Serving Port Washington
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Friday, August 18, 2017
Vol. 2, No. 33
Port WashingtonTimes GUIDE TO PORT SCHOOLS MARTINS OPPOSES PRIVATE SCHOOLS RANKED 25TH IN STATE ‘SANCTUARY’ LAWS PAGES 31-42
Manorhaven dog park closing for repairs in fall
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Public will also vote on mayoral terms BY J ES S I C A C H I N The Manorhaven Dog Park will close for repairs on Nov. 1, village Mayor Jim Avena announced last Wednesday at a work session. The village’s decision to close the park is in response to many complaints from dog owners that woodchips on the ground are uncomfortable for their dogs to walk on. “We are looking for alternatives because the dog owners don’t feel comfortable about the surface,” Avena said. The village plans to reopen the park by late spring, he added. Avena also announced that the Board of Trustees plans to move forward with a public referendum around Oct. 3 on whether to extend the mayoral term from two years to four. The board will need to pass a resolution to extend the mayoral term at its Aug. 24 board meeting before the public can vote, Avena said. “The board is 100 percent behind it,” Avena said about the resolution.
Earlier, Avena said he favored the extension to allow mayors more time to accomplish their goals. But the change stirred up controversy in the village. The Board of Trustees voted to extend the term in June but rescinded the measure last month, turning instead to a public referendum to decide the issue. Four-year mayoral terms are common in Long Island villages, village Attorney Steve Leventhal said. Under state law, changing the term length of an elected official can be done by a permissive referendum, Leventhal said. Once the resolution is passed by the Board of Trustees, it will automatically go to village residents for a vote. A part-time village code enforcer will be hired to enforce village codes concerning overcrowding, Avena said. “The big issue in Manorhaven is overoccupancy, there are more than one family in a dwelling,” he said. “This is one of the major complaints of the residents.” Continued on Page 59
PHOTO COURTESY STEVEN HANDELMAN
Boats filled the marina Saturday night near LaMotta’s Waterside Restaurant in Port Washington.
Peter Ripullone, Vietnam vet and Port resident, dies Port Washington on July 21. He was 77. A Port Washington resident Peter Ripullone, a decorated Vietnam War veteran since 1994, Ripullone was acwho was active in two Port tive in American Legion Post Washington veterans groups, 509 and the Veterans of Fordied of cancer at his home in eign Wars Henderson-Marino
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Post 1819. He served as the latter’s quartermaster. Family members said he received a Bronze Star for helping rescue a wounded soldier under fire in Vietnam, where Continued on Page 59
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