The-Leader_1983-12-01

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Fre«port
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School District
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Baldwin
School Oisifict
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LBAm .F3EEro?>r •iSSOHI.M, MSSAHi
f.USRnick RD
FRPT «T 11520
FREEPORT. NEW YORK. DECEMBER 1,1983
!48thyEAR, No. 32 EREEPORT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
PRICE 2 5 * PER COPY i
/ / Cleveland School Use Report in
Baldwin Liby* Forum
Hears Residents
"Space" To Be Explored
Again On December 6
^ CDA Grant Might
Help Rehab Former
Freeport theatre
FKEEPORT - Tie VMage
Board of Ttuslees win be apply,
ing (o the Nassaii County con-surtium
for addUional fanding
Ihai could be used toward re-tvabilitaling
the old- Freeport
Theatre building. .
A Levittown Interior de^gn
company is negotiating for the
purchase o{ the property, which
has been vacant since a tire
warehouse and store closed.
Paul Beggins. oI'CMC Pro­fessional
Serrices' tn' levittown,
proposes to renovate the vacant
i building into a four floor office
building, into which his own firm
woiitdinove.
The renovation would cost.
the Board noted, approximately
$2.5 million.
The county consortium has ad­vised
the village that it is taking
applications for addilionil fund­ing
of $100,000 per community;
and Eric Hemphill; the village's
Director of Cbramonity Dev^op-menl,
in a memo lo the Board,
noted that Begins' project seem}
-"highly qualified."
As proposed by Beggin. the
building would contain M.OOO
square feet of office space
fur the use of fimis that could '
employ about M0-16b employees.
Some 5 0 ^ ' worten would
be involved in the renovation,'
noted Hemphill.
The Freeport Theatre is on
Sunrise Highway and Henry
Sircel, almost directly across the
highway bom the north entrance
lo the Freeport Mall."
The Board's deciskn was made
ai its IcgisUthre session held
Monday, Horcmbcr 28. At the
same meeting, the Board decided
lo lake no action on a tetter ii bad
received about setting up a Con-
' sumer Uliliiy Board (CUBS).
because the PabBc Service Cbn-mission
ruling would aoi apidy lo
Freepon's municipal ele^ricily,
where, revennes are less than
$ 100 miUioa annually.
Housing, Heavy Industry '^
NixedrScitool Suggested
FREEPORT - The task force; apptunled earlier this year to discuss
the Allure of the Freeport' School District's Cleveland Avenue School,
building, has now filed its report with the Board of Education.
Meeting rince August 23, the commhlee was charged with research­ing
the options available for use of the buDding, which has been vacant'
since the start of this school year.
BALDWIN • In an epen forum, called by the Baldwin Public li­brary's
Board of Trustees on Tuesday evening, November 22, com­munity
residents and board members dealt with the issue of the
library's space problezo.
. The Trustees had scheduled the meeting in order lo get input from
(he pubfic, because (he Board is
oonndering a'nnmber of altemi^,
lives' \a retieve some -of the
library's crawtled conftions.
A $1,934,140 20-year bdnd
issue was defeated this past May
3 by: a 1113 to 527 vole. The
funds, if Uie bond issue' had
passed, would have been used to
create more room for books and .
other Gbtary materials, moce
meeting space, elevator access to
all areas except the mezcanine,
and increased room for all the
other facilities in a barrier-bee
atmosphere. .. -
The Utirary Bowl of Trustees
had sent out advance publicity for
the' November 22 meeting,
reqiKSting interested community
members lo step forward and
offer suggestions and possible
solutions to the library's over- .
crowded conifitions.
Tnesda'y evening, suggestions-
' and oonments were received by
the libraty board, insofar as ser­vices
rendered lo the public, aiid
({uestiou were answered. Most'
input took the form of a question
lo the board. Six concerned
peipte 6om the oommniuty came '
to' share their views with the
board.
The following were some of the
questions asked of the board:
What plans does the library have
for the futuieT What is the seat­ing:
capacilyf Who' aien'l we '
servicingt Why not build on the
-plaza? Why not add an additional
mezzanine in the reference area
. of the libcaryT Why not build but
onto the parting area lo. the east
on one levclf. WSy not submit,
a more modextplaii for expan-sionT
Why doesn't (he board
erect a portable dasstoom in
the parking area? Will (here be
. ano(her bond issucT Why ixK pur-duse
a mobile Ebruy. onttT
The Board heard Village Ojon- Why doesn't the Gbrary increase
to lilicary tnsinasT How'can the
piiblic'bitiMne' mote.informed?
How can we get the message to
the comsmnily? Why don't we do
away with the Commonity Boom
and turn that space Into storage
and additbiial book racks? V/aj
don't we tent space elsewhere
in Ihe commnniQ' for the diil-.
dren's room?-Why doesn't the
library remove Ihe tables and
chairs 6t>m the reference raom to
provide moce space for books and
other necessary library materials
and equipment? Why. can't the
library eliminate either certain
services or groups which the
library serves, such as pre­schoolers?
Why doesn't the
library have VCR's? Why doesn't
Ihe library contact the Board of
. Education and request space in
the schools and have them service
areas that overlap? Why don't
the schools timme mote rispon-.
sibility for reading material?. ..
Among the suggestions made
by those present at the meeting
were: eliminate best .sellers,
eliminate college catalogues, and
elimisale adult and cbldren's
ptogrammtng, story hours,'etc
to release the community room
fi;r sheMng; increase the hdght
of shelving in the reference room,
which coold then be monilored by
tdevinon cameras, at the main
desk for security purposes; great­er
marketing of library's prob­lems;
building on Ihe plaza or
erecting another mezranine m the
reference room- were also sug­gested,
as weO as a book mobile,
portable dassroom, and elimfaa-lion
of serrices.-
An oommenu. suggestions and
questioaswiO be addressed at (he
next regularly sdiednled board
-meeting qa' Tuesday, December
6,'at 8 pm, in the Ebtaiy's
Couimunily Koom.
Headed by former Village
Mayor Robert Sweeney, the task
force is recommending that
"primary consideration'" be
given to Use of the building by
a trade or technical school,
or as an annex to a coUege or
universty.
The.lasi force also recom-meads
thai "thorough cbnsidera-
'iVm" be given ; a» • to' wjie^her
the property: shoulii'be kalied,-
leased with an option lo buy, or
'Sold. '.'Each at these three
options," the.report reads, ''has
advanu^es and disadvantages to
Ihe dlstridsnd the communily."
dose Oeveland Avenue was
based in part on its age and need
for repairs, compared to Ihe dis-
.tcicl's other buildings.
The building Is located in close
pwiimiiy w the Mixey • Bigby
housing development, and the
Vomado owned ptoptny which
was for a^hoit time the ute of
Two Guys Department Store, and
now KooscS' a Bulova manu­facturing
plant;'-
-In the Task Fiotce's report;
Ihe location of Cleveland Avenue
School is also mentioned. "Of
particular importance," reads
Ihe.report, "was the proiimily
The report suggests that .if the _of the building to several apart
decisioa is lo seO the building,
an effort should be made to en­sure
(hat the building is used for
the same or sinulat purposes in
Ihe fiilnre.
The one-page report also
makes the fom recommendation
Ihai neither the building nor
ifie liU be used for boosing,
heavy industry or any iise which
would involve heavy truck traffic.
Qeveland Avenue . School,
which had boused (he district's
pre-Kindergarten program : for
Ihe past several years, was closed
*s part of the Freeport School
Distria's reorganization plan.
The pre-kinde^arten- program
now shares Cdfumbus Avenue
School with the district's kinder-
- garteh classes. The decision to
meni houses. In this regard
the toembers of (he Conuni(tee -
atlempied to.consider (he options
as if (he Viulding were locsled in
their own ne^hborhood and they
would suggest that an other mem­bers
of Ihe Freeport communily
dolhesame."
Besides Sweeney, the com­mittee
consists of Alma Smalls,
Chartene Beckett. Steve Nico-
Hno, Maty Arm RosS, Maryanne
Endo, Waller- Miranda. Joe
McAiulrews. Cleveland Meyers.
Slerfing Keyes, Vanessa Young,
Maria Zapaiero and Bob Mayes.
Dr. Jack Bierwiith. the School
Distcid SoperintendenI, also
serves on the committee as a
resource person.
Bierwirth commended the-
(Cent, on Page 4)
^ • • ^
FOR A GOOD.CAUSEi'ACth* tBsuJl of • fund-raising tampaion, cut-minating
wKh a benefit cockun party, mMibers of Iha Fraeport Flra
Oeparttnent preMtf'a tljOaaTdtackito rvpmamaltves oTKatuu
County Madlcal Centar (NCMC). Th« fimd* ara earmarked lo ba used
for tha purdasa ol naw hydro-ta:**. PtxitoQraptMd p. to r.) »«r» Frae-port
fireman Nick UBoma; Fraeport Flra OapartmMl sacondlJaputy
-— —J—_.-—- the Baldwin community to atten<
li>ng explain (hat, as a municipal. wihdows with shehring? Why is Forlitrther inforroation. or if you
(Conl-onPa(]a1S) ^ihere such apathy when it comes (Ccnt.onPagalO)
• Jjy-. tV^Bk-OL Imtin^rt J j « g J . . ^ g g | ^ ^ ^ g ^ 3 ^ ^ ^ F i 1 w t l ; 'i.pHtl^ (Ikmmtlj'Mn
. ampaon, dfrador of Wa NCKTC Bum Canier;>rM;
port fireman Tony Minal; Fraeport Fka CWaf Slava Wenk; and Fraa-portTNnl
Deputy Chief (Saorga MuDioUMd.