Serving New Hyde Park, North New Hyde Park, Herricks, Garden City Park, Manhasset Hills, North Hills, Floral Park
$1
Friday, June 9, 2017
Vol. 66, No. 23
N E W H Y D E PA R K Guide to New Hyde Park
NEW HYDE PARK • NORTH
NEW HYDE PARK • FLORAL
PARK • HERRICKS • GARDEN
a blank slate media special
CITY PARK • MANHASSET
HILLS • NORTH HILLS
GUIDE TO NEW HYDE PARK
ACTING TOP COP TO STEP DOWN
PAGES S1-S48
PAGE 2
NIFA DEMANDS COUNTY CUTS PAGE 6
section • June 9, 2017
Mayor admits communication lapse in F.P. Rejects claims that village deceived residents with pool membership deal BY N O A H M A N S K A R The Village of Floral Park’s mayor acknowledged Tuesday night that village officials could have been more forthcoming when they decided to offer some pool memberships to New Hyde Park residents. Mayor Dominick Longobardi rejected assertions that the village trustees intentionally kept the public in the dark, but said they could have been more upfront about the move. “No question, we can always do a better job of communicating,” Longobardi told a crowd of about 60 residents at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting. The village recently offered 40 pool memberships to residents of the Clinton G. Martin Park District for this summer while their swimming pool undergoes a yearlong $23 million renovation. Officials also decided to open memberships to village business owners.
The decision drew a backlash from Floral Park residents, who were unhappy that their pool could get more crowded and that village officials publicly announced the decision after it had been made. Nadia Holubnyczyj-Ortiz, president of the Hillcrest Civic Association, presented a petition with more than 850 signatures Tuesday night asking the Board of Trustees to rescind the offer. The problem is not with New Hyde Park residents using the pool, Holubnyczyj-Ortiz said, but with the village’s lack of transparency. “I think decisions are being made and we’re being told about it after the fact, and that really needs to change,” Bob Chalmers, a resident and village employee, said. Several residents also worried that the extra people would exacerbate overcrowding and parking problems at the pool, which underwent a $6.75 million renova-
PHOTO COURTESY OF IAVARONE BROS.
Jerry Iavarone stands in the Iavarone Pork Store on Wilson Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn in the 1950s. Jerry and his brother, Joe, took over the business founded by their father, Pasquale, and named it Iavarone Bros.
Iavarone Bros. marks 90 years, fueled by family ties BY N O A H MANSKAR
One of Joe Iavarone’s professors at Sacred Heart UniverContinued on Page 57 sity once told the class that no family-owned business survives longer than three generations. Iavarone, now 26, objected — he’s among the fourth generation of his family to run Iavarone Bros. Gourmet Italian
Foods, managing the company’s New Hyde Park market with his cousin, Jonathan. The business that Pasquale Iavarone, Joe’s great-grandfather, founded in Brooklyn is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. It has grown to include a catering service and four markets that ship items nationwide, Joe Iavarone said. The Iavarones have kept the
business in the family for its entire history, something that has been central to its success, Joe Iavarone said. “We never think we’re above what we do,” said Iavarone, who has helped out in the shops since age 5. “I started out as a dishwasher and a stock person, so I’m not afraid to put gloves on and show someone how to Continued on Page 57
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