Observer_1987-11-25; East Rockaway/Lynbrook Observer

              Official
Newspaper
Inc Village
School District
Inc Village
School District
"THE GOOD NEIGtiBOR NEWSPAPER " m&u mmmsi SofvioP
Since 1967 by Mailed Subscription
Executive Offices: Seiffert Building, 2787 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY 115721
Post Office Box A, East Rockaway, NY 11518 (516) 764-2500
liil>ed wflcK^jr f i.
• Pottage Paid at R(H:kvi||et«i».^,.
ioffieen. Send addrawjehangeii ,to The tutn ..
AtbMnrer.Any A. Eait flkkaway N.Y. I I J I S.
anal mailiiii
ay-Lynl
VOL. 34 NO. 46 Wednesday, November 25,1987 30^ PER COPY
Building Inspectors Charged
With Bribe Taking
WITH IHANKS. Lynbrook High School Principal Santo
Barbarino (left) presents a plague to former Lynbrook
Police Chief Frank Kehr for all his efforts on behalf of the
teachers, administrators and students of Lynbrook High
School. Chief Kehr served as Grand Marshall of the Home-coming
and Scholarship Parade. (Photo by John Cribbin).
Dr. Seiderman Honored
At the 24th Annual Insti-tute
ol the Classical Associa-tion
of the Empire State, Dr.
B e r n S e i d e r m a n was
honored by Latin tcachers
representing the state of
New York. He received the
A s s o c i a t i o n ' s r e v e r ed
George Constantou Memor-ial
Award for his unflinch-ing
support of the Classics in
t h e Lynbrook Public
Schools.
Dr. Seiderman launched a
pitot program for one Sixth
Grade class in 1984. During
that year, he kept in close
contact with the progress of
the program, personally vis-iting
the classroom. Con-vinced
of the overflowing
richness and benefits of
Latin and its Cultural Herit-age.
Dr. Seiderman imple-mented
the Latin Program
for all Sixth graders. There
was some initial opposition
to the program, but by the
end of the year, reading
scores had improved and
parents and students had
become covinced that Latin
was a valuable part of the
curriculum. Without Dr.
Seiderman's courageous
conviction, this would never
•have happened.
Dr. Seiderman's leader-ship
is evidenced in many of
the fine programs he has
i m p l e m e n t e d , fromthe
introduction of computers
in the lower grades, to the
Voyager Program for gifted
and talented students to
expanding the special edu-cation
program for the
underpriveleged students.
According to Helen Zan-notti.
one of the Latin
teachers for Lynbrook Pub-lic
Schools, "these programs
could not have been success-ful
without the vision,
insight and open communi-cation
with School Board
M e m b e r s , p r i n c i p a l s,
teachers, parents and stu-dents.
His presence is felt in
every school f u n c t i on
whether it be elementary,
middle, or high school." Ms.
Zannotii nominated Dr.
Seiderman for the award
and he was honored at a
Banquet at Fordham Uni-versitv
on October 23rd.
Two Lynbrook building
inspectors have been
charged with taking a bribe
to approve changes on a
two-family house without
the necessary variances and
have resigned their posi-t
i o n s , a c c o r d i n g to
authorities.
Albert Amalfitano and
Salvatore Sabella, both of
Lynbrook, surrendered to
a u t h o r i t i e s at Nassau
County District Attorney
Denis Dillon's office on
Wednesday, November 18,
1987, on charges of third
degree bribery, a class D fel-ony.
According to Lyn-brook,
Acting Police Chief
Joseph Lauriano, both men
have resigned because of the
allegations.
Amalfitano and Sabella
are accused of soliciting and
receiving $500, allegedly in
$20 payments, between the
months of August and
October in return for not
enforcing the Village build-ing
code. Original reports
stated that the men had
asked for $2,000, but the
homeowner, who remains
unidentified, negotiated the
inspectors down to $500.
The amount is roughly one
half of the cost of variance
fees.
Details concerning the
matter wre given to Mayor
William Geier, who then
turned the information to
the Lynbrook Police
Department for investiga-tion.
Acting Chief Lauriano
has stated that evidence
from his investigation had
been turned over to the Nas-sau
District Attorney's
Office this week for a possi-
PTA News
The Centre Avenue PTA
and Rhame Annex PTA
invite all their members and
school staff to attend our
second annual Holiday
Party, This year it will be
held at Goldies Restaurant,
Valley Stream, on Monday
evening, December 7th,
from 6:30 p.m. on. It will be
a hot buffet dinner, and the
cost is $20 per person, which
includes the tip, but alco-
Mondeiio Seeks Bus Safety Funding
This Nassau County
Board of Supervisors has
applied for a grant which
will fund the monitoring of
s c h o o l bus o p e r a t i o ns
within the County. "This
most recent action is part of
the County's continuing
commitment to promoting
school bus safety," declared
H e m p s t e a d P r e s i d i n g
Supervisor Joseph N. Mon-deiio
and North Hempstead
S u p e r v i s o r J o h n B.
Kiernan.
Under sweeping legisla-tion
enacted by the Board
earlier this year, all bus
operators doing business in
Nassau County must be
licensed. The Nassau
County Office of Consumer
Affairs has been empowered
to o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i on
regarding the criminal his-tory
of any owner or
employee of a school bus
company, conduct physical
inspections of all buses cur-rently
on the road, and levy
fines for violations of the
new law.
"The safety of these child-ren
who travel to and from
school by bus is a major
concern of this Board,"
stated Presiding Supervisor
Mondeiio. who serves as
Vice Chairman of the Board
of Supervisors. "The funds
from this grant will be used
exclusively to monitor
school bus operations and
ensure the safety of their
very precious cargo."
S u p e r v i s o r Kiernan.
Board Majority Leader and
Chairman of the Task Force
on School Bus Licensing
which submitted the local
law, noted that the program
will be run in conjunction
with the New York State
Division of Criminal Justi-ces
Services. "It is impera-tive
that the County make
these inspections in order to
enhance compliance with
the new law," stated Super-visor
Kiernan.
School bus inspections
will be made to determine
proper documentation of
the driver, ensure correct
seat belt installation and
usage, and monitor the func-tioning
of horns, brakes,
lights, radios, and other
accessories essential to safe
driving. The School Bus
Licensing Law includes fines
of up to $250 for the first
offense and $1,000 for each
additional violation.
"The legislation adopted
earlier this year was the first
step in a comprehensive
safety program," concluded
Presiding Supervisor Mon-deiio.
"By obtaining funding
from a variety of outside
sources, the highest level of
school bus safety will be fos-tered
in the most economical
manner."
holic beverages will be on a
pay-as-you-drink basis. For
mformation, directions, or
reservations, call Audrey
Salvemini at 887-1532 or
Paula Ciscone at 599-1701
by December 1st. Or, send
in your check, payable to
either Centre Avenue PTA
or Rhame Avenue PTA,
directly to the school office
by December 1st. We hope
to see many of you there!
Happy Holidays!!
The Rhame Ann«x PTA
arid the Centre Avenue PTA
will be sponsoring a Joint
Fundraiser Volleyball game,
with Centre Avenue PTA
and staff playing against
Rhame Annex PTA and
staff, on Friday evening,
January 8th, in the East
Rockaway High School
Gym. Admission will be
$ 1.00 per person, for players
as well as spectators, and the
game will begin at 7:00 p.m.
If you are interested in play-ing,
or selling refreshments
please contact John Ciscone
at 599-1701 or Gae and
Ronnie DeOrenzo at 887-
2142 (for Rhame) or call
Ann Donadioat 599-2685 or
Sue Torborg at 887-7743
(for Centre). Come to cheer
us on!!!
ble indictment.
The former inspectors
were arraigned Wednesday
before District Court Judge
Charles Heine, and were
released into their own cus-tody,
According to Edward
Galison, Sabella's attorney,
his client intends to plead
not guilty. The men return
to court on December 1st.
, Acccrrding to Nassau
County District Attorney
Denis Dillon, "An investiga-tion
by this office with the
cooperation of the Lyn-brook'
Village Police was
initiated when information
about the bribe received by
the Inspectors was given to
Mayor Geier in October, As
a result of the investigation,
the five hundred dollar bribe
money has been recovered."
The District Attorney
said that both Inspectors
have been interviewed and
the investigation is continu-ing.
Sabella and Amalfitano
have both tenderred their
resignations following dis-covery
of the incident, and
their suspension by the Vil-lage
of Lynbrook. If con-victed
they face up to seven
years in prison.
NOTICE
LYNBROOK VILLAGE
SECOND HALF TAXES
ARE DUE DECEMBER 1
THROUGH DECEMBER
31, 1987, PAYABLE AT
THE VILLAGE CLERKS
O F F I C E MONDAY-T
H R O U G H F R I D AY
8AM -4PM.
The Kiwanis of East
Rockaway arc having their
annual Ragamuffin Parade
on November 26th, 1987
(Thanksgiving Day).
The Parade starts in the
parking field behind the
National Westminister
Bank at 10.00 AM sharp.
Chairman Joe Williams
asked that all Children come
and take part in costume to
march with us to Grant
Avenue Firehouse where
prizes will be awarded for
costumes. There will be Car-toon
Shows and Candies for
all who march.
Mom, here is a chanceto
get the Kids out of the house
while the BIG BIRD IS
doing its job in the oven.
Happy
Thanksgiving
TOWN SUPPORTS EFFORTS OF EAST ROCKAWAY
AUXILIARY POLICE. Hempstead Town Presiding
Supervisor Joseph N. Mondeiio (right) presents a one-thousand
dollar check to East Rockaway Auxiliary Police
representative, Diane Laukaitis.