Bosworth Seeks Town Supervisor Spot

Nassau County Legislator Judi Bosworth announced her candidacy for North Hempstead Town Supervisor late last week. Bosworth, a Democrat and a longtime Great Neck resident who represents the county’s 10th legislative district, told the Great Neck Record that she is “proud” to announce her candidacy.  

“I believe my record of leadership, hard work and building consensus while serving as a Nassau County legislator and Board of Education president uniquely qualify me to continue the legacy of strong, responsive and transparent government, in the tradition of Jon Kaiman and May Newburger,” she stated.

Old Village Elections Uncontested

(Editor’s Note: As each village announces its candidates for office, in uncontested as well as contested elections, the Great Neck Record offers the opportunity for each candidate to submit a short bio, including qualifications as well as a headshot. These are the statements from the candidates in the Village of Great Neck.)

The position of mayor, two trustee spots and the position of village justice are all up for election in the Village of Great Neck. Each candidate is unopposed. Up for re-election are Mayor Ralph Kreitzman and trustees Jeffrey Bass and Mitchell Beckerman. Mark Birnbaum is running for his first term as village justice.

FEMA Hopes For More Sandy Funds

Villages that suffered great damage during Superstorm Sandy are in line to expect larger financial reimbursements, according to John Gray, FEMA task force public assistance leader assigned to Long Island.  Gray explained the possible reimbursement increase recently as he spoke to a large group of mayors and trustees at the most recent Nassau County Village Officials Association meeting.

Gray reported that the FEMA payout for Sandy will be in the billions of dollars. Once it exceed $2.5 billion, 90 percent reimbursement could be requested by the governor and this is anticipated.

Public And Corporate Forces Join To Protect Water

A critical agreement to treat and clean the plume of contamination emanating from the old Unisys defense plant in Lake Success while also protecting the aquifers from salt water intrusion has been reached among all the parties involved, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the Water Authority of Great Neck North and the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District.

The agreement requires the approval of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Safeguarding Our Children

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

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.”

Kindergarten Class Wins Town Video Contest

Great Neck’s little ones were the big winners in the Town of North Hempstead’s “Plastic Ain’t My Bag” Earth Day video contest!  The youngsters in Robin Levine’s Parkville School Kindergarten class took first place in the contest’s early childhood division with their “Save Our Mascot” video entry.  Using the theme of the school’s penguin mascot (one of the animals that plastic bags can “choke and hurt”), the children sang and acted out an original song written by Parkville custodian Robert Hoffmann.

St. Aloysius Church Celebrates 100 Years

Great Neck’s beautiful, majestic St. Aloysius Church celebrates its 100th birthday this year.  On Sunday, June 23, the church hosts a centennial celebration, including a special mass and a dinner dance.  The historic church is located at 592 Middle Neck Road in the Village of Great Neck.

“Even after 100 years, many people still consider St. Aloysius one of the most beautiful churches on Long Island,” said Monsignor Brendan Riordan, pastor of St. Aloysius. “This centennial celebration is a significant milestone for our parish and we are proud that St. Aloysius has been part of the Great Neck community for so many years.” 

School District Accepts Donations

Once again the Great Neck School District received a host of gifts and donations. All were recently approved and accepted by the Board of Education at school board public action meetings.

Eight donations were received for the Robotics Club, to help offset some of the many costs associated with running a successful robotics program. Donations were sent from: the Rotary Club of Gold Coast, Cathy Sung, Stephen and Beth Wolf, Joel and Ellen Dressner, Jay and Judi Bosworth, Edith Novick and Dmitriy Tokar, Gary and Bianna Gal, Scott and Barbara Erlich and Jill A. Krieger.

School District Budget Vote May 21

Residents in the Great Neck School District vote on the proposed $209,442,904 2013-2014 school budget this coming Tuesday, May 21. In addition to the budget vote (Proposition No. 1), eligible voters also vote on the Great Neck Library budget (Proposition No. 2) and for one Board of Education trustee, Monique Bloom (who is running unopposed, having been appointed to the school board last year).

As always, by far the largest percentage of the budget is dedicated to instruction. This amounts to around 75 percent of each year’s budget.