.. SERVICE REQUEST
Do you have a specific problem that needs attention of a Village department?
If so, please use this Service Request form to bring it to the attention of your Village
administration. It will be acknowledged and given to the appropriate department head for
action.
We recommend that you include your name and address. It will not be disclosed to any"
third party, but it will enable us to let you know what was done or why it couldn't j).e.done!
You may conveniently send .your Service"Request~to~Village_Hall~byHnclucling it in the
same envelope with your Electric Bill payment.
TO:
Mayor William H. White
Municipal Building, Freeport, N.Y. 11520
Action Requested or Nature of Problem
Address or Location (Please be specific)
For Referral to:
D Sanitation
D Code Enforce
D Sewer
D Police
D Sign Shop
D Highway
D Electric
D Parking Meters
D Fire
D Recreation and Parks
D Other
D Narcotics Guidance
D Building Dept.
D Water ~
D Parking Fields
D Stadium
Your Name_
Address
Phone
JUNE 1984
Public Meetings on the 1st. and 3rd.Mondays of the Month, at 8:00 P.M.
Municipal Stadium's Future "On Hold"
Mayor William White traveled
to Albany last month to discuss
the future of the Freeport munici-pal
stadium with State legislators.
Pending before the legislature is
a Home Rule request asking per-mission
"to sell, lease exchange
and convey certain lands pre-viously
acquired by the Village for
public park and recreational
purposes and no longer used for
such purposes." Previously
provided to the legislators were
both the majority and minority
reports requested by the Mayor
after nine months of meetings by
his appointed Stadium Citizens
Advisory Committee.
Mayor White reported that the
purpose of his trip was to present
certain, facts to the lawmakers.
In a written "fact" sheet'.' submit-ted,
the Village pointed out tp.tiie;
legislators that of the entire 13.V4!"
acre stadium complex, 8l/i acres,-,
a former garbage dump, is en-'
cumbered by a 1929 resolution
by the then Board of Trustees.
The remaining acreage was pur-chased
at later 'dates with no deed
restrictions. Past usage of the site
has always been by paid admis-sion,
the Village report said,
whether it was car racing, high
school football games or an
annual fireworks show. It was
also pointed out that the very
leasing of the stadium to a
private party, although a practice
going back in decades, was
declared "clearly in violation of
the public trust" by the State
Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation last year.
The same office offered the opin-ion
that the-land could be sold if
the money received in the sale
was used for future recreational
and parks capital maintenance
projects and improvements. The
. Village has said that requirement
would be met if the land was sold.
Mayor White presented photo-graphs
to the State officials to
illustrate the Stadium's condition
and pointed out that it would take
an expenditure of some $500,000
to put it in operating condition
according to a Village engineer.
. He also said the stadium's former
lessee had commissioned a sepa-rate
engineering report which
showed that the rewiring of the
electrical system alone would
cost somewheres between
$60,000 and $123,000. The Mayor
told the legislators of the Vil-lage's
concern in that the sta-dium's
condition presents a high
• liability: risk for Freeport taxpay-
' efs'is the Village is self-insured.
- - JAs to•-"revenues, the Village's
"fact sheet" stated the leasing of
the stadium had brought little or
no relief to taxpayers. Although
the leasing contract had called for
a minimum of 40 events per year,
and three times a week car racing
had been the norm in the past,
. audience support was such, that
the stadium was actually used
only one night a week, six months
out of the year, for the past
several years.
In discussing the options for
the future, Mayor White pointed
out to the legislators that the
Village would be open to a future
leasing arrangement, with the
State's permission, if the lessee
would guarantee the upgrading of
the physical plant and an equit-able
return to the taxpayers. On
the latter point, the Mayor made
note that a negative aspect to
continued leasing is that the
Freeport. School District would
derive no tax revenues as it would
if the land is sold and put on the
tax rolls.
In making the point that" the
Village is, and has been, faced
with numerous certiorari pro-ceedings
which increase the bur-den
of the taxpayer, Mayor White
reminded the legislators that the
Citizens Advisory Committee's
material forwarded to them con-tained
estimates from experts
that the sale of the 13V2 acre
site would bring some $2 million.
After development, it was fur-ther
estimated, tax revenues
would bring $133,000 to the Vil-lage,
$200,000 to the Freeport
School District and $80,000 to
.the Town of Hempstead yearly.
: Mayor White stated that he
had received no commitment in
Albany as to when the Home Rule
request would be considered,
and given the State's opinion that
further use by a private party
would be illegal at this time,
the property will remain unused
for the near future.
Advisory Committee Reports
,.. The Stadium .Citizens Advisory
Committee concluded its meet-ings
in April after nine months.
Make up of the Committee was
the members of the Village's
Planning Board in addition to
residents who were selected by
the Mayor as having demonstra-ted
their community concern
through leadership roles in Free-port's
various civic associations
and the Chamber of Commerce.
The Committee numbered 13
members and Planning Board
Chairman John DiGrazia as its
Chairman.
(Continued on Page 3)
Trustees: Dorothy Storm, Alfred Sirlin, James Clark, Vincent DiCostanzo
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzo; Attorney: Harrison J. Edwards, Jr.; Treasurer: Thomas M. Molloy
SAFETY is
NOT
an ACCIDENT
by William G///esp/e,—
Village Safety Director
Going On A Trip?
DON'T invite a break-in while
you are away. A vacant house is a
temptation to a professional
i burglar and the amateur thief.
! DON'T take unnecessary risks —
take proper precautions instead.
i Give your house a "lived in"
\ look. DON'T close blinds, pull
] shades or do other things 'that
; indicate that the house is empty.
'• BUT, PLEASE DO —
; 1. Join the "Big I.D." Through
the courtesy of the Freeport.
Exchange Club, you can borrow
an engraving tool and receive an
instruction kit at the Freeport
Memorial Library. Engrave your
I.D. number on all valuables,
appliances, etc. Prepare a detail-ed
inventory (make, model, serial
number, date of purchase, price,
etc.). Photos are also helpful.
Put copy in safe deposit box and/
or with trusted relative or friend.
This can be very helpful to the
: Police Department in event of
theft, • or for your own insurance
claim (fire, theft, flood, etc.).
2. Advise the Freeport Police
and a trusted neighbor/relative
of your plans. Tell the police who
has keys and permission to enter
your house so that they can check
regularly. If your absence is to be
lengthy, advise the electric de-
'• partment so service is riot discon-
1 nectedfor non-paymentof bill.
3. Carefully lock all doors and
windows.
4. Turn off or disconnect all
appliances except those on auto-matic
timers. In winter turn heat
down but not "off," or so low as
to invite a freeze. Ask a trusted
' neighbor*to vary timer settings
for "lived in" look, and to make
car and foot tracks in fresh snow.
Leave extra (locked) car in drive-way
and have neighbor use your
driveway.
5. Store ladders, tools, etc. in
locked garage. Don't make a
burglar's life easy.
6. Take small valuables with
you or store in safe deposit box.
7. Store televisions, stereos,
2 home computers, table silver,
video recorders, etc. with friend
or relative. These are favorite
loot (easily disposable) to the
burglar.
Arrange grass cutting (or snow
shoveling) at normal times. Ask
your trusted neighbor to use your
rear yard garbage can and to pick
up your newspaper and any hand
bills or circulars. Ask your neigh-bor
not" to tell salesmen or repair-men
that you are away.
9. Have post office hold your
mail. Authorize someone (by
letter) to pick it up occasionally.
10. Leave key and inventory
with neighbor and ask him/her to
go in your house and check regu-larly.
They should report any
unusual or suspicious activity
to the police.
11. Do not discuss your plans
in public, and don't give informa-'
tion about your proposed trip to
newspapers. Brag to your heart's
content when you return.
Have a .good trip — AND
BUCKLE UP.
Tenth Time For The Great Canoe Races
It's the 10th anniversary for the
Great Canoe Races sponsored by
the Freeport. Chamber of Com-merce
held in cooperation with
the Village of Freeport., Freeport
Tuna Club and the U.S. Coast
Guard Auxiliary.
The 1984 Races will be held on
Sunday, July 22 with the new
headquarters to be at Water-front
Park, foot of South Long
Beach Avenue. Tenative plans
call for a two-day celebration
beginning on Saturday, July 21.
The annual event attracts ama-teur
paddlers of all ages from
throughout the metropolitan area.
who enjoy the mile-long challenge
of tide and wind in Swift Creek.
Running from 10:30 am to ap-proximately
3:30 pm, canoe races
involve two-person teams made
up of (1) a parent (or guardian
over 18) and a child up to 14
years, (2) two females, (3) a
male and female, and (4) two
males. Special races are held for
kayaks and for. whale boats. One
highlight, pits members of the
media together in canoes with the
winners to get the perpetual
trophy now in the hands of last,
year's winners, Cablevision.
In recognition of the 10th anni-versary,
Radio Station WGBB
will broadcast, live from Water-front
Park on race day. On hand
for purchase by spectators willr
be box lunches, soda and Canoe
Race souvenirs including tee-shirts,
hats and tote bags. Tro-phies
will be awarded to Race
winners at ceremonies to be held
at. the Park immediately follow-ing
the last race. A parking
permit will not be required for
Waterfront Park during the cele-bration
weekend.
Cost for a racing entry will be
$15 per team if they bring their
own canoe. The price is $25 when
a rental canoe is required. All
must wear life jackets (provided
with rental). Special racing equip-ment
is prohibited.
Pre-registration for racers is
required. Businesses wishing to
sponsor race teams are wel-comed.
Information can be ob-tained
by calling the Chamber at
FR 8-7402, Monday to Friday,
10am to 4pm.
An area for the spectator fleet
will be set up "in Swift .Creek.
There will be excellent viewing
for landlocked spectators from
Waterfront Park.
The Village Board of Trustees
has voted to prohibit all vans,
campers and pickups from using
the Transfer Station on Albany
Dump Restriction
residents' use only and employ-ees
will be on hand to check
identifications.
The change was deemed neces-
• Avenue: They-will-be prohibited 'sary'because'of-the number of
whether or not they bear com-mercial
plates. Only passenger
cars, including station wagons,
will be allowed to use the dump
to dispose of materials such as
demolition debris and auto parts.
The Transfer Station is for
contractors and others who
have purchased vans and similar
vehicles in order to avoid rising
disposal fees at other dumps.
The Village's Transfer Station
is open Monday to Saturday,
8 am to 4 pm.
Trash Bags
The Village continues to sell larly handy for yard cleanups. As
extra large, double ply plastic of July 1, the price for a set of
garbage bags which are partial- (Continued on Page 3)
Municipal Stadium
(Continued from Page 1)
The Committee examined ex-isting
correspondence and data;
visited the Stadium site; consult-ed
with Village personnel and
real estate experts; read propo-sals
received through advertising
and publicity; and met with
promoters.
In response to Mayor White's
request that written statements
be submitted for future review by
the Village Board of Trustees,
eight Committee members
recommended that the stadium
property be sold for redevelop-ment
and five recommended
it be retained. (One member did
not submit a written statement.)
The written recommendations
were either signed collectively or
submitted on an individual basis.
The majority report calling for
the selling of the land, also sug-gested
the stadium property,
presently unzoned, be designated
under a new zoning title, "Tech
Commerce," for the attraction
of firms in high tech systems,
electronics, telecommunications
and other high-skill work. Fur-ther,
it was recommended that
the immediate surrounding area
presently zoned "industrial,"
be changed to the new designa-tion.
One member of the majority,
while agreeing to a land sale,
recommended a zoning of "apart-ment
and service business" to
allow the building of affordable
housing for mixed income brack-ets
as well as the development of
businesses that would provide for
the needs of the new apartment
residents and those of the sur-rounding
area.
Three on . the .minority . side
called for the opening of the stad-ium,
"if only just for auto rac-ing,"
while a smaller committee
is formed to "ferret out" other
sports and entertainment proj-ects.
Another called for leasing of
the property to one promoter
. interviewed-which the Committee .
member felt "offered the widest
use of the stadium property."
Another touched on the items
which would have to be covered
in any negotiations for a new
leasing arrangement.
Trash Bags
(Continued from Page 2)
ten will be $2. There is a limit of
two sets per purchase. Each set.
comes with an equal number of
ties.
We Are Going To "dean Up The Act"
It is not the practice of the building at William Glacken
"Village News" to print, what in
other publications would be re-ferred
editor.
to as "letters to the
' Nevertheless, sometimes
a resident can say it best and we
are therefore printing a communi-cation
received from a resident of
the northwest section of the Vil-lage
by Mayor William White.
' 'Everywhere you look;. on
trees, telephone poles, fences,
are signs of. all'sizes announcing
house sales, garage sales, lost
and found. Long after the dates
have expired, the signs remain.
Park.
Jefferson got his work assign-ment
from Justice Ralph Franco
recently when he appeared in Vil-lage
Court for sentencing on a
graffiti charge. Members of the
Public Works Department had
spotted Jefferson defacing the
handball court, wall at Randall
Park. Responding to their call,
Freeport Police Officer Donald
Richert issued Jefferson a
summons to Village Court where
he plead guilty to the charge.
Judge Franco fined the teen-
"While I do not disapprove of ager $250 which will be uncon-this
practice*, I most certainly ditionally discharged if the four
want the authors to at least come hours of public service are com-back
and remove them. What pleted under Public Works'
remains (after rain) is a disgust- supervision. The Glacken Park-ing
array of trash. Sometime if building is described as being
a new sign is put up, the previous ' 'destroyed'' by graffiti.
one is thrown on the street.' WATERWAY POLLUTION
"Here we are attempting to
keep Freeport clean...to rise
above what people say we are,
and our own residents participate
in this vulgarity.
*Despite the letter writer's
semi-approval, the posting of
temporary signs is prohibited by
Village ordinance and could lead
to a summons to Village Court. In
the instance of garage sales, the
sale holder is required to obtain a
permit from the Village. The ap-plication
for such a permit re-quires
a notarized signature
attesting to the fact that the appli-cant
is aware of the prohibition
of signs. The Freeport Police,
Building Department inspectors
and other Village employees will
be removing such signs. Occu-pants
of the addresses on such
signs will receive warnings. Con-tinued
violations could result in
the issuance of summonses.
GRAFFITI
Lamonte Jefferson, 16, of
338 Westside Avenue, will be
spending four hours as a volun-teer
member of the Village's
Public .Works Department. His
chore will be to scrub down
the wood shingle maintenance
Ralph Bernard of 11 East
First Street also came to Village
Court for trial after receiving a
summons for cleaning and drain-ing
out an engine in front of his
home. He was found guilty of
causing motor oil and anti-freeze
to enter the waterways and was
fined $150 by Village Associ-ate
Judge Michael Solomon. It
is important'to note that pollut-ants
entering storm drains, in
even the most northerly points in
the Village, will make their way
into the canals and beyond.
Other waterway pollution in-cludes
the deposit of grass cut-tings
and other yard debris in the
waterways as well as paper
goods, cans, bottles, etc. Viola-tors
face up to $250 in fines.
Littering/Dog Walkers
Littering on public streets and
waterways is illegal with the
violator subject to a summons to
Village Court. Litter baskets are
provided in business areas. Prop-erty
owners, residential and
commercial, are required to keep
their premises free of litter.
Dog walkers are required-to im-mediately
clean up after their
pets under a Village ordinance.
"Focus On Freeport" To Spotlight Canoe Races
"Focus on Freeport," the
Village-produced one-half hour
show aired over Cablevision, will
be shown on Channel 22 on Mon-day,
July 16 at, 9:30 pm and again
on Wednesday, July 18 at 10 pm.
The subject of the show will be
the 10th anniversary of the Free-port
Great Canoe Races and i),
will highlight films of Ihe 1983
race and interviews with the
Freeport. Chamber of Commerce-sponsored
event organizers and
paddlers who have participated
during the pas( decade.
Ausfjne While is hostess ol
' 'Focus On Frecpun-."
