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Friday, April 21, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 16
N E W H Y D E PA R K
KIDS GUIDE
NASSAU POLICE LACK TRANSPARENCY
3RD DISTRICT LACKS REPRESENTATION
PAGES 23-31
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
State mascot vote to impact Sewanhaka State regents board bans Native American imagery in schools BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z New York’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to ban the use of Native American mascots, team names, logos and depictions Tuesday, a decision that will affect two local school districts, according to state officials. The state Department of Education released a memo Nov. 17 informing school districts that do fall under that category to adopt a resolution to eliminate the names of all indigenous names, logos and mascots by the end of the 2022-23 school year. Schools in the Manhasset and Sewanhaka school districts sport the “Indians” title for their athletic teams. Efforts to reach state representatives or district officials for comment were unavailing. The resolution that Manhasset, Sewanhaka and other affected districts have to adopt under the new mandate requires them to “identify a plan to eliminate all use of the prohibited name, work, or mascot within a reasonable time, which shall be by no later than the end of the 2024-25 school year,” according to officials. In December Sewanhaka Superintendent James Grossane said the district was also awaiting more guidance from the state before making
any decisions on how to move forward from the “Indians” name. A Sewanhaka High School student dressed as an Indian, the school’s mascot, at their 2017 homecoming parade.(Photo courtesy of the Sewanhaka Central High School District) Manhasset officials did not go into specifics on what would be done with the district’s “Indians” mascot, but members of the board presented questions to Superintendent Gaurav Passi and board President Pat Aitken on what the requirements would mean for Manhasset. The history of Manhasset’s “Indian” mascot is traced back to the Matinecock Indian Tribe, a group that occupied a majority of the Town of North Hempstead. The Matinecocks were forcibly removed from the territory, with Manhasset keeping the “Indian” mascot name along with having an orange feather attached to the “M” in their logo and calling their newspaper “Indian Ink.” Trustee Erin Royce, during a February meeting, questioned what the district’s legal responsibility would be if down the line, someone attended a district event with attire dawning the “Indian” mascot. Continued on Page 45
PHOTO BY BRANDON DUFFY
Firefighters work on clearing debris from 266 Jericho Turnpike, which was damaged from a fouralarm fire Monday morning.
Cause of 4-alarm fire in Floral Park undetermined BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y More than 100 firefighters from 18 different fire departments in Nassau County rushed to Floral Park Monday morning to battle a four-
alarm fire on Jericho Turnpike that damaged multiple businesses. A two-story building at 266 Jericho caught fire around 10:30 a.m. and was later under control by first responders around 2:30 p.m., said
Nassau County Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro. “We still have people on the scene,” Uttaro told Blank Slate Media Tuesday afternoon. “Once the Continued on Page 46
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