Serving The Willistons, Albertson, Herricks, Mineola, Roslyn Heights, and Searingtown
$1
Friday, December 9, 2016
Vol. 65, No. 50
Holiday Gift & Party Guide
HOLIDAY GIFT & PARTY GUIDE
MINEOLA MAN SUES G.C. POLICE
RICE BACKS PELOSI OPPONENT
PAGES 33-56
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9, 2016 special section • december / litmor publicatio ns a blank slate media
Message of hate on 2 streets in Mineola Swastikas, derogatory statements spray-painted BY J OE N I K I C
A swastika and “make America white again” spray-painted in Mineola
Nassau County police are investigating two incidents in which swastikas and derogatory statements were spray-painted on sidewalks in Mineola some time between last Wednesday evening and last Thursday morning. Detective Lt. Richard LeBrun, commanding officer of the police department’s Public Information Office, said at a news briefing Monday that a red swastika, the phrase “Make America White Again,” a play on President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” and “other disparaging and derogatory statements against African-Americans and those of Middle Eastern descent” were spray painted on a Wash-
ington Avenue sidewalk between 11 p.m. on Nov. 29 and 6 a.m. on Nov. 30. On a sidewalk on Elm Street, LeBrun said, two red swastikas and derogatory statements against African-Americans and Middle Eastern people were also found and believed to be spray painted during the same time period. “This behavior is that of a misguided individual,” he said. “It’s not acceptable to the residents and the police of Nassau County.” LeBrun said 3rd Squad detectives were investigating the case and that the department was unsure who committed the crimes, how many culprits there were or why the crimes were committed. He said the two incidents
had “similar characteristics.” Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said village personnel removed the graffiti as soon as police allowed them to last Wednesday morning. The village is offering its own $1,000 reward for information related to the crime, Strauss said. “We have such a great community, and for some recessive gene to do this is despicable,” Strauss said. LeBrun declined to connect the incidents to Trump’s election as president, saying he was “not a politician” and was “not going to go there.” “We’re always concerned,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Election Day or prior, we’re always concerned about any Continued on Page 72
Herricks voters OK spending for buildings B Y N O A H M A N S K A R package of building projects that $3.3 million in spending from tory for the spending referen- Feinstein said.
district officials say will transHerricks school district vot- form Herricks schools. Residents voted 676-165 to ers on Tuesday approved most of the spending for a $29.5 million approve a $25 million bond and
a capital reserve fund, allowing the district to move forward with planning for the multiyear initiative affecting all seven of its buildings. Voters will decide later whether to spend the other other $1.2 million in reserves, which the district has not yet saved. The wide margin of vic-
dum indicates residents agree the district’s aging buildings need long overdue repairs, Nancy Feinstein, the Herricks school board president, said. “Everyone is in agreement that our students are phenomenal here, and they just need some facilities to support them, to bring them into this century,”
About 60 percent of the work is “health and safety” fixes at the district’s five schools, the Herricks Community Center and Shelter Rock Academy, including new asphalt, sidewalks, doors and locks, handicap accessibility renovations and ventilation improvements. Continued on Page 73
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