PEDESTRIANS -With more hours of darkness, increased attention must be given
whenever and wherever you cross streets, with special attention in crossing the
boulevards,arterial highways and heavily traveled streets at night. The driver's
ability to see you decreases.in foggy and rainy weather, and increases your need
for using more care in crossing streets. Wear something white at night !
MOTORISTS - Your A ttention - This is a good time to have your windshields cleaned
more often, have your wind shield wipers checked, have your lights and brakes
checked a n d adjusted!. • • - - . - ' •
FROM OUR MAILBOX
To the Editor:
I was indeed pleased to read the article 'Litter-ary.Department1 -in your
September issue. • I have had the same experience (in picking up discarded pa-pers
and other refuse) as "A Citizen" has Had. Being a trash" collector is some
thing I had not bargained for .when I moved to Freeport . . . . . I think something
should be done to.combat the thoughtless habit of discarding;trash from moving
•cars and by-pedestrians. Also, dogs should be walked and curbed and not-per-mitted
to run free. I suggest a concerted effort by the police, civic associations
the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations, to educate our residents for
a cleaner and more beautiful Freeport. Much can be done by parents to keep the
children from thoughtless thro wing around of discarded ice-cream-pop wrappers
and other such refuse.
Freeport stands to gain- immeasurably .if we stop the 'litter-bug' now !
A Northwest Citizen
BUCKET BRIGADE for KOREAN CLOTHES
So generous was the response of Freeport-to'the plea for contributions of
clothing for Korean relief that the storage room at the Salvation Army headquar-ters
on Church Street was filled to overflowing.- • A moving van came on, Sunday
morning, October 25th, to start the articles on-their-way, but no one had been as-signed
to carry the packages from the building to the truck. An appeal for help
brought Mayor Glacken and Trustee Seward Baker to the scene. The problem in-volved
the transfer of several tons.of assorted wearing-apparel packed in card -
board containers... Mayor Glacken communicated with John Capa^olli, Incinera-tor
foreman, who gathered a group of Village employees and brought them to the
building. Trustee Baker enlisted the aid of twenty firemen from the Truck Com-pany
across the street, A 'bucket brigade' line was formed, the goods were passed
from the Salvation Army rooms to the truck, and the clothing was started for Korea.
LETTER OF APPRECIATION
Gentlemen: .
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, and the members of the
Freeport Fire Department for the very excellent job done in protecting our tele-phone
cables during the recent fire in Albert's Store on Main Street.
Cooperating with Fire Chief A. Benson of the Roosevelt Fire Department,
a Telephone Company employee, your boys did an admirable job in keeping the fire
damage to a minimum.
Very truly yours.
Signed: W. B. Billmeyer
Manager
New York Telephone Company.
Your
Home Town
FREEPORT
*** *"£?
***•<*£;
Friendly Village
Vol. 2 - No. 11 November 1953
' FREEPORT FIGHTS A FIRE
One of the largestfires inFreeport in many years destroyed six storage
sheds of the C. Milton Foreman Lumber Yards, located between MainStreet and
Henry Street, and between the Long Island Railroad tracks and Broadway. The
$75,000 blaze, touched off Saturday, October 17th, by two boys spread rapidly
and with such intensity that buildings hundreds of feet distant were scorchedand
seared by the heat, and nearly 2, 000 feet of fire hose were charred and burst.
To'make up" the deficiency, the Village Board,'as an emergency measure, or-dered
Fire Chief Franklyn Grernpel to provide replacements, assuring all com-panies
of an adequate'supply. ' ' '
All departments'of the Village were co-ordinated to meet the emergency.
Every piece of apparatus and full complements of fire-fighters were directed by
Chief Grempel and his assistants. They were all needed to prevent the spread
of the flames into the Main Street area. Police controls were under direction
of Cap. Edward Dixon. Clinton Walling, Superintendent of Power Distribution,
and his entire force were at the scene. There were ten major breaks in power
lines caused by the blaze, all of -which were immediately repaired, and current
diverted through emergency lines to'prevent interruption of normal activities.
Bernard Larkin, Acting Superintendent of Water Supply, was present, and di-rected
operation of the Village's'big pumps so'as to keep adequate pressures of
water available for the fire-fighters. Much assistance was rendered too, by the
Superintendent of-Highways, H arry Chuisano,"and members of the Highway De-partment,
clearing way for the apparatus by using bulldozers-to push aside the
rubbish and opening ways for the laying of hose, and use of other fire-fighting
equipment. Trustee Leonard D. B. Smith, donned in fire-fighting garments as
official representative of the Village Board, directed the co-ordination of the
various Village departments.
The Board of Trustees has adopted resolutions praising the fine work of
'the Freeport Fire Department, It has also forwarded to the fire departments of
Oceanside, Rqosevelt, and Merrick, appreciation of their neighborly service in
sending apparatus to Freeport firehouses left vacant because of the emergency,
and 'standing by' to answer other alarms, should any come in.
GRADE CROSSING INFORMATION
Following hearings before the Public Service Commission, a watchman
has been put on duty by the Long Island Railroad, upon orders of the Public Ser-vice
Commission, at the Milburn Avenue grade crossing. This temporary ser-vice
will be supplemented next spring by the installation of safety barrier gates.
Meanwhile, to provide this and other crossings in Freeport with complete pro-
' tection, the Public Service Commission has forwarded to the Village its general
plans for grade crossing elimination, for examination and comment. The plans
were studied by Village Engineer Herbert Wood. He reported to the Mayor that
they are substantially satisfactory, but recommended certain changes in detail
to conform with the plans as ordered by the Public Service Commission after the
full hearing conducted by the Village in 1949-1950. The engineer's recommen-dations
.were forwarded to the Commission by Mayor Glacken^ with a suggestion
that the final plans be prepared, and work begun at an early date. The Mayor,
upon motion of the Board, also stated that the Village- would: want an escalator
as part of the final plans, and asked for its inclusion in the plans.
: Delay in construction .of the. Freeport-Baldwin grade elimination as ap-proved
by the P.S.C. is due to a depletion of the $300,000.000 fund originally
provided by a State bond issue to finance such projects, and failure by the Leg-islature
at its 1952-1953 session to provide the $6. 000,000 to $8,000,000 nec-essary
to finance this project. As the law now stands, the expense of elimina-tion
projects are paid in the first instance by the State, later to be repaid by the
railroad company, exclusive of the cost of railroad and incidental improvements.
With the cooperation of officials in county and state governments, it is hoped that
the necessary funds will be provided at the coming legislative session.
NEW ENGINE NOW in LINE at POWER PLANT
.The new 4350 H. P.. Lima-Hamilton diesel engine, with its full comple-ment
of electricity-producing adjuncts, is fully installed and is bearing its share
of producing: current at the Freeport Municipal Electric Power Plant, under the
supervision of Superintendent Wm. Tompkins. The new machinery is rated at
a capacity of 3100 kilowatts. The engine was purchased and installed at a.cost
of approximately $350,000. With the necessary additions to the Power Plant,
auxiliary apparatus and switch gear, the cost totalled approximately $800, 000.
payment of which is provided under a- bond issue, which.will be paid out of the
earnings of the Plant. It is anticipated that use of the new engine will bring a-bout
a considerable savings in operation^ since it is designed to use low-grade
relatively inexpensive oil as fuel.
ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION
The annual inspection of the Freeport Fire Department, and a check of
fire apparatus was held by the Village Board on Sunday, October 25th. Present
at the inspection were Mayor Glacken, Trustees Leonard D. B. Smith. Cord Vie-brock,
Seward Baker and Edward.Cheshire, and Village Counsel Martin Wey -
rauch. The inspection, because of inclement weather, was held at Fire Head-quarters
on North Main Street, followed by visits to the various fire houses. Af-ter
the inspection tour firemen and Village Board members attended the annual
memorial services at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, where a ser-mon
in tribute to deceased members of the department was preached by the Rev,
erend Reginald Scott, chaplain. Mayor Glacken, on behalf of the Board, com-plimented
the members of the department and their officers for their patriotic
services, the efficient conduct of the department, and the fine appearance of its
apparatus and buildings.
BUILDING DEPT. REPORT
The following permits were issued in the Building Department, for the
month of September, 1953:
59 Permits for new construction . Cost $559,400.
12 Permits for additions & alterations Cost . 9,265.
Total $568,665.
GARDEN-TYPE BUSINESS ZONE
The Village Board, for some time, has had under consideration an a-mendment
to the Zoning Law providing for an exclusive or 'garden type* busi-ness
zone, with restrictions so rigid as to prevent undesirable or unsightly es-tablishments.
One hearing has already been held, but to give full opportunity
for expressions of opinion on the subject a second hearing has been set to be held
November 23rd, 1953. The following types of retail business would be pe.rmit-
. ted: dry goods and dress shops, food1 and -drug stores, stationery, book, gift,
craft,-house hold electrical appliances, air conditioning, heating and plumbing,
hardware; confections, photographer, household furnishings, toys, draperies,
jewelry; restaurants, and other similar places of business. Food retail shops
would be limited to a 3,000 square foot area. Storage garages, garage repair
shops, filling stations, poultry and pet shops, coal and lumber establishments
and similar enterprises would be prohibited. For a full expression of public
opinion, the Board invites residents to attend this and other public hearings at
which changes in the zoning ordinance and other ordinances are open for public
discussion. Since this Municipal Bulletin is published n» oftencr than once a
month, it is not possible to advertise in it the public hearings to be held. The
law requires all such notices to be published at least ten days in advance of each
meeting in the official newspaper of the Village. That newspaper is the Freeport
Leader.. All residents interested in public affairs are urged to follow the noti-ces,
and to attend the hearings so that the fullest discussion may be had, for the
benefit, of the Board in determining its course of action.
EARLY MORNING MAIL COLLECTION
Postmaster RalphL. Marshal] announces that on October 19th, the Free-port
Post Office placed in effect-ah early morning collection service from all
street letter boxes. This will replace the collection made between 9:00 and 10:00
A.M. for the more expeditious dispatch of letters mailed after the evening col-lection.
Dispatch is on the train leaving Freeport at 9:00 A. M. , instead of on
the 1:00 P.M.train formerly used. Also,letters addressed for delivery in Free -
port and mailed after the evening collection will be delivered the following day.
The early morning collection had been in effect prior to the curtailment
of certain services for economy reasons in 1950. It was reinstated at the Post-master's
request after a survey by the local post office supervisory, staff*. Post
Office Department approval was forthcoming when it was. shown that no additional
expense would be involved.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES
Although delayed on some of its major projects by the truckmen's strike
in New York City, which held up deliveries of road building materials, the High-way
Department under direction of Superintendent Harry Chuisano, this summer
completed work on the following projects: surfaced the Grove Street parking
field, surfaced the parking field adjacent to Hose Company #3, Bay view A venue,
constructed a roadway for Firemen's Memorial Field, filled in several aban-doned
cellar holes, resurfaced and repaired 23 miles of Village streets, con-structed
11/2 miles of new drains, cleaned obstructions from 4miles of drains.
In addition,the department has begun work on the traffic intersection at Bay view
Avenue and Ray Street. It has also graded part of the area surrounding Milburn
Pond, and removed the undergrowth, in response to an appeal of the Southwest
Civic Association, presented at a Board meeting, by President Harry McCarthy
This improvement was one of the activities scheduled by the Park Commission,
but temporarily delayed. At a later date, the detailed items of an extensive
park -development will be carried out.
NOTICE
This extra insert is being included with the regular Bulletin as a special appeal
for more Civil Defense volunteers, who are needed in order to bring all services up to
full strength.
Civil Defense - as organized under the existing law .- is a means by which a
community can help itself in case of disaster due to enemy attack. Long range air craft
are now ready and capable of delivering frightful bombing weapons. No one knows what
will arise from the present disturbed state of world conditions; however, advance pre-paration
for all possible developments seems wise. The responsibility for handling em-ergency
situations due to enemy attack has been placed on the Civil Defense Organization.
Civil Defense has many services in which both men and women can be used. Little
or no training is required for some services; somewhat greater training is needed for
others, although none of the time required would be excessive. If emergency conditions
arise, however, no time would be available for training, and the value of Civil Defense
• ' " • * ' • ' • '
would therefore be impaired when most needed; , . ^. ' ' • i
There is a place for everyone - men, women, and bpys and girls (over 14 years
of age) - in the various Civil Defense Services, but particularly in Medical, Wardens, Wel-fare,
Rescue and Air Craft Warning (Sky Watch) f Your help.is needed in this worthwhile
community effort organized for your own benefit and protection. Let us hope we will never
require its use, but at least let us be ready if need be.
Please, therefore,, fill in the enclosed addressed card and return; no postage is
required. Present Civil Defense personnel need not return the card.
F. Gordon Edwards, Director of
FREEPORT CIVIL DEFENSE Unit #' 125
