Letter: Great Neck And Open Space: Can We Coincide?

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Letter: Great Neck And Open Space: Can We Coincide?

Friday, 04 May 2012 00:00

I saw a red fox last week. I wasn’t in the Catskill Mountains nor was I out on the East End, but here in Great Neck. Not only did I see it, thanks to today’s technology, I videotaped my sighting. So excited was I, a nature lover with the nickname D Birdman, I told my buddy Mark Schweitzer. He told me he saw a fox three hours earlier in another part of Great Neck. Coincidence? My buddy and I have so much in common, but to see a fox?

Open space is defined as undeveloped land that is protected by legislation. What’s your definition? Parkland? Baseball or soccer fields? Parking lots? Forests, marshes, ponds and streams are all classified as open space and (land) shouldn’t be developed near or around them. Anywhere that doesn’t have development on it is open space and must be better protected. Great Neck is comprised of all these natural features. Our town was created during the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago when giant glaciers carved us out of bedrock. Before any human stepped foot in our town there were chipmunks, snapping turtles, raccoons, rabbits, box turtles along with passenger pigeons and ringed-neck pheasant, just to name a few residing here. Over-development, uprooting trees and asphalting parking lots to name a few, have taken its toll on nature. Great Neck’s open space must be managed and protected better. Who knows what Great Neck would look like if it wasn’t for the Great Neck Park District’s preservation of its natural properties?

I’m not happy with the construction of homes along the eastern side of Split Rock Road. That is a prime example of over-developing. A great project going on though is the dredging of Udall’s Pond behind the public library on Bayview Avenue. This will restore the area to its natural habitat like before man occupied Saddle Rock.

Open space is necessary for the fox I saw. I spoke to Evelyn Yetski, a resident of Great Neck for over 50 years. She showed me the den where the fox live. Evelyn also told me the mother fox gave birth and had five kits (babies) in December. Red fox are beautiful animals and are very shy when it comes to humans. That’s why we have been living with them for all these years yet we rarely see them.

Jonathan Staller

News

Safeguarding Our Children

Saturday, 25 May 2013 00:00

Additional school policy changes regarding visitors to schools

Seeking to ensure that our children are even safer, the Great Neck School District is set to provide even more security in all of the district’s buildings. To this end, the Board of Education continues to consider new policies and revisions of existing policies. For the Policy on Code of Conduct: Visitors to the Schools, this new revision addresses a “more cautious approach” to visitors in the schools.

The school board held the first of at least three required hearings on the proposal at the April 8 public action meeting and again at the April 17 meeting. The policy revision was approved and adopted at the May 13 public action meeting.

Jazzing It Up At North High

Friday, 24 May 2013 00:00

For jazz saxophonist Sam Dillon, returning to North High School upon the invitation of Joseph Rutkowski, director of instrumental music, was an opportunity to spend time with classical music students and give them an intimate glimpse into making jazz and becoming a professional musician. He says, “It was so nice to come back to North High and see the school through more mature eyes ... Mr. Rutkowski is such an amazing teacher ... He really treats his students like professional musicians and expects them to give their best ... I can be in the middle of a gig and still hear his voice ringing in my ear.”

Sports

Relay For Life Fund-Raiser

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

The North High School Relay for Life Committee, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society and the Town of North Hempstead, will host the fourth annual Relay for Life event at the North High School football field (corner of Polo and Beach Roads), on Saturday, June 1, from 2 p.m. to midnight, rain or shine. This fundraiser aims to incorporate an element of solidarity for those touched by cancer; it is an opportunity to remember, reflect, and fight back.

North Shore Kayak Club Annual Clinic

Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00

The North Shore Kayak Club will hold its annual kayaking clinic, targeted to novice recreational kayakers and those interested in the sport, on Tuesday, May 28. It is scheduled for 7 p.m., at the Town Dock in Port Washington, by the kayak docks (to the left of the fishing pier when facing the water).