By Marley Seaman
If the Lakeview Council gets it way, however, that will soon change. The group is campaigning against local stores that display alcohol and cigarette ads in public view. They say those ads set a poor example and violate the moral standards of the community.
"We want to stop that because it's not done in the other communities," said Council Chairman Julian Jones, adding that the beer banners, also called flags, would not be tolerated in communities like Malverne, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre. "It's only done in the communities of color, and we want to stop it in Lakeview."
An employee at the deli said that the beer flags were placed by the store's parent company.
In April, the Lakeview Council sent a letter to Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby asking for her assistance. The council wrote that advertisements plastered on small "mom and pop" stores were giving the community the look of a low-income neighborhood in New York City.
"Residents of this community request the immediate removal of all beer/cigarettes flags, cardboard displays, and banners that are in front of the businesses concerned," Jones and council Vice Chair Viberta Caesar wrote.
Goosby said her office is investigating the laws that govern alcohol and cigarette displays in Nassau County, and that she will act to bring stores in line if they are breaking the law. She has also contacted Joseph Nocella, commissioner of the town building department, about the issue. To Jones, however, it does not matter if the ads are legal. He said stores should keep them out of the view of children even if they are not required to do so.
"Just like schools and churches have a hand in raising our children, so does the community, our neighbors and our store owners," he said. "They have to project what the community wants."
Many Lakeview residents are passionate about the issue, Jones said. He told a story of a resident who was so angered by a local store's 6-foot-tall display of a celebrity drinking beer from a 40-ounce bottle that he immediately asked management to remove it. They complied.
The ads, Jones said, give outsiders a false impression of what Lakeview is like. "It's a beautiful community, and it's very low on crime," he said. "I want [Lakeview] to look like Malverne - I want to have that beauty around my house. A lot of the residents of the community, they want that also."
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
