A bridge builder and a hero

Valley Stream library Director Mamie Eng was honored with the Bridge Builder of the Year award at the Friends of Bridge annual awards luncheon last Sunday afternoon. Also honored was Christopher Pizzolo with the Service to Community and Country award.

Friends of Bridge is a Valley Stream-based substance abuse treatment facility, located on Pflug Place.

Eng secured a grant to create a book club for adolescent clients in the Friends of Bridge drug treatment program. Not only do the clients get books to read, they get a chance to discuss each novel with the writer. The group has already been visited by two authors.

Pizzolo is a former treasurer on the Friends of Bridge Board of Directors. He is an attorney and a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves, having served a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq. Currently, he is employed as a court attorney referee for Nassau County Family Court and is a principal law clerk with the state Supreme Court.

In 2001, Pizzolo began volunteering with Friends of Bridge. He said he knew several leaders of the organization and liked what he saw. “I thought I could do just a little piece to help out the program,” he said.

Pizzolo said he likes the proactive approach of Friends of Bridge, as members visit area schools and educate children on the dangers of substance abuse. “They try to prevent them from doing drugs to begin with,” he said.

Barbara DeGrace, past president of Friends of Bridge, said Pizzolo is a hero to his country, his community and his own family.

Eng grew up in Valley Stream and began working at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library in 1977. She was appointed director in 2007 following the retirement of Marshall Botwinick, whom Eng described as her mentor.

Through the American Library Association, Eng said she learns of many grant opportunities, and found one available for the underserved teen population. She thought of Friends of Bridge, which has a tutoring component for adolescents in its drug treatment program. “Since they’re not in the regular schools,” Eng said, “they don’t have access to school libraries so they’re underserved.”

Eng said the grant from the library association has funded books for the adolescents, while money from State Sen. Dean Skelos and Assemblyman Bob Barra helps pay for the author visits.

Friends of Bridge President Ida D’Angelo said the program has been a success, and the teens enjoy reading the books and meeting with the authors. “Such a wonderful opportunity would not have been possible without her efforts,” D’Angelo said of Eng.

Deputy Mayor Joanne Antun, the village board’s liaison to the library, had words of praise for Eng. Antun described the library director as passionate about her job, a good communicator and someone with a vision for the future.

Former friend honored

Friends of Bridge honored Diana Pirrone, a former members of the board of directors who died last year. She was formerly a principal and assistant superintendent in District 24.

Dr. Lisa Conte, principal of the Robert W. Carbonaro School, said the district will be awarding a scholarship in Pirrone’s name. Sixth-graders throughout the district wrote essays about how substance abuse affects healthy living.

Conte said that the two best essays will be chosen from each class, and a committee will the decide the winner of the scholarship.