnessed first-hand the impact that quality cell phone service can have on keeping the businesses within our local entrepreneur ecosystem running smoothly. I also know that if we do not keep pace as smartphone usage and data demands continue to increase, Long Island’s inadequate cell phone service will be further magnified. Today, if deployed efficiently, 4G LTE can meet most of the wireless connectivity needs for communities. But to enable new technologies in the future, like autonomous vehicles and smart cities, 5G (the fifth-generation of wireless broadband technology that the carriers will start rolling out this year)

will be required for cities and communities around the country – including Long Island. We’re using our smartphones more than ever – to chat, stream content, read the news, shop and more. By 2020, global mobile data traffic worldwide will be four times what the overall internet traffic was in 2005. All that data is putting a strain on wireless networks built before our “phones” became more than phones. The demands placed on wireless networks aren’t merely manifestations of trivial aspects of our lifestyle. Wireless bandwidth is important for individuals, communities, businesses and the wider economy. Less known, but increasingly important is the demand for public safety. FirstNet (First Responder Network Authority) was created in 2012 by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act to provide first responders with the first nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety. The rollout begins across the country this year to install the appropriate network infrastructure that will be critical in ensuring the FirstNet network runs smoothly and keeps communities safer in life-threatening situations. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 70 percent of 911 calls are placed from wireless phones. In other words, wireless is not just for smartphones, but for serving the public good as an actual utility.

We all have a critical stake in assuring our communities have quality network coverage. The villages of Kings Point, Lake Success, Flower Hill, Plandome, Plandome Manor and Williston Park are among the areas with inadequate coverage and more data demand than the current network infrastructure can accommodate. Addressing network infrastructure challenges requires collaboration between the carriers, neutral host providers (the companies that build the network infrastructure and lease it to the carriers) as well as residents and local leaders. In fact, those aforementioned areas are currently debating the path forward after reviewing a proposal from the carrier providing service to customers and ExteNet Systems (an Illinois-based neutral host provider) to improve network coverage and performance. New network infrastructure doesn’t mean unsightly cell towers, which is a common concern as it relates to aesthetics. Neutral host providers like ExteNet install “small cell” antennas, which can be as small as a lunchbox and are placed near the top of utility poles, much like electrical transformers. When citizens, community leaders and organizations can work together with the carriers and neutral host providers, the potential is there to install unobtrusive wireless sites that support today’s data demands, and the future.

Bar town as family affair

onsidering that Sharon Troiano, family member to Robert Troiano has worked in the tax department of the Town of North Hempstead alongside tenured tax receiver Charles Berman, claims of ignorance made by Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth regarding Mr. Troianos’ undisclosed tax liens holds no water.

Further, employing two family members within the same town government violates town, county and state anti-nepotism and anticronyism laws including New York State’s Constitution. Concentrated public integrity violations are veneer to organized criminal activity, therefore, treat it as such. Concerned constituents may

report public integrity violations to the Federal Bureau of Investigations at www.ice3.gov, the New York State Attorney Generals ofﬁce of Public Integrity at ag.ny. gov/public-integrity/complaint and The New York State Inspector General at https://www.ig.ny.gov/ reports/news.html. M. Weingart Manhasset

Time to impeach Trump

bviously, all the Republicans in Congress have had spine removal surgery. The Current Occupant at 1600 is now putting the Presidential Seal on tee markers for

his golf courses. Legal? Doubtful. He’s also breaking the law by not imposing further sanctions on Russia. And he’s doing nothing to try to stop further Russia meddling in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

None of this would be accepted if it was being done by a Democrat. None. Of. It. Time to impeach Lawless, Lying Donald. Mary Ellen Scherer New Hyde Park

C L A R I F I C AT I O N A sub-headline last week mischaracterized an action by state Sen. Elaine Phillips. In a procedural vote, she voted against allowing a hostile

amendment with gun control measures to be attached to another bill. She did not vote no on a gun control bill.

I have attended meetings during which questions on health concerns related to radio emissions were raised. It is understandable, given how much we all use our smartphones. And, as a parent, I also want to ensure no health impact for my two children. Fortunately, several U.S. government agencies and international organizations are working together to monitor research on the health effects of radio frequency exposure. To date, the FDA and the World Health Organization, among others, have concluded that scientific evidence doesn’t effectively link radio frequency exposure with any known health problems. In addition, small cell networks with small antennas help limit radiated power. The deployment of faster 4G and 5G networks also will contribute to reducing the energy radiated by cell phones significantly. I hope that Long Island, and the residents and businesses which stand to benefit from the improved cell phone service can work together with the carriers and neutral host providers to ensure that our wireless network capabilities are the best they can be. Because if enhanced wireless service becomes a reality, our communities will be better off. Marc Alessi Attorney of counsel with the Long Island law firm of Campolo, Middleton & McCormick,

Helping rich rig elections

r. Dragoon’s letter was spot on! Unfortunately, The Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled in April 2014 that, in essence, money is the equivalent of free speech, thereby nailing the coﬃn shut in our electoral process. The ruling was very long and while it interfered with the process of monetary donations in a very limited way, it did not interfere with monied interests redirecting their money through super PACs and other routes. essentially allowing monetary corruption to continue to feed our elected

officials through the election process. As long as this favoring of monied interests continues, our culture will continue its downward slide. It is a tragedy when one thinks about the myriad of folks who have sacrificed their lives, families, friends, etc. fighting for the principles upon which our country was founded. Facta non verba Richard L. Reiser Great Neck Letter Continued on Page 52

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The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Shift money from parking lot to security

onday night’s meeting addressing the issue of potential gun violence in schools brought out many important suggestions from students and parents that cannot be ignored. Most everyone spoke for the need for more protection. A student suggested that on the secondary level, the student issued ID cards be used additionally as swipe cards for entry to all facilities. Non-swipe cardholders would not be able to enter without a liaison or escort from the school staﬀ. Parents from all schools expressed

the need for armed guards or metal detectors before admission to any school facility. There was also the recommendation that we all be of the mindset to say something if we see something. Finally, the suggestion to teach students and teachers alike how to respond to active threats, how to recognize behaviors that might make a student appears to be one that could become a threat to others and himself, and how to continue to nurture an environment for tolerance and compassion to others, are all important to promote school security. Some or all of these measures should

be considered by the Great Neck Public Schools and Board of Education for all of the Great Neck Public School facilities. Some or all of these measures require money. How wasteful it now seems to consider spending close to a million dollars on a parking lot for a fraction of seniors at one school. Given the pushback from the neighbors who were not aﬀorded the due process from building or citizen advisory committees in this project, and given the better use of monies for safety issues in every school in the GNPS, the BOE

should abandon this project and encourage seniors to park at the GNPS owned Parkwood parking lot, and perhaps consider enlarging the zones for which students are entitled to busing. Given the fact that this year’s budget is $4 million over last years, and the allocation of funds for security had not been considered, it might be wise to use the monies saved from the parking lot for the purpose of district-wide security enhancements. Simin Moezinia Great Neck

Plaza ignoring key North parking lot is needed parking issue I

he questions never asked of Village of Great Neck Plaza deputy mayor. Why are motorists allowed to double park outside Shop Delight? Why are delivery vehicles allowed to block traﬃc? There are agreed to delivery hours which are ignored. Pedestrians can’t use the crosswalk intended for them ‘cause vehicles park there. This is not an opinion. This is fact. The truth is that there are

am responding to your notice of Feb. 15, 2018, converging the informational session concerning the new parking lot project at Great very few summonses written Neck North High School. given the obvious and multitude As emotionally-driven, nonof violations. There has to be a analytical opposition has been willingness to do so. ( Whatev- generated by a few of my neigher happened to valet parking ?) bors (lovely people all) and I do “Transportation enhance- not wish to upset them, I oﬀer ment” sounds nice. Gets the the opinion of myself, my wife mayor’s picture in the paper. and daughter, the three occuThe deputy mayor’s too pants of 80 Beach Road – in full I’d settle for better manage- support of the project. ment. Our names are not to be part of the record, but you Rob Stevens should know why we support Great Neck the project and what you must include – which, by the way, should “sell” the project better

amongst most adjacent residents like us: 1. I am a former senior official in the New York City Department Of Transportation during the Koch administration and former planning board member in Queens. I have familiarity with these matters. 2. The streets surrounding the school have very limited storage capacity and this measure will ease traffic for those whose egress from their homes is required during morning school arrival for students and faculty. 3. Improved drainage can and must ameliorate local flooding caused by topography in the area.

4. The border between the fences surrounding the property must be newly fenced, perhaps with privacy elements added, and proper landscaping made part of the project. 5. All ancient natural debris should once and for all be removed (and made into useful mulch as well) from the border area. 6. The area is very dark – special attention should be paid to lighting along with additional security staﬃng. Jeﬀrey, Cynthia and Maxine Wiesenfeld Great Neck

COMMUNITY NEWS

School staff right to D’Urso attends the advocacy protected annual Taste of the Town

s a former employee of the Great Neck Public Schools, I would like to address a major concern raised in Ms. Roth’s letter. She made several other misstatements, but one particularly caught my attention. A “retired teacher,” as a resident of the United States, protected by the First Amendment of our Constitution, has every right to advocate for the bond and the school budget. Ms. Roth has the constitutional right to advocate against them. “School employees” as individuals can “advocate their favored positions.” It is not “unethical” or “illegal” for them to express their opinions. It is their

constitutionally guaranteed right under the ﬁrst amendment. The retiree did not speak as a “state agency” but as herself. A “dictatorial government” would prohibit her free expression. Our “democratic United States” gives her every right to do so! Ms. Roth has made a number of misstatements about the district’s ranking, taxes, teachers’ union and property values. These can be addressed at another time. Thank you. Arlette Sanders Retired Assistant Superintendent, Great Neck Public Schools

State Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso recently attended the annual Taste of the Town at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Port Washington, hosted and organized by the Manhasset-Port Washington Kiwanis Club. D’Urso and many residents were able to sample food from numerous restaurants from across the Town of North Hempstead representing a wide variety of cuisines from many nationalities. Proceeds from this event PHOTO BY JEFF STONE OF THE will be donated to local charities. KIWANIS CLUB MANHASSET-PORT WASHINGTON Music was provided by the local and talented music group Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso dishing out dinner, O’Hara’s Ale from Port Washington known as House Grill Manager Virginia Kohn and North Hempstead Town the Porch Light LITE. Supervisor Judi Bosworth.

20 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Food drive secures thousands of items BY R E B ECC A K L A R Seven years ago Rob Hallam’s wife, Mary, handed him a box and tossed in two cans of tuna. From there, Hallam started an annual food drive that has brought in thousands of nonperishable goods for those in need on Long Island. “If you believe in a calling from God, that was clearly the message to me,” Hallam said on starting the drive. Hallam will be delivering this year’s donated goods to a food pantry at 230 Hanse Ave. in Freeport on Saturday around 11 a.m. Volunteers are invited to be part of the human chain that will pass the boxes from vehicles to the pantry. This year Nassau Door and Window is supplying trucks. The Hallams are actively involved in their church, the Community Presbyterian Church of Malverne. Every year, the church participates in the national Souper Bowl drive. Hallam said he felt God was telling him to take the food drive efforts outside of the doors of his church. Though he was uncomfortable at first, with a little push from his wife’s initial donation, Hallam reached out to the community. Hallam is a sales manager at the Lynbrook Nassau Door and Window store. He said he decided to reach out to his clients to see if they would be interested in donating. He took a box with cartoon characters, that “looked like a fourth-grade homework project,” and put it in the stores for donations, he said. Nassau Door and Window also has locations in Williston Park and Hicksville. For monetary donations, Hallam equates one dollar with one item. The first year, the drive collected a total of 984 cans

Each year it seemed to grow, Hallam said, especially with the help of social media. Last year, the drive raised close to 15,000 items and dollars, Hallam said. Hallam attributes the drive’s success to its simplicity and grassroots nature. “There’s no overhead cost, no administrative cost, everybody knows that every dollar or every can of soup donated is going to the people that need it,” Hallam said. People are excited to help, he added. “Many people out there want to get involved and do something good but just don’t know how to go about doing it,” Hallam said. Since the initial two cans of tuna from this wife, the drive has drawn participants from across the island and beyond. Hallam said he has even received checks from people from other parts of the state and country – some of whom he doesn’t even know. Hallam said a lot of people want to give but don’t necessarily trust charities and want to know where their money is going. “What we’ve done is just provide a vehicle that everyone can see and feel and it’s going on in their own backyard,” Hallam said. Before being donated, all the goods end up in Hallam’s living room – in piles his wife organizes based on food type. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROB HALLAM Hallam named the drive the “People’s Drive,” because that’s exactly what it is, he said. It no longer is tied to his church or his company, but to Rob Hallam started a food drive seven years ago a much larger community. that has raised thousands of items for locals in Hallam said God’s dreams “are apparently bigger than need. his own,” because he never expected the drive to expand and dollars, he said. to this scale. “And I thought that was tremendous that we had col“But he’s got his own plans … and I put my faith in lected almost 1,000 food items,” Hallam said. him,” Hallam said. The drive didn’t stop there, though.

Williston Park native anchors for NBC BY R E B ECC A K L A R Liam McHugh spent most of February traveling across the country – and world. McHugh, a sportscaster for NBC, recently covered both the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics for the network. But now, McHugh, originally from Williston Park, is back home on Long Island. With two children and one on the way, McHugh and his growing family recently moved to Garden City. McHugh didn’t always see himself going into sportscasting, he said. “I definitely was not one of those kids that sat by a TV with a tape recorder calling play by play,” McHugh said. He added that despite the fact that he’s 5 feet 10 inches tall and “not that fast,” he thought he would be the one on the field. As a Herricks student, McHugh said, he played soccer and basketball. He continued to play soccer a few years at the University of Buffalo where he got his undergraduate degree. Journalism, though, was never too far from McHugh’s mind. His father was an English teacher and his mother was a librarian at the Willis-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN HALLIE SCHIFF

Schiff to talk abstract art at Roslyn Village Gallery PHOTO BY VICTORIA WILL, COURTESY OF NBC SPORTS

Liam McHugh, a Williston Park native, is a sports anchor for NBC. ton Park library, he said. “I loved reading, I loved writing, I knew I wanted to be involved in something like that but I couldn’t put my ﬁnger on it,” McHugh said. McHugh said he started to write for Continued on Page 59

BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I The Roslyn Village Gallery is expanding its reach with diﬀerent types of art workshops taught by artists themselves. Ellen Hallie Schiﬀ of Glen Cove will give the second from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on March 20 focused on abstract art. Tickets are $10, and RSVP is requested to gallery owner Marsha Tarlow. Tickets include refreshments as well as an abstract art history overview, a dem-

onstration by Schiff and audience participation. Schiff said she started painting when she was 45. “I had a husband and a family, and everything was fine, but there was something missing,” Schiff said. “I’d always been very creative as a kid in music and dancing, but I hadn’t really taken art classes except at school.” She took her first art class at the NasContinued on Page 59

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

New radioactive pediatric cancer treatment at Cohen BY R E B ECC A K L A R They may not be turning into superheroes, but pediatric cancer patients at Cohen Children’s Medical Center will become radioactive based on a new treatment the hospital is oﬀering, said Dr. Jonathan Fish. “You’re injecting the patient with a radioactive substance that then makes the patient emit radiation,” Fish, a pediatric oncologist/hematologist at Cohen, said in a Northwell Health news release. The treatment uses a compound, metaiodobenzylguanidine, which contains radioactive iodine that is delivered intravenously to destroy neuroblastoma cells, according to the release. Neuroblastoma is an aggressive childhood cancer that arises from the sympathetic nervous system. One of the most common places to develop neuroblastoma is in the adrenal glands that sit “like a hat on top of the kidneys,” Fish said. The treatment diﬀers from conventional radiation therapy for cancer, Fish said. Conventional therapy involves creating a high-energy radiation beam that targets the cancer, but a patient does not become radioactive, Fish said. The new option is used when neuroblastoma patients have relapses or don’t respond to conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy, which typically cure between 50 and 60 percent of pa-

“Happy, healthy, safe summer fun!”

PHOTO COURTESY OF COHEN CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER

Cohen Children’s Medical Center now offers a new radiation therapy option for patients with neuroblastoma. tients, according to the release. “In the context of a child who has high-risk neuroblastoma that has relapsed or is unresponsive, then the MIBG can extend a high quality of life for months or years,” Fish said. Fish said researchers are close to incorporating high-dose metaiodobenzylguanidine as part of ﬁrst-line treatment for newly diagnosed patients.

Cohen is currently one of a handful of hospitals across the country, and one of the few in the tristate area, to offer the treatment, according to the release. Cohen invested upward of $1 million to begin offering the treatment. Part of the funding came from fundraising efforts by the Kostaris family of Queens, who lost their daughter Anastasia to neuroblastoma.

Anastasia was diagnosed with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma two days before her first birthday. She received five rounds of chemotherapy at Cohen between December 2014 and February 2015. The Kostaris family then traveled to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for the metaiodobenzylguanidine therapy. Unfortunately, Anastasia’s cancer never went into remission and by midMay the family received news that her tumors had re-emerged. The Kostaris family founded Anastasia‘s Legacy to raise money for the creation of the program at Cohen. The money helped Cohen get specialized equipment, staff training and a customized lead-walled treatment room to project patients in adjacent rooms and staff from radiation exposure. The administration of the metaiodobenzylguanidine is done in one dose and takes only a few minutes. The patient then remains in the treatment room for three to seven days until the radiation level is safe to be in contact with others. Parents can visit their child in the room, but they must stay behind a lead shield and wear a monitor to track their radiation exposure. There is also an adjoining anteroom with two-way audio and visual communication for parents to interact with their child.

Summer at Waldorf

“The counselors and staff at The Summer Program are exceptional!”

Open House Sunday, March 18th 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Monday, June 25 to Friday, August 3, 2018

.Ages 3-13 .Flexible Enrollment .CIT Program for ages 14 – 16 .Optional aftercare to 6:00 p.m.

225 Cambridge Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530

RE GIS TE R N OW: www.waldorfgarden.org/summerprogram or call 516. 742.3434 x327

22 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

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Sunday mornings from 11:15 amâ€”12:00 noon for a sample of our wonderful Gan-Kindergarten program. Experience our dedicated and committed religious school staff who prepare our children for their Jewish educational journey. Explore bible stories, crafts, music & snack! (Parents are required to stay.)

This free â€œTaste of Ganâ€? program will run on Sundays: March 11, 18, 25 RSVP to religiousschool@tbsroslyn.org so we can count you in! Temple Beth Sholom 401 Roslyn Road, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577 516 484-4980 Sharon Solomon, Religious School Director

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Northwell helping develop rehab center BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I In the face of a rising opioid addiction crisis across Long Island, Northwell Health has partnered with the Garden City-based Engel Burman Group to create a state-ofthe-art detoxification and rehabilitation center in Suffolk County. The 134,000-square-foot facility called Wellbridge will be built on 40 undeveloped acres in Calverton, Terry Lynam, Northwell’s senior vice president and chief public relations officer, said. The Town of Riverhead approved the Wellbridge site plan at a March 6 meeting. “We intend to make this facility a center for addiction research and treatment together, which is the first of its kind in this country attached to a major health system,” said Jonathan Morgenstern, director of substance abuse services at Northwell Health. “Having patients down the hall from researchers is very rare in addiction treatment centers. We will continue to follow our clients even after they’ve completed their treatment so we’ll have outcome information on them for years to come so we can track their long-term progress. “Because we’re starting this program from scratch, we can employ the best evidence-based medicine and the latest technolo-

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

Construction on the center is expected in May.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

Northwell Health is partnering with the Engel Burman Group to build a rehabilitation center in Calverton by the end of 2019.

gies that are available, recognizing that recovery is a complicated and long-term process.” Construction is expected to begin in May on the 80-bed facility and is planned for completion in late 2019. Construction is estimated at $92 million for the sixbuilding facility. Lynam said the facility will be divided into three areas, with 20 beds for detoxiﬁcation in a medically stabilized unit, 40 beds for residential treatment for 30-day programs and 20 beds for longterm rehabilitation. “We’re in the midst of an opioid epidemic of chilling proportions,” said Andrew Drazan, an Engel Burman partner in this venture. “The statistics speak for themselves. Over 500 Long Islanders died in 2017 from opioids. There is not a single one of us who

does not know some family that has been harmed by this scourge. This facility will help fill a major gap in substance abuse treatment in our community.” Lynam said 30 clinicians will be hired for the facility as well as 60 support staff members. As the largest provider of behavioral health services in the state, Lynam said, Northwell is involved in the partnership as part of its long-term commitment to meeting the needs of the community as well as responding to the major health crisis. Lynam said beyond treatment, patients will be part of a long-term research study to focus on the disease of addiction. “What makes it unique is it combines treatment with addiction research, and that includes brain imaging of the clients, other neuroscience investigational methods and pursuing other alternative treatments,” Lynam said. “You usually don’t have research and treatment together in the same facility. As best as we know, it will be the first in the country to do that.” As part of its clinical offerings, the joint venture will develop a digital platform, which will include remote access to a recovery coach and counselor, and an app for patients to access resources when needed.

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24 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Honoring teacher who made difference Mineola-based Family and Childrenâ€™s Association renames nursery following slaying BY R E B ECC A K L A R The Village of Hempstead is in need, and forgotten by many who live just a few miles to the north, said JeďŹ€rey Reynolds, CEO and president of the Mineola-based nonproďŹ t Family and Childrenâ€™s Association. But the way to build a community back up is not through bringing in stores or building apartment complexes, Reynolds said. It is through dedicated individuals â€“ like Lynn Vanderhall, a teacher at the groupâ€™s nursery coop who died in August, Reynolds said. â€œIndividuals who make a choice, who make a choice at some point in time to give back,â€? Reynolds said. â€œWho look around and see there are a lot of things that are wrong and need change and step up.â€? Reynolds spoke at a celebration on Monday at the Family and Childrenâ€™s Associationâ€™s Nursery Co-Op, when the Hempstead nursery was renamed in honor of Vanderhall. The celebration was held on Vanderhallâ€™s birthday. She would

PHOTO BY REBECCA KLAR

Elena Rios said Lynn Vanderhall, a nursery teacher who died in August, didnâ€™t just plant a seed, she planted many. have been 59. Vanderhall, her daughter, Melissa, and Melissaâ€™s friend Janel Simpson were killed in their home in August, according to Newsday. Police said Vanderhallâ€™s son, Bobby Vanderhall Jr., who had a history of emotional issues and had been recently kicked out of his

house, attacked the women with a framing hammer, according to Newsday. Bobby Vanderhall Jr., 34 at the time, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder involving a fourth woman who escaped with minor injuries, ac-

cording to Newsday. On Feb. 20 a judge ruled Bobby Vanderhall Jr., now 35, needs psychiatric treatment and isnâ€™t ďŹ t to stand trial, according to Newsday. But Mondayâ€™s celebration, though somber, was a celebration of Vanderhallâ€™s life â€“ speciďŹ cally her work with the nursery. Vanderhallâ€™s family joined her colleagues and former students to honor the many ways in which she touched the lives of those around her. Raiza Romero, 10, said Vanderhall changed her life when she was â€œvery young.â€? â€œShe was a person I looked up to for any necessity,â€? Romero said. â€œShe still lives in my heart to this day and I will always remember her.â€? Romero and other young students honored Vanderhall in the ceremony by singing two of their teacherâ€™s favorite songs, the â€œPollito Song,â€? in Spanish, and the â€œI Love You Song.â€? Others returned to honor Vanderhall for the impact she had on their lives when they were younger. Elena Rios said she met Van-

derhall in 1999, soon after she had her son, Steven Padilla. Rios had been helped by the association a few years before, she said. She was homeless at the time and the association helped her get back on her feet, allowing her to graduate from high school in 1998, she said. Rios said she volunteered for Vanderhall and ultimately got hired by her. â€œShe saw something in me and thatâ€™s where it all started,â€? Rios said. â€œMy life started with the agency and just got better.â€? Rios said years later, after leaving the agency, Vanderhall helped her again. At the time, Riosâ€™ other son, David, was 3, and she was about to be evicted from her apartment. Vanderhall helped her ďŹ ll out the necessary paperwork to keep her apartment, Rios said. At the ceremony Vanderhall was wearing the outďŹ t she wore to an interview at Oheka Castle, she said. The day of the interview, when Rios went to pick up her Continued on Page 70

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Don’t let back pain steer you oﬀ track. We’ll show you how to take control. Even the slightest back pain can interfere with your favorite activities—but you don’t have to let it. Join us at our upcoming seminar on spine health—Caring for the Spine: Treating and Preventing Back Pain—to learn about: – Ailments that lead to back surgery – Common surgical and nonsurgical treatment for back pain

Caring for the Spine: Treating and Preventing Back Pain Cost:

Free

Date:

Thursday, April 26

Time:

7pm – 9pm

Location: Clinton G. Martin Park Community Center 1601 Marcus Avenue New Hyde Park, NY 11042

– Tips for pain prevention and wellness – Common causes of, and treatments for, back pain – The role of physical therapists in a care team – Core stability and its role in preventing back pain

Presented by Northwell Health Orthopaedic Institute: David Essig, MD Orthopedic surgeon Raisa Bakshiyev, MD Physiatrist Stephen Trama, PT, Cert. MDT Physical therapist - STARS Rehabilitation Snacks and light refreshments will be served.

Orthopaedic Institute

26 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Martins heads to firm with top Dems BY R E B ECC A KLAR Jack Martins, the Republican who lost his two most recent runs for office to Democrats, has been named a partner at Harris Beach – a firm that includes top county Democrats who helped defeat him in November’s county executive election. Thomas J. Garry, a member of the Uniondalebased firm, also serves as vice chairman of the Nassau Democratic Committee. Garry chaired Nassau County Executive Laura Curran’s transition team following her win over Martins. “Jack’s background in the public and private sectors gives him a unique perspective to advise clients in strategically navigating their operational challenges on Long Island and across New York state,” Garry said in a news release. The county attorney, Jared Kasschau, also

Jack Martins worked with the firm before resigning to take his new position. Congressman Tom Suozzi, who beat Martins in a 2016 congressional race, is of counsel at the Manhattan-based Harris Beach office. Martins has served in both the public and private sector. He was elected to the state Senate in 2010. Before his election to the Senate, he served as Mineola mayor. Martins co-founded the law firm Martins & Silva before entering elected office. The practice fo-

cused on construction, land use and zoning, and commercial real estate. “I have spent the better part of the past 20 years promoting and fostering growth for our Long Island communities and our regional economy,” Martins said in the news release. “Whether leveraging private sector initiatives, downtown revitalization and transitoriented development opportunities, advancing quality health care, or meeting the challenges of energy independence, Harris Beach appealed to me because of their statewide platform and deep strength in each of these important regional challenges.” Martins will primarily counsel on construction and real estate matters, according to the ﬁrm. He will help clients see their projects though completion from the initial planning stages. His appointment will be eﬀective on Monday.

You’re invited to

An Afternoon of Wellness at Atria on Roslyn Harbor Tuesday, March 27 1 to 4 pm

McCann sentenced for $98K embezzlement

Presentations and participatory demonstrations include: Posture, Balance and Strength Training

Alternative Pain Management

Yoga

Smoothie Bar

Brain Fitness

Healthy Snacks

Fall Prevention

Atria StoryWise

BY JA N E LL E C L AUS E N Helen McCann, a former longtime employee of the Town of North Hempstead, was sentenced for embezzling more than $98,000 from the Solid Waste Management Authority, prosecutors an-

RSVP at Julie.Wexler@AtriaSeniorLiving.com or 516.626.6900 as space is limited.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASSAU COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

Helen McCann

nounced on Wednesday morning. McCann, a 53-year-old resident of Roslyn Heights, was sentenced to a conditional discharge and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the Town of North Hempstead and $48,330 to an insurance company for a claim made by the town. McCann pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to one count of corrupting the government in the second degree, a felony. Prosecutors had argued that McCann, who worked as an administrative assistant at the agency, took $98,862.91 from money charged to people for dropping oﬀ waste between May 2014 and January 2016. “This defendant betrayed the trust placed in her to safeguard public funds at the North Hempstead Solid Waste Management Authority,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “With this sentence, we have made the taxpayers whole.” Continued on Page 50

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

28 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Feinstein awards Ross Prize to Zoghbi The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at Northwell Health has selected Baylor College of Medicine’s Dr. Huda Zoghbi as the winner of the sixth annual Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. The prize, which includes a $50,000 award, will be presented to Zoghbi on June 5 at the New York Academy of Sciences in Manhattan, followed by lectures from Zoghbi and other eminent researchers. The Ross Prize is awarded through the Feinstein Institute’s peer-reviewed, openaccess journal, Molecular Medicine. “It is an honor to be recognized by Molecular Medicine and to join the prestigious roster of past Ross Prize recipients,” said Dr. Zoghbi, professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, Neurology and Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. “I look forward to discussing my work and furthering a dialog that I hope will encourage young trainees to join the fields of neurobiology and molecular medicine.” The Ross Prize is made possible by the generosity of Feinstein Institute board members Robin and Jack Ross. It is awarded annually by Molecular Medicine to scientists who have made a demonstrable impact in the understanding of human diseases pathogenesis and/or treatment, and who hold significant promise for making even greater contributions to the general field of molecular medicine. “Huda Zoghbi’s examination of the

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH

Dr. Huda Zoghbi was recently honored as the winner of the sixth annual Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. genetic causes for neurological diseases, such as spinocerebellar ataxia and Rett syndrome, has led to a better understanding of neurobiology,” said Feinstein Institute President Dr. Kevin J. Tracey, who also serves as editor emeritus of Molecular Medicine. “It is through her discoveries that researchers are able to identify new, potential therapies for these conditions that currently have no cure. After a brief award presentation, a

symposium will be held during which Zoghbi will discuss her research in the field of genetics and neurobiology. Mary E. Hatten, Frederick P. Rose Professor at Rockefeller University, and Nathaniel Heintz, James and Marilyn Simons Professor at Rockefeller University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, will also speak about issues in healthy and pathologic neurodevelopment. To learn more about the Ross Prize celebration and symposium, and to register for the event, please visit nyas.org/ RossPrize2018. Zoghbi’s research focuses on identifying the genetic causes of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases and a broader understanding of neurobiology. Her lab, along with Harry Orr’s team at the University of Minnesota, discovered that excessive repeats of the DNA segment, CAG, in the ATAXIN-1 gene causes the neurodegenerative disease spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, or SCA1. SCA1 is a progressive movement disorder that begins in childhood and progressively causes problems with coordination and balance, speech and swallowing difficulties, muscle stiffness, and weakness in the muscles that control eye movement. Over time, SCA1 may cause mental impairment, numbness, tingling or pain in the arms and legs and uncontrolled muscle tensing, wasting and twitches. Understanding the genetic cause for SCA1 has inspired additional research which may identify a therapy strategy for this condition. Zoghbi’s lab has also identified the

genetic mutations which cause Rett syndrome. Rett syndrome mostly targets young girls and is a postnatal neurological disorder which causes problems in diverse brain functions ranging from cognitive, sensory, emotional, and motor to autonomic functions. These can affect learning, speech, sensations, mood, movement, breathing, cardiac function and even chewing, swallowing and digestion. Zoghbi’s discoveries provide a framework for understanding this disorder as well as the MECP2 duplication disorder and for charting a path for potential therapeutic interventions. Past recipients of the Ross Prize are: Dr. Jeffrey V. Ravetch, the Theresa and Eugene M. Lang professor and head of the Leonard Wagner Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology at The Rockefeller University; Charles N. Serhan, director of the Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the Simon Gelman Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and professor at Harvard School of Dental Medicine; Lewis C. Cantley, the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; Dr. John J. O’Shea, scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; and Dr. Dan R. Littman, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

Research reveals where true happiness is found March is the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness, and Adelphi University Professor Bernard Gorman and his colleagues have something to be happy about: their research project on the happiness of nations has been accepted as a presentation for the Association for Psychological Science 2018 convention in San Francisco May 24-27. Titled “The Happiness of Nations: A Multifactorial Construct,” the project re-examines last year’s UN World Happiness Study conducted with Gallup Inc. The UN study, which utilizes the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, gathers data from 155 nations and factors in six indicators: GDP per capita, family life, life expectancy, freedom, generosity, perceptions of trust concerning government corruption. ‘Bread before Bach!’ On closer examination, Gorman made a surprising discovery. “Freedom, pursuing knowledge, and belief in the integrity of your government (societal factors) are

important. However, the basics — having food, water, shelter, as well as a sense of belonging, feeling loved and safe– rose to the top. Bread before Bach!” Working with Gorman on the study were three of his graduate students at Hofstra University, where he teaches in addition to serving as an adjunct faculty member at Adelphi’s Derner

School of Psychology: Xu Zhu, Joshua Brenner and David Cassell. Xu Zhu is also an instructor in psychology at Adelphi. “Happiness begins at home,” Gorman added. “Societal indictors and personal indicators probably shouldn’t be lumped together in the study.” See more about the UN’s International Day of Happiness and

its World Happiness Report. About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning. Adelphi University is a nationally ranked doctoral research university oﬀering exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training with particular strength in its

Core Four—Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness. Adelphi is dedicated to transforming students’ lives through small classes, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support student success. Founded in Brooklyn in 1896, Adelphi is Long Island’s oldest private coeducational university. Today it serves over 7,900 students at its main campus in Garden City, New York—just 23 miles from New York City’s cultural and internship opportunities—and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suﬀolk County, and online. More than 100,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, caring citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities and the world beyond.

30 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

ABSTRACT PAINTING ROSLYN • VILLAGE

GALLERY

invites you to an evening of abstract painting, the process and the painter.

ART TALKS: Tuesday, March 20th, 7:30-9:15 pm • We are proud to introduce ELLEN HALLIE SCHIFF

$10 cover | Refreshments served Please RSVP 516.721.7807 1374 Old Northern Blvd., Roslyn, NY 11756 | 516.721.7807

BLANK SLATE MEDIA March 16, 2018

British comedian to perform on L.I.

s one of the world’s most in-demand performers, British comedian and ventriloquist Paul Zerdin’s unique talents have seen him invited to perform for The Queen on “The Royal Variety Show” no less than three times, and rack up international TV appearances from Montreal’s prestigious “Just for Laughs” to TV One’s “Comedy Rocks.” “Paul Zerdin is in a league of his own,” said Time Out magazine. “That he is the UK’s most accomplished and well-known ventriloquist is beyond doubt pure audience gratifying magic.” Zerdin’s critically-acclaimed live shows have seen him sell out theaters across the globe. Featuring hilarious ventriloquism, charm, and impeccable comic timing, his performances see him bring to life several diﬀerent characters, including cheeky, pre-adolescent

Sam, belligerent OAP (UK term for old age pensioner) Albert, and precocious infant Baby, as seen in his winning performance on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent,” which has had millions of views on YouTube. Since then, Zerdin has been keeping busy on both sides of the Atlantic. The comedian was part of a starstudded lineup as Buttons in “Cinderella,” the London Palladium’s ﬁrst pantomime in 30 years, a performance that saw high praise for Zerdin from the Radio Times, the Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Stage, and he premiered on the Las Vegas strip with a headline residency at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Zerdin made his TV debut in 1993 as the host of the GMTV’s “Rise and Shine” in England. He then went on to win ITV’s “The Big Big Talent Show,” hosted by Jonathan Ross. Since then, he has appeared on count-

less TV shows, including “The World Stands Up” on Comedy Central, “The Stand Up Show” and Michael McIntyre’s “Big Christmas Show” on BBC1, “Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival,” “Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford” and “Tonight at the London Palladium” on ITV1, and three appearances on “The Royal Variety Show” — all leading up to his win on the tenth season of “America’s Got Talent” here in the U.S. in September 2015. Long Islander’s can now catch Zerdin’s one-of-akind act at The Paramount on Friday, March 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by calling 631-673-7300 or going to www.theparamountny.com. For more information about the artist, go to www.paulzerdin.com. The Paramount is located at 370 New York Ave. in Huntington.

32 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

LEO’S JOIN US ALL DAY ST. PATRICK’S DAY FOR IRISH SPECIALS & LIVE MUSIC FEATURING “BRIAN MCGEOUGH” Serving Leo’s Famous Breakfast Saturday & Sunday 8-11:30AM

The top seven events

Lúnasa at Adelphi Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m.

Lúnasa has long been one of contemporary Irish music’s leading voices. Named after an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, the group that Folk Roots magazine called an “Irish music dream team” has sold more than a quarter of a million records and collaborated with notable artists such as Natalie Merchant, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Tim O’Brien. Where: Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave., Garden City Info & Tickets: (516) 877-4000 • pac.adelphi.edu

Half Step: Grateful Dead Tribute Friday, March 16 at 8 p.m.

Founded in 2004 on Long Island, Half Step is a group that captures the spirit, improvisation, sound and complexity of the Grateful Dead while performing their classic songs, such as “Truckin’,” “Ripple,” “Fire on the Mountain,” and “Sugar Magnolia,” and winning over crowds of veteran Deadheads and a new generation of Dead fans. Where: The Space at Westbury, 250 Post Ave., Westbury Info & Tickets: (516) 283-5566 • thespaceatwestbury.com

Thursday is Mexican Night at Leo’s

Margaritas Fish Tacos Fajitas Tacos Friday Only 25% Off Entire Lunch or Dinner Check Cash Only • Alcohol not included • Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included. Not available at the bar • Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering • Expires 3/22/18 • Dine In Only Good for parties of 8 or less • May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

The Beach Boys

Sunday Only 30% Off Entire Dinner Check Cash Only • Alcohol not included • Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included. Not available at the bar • Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering • Expires 3/22/18 • Dine In Only Good for parties of 8 or less • May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Monday Only 30% Off Entire

Tuesday Only 30% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included

Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included. Not available at the bar • Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering • Expires 3/22/18 • Dine In Only Good for parties of 8 or less • May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Wednesday Only 25% Off Entire

Thursday Only 25% Off Entire

Lunch or Dinner Check

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included. Not available at the bar • Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering • Expires 3/22/18 • Dine In Only Good for parties of 8 or less • May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

Cash Only • Alcohol not included Lobster Dishes & 14 oz. Black Angus Steak not included. Not available at the bar • Coupon Must Be Presented At Time of Ordering • Expires 3/22/18 Dine In Only Good for parties of 8 or less • May only be used on day specified. Not to be combined w/any other offer

190 Seventh St., Garden City 742-0574 • www.leosgardencity.com

Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Everyone is sure to have “Fun, Fun, Fun” at this concert featuring the legendary band, The Beach Boys, who will bring their distinctive vocal harmonies and California surf vibe to Long Island, playing their many hits — from “Good Vibrations” and “California Girls,” to “I Get Around” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Where: NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury Info & Tickets: (516) 247-5211 • thetheatreatwestbury.com

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

for the coming week Party Room Available For Your Special Event!

The Chieftains Saturday, March 17 at 8 p.m.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the six-time Grammy Award winners who have been recognized for reinventing traditional Irish music since forming in Dublin in 1963. Where: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville Info & Tickets: (516) 299-3100 • tillescenter.org

Marc Cohn with the Blind Boys of Alabama

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DELICIOUS SUSHI

Sunday, March 18 at 8 p.m. Marc Cohn, the Grammy Award-winning folk-rock singer, songwriter and musician best known for his song, “Walking in Memphis,” will perform this one-night show with ﬁve-time, Grammy Award-winning gospel group, the Blind Boys of Alabama.

ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT Come In Sun. thru Thurs. and get a FREE DRINK With Lunch or Dinner!

Where: NYCB Theatre at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury Info & Tickets: (516) 247-5211 • thetheatreatwestbury.com

Eat. Bid. Laugh! with Trevor Noah Thursday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Sid Jacobson JCC’s annual fundraising event, Eat. Bid. Laugh!, will include a silent auction, epicurean tastings and a live, comedic performance by Trevor Noah, host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central. Where: Fresh Meadows Country Club, 255 Lakeville Road, Lake Success Info & Tickets: (516) 484-1545 • sjjcc.org

Marvel Universe Live! Age of Heroes

Thursday, March 22 through Sunday, April 1 (check venue website for daily times) Marvel fans will assemble for this live, action-packed battle to defend the universe from evil. Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange unite in this all-new show that includes cutting-edge special eﬀects, aerial stunts and immersive video projection. Where: NYCB Live, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale Info & Tickets: (516) 231-4848 or (800) 745-3000 • nycblive.com

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34 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Stephen C. Widom

THE TOP EVENTS FOR KIDS FOR THE COMING WEEK he Gingerbread Man and the Leprechaun Loose at School Story Time

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with activities to follow.

Where: Barnes and Noble, 1542 Northern Blvd., Manhasset and 91 Old Country Road, Carle Place Call: 516-365-6723 (Manhasset) or 516-741-9850 (Carle Place) or barnesandnoble.com

aster Egg Hunt Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m.

Children ages 10 and under can get excited for spring and the Easter Bunny by participating in this free Easter Egg hunt.

Where: First Presbyterian Church of New Hyde Park, 16 S. 9th St., New Hyde Park RSVP to: 516-354-5013

eter Rabbit

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â€œPowerful, funny and uplifting! A musical that both sexes can enjoy.â€? - Talkinâ€™ Broadway

â€œDeliciously Sassy!â€?

Peter Rabbit, unlike sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, is following the advice of his tummy (and his cousin, Benjamin) versus the advice of his mother. Everyone (and we mean everyone!) knows that you stay out of Mr. McGregorâ€™s garden. But Peter and Benjamin still venture into a world ďŹ lled with excitement, adventure, and scrumptious vegetables. The thrills are just beginning when the angry farmer spots the silly bunnies. Where: Broadhollow Theatre, 700 Hempstead Turnpike, Elmont Info & Tickets: 631-581-2700 â€˘ broadhollow.org

- Theater Scene

laddagh Crowns Saturday, March 17, 2 to 4 p.m.

The Claddagh ring is a traditional Irish symbol. The design on the ring includes three parts: the hands (representing friendship), the heart (representing love), and the crown (representing loyalty). On this St. Patrickâ€™s Day, children can celebrate the unique culture of Ireland by making a Claddagh crown to wear on their head â€” or a beautiful token to give to a loved one. Free workshop, with museum admission.

Where: Long Island Childrenâ€™s Museum, 11 Davis Ave., Garden City Info: 516-224-5800 or licm.org

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From the Soundtrack of Your Life A high energy celebration of women featuring Top-40 songs like RESPECT, Stand by Your Man, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, These Boots are Made for Walkinâ€™, I Will Survive, Greatest Love of Allâ€Ś Ride Free on the LIRR to This Oneâ€™s For The Girls and Save. Go to mta.info/lirr/getaways St Lukeâ€™s Theatre, 308 West 46th Street - Telecharge.com 212-239-6200 ForTheGirlsTheMusical.com

he Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York

Sunday, March 18, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York fosters a community of talented young musicians from Long Island by providing them with opportunities to rehearse and perform choral and orchestral masterworks with recognized leaders in music education and performance. Since it was founded in 1993, MYO has grown from a 15-piece orchestra to seven orchestras, a ďŹ‚ute choir, and seven choral ensembles, serving over 1,000 musicians between the ages of 8 and 18.

Where: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville Info & Tickets: 516-299-3100 or tillescenter.org

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Exhibit focuses on our stewardship BY K A R E N RU B I N “Nature has been inspiring artists for centuries, and its beauty has been captured in paintings, sculptures, photographs and a variety of another medium. But some artists take the relationship between art and the environment a step further, creating works from nature itself or producing artworks that make bold statements about the natural world and the imprint mankind has left on it.” This is what curator Jude Amsel was looking for when she put together the exhibition, COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS, on view at the Gold Coast Arts Center Gallery in Great Neck, Long Island through April 1. The seven artists whose works are represented “are commenting on man’s relationship with our planet. These artists have the power to make environmentalism a priority and bring green initiatives to the forefront of cultural conversations,” she stated. “With all the gloom and doom, we can feel sad with what’s happening in the world. But these artists bring an awareness,” a literal consciousness of our role and responsibility, Amsel said at the Artists’ Reception, March 4. The viewer is left with a sense of optimism that man’s better impulses will rise to the fore. Yoon Cho’s work – multi-media performance art which combines video superimposed with digitized drawings – is the starkest commentary on this theme: her project was inspired by a diﬃcult pregnancy after 10 years of marriage and the birth of her son, she and her husband traveled to barren landscapes to comment on extinction and procreation, the images of life forcing its way through. Beth Williams Garrett created feminized Buddha head sculptures out of

plastic bags. Linda Cunningham turned the blighted industrial waterfront of the South Bronx into striking images on torn, furled canvas. Nancy Gesimondo found solace in creating assemblages of natural materials, where mussel shells appear as butterflies, a metaphorical prayer flying to heaven; water chestnut seedpods are like flying bats, and peacock feathers are like tall grass. Lauren Skelly Bailey re-creates the natural world of coral reefs with meticulous glazed ceramics, mimicking the surprise you have when you touch coral, which seems to be fluid and flowing to discover they are rock hard. Charles Cohen uses realistic photography to get reduce household products to the shape and color of their plastic containers to force a different perspective. Luba Lukova, whose graphic artistry can be seen in the New York Times, brings her timely commentary to an image of a green plant shielded by a hand as bombs fall, in her silkscreen, “Peace and Planet” (2015). What is so interesting is to see such variety of media and approaches that come together to the essential message of human impact on the natural world: a collective consciousness of our responsibility. The Gold Coast Arts Center is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the arts through education, exhibition, performance and outreach. It offers classes for tots to seniors in art, music, dance and performance;, events, gallery, film festivals and outreach programs. The Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Rd, Great Neck, NY, 516-8292570 or www.GoldCoastArts.org.

Celebrating Life One Nibble At A Time! Nicole Meyer is a Cookbook Author, Food Personality & Founder of Nibbles By Nic Culinary Events. Nibbles By Nic offers private cooking parties, corporate lunch & learns, holiday workshops and meal planning boot camps series for busy people who want to boost their confidence in the kitchen. WHAT’S ON OUR

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For more information, please contact (917) 509-2938, nibblesbynic@gmail.com or visit www.nibblesbynic.com and her YouTube Cooking Show Kitchen Show-Kitchen Tips

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE STEW

(Serves 12)

INGREDIENTS • 2 tablespoon brown sugar • 4 cups reduced-sodium beef or chicken stock (organic if possible) • 4 cloves garlic, chopped • 2 medium yellow onions, chopped • 6 cups chopped cabbage (about 1 lge head) • 1 bay leaf • 1/4 cup brown sugar • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning • 1-28 ounce can tomato puree • 1-28 ounce can tomato sauce • 2 pounds lean ground beef (at least 85% lean) • 1/2 fresh lemon, juiced • salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS 1.) Add the beef to a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and break apart with a wooden spoon. Add in the onions and garlic. Cook until the beef is no longer pink. 2.) Toss in the cabbage, broth, tomato puree, tomato sauce, and brown sugar. Stir everything together to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and add in the seasoning and bay leaf. Reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook for about 50-60 minutes until the consistency of a stew. 3.) Turn off heat and add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Once the stew is cool, transfer to the refrigerator for a few hours or up to two days (You may freeze at this point as well) 4.) Reheat, ladle into bowls serve. (The fat on top is fine to keep and should be mixed in when reheating.) Nic’s Tips - Quinoa or Cauliflower Rice is Kosher for Passover and delicious served as a bed for this dish!.

5) Tips To Have Fun With Matzo

#1 Granola - Farfel, Coconut, Dried Fruit and Dark Chocolate Chips #2 Matzo Pizza - Spread tomato sauce, shredded cheese and a sprinkle of dried Italian seasoning. #3 Spreads for Matzo - Honey Butter, Cinnamon Sugar, Fruit-Flavored Cream Cheese #4 Onion Matzo - Rub down a dry matzo with half an onion. Toast in the oven and spread a pat of butter or margarine and sprinkle of salt. #5 Homemade Chocolate Covered Matzo - Melt chocolate and dip in spears of matzo. Freeze and eat..

PHOTO BY KAREN RUBIN

“Collective Conscious” Curator Jude Amsel, Gold Coast Arts Center Director Regina Gil and Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso with artists Beth Williams Garrett, Nancy Gesimondo, Yoon Cho, Charles Cohen, Lauren Skelly Bailey and Linda Cunningham.

For more information on Nibbles By Nic Culinary Events, Demos, Workshops and Appearances please contact (917) 509-2938, nibblesbynic@gmail.com or visit www.nibblesbynic.com.

36 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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Larson Legacy concert at Adelphi Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke, recipients of the 2017 Larson Legacy Grant, are known for their music that blends shape-shifting stories, vocal melodies, and percussive rhythms in a unique musical style that will be showcased on Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. in the Olmsted Theatre in the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Ave. in Garden City. Defoe and Sinutoke write about identity, spirit of place, and inspiration for future generations to come while still honoring their cultural pasts. They also write about voices often unheard on the American stage — those of undocumented and indigenous peoples, and all those who identify as artistic warriors in today’s society. Defoe, from the Oneida and Ojibwe Nations, and Sinutoke, from Thailand,

began their collaboration together at NYU where they received M.F.A.’s in Musical Theatre Writing. Their joint credits include: “Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon” (Yale Institute for Music Theatre, ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, Kilroy’s Honorable Mention List), “Hart Island Requiem” (Civilians R&D), “Gender Nation, Crossing Borders, Sunrise Prayer” (Goodspeed Residency) and “Water Is Life.” They are recipients of the Jonathan Larson Grants, Johnny Mercer Songwriter Project, and Robert Rauschenberg Residency, as well as members of the ASCAP and Dramatists Guild. The Larson Legacy Concert Series at the Adelphi Performing Arts Center celebrates the next generation of artists at the college home of the creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning mu-

sical “RENT,” Jonathan Larson (’82). Each year, the American Theatre Wing presents emerging creators of musical theatre with Jonathan Larson Grants, and select recipients of these grants are showcased at Adelphi PAC in this series to help nurture and support the next generation of creative artists to carry on Larson’s legacy. Past recipients of these grants have gone on to create the Broadway musicals “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” “Grey Gardens,” “Next To Normal,” “Elf,” “Hands on a Hardbody,” “A Christmas Story” and more. The Adelphi PAC is one of Long Island’s premier cultural arts venues for entertainment of all kinds. Tickets are currently on sale for $25 with discounts available to seniors, students and alumni. Information is available online at www. pac.adelphi.edu or at the Lucia and Steven N. Fischer Box Office at 516-877-4000 or boxoffice@adelphi. edu. Regular box office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. The box office is also open two hours before most scheduled performances.

Art League open house The Art League of Long Island’s Open House will take place on Sunday, March 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Open House offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about its yearround art classes and summer programs and see what happens in the Art League’s specialized art studios. Art League instructors will perform live art demonstrations in painting, drawing, ceramics, jewelry making, and printmaking, catering to students of all ages. Visitors can enjoy hands-on art activities for the whole family and meet Summer Art Adventure Program Director Marianne

Mead and teaching assistants as kids work on fun hands-on activities. Children and young teens art instructor Laura Forrest will be on hand as well to help families create fun art projects. The Art League is a notfor-profit art center offering more than 250 visual arts classes in a large variety of mediums to adults, teens, and kids ages five and up. Classes, workshops, and open studios are offered to beginner, intermediate, and advanced students year-round, in the mornings, afternoons, evenings, and weekends. Students can register at any time

throughout the year. Summer programs are available for kids ages 5 to 14 and for older teens working on their college portfolios. Also available are workshops for individuals with developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, and at-risk teens. In addition to the myriad art classes, the Art League also hosts special events, lectures, and exhibits throughout the year. The Art League of Long Island is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills, right oﬀ exit 42N of the Northern State Parkway. For more information call 631- 462-5400 or visit www. artleagueli.org.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

LIU Post Theatre to offer ‘In the Wake’ BY A S H L E Y BOWDEN AND JENNIFER COLEY Just a few weeks into the spring semester, LIU Post MFA theater students are preparing for a mainstage production with the Post Theater Company. The department usually hires outside directors for mainstage shows, but this year will be the ﬁrst time master’s students direct the undergraduate students in the Post theater program. “It’s a bit [of an] experiment for the department,” Kayleigh Jacobs, second-year MFA student and director of “In the Wake,” said. “They’re trusting us with their kids, which is a big deal, so that’s why I’m a little frantic and want it to go very well.” Three diﬀerent plays, “In the Wake,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” will be directed by Kayleigh Jacobs, Brady C. Ness and Chamila Priyanka, respectively. The shows will run in repertory from March 23-25 to March 29-31. “We have three plays that are going up at the same time, which is a little [crazy] and chaotic,” Jacobs said, “We’ve got three rehearsal rooms and three

full casts.” Jacobs is both nervous and excited about directing her ﬁrst play in spring 2018. She came across the play by accident and immediately felt a personal connection to its message. “We were told to pick something we are passionate about, and I really feel like I connected with this play a lot,” she said. “In the Wake,” written by Lisa Krone, is set in the year 2000. Jacobs chose the script because she recognized parallels between events that happened in that time period and events that are happening now. The play highlights topics including 9/11, LGBT issues and politics concerning the presidential election of George W. Bush. “My plan is to keep it classic,” Jacobs said. “I think the message of the play, politically and personally, is super important.” The show is about protagonist Ellen, portrayed by sophomore musical theatre major, Sarah Franklin, who wants the world to change for the better, but is not willing to change it herself. “She’s not willing to change herself or the way that she lives

in order to help make the world a better place, and I think a lot of people can relate to that,” Jacobs said. Ellen continually experiences flashbacks throughout the play. “She’s realizing that it’s not one decision that you make, that it’s a bunch of different decisions that lead you to where you are,” Franklin said. The cast of LIU Post students spent the first few rehearsals getting to know each other better. “A lot of what makes this play so special is that it really attacks [the] idea of family,” Isabelle Rutens, a junior musical theatre major, said. “It’s a really loving environment. The whole cast just clicks; it’s like we already have that family energy.” Rutens plays the character Laurie, a chef married to a woman named Kayla, portrayed by Laura Gilchrist, sophomore musical theatre major. “I’m really excited to do nothing but eat, sleep and breathe this crazy, complicated production,” Rutens said. “I feel like this is a very important show,” Gilchrist said. “[With] the politics that are being brought up, it’s a handful for people to take in.” She is in the process of researching mat-

ters her character addresses in the script in order to deliver an honest performance. Gilchrist is excited to be performing for the ﬁrst time in a PTC mainstage production. “I hope I can communicate to my actors, who are all much younger than me, how important it is to recognize what you need to change in order to change the world,” Gilchrist said. “We have to sacriﬁce a lot in ourselves to make the world better.” “In the Wake” will be performed at the Little Theatre on

the LIU Post campus in Brookville on March 23 and 29 at 7:30 p.m. and March 25 at 3 p.m. Tickets are available online at www. tix55.com/ptc700. Prices are $15 for general admission, $12 for seniors and $10 for students. This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.

PHOTO TAKEN BY KAYLEIGH JACOB

The cast of “In the Wake”

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38 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Arts & Entertainment Calendar NYCB LIVE 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale (516) 794-9300 • www.nycblive.com Saturday, March 17, 7:00 p.m. Judith Priest NYCB THEATRE AT WESTBURY 960 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury (516) 247-5205 • www.thetheatreatwestbury. com Sunday, March 18, 8:00 p.m. Marc Cohn Featuring Blind Boys of Alabama Saturday, March 17, 7:30 p.m. The Beach Boys Friday, March 16, 8:00 p.m. The Clairvoyants Thursday, March 22, 8:00 p.m. Trace Adkins THE PARAMOUNT 370 New York Ave., Huntington (631) 673-7300 • www.paramountny.com Sunday, March 18, 7:00 p.m. Kevin James Wednesday, March 21, 8:00 p.m. Walk Off the Earth Saturday, March 17, 8:00 p.m. Weird Al Yankovic THE SPACE AT WESTBURY 250 Post Ave., Westbury (516) 283-5566 • Friday, March 30, 8:00 p.m. Godfrey Townsend: Eric Clapton Tribute Friday, March 16, 8:00 p.m. Half Step: Grateful Dead Tribute LANDMARK ON MAIN STREET 232 Main St., Port Washington (516) 767-1384 • www.landmarkonmainstreet. org Friday, March 16, 8:00 p.m. David Bromberg Quintet Tuesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m. Health Insurance for All: The NY Health Care Act Friday, March 23, 8:00 p.m. On Your Radar with Morley, Bluebirds of Paradise and Mike + Ruthie NASSAU COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART 1 Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor (516) 484-9338 • www.nassaumuseum.org Sunday, March 18, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Family Sundays at the Museum Friday, March 16, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Fri-Yay Art Days! at The Manes Center Saturday, March 17, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Studio Saturdays at The Manes Center THE ART GUILD 200 Port Washington Blvd., Manhasset (516) 304-5797 • www.theartguild.org Thursday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sip & Sketch

Friday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Music at the Mansion: Jason & Alysa Hochman LONG ISLAND CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 11 Davis Ave., Garden City (516) 224-5800 • www.licm.org Saturday, March 17, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Claddagh Crowns For kids of all ages. Free with museum admission. Friday, March 16, 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Kids in the Kitchen: End of the Rainbow Cupcakes Tuesday, March 20, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Rainbow Banners Tuesday, March 13, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Rainbow Banners Tuesday, March 13, 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. stART (Story + Art) HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL AND TOLERANCE CENTER 100 Crescent Beach Road, Glen Cove (516) 571-8040 • www.hmtcli.org Sunday, March 18, 2:00 p.m. Secrets of North Korea: Torture, Slave Camps, Genocide and Silence BARNES AND NOBLE 91 Old Country Road, Carle Place (516) 365-6723 • www.barnesandnoble.com Saturday, March 17, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The Gingerbread Man and Leprechaun Loose at School Story Time BOOK REVUE 313 New York Ave., Huntington (631) 271-1442 • www.bookrevue.com Monday, April 09, 7:00 p.m. Long Island Writers Guild Writing Workshop TURN OF THE CORKSCREW BOOKS AND WINE 110 N. Park Ave., Rockville Centre (516) 764-6000 Friday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. Deborah Santana, “All the Women in My Family Sing” CINEMA ARTS CENTRE 423 Park Ave., Huntington (631) 423-7611 • www.cinemaartscentre.org Monday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. Women’s Herstory Month Screening and Discussion: “The Women” (1939) COLD SPRING HARBOR FISH HATCHERY & AQUARIUM 1660 Rte. 25A, Cold Spring Harbor (516) 692-6768 • www.cshfishhatchery.org Saturday, March 31, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Spring Egg Hunt

SANDS POINT PRESERVE CONSERVANCY Hempstead House, 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point (516) 571-7901 • www.sandspointpreserve.org Friday, March 23, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Celestial Weekend

THE WHALING MUSEUM & EDUCATION CENTER 279 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor (631) 367-3418 • www.cshwhalingmuseum.org Sunday, March 18, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. On the Water — At Work and Play A special program featuring hands-on activities that reflect Long Island boating and fishing traditions the whole family can enjoy.

PLANTING FIELDS ARBORETUM 1395 Planting Fields Road, Oyster Bay (516) 922-8678 • www.plantingfields.org

OLDE TRADING POST 1218 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park (516) 492-3195 • www.oldetradingpost.com

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

A&E Calendar cont’d Saturday, March 17, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Live Music at OTP: St. Patrick’s Day with Pat Farrell SWING THE TEAPOT 6 Verbena Ave., Floral Park (516) 492-3195 • www.swingtheteapot.squarespace.com Sunday, March 18, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Live Music at Swing the Teapot: Dinny Keg Band Friday, March 16, 9:00 p.m.

Live Music at Swing the Teapot: The Bogs

Marvel Universe Live! Age of Heroes

NYCB LIVE, NASSAU VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale (516) 794-9300 • www.nycblive.com Saturday, March 17, 7:00 p.m. Judas Priest Friday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. Long Island Nets Thursday, March 22

TILLES CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 720 Northern Blvd., Brookville (516) 299-3100 • www.tillescenter.org Friday, March 16, 8:00 p.m. Amazing Grace Saturday, March 17, 8:00 p.m. The Chieftans Sunday, March 18, 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York Sunday, March 18, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York MADISON THEATRE AT MOLLOY COLLEGE 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre (516) 323-4444 • www.madisontheatreny.com Saturday, March 24, 8:00 p.m. Dvorak and Brahms Sunday, March 25, 2:00 p.m. The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

Community Calendar OLDE TRADING POST 1218 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park (516) 492-3195 Tuesday, March 20, 7:30 p.m. Game on Trivia Every Tuesday night. ADELPHI NY STATEWIDE BREAST CANCER HOTLINE & SUPPORT PROGRAM Adelphi Alumni House, 154 Cambridge Ave., Garden City (516) 877-4314 • www.breast-cancer.adelphi.edu Tuesday, March 20, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Strength for Life at Adelphi University: Exercise Strategies for Cancer Survivors NORTHWELL HEALTH 2000 Marcus Ave., New Hyde Park Thursday, March 22, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Colorectal Cancer Education Program Saturday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Preparation for Childbirth / One-Session Class Saturday, March 17, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Preparation for Childbirth Class at LIJ SID JACOBSON JCC 255 Lakeville Road, Lake Success www.sjjcc.org Thursday, March 22, 6:30 p.m. Eat. Bid. Laugh. With Trevor Noah Sunday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Nowruz Celebration: Celebrate the Persian New Year UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION AT SHELTER ROCK 48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset (516) 627-6560 Wednesday, March 28, 7:30 p.m. “What Is the Movement for Black Lives?”: A

Conversation A Conversation with Professor Bianca C. Williams in the Art Gallery. Friday, March 16, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday Bridge, Lessons & Game Play Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Inisfada Zen Sitting Meditation Saturday, March 17, 6:00 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! Thursday, March 22, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Yoga with Mike Mancini HUNTINGTON WINTER FARMERS MARKET 253 Oakwood Road, Huntington www.longislandfarmersmarkets.com Sunday, March 18, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Huntington Winter Farmers Market Every Sunday through March 25. SOCCER FOR THE COMMUNITY 1801 Evergreen Ave., New Hyde Park (516) 869-6311 • www.soccerforthecommunity. com Tuesday, March 20, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Soccer for the Community: Youth Soccer Clinic Every Tuesday or Friday beginning March 20 and 23. Friday, March 23, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Soccer for the Community: Youth Soccer Clinic GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT 65 Arrendale Ave., Great Neck 516-487-7665 • www.greatneckparks.org Saturday, March 17, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Rink Residents with a current park card, wear green and enter free. Everyone else, wear green and get $1 off the admission price. Enjoy on and off-ice activities, cotton candy, arts & crafts and more.

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‘Maestro of Kirtan’ to perform March 24 Rabbi Andrew Hahn, proclaimed the “Maestro of Kirtan” by Rabbi David Ingber of New York City’s Romemu Center, presents a concert on Saturday, March 24 at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Glen Cove. The 7:30 p.m. concert by the Kirtan Rabbi is free; the public is invited share this joyous, participatory musical event. Kirtan, singing based on call and response, is a form of chant developed in India to heighten participation and communal feeling. Said the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, “Within seconds of beginning to chant in Hebrew, the room became charged with palpable, sacred energy.” Jay Michaelson, author of Everything

is God, stated: “This is not your bubbe’s Judaism but after a few minutes, she’ll be clapping and dancing along with the rest of us.” It is not necessary to know Hebrew or even to be Jewish to participate. For further information on The Kirtan Rabbi in Concert, at CTI on Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m., please call (516) 676-5080 or write to ofﬁce@citonline.org. Long Island’s oldest continuously operating Jewish congregation, Congregation Tifereth Israel has provided innovative Jewish programming and education to the Long Island community since 1897. CTI is located in Glen Cove at 40 Hill Street, at the intersection of Landing Road and Cottage Row

Paramount to host Canadian alt-rock band Walk Off The Earth is an unconventional, multi-talented five-piece musical phenomena that is currently taking the world by storm. Based in Burlington, Ontario (just outside of Toronto), their brilliant, fivepeople-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” recently exploded on Youtube, garnering well over 35 million views in under two weeks. The massive fan response quickly drew attention to their collection of innovative songs and videos spanning their last five years and generated an unprecedented flood of media interest. New fans from around the world

immediately fell in love with the band’s organic and original songwriting, cover interpretations, and beautifully filmed videos. For the past five years, the band has built a massive following of dedicated fans from around the world through their unique and heartwarming approach to songwriting, filming and constant, open interaction with everyone their music touches. Walk off the Earth will be performing at The Paramount on Wednesday, March 21 at 8 p.m. The Paramount is located at 370 New York Ave. in Huntington. For tickets, go to www.paramountny. com or call 631-673-7300.

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Great Neck Library ing events. For a complete listing, go to www.greatnecklibrary.org.

Adult Coloring Friday, Mar. 16, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Drop in for an hour of relaxing 35TH ANNUAL SAKURA CHORAL coloring for adults at the Lakeville CONCERT Branch. Sunday, Mar. 18, 2:00 p.m. Harriet Cabelly is a social worker, positive KNITTING AND CROCHET CIRCLE psychology coach, speaker and Thursday, Mar. 22, 6:30 p.m. to workshop facilitator who is also a 8:30 p.m. Come join our group Great Neck Main Library is located at 159 Bayview Ave. in Great Neck. guest coaching expert on WOR ra- meeting every other Thursday Following is a sampling of upcom- dio’s Change Your Attitude, Change night. Help, advice, and chitchat will Your Life show. be facilitated.

PROJECT INDEPENDENCE SOCIAL DISCUSSION GROUP Thursday, Mar. 22, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Project Independence provides services and opportunities for seniors that enable them to live independently while maintaining socially active and healthy lives STICKS IN THE STACKS Wednesday, Mar. 21, 3:30 p.m.

to 4:45 p.m. Come and learn the basics, perhaps just brush up on what you already know and help us crochet and knit for a cause! THE WHITE HOUSE’S EAST WING AND THE ROLE OF FIRST LADIES Tuesday, Mar. 20, 2:00 p.m. This PowerPoint presentation will examine select works of impressionist, post-impressionist and eaerly

Great Neck Park District p.m. You will find many seasonal/ part-time jobs available throughout the Park District including Parkwood Pool, Indoor/Outdoor Tennis, Camps/Pre-school, Recreation, Marina/Sailing Director, Summer Performing Arts, Parks, Security, Office/Clerical. Great Neck House is located at 65 Arrandale Ave. in Great Neck. Following is a sampling of upcoming events. For a complete listing or to register for any event, go to www.greatneckparks.org or call 516-487-7665. GREAT NECK PARK DISTRICT JOB FAIR 2018 Monday, Mar. 26, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30

ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATION AT THE RINK Saturday, Mar. 17, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents with a current park card, wear green and enter free. Everyone else, wear green and get $1 off the admission price. Enjoy on and off-ice activities, cotton candy, arts & crafts and more.

Saturday, Mar. 17, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Residents with a current park card, wear green and enter free. Everyone else, wear green and get $1 off the admission price. Enjoy on and off-ice activities, cotton candy, arts & crafts and more. SUNDAY AT 2: MARCIE PASSLEY DUO Sunday, Mar. 18, 2:00 p.m. Marcie Passley returns to Great Neck House to perform Broadway, jazz and operatic standards. St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at the Rink

Sunday @ 2: Marcie Passley Duo Sunday, Mar. 18, 2:00 p.m. Marcie Passley returns to Great Neck House to perform Broadway, jazz and operatic standards. WEEKEND MOVIE: “THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI” Friday, Mar. 16, 8:00 p.m., Sat-

urday, Mar. 17, 5:00 p.m & 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Mar. 18, 7:30 p.m. A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder when they fail to catch the culprit. Birthday Parties in the District Book your child’s next celebration with the Park District. Choose a skating party at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink by calling 516829-4323; for a unique-themed party package at Steppingstone Park call 516-482-0355. Parties include a private party room, two party hosts, invitations, pizza, cake and more. Check the Park District website at gnparks.org.

Great Neck Community Calendar THE ROTARY CLUB OF GREAT NECK Invites residents and business people to visit its meetings for social and business networking. In alignment with the club’s motto, “They Profit Most Who Serves Best,” all are welcome to discover how meaningful and satisfying it is to give back to the community while networking through the Rotary Club of Great Neck. On the second Wednesday of each month, dinner

events are held to support local Great Neck restaurants, and on all other remaining Wednesdays in the month, the group gathers for breakfast at 8am in the boardroom of TD Bank at 2 Great Neck Rd. For more information, visit their website at www.rotaryclubofgreatneck. org or Facebook page at rotaryclubofgreatneck. To arrange for your visit as a guest or if interested in becoming one of their weekly speakers, please email

rotaryclubofgreatneck@aol.com or call 516-487-9392.

go to www.toolsatsilversneakers.com or call (516) 745-8050.

FREE EXERCISE CLASSES Ongoing Program — Free Silver Sneakers exercise classes for those 65 and older at all levels on balance, agility, strengthening, endurance and osteoporosis for eligible seniors on Monday through Saturday. Locations are in Garden City Park, Lake Success and Floral Park. For more details, including seeing if you are eligible and class times,

TUESDAYS WITH REAP The Retired Energetic Active People group meets every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Cumberland Adult Center, 30 Cumberland Ave. (just east of Lakeville Road) in Great Neck. For more information, call 516-441-4949 for more information. For a monthly schedule of activities, go to www. greatneckadulted.org.

Great Neck Social Center The Great Neck Social Center, located at 80 Grace Ave. in Great Neck, hosts a full calendar of events for seniors every month that includes tea times, lunches, game days, discussion groups, health and wellness lectures, reading groups and more. New members are welcome. For more information, go to www.gnsocialcenter.org or call 516487-0025. Following is a sampling of daily activities. Mondays 10 a.m. Tea Time 10:45 a.m. What’s Your Opinion? and Piano with Dr. Herb Saltzman 12: 45 p.m. Mah Jongg, Canasta & Open Game Tuesdays 9:45 a.m. Bingo

2 p.m. Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group Wednesdays 9:45 a.m. Tai Chi 10:30 a.m. Knitting & Handcrafts 1:30 p.m. Billiards Thursdays 10:15 a.m. Movie Day 2 p.m. World in Depth 2 p.m. Ping Pong Fridays 10:30 a.m. Line Dancing with David 12:45 p.m. Open Mic with Midye & Phoebe 2 p.m. Veteran’s Meeting

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44 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

COMMUNITY NEWS

Lessons about cyberbullying

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

South High students Lauren Perlman, Alexa Cappelletti, Mari Bijimenian, and Rachel Koo visit Ms. Herrel’s and Ms. Venticinque’s class at Saddle Rock School. Seniors enrolled in the Facing History course at South High visited ﬁfth-graders at Lakeville School and Saddle Rock School to present lessons they developed on digital citizenship, with a focus on cyberbullying. Most of the activities planned by the South High stu-

dents were designed to simulate a cyberbullying situation. They shared anecdotes, created games, showed video clips, and created emojis to make the lesson engaging for ﬁfth graders. The goal of these lessons was to raise awareness of issues related to digital citizenship and social media etiquette,

while providing strategies for students to safely and respectfully navigate their online activity. The interschool lessons at Lakeville were coordinated by Jean Reader and Leslie Dalis, technology staff developers; and at Saddle Rock by Amanda Moore, first-grade teacher, and Evan Chen, third-grade teacher. South High’s Facing History students created the lessons in conjunction with teachers Brian Fadde, Nicole Kinsey, Damon Reader, and Michelle Sorise. The Facing History course is a program for students who want to make a difference in the school, local, and global communities. This course is designed to increase tolerance and multicultural understanding through literature, history, psychology, service learning, and research. It is co-taught by a team of teachers from the English, Social Studies, Library and Internship departments.

Math counts for G.N. students North Middle School hosted the 2018 Long Island MATHCOUNTS competition in February, with both Great Neck middle schools among the ﬁfteen schools participating in this regional math event. The team from South Middle ﬁnished in second place and will advance to the state-level competition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on March 17. Team members are Brayden Chien, Jeremy Kotlyar, Collin Li, Matthew Tsui, Tristan Wan, Jansen Wong, John Xie,

Rick Xu, Charlie Yin, and Richard Zhuang. The team coach is Diane Hodgson, mathematics teacher at South Middle. Additionally, three South Middle students received trophies for their top scores in the individual portion of the competition: Matthew Tsui, Tristan Wan, and Jansen Wong. The team from North Middle also performed well and ﬁnished in ﬁfth place. Members of the North Middle team are Ryan Fu, Ryan He, Jonathan Kim, Jason Mei, Alicia Sun, Julie Sun,

Sarah Tsai, Christopher Yang, Angela Zeng, and David Zeng. The team coach is Zachary Boyt, mathematics department head at North Middle. The MATHCOUNTS competition focuses on problem solving and mathematical reasoning through collaboration, with points awarded for speed and accuracy. It is sponsored by the MATHCOUNTS Foundation, a non-proﬁt organization that provides engaging programs to middle schools across the country.

Baker celebrates International Week

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Ms. Ellen Siegel joins Ms. Jillian Brock and her thirdgrade students with their suitcases. Each year, E.M. Baker School celebrates its cultural and ethnic diversity with a host of activities during their International Week. The theme of this year’s event was “This Is Me,” based on the book of the same title by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell. This multicultural celebration included special morning announcements and musical performances, culminating in

a school-wide International Week concert on Thursday, Feb. 15. To demonstrate the diverse cultures represented in their school, students and their families were encouraged to decorate “suitcases” with items that represent their heritage. The projects were displayed throughout the hallways of the school.

Children visit the Atria to give back

D’Urso welcomes Ren Wen State Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso attended the ribbon cutting for Great Neck’s newest restaurant, Ren Wen Noodle Factory. He presented the owner, Stanley Kwong, with a citation from the New York State Assembly and congratulated and wished him much success with his new restaurant.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LIAT SHAMASH

Children from ten families gathered at the Atria on Saturday afternoon to give back to the community.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSEMBLYMAN ANTHONY D’URSO’S OFFICE

Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso, Stanley Kwong, Chairman Ching Sun Wong, and Sing Lee.

Children from about ten families gathered together to give back to the community on Saturday, giving gifts and performing for residents of the Atria on Cutter Mill Road in Great Neck Plaza. The children made a greeting card and then created “Mishloach Manot” to

give to the elderly. They also performed for them, telling the story of Purim and singing some songs. After giving gifts and performing, the families stayed afterward to personally speak with the Atria residents.

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

C O M MC UO NM I TMYU & SY C HNOEOWL SN E W S NIT

Students win at JSHS symposium Four students from Great Neck Public Schools received awards at the Long Island Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) in February, and one student has been selected to participate in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Maryland in May. The regional Long Island JSHS was held at York College in Queens on Feb. 4. Award winners from Great Neck Public Schools were Simona Fine, Aaron Geula, and Amy Shteyman of North High School, and Kelley Chiu of South High School. In a second round of competition on Feb. 28, Amy Shteyman was selected as a regional delegate to the National JSHS Symposium to be held in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Each high school can nominate up to six students to participate in the Long Island JSHS. Symposium oﬃcials reviewed science research papers by the nominees and invited select students to present at the Long Island symposium at York College. Symposium participants

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Amy Shteyman, a student at Great Neck North High school, will be a Regional Delegate to the National JSHS Symposium. from Great Neck Public Schools conducted their research as part of their school’s science research program.

Students presented a 12-minute PowerPoint to a panel of professionals. Presentations were grouped based on area of study: Behavioral and Social Science, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Earth and Space Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics. Amy Shteyman earned ﬁrstplace in the Behavioral and Social Science category at the Long Island competition for her research project, titled “The Language of Facial Expressions: a Neuroimaging Study of How a Smile is Generated and Perceived by Another Person.” This experiment investigated the diﬀerence between brain activity while a person smiles in an interaction with another person and the brain activity while a person smiles from a non-human stimulus. Kelley Chiu took second place in the Biology category for her presentation, titled “Cardiac Glycoside Deslanoside Induces Mitochondrial Stress and Cell Cycle Arrest in Hepatocellular

Carcinoma Hep3B Cells.” Her study investigated the anti-cancer effect and underlying mechanism of action of the cardiac glycoside, deslanoside, on human hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). Simona Fine won second place in the Computer Science category for her research project, “The Optimization of Scheduling Wireless Networks using Greedy Algorithm.” Her research analyzed the effectiveness and speed of different algorithms in transmitting information over wireless networks. Aaron Geula won third place in the Behavioral and Social Science category for his presentation titled, “Using fNIRS to Determine the Effect of Distractions on Cross-Brain Coherence.” His research studied brain waves to determine how distractions, such as cell phone rings, affected non-verbal interactions between two people. First-place winners from each category at the Long Island JSHS moved on to the JSHS Regional Final Symposium on Feb.

24. At this level, North High senior Amy Shteyman was selected as a Regional Delegate to the National JSHS Symposium. As a delegate for the Long Island region, Shteyman is invited to attend the 56th National JSHS Symposium in Hunt Valley, Maryland in May. At the National JSHS Symposium, 230 high school participants will present their research, engage with world-class STEM professionals, and gain exposure to cutting-edge research and technologies. As one of the top two delegates for Long Island, Shteyman is also eligible for scholarship opportunities at the event. The Junior Science and Humanities Symposia (JSHS) Program is a tri-service – U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force – sponsored competition that promotes original research and experimentation in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at the high school level and publicly recognizes students for outstanding achievement.

South wins L.I. science bowl A four-member team from South Middle School won the Long Island Regional Middle School Science Bowl at Brookhaven National Laboratory on March 3. The team of Matthew Moy, Matthew Tsui, Jansen Wong, and Charlie Yin competed against 19 other teams at this regional event. As the winning team at the Regional Middle School Science Bowl, this team from South Middle has earned an invitation to participate in the National Science Bowl hosted by the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. This competition, which will take place in late April, will feature the top middle school teams in the nation. At the Science Bowl, teams face oﬀ in a fast-paced questionand-answer format. Students are tested on

PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSEMBLYMAN ANTHONY D’URSO’S OFFICE

Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso met with South Middle school teacher Daniel Isaac, Superintendent Teresa Prendergast, social worker Joan Greenberg and John Powell, assistant superintendent for business.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The South Middle team holds their Regional Science Bowl banner and trophy. a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, energy, and math. The Science Bowl is one of the nation’s regional competitions of the 27th Annual

DOE National Science Bowl (NSB). More than 14,000 students compete in NSB each year. Approximately 275,000 students have participated in NSB in its 27-year history, and it is one of the nation’s

largest science competitions. The team is coached by Doris Stanick, an earth science teacher at South Middle, and Diane Caplain, a biology teacher at South Middle.

D’Urso meets G.N. school staff State Assemblyman Anthony D’Urso met with the Great Neck Superintendent of Schools Dr. Teresa Prendergast to discuss numerous issues, including the 2018-2019 New York State budget, funding for mental health services and security initiatives, school grant opportunities, creating a Teachers’ Retirement

System reserve and the heroin and opioid addiction crises. D’Urso is a co-sponsor of Assembly Bill number A07353B which would allow certain school districts and BOCES to establish a retirement contribution reserve fund for the purposes of the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System.

46 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

COMMUNITY NEWS

Board honors North students Vigilant honors

EMS member

PHOTO BY IRWIN MENDLINGER

North High School students were recognized by the Board of Education on March 5. Seventy-one North High School students were recently recognized by the Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education for contributing to the quality of life at their school. These students include: Meital Agagi, Isabel Amir, Michael Amrami, Nicole Berchansky, Talia Bina, Rachel Butchen, Cindy Chan, Samuel Cho, Samantha Damaghi, Danielle Damaghi, Brook Damaghi, Natasha Dilamani, Austyn Durham, Jason Feith, Kyra Friedland, Jonathan Goldman, Sarah Gorjian, Niva Haber, Aaron Hakimi, Emily Hakimi, Sasha Hakimian, Matthew Han, Benjamin Harooni,

Rebecca Hirschhorn, Madlen Kavian, Samantha Kron, Jessica Lalehzar, Ariella Lerner, Keva Li, Kevin Li, Peri Litt, Chloe Mayeri, Aaron Naim, Shannon Nassi, Ariel Navi, Yael Paknoush, Jade Pan, Nina Raynor, Alec Rich, Jonathan Rismany, Orli Rofeim, Rachel Rothbaum, Tatiana Sameyah, Jovan Sameyah, Shannon Sarker, Isabelle Sarraf, Jonathan Sasson, Leila Sassouni, Cori Shalit, Celine Shamash, Sandra Shaoolian, Aaron Sheena, Kimberly Shokrian, Amy Shteyman, Kimber Simchayof, Jacqueline Slobin, Noa Solemanyan, Elena Sundick, Alexa Tubian, Cheryl Tung, Jenna Uhr, Gabriela Ve-

ras, Fernanda Wenzel, Elana Xu, Rebecca Yaminian, Isabel Yang, Hodaya Yazdanpanah, Ashley Yousseﬁ, Marc Zalt, Sharlene Zar, and Elaine Zhang. Joining them are Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz, Vice President Donald Ashkenase, and Trustees Donna Peirez, Rebecca Sassouni, and Jeﬀrey Shi, as well as Superintendent of Schools Dr. Teresa Prendergast and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Stephen Lando, North High School Principal Daniel Holtzman and Assistant Principals Patricia Hugo, Dr. Daniel Krauz, and Ronald Levine.

Vigilant Fire Company EMS member Jonathan Bakshi was recognized at the regular monthly meeting of the Vigilant Fire Company on Monday, March 5 for completing his probation. The probation period is the ﬁrst year of membership, when new members take basic in-house training classes to start being able to answer calls, Vigilant Fire Chief Joshua Charry explained. After that, they enroll in classes through various county ﬁre and EMS academies to complete their training. Bakshi was presented with his helmet and new permanent shield by Charry.

PHOTO BY DAN BEHNAM

Vigilant Fire Company EMS member Jonathan Bakshi was recognized at the regular monthly meeting of the Vigilant Fire Company on Monday, March 5.

Vigilant hosting Student in national orchestra March blood drive

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

North High violist Megan Xu, chosen for the Honor Orchestra of America, and Mr. Joseph Rutkowski, director of instrumental music at North High. Megan Xu, a senior at North High School, has been selected to perform with the 2018 Honor Orchestra of America at a concert in Indiana for the second consecutive year. Xu, who plays the viola, was

chosen for the Honor Orchestra of America after submitting a recording and participating in the audition process. Her application was evaluated by music faculty members from some of the country’s leading universities.

Joseph Rutkowski is Xu’s instrumental music teacher at North High. The 2018 Honor Orchestra performance will be conducted by Larry J. Livingston, Chair of the Conducting Department at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Sey Ahn, a fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, will serve as the assistant conductor for the performance. The Honor Orchestra of America is sponsored by Music for All, a non-proﬁt organization that has been providing educational and performance programs and events for school bands and orchestras since it was founded in 1975. Music for All also focuses on music and arts education advocacy, providing resources for teachers and communities “to strengthen the message that music education is a vital part of the core curriculum.”

Vigilant Fire Company in Great Neck will be hosting a blood drive on Monday, March 19 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at its ﬁrehouse at 83 Cutter Mill Rd, Great Neck, NY, in order to help make up for blood donations lost from recent storms. The Nor’easter on Friday, March 1 and Wednesday March 7 resulted in nearly 3,000 displaced blood donations from cancelled blood drives with the New York Blood Center. On top of this are appointments cancelled due to power outages. While the New York Blood Center said it is mak-

ing “every eﬀort to reschedule the 40+ blood drives,” they are asking the community to help by ﬁnding a blood drive or donor center and making a blood donation as soon as the weath-

er clears. The New York Blood Center asks that these losses be shared with donors and potential donors in hope that the community will respond to this urgent need.

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

COMMUNITY NEWS

Daniel Gale adds sales manager Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty has appointed Sam Marcus sales manager of its Great Neck initiative, which will result in another North Shore sales office for the organization. Marcus previously served as the assistant sales manager for its Glen Head/Old Brookville/Sea Cliff offices. Deirdre O’Connell, CEO of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty made the announcement. “Sam’s strong work ethic and his passion and technological expertise will attract top talent and get our newest office up and running quickly in this very important market,” said O’Connell. “In addition to his local knowledge of Great Neck and Kings Point,

Sam is forward thinking and has a keen sense for digital, social media marketing and the nuances of local target advertising.” Marcus is a consistently top producing associate broker with two decades of real estate experience that includes leasing and property management, Daniel Gales officials said. Prior to this most recent assignment, he worked out of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s Roslyn and Manhasset offices. Before concentrating his efforts on sales management, Marcus was the Manhasset office’s outstanding listing leader, outstanding unit leader and bulk listing (condos, co-ops, apartments) leader in 2010 and 2011, Daniel Gale officials said.

Man in G.N. killed after attack

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

Police investigate an apparent road rage attack that left a suspect dead and two civilians injured. Continued from Page 1 graduate of the police academy who was on patrol, engaged the individual and showed “great restraint,” Ryder said, repeatedly telling the suspect to drop the bat as he approached. The officer fired his Taser at the suspect, Ryder said, but it only “fazed him a little bit” and the suspect continued his approach. At that point a civilian got involved to try and help the officer,

but was struck in the head, Ryder said. “The last instruction was to put the bat down and the officer had no other option but to fire and then stop that subject at that location,” Ryder said. The unidentified officer fired twice, with one shot hitting the suspect in the upper torso, police said. The suspect died at a hospital about an hour after the incident.

The two men injured in the attack were taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and the oﬃcer was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for treatment of trauma. Both civilians were “brought in, evaluated and discharged,” a spokeswoman for Northwell Health said. The incident is under investigation.

Plaza sets fire, EMS hearing N. Shore tax levies up over 2% Continued from Page 12 The bulk of the cost would pay for fire services, $802,963 for Great Neck Plaza, while the ambulance contract is $126,332. Great Neck Plaza would pay $77,441.25 to Vigilant Fire Company on the 10th of each month between January and December, according to the contract, which lasts from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2018. The village’s contract with Vigilant would be retroactive to January if approved. Great Neck Estates would pay $741,058 – the second most overall. The budget calls for $641,971 for fire services and $99,087 for ambulance services. The Town of North Hempstead pays $380,094 into the budget, with $289,944 going toward the fire contract and $90,150 going toward ambulance services. The Village of Great

Neck, which receives fire service from Alert Fire Company, would pay $261,862 for ambulance services from Vigilant Fire Company – more than any other municipality the company serves. Kensington would pay $22,491 for fire services and $37,917 for ambulance services, totaling $258,408. Kings Point would pay $217,177 for ambulance services. Thomaston would pay $34,626 for fire services and $6,160 for ambulance service, while Saddle Rock would pay $28,980 for ambulance services. Other matters on Great Neck Plaza’s agenda included a change in ownership for Be Your Chef, a new restaurant on Cutter Mill Road, a lease with the Long Island Rail Road and authorizing the Great Neck Memorial Day parade through the village on May 28.

For the latest news, visit us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.theislandnow.com

Continued from Page 2 schools expect a 3.06 percent increase in the tax levy from $54.57 million to $59.83 million. Port Washington, as of Feb. 27, calculated a 2.85 percent tax levy increase – or a boost of $3.78 million – with PILOT payments listed as an “unknown variable.” Sewanhaka schools calculated the lowest increase in terms of percentage out of all the school districts on the North Shore, with a currently pro-

jected 0.99 percent tax levy increase from $142.75 million to $144.16 million. New Hyde Park-Garden City Park school district residents could expect a 2.92 percent rise from $29.97 million to $30.84 million, the Mineola schools a 2.12 increase from $79.44 million to $81.12 million, and Manhasset schools a 2.99 percent increase from $83.908 million to $86.42 million, according to numbers calculated by Newsday.

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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50 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

McCann sentenced for $98K embezzlement Continued from Page 26 Singas said that the Solid Waste Management Authority ran a drop-oﬀ program on Sundays, where the agency accepted yard waste, municipal solid waste, and debris from construction and demolition for a fee of $5 for the ﬁrst 100 pounds and $1 for each additional 20. Employees working at the facility would receive the cash pay-

ments, generating receipts and enter information on how much garbage was taken and how much cash was involved, Singas said. An employee then “reconciled the amount of cash in hand with the cash taken in, per the scale reports.” Prosecutors said that starting on May 11, 2014, McCann’s weekly deposits in the agency’s bank account were often less

than the cash amount reported – and sometimes no deposits were made at all. This was correlated with a decrease in yearly deposits, prosecutors said, with $76,352 being collected in 2013, $62,649 in 2014, and $17,467 in 2015. The Town of North Hempstead’s comptroller’s oﬃce notiﬁed the authority about the revenue issues in mid-January 2016

before referring the matter to the district attorney about a week later. McCann, who was employed by North Hempstead starting in 1998 and transferred to the waste management agency in 2014, was then terminated. She surrendered to district attorney’s investigators on Feb. 29, 2016. “We brought this matter to the District Attorney as soon as

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we became aware of the discrepancies at the Solid Waste Management Authority,” Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said at the time. “We are cooperating fully and are conﬁdent that the DA will conduct a thorough investigation to see that justice is done. Any breach of public trust on the part of any town employee will not be tolerated.”

N.Y. health act info Join Landmark and the League of Women Voters of Port Washington-Manhasset to learn more about the proposed NY Health Act on Tuesday, March 20, at Landmark on Main Street. The evening will include a screening of the short ﬁlm “Fix It: Healthcare at the Tipping Point,” followed by a panel and audience discussion of the issues that face us in guaranteeing health care for all. The program will begin at 7 p.m. and admission is free. The community is invited to join the conversation. They’ll hear from experts and neighbors voicing a breadth of perspectives and decide for themselves whether they are in favor of the New York Health Act. If passed, the New York Health Act (A. 4738 / S. 4840) will provide for health care for all New York State residents and will eliminate ﬁnancial barriers to care, while allowing people to go to the doctor and hospital of their choice. Like the rest of the industrialized world, it will give New Yorkers access to health care without fear of bankruptcy. New York Health will treat health care as a human right, not a commodity for those who can afford to pay. Moderating our discussion is Dr. Judith B. Esterquest, Healthcare Chair for the Port WashingtonManhasset chapter of the League of Women Voters. Our panelists are Professor Leonard Rodberg, Research Director for Physicians for a National Health Plan and on the faculty at the School of Public Health at Queens College, CUNY, for three decades and Martha Livingston, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Public Health department at SUNY Old Westbury and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. Health care is a human right! Let’s guarantee health care for all New Yorkers by passing The New York Health Act in 2018.

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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52 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Norway offers government model

his is the story about a nation of little more than 5 million people. Of the 180 nations of the world, it recently ranked number one in the following indices: democracy, freedom, economic freedom, and gender equality. It ranks in the top 10 in most of the positive indices. By any measure this is extraordinary. Norway was fortunate to have discovered oil oﬀ their coast some 20 or 30 years ago. Many other countries have much greater oil reserves. However, unlike other nations, Norway has put most of its oil proﬁts into a Sovereign Fund now the world ’s largest at $882 billion ($175,000 for every man, women and child in Norway). Norway itself needs little oil as it consists of only 5 million people so virtually all of its oil is sold elsewhere. Annual revenues from this sovereign fund now exceeds income from oil sales. The Norwegians have one of the worlds highest Gross Domestic Product per person (GDP/person) which is at least double that of any other European nation and also more

than twice the United States GDP per person. Each year by law only 4 percent of the funds net worth can be extracted for use by the Norwegian government. In fact, there is talk of reducing this to 2.7 percent. Norway is aware that lavish spending now would result in high inﬂation. Some 98 percent of Norway’s electricity is produced by nonpolluting hydropower. This is the highest percentage in the world. Norway has more potential hydropower than the rest of Europe combined. Furthermore, no expensive dams are required to harness this power because the lakes are located high in the mountains from which water can ﬂow down through a tube to a turbine to generate electricity. Also while worldwide fresh water supplies are seriously endangered Norway’s fresh water supply is more than ample. Norway is also aggressively tackling pollution from cars. It has put in place conditions that encourage the use of electric cars. Import duty and other charges have been eliminated: free plug-in charging; free parking; driving in bus lanes etc.

Today 25 percent of new car purchases are electric, the highest percentage in the world by far. In most countries going electric cars merely exchanges oil for coal (or gas). The electric energy must come from somewhere to produce electricity for cars. Norway is unique. As noted above, it has enough electricity generated by hydropower to even run all cars in the country. Norway has long been a leader in offshore oil rig technology. Recently it has deployed the first portable oil drilling rig. When oil runs out a rig must be demolished so that it is not a navigational hazard. Norway is now operating the first portable ocean oil rig. It can retract its legs, be floated to another location and redeploy its legs. Offshore oil deposits are located on continental shelves where water depth are most often less than 300 feet.The Norwegian portable rig has 300 foot long legs. Norway has won more Winter Olympic Gold medals and total winter medals than any other nation. Many of these medals were won years ago when the Olympics were for amateurs

only. Even as the Olympics has gone totally professional Norway still wins a disproportionate number of these medals. Prosperity apparently has not made them fat and lazy!! The weather in Norway is fairly mild despite that fact that its latitude is the same as Anchorage, Alaska. Its weather is relatively mild because of the Gulf Stream that flows north along our East coast and on to Europe and up the Norwegian coast. All harbors even in the very north of Norway remain ice-free all winter long. In southern Norway, where the vast majority of the population resides, the winter temperatures are not markedly different than in New York City. One difference from New York is the hours of daylight. Very few hours of daylight in the winter and very few hours of darkness in the summer. Norway is an amazing country. Blessed with resources yes but also with maintaining a world leading egalitarian democracy. Theodore Theodorsen Manhasset

Plaza officials work for Schumer wrong perks, pay; not the people on Access funds

elow is a copy of the letter I recently sent to Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender and all of the village oﬃcials; once again, I did not receive a response. Dear Mayor Celender, Elections for oﬃcials of the Village of Great Neck Plaza will be taking place this month, so of course, the candidates want to let their constituents know what a good job they are doing. In Janelle Clausen’s article about Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen that appeared in the March 2 issue of the Great Neck News (“Rosen touts Plaza’s record of excellence”), we are supplied with all sorts of platitudes about the Village’s “record of accomplishment” and how it is a “very nice place to live, work and shop.” But when asked by the reporter about whether there is a parking problem in Great Neck Plaza, Rosen responded, “I think there’s at times a perception that parking is a challenge, but I think in reality there is parking and I think that’s something over the years we’ve tried to address.” After the multitude of conversations and written communications about the dire parking situation for residents of the Welwyn/ Shoreward area — along with

clearly documented purposeful bypassing by code enforcement of the daily multitude of illegally parked Shop Delight employees— Ted’s response in the newspaper was just another attempt to whitewash an issue that the Village refuses to deal with. Since Shop Delight has been open, large numbers of employees have been persistent in illegally parking in the Welwyn/Shoreward area, depriving residents of ample places to park on the street. In spite of the fact that clear documentation of this illegal behavior has been sent to the Village over an extended period of time, it has not been apparent to residents that tickets have been issued to those employees by code enforcement — regardless of the fact that there has been ample opportunity to do so. During a meeting with Chris Backmon and Ted Rosen late last year, both Chris and Ted confirmed to my husband and me that over a 10-month period in 2017, VGNP code enforcement issued 200 tickets in the Welwyn/Shoreward area (which amounts to 20 tickets per month — fewer than one ticket per day), and neither confirmed that any of the 200 tickets were given to Shop Delight employees. Every Plaza official knows full

well that the very presence of these illegally parked cars on the streets adjacent to Shop Delight is a violation of their conditional use permit, paragraphs 13 & 23, as well as a violation of the Village of Great Neck Plaza’s Parking Code, Chapters 151-2, 3 & 4. Little or nothing has been done to enforce the law, or to mete out proper consequences to Shop Delight; occasional “lip service” is all we get. Residents are painfully aware that the Village has no real intention of dealing with this problem. Regarding the upcoming elections in the village, Rosen states in the newspaper article, “I think the opportunity to serve the public is a very special opportunity. And if you feel that you’re doing a good job and you could serve the public, I think you should run.” Do any of you actually believe that “you’re doing a good job” serving the needs of the residents of my Welwyn/Shoreward neighborhood when no one at the village even bothers to respond to our communications or concerns? If you really want to know what kind of job you’re doing, just ask my neighbors. Muriel Pfeifer Village of Neck Plaza (We want our “Great” back!)

en. Charles Schumer is incorrect when saying funding under his proposed $1 trillion infrastructure program could also pay for completion of the Long Island Rail Road East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal. The original Full Funding Grant Agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration and Metropolitan Transportation Authority for East Side Access was approved in December 2006 at a total cost of $6.3 billion. The $2.63 billion federal share of funding under the FTA Full Funding Grant to MTA remains unchanged (virtually all of which has already been spent) with the MTA as local sponsor legally required to cover billions and growing cost overruns. Ten years later in August 2016 the FTA amended Full Funding Grant Agreement was signed off by both FTA and the MTA. After years of negotiations, the MTA and FTA finally came to an agreement which would reflect the true current

cost and schedule. Both the cost went up and ﬁrst revenue day of service slipped once again. Taxpayers may end up paying $12 billion in direct costs for this project. The original completion date of 2011 will slip to December 2023. The last construction contract for MTA Long Island Rail Road East Side Access to Grant Central Terminal was awarded in 2016. The MTA previously programmed local funding within the 2015 – 2019 Five Year Capital Plan to pay for all remaining work. Any additional unforeseen future cost overruns would have to be paid for out of the next MTA 2020 – 2024 Five Year Capital Plan. Larry Penner Great Neck (Larry Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Oﬃce)

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Dunning, Yakaitis right on tree issue While each of the four people running for trustee in Munsey Park Village on March 20, 2018 are good decent and thoughtful people, only two of them have shown they are correct on the “Village Trees next to the street question:” Brian Dunning and Nathy Yakaitis. What is the “Village Trees next to the street question”? If you live in Munsey Park and there is a tree, including the massive trees planted long ago by the Villages, in the “approximately 12 feet” next to the street in front of your house, the present administration of the village, in a change policy from the last administration, takes the position that you, the homeowner, must maintain it or pay for chopping it up, should it become diseased or fall down. (Except on Park Avenue and Manhasset Woods Road, where the village has fairly recently agreed to maintain them.) That position on homeowner responsibility is legally wrong.

If a Munsey Park homeowner looks at his or her survey, it shows that the “approximately 12 feet” next to the street does not belong to the homeowner. That “approximately 12 feet” belongs to the village for possible other uses including road widening, gas pipes or whatever. Further, there is a speciﬁc ordinance that forbids the homeowner from planting anything there. How can such a homeowner be made to pay directly for the maintenance of trees it does not own? On land it does not own? The prior village administration recognized this fact and included in its budget money for a proper tree maintenance and pruning policy. Not only is such a policy legally correct but it is the proper governmental policy. Do we really want individual homeowners deciding whether a tree should have a limb in the approximately 12 feet

next to the street cut-oﬀ and then applying for a permit to trim or cut it down? And for a tree on village land? These trees, which overhang where people, including children, walk need a collective and professional approach to trimming and maintenance. Anything else is dangerous. And if the village decides to cut it down or trim it, why should the adjoining homeowner be billed for it? Now to be fair to the current village administration: The village has recently come round to being responsible for the trees on Manhasset Woods Road and Park Avenue. The mayor and voard have listened to me argue my position over recent meetings in a respectful and polite way. I think their present position is that they need further time to consider the correctness and costs of reinstituting the old policy. However, with all due respect, I think

the time has come, or very shortly should come, for a “Yes” or “No” answer on reinstituting the old policy whereby the Village is responsible for trees in the approximately 12 feet near to the street. I do know that two of the trustee candidates, Brian Dunning and Nathy Yakaitis are for reinstituting the old policy whereby the Village is responsible for these trees. Mrs. Noone has been a “further study” advocate on this question. I do not know the position of the other candidate who is running for trustee, Mr. Anthony Sabino. I submit this letter leaving time for contrary views to be expressed in this newspaper before the next election. Also in the interests of full disclosure, I have two “village trees” in front of our house. James H. McGivney Munsey Park

Justice served Turano exceptionally qualified by Turano win I

n light of Mr. John Turano’s candidacy for re-election as the Munsey Park village justice, I feel that it is my civic duty, as a resident of Munsey Park, to show my support for John. I have lived in Munsey Park for about 16 years. During this time, I have witnessed John’s dedicated service to residents and our community for over 14 years. I believe that John’s credentials and the extensive experience he has in the role of village justice make him eminently qualiﬁed. John is an accomplished attorney who has served as an assistant district attorney for over three years, a Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of North Hempstead for four and a half years and a prosecuting attorney for the Villages of Lake Success

and New Hyde Park for approximately 40 years. I believe John has served with dedication and shown remarkable character and judgment. Over the years he has worked to improve the criminal justice system in the village, and has been able to provide justice to and protect the rights of the individuals passing through the court system for the betterment of the community at large. John’s outstanding credentials, his loyalty to his community, and his demonstrated excellence as a public servant have convinced me to support him in his eﬀort for re-election as the village justice. Please vote on March 20, 2018 at Village Hall from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m. Joseph W. Duggan Munsey Park

Check us out on facebook at www.facebook.com/ TheIslandNow

am writing this letter in support of John Turano for the position of village justice for the Village of Munsey Park. I have been a resident of Manhasset for 43 years and have had the pleasure of being a close neighbor of John for the past eight years. My wife, Patty, was also fortunate to study law under the guidance of John’s wife, Peggy, where Peggy has held positions as both dean and professor at St. John’s Law School. Village Courts, in general, are incredibly unique due to the intimate relationship between the motorists and justices. I believe John Turano has done an exemplary job at representing the Village of Munsey Park in this position. He is informative and approachable to the motorists while instilling in them the importance of safety to our community.

I have personally seen John while acting as village justice explain how important the traﬃc control devices and parking regulations are to the safety of our children and the integrity of the community. Similarly, the village justice is responsible for adjudicating matters with regard to neighbors which can be very diﬃcult. I believe that John has shown the ability to interpret the local statutes fairly and justly. John is a good neighbor and a great candidate for Village Justice. Please vote to re-elect John Turano as Village Justice on March 20 and re-elect Jennifer Noone and elect Anthony Sabino as village trustees. Drew Miller Munsey Park

Strauss oversaw smart growth

have personally known Scott Strauss for almost my entire life. In addition to growing up with Scott, I have worked alongside him in the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the New York City Police Department and in my current role at a major health system here on Long Island. His reputation at each and every agency is impeccable. He is looked upon as a leader and a person of the highest integrity. His sense of duty to his responsibilities are second to none. I proudly support him in his re-election for mayor of Mineola. During his tenure as the mayor of Mineola, he has steered the village through new development projects, allowing smart growth to help ensure and maintain a stable tax base. He has also overseen the redevelopment of Mineola Memorial Park into a wonderful “jewel”

for the enjoyment of the residents of Mineola. If the enthusiasm and attendance at the last few summer concert series are any indications, we will be enjoying their wonderful park for years to come. Scott along with trustees Walsh and Durham have kept the village finances “on track” and have reduced debt while maintaining essential services. In a time where it seems a different municipality emerges every day as being in fiscal distress, it is comforting knowing Mineola’s financial standing is excellent. I respectfully encourage my fellow residents to re-elect Mayor Scott Strauss and Trustees Walsh and Durham on election day March 20. Kenneth Solosky Mineola

54 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Yakaitis, Dunning offer Munsey Park change

have known Brian and Nathy since they each moved to Munsey Park. They are now running for election to the Munsey Park Board of Trustees. Both are attorneys, and despite family and professionals responsibilities and commitments, they have been active neighbors and given generously of their time and energy to help maintain our village as the wonderful, beautiful place it is. If elected, they will return sanity and grace to board meetings, carefully weighing the merits of issues, allowing residents to express their opinions free from bullying and mocking, and unlike the current trustees, they will no longer tolerate the lack of transparency in oﬃcial actions. Five years ago this month, Frank DeMento, then running for mayor of Munsey Park and leading a slate that included Jennifer Noone for trustee, told Newsday, “The village has become just a place that’s very adversarial for the residents.” A year later, a resident supporting the reelection of Jennifer Noone as trustee, wrote that “[she and her fellow trustees] have lived up to their campaign promise to improve transparency of our village for everyone.” The letter went on to assert that “For the ﬁrst time ever, every village resident can now look over the shoulder of our village trustees…to see, line by line, how their tax dollars are being allocated and actually spent.” And “this new team has openly invited and welcomed everyone into village hall so that all opinions can be heard and considered.” Really? Let’s review the record of the current administration of DeMento and Noone (who is now standing for reelection): In a public meeting over a proposed walkway to connect the Congregational Church parking lot with the Munsey Park School, Mayor Frank DeMento is quoted as saying the following of a resident question-

ing the merits of the proposal, “He doesn’t care if somebody is killed.” The article quotes DeMento referring to Munsey Park residents as “the peanut gallery,” and saying that he “singled out speciﬁc residents and said that they were ‘not recognized.’” A neighbor is quoted as saying, “As a 44-year resident of Munsey Park, to hear that you can’t speak at a village meeting, I don’t know what to say.” (The Manhasset Press, July 25, 2017) A State Supreme Court justice, lifting a stay temporarily stopping the ManhassetLakeville Water District from replacing a water tower, had this to say, “In his Aug. 8 ruling, [the judge] wrote the village ‘failed to establish a likelihood or probability of success on the merits.’” As to the cost to village residents for this wasteful litigation, no one knows, as the Village has apparently refused to respond to repeated requests for the answer, but there’s speculation it might be as high as $250,000. (Newsday, August 18, 2014) Then, of course, there is the debacle over the board’s attempting to appoint the mayor’s brother-in-law to a new administrative position – neither advertising for the job, in accordance with village regulations and sound human resources practice, nor disclosing the intended appointment on the board’s meeting agenda – actions that Newsday characterized as violating state law . I have no complaint with the man in question; in my brief encounters with him in his role as a maintenance worker I have always found him to be both friendly and diligent. My objection is to the lack of process, the appearance of self-dealing, and the attitude of the trustees toward residents raising legitimate questions. In addition, at least one trustee is quoted (Newsday – June 2, 2017) as attacking residents for publicly questioning the trust-

ees’ actions, saying, “That was published in the paper…do you realize what you are doing to the village?” Newsday columnist Joye Brown answered that question (June 10, 2017): “Does the village – with its lack of transparency in creating and filling a position, when officials so easily could have advertised the post and openly solicited candidates – realize what it’s doing to residents?” In addition, Village officials were reported to have earlier stated there would be no salary increase for the individual in the proposed position; yet they are later quoted as saying, “[The employee’s] salary and benefits were to be determined [emphasis added].” This is typical of the double-talk and obfuscation put out by the current administration. The village attorney is stated to have said that the proposed appointment was “in conformance with the law and village code,” and that village officials had performed an ethics policy review of the proposed action, though the ethics board’s chairman could not be reached for comment, nor were the identities of the other members of the ethics board disclosed (Newsday May 16, 2017). I’ll leave it to the reader to decide whom to believe, Newsday or the Village Attorney, as to whether the proposed appointment was legal. Finally, on the subject of this debacle, our former Village Clerk, when questioned by reporters, replied that she was unaware of the proposed appointment and was “shocked” that it had not been placed on the board’s agenda. Shortly thereafter, her employment was effectively terminated, and she was replaced with someone whose published qualifications fail to indicate any experience or training as a local government official. Again, I have no problem with the individual in question, having found her also to be very diligent and courteous – it is the lack of transparency and process that I find disturbing. And lest anyone assume that the ad-

ministration has learned from its mistakes, we have the latest outrage, leading The Manhasset Times to issue a scathing editorial (February 20, 2018). It denounced the Village’s lack of transparency and responsiveness in refusing to disclose who had filed for the upcoming village election, and provided a laundry list of the trustees’ other affronts to residents and refusals to respond to legitimate inquiries – actions that the editorial characterized as an “assault on common sense and good government.” I have lived in Munsey Park for over 38 years. At various times I have served on the Village’s Board of Zoning Appeals and Building Advisory Committee; I participated in rewriting and modernizing the Village’s Zoning Ordinance; and I was twice elected to the Manhasset Board of Education, serving one year as vice president followed by two as president. In the latter capacity, I participated in the renegotiation of the District’s union contracts. I know first hand how heated some local issues can become, but I have never witnessed the flagrant arrogance and disregard for common courtesy and proper procedure exhibited by this current village administration. In the upcoming election, we are presented with a clear choice – we can continue to allow the current administration to operate as if this is the “new normal” by voting for incumbent Jennifer Noone and Anthony Sabino, her running-mate, or by failing to vote at all. Alternatively, we could take a stand to bring back good government and neighborliness to our village, by voting for Nathy Yakaitis and Brian Dunning. I urge you to support Nathy Yakaitis and Brian Dunning for election as trustees of the Village of Munsey Park. Christopher J. Lowery Munsey Park

Turano brings strong Turano right person legal background for village justice

am writing to support the re-election of the Honorable John Turano to Village Court Justice of Munsey Park. My wife and I have resided in Munsey Park for over forty years and I have known John since 1969. John became an assistant district attorney in Queens County in 1969. I had left that oﬃce the previous year. I had the experience of observing John from the other side; from the perspective of a defense attorney. He was well respected as a tough but just and fair-minded prosecutor. After he left the district attorney’s ofﬁce, John has been a deputy attorney for the Town of North Hempstead, a prosecutor for the Villages of Lake Success and New Hyde Park as well as engaging in private practice.

He has also faithfully served as our Village Justice for the past 14 years. Through the years I have known John, our paths have often crossed many times in the courtrooms and at various meetings and functions of professional organizations. I can attest to his reputation as an honest, highly skilled attorney with a wide knowledge of the law who enjoys the utmost respect of the members of our profession. By virtue of his experience, background, integrity and work ethic, John is highly qualiﬁed for Munsey Park Village Court Justice. He has served in that capacity for over 14 years and it would be our loss if he was not re-elected on March 20. Joseph Filardi, Esq. Munsey Park

have been a Munsey Park resident since 1984. I have known Mr. John Turano, Esq. since our undergraduate days at St. John’s University. Mr. Turano excelled academically at the University both on the undergraduate and Law School level. He was also an excellent student at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn. Since 1988, I have utilized the professional services of Mr. Turano. Upon referral, he has helped many of my professional clients in the area of trusts, estate planning, elder care and guardianships. In each of these relationships, he has treated clients with the utmost professional, ethical and respectful services. His expertise in these areas cleared diﬃcult hurdles for these clients.

Mr. Turano has utilized his legal expertise and talent while serving as the village justice for Munsey Park. His professional expertise has facilitated a positive experience for defendants. They were afforded fair, timely and respectful treatment. The re-election of Mr. Turano will ensure the Village high-quality professional services for residents and non-residents. The Village will also have on its staff an attorney who is focused on continual improvements in the rendering of its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. Please vote on March 20 for John Turano as Village Justice and Jennifer Noone and Anthony Sabino as Village Trustees. Stephen Conroy Munsey Park

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Dunning, Yakaitis offer respect and fairness

write to support the candidacy of Brian Dunning and Nathy Yakaitis who are running for election to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Munsey Park. Rita and I have been residents of the Village of Munsey Park for over 30 years. I had the honor of serving the village from 1994 to 2006 as a trustee and deputy mayor. I have continued my interest in village aﬀairs through the years and have attended meetings of the Board of Trustees from time to time. When I was on the board I always encouraged residents to attend meetings. During my tenure, every meeting included a segment where residents were welcome to raise any issue they wanted. The criticisms that I have recently seen expressed in the press by some members of the Board and a few others about residents (especially former trustees) attending meetings are very troubling. Trustees should remember that as elected oﬃcials they are required to treat “all members of the public …with respect and in a pro-

fessional manner ….” Instead of deriding participation at board meetings by residents and former trustees, the board should be celebrating the fact that those few who do attend meetings have the best interests of our community at heart and only have one goal: a better Munsey Park. The board should welcome a frank and open discussion of all issues and, yes, as members of one big family, that means we will often disagree. The problem is that we are not working together and from where I sit I see several serious issues that concern me that I believe have to be considered when you cast your ballot: Why is there a lack of public discussion at board meetings and why is it that most decisions are presented to us as a fait accompli? Trustees, you are not sitting in secret as a cooperative or condo board free to make decisions in the privacy of your basement without input from the public. The Open Meetings Law requires with certain speciﬁc exceptions public discussion of all issues. So why do the members of the board criticize and demean

residents who take the time to attend meetings? Trustees, you are there to protect us so why do you not insist on all decisions being made in public? Why does the Board go into executive session at virtually every meeting usually to discuss so-called “employment” matters? The village has only ﬁve employees. The Open Meetings Law limits executive sessions to eight issues such as matters of public safety, criminal matters and investigations, litigation, civil service collective negotiations, sensitive matters regarding employees, employmentrelated examinations, and matters relating real property and securities transactions. Under the Open Meetings Law, minutes of the executive sessions are to be made available to the public within one week of the executive session. Why aren’t trustees insisting that the board post minutes of the executive sessions on the village web page? Why has the board which prides itself on ﬁscal conservativism not disclose what the Village paid in legal fees (which is believed to be in excess of $200,000 in taxpayer dollars) on its unsuccessful and some believe frivolous

water tower litigation against the ManhassetLakeville Water District, which in itself cost the water district taxpayers an additional $200,000? Why does the board pretend that it has kept taxes down when it has formulated a fee schedule that includes items such as $100 to prune a tree and $25 for each window replaced in a house? These taxes (which the Board calls “fees”) are posted on the Munsey Park web page. Why is the board even considering a discontinuance of the village’s maintenance of village trees in the village strip (a policy that has existed since the Village was founded) as part of an apparent attempt to shift the expense of maintaining these trees on to the shoulders of the abutting property owners? This is another tax which shouldn’t be tolerated. I could highlight more issues but these are the issues that trouble me the most as a resident. These clear problems tell me why it’s time for a change. Vince and Rita Syracuse Munsey Park

Turano: the right Candidates’ claims untrue temperament R

am writing this letter in support of the candidacy of John Turano for village justice of Munsey Park. I ﬁrst met John Turano about 29 years ago on the ﬁeld in front of Manhasset High School watching our oldest sons playing soccer. He and his wife had recently moved to Munsey Park. It turned out we had lots in common. We both had similar backgrounds growing up. We both had three sons whose ages line up. His wife and I were professors. Our families continued to meet at various sporting events and became friends. John has practiced law for 48 years, a good portion of which has been spent in the courtroom, and for the past 14 he has served as the Munsey Park village justice. Prior to that John was an assistant district attorney for over three years and a deputy town attorney for the Town of North Hempstead for four and a half years. He also served as the Prosecuting Attorney for the Villages

of Lake Success and New Hyde Park for over 40 years. He has been a Little League coach and volunteer parent at Our Lady of Grace Montessori School. He is currently involved in his church’s men’s ministry and regularly serves as an usher. He is an avid cyclist, kayaker and runner. It is often said that a Village Justice Court is the “People’s Court,” in that for most people, it’s their first experience with the criminal justice system. Munsey Park Village Court typically handles traffic and building-code violations. John has always treated the parties who appear before him fairly, with dignity and respect. I believe John’s background, experience and temperament make John the person to serve the people of Munsey Park as their Village Justice for another term of office. On Tuesday, March 20, please join me and vote for John Turano for Village Justice of Munsey Park. Vincent J. Calluzzo, Ph.D Munsey Park

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ecently on social media, I saw that Brian Dunning again posted an article that accused the Board of Trustees and mayor of Munsey Park of refusing to let people speak at a meeting. I was at that referenced meeting and nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, this was the second meeting regarding a proposed walkway to Munsey Park Elementary School. At the first (where I was also present), Mr. Dunning railed against the proposed walkway for the better part of an hour because he felt traffic might be increased on his street during drop off and pick up. At the second meeting, after an hour of open discussion on the issue, Mr. Dunning again filibustered that “the walkway was a solution without a problem.” The Mayor had to restore order to the meeting and move on. For Mr. Dunning to continue to circulate a false article instead of correcting it, is despicable. More notably, the proposed candidates seeking positions with the village have spent the better of the last four years rejecting, complaining and arguing about every possible option that could and should keep our children safe. The school, church, elected officials and the village have all come together to create solutions to maintain the safety of

our community, yet this opposition from Mr. Dunning and his cohorts continue to halt these noble eﬀorts. How are they ﬁt to run for a position that is so oppositional to the best interests of the people they would be tasked to represent? They should not only be

denied a voice going forth, they should be denied everyone’s vote on March 20. The existing team of Noone, Sabino and Turano have my unequivocal vote! Matthew Fulgieri Munsey Park

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56 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

READERS WRITE

Mayor Ehrbar has gone extra mile for us

am writing this letter in support of Mayor Paul Ehrbar, Trustee Kevin Rynne and trustee candidate Bill O’Brien as they seek oﬃce in the upcoming Village of Williston Park elections. My wife Beth and I have lived in the Village of Williston Park for 14 years. Our three children are all growing up in this great neighborhood and they are each student in the Herricks School system. Eight years ago, when our boy Ty was 5 years old, he was diagnosed with Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy. It was around this same time that our family met Bill O’Brien and Kevin Rynne for the ﬁrst time. Despite his condition, Ty wanted nothing more than to play baseball with his friends in the Williston Park Little League. My wife and I were concerned that this might not be an option for Ty. Through mutual friends, Kevin Rynne and Bill O’Brien became aware of our situation. As a coach and the administrator of the WPLL respectively, these two men reached out to our

family and made it abundantly clear that Ty would be safe and welcome in their program! Thus, began a relationship with Ty and coach O’Brien that continues to this day! As the parents of a handicapped child, it’s an unfortunate reality that our son is not always welcome in organizations or at events, even some ostensibly designed for children. One can then imagine the great comfort we got from knowing our boy was under the trusted guidance of these two fine men! Neither I nor my son will ever forget the end of that first season when coach O’Brien told Ty, in front of his whole team, that as long as he was a coach, he wanted Ty on his team! Those words will stay with us forever. Kevin Rynne’s concern for our family extended well beyond the baseball field. Through a cursed coincidence, Kevin had friends whose son also had Duchennes. He arranged for us to meet and although the details are perhaps too personal to go into here, suffice to say his introduction of

our families has been an extreme comfort to my wife and me. As our son approached his 10th birthday, he transitioned into a wheelchair. That harsh development brought with it the fact that our beautiful home in Williston Park was not nearly adequate to support his needs. As my wife and I contemplated our dire situation, as an answer to prayers, the benevolence of friends, family, neighbors and even complete strangers provided us with the wherewithal to modify our home and make it handicap accessible. One day as we pondered our son’s needs, our doorbell rang. As I opened the door, I met Mayor Paul Ehrbar. Although I knew who he was, I was surprised and curious to ﬁnd him on our doorstep. Mayor Ehrbar introduced himself and told us that he had heard about our situation and asked if we could come to the Village Hall at our convenience to meet with him. When we did meet a few days later, Mayor Ehrbar extended every courtesy to Beth and I and made it perfectly clear that his

administration would be there to serve and support us. He knew we would be doing renovations to our house and he wanted to make sure we avoided the common mistakes that homeowners make throughout the renovation process as he knew time was of the essence for us. Over the next several months, I became intimately aware of the inner workings of the renovation application process of the Village of Williston Park. The thing that struck me at the time, and what still sticks with me, was the utter professionalism, concern and dedication to duty that Mayor Ehrbar and his entire administration exhibited every step of the way. No corners were cut for us; and in fact, during the process we were required to answer some very personal and sensitive questions. However, the respect and compassion shown by Mayor Ehrbar and his administration as they conducted their due diligence on our application increased my already expansive pride in this Village.

Through his leadership and guidance, Paul Ehrbar is as fine an example of public service and dedication that you could hope to find. Fast forward to today, and it comes as no surprise to my wife and me to find out that these three individuals would be together as they run for elected office in the Village of Williston Park. For our family, they share the common thread that they all, at separate times, came to the aid of a family in their village that needed help. At the times they did so, there was nothing to be gained from them. Our family was in no position to help them, nor was there anything we could do for them. And yet, they were there for us. Paul Ehrbar, Kevin Rynne and Bill O’Brien, separately and now together, all answered a calling to serve the Village of Williston Park, and on March 20, my wife and I will be happy and proud to cast our votes for them! Timothy Flood Elizabeth Flood Williston Park

Integrity Party the right My grandfather ticket for Williston Park is the best choice

am very excited to be supporting Paul, Kevin, Bill, and Kevin all of which are all running under the Integrity Party. Paul, our current full-time mayor, is always concerned for the residents. He welcomes both complements and complaints and looks to help where he can. You can always find him in Village Hall if not here, he is out representing our Village at a public event. His love of Village is shown by all of the committees that he and his wife, Doreen, are involved with. The Beautification Committee, Neighborhood Watch, and Historical Committee are just a few examples of how they put their time and energy to making our Village a better place to live. Kevin Rynn has been a friend and college for 7 years. We met through the Recreation Committee. That was my first taste for all of the hard work

that he does for the village. He has stuﬀed many an Easter egg, set up for concerts, and sold shirts and raﬄe tickets. He was very involved with the Little League for 20 years as Treasurer, this is more proof of his hard work and dedication for the residents. Bill O’Brien is coming out of the woodwork and into the spotlight. He has been involved with Little League for many years. I have received numerous emails from him regarding sign up, rule changes and scheduling for the teams that my children have played on. During my years as committee chair for Cub Scout Pack 311, Bill was always one parent who I could count on for helping out. Please join me March 20 in supporting the Integrity Party. Billy Carr Williston Park

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am the 10-year-old granddaughter of Mayor Paul Ehrbar. Mayor Ehrbar is a very focused mayor and is there for the village even when visiting my family and I live in Texas. He is currently doing a magniﬁcent job helping the village and he will continue to do so if

re-elected. I believe Mayor Ehrbar and his team of Rynne, O’Brien and Kiley will do a tremendous job serving the Village and its people. Vote Ehrbar! Darby Ehrbar Flower Mound, Texas

Allow Ehrbar team to continue I have had the pleasure of seeing the great work of Paul Ehrbar and his team over the last eight years. Our village has had a fulltime mayor with an eﬃcient approach to ﬁnance and a community-minded philosophy that has improved the quality of life in our village. Mr. Ehrbar is a fair-minded, hard-working asset to our com-

munity. His team of Rynne, O’Brian and Kiley will continue to provide a sound, safe and thriving community. I highly recommend and ask you to please vote for Paul Ehrbar, and his team of Rynne, O’Brian and Kiley on March 20. Rich Buckley Williston Park

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

Business&RealEstate A buyer? What are you waiting for? Just a note from last week’s article. I forgot to mention as part of my lemonade story. I somehow forgot to mention, after a month or so, my dad had asked me where I got the frozen lemonade from? I said from the freezer, where else would I have gotten it; I don’t drive, I am only 7! Then he said, “who’s frozen lemonade do you think it is? I said, it’s ours! He said, no, no, no, that’s mommy’s and daddy’s; so, give me some money! I then pulled out some cash, to pay my parents back for the lemonade that I had used. But of course, we negotiated what I had owed and I think I paid below retail, more like, wholesale; the way we like to purchase investment properties today, if you can find them (mostly out of state)! The moral to this short snippet of a story, is that there is always a price to pay, whether it be about money, time, effort and being honest and transparent, when you are trying to earn money! Now to my subject for this week; are you waiting for prices to come down before you purchase? Try to get your down payment together? Waiting for interest rates to come down again? Enjoying renting, thinking that you have no obligations and not locked into a mortgage? Are you crazy? You are stuck every month paying your landlord’s mortgage, taxes etc. or if no mortgage, you are building or adding his or her wealth or retirement fund; while yours is being decreased each and every month. Your landlord has the hedge against inflation and you do not; because your lease eventually will be renewed and do you think the rent will stay the same or increase? Most likely increase, the way this market is progressing! So you see, you do have an obligation each and every month; it’s called rent! Prices are not coming down anytime soon in many areas, especially in Long Island. As per FedRate.Com, the median price of a new home in the U.S. as of December 2017 was $336,700 and in January 2018 was $323,000. The average price of a new

home in the U.S. in December 2017 was $394,600 and in January 2018 was $382,700. Remember this is countrywide and at this point has not had any major effect on local prices, due to the fact we have more “used homes” than new homes in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens. The inventory of used homes in the U.S. at the end of December 2017 was 1,460,000 and by the end of January 2018, the preliminary data showed that it had spiked up to 1,520,000 (not yet varied) throughout the U.S, maybe because of the harsh winter in various areas, slowing the contracts and closings. However, in June 2011, when the market finally bottomed out, the inventory was 3,160,000 and then finally decreasing a small amount to 3,150,000 in July 2011. So you can observe that our U.S. inventory is less than half of what it had been in July 2011. However, today our home inventory is at historic lows, with less than 4 months of availability in Long Island and demand is at a 35 year high and interest rates are still very low. However, there is an excess of new home inventory in many areas of the country accounting for the reduction in prices on new homes. But locally, where you buy a new home at those prices? I don’t think so! I don’t think you could buy a postage stamp in Harlem or out in the Island for those prices, let alone, a new home, (in case some of you don’t understand the new internet lingo. There is a correlation between interest rates rising and Inventory increases since this situation is starting to push individuals and families out of the “buying” market and into rental in many geographic regions in the U.S. However, locally our market, due to its strong economy and jobs, is doing extremely well; over the top demand for the limited supply of used homes; however, new homes, depending on their price points are languishing longer before being sold. In New York City, condos and Co-ops above $2,500,000 are taking longer to sell and more negotiations are occurring. The higher the price, the longer it is taking to find a purchaser and much more negotiations are oc-

PHILIP A. RAICES Real Estate Watch curring. However, those that are below that threshold are selling very well. Brooklyn is the hot spot that is doing exceptionally well, Dumbo, Bed-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Crown Heights, Brownsville; some areas are still a bit challenging, to say the least, but that is why prices are lower than NYC. Anyone that is reading my column or if you know anyone that is in a rental or contemplating renting, tell them to beg, borrow and steal (only kidding) to try to get into some kind of ownership position, before rates go back to the normal 6.5-7 percent, (that they were between 1955-1975)and their monthly costs increase dramatically. Then again, if you aren’t buying and now renting, what do you think the cost of your lease will be each year? Stable like a mortgage for 30 years or with increases upon each

renewal or every other renewal. You will watch your wealth be transferred from your pocket to your landlords, sounds like a real advantageous situation if you are a landlord, but a real loser if you are the tenant. When inflation rears its ugly head, then you will see prices increase on many things and eventually the replacement cost of real estate will also escalate too as well as prices! So my advice to everyone that is not in an ownership position, do something about it if you are able to; try to get a gift (as opposed to a loan, which will increase your debt/income ratio for financing purposes) from your parents or relatives or anyone else. Feel free to reach out to me so we potentially figure out a creative strategy to place you in an ownership position. I have several cutting-edge ideas that I can share with you. Lastly, if you are an owner of higher priced homes above $2 million, you should really consider the market and have a plan to think about selling now, before rates go up higher; because your audience might or might not be able to afford your home as rates rise or psychologically, they might back off, as they have done in the “Big Apple.” It’s not because they can’t afford to purchase, but, like vultures, they are circling the market, waiting for prices to drop further. I would suggest that those who can afford to, and don’t

need to cash out, should provide prospective purchasers short or longer term mortgages, since the rate of return in banks today is a measly .50-.75 percent, not much to write home about, when you could derive 4-8% or more, depending on the prospective buyers, income, credit, debt/ income ratio; since there would be a lien on the home, as your security, until the mortgage gets satisfied. Rates are rising and may never be as low as they had been, so you can now notice that banks are advertising higher returns on 2-5 year or longer notes, anticipating the increases in the federal funds rates and the related increases in mortgage interest rates. Lastly, we shall observe and see over the next few years, what impact the new tariffs that are supposedly going to be imposed, on Steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, Japan and China will have on housing and those capital and consumer goods, whose prices may be affected as well as the jobs attached to them! Phil Raices is the owner/ broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 7 Bond St. in Great Neck. He has earned the designations as a graduate of the Realtor Institute and is a certified international property specialist. He can be reached by email:Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by cell (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions or article suggestions or provide you a free comparative market

58 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

126 Allenwood Road, Great Neck

Recent Real Estate Sales in Great Neck

Sold Price: $715,000 Date: 10/11/2017 4 beds, 2 Full/1 Half baths Style: Colonial # of Families: 1 Lot Size: 60x100 Schools: Great Neck Total Taxes: $14,410 MLS# 2923212

Great Neck Real Estate Market Conditions MEDIAN SALES PRICE $848,000 Demographics near Great Neck, NY Population Population Density Median Age People per Household Median Household Income Average Income per Capita

City 10,143 7,535 38 3 81,778 39,915

County 1,361,350 4,744 41.3 3 98,401 42,949

6 Sutton Court, Great Neck Sold Price: $2,970,000 Date: 09/07/2017 5 beds, 5 Full/1 Half baths Style: Colonial # of Families: 1 Lot Size: 91x147 Schools: Great Neck MLS# 2925655

128 Allenwood Road, Great Neck Sold Price: $1,050,000 Date: 02/20/2018 3 beds, 2 Full/1 Half baths Style: Colonial # of Families: 1 Lot Size: 80x100 Schools: Great Neck Total Taxes: $14,681 MLS# 2983443

21 Beverly Road, Great Neck Sold Price: $1,658,000 Date: 11/02/2017 4 beds, 3 Full/1 Half baths Style: Colonial # of Families: 1 Lot Size: 165X124 Irr Schools: Great Neck Total Taxes: $33,403 MLS# 2952656

Editor’s note: Homes shown here were recently sold in Great Neck by a variety of real estate agencies. The information about the homes and the photos were obtained through the Multiple Listing Services of Long Island. The homes are presented based solely on the fact that they were recently sold in Great Neck and are believed by Blank Slate Media to be of interest to our readers.

DON’T LET THE COLD KEEP YOU OUT OF A HOT REAL ESTATE MARKET! Contact me for a market analysis and together we can fulfill your real estate goals! KIMBERLY FUCHS Licensed Real Estate Salesperson O: 516.498.2172 M: 516.840.8196 kimberly.fuchs@elliman.com 11 Bond Street Great Neck, New York 11021 © 2018 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY.

elliman.com/longisland 110 WALT WHITMAN ROAD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NY 11746. 631.549.7401.

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

North Shore resident anchors for NBC Continued from Page 20 his school newspaper in college and went on to get a part-time job at Newsday writing about high school sports. A few years in, McHugh said, he hit a point where he ﬁgured if he was ever going to give broadcasting a shot it was the time to try. He decided to go to Syracuse University for his master’s degree. After graduating, McHugh began in front of the camera in 2004 in Terre Haute, Indiana, as a sports anchor for WTHI-TV. He went on to anchor for KOKH in Oklahoma City from 2007 to 2009. “I think it’s one of those things if you look back now I’m in this position like it all fell into place and worked out,” McHugh said. “But it was one of those things where it was a diﬃcult choice to

go back into broadcasting.” It wasn’t just the career pivot that was a leap out of his comfort zone, McHugh said – it was also the change of scenery. He went from working and living where all his friends were, on Long Island or in the New York City area, and opted to leave that to give broadcasting a chance. “It’s diﬃcult to be in your early to mid20s and decide you’re leaving,”McHugh said. “You’re going to go live somewhere you know nothing about.” It was also a culture shock, moving from New York to a small town he wasn’t used to, he said. Ultimately, McHugh said he thinks he’s better oﬀ because of his decision – one that didn’t just help his career but also helped shape his world view, he said. “I have a little more perspective on

the way people live in different parts of the country, and I love that,” McHugh said. “I think I benefited from that greatly.” Now, McHugh’s job, which recently landed him a couple of weeks in South Korea, is expanding his horizons even more. McHugh said he loved experiencing the different cultures at he Olympics. “Olympics are kind of a special event and you get a feel for that when you’re broadcasting that,” McHugh said. It also exposed to him to broadcasting for new sports, he said. Like figure skating. “I can say for the first time in my career I did a lot figure skating coverage, which is very different for me because it’s not really in my wheelhouse, but I loved it,” McHugh said. “And you also realize there are people that pretty much never

watch sports but love ﬁgure skating.” He said that despite being on the air for well over a decade there were people who had no idea he was doing this before they saw him covering the Olympics. While McHugh has since found his niche, he remembers the uncertainty and doubt he faced along the way. He said the most important thing for people who are unsure of what their future holds is to keep an open mind. “I think I thought especially once you graduate or decide on a major that that’s it, you’re stuck and that is what you’re doing,” McHugh said. “And it’s certainly not the case, and I think that’s diﬃcult because people immediately have success out of college and it can feel like you’re struggling. But you can always make a change.”

Schiff to talk abstract art at Roslyn Village Gallery

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELLEN HALLIE SCHIFF

Ellen Hallie Schiff will give an abstract art demonstration on March 20 at Roslyn Village Gallery. Continued from Page 20 sau County Museum of Art in 1998 but didn’t take the abstract path for about eight years. “Gradually I was abstracting the figure more and I became more interested in the space on the canvas between where the figure ended and the end of the canvas was,” Schiff said. Inspired by the works of abstract artists Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn, Schiff began exploring abstract art and copied a painting of Diebenkorn’s for practice. “In terms of learning to paint abstract, I basically taught myself,” Schiff said. “It took a long time. I would try something, and it would be awful. I’d wait another three months, six months and try again. My first attempts were just terrible.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELLEN HALLIE SCHIFF

Now, Schiff has become an accomplished abstract artist, teaching the process weekly. Schiff ’s work has also been shown in 13 solo shows and 19 group shows as well as the CBS drama “The Good Wife” for three years and will be seen on the first season of Alan Cumming’s CBS show “Instinct.” Schiff and her students’ work is on display in the “Embracing Risk” show at Bryant Library and will be there until April 6. Though she has worked more than a decade as an artist, Schiff said she never saw herself as a teacher until recently. “I never wanted to teach, but this is so gratifying,” Schiff said. “It’s so amazing to be with these people who are exploring materials. Everyone is so interested in what everyone else is doing.”

60 The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

Plans outlined for First Playhouse Developers, pols hope to see old G.N. building transformed into new apartment complex quickly Continued from Page 5 be framed, concrete would be poured and the building would grow. Bonesso said the group anticipated both phases taking no more than six months, but noted that Great Neck Estates Mayor Deputy Mayor Jeffrey Farkas suspected these two phases could take up to a year and a half. The final phase of the project, expected to be 18 months, would mostly involve interior work like plumbing, sheetrock, electrical work and painting. Fabio Salazar, the head of Always First Demolition, said it would take 30 to 45 days to create a proper safety enclosure for the building. This would involve the creation of a sidewalk shed to shield people walking nearby, extensive scaffolding and fencing all around. Project representatives said they also intend to remove asbestos through a subcontractor, hose down the building to contain dust, and keep cleanup crews on site. “The county and the villages have spent a lot of time and a lot of effort coming up with a plan that allows the building to come down and come back up in a timely matter,” Mulryan said, “but [it] also protects the residents, pedestrians and vehicles and allows construction workers to come in and out of the site.” Jean Celender, who has been mayor of Great Neck Plaza since 2000, pointed out that while the building is within the borders of Great Neck Estates, sidewalk and road issues fall within her jurisdiction.

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender implores the Village of Great Neck Estates Board of Trustees to move the Playhouse project forward. But Celender said many of those issues have been mitigated, such as by allowing project workers to buy permits for the Great Neck Plaza parking garage, and encouraged the Great Neck Estates board to move forward on the project, which she described as a necessity for smart growth. “It’s 99 percent. That’s about perfection as you’re going to get,” Celender said of the plans.

PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN

The First Playhouse of Great Neck project is being divided into four phases. “It’s sat there as a building that’s deteriorated as we sit here,” Celender said. “I think it doesn’t benefit your village, it doesn’t benefit my village.” Trustees did not take action on amending the permit at the meeting. In unrelated business, the Village of Great Neck Estates honored two code enforcement officers for helping stopping someone who allegedly broke into several cars in the village in January.

Mostly familiar faces in G.N. village elections Continued from Page 2 opportunity,” Rosen, an attorney, said in a previous interview. “And if you feel you’re doing a good job and you could serve the public, I think you should run.” Great Neck Plaza is the only municipality in Great Neck with elections in March that pays for mayors and trustees, with Celender making $65,000 a year as a fulltime mayor, Rosen making $12,500, and Marksheid and other trustees making $10,000. Great Neck Plaza residents can vote at Village Hall at 2 Gussack Plaza from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Great Neck Estates Trustees Howard Hershenhorn, who has served since 2008, and Lanny Oppenheim, who ﬁrst began serving in 2011, are seeking re-election and are uncontested. Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall at 4 Gatewall Drive. Thomaston Trustees To-An Pang and James Sharkey, who is also deputy mayor, are also in uncontested elections. This village election will be held from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall at 100 East Shore Road.

Two trustees in Russell Gardens, David Miller and Matthew Ellis, are both running for re-election and began serving in 2012. Allen Cohen, the village justice for Russell Gardens, is also seeking re-election unopposed. Russell Gardens residents can vote at Village Hall at 6 Tain Drive from noon to 9 p.m. The villages of Great Neck, Kings Point and Lake Success will have their elections in June.

Howard Hirschmann

Lanny Oppenheim

Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen

Mayor Jean Celender

Trustee Pam Marksheid

Trustee Jeffrey Greener

David Miller

Trustee Matthew Ellis

Kamran Barelli

Deputy Mayor James Sharkey

To-On Pang

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

SCHOOL & CAMP DIRECTORY

Friendships that last a lifetime!

MEDUSA LACROSSE COMES TO THE NORTH SHORE! Medusa Little Laxers Program is coming to the North Shore

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Due to popular demand, Medusa Lacrosse, the Garden City communityâ€™s premier, go-to youth lacrosse program is expanding to Roslyn/Port Washington/Manhasset area. The Little Laxers program has introduced thousands of children ages 3-8 to the sport of lacrosse and helped nurture a love and passion for the game. Medusa is run by the Fiore sisters who were both 4 year starters on the G.C. High School Varsity Lacrosse Team and went on to play collegiate Division 1 level lacrosse at Princeton and Boston College. The program is known for its energy, positivity, creativity and ability to break down all the core concepts and fundamentals into fun drills and games that are challenging, competitive and appeal to those children who are hesitant to try a new sport. Hereâ€™s one of many of our testimonials that sums it up nicely: that makes learning a team sport so much fun. Who says you canâ€™t dress up like a superhero or princess AND learn how to play lacrosse? And why not warm up by playing a game of freeze tag, or go on an Easter egg hunt with your lacrosse stick? Itâ€™s no wonder that ! " !# $!

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Medusa Little Laxers Monday Spring Clinic 69

Girls & Boys & ' ( ) * + ,- (, .! / ' -')) 0 0 1 2',2 0 0 ' - 1 3 ' 4,2) 5# 6 7 4,82 5 6 7 9 ' 3 * : ; 2)) < = < => ?$! = ' Girls: lacrosse stick, goggles & mouth guard -- Boys Ages 3 & 4: Stick & Gloves -Boys Ages 5 and Up: Stick, Helmet & Full Pads / < ' Visit www.medusalacrosse.com Click on the â€œRegistration Formsâ€? Tab â€œLittle Laxers Monday Spring Clinic â€“ Roslynâ€?

62 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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64 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

BUYER’S GUIDE ▼ TREE SERVICE

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OUR TOWN

Grant Wood, our American life and Williston Park The job of a journalist is to show folks things that are worth seeing and to talk about things worth talking about. This paper’s “letters to the editor” section is a good place to get clues about that which is worthwhile. Last week Timothy Farrell wrote a letter of such sweetness that it warrants a comment. In fact it warrants a full column. Mr. Farrell was endorsing Kevin Rynne for a trustee position in Williston Park but what I found most noteworthy was how Mr. Farrell described the values of small-town life where “neighbors still look after neighbors. We take pride in our homes and cherish the small town life and participating in community activities.” There is much to be said about this simple passage since as we all know our lives are now far, far from what I would call simple. In fact, we are all faced with a veritable tsunami of information, mind-numbing bad news, inﬂammatory discourse, mass shootings, news about celebrities and advertising images that never stop coming. Alas, divine providence has occurred since on the very day I read Mr. Farrell’s sweet letter I also read that the Whitney Museum of American Art was having a major retrospective of Grant Wood, the Regionalist painter from Iowa. And like Mr. Farrell’s heartfelt sentiment concerning small town life, Grant Wood’s oeuvre can also be described as an elegy to a time from America’s past when we led simple lives in small towns and on the farm surrounded by family, nature and animals. You may not know of Grant Wood but I assure you that you are very familiar with his most famous work. He was the guy that painted “American Gothic” in 1930, the portrait of that stoic looking farmer with his pitchfork rigidly standing next to his puritanical looking wife as they posed in front of their American Gothic farmhouse. The manner in which this couple was drawn captured the essence of America and gained Grant Wood almost in-

DR. TOM FERRARO Our Town stant international fame. On a single canvas, Wood was able to display the American spirit of hard work, practicality, honesty, God fearing perseverant austerity. Prior to this piece of art, the only person who managed to capture the American spirit was Alexis de Tocqueville, the French aristocrat when he wrote “Democracy in America” back in 1831. Alexis de Tocqueville needed 854 pages and two volumes to do what Grant Wood managed to do on one small canvas. So I guess it’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Grant Wood was the leader of the Regionalist movement in America during the first part of the 20th century and the reason his work continues to grow in stature is the same reason that Mr. Farrell’s sentiment about small-town America is so important to discuss. I spend much of my free time reading the masterpieces or getting myself in front of the world’s greatest paintings. I do this for one reason. I am curious to learn what these mystic geniuses seek to find. By seeing Grant Wood’s work I think I finally discovered what the object of his toil was about. Grant Wood embraced a time from his childhood when he lived on a farm with his parents in Iowa. His father died when Grant was 10 years old and that was pretty much the end of his bucolic life. So he paints to remember his sweet childhood. This is very much like all the great artists of today. Murakami and Narr are

the two leading artists of Japan and both create lovely cheerful/sad cartoon-like characters they both recall from their childhoods. Our most important American artist is Jasper Johns and he has spent his career drawing letters and numbers and maps and American ﬂags, all images from his childhood. The importance of nostalgia and eﬀorts to capture the past is even more obvious in literature. Proust’s masterpiece is essentially about his childhood in a small town outside of Paris. Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” is a classic in American theater largely because he lovingly describes an America of the past where no one locked the doors and everyone knew each other. J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is adored by adults as well as children because it is about a boy who refuses to leave childhood behind. Peter Pan decides it better to play than to work. Grant Wood’s work is sometimes criticized because it has a frozen quality but I think the frozen feel gives his work its magical touch. Wood’s was stuck in his past and so was Proust and Barrie and Johns and Murakami. For that matter so was Michael Jackson. He was the boy genius who never grew up. The public and that means you and I, are the lucky recipients of these mystical gifts given to us by the great artists who happen to be stuck in their past. In psychoanalysis, these are called screen memories. I can see that Grant Wood’s dream of having a safe and loving childhood back in 1930 is the very same dream that Mr. Farrell has for his children right here in Williston Park in 2018. Our basic needs as humans have not changed at all. Just to have a life where “neighbors look after neighbors….pride in our homes and cherish the small town life.” So thank you for your gracious, heartfelt letter Mr. Farrell. Your points were well taken.

66 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

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• Great Neck News • Williston Times • New Hyde Park Herald Courier • Manhasset Times • Roslyn Times • Port Washington Times • Garden City News • Bethpage Newsgram • Jericho Syosset News Journal • Mid Island Times • Syosset Advance

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Positions available for Nassau & Suffolk

BABYSITTER WANTED: We are a family in Garden City looking for a babysitter for our three children ages 11, 9 & 6 starting at the end of March. MondayThursday 3pm6:30pm. Homework and some local driving. Call 347-237-0185 FT CAREGIVER NEEDED Loving family is looking for a caregiver who is energetic, caring, has strong values, great communication skills and appreciates good nutrition for a 4yr old Diabetic. The person will need to be able to administer medication, prepare meals and assist with other errands on an as needed basis. Driving is a must. Please call 516-978-6842

FARM LABOR: 4/23-11/30/18 40 openings. Perform manual labor to plant, cultivate, harvest, grade and pack the following crops: strawberries, sweet corn, tomatoes (round, plum, grape), peppers (bell, jalapeno, long hot, cherry), pickling cucumbers, eggplant, peaches and sweet potatoes. 3 months exp req. $12.05 /hr plus piece rate. Free housing, tools provided at no cost to workers, transport and subsistence expenses pd upon completion of 50 percent of contract; Employment guaranteed for three fourths of work period. Pastore Orchards, 626 S White Horse Pk, Elm, NJ; Apply at nearest NJ Dept of Labor office and show this ad. Contact Workforce NJ One Stop Career Center 2 S Main St #1, Pleasantville, NJ 08232; Ref: Job Order #NJ1211320 LION WANTED! Are you a fierce competitor? Resourceful? Aggressive? Do you command respect? Instill client confidence? Blank Slate Media is looking for a hungry lion to fill a unique and rewarding Advertising Sales position. You will represent a successful and fast-growing chain of 6 Blank Slate Media publications and website, in addition to five other publications and website owned by our partner, Litmor Publications. Minimum 2 years outside sales experience. Newspaper sales experience will be a plus. Must have own car. Up to $60,000 first year. Salary + commission. Health Insurance & Holidays. Email resume and cover letter: sblank@theislandnow.com or call Steve at: 516-307-1045 ext 201. All inquiries are in strict confidence. Blank Slate Media, 105 Hillside Ave, Suite 1, Williston Park, ny 11596. Fax: 516-307-1046

Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

▼ EMPLOYMENT, MARKETPLACE, REAL ESTATE, SERVICE HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

2018 SUPER SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AT THE PARK AT EAST HILLS!

SITUATION WANTED

NOVENAS/PRAYERS

LICENSED NURSE’S AIDE seeks full time job. Grace cared for my Mother. She is wonderful. She has wide experience. Grace is gentle, tactful, honest and a good cook. Excellent references. Please call Grace at 917-499-9520

PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN (Never known to fail). Oh Most Beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine of Splendor of Heaven, Blessed Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin assist me in this necessity. Oh Star of the Sea help me and show herein you are my Mother. Oh Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth I beseech thee from the bottom of my heart to succor me this necessity (make request). There are none that can withstand your power. Oh show me herein you are my Mother. Oh Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to Thee (three times). Oh Holy Mary I place this cause in your hands (three times). Thank you for your mercy to me and mine. Amen. This prayer must be said for three days and after three days your request will be granted. The prayer must be published. Grateful thanks. (T.Y.)

CAREER TRAINING

1. Are you looking for an exciting summer job with competitive pay and an upbeat work environment? 2. Would you like to spend the summer at the finest park facilities with the largest municipal leisure pool on Long Island? 3. Do you want a quick turnaround on your application so you know where you will be working this summer? (subject to agency confirmations and background checks.) Then our positions are a perfect fit for you! Apply for a position as either a

AIRLINE CAREERS Start here. Get trained as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call AIM for free information 866-296-7094

Park Attendant or Lifeguard

ANNOUNCEMENTS

REQUIREMENTS: Available to work through Labor Day weekend • At least 16 years of age LIFEGUARD ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Lifeguards must be Nassau County Certified • Rookie/1st year Lifeguard Starting @ $15.50/hr. To apply, contact The Park at East Hills at (516) 484-9800, e-mail us at: clastraglio@villageofeasthills.org, or simply visit Village Hall on a business day from 9am – 4:30pm. We are located at 209 Harbor Hill Road, East Hills, NY 11576. Ask for Christina Lastraglio to get an application. The Village Of East Hills is an Equal Opportunity Employer

LEGAL ASSISTANT Boutique law firm in Garden City seeks part-time Legal Assistant to work Monday thru Thursday, four hours daily. Law firm experience preferred. Position available immediately. Please send resume to: info@ halpernadvisors.com

SITUATION WANTED

FACTORY POSITION: Part time. Light factory work at Mineola dental company. Will train. Mature, dependable person. 2 days per week, 3 hours per day. Retirees

ELDER CARE: Woman seeking position caring for the elderly. Available to live out and work nights or overnights as well. Over 20 years experience including in nursing home. References furnished upon request. Call V 516-943-3172

OFFICE ASSISTANT: Williston Park, duties include phone, billing, invoices, estimates and contracts. Customer service oriented. Must be motivated and fast learner. Hours Monday thru Friday 12-5pm. Please fax resume to 516-997-0101.

CARE GIVER: NEED A COMPANION or nursing assistant for your loved ones at home or in a health care facility? Call 516-410-9943 for a NY State certified nursing assistant with excellent references !

HOME HEALTH CARE AIDE Irish trained woman with 10 years experience and excellent checkable references available. Honest and reliable. Licensed driver with own transportation. Please call 516-383-7150

SITUATION WANTED HOMECARE ATTENDANT European lady, experienced, looking for part time job. 4-5 hours /day (morning) or full time live in. Excellent references. Own transportation. Call Jeanette (516)741-6347

BEST OF THE NORTH SHORE NOMINATION IS OPEN. VISIT NOW THEISLANDNOW. COM/CONTEST2018

DO YOU HAVE CHRONIC KNEE OR BACK PAIN? If you have insurance, you may qualify for the perfect brace at little to no cost. Get yours today! 1-800-510-3338 GOT LAND? Our Hunters will pay top $$$ to hunt your land. Call for a free info packet & quote. 1-866-3091507 www.basecampleasing.com HughesNet Satellite Internet: 25mbps starting at $49.99/mo! FAST download speeds. WiFi built in! FREE standard installation for lease customers! Limited Time, Call 1-800-214-1903

MARKETPLACE INVITED ESTATE SALES BY TRACY JORDAN Estate & Tag Sales Online & Live Auctions Cleanout & Moving Services Home Staging Services Appraisals 516279-6378 www.invitedsales.com Email: tracyjordan@invitedsales. com

LUNG CANCER? And Age 60+? You and your family may be entitled to significant cash award. Call 866951-9073 for information. No risk. No money out of pocket.

KILL BED BUGS & THEIR EGGS Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT Complete Treatment System. Available at hardware stores, Home Depot, homedepot.com Try Harris Guaranteed Roach Killers too!

MEDICARE doesn’t cover all of your medical expenses. A Medicare Supplemental Plan can help cover costs that Medicare does not. Get a free quote today by calling now. Hours: 24/7 1-800-730-9940

KILL ROACHES GUARANTEED! Buy Harris Roach Tablets. Odorless, effective, long lasting Available at hardware stores, Home Depot, homedepot.com

OXYGEN Anytime. Anywhere. No tanks to refill. No deliveries. Only 2.8 pounds! FAA approved! FREE info kit: Call 1-855-730-7811 VIAGRA & CIALIS! 60 pills for $99. 100 pills for $150. FREE shipping. Money back guaranteed! Call Today 800-404-0244

PRIVACY HEDGES SPRING BLOW OUT SALE. 6’ Arborvitae (cedar) reg. $179 NOW $75. Beautiful, nursery grown. FREE installation/ FREE delivery. Limited supply! ORDER NOW! 518-536-1367www. lowcosttreefarm.com

www.theIslandnow.com

MARKETPLACE LA-Z-BOY 2 push back contemporary style recliners. Brown/Gold fabric, 1 year old with receipt. Pristine condition. 2 for $450. Call 516-8839359

WANTED TO BUY BUY ANTIQUES Objects of Art, sterling silver, old rugs, jewelry, Judaica Call 516-331-1582 Closed Saturday LOOKING TO BUY! Oriental items, clothing, art, old & modern furniture, estates, jewelry, silver, glassware, dishes, old photos, coins & stamps, flatware. Call George 718-3861104 or 917-775-3048 TOP CASH PAID: JEWELRY, Furniture, Art, etc. Please call 718598-3045 or 516-270-2128. www. iBuyAntiquesNYC.com

TAG SALE *BROWSE *SHOP *CONSIGN A.T. STEWART EXCHANGE CONSIGNMENT SHOP China, Silver, Crystal, Jewelry, Artwork, Furniture, Antiques, Collectibles Tues-Fri 10-4 Sat 12-4 Every Tuesday: 10% Senior Citizen Discount.All proceeds benefit The Garden City Historical Society 109 Eleventh Street Garden City 11530 516-746-8900 email: store@atstewartexchange.org www.gardencityhistoricalsociety. org BARGAINS AND BLESSINGS THRIFT SHOP Pre-Season Spring Sale. All Spring Clothes 50% off. March 15th, 17th, 22nd, 24th. Open Thursdays and Saturdays 10am-4pm. Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 147 Campbell Avenue at Center Street, Williston Park, ny 11596 www.resurrectionwillistonpark.org

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68 Blank Slate Media Newspapers, Friday, March 16, 2018

â–ź CLEANING, SERVICES PETS

PET SERVICES A GARDEN CITY ANIMAL LOVER doesnâ€™t want to leave your precious pooch or fantastic feline alone all day. Iâ€™m reliable, dependable and will walk and feed your pet while you work or travel. Please call Cheryl at 516-971-3242 DO YOU HATE KENNELS? OR STRANGERS IN YOUR HOUSE? HOME AWAY FROM HOME will care for your dog in my Garden City home while you are away. Dog walking also available. Pet CPR & first Aid Certified. Numerous referrals and references. Limited availability. Book early! Annmarie 516-775-4256 K9 Monk, LLC Full Service Pet Care Professional Dog Grooming Boarding, Training, Healing Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Meridian Tapping Integrated Energy Therapy (IET) Angelic Healing Acutonics Tuning Forks Sound Therapy Aromatherapy GC Resident 516382-5553 thek9monk@gmail.com www.k9monk.com LOVING DOG WALKER Available 7 days a week, all times! Former Garden City resident, I am reliable & attentive. References & referrals available. Call David 516-996-6329

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

APARTMENT FOR RENT

CONDO/CO-OP FOR SALE

RENTALS New to Market Three Rooms. 1 Bed. EIK, Elevator $2,300 Luxury 3.5 Rooms, New EIK and Bath, Wood Floors April 15 $2,800 Five rooms. 2 Bed, 2 Baths, FDR, Wood Floors, Parking.Immediate $3,000 Garden City Properties (516)746-1563 / (516)313-8504

HOMES FOR RENT FRANKLIN SQUARE ON CYPRESS DRIVE; 3 BEDROOMS; LIVING ROOM; KITCHEN; DINING ROOM; DEN; FINISHED BASEMENT; GARAGE; USE OF YARD; LAUNDRY. LISA DP REAL ESTATE INC TEXT: 516-319-3647 FRANKLIN SQUARE RENTALS 3 Bedroom House with Basement (Near Willow Rd), $3,200. 3 Bedroom First Floor with Washer & Dryer (Near Lincoln Rd) $2,450 Credit Check Required LISA DP REAL ESTATE INC TEXT: 516-319-3647

GARAGE/PARKING SPACE FOR RENT

AUTOMOTIVE

AUTO SERVICES CAR DETAILING done at your home, includes cleaning of interior, vacuuming. Very reasonable. Please call 516-373-5928

AUTOS WANTED DONATE YOUR CAR to Wheels For Wishes, benefitting Make-a-Wish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 631317-2014 Today!

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

ALL RUNNING or REPAIRABLE CARS CASH ON THE SPOT TOP DOLLAR PAID

FREE Towing Junk Cars Too!

516-965-9100

PORT WASHINGTON: Commuter parking spot available near train station. Call or text (preferable) for details. 732-986-6700

OUT OF TOWN REAL ESTATE SOUTHAMPTON SHORES Rental $20k WEEK OF US OPEN (JUNE 11-18) OR $25k for 2 weeks. Only a 10 minute drive to Shinnecock Hills or Town of Southampton. 4 BR, 2 BA, Lg Entertaining Room, Built in Pool, Lg Deck. Use of Community Beach and Tennis Courts. Private Home. Call Owner: Jerry 516-3535804

OFFICE SPACE GARDEN CITY Prime 7th Street Garden City location. Office space available. $775.00 per month. Owner, 516-510-9452

GARDEN CITY Large One Bedroom Condo in the heart of downtown Garden City. This 800 sq ft Condo boasts newly finished Hardwood Floors, Dining Room, brand new Bathroom & Kitchen with d/w. Low maintenance & taxes. By ownerno broker. $579,000 Call: 646-499-1684

LOTS FOR SALE CATSKILL MTNS ESTATE SALE! MARCH 24TH! 90 minutes NYC! 11 huge tracts from $39,900! Beautiful woods, stonewalls, views! Call 888-905-8847 to register. Virtual tour: Newyorklandandlakes.com

OPEN HOUSE FRANKLIN SQUARE Saturday, March 17 1:00pm to 3:00pm 1130 Carukin Street (off Scherer Blvd) 4 Bedrooms, 3 1/2 Baths, Finished Basement, 2 car Garage LISA DP REAL ESTATE, INC. TEXT: 516-319-3647

SERVICE DIRECTORY CALL EMPIRE TODAY to schedule a FREE in home estimate on Carpeting & Flooring. Call Today! 1-800-496-3180 TAX & ACCOUNTING: Winnie Malone, CPA, MBA. Smart Allied Accounting & Tax Services. Individual & Business Taxes, Tax Problems Resolved, Financial Statements, Year-Round Accounting, Bookkeeping & Payroll. 516626-0711 www.smartallied.com, winnie@smartallied.com TAX PREPARATION Income tax preparation service located opposite Roosevelt Field Mall. Qualified Public Accountants. Highly experienced staff. Same day service. Open 7 days a week. Call for an appointment: 516-747-8939 WATER DAMAGE Dealing with water damage requires immediate action. Local professionals that respond immediately. Nationwide and 24/7. No Mold calls 1-800-7601845

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

40% OFF ALL HOME IMPROVEMENTS 5RRÂżQJ 6LGLQJ :LQGRZV .LWFKHQV %DWKURRPV 6KHHWURFN 3DLQW 6SDFNOH )ORRULQJ (OHFWULFDO 3OXPELQJ )DVLD 6RIÂżW 5RWWHQ :RRG 5HSDLU 5RRI /HDNV ([SHUW /HDN )LQGHU :H $OVR 6SHFLDOL]H LQ %DVHPHQW :DWHU 3URRÂżQJ OLIHWLPH ZDUUDQW\ RQ DOO ZDWHU SURRÂżQJ MREV /HDNV &UDFNV :DWHU 0RLVWXUH 3UREOHPV 6ROYHG 3HUPDQHQWO\ )LQDQFLQJ $YDLODEOH (YHU\RQH V $SSURYHG :H $UH 7KH %DQN $OO :RUN *XDUDQWHHG :H :LOO %HDW $Q\ :ULWWHQ (VWLPDWH RU 7+( -2% ,6 )5((

Call Dave 516-580-2181 /LF + ,QV

KITCHEN & BATHROOM RENOVATIONS YOUR ONE STOP SHOP Full Service Contractor Basements â€˘ Kitchens â€˘ Sheetrock Painting â€˘ Taping/Spackling â€˘ Skim Coating Bathroom Remodeling â€˘ Handyman

516-426-1320 Mike Janssen

Home Improvement Contracting Inc. References Available Nass# H3813840000 Suff Lic#H42514

AMBIANCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES *Handyman & Remodeling *Kitchen Installations *Furniture Assembly *Finish Carpentry *Minor Electrical & Plumbing 25 year GC Resident Lic & Ins H18E2170000 Call BOB 516-741-2154 Help your local economy and save money with Solar Power! Solar Power has a strong Return on Investment, Free Maintenance, Free Quote. Simple Reliable Energy with No out of pocket costs. Call 800678-0569 LAMPS FIXED $65 In home service. Handy Howard. 646-996-7628 MASONRY All types of stonework Pavers, Retaining Walls, Belgium Block Patios, Foundations, Seal coating, Concrete and Asphalt driveways, Sidewalks, Steps. Free Estimates Fully Licensed & Insured #H2219010000 Boceski Masonry Louie 516-850-4886

MASONRY WORK Brick Work, Cement Work, Driveways, Patios, Walkways, Pointing, Blacktops. All Types of Work.

James Randazzo Concrete & Tile Lic# 25881HI/Ins.

631-669-0321 516-983-7349 SKY CLEAR WINDOW INC. Window Restorations, Outdated Hardware, skylights, Andersen Sashes, new storm windows, wood windows, chain/rope repairs, falling windows, fogged panes, mechanical repairs, wood repairs, restorations, all brands. Call Mr. Fagan, 45 years experience. 631-3857975 www.skyclearwindow.com rob@skyclearwindow.com

PAINTING & PAPERHANGING INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING Plastering, Taping, Sheetrock Skim Cutting, Old Wood Refinish, Staining, Wallpaper Removal & Hanging, Paint Removal, Power Washing, Wood Replacement JOHN MIGLIACCIO Licensed & Insured #80422100000 Call John anytime: 516-901-9398 (Cell) 516-483-3669 (Office)

PARTY HELP LADIES & GENTLEMEN RELAX & ENJOY Your Next Party! Catering and Experienced Professional Services for Assisting with Preparation, Serving and Clean Up Before, During and After Your Party Bartenders Available. Call Kate at 516-248-1545

TUTORING MATH, SAT, ACT TUTOR: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 plus Trig, PreCalc, AP Calculus. Norm 625-3314 ENGLISH, ACT, SAT TUTOR: 25+ year experience Critical Reading, Writing, Grammar, Essays. Lynne 625-3314 PRIVATE TUTORING FOR GRADES K-6 Give your child a helping hand! Licensed NYC/NYS Dept of Education teacher available to tutor students grades K-6. Contact Audrey Sullivan, M.S.Ed 347-628-8872 (voice/text) seguenow@aol.com SCIENCE/HUMANITIES TUTOR: Robert Pena, M.Eng. Ivy educated biomedical engineer and medical student. Tutoring in science, math, humanities and writing for high school and college. Rate: $ 50/hr. Contact: rcp73@cornell.edu or 516-282-4912

INSTRUCTION PIANO LESSONS By Ira Baslow. Experience the joy of playing the piano. Private lessons in your home, free no-obligation piano lesson, all levels, all styles, all ages. Beginners a specialty. 516-312-1054 www.iwantmypianolessons.com

CLEANING

MBR HOUSE CLEANING OfďŹ ces & Buildings Honest, Reliable, Hardworking, Experienced, Excellent Ref. Reasonable Rates

FREE ESTIMATES CALL/TEXT 516-852-1675 mbrhousecleaning@gmail.com CLEANING WOMAN AVAILABLE: English speaking Polish woman with years of experience, hardworking & responsible is available to clean your home or office. Reasonable rates, excellent references. Please call 516-564-0139 HOUSE AND APARTMENT CLEANER with many years experience and good references available 7 days with flexible hours. 516-632-0169 RELIABLE, high quality service with great references. Please call Mirian at 516-642-6624 SPRING CLEAN !EASTER APRIL 1HOP TO IT! CLEANING LADY AVAILABLE Also organizes homes, offices, garages. English speaking, honest, reliable. EGGcellent references. Own transportation. Animal friendly. Free estimates. Call 516-225-8544 STRONG ARM CLEANING: Residential and commercial cleaning specialist, post construction clean ups, shipping and waxing floors, move ins and move outs. Free estimates. Bonded and insured. 516-538-1125 www.strongarmcleaningny.com

SERVICES A & J MOVING & STORAGE: Established 1971. Long Island and New York State specialists. Residential, Commercial, Piano & Organ experts. Boxes available. Free estimates. www.ajmoving.com 516-741-2657 114 Jericho Tpk, Mineola NYDOT# 10405 APPLIANCE REPAIR Insinkerator Garbage Disposals, Instant Hot Water Dispensers & Filtration Systems only. Martyâ€™s Appliance Repair Call 516-532-0385 BACKFLOW DEVICE TESTING, INSTALLATION and REPAIR of all Double-Check and RPZ Backflow Prevention Devices. LICENSED MASTER PLUMBER/NYS BACKFLOW DEVICE TESTER. Honest, clean, professional work. GREATER NY PLUMBING CORP 516-731-5630 COLLEGE ARTS ADMISSIONS: College Counseling in the Visual and Performing Arts. Dance, Musical Theatre & Drama. Film, Instrumental & Vocal Music. Audio Recording & Production. Theatre Technology & Production. Visual & Graphic Arts. Resume, Essays, Repertoire Lists. Michele Zimmerman. 516-353-6255 CollegeArtsAdmissions@gmail.com www. CollegeArtsAdmissions.com COMPLETE JUNK REMOVAL/ DEMOLITION SERVICE: Strong Arm Contracting Inc. We haul anything and everything. Entire contents of home or office. We clean it up and take it away. Residential/ Commercial. Bonded/Insured. Free estimates. 516-538-1125 OLD VILLAGE TREE SERVICE: Owner operated since 1989. 24 hour emergency service. Licensed /insured. Free estimates, member LI Arborist Assoc. Please call 516466-9220

PLACE YOUR AD CALL 516.307.1045

The Great Neck News, Friday, March 16, 2018

▼ LEGALS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, The Treasurer of said Village will sell at public auction in the manner provided by law on the 6th day of April, 2018 at 2:00 P.M. (prevailing time) at the Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, New York so much of each of the following parcels of real estate upon which Village Taxes remain unpaid for the year 2017/18 as will be sufficient to discharge the tax, fees, interest and charges which may be due thereon respectively at the time of such sale and shall continue the same from day to day until the said sale shall be completed. Excepted from said sale are parcels of property on which the Village of Great Neck owns and holds one or more unredeemed certificates of tax sale. The following is a list of real estate to be sold for unpaid taxes for the year 2017/18 with a statement of the amount of all charges thereon as of April 6, 2018 the descriptions of properties being those on the Tax Map of the County of Nassau. Section/Block Lot

Property Owner

Total Amount Due including taxes, penalties, interest

1-20.61-63

KOSHKI HAMID

$2,595.70

1-35.222 1-51.2-637 1-53.629 1-53.624 1-60.70 1-78.122 1-81.179-180 1-81.181-182 1-84.3 1-85.457 1-87.231 1-88.432-455 1-88.458 1-89.211 1-91.44 1-96.6-10 1-106.2-119 1-106.3-114 1-108.61-64 1-110.162 1-115.49 1-128.4 1-128.22-24

ROBERT SILVERSTEIN RS MARSHALL HOLDINGS LLC MIDDLE NECK EQUITIES LLC TORAH OHR HEBREW ACADEMY WANG WENFEN 8 OLD POND LLC MAHFAR DJAVAHERI DALIA GLOBAL VISINO DEVELOPMENT LLC RABBANIFAR SAADAT & SOOSA WOODHILL DEVELOPMENT CORP ENTERPRISE PROPERTIES CORP NA LI JJJ ASSETS LLC LO PICCOLO GIUSEPPE 2DRORI AVI/SIMA MICHAEL CHANCHALASHVILI TABARZIA SAIED JKT 54R LLC DOUSTAR MOBASSER MARK & AMY FRANKEL 100 CROYDEN FN LLC KASHANI MORDECHAI LORI LANGER DERAMIREZ

$153.78 $2,719.83 $1,309.94 $1,814.75 $2,727.04 $4,742.20 $857.28 $2,126.38 $2,170.92 $106.29 $1,812.95 $2,296.69 $2,792.78 $2,285.88 $4,285.33 $4,230.31 $2,909.13 $3,847.77 $4,531.61 $2,601.27 $2,547.89 $1,022.01 $2,919.94

1-128.294 1-128.548 1-128.588 1-129.398 1-136.159 1-136.182 1-136.437-441 1-142.95 1-182.41 1-182.81 1-183.10 1-185.5 1-188.25 1-189.38 1-190.26 1-190.34 1-201.13 1-201.23 1-201.33 1-201.57 2-148.28-30 2-173.107 2-181.243 2-187.325 2-348.55 2-349.4

MATS LLC KASHANI MORDECHAI BENJAMIN TUROFSKY KOUROSH LIVIAN QIAN HU BARTCO HOLDING DARYOUSH NAMI GOHAR MOLLA PARVIS MARY M HENRY T WYKOWSKI BERNARDO GALLEGO JACOB & RONIT MENASHE JAHANBAREH MAHIN MIKAELIAN 16 SURREY LANE REALTY LLC CELIA G WEBER TAYLA COHEN MANSOUR BANILIVY FERIDOU NOKHVAT MICHAEL KWONG RAMI/ANGELA HEMATIAN BRUCE R LIEBERMAN & CO JACOB D SHELA/SANFORD PEARL SUNG EUN KIM KENNY DEVELOPMENT CORP JOHN AHL J M PINE HOLLOW REALTY LLC

$1,393.74 $1,013.49 $198.65 $2,811.85 $2,684.46 $184.89 $2,824.30 $1,998.98 $1,963.93 $3,206.84 $2,555.09 $2,786.97 $2,652.36 $2,369.07 $5,865.24 $4,347.23 $2,895.05 $2,634.67 $2,765.68 $237.95 $5,062.84 $1,448.78 $2,810.22 $143.63 $3,020.80 $9,138.50 GNN #147947 3x 03/16, 03/23 03/30/2018

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 111 STEAMBOAT ROAD (S/B/L 1/199/9) PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Great Neck shall hold a public hearing on Thursday, APRIL 12, 2018 at 7:30PM, at Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023, to hear the application of Shoula Namdar, owner, represented by Edward Dickman, architect, for the premises at 111 STEAMBOAT ROAD in Great Neck. The applicant is seeking the following variance(s) from the Village Zoning Code in connection with the application for interior alterations and an addition to a single family residence: 1. ß575-80 A (1): The maximum floor area is permitted to be 2,074 square feet. The proposed floor area is 2,170.4 square feet. A variance of 96.4 square feet is required. 2. ß575-89 B.: An accessory building must be a minimum of 10 feet from the main building. The proposed distance is 9.5 feet. A variance of 0.5 feet is required. 3. ß575-89 B.: An accessory building must be a minimum of 3 feet from the rear and side lot lines. The proposed distance to the rear lot line is 1.56 feet and the distance to the side lot line is 2.16 feet. Variances of 1.44 feet and 0.84 feet respectively are required. The premises are also known as Section 1, Block 199, Lot 9 on the Nassau County Land and Tax Map, and are located in the Residence C Zoning District. A copy of the application materials is available for review in the Village of Great Neck Building Department, Village Hall, during regular business hours. If anyone needs special accommodations for a disability, such person should contact the Village Clerk at least 5 days before the hearing. At said hearing, all parties and interests will be given an opportunity to be heard. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK DENNIS GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN Dated: 3/09/2018 GNN #147936 1x 03/16 /2018 #147936

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 66 FOREST ROW (S/B/L 1/106.2/112) PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Great Neck shall hold a public hearing on Thursday, APRIL 12, 2018 at 7:30PM, at Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023, to hear the application of Joel Abrahams, owner, represented by Edward Dickman, architect, for the premises at 66 FOREST ROW in Great Neck. The applicant is seeking the following variance(s) from the Village Zoning Code in connection with the application for interior alterations and an addition to a single family residence: 1. ß575-85: The minimum side yard required is 12.12 feet. The proposed (existing nonconforming) side yard is 5.6 feet. The proposed addition extends the nonconformity. A variance of 6.52 feet is required. 2. ß575-86: The minimum rear yard required is 25 feet. The

proposed (existing nonconforming) rear yard is 13.46 feet. The proposed addition extends the nonconformity. A variance of 11.54 feet is required. The premises are also known as Section 1, Block 106.2, Lot 112 on the Nassau County Land and Tax Map, and are located in the Residence C Zoning District. A copy of the application materials is available for review in the Village of Great Neck Building Department, Village Hall, during regular business hours. If anyone needs special accommodations for a disability, such person should contact the Village Clerk at least 5 days before the hearing. At said hearing, all parties and interests will be given an opportunity to be heard. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK DENNIS GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN Dated: 3/09/2018 GNN #147937 1x 03/16 /2018 #147937

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 12 RAVINE ROAD (S/B/L 2/348/69) PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Great Neck shall hold a public hearing on Thursday, APRIL 12, 2018 at 7:30PM, at Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023, to hear the application of Wai Ki Chin, owner, represented by Paul Bloom, Harras Bloom & Archer LLP, for the premises at 12 RAVINE ROAD in Great Neck. The applicant is seeking the following variance(s) from the Village Zoning Code in connection with the subdivision application: 1. ß575-53: The minimum lot width must be 60 feet, which must be maintained from the street line for the first 100 feet of lot depth. The initial proposed lot widths are 30 feet (each for over 100 feet from the front property line). Variances of 30 feet are required for each lot. 2. ß575-58: The minimum rear yard for each lot must be 72.6 feet. The proposed rear yard for Lot A is 50.1 feet, and the proposed rear yard for Lot B is 50.5 feet. A variance of 22.5 feet is required for Lot A, and a variance of 22.1 feet is required for Lot B. The premises are also known as Section 2, Block 348, Lot 69 on the Nassau County Land and Tax Map, and are located in the Residence B Zoning District. A copy of the application materials is available for review in the Village of Great Neck Building Department, Village Hall, during regular business hours. If anyone needs special accommodations for a disability, such person should contact the Village Clerk at least 5 days before the hearing. At said hearing, all parties and interests will be given an opportunity to be heard. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK DENNIS GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN Dated: 3/09/2018 GNN #147938 1x 03/16 /2018 #147938

ADVERTISE HERE

CALL NOW 516.307.1045

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great Neck Plaza will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 8 P.M. at the Village Hall, Gussack Plaza, Great Neck, NY, Regarding the Application for the 44th Year Community Block Grant Program. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that all people interested with regard to the above will be given an opportunity to be heard at said public hearing. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK PLAZA Jean A. Celender, Mayor Patricia O’Byrne, Clerk-Treasurer GNN #147955 1X 03/16/2018 #147955

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 76 Old Pond Road (S/B/L 1-203-53) PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Great Neck shall hold a public hearing on Thursday, APRIL 12, 2018 at 7:30PM, at Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, NY 11023, to hear the application of David and Marcy Albert, owners of the premises at 76 OLD POND ROAD in Great Neck seeking the following variance from the Village Zoning Code in connection with the application for a first-floor addition onto their existing single-family residence: •§575-43(A): To permit an aggregate side yard setback of 24.25 feet, whereas 34.32 feet is required, resulting in the need for an aggregate side yard setback variance of 10.07 feet. The premises are also known as Section 1, Block 203, Lot 53 on the Nassau County Land and Tax Map, and are located in the Residence A1 Zoning District. A copy of the application materials is available for review in the Village of Great Neck Building Department, Village Hall, during regular business hours. If anyone needs special accommodations for a disability, such person should contact the Village Clerk at least 5 days before the hearing. At said hearing, all parties and interests will be given an opportunity to be heard. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF APPEALS OF THE VILLAGE OF GREAT NECK DENNIS GROSSMAN, CHAIRMAN Dated: 3/12/2018 GNN #147959 1x 03/16/2018 #147959

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Clark garden classes on sustainability North Hempstead Town will once again be oﬀering residential sustainability classes including Composting Cooperative, “Recycle the Rain,” Native Gardening, Rain Garden and Sustainable Yard Care. The programs will run at Clark Botanic Garden in Albertson from May to September. “It is such a wonderful beneﬁt to our Town that our very own Clark Botanic Gardens hosts these classes for our residents on environmentally friendly practices such as using compost, rain barrel, planting rain and native gardens and sustainable landscaping,” Bosworth said. The Composting Cooperative program is a 30-minute instructional class and, upon completion, residents can purchase a

composter at the reduced rate of $50. By using a composter, residents can create organic material for their soil by reusing kitchen waste that would ordinarily end up in landfills. North Hempstead’s “Recycle the Rain” water conservation program teaches residents the benefits of rain barrels and, after taking the 30-minute class, residents can purchase 50-gallon rain barrels at a discounted rate of $50. The rain barrels can recycle as much as 1,800 gallons of storm water during in a single summer season. The Rain Garden program is a free course that instructs residents the environmental benefits of rain gardens and how to create one. Rain gardens are gardens that are positioned near

a water run-off source, like a downspout, driveway or sump pump to capture rainwater, keeping the fresh rainwater out of the sewer system and in the ground. By re-routing run-off, the rain garden helps to reduce pollution by filtering out contaminants as the water slowly seeps into the ground. The Native Plant Gardening class is a 60-minute free class that will instruct residents on how to conserve water, reduce fertilizers and pesticides while providing food and habitat for wildlife. The president of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative will teach how to build and select plants for native gardens. Finally, the new class for 2018 is Sustainable Yard Care. Find out how to make your

Upcoming Composting yard more sustainable by saving water, creating wildlife habitat, Cooperative classes will be using alternatives to pesticides, held Thursday, April 26 at 10:30 applying fertilizer properly and a.m., Wednesday, May 16 at more. This 90-minute class will 7 p.m., Saturday, June 9 at take place on Saturday, April 14 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 10 at 7 p.m., Saturday, August 11 at at 10 a.m. and is free for all. All classes are held at Clark 10:30 a.m., Thursday, SeptemBotanic Garden, located at 193 ber 20 at 10:30 a.m. Upcoming Rain Garden I. U. Willets Road in Albertson, and are rain or shine. Resi- classes will be held Saturday, dents must register in advance. May 19 at 10 a.m. and Saturday, Please note that only check or September 22 at 10 a.m. Upcoming Native Garden credit/debit cards are accepted for rain barrels and composters. Classes will be held Saturday, Upcoming “Recycle the Rain” May 19 at 12 p.m. andSaturday, classes will be held Thursday, September 22 at 12 p.m. Upcoming Sustainable Yard April 26 at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Care will be held Saturday, April June 9 at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 14 at 10 a.m. For more information or 10 at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, August 11 at 10 a.m. and Thursday, to register call 311 or 516-8696311. September 20 at 10 a.m.

Persian New Year Nursery renamed in Nassau County Legislator Ellen W. Birnbaum (DGreat Neck) will recognize Norooz – the Persian New Year, on Tuesday, March 20, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive & Legislative Building, located

at 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola. Norooz translates to new day and symbolizes the end and renewal. It is an ancient Zoroastrian holiday celebrated by Iranians of all faiths on the spring equinox. In this ﬁrst time

celebration of the Persian New Year at the Legislative Chambers, there will be a musical performance by the notable Parham Haghighi and poetry recitals exemplifying the contributions of Iranian Americans. Legislator Birnbaum is partnering with several community organizations including, Sephardic Heritage Alliance Inc. (SHAI), Iranian Mother’s Association (IMA) and the United Mashadi Jewish Community Organization (UMJCO). Persian refreshments will be provided. Seating is limited. Kindly RSVP by March 18 to (516) 571-6210 or by email to ebirnbaum@nassaucountyny.gov.

honor of late teacher Continued from Page 24 son, Vanderhall looked at her and said “you got the job,” Rios said. Rios is now a supervisor at Oheka Castle. “Every morning I get out of bed, and it isn’t easy getting up at 5 in the morning,” Rios said. “But my motivation is people like Lynn, that helped me get where I am now.” Kandice Mayo’s history with Vanderhall dates back to when she was a nursery student at 3 years old. Mayo compared her relationship with Vanderhall to that of a mother and

daughter. “She nurtured me and cared for me … and that story went on throughout my life with her,” Mayo said. Mayo returned to the association to volunteer. At 18, Mayo had her own son. “She looked at me and said you wanted to go to college, I want you to go to college,” Mayo said. Vanderhall and the nursery took care of Mayo’s son, and when Mayo graduated from college with a degree in social work Vanderhall helped her get a position at the association.

One day, Mayo said, Vanderhall told her “this is not where your story ends.” Vanderhall helped Mayo ﬁll out applications for an agency, Mayo said. “Before I knew it my letter of resignation was already submitted on behalf of her,” Mayo said. Rios and Mayo were just a couple of many former students who returned to honor Vanderhall. Rios said people often say that certain people plant a seed. “Well Lynn didn’t just plant a seed,” Rios said. “She planted many seeds.”

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Students push for end to gun violence Walkouts, memorial services take place across North Shore school districts Continued from Page 1 During a school-wide announcement, Schlanger held a 17-second moment of silence, one second for each life lost in the Parkland shooting, before Madeline Clinton and Gabriella Stein, president and vice president of the Class of 2018 respectively, made a joint announcement about the purpose of the walkout. “While this walkout is meant to honor the victims of Parkland and other victims of gun violence, it is also a political call to action,” Stein said. “We are fortunate enough to live in a state that has good gun laws, but other states such as Florida do not.” The walkouts were a mix of memorials and a call for legislators to pass meaningful gun reform legislation to prevent mass shootings. Many also featured voter registration forms for students turning 18 before Election Day. Clinton said the call included raising the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, a ban on bump stocks and an extended waiting period to include background checks. Manhasset, Roslyn, Herricks, Great Neck and Port Washington schools as well as Buckley Country Day School in Roslyn held events as did many other districts across Long Island and the country. Bonnie Charles, a student organizer for Great Neck South High School’s walkout, said that for her and many students, the events in Parkland were personal. For example, one of her friends, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, was shot in the knee. “This is our issue to really show the world we are the voters in the midterm elections and we know what is going on,” Charles, a senior, said. Great Neck North High School student Adi Sragovich, who organized her school’s walkout, said she was galvanized when she saw students her own age protesting and pushing for oﬃcials to embrace gun reform laws following the school shooting in Parkland. “It really invigorated me. I feel like my generation is ﬁnally coming into its moment,” Sragovich said last Thursday. “Un-

We are a school that works diligently to instill what it means to be a good citizen, to be aware of what your privileges and rights are. Colleen Fortuna THE SCHOOL’S DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS

PHOTO BY AMELIA CAMURATI

Seventeen Manhasset High School students lie on the school’s football field surrounded by hundreds of students and teachers during a walkout Wednesday, joining schools nationwide to commemorate the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14. fortunately, that power comes from the fact we’re the ones being hunted and killed.” But it was not only high school students who participated. At Buckley Country Day School, students in grades ﬁve through eight assembled outside to place ﬂowers, recite poems, sing songs and call for change. “We are a school that works diligently to instill what it means to be a good citizen, to be aware of what your privileges and rights are,” Colleen Fortuna, the school’s director of admissions, said. “And so it was a natural evolution that they would have some awareness of this and want to participate … this was really driven by the children.” One of the students who spoke was Bryan Byrne. “Mass shootings in this country aren’t an anomaly like they used to be,” the seventh-grader said. “I was inspired to speak because these kids died doing the most

ordinary of tasks in math and English … it wasn’t correct and something needed to be done.” At the Wheatley School, in addition to the school-wide gathering at 10 a.m. in honor of the Parkland victims, the school was celebrating the theme of the “power of one’s voice in a democratic society” throughout the day, said Principal Sean Feeney. In social studies classes, students will look up representatives on the federal, state and local level, Feeney said. Once discovering an issue that matters to them, students will write an email to a representative, Feeney said. “Wheatley voices will be heard, whatever the issue might be,” Feeney said. “And I think the lesson will be this is how one gets engaged civically.” The school will also register seniors to vote, he said. The students at Roslyn High School,

who gathered in the gymnasium Wednesday morning to honor the victims, are already getting the attention of a political candidate for their eﬀorts. Brad Schwartz, a Democrat running for state Senate in District 7, visited his alma mater on Wednesday morning in solidarity with the students. “These young people are an example to our country on how to take action and inspire lasting commitment to change when adults in government have failed,” Schwartz said in a statement. Schwartz said he was struck by the high level of security installed that diﬀered from what was there when he attended two decades ago. “Kids no longer have the open sense of safety my peers and I enjoyed,” Schwartz said. “Children deserve that.” Schwartz has previously signed the No NRA Money Pledge and supports gun control measures approved by the Assembly that have yet to be voted on in the state Senate. Students at Herricks High School also held a ceremony on Wednesday morning, according to a message shared with Blank Slate Media by a student. At 10:05 a.m. students planned to meet in the front circle to spend 17 minutes in honor of the 17 victims. The time was set aside to allow the students who wanted to participate to express themselves, according to the message.

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