Bethpage-Tribune_1987-11-19

              BETHB»GE
Island Trees Plainedge
also serving
Seaford Old Bethpage Plainview
VOL. 32 NO. 29 November 19,1987 to November 25,1987 20 cents per copy
End Home Improvement Rip-Offs
Assemblyman Lewis J. Yevoli (D-Old Bethpage), chair-manrol'the
Assembly's Commerce and Industry Committee,
said;today (November !2) that he will introduce stringent
legislation, including criminal penalties, aimed at ending
rip-olTs of homeowners by unscrupulous home improve­ment
contractors.
Yevoli made his announcement at a Mineola press' con­ference,
accompanied by Nassau County District Attorney
Denis Dillon, who is also a strong advocate of legislation to
end home improvement fraud.
Yevoli also issued a strong appeal for the general public as
well as governmental officials to appear at a public hearing
on the proposed legislatioii to be held at 10 A.M. Thursday,
November 19 in the Nassau County Board of Supervisors
hearing room. County Executive Building, Mineola. "We
are strongly desirous of having members of the public have
input into this process, especially those who have sulfered at
the hands of unscrupulous contractors," Yevoli said.
Dillon stated: "Each year, thousands of homeowners who
sign home improvement contracts become victims of con­tractors
who fail to complete agreed-upon alterations or
who otherwise perform work in a totally shoddy manner. As
a result, these homeowners not only lose thousands of dol­lars
but also lose the full use and enjoyment of their family's
place of residence."
Yevoli pointed out that presently there is no adequate
state law that regulates the home improvement industry and
that there are counties in the state where there is no local
ordinance controlling home improvement contractors are
licensed, alleged home improvement fraud tops the list ot
complaints received by the Nassau Consumer Aftairs
Agency and that statewide, according to Attorney General
Robert Abrams' office, home improvement complaints are
second only to alleged mail order fraud.
"Statewide, what we are talking about is bilking
homeowners out of millions of dollars by home improve­ment
contractor frauds which is some cases Hterally leaves
the homeowner without a roof over his head. This is an
intolerable condition and it must be ended," Assemblyman
Yevoli said.
Dillon maintained that in many cases, "In order to restore
their homes to proper condition, homeowners must expend
substantial sumsof money often on au emergency basis. "
He added: "When seeking financial recompense through the
courts, these homeowners are all too often confronted with
(Continued on Page 6)
No Dumping
Citing a growing prolifer-ation
of unauthorized
dumping in and around
County owned property,
Nassau County Executive
Thomas S. Gulotta today
proposed changes in the
County Law which would
increase the penalties for
illegal dumping by as much
as 1000%. Penahies and
fines for littering and other
forms of unauthorized
dumping of would also
increase under the Gulotta
proposal, which is currently
under consideration by the
Nassau County Board of
Supervisors.
"The unauthorized dump­ing
of automobiles, dirt, fill,
clippings, wood, branches,
trash and other materials is
occuring at various County
properties at an alarmingly
increasing rate," Gulotta
noted. "As a result, some of
our parks and other proper­ties
are becoming endan­gered.
A substantial increase
in penalties for dumping of
refuse, rubbish litter and/or
waste on County property is
required to maintain the
quality of the environment
and the condition of County
property is required to
maintain the quality of the
environment and the condi­tion
of County property in
order to deter those who vio­late
the law."
The proposed legislation
toughens the penalty for lit­tering
and dumping on all
County property and is not
limited to County Parks, as
were previous County Laws
which pertained to dumping.
Under the proposed
(Continued on Page 7)
UNDEFEATED
The Bethpage High School varsity football team has
beaten the odds. It has completed the 1987 regular season
with a 32-20 victory last Saturday over Plainedge. The team
has gone 8 and 0 dominating its opponents to finish unde­feated
and clinch the Conference 3 championship title.
The Golden Eagles, under a superb coaching staff led by
Mr. Howard Vogts, are on their way to the playoffs.
Hofstra Universityistheplace. Sunday, Nov. 22nd at 1:00
P.M. is the time,
e Good Luck Eagles - Bethpage awaits your victory.
The undefeated Gulden Eagles left to right kneeling: Tom Gozaloff, Mike Cipriano, Jim Nugent, Frank Ellinger, Mike
Conway (Captain) Tony Guglielmo, Charlie Seminario, Tom Mac Vicar, Tony Filacouris. Second row: Coach Vogts,
Joe Ambrosio, Mike Gerken, Joe Siracuse, Mike Schreiber, Chris Settino, Andy Marinuzxi, Larry Abenanti, Jim Ryan,
Jim Cornicelli; Coach La Salla, Coach Rosalino. Third row: Sean Scharnikow, Tom Rousakis, Mike Cofone,Craig
Schultz, Chris Blades, Tom Castle, Joe Csernak, Joe Renneisen, Mike Sardo, Craig Passante, Matt Conway, Coach
CardeUa, Coach Dill.
Warehouse Destroyed
in Bethpage Fire
A raging fire at the Mr.
Bar BQ/Servwell Charcoal
Co. caused heavy damage
early Friday, November 13.
The quonset type, metal
constructed buildings were
heavily involved in fire by
the time Bethpage fire units
were alerted at 2:51 a.m..
Chief Robert Wright
upon arriving at the com­plex
located at 50 Lexington
Ave., immediately requested
mutual aid from surround­ing
departments. The Levit-town,
Plainview, Farming-dale,
South Farmingdale
and Hicksviile Fire
Departments responded.
With a combined force of
some 200 firefighters the
battle began.
The flames which were
being fueled by tons of
charcoal, propane, lighter
Ouid and thousands of areo-sol
cans of butane fuel pro­vided
a fireworks type dis­play,
but a most dangerous
fire to extinguish. At one
point, firefighters were
forced to take cover as best
they could to escape the mis­sile
like projectiles of butane
as they exploded. These
cannisters would sail
through the air sometimes
landing a block away. Some
were seen to clear the
L.LR.R.. right-of-way and
land on roofs 200' away.
Fire units were positioned in
this area to prevent any
further spread. Luckily,
only six firefighters sus­tained
minor injuries. Hose
lines were stretched across
tracks causing 45 minute
delays for commuters dur­ing
the morning rush, with
38 trains being re-routed to
the south shore. Along with
the inconvience to commu­ters,
some 12 homes were
evacuated during the height
of the blaze.
The fire which originally
started outside in the vicin­ity
or a truck and wood
pallets stored against the
structure is under investiga­tion
by the Nassau County
Fire Marshalls Office and
the N.C.P.D. Arson Squad.
As hazardous materials
were involved, the fire mar­shalls
office responded with
a Haz-Mat Unit.They, in
conjunction with the
Department of Environ­mental
Conservation moni­tored
water runoff for con­tamination.
Certain areas
were diked and the owners
of Mr. Bar BQ hired a pri­vate
firm to siphon off
waste.
Harry Loud
(More photos in Centerfold)