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Friday, April 28, 2023
Vol. 11, No. 17
WOMEN TODAY
LIFE-SAVING TREATMENT TOP BUSINESS LEADERS OF NASSAU HONORED AT NORTH SHORE
PAGES 29-36
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Manhasset lax raises 12K for fallen alumni
PAGES 19-22
S C I E N C E S TA R S
Team sells T-shirts honoring former teammates that died in car crash BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Fresh off a state championship last year, three current Manhasset seniors said they try to emulate the leadership of three alumni who died in a tragic car accident exemplified on and off the lacrosse field. “None of us got the chance to play with them, unfortunately, but conditioning during practice and knowing that those guys can’t do that anymore lights a fire in us and pushes us to keep going,” senior Jack Petersen told Blank Slate Media. Brothers Michael and James Farrell and Ryan Kiess were among five people who died in a two-car collision on the Montauk Highway in July 2021. In their memory, the team raised more than $12,000 for a pair of foundations in their honor by selling t-shirts with their numbers 4, 32 and 44 on the side. The funds will go to The Farrell Boy Foundation, which raises money for scholarships and educational purposes and the Ryan Kiess Memorial Fund, also used for scholarships and other community-based events. Sporting those numbers sets a standard for upperclassmen to uphold and for underclassmen to strive for, Senior James Lapina said. “A lot of younger kids look up to
you now and they also strive to get those numbers,” Lapina said. “It’s a lot of leadership that comes along with those numbers. Motivating younger kids who will be here going forward is really good for the team.” “You have to lead by example when you wear those numbers and do everything right,” Senior Aidan Haggerty said. Being a responsible member of a team, a school and a community, Petersen said, is an obligation he and his fellow seniors have welcomed and want to set a good example for younger players. “This helps build a little platform for us to show the kids how to live and make the right choices in and out of school and in and out of sports,” he said. Justin Mendez, 22, of Brookhaven, slammed into the Uber last year at 86 MPH on a curve of the Montauk Highway on July 24, Quogue police said in a press release. His speed just 3 ½ seconds before the head-on crash was 106 MPH, police said, citing data that the New York State Police recovered from the black box in Mendez’s Nissan Maxima. At a press conference days after the crash, Quogue Chief of Police Christopher Isola said an officer spotted Mendez before the accident, but could not catch up Continued on Page 53
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MANHASSET SCHOOL DISTRICT
Manhasset Secondary School’s Science Olympiad Division B team competed in a state tournament in Syracuse last week.
Data questioned as LI housing plan fades BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z
ing units on Long Island, according to Vision Long Island Director Eric Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controver- Alexander. “We’re kind of low-balled here,” sial housing plan that is not likely to be in the state’s 2024 budget used Alexander said in an interview with incorrect data on multi-family dwell- Blank Slate Media Friday.
The core of the plan, as of Friday, will not be included after strong opposition from local officials, according to Politico and multiple reports. Alexander, who has worked for the Continued on Page 53
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