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Friday, July 28, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 30
N E W H Y D E PA R K
SUMMER DINING
STATE SENATOR JOINS CD4 RACE
EX-DETECTIVE CHALLENGES SANTOS
PAGES 25-32
PAGE 2
PAGE 6
NHP moves street fair date to Oct. 21
BOCCI GIRLS
Mayor Devane passionately defends village, employee amid controversy BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane passionately defended the village and its employees during the Thursday night Board of Trustees meeting in light of the recent controversy regarding the original date of the village’s street fair. The 26th annual village street fair was slated for Saturday, Sept. 16, the first day of the Rosh Hashanah Jewish holiday. Devane said the previous 25 fairs had always been on the third Saturday in September except for 2020 when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Devane said he was aware of the Jewish observance when the date was set last year and it was his personal understanding that the fair, which ends at 4 p.m., would not conflict with Rosh Hashanah observance that begins on sundown Saturday. “If you’re going to come after somebody, come after me,” Devane said. “It was my decision, you don’t go after our secretary.” Devane said the decision to change the date to Oct. 21 stemmed from conversations he held with community
members, and not due to “inflammatory” letters, emails or phone calls the village received from people opposed to the original date. A letter to the editor was sent to both Blank Slate Media and Newsday from Donald Panetta, a trustee on the Great Neck Library Board of Trustees since 2022, expressing his frustration with the date. Panetta said the village is the culprit of “blatant antisemitism.” “Holding the street fair on one of the holiest days of the Jewish year is an insult and a slap in the face,” Panetta wrote. Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Jewish New Year, holds significant historical and cultural importance in the Jewish faith. With origins dating back thousands of years, the solemn holiday marks the beginning of the Ten Days of Repentance, leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Since Devane was elected in 2021, New Hyde Park has held its first-ever St. Patrick’s Day parade, Columbus Day parade, All Around the World Multicultural Night and Diwali Festival of Lights celebration. Continued on Page 46
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW HYDE PARK BOCCI CLUB ON FACEBOOK
The New Hyde Park Bocci Club holds a ladies night every Monday at the village’s Memorial Park.
NHP boy wins national LEGO competition BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y
Mini Master Model Builder for his creation of Coney Island’s iconic Twenty hours and 2,500 boardwalk. The 10-year-old was presented LEGO bricks culminated in New Hyde Park’s Elijah Estevez being with a LEGO trophy and showered crowned the 2023 North American with confetti at Westchester’s Lego-
land Discovery Center July 12. Elijah said he was inspired to create the Brooklyn beachscape since he and his family travel to Coney Island every year. Continued on Page 47
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