In the annual school budget vote and election on Tuesday, May 15, local voters approved Hicksville School District's proposed 2001-2002 budget and elected Alesia Sommers and Richard Pfaender to the Board of Education. The budget, which was proposition number one on the ballot, passed by a vote of 1,667 for and 841 against. In addition, proposition two, which slates $50,000 in funding for the Gregory Museum, passed by a vote of 1,517 for and 865 against. Both Sommers and Pfaender ran unopposed, with Sommers receiving 1,470 votes and Pfaender receiving 1,515 votes. The budget passed by 826 votes, while the Gregory Museum funding was approved by a margin of 652.

The 2001-2002 school budget is a $70,391,171 million plan that includes an 8.19 percent increase in the school portion of property taxes.

Much enthusiasm has surrounded Hicksville's downtown in recent weeks, as some key pieces of the ongoing revitalization efforts are coming to fruition.

A highly anticipated gazebo, funded by a state grant acquired by Assemblyman Marc Herbst, arrived in the center of town on Thursday, just before press time, at Memorial Park on Broadway.

The Hicksville Chamber of Commerce and Herbst conducted a ribbon-cutting for the gazebo on Thursday, and a ground-breaking three weeks ago, and have expressed much excitement about the new addition to the downtown. Patricia Conway, past president of the chamber, following the groundbreaking, described the gazebo as a beautiful part of the downtown that she hopes will serve as a forum for outdoor concerts, tree-lightings and other events to bring the community together. "We're looking to make the community a very special place," she said.

"The gazebo, hopefully, will be a centerpiece of the area. And that will help with encouraging other activity. And they're talking about outdoor concerts and things to bring more people to the area, to make it more of a community," Herbst said of the gazebo, which is 20 feet wide and 12 feet deep. "And again, it's beautifying the area. So, I'm excited about that happening. It's been a long time coming."

A white picket fence installed in the north tip of the park this month was also arranged by the chamber, and funded by a grant from Herbst. It will soon include a sign featuring Hicksville's community groups.

Several members of the community also participated in a recent meeting focusing on Hicksville's downtown, which was hosted at Herbst's district office on Broadway in Hicksville, on May 4.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Hicksville Chamber of Commerce, the Hicksville Fire Department, the Nassau County Police Department, the Long Island Railroad (LIRR), and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) police, as well as the offices of Nassau County Legislator Edward Mangano and Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto.

"The main focus has been really the perception of downtown Hicksville and how to improve things regarding quality of life issues, economic development, and the changing community, as a whole," said Herbst. The area around the Hickville train station was cited as a particular area of concern, with regard to loitering, and Herbst reported that in response, local police committed to the following:

-That they will request that the sector car for the area park and walk the area as much as possible.

-That bilingual, undercover officers will be requested to do surveillance in the area.

-That police bicycle patrols, which are conducted in the summer months in Cantiague Park, will be expanded to include the train station and Broadway.

-That the POP unit will continue to do community policing and have a presence in the area.

Herbst also reported that the ongoing train station renovation is expected to be completed by July. The refurbished station will feature a police kiosk, to enable a greater police presence. The police are expected to utilize the MTA Connections program, which was used in addressing the homeless issue in the area at Penn Station. The program provides the homeless with counseling and referrals.

Also at the meeting, the branch manager of the train station reported on ongoing efforts to keep the station clean, and to prevent loitering in the waiting rooms. The manager noted that the station and the waiting areas are power-washed weekly, and that a heavy cleaning crew comes in periodically.

Herbst also reported on his plans to have the center median of Broadway landscaped. The State Department of Transportation is drawing up plans for that landscaping, and Herbst is soliciting corporate sponsorship for that effort. The area is currently blacktop, and Herbst hopes to have some plants and trees placed on it. The town also plans to weed the area around the trees it recently planted in the downtown, he said, and put down wood chips around them. To further address local aesthetics, the town's Sanitation Department is expected to review with local shop owners the regulations about placing out garbage for commercial pick-up. Also at the meeting, the group discussed ways to address litter and graffiti in the area.

The goal of the ongoing downtown improvements is twofold, according to Herbst.

"Number one is to encourage people to shop in the area, and number two is to create some community pride. Hicksville should not be an embarassment for anyone who lives here. It should be an attraction," he said. "And I think that if we continue to move in the direction of making improvements, it will be a place we'll all be proud to live in."