Great Neck Notebook: November 5, 2009

Hungry on Thanksgiving

How many families on your block won’t be having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and all the trimmings? Not because they don’t like turkey, but because they can’t afford to buy one. And they can’t afford the side dishes that make that meal so special.

Maybe every one of your neighbors can afford to put on a big spread for Thanksgiving, but just a few blocks away, just a few miles from your dining room, there are families who won’t have as much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving as you and me. How do I know?

I know because last year The Interfaith Nutrition Network provided more than 3,000 turkeys to families in need. Each of those families also got a bag of groceries so they, too, could have a complete holiday dinner with all the good things that most of us take for granted.

I also know that because of the tough economic times we’re going through many families that were making ends meet last year aren’t doing as well this year. At the soup kitchen where I volunteer each year on Thanksgiving Day, we expect an increase of 25 percent more guests than last year.

If you’ve had some blessings in your life, please consider sharing them with those who haven’t been as fortunate. We need donations of: canned soups, canned vegetables, stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, canned yams or potato mix, gravy mix, dry pasta, rice, and canned fruit. If you happen to have a coupon for a free turkey, that would be really helpful too.

If you prefer, you can also write a check, payable to The Interfaith Nutrition Network. Every $20 we receive means one more family will have a Thanksgiving worth celebrating. Donations may be mailed to: Dave Golbert, 7 Lee Court West, Great Neck, NY 11024. Food donations may also be dropped off to 7 Lee Court West. For additional information, please call 917-418-2451 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On this day in particular, “Let no one go hungry, while there is food on our table.”

Editorial: Great Neck, Our Wonderful Hometown!

Did you march in the Great Neck Halloween parade this past weekend? Were you in town? Did you see those adorable little munchkins all dressed up? For the fifth year, the Village of Great Neck Plaza and the Business Improvement District hosted a wonderful Halloween parade for the children, closing Middle Neck Road to vehicular traffic and providing “treats” for the little ones. It was a great day!

Coming right on the heels of the Plaza’s annual AutoFest and Street Festival and then the Great Neck Park District’s Harvest Festival, it has been a couple of super “hometown” weeks here in Great Neck.

Different times during the year various municipalities, villages and organizations sponsor local festivities —- crafts fairs, antiques shows, etc. Each one is a special event, drawing our neighbors and friends from all over. Each event draws a large, festive crowd with fair-goers of all ages enjoying each and every day.

Great Neck may, at times, seem like a bigger city, but, really, we are quite a wonderful little hometown. And we’re proud! How nice for us all, in this modern, high tech, busy, frantic world, to be able to step back once in a while and just “smell the roses.”

Aren’t we lucky to live in Great Neck!

Great Neck Notebook: October 29, 2009

No one wants to eat at a soup kitchen. Yet for many who have run out of other choices, it is a lifeline that keeps them going through rough times. I see their faces every week: the homeless veterans, the senior citizens living on fixed incomes, mothers with small children, fathers who have no jobs in this recession.

For many of the children we feed, this is their first meal of the day. For many of the senior citizens, it may be their only meal of the day. You can see their eyes widen when they take their trays and get to the front of the serving line; and a volunteer hands them a plate heaping with hot, nutritious food and a cup of chicken soup chock full of vegetables and noodles. Each meal also includes a salad, bread and butter, fruit, dessert, and beverage.

Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3!

This coming Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day! Even though there are no national of state elections, on a more local level, the town and the county, there are quite important elections at stake. It is crucial to vote!

Your quality of life very much depends on just who is elected on Nov. 3. Yes, your vote counts! Yes, one vote can make a difference. It sure does matter whether or not you vote!

Go to the polls next Tuesday and let your vote count. Vote and have a say in just what happens right here in your neighborhood! - Wendy Karpel Kreitzman

From the Desk of Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel

Preparing for the Unexpected: Part 111: Prepare An Emergency Go-Bag

This is the final installment of my three-part series helping you to prepare for the unexpected. In previous columns you learned about the NY-ALERT program as well as how to make an emergency plan. In this installment, you will learn how to prepare an emergency kit.

Be prepared for the unexpected by assembling a kit of emergency supplies. You should plan to make it on your own for at least three days (72 hours). It is important that you and your family think about the kinds of resources you use on a daily basis and what you might do if they are not available.

Keep in mind that an emergency situation can force you and your family to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home for a long period of time. So consider getting two emergency kits, a home emergency kit and an emergency go-bag. In your home disaster kit you should put everything you will need to stay where you are and make it on your own for a period of time. The emergency go-bag should be a lightweight smaller version that you can easily transport and take with you in the event that you must leave your home. The following is a list of recommended items to include in each emergency kit

Editorial: The Recognition Our Board of Education Deserves!

The Recognition Our Board of Education Deserves!

This year, New York State School Board Recognition Week is Oct. 19 to 23, this week! And it is our privilege to take this opportunity to congratulate our Board of Education on their incredible dedication and to thank them for their hard work in ensuring the best possible education for each and every child in our school district.

Thank you, thank you to Board of Education President Barbara Berkowitz, Vice President Fran Langsner, and trustees Donald L. Ashkenase, Lawrence R. Gross, and Susan Miner-Healy. You are truly the ones who put the “great” in Great Neck!

Great Neck Notebook: October 15, 2009

One Too Many

Local officials have estimated that 90,000 children, living in Nassau County, are not getting sufficient food. Not in Appalachia, not in Africa, not in Asia, right here in Nassau County. In the richest country in the history of the world, there are thousands of hungry children. We all know there are hungry children, living in terrible poverty, in other parts of the globe—but right here in America? Yes, just a few miles from your comfortable living room.

Every week, when I visit the Interfaith Nutrition Network soup kitchen in Hempstead, I see some of their faces. I also see mothers and fathers who have lost their jobs and have nowhere else to turn for help. The soup kitchen opens at 10 a.m., but there is a line outside the door starting at 8 a.m. Last year, this soup kitchen was feeding an average of 300 to 350 hungry people a day (Monday through Friday). This year it’s common for us to serve 450 or more meals per day.

If you’ve had some good fortune in your life, please join me in supporting the work of the Interfaith Nutrition Network, which has been providing food, shelter, and support services for Long Islanders in need for more than 25 years. Every $25 which you donate will help feed 12 hungry people.

Please make your check payable to The Interfaith Nutrition Network; donations may be mailed to: Dave Golbert, 7 Lee Court West, Great Neck, NY 11024. To donate food, clothing, or personal care items (soap, shampoo, tooth paste, etc.), please call 917-418-2451 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I hope you will agree with me that even one hungry child is one too many. “Let no one go hungry while there is food on our table.”

Editorial:School Days Are Here … And Teams Are Playing

Well school days are here, in full play, and teams are playing. We know that our middle schools and high schools have some fine teams representing just about every competitive sport you can think of. And we love to publicize news and photos of our students and their athletic endeavors.

So please, students, coaches and parents, send us news of your student athletes and their teams. Our back sports pages are always among our most popular pages. Let your team be featured on our sports pages, for all the community to enjoy.

And, remember, our sports pages are not just for school teams, they are for all local athletes and all local teams.

From the Desk of Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel

Preparing for the Unexpected: Part II: Creating an Emergency Plan

This is the second installment of a three-part series helping you to prepare for the unexpected. In last week’s column, I discussed the importance of being informed and encouraged you to sign up for the NY-Alert program at www.nyalert.gov. This week, I will focus on how to create an emergency plan.

When an emergency occurs you need to be ready for the unexpected, you want to have a plan.

Editorial: Manhasset, Standing in Solidarity With Great Neck!

Thank you Manhasset! Thank you for standing by our side when Great Neck was faced with a hate group protest on Friday, Sept. 25. Our police and our public officials led a safe, strong yet silent, response. When we were told to “ignore,” we ignored, and that angry group from Kansas did not receive the heated response they had hoped for. We thank Manhasset for their support.

In last week’s issue of the Great Neck Record the Manhasset Clergy Association took out a full-page advertisement signed by a truly diverse group of houses of worship. With love and understanding, this ad from our friends in Manhasset stated: “At a time when some have chosen to pursue hatred, the Manhasset Clergy Association affirms our love for all men and women and expresses our commitment to stand side by side with them, as we affirm unity in the midst of our diversity.”