Manhasset Times 2024_07_05

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Friday, July 5, 2024

Vol. 12, No. 27

SPORTS

BEST OF 10TH ANNUAL

2024

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Over the course of a 6-plus minute rowing race, you wouldn’t think that one single stroke would matter all that much. But good luck convincing the quintet of Port Rowing’s girls U17 4+ boat of that. Because as they learned at the New York State championships on May 11-12, every stroke counts. The way it works at the state meet, held in Saratoga Springs, is that only the Top 3 boats in the grand final (the boats that finished in the Top 10 of the nary heats) make it to the morning prelimiU.S. Rowing Youth Nationals. And there’s often so little difference between the top boats, Port Rowing’s Sophie Pevzner said, that every single stroke could make the difference. “You’re pushing and pushing and you’re so tired, but you know if you take one stroke just a little lighter, the boat next to you is going to pass you and finish ahead,” said Pevzner, about to enter her junior year at Port Washington’s Schreiber High School. “All the training and everything you were hoping for, means you have to go hard on every single stroke.” Pevzner and her teammates (Laura Kim, Charlotte Debler, Katherine swain Alex Cherkas) dug Pupke and coxdeep and accomplished their goal, finishing it to states by a mere 2.8 third and making seconds. It was just one of seven boats, consisting of 31 club athletes, that made it to Sarasota for the June 8-9 nationals. “We had practiced so much states), and we put so much leading up (to selves to make it that when pressure on ourwe finally did, it was a big relief,” said Van Villabos, another Schreiber junior who is on the boys U17 4+ boat that finished third at states as well. “The chemistry and the teamwork that you put in really paid off.” Seven boats making nationals marked the end of yet another successful PHOTO COURTESY OF PORT season for Port Members of the Port Rowing ROWING Rowing, which boasts Boys U17 4+ boat competing more than 100 ath- finished 9th overall, at the U.S. Rowing Youth Nationals letes. the highest for a Port Rowing in Sarasota, Fla. on June 8-9. boat at nationals. The boat Training at North Hempstead State Park, the club has grown and gotten better and bet- were a lot of nerves because ter in recent seasons, and we knew how about uplifting this als showing was impressive. year’s nation- good every boat (at Nationals) is; each every race If there’s a problem, other and doing better. swain Alec Oldis, was a dogfight. Ben Dietrich, Roman Ertel, Competing against the we fix it and move on.” best boats all over Boden Smith, and Alex Also on the girls side “So to get to win the B the country in Florida on Dietrich at Nationals, won final, the C having June 8-9, Port Row- teams see the finals in Sarasota. ing’s boats had several that and see what our team other youth 4+ boat of Coxswain Tea Cotronis, That feat is even more strong performances. is really imOl- pressive when you can do, ivia Burke, Christina exciting.” consider that four memThe best was turned in Lago, and Anna Woodside were Alexandra Burke bers of the boat just finished The girls U17 4+ boat boat, which finished first by that boys U17 third in the D final. showing eighth grade, that squeaked into On the boys side, in how good they can still meaning it was ninth-best in the “B” final, Nationals placed third in the C addition to the get. final, while U17 4+ boat, in the country. The the girls For Pevzner and her teammates, youth 2- boat of Lauren fivesome of coxswain Mio the youth 4+ boat with the NaMarino and swain Shayna coxLanfant, Luca Tizz- Estella Woodside ano, Joseph Macri, Syros Blumenfield, Jared White, tionals experience just made them hungry for finished seventh in the Baris and Villalobos final. more success. C Tilden Vaezi, Cooper beat all comers in the second-best Denninger and Dean final event. Egen, placed fourth in “The competition at Nationals “The best thing about “It’s just a huge sense the C final, while the our boat is we’re Youth is just so of trust we have all like best hard, so to be there and 4- team of with each other in the see how good evboat,” said Macri, a each other,” friends and so supportive of ris Breene, VincentBenjamin Ollendorff, Har- eryone is just shows us how junior at North Shore Pevzner said. “We never DiPalo and Emanuel Lago High School. “There anyone blame captured first place to work to get even better,” hard we have when something goes in the D final. Pevzner said. “It wrong, it’s all definitely motivates us Finally, the boys U16 to come back and do 4x+ boat of cox- even better next year.”

MOVING ON UP

Flower Hill mayor said no drafted plans yet as still in the early phases BY C A M E RY N O A K ES The St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center is proposing a campus modernization plan to update various facilities, relocate staff and provide private rooms to all of its patients being treated. The Village of Flower Hill trustees discussed the hospital plans at their meeting Monday night but cautioned that they had yet to receive project details and might not see them soon. “Let’s face it, we’re looking at years,” Deputy Mayor Frank Genese said. Mayor Randall Rosenbaum said the plan’s main goal was to relocate hospital personnel off-site. Rosenbaum said this would benefit the village by reducing congestion in Flower Hill. Rosenbaum said another goal is to implement wholly private rooms. He said about 10% of the hospital’s rooms are now single rooms. The hospital will be working with the village on the project including addressing its trailers on the south annex of the property which the village has expressed a desire to have moved, Rosenbaum said. The campus modernization will need to be approved by various village

boards, but it will also participate in community engagement forums projected for this fall. Trustee Mary Jo Collins said the project has begun well by staying transparent with the community, which she said will be necessary to prevent community pushback based on misinformation. More information on the modernization is available on St. Francis’ website. Individuals can also submit questions directly to the hospital through their website. A slideshow of the presentation given to the village is also available on Flower Hill’s website. Village trustees approved a policy Monday night to require homeowners’ consent to release building plans. The policy is intended to preserve the safety of homeowners and the integrity of architectural work. Rosenbaum said building plans show “every possible way to enter a home,” which could diminish the homeowner’s safety if those plans are in someone’s hands. Under the Freedom of Information Law, anyone can request these building plans. The village is proposing that requests for building plans require a consent to release form from Continued on Page 35

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MANHASSET PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Munsey Park Elementary sixth-graders walk the halls of their school for the last time and high five fellow students before moving up to Manhasset Secondary School.

State Sen. Martins calls for DA Bragg’s removal BY C A M E RY N O A K ES District 7 state Sen. Jack Martins is calling for the removal of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after he dropped the charges against the pro-Palestinian Columbia student protesters in what Martins is calling a part of Bragg’s progressive political agenda. “If ever there was an ideological demagogue shilling a political agenda, [Bragg would] be the poster child,” Martins, a Republican representative from Old Westbury, wrote

in an op-ed last week. Protests at Columbia University endured for weeks, with hundreds of protesters setting up encampments at the school. The students called for the university to divest its funding of organizations supporting Israel and contributing to the IsraelHamas war. On April 30, more than 300 protesters were arrested on Columbia’s Upper Manhattan campus after the group broke into a campus building. Bragg announced June 20 that he would be dropping the cases

against 31 of the 46 individuals charged. He cited a lack of evidence available to prosecute their cases. In an op-ed published in Blank Slate Media titled “New Yorkers Deserve Better,” Martins denounces Bragg’s dropping of the charges against the students and called for his removal from office – asking others to join him as well. District 7 Democratic candidate Kim Keiserman, who is running against Martins in the November election, did not respond to a reContinued on Page 35