Serving Port Washington, Manorhaven, Flower Hill, Baxter Estates, Port Washington North and Sands Point
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Friday, November 29, 2019
Vol. 4, No. 48
Port WashingtonTimes HOLIDAY GUIDE
CALL FOR HOUSING FRANKLIN, SCOBBO CLASH IN COMMISH RACE DISCRIMINATION PROBE
PAGES 29-36
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North Shore opens floor for felines
Animal League’s flagship center gains 12 cat-centered rooms BY R O S E W E L D ON Cats and kittens on the North Shore will have a new place to go with the opening of North Shore Animal League America’s Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center. The latest major addition to the league’s headquarters in Port Washington, the center comprises a newly constructed second floor, where over a dozen rooms allow rescued cats to wander in cage-less surroundings. Joanne Yohannan, senior vice president of operations for the league, said the addition is not meant to be evoke a “traditional” shelter. “This is more of a habitat for cats, so to be able to have the opportunity to provide a natural, stress-free environment for the cats is just great,” Yohannan said. The “Bianca” in Bianca’s Furry Friends is Bianca Stern, the late bulldog of Beth Ostrosky Stern
and her husband, radio broadcaster Howard Stern. Upon the dog’s death in 2012, Beth Ostrosky Stern, a frequent foster parent and adopter of North Shore rescues, approached Yohannan with an idea. “She said to me, ‘Joanne, I want to do something special for Bianca in her memory,'” Yohannan said. The same year, North Shore received hundreds of animals displaced by Hurricane Sandy and the cages in the cat rooms became full. Stern and Yohannan thought up a cage-less solution, one that would allow rescues to roam in rooms equipped with beds, litter boxes, scratching poles and structures to climb. “Beth and I wanted big windows, natural sunlight, we wanted an airy, bright feeling with high ceilings, we wanted it to be peaceful,” Yohannan said. “Cats always get overlooked, and oftentimes Continued on Page 11
PHOTO BY ROSE WELDON
One of the cats housed at North Shore Animal League America’s Bianca’s Furry Friends addition takes a break in one of two rooms donated by Billy Joel.
O’Brien runs for water board against Flynn BY R O S E W E L D ON Donald O’Brien, who is challenging incumbent Chairman Steven Flynn to serve as a commissioner of the Manhasset-Lakeville Water and Fire
Districts in the coming special district elections, says his past experience and knowledge make him a good fit for the job. The commission oversees both the fire and water districts, which cover the same
geographic area, but the two are technically independent of each other. They serve approximately 45,000 people, who use 7.4 million gallons of water a day, according to the water disContinued on Page 50
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