Serving New Hyde Park, Floral Park, Garden City Park, North Hills, Manhasset Hills and North New Hyde Park
$1.50
Friday, September 1, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 35
N E W H Y D E PA R K
SCHOOLS & EDUCATION
JCC TEAM WINS NATIONAL TITLE
BLAKEMAN SIGN SCUTTLE FUNDRAISER
PAGES 21-32
PAGE 10
PAGE 6
Racist graffiti at Center Street Elementary
BOCCI BOYS
Herricks board prez ‘sickened’ by language spray painted multiple times BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y Herricks Board of Education President James Gounaris said Thursday night he was “sickened” by racially charged language that was spray painted multiple times at the Center Street Elementary School playground. Gounaris said the district discovered Thursday morning that the playground area at the Williston Park school and some trees in the vicinity were graffitied overnight. “The vandalism included profanatory and derogatory language including racist language, which was spray painted multiple times,” Gounaris said. The president said the Nassau County Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into who is responsible for the incident. “The safety and well-being of our students, families, faculties and staff is our priority and we will continue nurturing a school community that centers on empathy and compassion and denounces hate and injustice,” Gounaris said. In a written statement, Gounaris implored district residents to have a conversation with their children at the dinner table on hate and its impact. “If you’ve resided here for one day or 100 years, this is not what the community is about and we need to make
sure that these people understand that it’s never going to be tolerated,” Gounaris said. “We are going to find out who they are and we are going to make sure they get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said in a statement she was heartbroken about the incident and that the town has worked hard to foster an inclusive community. “These heinous acts will not be tolerated, and I am confident the Nassau County Police Department will do everything necessary to apprehend and prosecute those responsible,” DeSena said. Herricks Superintendent Tony Sinanis said some of the graffiti has already been removed and that the rest of it will be removed before the first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 15. In unrelated district news, Sinanis provided capital project updates from the summer, including side-by-side pictures of different parts of the district before and after their upgrades. Summer projects include new epoxy floors, lights, furniture and repainting the tech room in the high school tech room and middle school art room, among others. The middle school gymnasium had its padding on the walls and floor redone. Continued on Page 45
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW HYDE PARK BOCCI CLUB ON FACEBOOK
The New Hyde Park Bocci Club gathers every weekend to play at the village’s Memorial Park.
Miller Brothers site remains up in the air BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y New Hyde Park Mayor Christopher Devane said during the Thursday night trustees meeting there are currently no plans before the board to redevelop the current property of Miller Brothers Plumbing and Heating. The property at 1324 Jericho Turnpike changed ownership earlier this year and the new owners recently held two meetings with village residents on developments they are con-
sidering, which included a four-story building with 46 residential units. Devane told residents the village urged the new developers to speak with the public on any considerations before submitting any proposals to the board. “Nothing has been submitted to this board,” Devane said multiple times at the beginning of the trustees’ board reports. “The earliest at this point something would be submitted to this board would be October.”
Once a proposal is submitted, like any other application before the board, a public hearing will be held where public comments can be heard, Devane said. At the Jan. 19 trustees meeting Devane said it was time to reimagine developments on the turnpike and bring an influx of development to the area. The mayor added that the old way of doing things in the village with mixed-use retail and apartments on top was not working. Continued on Page 46