RAQUEL PACHAS AMONG THOSE HONORED
DURING MARCH WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
The New York State Division for Women and the Nassau County Advisory Council
honored longtime Freeport resident Raquel Pachas at the annual celebration of
Women's History Month in March. Mrs. Pachas, along with several other women,
was recognized for her outstanding service to the community.
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson congratulated Mrs. Pachas and commended
her for her outstanding efforts in promoting arts and culture on Long Island. Ms.
Pachas served as president and board member of the Long Island Arts Council at
Freeport for over 18 years. In 1996, she received Newsday's Volunteer Recognition
Award in Arts and Education. She is currently Vice President of the.Hispanic
American Women's Club of Long Island, a community oriented organization.
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson with Raquel and Bob Pachas.
FREEPORT MEMORIAL MONUMENT NEARS
COMPLETION IN TIME FOR THIS YEAR'S PARADE
Thanks to the generosity of the
Freeport community and the persis-tence
of the members of American
Legion William Clinton Story Post No.
3A2, including Commander Charles
Jackson, the Memorial honoring
Freeport's 125 men and one woman
who gave their Jives fighting in
American wars, will be .dedicated fol-lowing
this year's Memorial Day
Parade.
The ..official _unveijing will take
place on Monday, May 29, 2000 at
-Village-of-Rreeport—
46 No. Ocean Avenue
Freeport, NY 11520
approximately 11 a.m. The.parade will
step off at 10 a.m. from South
Brookside Ave in front of the Freeport
High School, and travel south to
Merrick Road,, then east on Merriek-'
Road to the Freeport Memorial Library.
The name of each of Freeport's brave
servicemen and woman, who fought in
battles from the Civil War to the
Vietnam War, will be engraved on the
memorial. The theme of this year's
.MemoriaLDay event is "Their Supreme
Sacrifice Gave Us Our Tomorrows." A view of the site at the Memorial Library honoring
the 126 Freeporters who died in service to tneir country.
Bulk Rate
U.S.Postage
PAID
Freeport, NY 11520
Permit No.1
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FREEPORT
144 w Me
Freeport/
APRIL, 2000 www.FreeportNY.com THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
PROTESTS BY MAYOR GLACKEN AND
OTHERS SAVE LONG ISLAND BUS SERVICE
Responding to the recent appeals from
Freeport Mayor Bill Glacken and Hempstead
Mayor James Garner, as well as dozens of
other local government officials, state law-makers
came through with an additional
$8.7 million to prevent the elimination or
reduction of bus routes provided by the
Long Island Bus/MTA.
Mayors Glacken and Garner traveled
to the recent public hearing on the proposed
cuts, scheduled by Long Island Bus/MTA,
on several of the bus routes due to be either
eliminated or curtailed. Mayor Glacken
rode the N41 bus from the Freeport bus
depot to the Hempstead Terminal where he
was met by Mayor Garner. The two mayors
then continued on to the hearing at the
Nassau County Medical Center on the N72
bus. Both mayors told the members of the
MTA Board that the residents of their com-munities
could not afford to lose public
transportation.
"Reducing or completely eliminating
bus service for Freeport residents, many of
them seniors or disabled persons, will cause a
severe hardship," explained Mayor Glacken.
"Our population includes many low and mid-dle
income working families who rely on the
buses to take.them to jobs, doctors' appoint-ments
and medical visits. They need addi-tional
bus service, especially on weekends,
not less."
Mayor Garner added,, "Public trans-portation
is critical to Hempstead Village.
Many 'of our residents travel to and from
work each day using these buses. Any reduc-tion
in service will be reflected immediately
in an increase in unemployment. There just is
no savings here."
Two weeks after the March 28th hear-ing,
New York State Senator Dean Skelos
announced that he and Governor George
Pataki, with the cooperation of
Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli, had reached an
agreement to add $8.7 million to the Long
Island Bus/MTA's budget. The money, $4 mil-lion
each from the Senate and the Assembly,
with an additional $680,000 from Gov.
Pataki, will keep the bus routes intact at
least until the end of this year.
Freeport Mayor Bill Glacken and Hempstead Village Mayor James Garner travelling to the Long Island Bus/MTA's hearing on the N72 bus from Hempstead to East Meadow.
MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
I recently testified in Washington, DC
before a United State Congressional
Appropriations Subcommittee oversee-ing
funding for projects through HUD,
VA and other agencies.
I was invited by Congressman Peter
King to speak on behalf of partial feder-al
funding for our $9.1 million project to
revitalize Freeport's Central Business
District. I described some of the formida-ble
challenges the Administration faced
when it took office three years ago and
how it has responded to those chal-lenges.
In 1997, along with inheriting a $33
million annual operating budget that
included a $10 million dollar deficit, we
also faced a crumbling infrastructure, as
previous administrations failed to do the
basTcl^treet'andTbadTepairTTeo^iired^to"
keep pace with the growing needs of
our residents and merchants. In the past
three years we have accomplished
remarkable results and achieved several
small miracles. We balanced the budget,
protected our fiscal future with solid
financial planning, dramatically revital-ized
our waterfront, upgraded or
repaved more than thirty streets, and
elevated 23 homes situated in a persis-tent
flooding zone, setting a standard
for accomplishments in just our first
term.
Now its time to focus on the Central
Business District. Today, Main Street
from Sunrise Highway to Merrick Road
has been abandoned by most shoppers
in favor of upscale malls. The aging
buildings are visually unappealing and
will require major work to restore their
oriqmaj facades and architectural
details. Exterior security gates discour-age
casual off-hours traffic, and add to
the 'blighted downtown' look.
But just as Freeport has been able to
elevate, renovate and revitalize our
famous 'Nautical Mile' in record time, so
too can we revive our Central Business
District.
Working through the Community
Development Block Grant Program, and
with banks and not-for-profit communi-ty
development financial institutions, we
are providing assistance and incentives
to commercial property owners willing
to invest in Freeport. We have received
close to 50 applications in the last ten
months. Unfortunately, the number is
more than we can currently fund.
We are seeking proposals to redevelop a
"site' on S6uth~Main~St7eetrbwned" byJ
Freeport's Community Development
Agency which, until recently, has been
occupied by a seriously blighted struc-ture,
which has since been demolished.
Our plans for that site include a
retail/restaurant anchor on the ground
floor with artists' studios on the second,
and possibly third, floor. At another
nearby site, we are planning a family-friendly
movie theater with just a 4 to 6
screen-capacity.
The 1920's theme created along the
Nautical Mile will be extended north to
Main Street in the heart of the Village by
using the same ornamental lighting fix-tures,
along with sidewalk bump-outs
for trees. We will install the same bench-es,
planters, and waste receptacles used
in the Nautical Mile motif, which will be
repeated in the renovations at the Long
Island railroad station. We also expect to.
install bus shelters in the same style.
We are working with State and County
highway officials to achieve both aes-thetic
and traffic safety enhancements
on Sunrise Highway that will provide
easy access to our Plaza West develop-ment.
That location, vacant for over a
decade, is the site of a planned restora-tion
of the landmark, six-story bank
building which will feature restaurant
and retail space. Road and street
improvement plans include the widen-ing
of vehicle lanes, the construction of
a raised and landscaped median on
Sunrise Highway with paved crosswalks,
and vest-pocket parks on both sides of
this major thoroughfare.
Working together as a team, we proved
on the Nautical Mile project that
Freeport Tan"* achieve sfM\r~W\TSc\e?.°
Together, we'll do it again for the
Central Business District.
FREEPORT LITTLE LEAGUE OFFICIALLY
OPENS FOR THE SEASON
A steady rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of Freeport's Little League
supporters who marched in the annual parade recently. Few teams were able to
play a .full game but the youngsters are looking forward to better weather in the
coming weeks. On hand to cheer the boys and girls on were Bob Olson, VP Softball
Division, School Board member Ron Ellerbe, Trustee Don Mauersberger, Mayor Bill
Glacken, Trustee Don Miller, former Little League President Pat Gianaca, Little
League President Don Malm, Senior Division Representative Pete Gianaca and
youngsters represent ages six and up.
THE LAST HURRAH
WIRES ON
Have you taken a new look at the Nautical Mile lately? With
the recent removal of the last pole, Woodcleft Ave. said good-bye
to the overhead wires, and welcomed a new, uninterrupted
view from Front St. at the northern end down to the southern
tip of Woodcleft Ave. at the Scenic Pier.
Mayor Bill Glacken explained that all the wires have been
installed in underground conduits, making the street both safer
and aesthetically more pleasing. "We completed our objectives
on the Nautical Mile and we accomplished them in record time,"
explained the Mayor. "We repaired, repaved and elevated the
roadway as much as 2-1/2 feet in the sections that were prone to
persistent flooding. That put an end to the constant water dam-age
affecting the merchants and business owners. Our last step
was to remove the high voltage wires, which presented a serious
hazard during storms. Taking down those wires dramatically
improved the appearance of the street, much more than most
people anticipated when the pole removal project was still in the
planning stages," he stated.
In the past several months the Nautical Mile has become THE
place to be with recent openings of the newest restaurant,
Hudson and McCoy, and of Cafe by the Sea, a late night spot for
liquers, coffee and dessert. Several other new shops are in the
early planning or building stages. Freeport's Nautical Mile is well
on its way to being, once again, a major attraction on Long
Island's South Shore, bringing in revenue from visitors and resi-dents
interested in viewing our authentic working waterfront.
Taking part in the official ribbon cutting event are: Joan Kavanagh, John Nuzzi,
Trustee Bill White, Jr., Receiver of Taxes, Angie Culllin, Trustee Don Mauersberger,
Mayor Bill Glacken, Chamber of Commerce President Wes Carman, owner Jane and
Chuck Dugan, Susan Braun, Jim Martina, Chris Creamer, Florence Martin,
Kathi Keating, Ed Friedman and Ex-Fire Chief Ray Maguire
Hudson and McCoy
Members of the line crew removing the last pole on Woodcleft Ave. are:
Patrick Cullin, Rick Giordano, Al Livingston, Victor Hili, Gary Greene,
Line Maintainer Supervisor Tony Capozzoli and Mike Robinson.
