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Friday, July 12, 2024
Vol. 10, No. 28
PPortWashingtonTimes Po rt MESITA
Port Washing ton
LIVING 50+
TOWN BOARD SPECIAL MEET ON LIRR
PAGES 19-22
PAGE 2
Town OKs $32M bond for police HQ
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Residents ask for referendum but attorney Nicolello says not permitted BY C A M E RY N O A K ES The Town of North Hempstead approved a $32 million bond for the construction of Port Washington Police District’s new headquarters despite multiple residents criticizing the project. Port Washington Police Chief Robert Del Muro said the headquarters is a much-needed update to meet the growing needs of the police district. “A new facility will provide us with modern infrastructure and technology for a 21st-century police district,” Del Muro said. Del Muro said the current headquarters is overcrowded, has a shortage of offices, insufficient spaces for female officers and inadequate storage space. The new facility would provide for those needs. “The Port Washington Police District is seeking bond approval for a new headquarters facility because our current one is deficient in numerous areas and has been for decades,” Del Muro said. The town board unanimously approved the police district’s $32 million bond. The bond would only apply to Port Washington Police District residents and the police district estimated would cost the average-valued household $150.70 a year.
The police district is unable to issue its own bonds but can do so through the town or a private company. The police district’s counsel said bonding through a private company would yield a higher cost to taxpayers than through the town. One resident presented a petition signed by more than 200 people from the Police Department’s area of service calling for a referendum to be held on the bond. This would allow police district residents to directly vote on the bond. Town attorney Richard Nicolello said that a referendum is not required nor permitted under New York State local finance law. He said it would not be an appropriate subject for spending money. A majority of residents who spoke Tuesday night expressed their opposition to the new headquarters and the bond being voted on. Concerns expressed by residents included the high cost, its location on Main Street, its scope and the preservation of trees. “I’m trying to just understand and comprehend how something like that could be allowed when countless momand-pop shops are denied to even open up. That could really bring the town up,” one resident said of the headquarters on Main Street. “It just is absurd to me.” Continued on Page 36
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PORT WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Port Washington School District summer music program has begun with more than 175 young musicians joining in on the music.
G.N., Herricks sue social media companies BY C A M E RY N O A K ES The Great Neck and Herricks school districts are suing Facebook and other social media platforms, alleging they harm students’ mental health due to their platflorms’ addictive qualities. The lawsuit alleges that the social media platforms are “addictive and dangerous” and have caused school districts “serious financial and resource disruptions,” according to Newsday.
The money sought in the lawsuit would be to offset costs for additional mental health professionals to adapt lesson plans about social media harms and to investigate online threats, according to Newsday. Newsday initially reported a group of 11 Long Island school districts joining the suit on Saturday, which include Great Neck. Herricks announced at its meeting Monday morning they, too, would be joining. The two school districts are joining about 1,000 other districts
locally and nationwide in the suit. Newsday reported that more than two dozen more Long Island school districts also plan to join. The other Long Island School districts are Brentwood, BellmoreMerrick, East Islip, Islip, Jericho, Kings Park, North Merrick, Port Jefferson, South Huntington and Westbury, according to Newsday. Herricks Superintendent Tony Sinanis said the board opted to join as a plaintiff in the lawsuit after the Continued on Page 37