. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,
The New Visions Select Chorus accompanied by Director Ruth Breidenback.
Freeport Village's Human Relations
Commission sponsored a special musical
event to commemorate the birthday of the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Sunday,
January 14,2001. The performances includ-ed
a recitation of Dr. King's poignant
speech, "I Have a Dream", by Derek
Browne, a member of the Freeport Housing
Authority's After School program, as well as
singing by the New Visions Select Chorus,
directed by Ruth Breidenback. Rev. Eric
Mallette provided a reflection on the life of
Dr. King and introduced the Greater Second
Baptist Church's Choir, which performed
several Gospel hymns. Dodd Junior High
School's Select String Group, led by Director
Jean Karasek, played a selection.of classical
music.
The theme for the day's events was the
significance of protecting and preserving
the civil rights of all individuals, regardless
of race, color or creed. Several members of
the Village's Human Relations Commission
attended the event, including Michael
Kirwan, Ken Dash and Belle Sylvester.
Among the village officials present were
Mayor Bill Glacken and Trustee Don Miller.
Dollars for Scholars Hotke^yv T-^ o'iirnament Faces Off
Village Justice V. Roy Cacciatore, a founder of the Arrows Hockey
league, arid Freeport Trustee Don Miller were among supporters who
took part in the Dollars for Scholars Hockey Tournament, recently held
at the Freeport Recreation Center's ice rink. Also on the ice were Dollars
for Scholars Treasurer Jim Parola and Hempstead Town Councilwoman
Angie Cullin.
The money is used to cover the educational expenses of worthy
Freeport students. The recipients have earned degrees from top univer-sities,
colleges and vocational institutions including Harvard, Yale, Johns
Hopkins, Penn State, Hofstra, Potsdam, Queens College, the Eastman
School of Music, and the Culinary Institute of America. Anyone interest-ed
in donating to the Dollars for Scholars fund may contact Jim or
Madeleine Parola at 623-1041, or send a contribution to the Dollars for
Scholars Fund at Freeport High School, 50 South Brookside Ave.,
Freeport, NY 11520. Arrows Hockey League players John Osei-Tutu (left) and Kyle Pistani (right) were joined by locol supporters on
the ice for the face off, Jim Parola, Treasurer for the Dollars for Scholars program, Freeport Trustee Don Miller,
Hempstead Town Councilwoman Angie Cullin, and Freeport Village Justice V. Roy Cacciatore.
I.-ON
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FEBRUARY/MARCH, 2001 www.FreeportNY.com THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Freeport Welcomes BJ9s Wholesale _Shoppers Cluib
Jmst "
The former location of the Caldor Store
on Mill Road in the southern section of
Freeport is expected to house a BJ's shoppers
club with the doors opening in time for the
Thanksgiving holiday. "We look forward to
welcoming a BJ's to this location in Freeport.
I'm certain it will prove to be a successful
operation, for the wholesale shoppers club,
tion on Long Island," said Julie Somers,
Assistant Vice President, Manager of Public
Relations & Communications. "The Glacken
Administration is obviously dedicated to
improving the economic, health of the com-munity.
We anticipate a-positive outcome of
the approval process and hope to receive all
the necessary permits in time for a grand
$248,387.78 for the year 2001.
The Planning Board has already
approved the architectural plans for the
property submitted by BJ's. The proposal calls
for the renovation of the existing building by
raising theioof of the structure to house'the
big-box equipment, which is basically the
ceiling-high shelving necessary to accommo-
Architect's rendering of the proposed BJ's Wholesale Shoppers Oub to be located on Mill Road in Freeport
and a major addition to the overall econom-ic
boom now taking place in Freeport, a win-win
situation for everyone," declared Mayor
Bill Glacken. The Mayor, along with the
Board of ^Trustees and other village officials,
are in "the process of reviewing the various
plans and architectural renderings submitted
by BJ's management and consultants. The
chain expects to begin construction this
spring, and to schedule an official opening in
the fall.
"BJ's Wholesale Club is pleased with the
help and support it has received from Mayor
Bill Glacken and Freeport officials in connec-tion
with its plan to establish a second loca-opening
in the fall of this year. BJ's looks for-ward
to serving the community of Freeport."
The property has been unoccupied since
the Caldor discount store closed. The village
has continued to receive property taxes on
the three separate lots that make up the par-cel
from the current owners of the property.
The money the village anticipates receiving
from the property tax revenues on the for-mer
Caldor property using the current rate of
taxes and assessment value as of the year
2001, will be approximately $135,515.72,
based on the current assessed value of the
property at $483,122. The tax revenues real-ized
by the Freeport School District came to
date the merchandise, as well as the sprin-kling
system required by the Nassau County
Fire Marshal's office. Extending the height of
the building will be the only major construc-tion
change; the building will maintain the
same basic footprint.
The village building department antici-pates
issuing building permits after carefully
reviewing the information submitted by BJ's
management and the firm's architectural
consultants. When all the required village
and county permits are issued, construction
will begin, with the opening of the shopping
club expected to take place just in time for
Thanksgiving.
When the Glacken Administra-
=-tion=came-into-office-four-year-s-ago-in
April of 1997, our village was fac-ing
a $10 million deficit, a crumbling
infrastructure, and our village
employees were without leadership.
As the newly elected Mayor, and
a third generation Freeporter, I
understood that our village had a
valuable history and a promising
future. Deputy Mayor Renaire
Frierson, Trustee Don Miller, Village
Justice V. Roy Cacciatore and I, had a
vision for Freeport, and we knew
that we could accomplish it when
we all worked together.
Together we stabilized a precar-ious
financial situation created by
the previous administration. Our
efforts were recognized by Moody's
Investors Services with an upgraded
bond rating of A3, which is an excel-lent
rating for any municipality, and
particularly for a village recovering
from a financial deficit.
We upgraded, elevated and
improved the streets, parks, play-grounds
and public spaces that had
been allowed to deteriorate for too
long. We redesigned Woodcleft
Avenue, adding brick pavers, bench-es,
flower planters, special antique-style
light poles, and had the fore-sight
to remove the overhead wires
which were an eyesore and a hazard
during stormy weather. We used a
downtown Main Street theme in
redesigning the 'Nautical Mile' and
we will continue to spread this
1920's style look north through our
central business district.
The parks, playgrounds and ball
fields were refurbished, and reno-vated
and are now showplaces and
examples to other communities.
Over 4,000 trees have been planted
in our 'One Thousand Trees A Year'
program. We will continue the
planting program until we have
replaced every damaged or dead
—curb-tree in-the-village. Each year we
upgraded, repaved, or repaired five
major streets in keeping with the
'Five Worst Streets a Year' plan, and
will continue with that project until
every street in our village is without
potholes or ruts.
Our grassroots efforts to raise
the low-lying roads, upgrade flood-prone
areas and elevate 23 homes in
the flood zone earned the village
the recognition by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency as
a PROJECT IMPACT community, and
the role of mentor to other water-front
communities such as Bayville
and East Rockaway. Freeport is lead-ing
the way as a role model for
other waterfront communities local-
"lyand-nationallyp
We are in the process of select-ing
a developer for the Plaza West
site. Each of the four plans submit-ted
calls for renovating and redevel-oping
the former bank building, a
local landmark in Freeport for gen-erations.
Other sites in the village in
the planning stages include: the
redevelopment of the former hospi-tal
on Ocean Ave., and the renova-tion
and redevelopment of the
Brooklyn Waterworks property
located north of Sunrise Highway.
Nearing completion is the renova-tion
of the Long Island Railroad
facility, in keeping with a commuter-friendly
and aesthetically appealing
look. We persuaded the president of
the LIRR to change the standard
opaque glass and cinderblock con-struction
plan for our local train sta-tion
to an architecturally pleasing
design with overhanging awnings
and other attractive features. We
will see the results of that project by
the end of the year.
Renovation, reconstruction, and
revitalization are spreading from
the waterfront to the center of the
business'-district.-- Fagade improve-ments
to the fourteen storefronts on
Church Street and Merrick Road are
the result of a partnership among
t h e F r e e p o r t Community
Development Agency, the
Community Development Corp. of
Long Island and Citibank. Additional
shops will soon participate in the
program.
New construction is set to begin
on Main Street for the first time in
50 years with the Main Street Mews
project. A major developer will cre-ate
a restaurant and live/work space
designed to attract artists to the
heart of our downtown area. A fam-ily-
style movie theatre offering four
to six screens is expected to open on
"M a i n-Streefe-B ook-aevd -m us i c--sto res,,
along with coffee shops, restau-rants,
and other eating establish-ments
will soon follow.
In my mind, Freeport is like a
team which has suffered many hard-ships
and is on the verge of winning
a championship: poised, confident,
unstoppable.
South Shore Estuary Council Hears Public
Comment to Draft Bay Preservation Plan
More than 100 people, many of them
Freeport residents, attended the public hear-ing
held in the Main Conference Room of
Village Hall recently to voice their comments
on the recently released draft Comp-rehensive
Management Plan by the South
Shore Estuary Reserve Council. Mayor Bill
Glacken, a member of the council, acted as
host. George R. Stafford, who serves as
Director of the Coastal Resources Division for
the Department of State, chaired the hear-ing.
Mayor Glacken agreed with other coun-cil
mejpbersjn .describing, the. ,d raft ^of ,the,,
Comprehensive Management Plan as a
"unique milestone" in wetlands planning
because it recognizes and supports the deli-cate
balance needed to sustain the health of
the South Shore wetlands and open spaces,
while respecting the
commercial and
recreational needs of
the South Shore and
the families who have
depended for gener-ations
on the local
waterways to sustain
themselves and their
way of life.
More than 30
speakers expressed
their concerns for the
Squth.^Shpre ^Estuary,,,
Reserve, and the
state's draft plan. Mr.
Stafford explained
George R. Stafford, Director, NY State Division of Coastal Resources, Rodney McNeil, Project Manager,
Freeport Mayor Bill Glacken listening to testimony during the public hearing on the State's Draft Comprehensive
Management Plan.
that one of the priorities established after
hearing the public's comments both in
The new president of Freeport's volunteer organization SPLASH spoke at the recent hearing while SPLASH board member and
Freeport Trustee Don Miller (seated) looks on.
Freeport and in a previous meeting in
Patchogue, was how to get the many volun-teer
organizations to work together for a
common goal. He explained that the efforts
of groups such as Freeport's SPLASH, which
provides volunteers and equipment for
removing and disposing of debris in the local
canals and waterways, are highly effective.
Mr. Stafford added that each group would
benefit considerably from closer coordina-tion
of efforts with other South Shore volun-teer
organizations.
The South Shore Estuary Reserve spans
more than 500 square miles in Nassau and
Suffolk counties, including bays, tributaries
and their watersheds. That area includes all
or part of the Towns of Hempstead, Oyster
Bay, Babylon, (slip, Brppkhawen and
'Southampton)"31 viflages'including Freeport
and East Rockaway, and the City of''Long
Beach.
Deputy Mayor Frierson Interviewed by News 12
at Freeport Historical Museum
Reporter Kara Silver spent a recent
morning at the Historical Museum talking
with the members of the Freeport Historical
Society about the variety of memorabilia
housed in the museum located at 350 South
Main Street.
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson, who
was raised in Freeport and graduated from
the high school in 1978, discussed some of
the items kept in the special school section
Kara Silver from News 12 interviews Freeport Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson.
of the museum. Ms. Frierson recently was
inducted into the Freeport High School
Academic Wall of Fame. Ms. Silver also
interviewed the president of the Freeport
Historical Society, Camilla Weir, along with
other members of the organization. Bob
Raynor and Cynthia Krieg. The museum is
open from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays from
April to December.
