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Mostly Cloudy Franklin Square/Elmont Year in Review
Visit https://www.liherald.com/elmontyir.html to read our Year in Review issue.
Bob Dylan, you're right again: times are a-changin'. At least that's been true in 2011, for Franklin Square and Elmont residents. Among several life-altering events, the year brought political controversy, horrific tragedy and deadly storms to the community.
Over the past year, the community endured tumultuous weather. Considered by most scientists as effects of Global Warming, severe storms, including hurricanes and cyclones, occurred in several countries worldwide. In January, locals were still dealing with several inches of snow and ice brought by the December 2010 blizzard; Tropical Storm Irene swept through the community in late August.
Since YouTube was created in 2005 and the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007, global communication has grown immensely. Occupy Wall Street, an ongoing protest that began in September and has grown to include thousands of rallies against the global financial system, corporate greed, government cutbacks and the global jobs crisis.
When more jets began flying over Nassau County on Oct. 20, under new flight patterns designed for New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia, several residents connected on Facebook regarding their concern about more local noise, demanding answers from the Federal Aviation Administration, the patterns' creator.
Also in October, a YouTube video spurred sensational controversy in the community regarding the campaign of Republican incumbent John Ciotti, who was running against challenger Carrié Solages for Nassau County Legislature's District 3. The video, which showed two of Ciotti's campaign volunteers hanging political signs on a fence next to his opponent’s law office and one making racially charged comments when questioned about it, likely influenced the results of the election. In November, Solages won, with more than 400 votes.
A decades-long racial boundary was broken in 2008, when President Obama became the nation's first black president, and since then, views of the face of a politician has shifted. On Jan. 2, Solages will become the first Haitian-American to represent Franklin Square and Elmont in the Nassau County Legislature's District 3.
Locals questioned the safety of local roads several times in 2011, due to the several accidents and deaths that have occurred over the past several years.
