Freeport Report 2006-07

              2007 Property Tax Exemptions Applications Deadline is October 2
The deadline for new applications for
real property tax exemptions for the 2007 tax
year is Monday, October 2, 2006. "Because
many property owners must put together
various items of paper work," said Mayor Bill
Glacken, "we like to be sure that they know
well in advance of the deadline."
Residents who currently have property
tax exemptions that must be renewed annu-ally
must also reapply to the Village
Assessor's office by Monday, October 2nd.
Renewal applications have been mailed to
everyone who received a renewable exemp-tion
on the 2006 tax roll. If you believe you
are entitled to an exemption, and have not
received an application, please call 377-2256.
The property owners who must reapply
annually include homeowners, co-op and
condominium owners, clergy and/or non-profit
organizations that meet the require-ments
for senior citizen, clergy, and/or non-profit
organization exemptions. Residents
who are receiving veterans' real property tax
exemptions as well as recipients of capital
improvement and business exemptions need
not reapply annually.
Applications are available at the
Assessor's office, Room 105 in Village Hall,
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
for the following exemptions: senior citizen,
non-profit, clergy, veterans, firemen, capital
improvement, and business. Additional
information is available on Freeport's web-s
i t e , w w w . f r e e p o r t n y . g o v ,
in the Village Assessor section. Forms
may be downloaded directly from
www.orps.state.ny.us. "STAR" exemptions
are a separate application and must be
acquired through the Nassau County
Assessment department. For information on
the "STAR" exemption, please call 571-3000.
According to the Real Property Tax Law,
applications for property tax exemptions
must be received (not postmarked) by
Monday, October 2, in the Village Assessor's
office by 4:30 p.m.
"^%yf ,
j< &
Co-Sponsored by the Village of Freeport
and Long Island Arts Council at Freeport
FREE CONCERTS
THURSDAYS - 7:30PM
FREE PARKING - RAIN* OR SHINE
*Rain Location: Freeport Recreation Center
130 East Merrick Road
Freeport
Limited seating is available.
We recommend you bring chairs.
For further information and directions
call the Arts Council at (516) 223-2522.
August 3rd
HEARTBEAT
A Musical Journey featuring Bomba from Puerto Rico,
Meringue from the Dominican Republic, the Cuban Son,
and the magic of the Steel Drum from Trinidad
Village Hall Courtyard
August 10th
PLAZA THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS
Charlotte's Web - a beautiful musical about friendship that
will leave you spellbound
(great for kids 4-11 & their families)
Village Hall Courtyard
August 17th
ROBERT POE WITH MATT MARSHAK
A distinctive blend of blues, jazz and country
Nautical Mile Esplanade
August 24th
THE GOLD TONE ORCHESTRA
A great group of swinging seniors
Freeport Recreation Center
August 24th - CHUK FOWLER
Classical Jazz Repertoire with a Creative Flair that will
inspire you to Dance
Nautical Mile Esplanade
August 31st
THE ADVENTURES OF CHOCHKA
WITH SHERRY JOY & DONNA LEE
A magical place where Chochka and her friends live
and leam lessons to last a lifetime
through puppets, singing, magic and more
(great for kids 3-8 and their families)
Village Hall Courtyard
I-ON
OZSLl AN aivd OZSU AN %iodaaj-|
anU3AV UeaDQ 'ON 91?
_..-,!.. -5T3ygy -MV^I? Freeport Report li
New York
JULY, 2006 www.freeportny.gov THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Freeport Welcomes Annual Annapolis Visit
This year Freeport will once
again welcome the men and
women of the United States
Naval Academy Sail Training
Squadron to our Nautical Mile
for a 4-day visit. The Annapolis
midshipmen, sailing six single-mast
Navy vessels, will arrive
on Saturday, August 12th.
The sailboats crewed by 80
midshipmen and their instruc-tors
will dock at the Esplanade
on the Nautical Mile at approx-imately
7:30 p.m. The
Annapolis visitors will spend a
long weekend in the village,
visiting New York City, Jones
Beach and other well-known
attractions before leaving
Tuesday, August 15th. While
here, the sailboats will be open to
the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
for tours and the midshipmen will
provide information and answer
questions about the Academy's 4-
year college program.
The visit by the Naval
Academy's sail training vessels,
which has made Freeport's
Nautical Mile on Woodcleft Ave. a
port-of-call for the past nine years,
is a major attraction for local resi-dents
and tourists. The eight sail-boats
docked at the Esplanade
and manned by the midshipmen,
provide a pleasant summer desti-nation
for visitors to the water-front
and offer an opportunity to
experience the revitalized Nautical
Mile.
SPLASH Thanks Its Volunteers
The environmental organization,
SPLASH, (Stop Polluting, Littering and Save
our Harbors) held a special party
recently to thank its volunteers for
their dedication and service. The non-profit
group is responsible for remov-ing
more than 220 tons of trash from
the waterways in Freeport and nearby
south shore communities.
The president of the organization,
Rob Weltner, thanked the many volun-teers
gathered at the Freeport Marine
Education Center on Woodcleft Ave.
He praised them for the job they do in
helping keep our bays, canals, and
fragile wetlands free of debris. "For
more than 16 years, SPLASH workers
have been removing incredible
amounts of the most horrible junk
from the waterways, including tires, toilets, priate
discarded wood, and other grossly inappro- pose
Pictured congioiulcriing SPIASH President Rob Weiiner (center) is Fieeport Vffloge Trustee Don
MIer (left) and Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg.
items. They routinely remove and dis-of
a seemingly endless supply of
garbage that includes plastic bags,
non-biodegradable cups, and other
things that would, if left in the water,
destroy its pristine nature," he said.
"On behalf of the community and
others who respect and appreciate the
natural beauty of our local waterways,
we are grateful to the dedicated vol-unteers
from Operation SPLASH for
their tireless efforts in defending our
wonderful waterfront environment,"
said Trustee Miller as he presented a
proclamation to Mr. Weltner.
SPLASH always needs volunteers.
Anyone interested in joining or mak-ing
a donation may contact the group
at 378-4770.
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Congratulates Freeport Eagle Scout
We have read a lot in the newspapers
over the past month about unusually
generous acts of philanthropy on the
part of extremely wealthy individuals. Bill
Gates and his wife Melinda set up a foun-dation
several years ago dedicated to
donating a substantial portion of their
considerable wealth to critical causes,
particularly in areas that focus on improv-ing
educational opportunities and pro-viding
medical resources for some of the
world's most unfortunate individuals.
Last month Warren Buffet decided to
donate a major share of his personal
wealth to the Gates Foundation, adding
$40""billion" dollars'" to "'the "Ga'fes""
Foundation's funds.
As substantial as these contributions
are, they do not make up the bulk of
charitable giving in the United States.
Recent research shows that the largest
share of financial donations to charities,
schools, churches, and various other non-profit
organizations dedicated to helping
the less fortunate, continues to come
from families and individuals who can
best be described as members of the mid-dle
class.
People who have known struggles and
poverty remain the most likely to donate
money_to_the_needy...And_interestingly,_
these people tend to donate a higher
percentage of their income to the poor
as opposed to the wealthy. Middle to
low-income wage earners, with their $5,
$10 and $20 donations, provide the most
consistent support for many charitable
and non-profit organizations. Right now,
those donations are urgently needed by
local groups, which provide food to those
in need.
The Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN)
is a non-profit agency that serves a noon-time
hot meal from Monday to Friday at
two locations, the Church of God on
Babylon Turnpike in Freeport and at the
Mary Brennan Soup Kitchen in
Hempstead. It is inconceivable that any-one,
especially families with young chil-dren,
would ever go hungry in the United
StatesrBut-the higtepriced-housirig^nrfar^
ket on Long Island, coupled with the lack
of affordable rental space, have forced
many people to choose between shelter
and food.
The INN has been serving food to the
poor and needy for more than 23 years.
Each year they report a drop off in dona-tions
during the summer months. While
they do receive a substantial amount of
food around Thanksgiving and
Christmas, the supplies are usually gone
by late summer for a variety of reasons.
The lack of access to school lunch pro-grams
when school is out is another
..problem.-
The Parish Outreach organization at
Our Holy Redeemer Church is experienc-ing
the same situation. The volunteer
group that provides food for the hungry
is also in dire need of donations of
canned and non-perishable food. Both
the INN and Parish Outreach will accept
donations of clean, useable clothing and
household items. If you or someone you
know is in need of food or shelter, con-tact
either the INN at 516-486-8506 or
Parish Outreach group at 516-868-8289.
Both organizations need your help,,
either as a donor or to serve meals to the
hungry. Volunteering is a good way to
show your thanks for your own blessings.
CDA Director to
Lead WEDLI
The Women's Economic Developers of Long Island
invited Mayor Bill Glacken to install the organization's
new officers and Board of Directors at the Installation
Dinner held at the Pier 95 Restaurant on June 8, 2006.
Ellen Kelly, Freeport's Director of Planning and
Community Development, was installed as President of
the organization, an invitational network of executive
level women with job responsibilities affecting econom-ic
development on Long Island.
Pictured left to right are: Janet Knipfing, Kennetha Pettus, Rosemary Olsen, Michelle
DiBenedetto, Judith McEvoy, Karen Strom, Maureen Leslie, Lucille Wesnofske, Ellen Kelly, Ann-
Marie Scheldt, Michele Pincus, Lisa Santoro, Linda Louis and Mayor Glacken.
Pictured with Hari Dasa Farkas (second right) is his family spiritual advisor Chandreshokara Swami, his parents
Michele and Bob Farkas, Hari and Mayor Bill Glacken.
Mayor Bill Glacken was among the local officials who attended
the Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Hari Dasa Farkas on July 14th,
2006. He achieved the highest rank bestowed by the Boy Scouts
of America as a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Council, Troop
225. Hari attained the goal through the accumulation of the
required merit badges including a final project which involved
planting wild flowers to beautify local public spaces.
"Since I became Mayor in April of 1997, I've had the honor of
participating in the induction of 20 young men from Freeport
who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout," said Mayor Glacken.
"These young people are destined to become our next leaders.
Freeport is proud of their efforts and the support demonstrated
by their families." The Mayor thanked the Farkas family for help-ing
their son, and all the other young men they have assisted over
the years, and their contributions to the Freeport community.
Local Soup Kitchen Needs Donations
The summer is a difficult time for the
Interfaith Nutrition Network. Many of the
usual donors such as schools and civic orga-nizations
are not in session. Community
action projects sponsored by groups such as
the Boy and Girl Scouts are usu-ally
on hold while families are
vacationing and visiting friends
and relatives. Consequently,
donations of food, both perish-able
and non-perishable,
decline substantially, requiring
the INN to reach out for help
before the situation becomes a
dire emergency in August.
"We always face a drop in
our food supply during the
summer,", explained Jean Kelly,
the Executive Director of the
organization. "This makes it
even more difficult to provide a hot noon-time
meal to a total of more than 350 peo-ple
a day between our Freeport and
Hempstead centers."
Ms. Kelly says that hunger is very much
Volunteers Blanche Scharfenberg, Lee Goodwin, Eunice Patrick and Carol Wilson prepare to serve lunch at the
Church of God, 580 Babylon Turnpike in Freeport.
present here on Long Island, even in the
middle of so much affluence. "We have a
mission," she concluded, "to help as many
people as we can, and to do it with the same
dignity and respect we would want, should
we be in their situation."
The INN's centers also offer cloth-ing,
shoes, baby items, toiletries,
and household items to those in
need. The INN provides a number of
support programs including help
with job applications and resume
counseling, assistance in finding a
place to live and referrals to avail-able
veterans services.
If you are interested in volunteer-ing
to help serve a meal our would
like to donate food,..clothing or
household items, you may contact
516-486-8105.
Don't Let the dog days of Summer dry
out the Curb Trees
Please remember to water the curb
trees during the long, hot days of sum-mer.
These young plantings are part of
the Glacken Administration's plan to
bring flowering trees and much needed
shade to every block in the village.
All watering, for the curb trees, lawns
and shrubs should be done according to
the schedule established by the Village,
which is based on your house number.
Odd numbered houses may water on
the odd dates on the calendar, and even
numbered houses on the even num-bered
dates. All watering of lawns, gar-dens
and curb trees must be done
between the early morning hours of 4
a.m. and 10 a.m., or in the evening
between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.