Serving Roslyn, East Hills, Roslyn Estates, Roslyn Harbor, Roslyn Heights, Greenvale, Old Westbury and North Hills
of Women on 2023 WOMEN OF NASSAU COUNTYʼS
Distincti N E T WO R K I N G A N
$1.50
Friday, September 22, 2023
Vol. 11, No. 38
D AWA R D S E V E N
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DISTINCTION
FRANKLIN FILES COMPLAINT BLAKEMAN SUBMITS AGAINST DALIMONTE COUNTY BUDGET
PAGES S1-S52
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Petition urges museum to bring Riley back Public outcry over decision to not renew ex-director’s contract BY C A M E RY N O A K ES The decision not to renew Charles Riley’s contract at the Nassau County Museum of Art has sparked an uproar from community members who cherished the former director’s larger-thanlife personality and contributions to the museum. Now a fellow local arts director has taken matters into his own hands and launched a petition to bring Riley back. Riley served as the museum’s director for six years. He is known internationally as an expert on the economics of the arts and has authored numerous books and articles. He has been involved in the founding of multiple museums and curated exhibitions in Taiwan, Berlin, Amsterdam and New York. “He’s extraordinarily knowledgeable, he’s got vision, he’s got commitment and he’s very personable,” David Bernard said. Bernard, who grew up in Great Neck but lives in Manhattan, is the music director of the Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been music director since 2016, previously serving as the music director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in New York City. He has worked with Riley for the past couple of years, starting their working relationship during the pandemic when the philharmonic partnered with
the museum to bring socially distanced live music to Long Islanders. In the wake of these performances, he said the philharmonic also became the orchestra in residence at the museum and has continued to play concerts there. Bernard said in partnering with the museum for the past three years, the philharmonic has become “integrated with Dr. Riley’s amazing conception and vision for the exhibits and the art and all this that’s happening at the museum.” “He’s very open, personable,” Bernard said. “Not everybody who’s that driven and successful is that open, but he is. He’s a consummate educator. It looks like he made the museum thrive.” Bernard said he found out about Riley leaving the museum when he read Blank Slate Media’s story breaking the news on Sept. 6. The museum’s interim director, Fernanda Bennett, said that Riley’s contract was not renewed in August as Riley and the museum’s board of trustees did not “see eye to eye” on the museum’s future goals and activities. Bernard said upon reading the Blank Slate article, he found the whole situation “crazy” and had to do something about it. So he started a change.org petition Continued on Page 43
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ROSLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT
East Hills students sang songs during the ceremony commemorating 9/11. See story on page 47.
Kyma cuts deal to narrowly avoid closure BY C A M E RY N O A K ES Kyma narrowly avoided closure Tuesday night after negotiating with the Roslyn Board of Trustees about the number of seats the restaurant could offer after continuously violating its agreement with the village. Kyma, located at 1446 Old Northern Boulevard, is an upscale Greek restaurant that garners a high customership. The village held a public hearing Tuesday night to consider revok-
ing the restaurant’s permit, which would ultimately end its operations, after discovering it continuously seated more customers than what their permit from the village allowed. Mayor John Durkin said the restaurant’s continuous violation of seating more customers than permitted has put the village in a tough position. “Unfortunately the only remedy we have is revocation, which is, you know, I find very difficult,” Durkin said. “I have no desire, no interest
in shutting anyone down, stopping them from doing business.” Kyma’s permit allowed the restaurant to have 120 seats in total, spread out over the indoor and outdoor dining areas. Roslyn’s Superintendent of Public Works Sam Daliposki visited the restaurant five times through July and September, finding the restaurant had 176 to 236 customers seated at a time. Daliposki said that inside the restaurant he would observe about Continued on Page 42