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Friday, September 29, 2023
Vol. 11, No. 39
GUIDE TO MINEOLA STREET FAIR PAGES 21-32
ETHICS BOARD CLEARS DALIMONTE
CRICKET WORLD CUP COMES TO NASSAU
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Sen. Gillibrand’s office pledges aid on air traffic LI regional director met with E. Hills residents to get information on issue BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Twenty-three planes flew overheard during an hour-long meeting with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (DNY) Long Island regional director, who met with East Hills residents to discuss the issue of air traffic over the village and how the senator’s office can aid in addressing the issue. Air traffic over villages on Long Island’s North Shore has been problem spanning more than a decade, and residents of East Hills have advocated for change in order to better their quality of life. Residents have complained about constant loud noise from air traffic and cited as concerns over health effects. “This is not about the village of East Hills,” North Hempstead Councilman Peter Zuckerman said. “ It’s about all of Nassau County and all of this area.” Elliot Conway, president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association and mayor of Upper Brookville, said the issue is also one in his community. He said planes fly over at times every 30-45 seconds. “It’s despicable what they are doing to us,” Conway said. “And they could do better.” East Hills Mayor Michael Koblenz said Michael Scheid, Gillibrand’s Long
Island regional director, was briefed on the issues before the meeting but was invited to hear firsthand from residents and their concerns. Scheid said he would be taking the residents’ information from the meeting to build a case that can be presented to the Federal Aviation Association to find a solution. Zuckerman, who recently proposed for the town to conduct a $40,000 flight plan analysis that was unanimously OK’d by the board, said this is the first step of what Koblenz and the village officials at East Hills have been championing for years. Koblenz said the purpose of their advocacy is to strike a compromise on the issue. “What we’re looking for is not for no planes to ever come over this village, but we are looking for a balance,” Koblenz said. “We’re not getting a balance in our community or Manhasset and a few other places.” Robyn Brattner, an East Hills resident of 12 years, said that air traffic noise has been an issue since she moved into the village. She said she has worked collaboratively with the village and local officials to fight for a solution to no avail. Brattner said this was “a summer Continued on Page 46
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MANHASSET-LAKEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Firefighters provide an attack line on a trailer carrying tires engulfed in flames on the Long Island Expressway in North Hills. See story on page 5.
Herricks teacher leaves after video surfaces BY B R A N D ON D U FF Y The Herricks School District and Nassau County District Attorney’s Office are investigating an incident regarding a former teacher who was removed from the district after a “disturbing and upsetting” video surfaced online. Residents expressed concern during the Thursday night board of education meeting over the wellbeing of students and the next steps for the jazz band, which parents said
the removed teacher was involved with. Superintendent Tony Sinanis said the district was informed after 9 p.m. Tuesday night of a video circulating online that allegedly featured a Herricks teacher. “The following morning, we informed legal authorities and continued investigating in an effort to ensure the safety of our students,” Sinanis said in a statement Thursday night and in an email to the district. “We also took steps to ensure that
our students and staff were supported and had access to counselors if necessary.” Sinanis said the teacher is no longer employed by the district. The Nassau County District Attorney’s office is also investigating the matter with their law enforcement partners, officials confirmed to Blank Slate Media. “I moved to this district specifically for the music program,” said Linda, the mother of an eighthContinued on Page 45