Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
$1
Friday, December 13, 2019
Vol. 68, No. 50
HOLIDAY GUIDE
SPECIAL DISTRICT G.N. NATIVE SEEKS RACE RESULTS CONTROL OF METS
PAGES 27-46
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Bagel Express fire deemed ‘accidental’
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‘TIS THE SEASON
Officials say fire spread from van’s engine to Hillside Avenue food store BY E T H A N MARSHALL The fire that destroyed Bagel Express in Williston Park has been deemed accidental by the Williston Park Fire Department. According to Nassau County Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro, the exact cause of the fire in a nearby van that eventually spread to Bagel Express has yet to be determined. Uttaro said it has been ruled out that it was intentionally caused by someone. According to Uttaro, the fire department is responsible for “making sure it’s not a suspicious fire.” In this instance, “this is just an accidental fire that began in the engine department of the van,” Uttaro said. “There was nothing malicious and nothing suspicious.” While the fire ended up burning down 61 Hillside Ave. where Bagel Express was located, the
fire department did a fine job in minimizing damage to the neighboring buildings, he said. Uttaro said there was some slight smoke damage to Weigand Brothers Funeral Home next door, but firefighters made entry into the building and prevented the fire from spreading there. After a 911 call was made reporting the fire on Sunday at 6:02 a.m, the fire was put out approximately two hours later. Uttaro said it’s likely that the fire had started shortly before the call was made, as it had yet to spread to the building at the time. It didn’t take long for the fire to spread from the van to the wooden structure at the rear of Bagel Express, then inside the building. Gasoline in the van and the wooden structure literally added fuel to the fire. Though the entire building was subsequently burned down, Continued on Page 59
PHOTO BY TOM MCCARTHY
The Mineola Board of Trustees voted to suspend metered parking at Jericho Turnpike, Willis Ave and Mineola Boulevard on Saturdays in the village during December. See story on page 2.
County execs announce anti-Semitism task force BY ROBERT PELAEZ & ROSE WELDON
Steve Bellone, on Monday in announcing an island-wide coalition that will combat antiSemitism and hate symbols. The announcement was Nassau County Executive Laura Curran joined her made at the Nassau County Suffolk County counterpart, Holocaust Memorial and Toler-
ance Center in Glen Cove following the second discovery of anti-Semitic graffitti on the center’s premises in two weeks. Over 40 elected local and state officials, religious memContinued on Page 59
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