DEC8
New Houses Offered
At Low Interest Rates
Freeport's "New Northeast"
will see the construction of 14
brand new houses next spring
under the federal "235" pro-gram.
These structures will join
some 20 others already con-structed
and occupied through
the program, and some 70 older,
rehabilitated, houses in the area
turned over to new owners
through the Village's Home-steading
program. Both housing
programs, along with federally
funded road and park projects
and property improvement loans
and grants to homeowners, have
brought about a revitalization of
the northeastern section of the
Village which has prompted the
strenghtening of its integrated
character.
The 235 program offers quali-fied
homebuyers a 7Vi% mort-gage.
The low interest rate can be
offered as the federal government
subsidizes it down from 16l/2%.
The houses sell from $40,000 with
six different models offered
depending on family size and the
plot on which it is to be construct-ed.
The selling price represents
the true value of the house alone
as the Village has turned over the
land to the developer, Nello
Homes, for $1.
Applications for the 235 houses
are currently being accepted
through the Village's Home-finders
Service, Village Hall,
46 N. Ocean Avenue, 378-4000.
Those interested are urged to in-quire
immediately as there is a
deadline for the government pro-gram.
The Homefinders Service,
which is committed to the af-firmative
marketing of these
houses, will tour prospective
purchasers through the area and
arrange informal meetings with
homeowners in the northeast.
The Service is a federally funded
operation of the Village govern-ment
which has sold some 400
homes at no fee to buyer or seller.
Eligibility for the 235 houses is
determined by the family gross
income minus 5% and $300 per
child. The adjusted gross income
then must be less than $28,250 for
afamily'of two; $31,750 for three;
$35,300 for four; $37,500 for five;
$39,700 for six; -$41,900 for
seven; and $44,150 for eight. A
single person without dependents
is also eligible if the adjusted
gross income is less than $17,105
and the applicant is over the age
of 62 or handicapped. There are
also minimum income guidelines
as there must be ability to meet
the monthly mortgage payments.
Budget Hearing
The Board of Trustees will hold
the annual public hearing on the
municipal budget at Village Hall,
Monday, January 4, beginning at
8 pm. The hearing follows
meetings between the Trustees
and Village department heads
which began in October.
Persons wishing to speak at
the hearing will be asked to sign
in so that all may be called in
order.
' . Copies of the tentative 1982-83
budget will be available at the
Office of the Village Clerk in the
latter part of this month.
Barking Dogs
Village law reads: "No person
owning or possessing any animal
shall allow it to disturb the
comfort, peace or repose of any
persons in the vicinity by long
continued or frequent noise."
Residents disturbed by a
barking dog should complain in
writing to the Village Clerk, 46
North Ocean Avenue, Freeport
11520. The name, if known, and
the address of the owner must be
included. The complaint must be
signed but the name of the
complainant is not revealed to
any third party. Upon receiving
the complaint, the Clerk will
notify the dog's owner, by
certified mail, that he or she is in
violation of the law and that
arrangements should be made to
keep the dog indoors or take
whatever steps are necessary to
avoid excessive barking.
If the violation continues,
the complainant can pursue the
matter through Village Court.
The dog's owner, if found guilty,
faces fines up to $250.
Winter Recreatio
Season
Winter season discount plans
for unlimited use of the Freeport
Recreation Center's Health Wing
of swimming pool, steam and
sauna, exercise room and gym-nasium,
take effect on January 12
and will be honored until May 16.
Cost for a resident family is $65;
for a resident individual, $30; and
for a resident senior citizen,
$15. For families who had pre-viously
purchased summer and
fall plans, the discount cost is
$45. Cost for an individual
resident in that category is $25.
For Freeport residents without
discount plans, single admissions
are $1.25 for a child under 18,
$2.75 for an adult and $1.25 for a
senior citizen.
The Center's enclosed ice
skating rink will remain open
until March 28. A discount price
for 15 sessions is offered at $iO
for children and senior citizens
and $15 for adults. Single ad-missions
are $1 and $1.50 res-pectively.
Skating lessons for all
ages and levels of skill are
available.
Registration for Recreation De-partment
programming designed
for adults will be held on Tues-day,
January 26, 7 to 8 pm, at
the Center. Programs offered are
art, social dance, tap dance, dog
obedience, golf, guitar, aerobic
dancing, body building, body con-ditioning,
slimnastics, yoga exer-cise,
ski trips, swim lessons and
tennis.
Youngsters may sign up for
programming at the Center on
Saturday, January 30, 10 am to
noon. Offered to them are art,
arts and crafts, baton twirling,
bowling (separate registration),
creative play, ballet, modern
dance for teens, tap dance,
drama, fencing, guitar, gym-nastice,
ski trips, swim lessons
and tennis.
Cost for most programs is
$7.50 per season. All participants
must hold a Freeport Activity
Card.
SHOP
FREEPORT
MERCHANTS I
DECEMBER 1981
A Public Information Bulletin
of The Village Of Freeport
46 North Ocean Avenue
Telephone FReeport 8-4000
William H. White, Mayor
Plage
News
Public Meetings on the 1st. and 3rd. Mondays of the Month,at 8:00 P.M.
It's Time For Greetings of the Season
From the Greeting card collection designed and produced by the Arts
Council at Freeport.
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES and the MUNICIPAL STAFF
join in Wishing You and Your Family
ALL THE HAPPINESS Of THE SEASON
and a HAPPV and HEALTHY NEU) VEAft
Trustees: Dorothy Storm, Alfred Sirlin, James'Clark, Timothy Peternana
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzo; Treasurer: James J. Lyons; Counsel: Michael Solomon
Putting Land On The Tax Rolls
The three acre waterfront site
on Albany Avenue which has long
housed the Village's Public
Works operation of municipal
garage; water, parks and high-way
.departments; . sanitation
supervision; vehicle storage; and
executive offices, has been sold
for $675,000 to Joe and Fred
Scalamandre, principals of the
Sea Crest Construction Corp.
The purchase price was in ex-cess
of the independent apprasial
amount obtained by the Village.
In anticipation of the land
sale, $300,000 of the purchase
price had been applied toward the
1981-82 municipal budget, re-ducing
by that 'much the amount'
needed to be raised through
property taxes. The remainder of
the purchase price will go towards
the moving of the Public Works
Department and the renovation of
its new, expanded headquarters
at the now unused municipal
sewer plant further south on
Albany Avenue.
Long off the tax rolls as munici-pally-
owned property, the sale
will now result in annual, tax
revenues. Under the contractual
agreement with the Village, the
Scalamandres will be adding
5,000 square feet to the existing
18,000 square foot building.
That building will serve as
corporate headquarters for their
renowned building firm. In
addition, the Scalamandres will
construct a 40,000 square foot
industrial building on the pres-ently
vacant land at the site.
This structure will be leased or
sold to another firm. Located on
the Freeport River, the property
cannot be bulkheaded according
to the New York State Depart-ment
of Conservation, but a
rip-rap (broken stones) method
must be used to fortify the
shoreline.
The Scalamandres have long
been investors in the Village in
which they were raised, went to
school and continue to reside.
They own two industrial build-ings,
the Ocean Plaza office
building on South Ocean Avenue
and are part owners in the Elks
Plaza complex currently under
construction on Merrick Road.
Several years ago they saved the
historic South Shore Yacht
Club, renovating it and reopening
it as the Salty Bay Yacht Club. In
the recreational field, they also
Signing, the contract .turning over the Village Public Works-Depart-ment's
building to Sea Crest Construction Corp. are (seated, left to
right) Joe Scalamandre, Mayor William White and Fred Scalamandre.
The Scalamandres, Freeport residents, purchased the three acre
Albany Avenue site for $675,000 and will expand the existing 18,000
square foot building to serve as corporate headquarters for their re-nowned
building firm. They will also construct a new 40,000 square
foot building on the site. Totally, it is estimated that $260,000 will be
. added to the Village's assessed valuation and the property taxed at
$29,354 annually. Standing, at left, is Peter Scalamandre, Joe's son
and the newest member of the firm founded in the Village by the
grandfather for whom he was named. At right is Superintendent of
Public Works Edwin Prefer whose expansion needs will be met at the
now unused Village sewer plant also on Albany Avenue.
own the Freeport Indoor Tennis
Club on Mill Road. When the old
Casino pool complex fell into
disrepair, the Scalamandres
demolished the structure and
erected Freeport's first luxury
condominiums, South Bay, at the
head of Randall Bay. As con-tractors,
they constructed some
85% of the buildings in the
Freeport/Town of Hempstead
Industrial Park and the Freeport
Recreation Center.
The Sea Crest Construction
Corp. was started as a small
firm in Freeport by the late Peter
Scalamandre after his arrival
from Italy at the age of 22. His
sons have evolved it into one of
the leading construction corpora-tions
in the state. Among their
projects on Long Island was the
parking deck at Roosevelt Field,
the largest ever built. They con-structed
the hospital complex at
the State University at Stony
Brook, the $9 million Cedar
Creek sewage project and the
North Woodmere recreational
facility. Newest projects include
an office building in upstate
Newburgh and a $10.5 million
post office at Mitchel Field.
With the addition, new con-struction
and improvements -at
the Public Works site, it is
estimated that, at the present
tax rate, the now-taxable property
will bring an additional $260,000
to the Village's assessed valu-ation.
Eventually the property
will pay an estimated $29,354 in
annual Village taxes. All major
additions and new construction
in Freeport have a ten-year tax
abatement period whereby 50%
of the taxes are paid for the first
year after completion and"the
tax payments are increased by
5% increments annually until the
full amount is reached in the llth
year. The existing building and
vacant land will be taxed at the
full rate from the beginning.
When the Village's sewage
treatment operation was turned
over to the County, the Freeport
Board of Trustees engaged
architect Sigmund Spiegel to
study the feasibility of renovating
the municipal sewer plant to meet
the expansion needs of the Public
Works Department as opposed to
trying to meet those needs on
the Department's present site. It
was Spiegel's recommendation
that the Public Works property be
put on the market as the most
saleable of the two municipally-
(Cont. on Page'3)
Driving A Bicycle Not Child's Play
A bicycle is not a toy: That
basic fact has to be kept in mind
by parents who are planning to
present their child with his first
two-wheeler.
As the holiday season ap-proaches,
thousands of shiny new
or second hand bicycles will be
rolling into the lives of young-sters.
Advancing from a tricycle
to a bicycle is no small step/or a
child. He is being given a vehicle
— not a toy — that is likely, to be
driven in traffic and will be
governed by the same laws
required for automobile drivers.
In an AAA pamphlet, "Pa-rents,,,
.Buying .Your Child, a.
Bike?" which is available through
the Club, parents are urged to
ask themselves some vital
questions before they even con-sider
such a purchase:
• Is my child old enough,
mentally and physically, to drive
a bicycle in neighborhood traffic?
• Do we live in an area that is
not congested with vehicular
traffic?
• Are there safe places such as
empty lots or parks to drive a
bicycle near our home?
• Am I willing to see that my
child receives proper instruction
on how to drive a bicycle before
being permitted to drive on the
street?
Behind these questions are
some sobering statistics: about
41,000 bicyclists are killed or
receive disabling injuries annual-ly.
In Freeport alone, in 1980,
51 bikers were injured.
^The,,,AAA.i.guide. makes^.an,
(Cont. from Page 2)
owned land parcels. He pointed
out that the large underground
storage tanks, heavy foundation
and piping throughout the sewer
property would make the finding
of a private purchaser difficult if
not impossible. The only inquiries
the Village had received about the
land came from firms with
hazardous wastes being forced to
move from New Jersey.
The Public Works Department
will remain at the present site
until its new headquarters is
completed. The Village will pay
$5,000 per month in rental which
is being more than met by the
interest earned on the purchase
price and new taxes to be
collected.
important point — fit the bicycle
to the child. Allowing a child to
"pre-test" his bike may elimi-nate
the opportunity for a sur-prise
gift, but it can avoid grief
later on. A bicycle that is too
large or too small is both danger-ous
and uncomfortable. To de-termine
the proper sized bike,
the cyclist should sit on the seat
and be able to balance the
vehicle with the tips of the toes
resting comfortably on the
ground. The bicycle should not
lean to one side or the other.
Standard handlebars should be
set with the grips at seat level.
The upper-part-of. dropped-down
style handlebars oh multi-speed,
lightweight bikes should be
level or slightly below" the seat.
The grips should be tilted down at
about a 10 degree angle. High-rise
handlebars should be lower
than the driver's shoulder.
Young children should not
attempt to operate a bike with
hand brakes, but rather they"
should wait until they have de-veloped
greater strength in their
hands and wrists.
The rule-of-thumb for bike
sizes can be applied while keep-ing
in mind that these are just
averages and may not fit your
particular child: 5 to 7 years,
20-inch wheels; 8 to 10 years,
24-inch; and 11 years and over,
26-inch wheels.
There are other safety factors
to consider when purchasing a
bicycle. The State has adopted
certain standards for bicycles to
insure that cyclists..can. see —..
and be seen — at night, dawn and;
dusk. These standards require
that bicycles sold by dealers be
equipped with a variety of re^
flective devices on the front, side
and rear. The law requires that
between a half-hour after sunset
and a half-hour before sunrise,
bicyclists must use a headlight
which has a white light visible at
least 500 feet to the front of the
bike and a red tail-light visible at
least 300 feet from the rear.
Other required equipment in-clude
brakes strong enough to
skid the rear wheel on dry, level,
clean pavement...and a bell or
other device — not a siren or
whistle — which can be 'heard'
from 100 feet away.
For added safety, riders should
wear light colored clothing and
reflective strips or tape. Also,
a rear .view mirror should be
used.
The DMV reminds bicyclists
that they must obey all traffic
signs, signals and pavement
parkings; signal all turns and
stops, using the standard hand
signals; ride with traffic on the
extreme right side of the road,
and never carry a passenger un-less
an attached seat is available.
In Freeport, all bicycles must
be registered with the Freeport
Police Department. This may be
accomplished on Wednesdays,
9 am to 4 pm, at Headquarters.
There is a one-time fee of 25C.
Bicycles are inspected by police
officers to ascertain that they are
in safe working condition. A
registration number is affixed
• which aids in the return to the
owner if the bike is lost or stolen.
Sunday Ski Trips
The Freeport Recreation De-partment
is offering ski trips for
adults and students,, ages 12 and
up, on Sundays January 10, 17, 31
and February 7, 14 'and 21. Ski
areas will be Hunter, Catamount
or Great Gorge/Vernon Valley.
Dates and destinations are sub-ject
to change according to
weather conditions.
The fee per trip is $37 or $31 if
equipment need not be rented.
There is an additional charge of
$3 for adults at Hunter. The cost
covers transportation by motor-coach,
lift ticket, equipment if
needed, and instruction at the
beginner level except for adults at
Hunter. Accident coverage up to
$2,000 is available for $2. Lunch
may be brought or purchased at
the ski area.
The bus will leave the Recrea-tion
Center at 5:45 am on each of
the Sundays and return about
8 pm. Advance reservations may
be phoned in to 223-8000 and the
fee must be paid at the Center no
later than 4 pm the Tuesday pre-ceding
the particular trip. Parents
must sign a permission slip for
students.
Skiers are urged to wear warm
clothing including a hat to cover
the ears and an extra pair of socks
and gloves.
