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Friday, January 29, 2021
Vol. 9, No. 5
HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY GUIDE PAGES 21-28
15K ON N. SHORE HAVE TESTED POSITIVE
CURRAN EXTENDS GRIEVANCE DEADLINE
PAGE 3
PAGE 19
Trustees to discuss fate of Planning Board Plandome Heights leaders to hear arguments next week BY R O S E W E L D ON Trustees for the Village of Plandome Heights will hear arguments on a proposal to dissolve the! Planning Board and absorb its powers in a public hearing at their meeting next week, a move opposed by the Plandome Heights Civic Association. The village said that the proposal, which comes via a bill that would alter the village code, is necessary due to the infrequency of the Planning Board’s use, but the civic association said that the independence of the board is required in the village for oversight reasons, among others. Jim Madison, the Planning Board’s president, said in an interview last week that he agrees with the proposal. “I’m in total agreement that it be done,” he said. Rosemary Mascali, president of the Plandome Heights Civic Association, said in a phone in-
terview: “The Planning Board, in general, is an independent board, in order to keep kind of elected officials out of Planning Board decision. It’s a kind of well known, accepted practice that decisions made for a particular property shouldn’t be influenced by, potentially influence or even create the appearance of a conflict of interest.” The text of the law cites the infrequency of the Planning Board’s use among the reasons for its elimination. “It’s a relatively inactive committee,” Madison said. “I think I’ve been on this board for 15 years, and we’ve had three issues that have come before it. And two of them weren’t even in our village; they related to properties that were adjacent to our village.” Mascali contends that the inactivity is expected. “Planning boards, in general, meet on an as-needed basis,” Mascali said. Continued on Page 47
PHOTO BY ROSE WELDON
Artist and Flower Hill native Spencer Stown stands by the mural he painted outside Joanne’s Gourmet Pizza and Dunkin Donuts at 1067 Northern Blvd. Following complaints to the village, the mural will soon be covered up. See story on page 2.
‘Play ball’: Nassau backs high-risk sports BY R O S E W E L D ON Nassau County has announced that it will support the playing of high-risk high school sports in line with state guidance.
The action came last Friday on the same day the state said that it would reauthorize the playing of such sports beginning Feb. 1. Guidelines from the New York Department of Health is-
sued on Jan. 21 listed these sports as high risk: basketball, boys lacrosse, competitive cheerleading, football, ice hockey, volleyball and wrestling. Continued on Page 36
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