REFERENCE
Freeport Code Enforcement
Attorney Raymond Lavallee has
reported that certain realtors
have been listing homes for sale
in residential areas of Freeport
as "Mother-Daughter" houses
with two full kitchens. He pointed
out that the Freeport Code of
Ordinances prohibits the use of
two kitchens by two separate
family units, even if related, in a
legal one-family house.
The ordinance specifically
limits family use to "living and
cooking, or warming food, as a
single housekeeping unit." Mr.
Lavallee said realtors and resi-dents
should be made aware that
the regulations prohibit the use of
separate, cooking facilities and
such violations are punishable by
fines of up to $250 for each in-fraction.
In such zoning cases the
resident is generally required
to remove all illegal installations,
which can be a costly matter.
Lavallee said that the use of
this type of "Mother-Daughter"
advertising to sell houses is at the
least misleading and it may lead
prospective buyers to believe
that it is permissible to make
separate apartments for income
producing rentals on that basis.
The Code Enforcement office
has asked the Long Island Board
of Realtors to make all its mem-bers
in the Freeport area aware
of this Village law.
The Village Board has set a
nominal fee of $2 for a permit to
conduct what is commonly known
as a garage sale. The board noted
that these sales are intended
only to dispose of unwanted
household items and should not
-be a-regular.business-practice-in-residential
neighborhoods. The
Village ordinance also prohibits
the use of any off-premises
signs, on trees or poles, or any-where
but the premises, to ad-vertise
such garage sales.
The amendment to the zoning
ordinance allows only three
garage sales at a particular loca-tion
during a 12 month period.
Freeport-based religious and
charitable organizations are
exempt from the $2 fee but not
from the requirement to obtain a
permit.
Nathan's, a landmark in Brooklyn, has arrived in Freeport on
the corner of Sunrise Highway and Henry Street. The former
Wetson's has been completely renovated and offers a complete
line of Nathan's foods including their famous hot dogs. Pay a
visit to this establishment which will be directly across from the
upcoming Mall, the prospect of which is already attracting new
businesses to the South Main Street shopping district.
The ordinance reads as follows:
Sec. 24-287. Garage Sales. It is
unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to conduct what is
commonly called a "garage" or
"yard" sale within the Residence
"AA" and Residence "A" zoning
districts of the Village of Freeport
without first obtaining a permit
therefore from the Village Clerk.
The fee for obtaining said permit
shall be $2 and not more than
three permits shall be issued for
the location therein specified in
any 12 month period. Said permit
shall be valid only for the day or
" days"the"fein'rspecifie'd But in"h6"v
event shall a permit be issued for
more than two consecutive days.
The application for a permit shall
be executed by the owner or
bona fide tenant of the premises
who shall certify under oath that
the merchandise or items offered
for sale shall be the personal
property of the owner or bona fide
tenant and that no merchandise
or items offered for sale shall be
specially purchased or acquired
for the sale. Each application
shall require the payment of any
such permit fee by any non-profit
corporation, association, society
or organization organized ex-clusively
for religious purposes.
The parks of Freeport are for
the use of village residents only,
inasmuch as it is local taxes which
pay for and maintain the parks.
There have been some complaints
about out-of-towners using
Waterfront Park at the foot of
South Long^ Beach Avenue. In
order-to "prevent this" and assure
adequate parking spaces for
Village residents, a special decal
is provided for cars of Freeport
residents.
To obtain this decal, bring your
auto registration, showing your
Freeport address, to the Village
Clerk's office. A decal will be
provided, numbered according to
the auto registration, at no cost
to you. Regular users of the
Waterfront Park are urged to ob-tain
this sticker, so that the Park
Attendant may identify Freeport
residents.
JUNE 1976
A PUBLIC INFORMATION BULLETIN OF THE VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
46 NORTH OCEAN AVENUE TELEPHONE FReeport 8-4000 WILLIAM H. WHITE. MAYOR
Public Meetings On The 1st and 3rd Mondays Of The Month. At 9:00 P.M.
It's going to be a Big Old Fash-ioned
July in Freeport!
On July 3, a flotilla of Freeport
boats, both private and chartered,
will sail out of Village canals to
join other spectator vessels in
greeting the some 225 sailing
ships from 35 nations as they
move towards Gravesend Bay and
Operation Sail '76 which com-memorates
the nation's maritime
heritage. One spectator ship,
chartered by the Freeport Bicen-tennial
Committee, will proclaim
the Village's part in that heritage.
The Fourth of July will again
see the Freeport Fire Depart-ment's
spectacular Firemanics
Show and fireworks display at the
Freeport Stadium. Fire engine
rides for children will begin at
6 pm with the show beginning at
7 pin. Ticket price will be announ-ced
through the local newspapers
and may be purchased at the door.
Raindate is July 5.
A big weekend is planned by
the Fire Department beginning
July 9 when a Bicentennial Block
Party for Village residents will be
held starting at 7 pm in the park-ing
lot between Grove and Church
..Streets-and.Pine. Street and Mer-rick
Road. Part of the festivities
will be a Miss Freeport Fire De-.
partmeht beauty contest. The
next day, Freeport will be the -.
host of the Nassau Invitational.
Parade and Drill involving some-
71 volunteer departments from
throughout the County. The drill
will begin at 9 am at the Four
Towns Training Center, Merrick
Road, Merrick, for which there is
a small admittance charge. The
Mayor William White (right) expounds on the virtues of do-ing
business in Freeport to two visitors to the recent Long Isr
land Business Show at Nassau Coliseum. Volunteers from the
local Chamber of Commerce manned the Village's booth at the.
show, with its motif and the literature distributed focussing on
Freeport's plans under Community Development Act funding.
The exhibit was part of an ongoing advertising and direct mail
campaign to bring new businesses to Freeport. Meanwhile, two
South Main Street buildings were demolished to make way for
a walkthrough from Church Street to the planned Mall.
parade will begin- • at - 6 - pm- • at--
Brookside Avenue arid travel
down Merrick Road to Church
Street and the same parking lot
for .the -Department's annual
Block Party. Rounding out the
.weekend, on Sunday at 1 pm,
Fireman's Field on Buffalo Ave-nue
will be the scene of the Sec-
.ond Battalion's Old Fashioned
Drill.
the last July event returns the
fun to .the Village's waterfront
••with-.the 'Freeport'-Chamber "of"
Commerce scheduled to Hold its
Second Annual Fabulous Free-port
Canoe Race on the 18th. Last
year's event saw. thousands lined
along the foot of Woodcleft Canal
and at Waterfront Park to see the
struggling amateur paddlers, en-joy
band music and other family
entertainment, with a barbecue
as .the big finale of the day. Watch
the local papers for details of the
1976 Race.
Trustees: Thomas J. Loveiiage. Ralph P. Franco. Dorothy Storm. Wayne Jordan
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzo-Treasurer: James J. Lyons - Counsel: Oakley Gentry Jr.
Pay That Bill On Time
In the last year non-payment of
electric arrears by consumers has
rocketed and the Electric Depart-ment
has had to apply the re-quirements
of Section 120 of the
Public Service Law to a greater
extent to minimize its losses in
Accounts Receivable, especially
as it applies to arrears and final
bills.
According to Superintendent
Ludovic Long, "Electric bills are
not in the same category as water
bills which if unpaid can be trans-ferred
to real estate taxes at the
end of the year. Unpaid electric
bills result in direct loss of rev-enue.
Losses from arrears and
final bills which were under
$10,000 per annum four years ago
may exceed $50,000 in the current
fiscal year even with tighter con-trol
in collection procedures. The
unduly high increase in uncollect-ible
accounts is due to several
factors, including corporate and
personal bankruptcies. Delin-quencies
occurred in* all service
classifications, some being recent
residential consumers while
others have been here for several
years, some are new businesses,
others old businesses, so there is
no set pattern by which the De-partment
can select good or bad
risk consumers from history
records.
This situation dictates that im-proved
collection measures be
implemented to minimize losses
in Accounts Receivable, other-wise
this loss of revenues must be
made up by across-the-board
electric rates increases which add
extra charges to those customers
already paying their electric bills
promptly.
The personnel of the Electric
Billing Department have the un-pleasant
duty of disconnecting
service to delinquent customers.
They are simply following the.re.-,
quirements of the Village as per-mitted
by the Public Service
Commission. The pressure upon
them under this situation has
been .extreme yet they try to re-main
courteous and as helpful as
possible. It is hoped that electric
consumers understand their
position.
As stated in the April "Village
News," deposits are required of
all delinquent customers. In the
case of disconnection for non-payment,
the two month deposit
will be required before reconnec-tion
in order to assure partial pay-ments
on future bills.
. In order to avoid the hardship
of being without electricity and
the financial burden of a deposit
addition to all arrears, the Elec-tric
Billing Department urges all
residents confronted with finan-cial
difficulties in meeting their
electric bill payment on time to
contact the Department at 46
North Ocean Avenue, FR 8-4000,
ext.263, and make necessary ar-rangements
for time payments of
their electric charges PRIOR to
disconnection.
Housing Progress
Ground has been broken at
North Main Street and Grand
Avenue for the 100-unit new
Senior Citizens Apartments
which is expected to be com-pleted
within 18 months by KLS
Developers using federal funds.
Freeport Housing Authority
Executive Director John
Williams urges all qualified
residents meeting the criteria to
fill out an application for
residency in the new complex. To
be eligible a person must be a
Freeport resident of 62 years or
older, earn a maximum of $5700
per year if alone and a maximum
of $6800 if a couple, and have
assets of no more than two and a
half times their annual income.
Applications are available by,
calling 623-2508 or at the
Authority's offices at 3 Buffalo
Avenue.
Mr. Williams has further an-nounced
that the Authority has
received a grant of ap-proximately
$100,000 from the
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development for certain
modernization projects at both
the Moxey A. Rigby Apartments
and the first 50 units constructed
at the Rev. John J. Madden
Senior Citizens Apartments.
Modernization will include
replacement of some outside
doors, replacements of tile in
apartments, modernization of
bathrooms, improved lighting,
casement window repairs, closet
doors, site fencing and improved
landscaping."
A Message To Parents
Graffiti and vandalism i
unique to Freeport and, inde3
the problem exists to a greater
degree in many other communi-ties.
Nevertheless, thoughtless
and malicious acts against both
private and public property
should be of concern to every Vil-lage
resident for it is costing them
money, both directly and indirect-ly.
A scarred, unattractive busi-ness
district does not attract new
investors to broaden the tax base.
Public property must either be
replaced through tax dollars, or
go unreplaced depriving resi-.
dents of its usage.
For instance, the theft and de-facing
of both traffic control and
street names; signs .is. ,a rcontinual t,
problem which not only presents
a hazard to motorists and pedes-trians
alike, but the replacement
of such items constitutes a large
portion of the Department of Pub-lic
Works' street sign budget. If
this vandalism were reduced, the
Village's expenditures, and re-sulting
taxes, could be reduced
correspondingly. If your child has
a street sign in his room, that rep-presents
a $30 theft from the Vil-lage.
Each flashing light stolen
from a barricade represents an
expenditure of $40 in tax money
for replacement. If residents
know of any signs, lights, or other
items that belong to the Village,
their return to the Police Depart-ment
or Public Works Depart-ment
would be appreciated.
It is important for parents to
realize that under the law they
can be held responsible for their
children's malicious and destruc-tive
acts. The New York State Law
says, in part: ' 'The parent or legal
guardian....of a child over 10
years and less than 18 years,
when the child willfully, mali-ciously
or unlawfully damages or
destroys real or personal property
owned or maintained by.another
must be held liable for the dam-age
or destruction in a civil
action...."
Recreation News
The Freeport Recreation
Center at 130 East Merrick Road
is now in full swing for its second
summer season. Once again Free-porters
can enjoy the outdoor
Olympic pool, diving tank, kiddie
pool, playground, handball court,
dining terrace and a host of spe- "Jumbo" A 4 Time Winner
brochure has been
mailed to every Freeport resi-dence
and business detailing the
Recreation Department programs
to be held at the Center and else-where
throughout the coming
year. Additional copies are avail-able
at the Center.
Please note that as of June 28,
and every Monday thereafter, the
Center will be closed. This is
necessitated by inflationary costs
and was approved by the Board of
Trustees at the time of the adopt-ion
of the 1976-77 budget as one
method to reduce the tax burden
on property owners. Residents
mil continue to enjoy swimming
on Mondays during the summer
at the pools in Randall and Martin -
Luther King Parks. Those pools
will be closed on Fridays to allow
for maintenance before the heavy
weekend usage. In order to insure
that park pools are used only by
residents, identification wristlets
obtainable at the Center, are
required.
All Freeport Activity Cards,
necessary for entrance into the
Center and participation in most
programming, have now expired.
The 1976-77 Cards may be obtain-ed
at the yearly fee of $2 at the
Center, Tuesday through Sunday,
noon to 5 pm and 7 to 10 pm
except from June 21 to 25 when
the Facility will be closed for
spring cleaning. Discount Tick-ets,
allowing unlimited admis-sions
at a reduced rate, are also
available for purchase at the
Center.
.. . - . .
The Senior Citizens Club of the
Recreation Center is sponsoring a
Block Party, July 15, 4 to 8 pm, on
the grounds of the facility to
which all senior citizens holding a
Freeport Activity Card are wel-comed
to attend at no cost. A
feature of the event will be enter-tainment
by the 30-piece band
provided by the Town of Hemp-stead
and made up of retired
musicians. This follows the
group's Senior Prom held this
month during which members
and guests danced to a five-piece
band and enjoyed wine and
cheese and a turkey dinner at a
cost of $5 per person. Information
on the Club's upcoming events
may be obtained by calling
223-8000, ext. 33.
"Jumbo," the Freeport
Exempt Firemen's Association's
1906 motorized pump, won four
trophies at the May 15 Firemen's
Salute to the Bicentennial at
Eisenhower Park. The all-day
event was attended by volunteer
fire departments from throughout
New York State, New Jersey
and Connecticut.
"Jumbo" pictured above with
Association President Donald
Giordano (r.) and Henry
"Frenchie" Ankermann up
front can travel at a breathtaking
18 miles per hour.
The truck, which was pulled
by a team of three horses
throughout the Village of Free-port
until 1912 when it was
motorized by the American
LaFrance Fire Engine Company
won its trophies for being the
oldest motorized apparatus at
the event, the best restored,
the oldest LaFrance apparatus,
and a special award for being the
favorite among the contestants.
"Jumbo," which won what
may still be a world's record
in 1912 for throwing a stream of
water 228'2", was completely
restored by members of the As-sociation
and other volunteers
who contributed many man
hours. .Those who aided the
Association in the restoration
include Fire Department Chief
Arthur Lewis, Mike DeStefano,
Bob Southard, Bill Ahrens,
Tony Fiscotti, George Batsche,
Paul Dey and Pete Capozzola.
Richard Gremple headed the
project which will result in
"Jumbo" being able to partici-pate
in many of the Bicentennial
events to be held in the Village.
Don't Forget The Permit
Due to the lack of construction
projects, many . plumbers,
electricians, carpenters and
others, are doing private work for
homeowners. Such homeowners .
should be aware that in order to
insure that the work is done
properly and safely, the con:
tractor must be licensed by the
Village and receive all necessary
permits. Residents are warned
that it is their responsibility, and
to their advantage, to demand to
see such permits and not simply
take the contractor's assurances.
Permits, which are only issued
by the Building Department to
contractors licensed by the
Village, assure the resident that
the work to be done is allowable
under Village ordinances and will
be inspected by the Department
to ascertain that .it is done
..correctly.
A homeowner following any
other procedure is taking a
chance with the well being of his
family as well as his money as
other residents have discovered
when illegal projects have been
halted or demolished.
Freeporters are urged to call
the Building Department, 378-
4000, ext. 241 on any working day
between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm for
any further information which
may be required.
