Planning has been in the works for three years, and the project is expected to be completed in 2004. The new facility will boast an amphitheater, a 180-foot community room, a computer center and more book space.
The library was last expanded in 1989 when it purchased the EAB building. On Jan. 17, 2001, people in Baldwin voted for the expansion project, and a bond act was passed by 1,300 to 300 votes.
h: Guardino resigns as Hempstead Town Supervisor
Three-term Town of Hempstead Supervisor Richard Guardino Jr. announced in January that he was resigning from office to become the executive dean of Hofstra University's Business Development Center and its new Center for Suburban Studies.
Guardino's resignation came as a shock to many, amid high approval ratings and having won 58 percent of the vote in the 2001 election. While Guardino said he had always hoped to be involved with education, he expressed mixed feelings about leaving the town, where he began his career at town hall as a councilman in 1981.
Guardino said he was proud of his strict financial management, which led to bond rating increases and budget surpluses at a time when many local governments were struggling to pay their bills. Guardino's position was filled by former Town Clerk Kate Murray.
Oil fouls Milburn Pond
A boiler leak at Freeport High School dumped about 300 gallons of fuel oil into Milburn Pond and the surrounding wetlands over a three-day period before being discovered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Freeport School District agreed to pay for the clean-up and most of the floating oil was cleaned up, though residue continued to linger for months afterwards. A Canadian duck and a black duck coated with oil were found dead near the pond, though the DEC said they did not foresee any long-term negative environmental impact from the spill.
Margaret Schoen, nurse and mother, dies
After a long illness, Margaret Schoen died on Jan. 1, 2003, at her home in Baldwin. She was 88 years old. Born Margaret Donovan and raised in Minnesota, she attended college and traveled as a nurse. When she joined the Army in 1942, she supervised a psychiatric ward in a military hospital in New Orleans. There, she met Gerard Schoen of Baldwin, a combat medic who later served overseas, and the two kept up a courtship by mail for over two years during World War II. Eventually, the two married and moved to Baldwin, where they raised five children. Schoen was involved in the PTA, Baldwin Historical Society and the Women's Advance Club. She also worked as a nurse at local hospitals and the Baldwin School District, where she helped organize the first polio vaccination efforts. Schoen made her mark on all who met her.
"Everywhere she went we could see the admiration other people had for her," said her son, B.A. Schoen. "It was empowering for we children."
Sex abuse charge rocks Baldwin High School
Waves of shock rippled through Baldwin High School in January after a popular science teacher was charged with sexually abusing a former student.
John Vodicka, 36, of Syosset, allegedly "inappropriately touched" a 16-year-old former student in an empty classroom on four occasions between October 1999 and May 2000, police said.
Vodicka was charged with four counts of third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor, and six felony counts of first-degree dissemination of indecent material to a minor. He would later plead guilty to a felony count of disseminating indecent material and sentenced to five years probation. He was fired from his job at the high school.
Beckwith declines Maloney invite
Retired firefighter and Baldwin resident Bob Beckwith, whose image with President George W. Bush atop a pile of rubble at ground zero was flashed around the world shortly after Sept. 11, turned down an invitation to attend the president's State of the Union address in Washington. The ticket was given to Beckwith by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), who is pressuring the Bush administration to release $90 million in federal health funds in order to monitor rescue workers suffering from respiratory problems in the wake of Sept. 11.
In an interview with the Daily News, Beckwith said he is a Republican and "didn't know that he was taking a seat from a Democrat." Though Beckwith would like to see the funds released, he said he didn't want to embarrass the president by attending.
February
Clean sweep
After months of complaints from residents and businesses about litter along Grand Avenue, local officials announced that Grand Avenue would be the first street in the county to be swept twice a week.
Before the change, the county Department of Public Works would send a sweeper once a month down the length of Grand Avenue, from the Southern State Parkway to Atlantic Avenue. Under the pilot program, alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules went into effect from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays so businesses will be minimally affected.
The deteriorating state of Grand Avenue has been a sore point with Baldwin residents for years, and litter has become the locus of much vocal and bitter complaining. Though there are only two street sweepers for the entire county, the officials said the project has a negligible fiscal impact on the county and no impact on taxpayers.
Drug test ordeal
Jonathan Grossman, a Sanitary District No. 2 worker for 18 years, was suspended from his job for five weeks without pay, after he was accused of taking morphine. The drug allegedly registered on a urine test, which Grossman believes was a false positive created by a poppy seed bagel. He was reinstated in March after the drug test was ruled inconclusive.
H: A first for female firefighters
There have been many captains in the Baldwin Fire Department, but Karen Werfelman, 29, is the first woman in its history to achieve that rank.
In what is typically a "boys' club," Werfelman's tenacity and dedication to the department became clear when she was young. An older sister to two brothers, she was the only one who decided to follow in the footsteps of her father, Bill Werfelman, an ex-chief.Ê
Werfelman, who is also a teacher in Hicksville, joined the fire department in 1992 and rose to the rank of lieutenant. She has received an EMS award for excellence, as well as several other awards for her calls to duty.
As captain, Werfelman is responsible for two ambulances, a rescue truck and a crew of 31 emergency workers. She was sworn in by her father at a ceremony at the Rose Boulevard Fire Department. "This is my family," she said of the department.
Baldwin teen charged in jail fire
Alex Pichardo, 16, of Baldwin was one of eight Nassau County inmates charged with setting a fire in the jail in January. Pichardo, a Baldwin High School student, was arrested in November 2002 for his role in a stabbing outside the high school in which three young men were injured.
On Jan. 18, the inmates allegedly lit toilet paper in their cells and ignited milk boxes, cereal boxes, mattress stuffing, clothing, sheets and papers, then threw the lighted material into the common area of the cellblock. The eight men were charged with second-degree arson and could face up to 25 years in jail if convicted.
GOP to Dems: Help oust Williams
Republican legislators called on two Democrats to sign a letter demanding the removal of former Democratic Nassau County lawmaker Patrick Williams from his post at Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation. The Democrats cried foul, saying the letter was an attempt to play politics and create a rift in the party.
Williams, the former First District county legislator, was convicted of federal conspiracy charges in December 2002 for inflating the incomes of prospective homeowners to help them get mortgages.
A week after he was fined more than $51,000 and sentenced to six-months of home detention, Williams was hired as the head of human resources at Nassau Regional OTB. Shortly after Williams was hired, Legis. Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) and David Denenberg (D-Merrick) were the only two Democratic legislators to publicly oppose their former colleague's new job.
Because of their public comments, Republican legislators called on Scannell and Denenberg to add their signatures to the letter, which was signed by the nine-member majority and meant to put pressure on OTB President Larry Aaronson to fire Williams. Scannell charged that Republicans were attempting to hamper the redistricting process, as the legislature geared up to vote on new legislative maps in February 2003.
Foley passes chamber mantle
The Baldwin Chamber of Commerce bid farewell to its five year president, Ginny Foley, and welcomed its new president and board of directors in January. Foley was instrumental in getting the Town of Hempstead's faade improvement program off the ground, helping makeover the chamber edifice near the Baldwin LIRR station and in creating the Baldwin banners hanging around town. The chamber is also responsible for four popular seasonal events in town.
Stepping up to the plate as chamber president was Doris Duffy, an attorney who served as chamber vice president for two years. Duffy, who is also active in the Baldwin Community Association, has been a force behind a number of community projects, including the Downtown Development Study, the renovation of the LIRR station, the faade improvement project, and the BCA's redistricting efforts, to name a few.
Sex for sale?
Police said that a business at 1933 Grand Avenue, a thrift store that was misusing the Mr. Jay's Carpet and Flooring sign, a business that had moved out of the area, was allegedly operating a den of prostitution in its basement. In February, police arrested four people on prostitution charges.
Police said the store was being used as a front, and two undercover officers from the Narcotics/Vice Bureau busted two women for offering sexual services and two men for running the operation. Police said johns were charged a fee and issued tickets or passes to have sex with prostitutes in private rooms in the basement.
The arrests came a little more than a year after the former Crow Bar was shut down for similar illicit activity, as well as a massage parlor on Sunrise Highway. Police urged residents to contact the First Precinct with any information on suspicious activity, and said that the Community Response Team, which deals with gangs, burglaries and other crimes, tries to address these issues before a community goes bad.
A reconfigured Nassau, a united Baldwin
Nassau Democrats unveiled proposed legislative district lines that would give Democratic incumbents a stronger foothold in heavily Republican Nassau County. Locally, the Democrats' map would unite 98 percent of Baldwin election districts in the Fifth Legislative District, a plan many community activists have advocated.
March
Coach of the year
Despite a dramatic and extremely close 49-48 loss to fifth seeded Farmingdale on Feb. 26, 2003, the top seeded Bruins showed astonishing skill during the Nassau County Class A playoffs. Coach Darius Burton was named Nassau County Conference II Coach of the Year, while Lennox Matthews was named All-County and Conference II Player of the Year. Four other Bruins, Danny Cepero, Brian Spencer, Brandon Harris and Greg Woythaler, were named All-Conference.
A hero's farewell
Nearly 10,000 police officers and hundred of grieving relatives and friends gathered to bid farewell to slain undercover NYPD detective James Nemorin.
Nemorin, a Baldwin resident and father of three young children, was killed in March along with his partner, Detective Rodney Andrews, during an undercover operation in Staten Island.
Nemorin and Andrews were the first officers killed in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001, and their deaths sent waves of shock through the community and the police department. Nemorin, 36, was new to Baldwin, having moved to the community with his wife, Rose-Andre, a little over a year before his death. Nemorin and Andrews were posthumously promoted to detectives first-grade, which provides more benefits for their families and recognizes their sacrifice.
Chamber hires firm to bring in businesses
In March, the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce hired FranchiseHelp Inc., a Westchester-based consulting firm, to market Baldwin as an attractive location for businesses. The chamber hopes that FranchiseHelp can use its extensive industry contacts to match Baldwin with appropriate franchises.
County prepared, says Suozzi
More than 120 locations in Nassau County are perceived as "vulnerable" to terrorist attack, said County Executive Tom Suozzi, a day after the United States and coalition forces went to war against Iraq. While he said there were no specific threats, Suozzi announced that the county was "well prepared" to prevent attacks or respond to them if they occur. Suozzi emphasized that since Sept. 11, 2001, the county has been working to ensure that its preparedness plans are in place if a terrorist attack occurs.
April
All eyes on Iraq
Neighbors who live on Oakmere Road in Baldwin came together to show their support for Frank Burns III, a Baldwin High School graduate and first lieutenant with the Army's 101st Airborne Division who is serving in Iraq. Yellow ribbons are tied to trees in front of every home, a show of solidarity for the soldiers and the Burns family.
Tribute to 9/11 hero
On April 5, Tennyson Avenue was renamed Brian McAleese Place, in honor of the 36-year-old New York City firefighter and father of four who died on Sept. 11, 2001 after the attack on the World Trade Center. In a ceremony attended by nearly 100 people, including family, firemen, neighbors and Town of Hempstead officials, the new sign bearing his name was unveiled following a solemn service that honored Baldwin's fallen hero.
Blaze destroys historic home
A century old home at 1481 Woodside Ave. in Baldwin was destroyed in an early morning blaze in April. No one was home at the time, but two firefighters sustained minor injuries. Luckily, homeowner Leroy Williams and his family weren't home at the time. More than 85 Baldwin firefighters raced to the scene, and two firemen sustained minor injuries. Fire officials said the blaze was not suspicious.
Youth minister charged in sex with teen
A youth minister from Baldwin, Carlos Desuze, 32, was charged with third-degree statutory rape in April after a 17-year-old girl revealed to her parents that she had a sexual relationship with the minister over the course of several months when she was 16, police said.
Walgreen's moving in
After months of planning, development of the proposed Walgreen's was a go. The new pharmacy will be located at the corner of Grand and Seaman Avenues and is expected to be a boon for the neighborhood and to brighten up what many consider an eyesore of a corner. The roughly $3 million project is currently being built on an acre and a half of property.
May
Hike unfair, say commuters
The MTA announced a 25-percent fare increase in April. Effective May 1, 2003, Baldwin commuters' monthly fees into Penn Station via the Long Island Railroad increased from $154 to $192, and daily round-trip tickets for peak hours increased from $14 to $17.50.
The increase came after what the MTA said was a need to close a deficit and maintain services, though an audit of the agency by State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi found that the MTA shifted surplus money in 2002 in order to pay down its debt in 2004.
Greener streets
Planters filled with evergreen trees hit the street of Baldwin in May thanks to a project by the Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Hempstead and the Beautiful Baldwin Foundation. With a refurbished planter are, left to right, Doug Diana, Councilman Anthony Santino, Doris Rios Duffy, Supervisor Kate Murray and Ginny Foley.
Hello, Colonel
Kentucky Fried Chicken announced its plan to move into the former Friendly's space on North Grand Avenue. Despite some concerns from nearby residents about increased traffic, noise and other quality-of-life issues, the project was given the go ahead and should be completed in early 2004.
The new establishment will also include a Long John Silver's restaurant, 34 parking spaces, refurbished landscaping and the 3,400-square-foot restaurant.
Man shot in face
An 18-year-old Freeport man was shot in the face in April, after an altercation in the parking lot behind Grand Avenue and Merrick Road in Baldwin. The shooting was one of three within three months along this stretch of Grand Ave.
More state aid = lower tax levy
The board of education approved its 2003-04 school budget, and lowered its projections after netting an estimated $2 million more in state aid and factoring in state changes made to employee retirement contributions.
The board reduced the tax levy after the New York State Legislature overrode Gov. George Pataki's veto in order to restore more than $1 billion in state school aid. The approved budget was reduced to $81.7 million from $82 million. The additional state aid was used to lower the tax levy, or the amount of money the district needs to raise from taxpayers, to $61,267,308. That is a 6.2 percent increase from the previous year, but lower than the 10.5 percent projected tax levy before state aid came through. The budget was approved by voters.
June
Precinct project scrapped
The First Precinct project, announced with a bang six years ago, has gone out with a whimper. County officials announced in June that the plan to move the First Precinct to the corner of Grand Avenue and Merrick Road had been scrapped.
Legis. Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) said that the precinct could still be moved, just not in the near future and not where many had hoped.
"The county is looking to build a model precinct, and one thing they're looking at is alternative sites on county properties within Baldwin," Scannell said.
No center in our back yard, say residents
A proposal to build senior housing at 2870 Grand Avenue has nearby residents concerned about quality-of-life issues after it was announced in June, and the issue has become a major source of contention here.
The $1.2 million project, which would be built on 1.32 acres next to Halandia Shores, would transform the current one-family home into a sprawling housing complex that would include four buildings with a total of 27 units, with a price range of $149,000 to $159,000 per unit. Residents were told that the entire center would have 36 parking spaces and a community center, and the structures would be two stories and no higher than 35-feet.
But residents expressed ambivalence and outright displeasure with the project, especially since it would sit on Grand Avenue, a main arterial road. With concerns about increased traffic, quality-of-life issues and sewage problems, many residents asked Deka Associates President John Martino, the developer of the project, to take the project out of Baldwin, or somewhere else.
Suicide threat defused
A 39-year-old Baldwin man named John placed an eerie phone call from his Grand Avenue apartment to WBAB disk jockeys John "J.P." Parise and Roger Luce in June, saying he had a bomb strapped to his arm, and, even more frightening, that he was ready to kill himself.
Though at firs the duo thought the call might be a prank, once the man described the bomb, everyone in the studio became alarmed and immediately called police.
While the DJs kept the distraught caller on the air, police were given details such as the man's address. When police responded to the address, the man let them in without incident, and was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital. Police said the bomb, made of two butane canisters and batteries, had no detonator.
Baldwin voters have spoken
The votes were counted, and Baldwin voters gave the nod to the 2003-04 school and library budgets on June 3. School board incumbents Mary Jo O'Hagan and Robert B.A." Schoen were reelected to serve another three years. Kevin Kamen, who ran unopposed and is the current president of the library board, was reelected to a five year term.
Sixty-one percent of voters supported the school district's $81,691,485 budget, a 4.6 percent increase in spending from the previous year. Sixty-eight percent of voters supported the library's $2,650,850 budget, up 4.1 percent from the previous year.
Incumbent Mary Jo O'Hagan was the top vote getter in the school board trustee race, with 1,414 votes, followed by Schoen with 1,400 votes. Challengers Rev. Bernard Woodside and Russell Martinez received 616 and 411 votes, respectively. Kamen received 1441 votes.
The case of the mystery ad
A mystery advertisement raised the hackles of two local candidates for Nassau County legislator, marking the beginning of a tense campaign season for 19 hotly contested legislative seats.
The ad appeared in a journal for the Conservative Party's annual dance on June 5, offering best wishes from the Baldwin Public Library, and it set off alarm bells for some.
Kevin Kamen, the library board president, was running as a Republican for the Fifth District legislative seat, and under state law, it is illegal for a state agency to pay for campaign materials for any political party or candidate.
Kamen denied that the library board had any knowledge of the ad, and hinted that his opponents may have placed it, a charge that his opponents disputed. The Conservative Party, which did not endorse Kamen, could not explain where the ad came from. The party's chairman, Roger Bogsted, sent a letter of apology to Kamen, saying that he realized Kamen did not authorize the ad. But the Conservative Party also dismissed the notion that an operative from the Democratic Party sent the ad as a campaign tactic.
"That's a hell of a conspiracy," said Chris Mistron, the vice chairman of the Conservative Party.
Math Regents shocker
School administrators, students and parents across the state were up in arms over the abysmal results of the Regents Math A Exam. The test, they say, was poorly designed and too difficult, causing many students to fail.
Of nearly 300 students who took the exam at Baldwin High School, just 12 percent passed with a score of 65 or higher, according to School Superintendent Kathy Weiss. Those numbers are comparable to results in neighboring school districts.
Superintendents and educators from across the state challenged the test results with the state Education Department. The state rescored the exam in September 2003.
Rape charge for phony cop
A Baldwin man posing as a New York City police officer was charged with raping and kidnapping a 19-year-old Queens woman in June.
Claude Solomon, 26, of 989 Ceil Place in Baldwin, was arrested on June 19 after police said he lured the woman into his car by flashing his deceased father's badge, as well as a Police Benevolent Association card and police lingo to convince the woman he was a cop. He drove to Baldwin from Queens, where he then raped the woman and videotaped the ordeal.
Fireball injures 24
A fire and two explosions that rocked Oceanside Institutional Industries on Long Beach Road in June injured 23 firefighters who battled the flames.
The Oceanside Fire Department and about 16 surrounding departments responded to the scene. Ten firefighters, nine from Oceanside and Chief Kevin Canham from Baldwin, were transported to the burn unit at Nassau University Medical Center with first and second degree burns about the face, head and ears. Other firefighters suffered from either smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion.
July
Teens, residents and police grapple with fears of gang activity
About two dozen Baldwin residents sent a letter to County Executive Tom Suozzi, calling on him to address the community's growing gang problem and cuts to law enforcement programs, but county and police officials, as well as several young people interviewed, believe the fears have were blown out of proportion.
County officials said that while gang problems are a concern throughout Nassau, they have taken steps to address the issue, including the creation of the Task Force Against Gangs (TAG).
Queens man steals life savings from Baldwin woman
A Queens man was arrested in July for bilking an elderly Baldwin woman out of $80,000, taking what was left of her savings after promising to invest her money. Police arrested Troy Koubeck, 29, an Ozone Park resident, and charged him with second-degree grand larceny on July 8. Nassau County prosecutors said Koubeck used the 79-year-old widow's savings for his own expenses.
Kamen blasts opponent's mailing
The race for the Nassau County legislature began to heat up in July when Republican Fifth District Candidate Kevin Kamen criticized Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin) for a mailing Scannell sent to residents, saying it was a misuse of taxpayer money 15 weeks before the election. Scannell countered, saying Kamen was playing dirty politics and that he misused his position as library board president for self-promotion.
August
Accident victim mourned
The day after his mother, 77-year-old Ann Lindner, was killed, Robair Lindner placed a strip of masking tape bearing her name at the check-out counter of the Valero Mini-Mart on Grand Avenue. He did this so his mother would not remain an anonymous victim, so that if anyone asked the clerk about the hit-and-run accident, or what the tape was for, they'd know her name.
"You just tell them the lady lived here," Robair told the clerk, and pointed to his home, just across the thoroughfare on Florence Street, where the two lived together.
Robair sat on the curb near a chalk marking of a number one on the street, next to blood stains. This is where his mother was hit by a white Cadillac at around 9 p.m. on July 29, and where Robair helplessly watched emergency workers try to save her. The driver of the car, Thomas Burke, 43, of Baldwin, fled the scene and was subsequently charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Wall of flames
A retired New York City firefighter came to the rescue of a man surrounded by a wall of flames after his boat's engine exploded Monday afternoon at the Morring Boat Yard on Atlantic Avenue, near the Oceanside-Baldwin border. A 72-year-old man, whom officials did not identify, suffered from second-degree burns in the accident. He had apparently been working on his boat the day before.
Meekins re-elected to sanitation board
Sanitary District No. 2 board member Dennis Meekins was overwhelmingly re-elected to another five-year term. He received 637 votes, while challenger Ralph Rose nabbed 137 and Linda Degen got 129 votes. The voter turn-out for the race was lower than usual, in a low-key campaign.
Skaters shunning park
When Baldwin Skate Park first opened in January 2002, it was to be a safe place for skateboard enthusiasts to practice their passion, a place to have fun without risking injury, and perhaps most important, without drawing the ire of local property owners.
Mark Nichols of Baldwin often brings his 8-year-old son to the park because of the sense of security it offers. That feeling, though popular among parents, doesn't seem to carry much weight with local skateboarders. The park's membership has declined tremendously, according to the Town of Hempstead. Membership peaked at 2,500 after it first opened, but has fallen to about 450. A number of factors may have contributed to the decline, including the novelty of the park wearing off and bad weather over the summer.
September
Softball game hits home run
More than 400 Baldwinites banded together for a good cause in early September at the second annual Community Leaders Charity Softball Game, raising more than $21,000 for the Baldwin Council Against Drug Abuse and the purchase of an antique-style street clock for Baldwin. Kevin Kamen, the event chairperson, said he hopes the softball game becomes an institution in Baldwin.
A vision for Baldwin
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi toured Baldwin and South Hempstead in September, continuing county efforts to spur economic redevelopment county-wide, gauging the concerns of the community and placing emphasis on revitalizing downtown Baldwin.
Suozzi toured the area, first by helicopter, then by bus, with community leaders, residents and local business people, and capped the tour with a town hall meeting at Baldwin High School, where he heard from residents and discussed his economic plan for Baldwin and Nassau County as a whole.
Overall, Suozzi's plan divides the county into 35 economic -development area and features seven points: promotion of high-technology and high-skill businesses; revitalization of downtowns; construction of affordable housing for the workforce and senior citizens redevelopment of brownfields and hazardous waste sites; preservation of open spaces; promotion of open spaces; promotion of sports, entertainment and tourism; and improvement of public transportation.
Residents question rental plan
A proposal to develop "high-end" rental apartments on the long-vacant property at the corner of Milburn and Atlantic avenues has some residents in the area on edge over how the project will affect their quality of life. The developers are seeking a zoning variance to allow residential buildings to be built on the commercial site, which was most recently the Master Wok Chinese restaurant.
At a meeting with about 10 residents, the developer of the property, Roy Tuccillo, owner of My Four Realty Corp., said that he plans to build a Victorian-style structure consisting of eight 700- to 1,000-square-foot apartments he hopes to rent for $2,220 to $2,800 a month and fill with families, young couples and professionals.
Many residents, however, say that Atlantic Avenue is a viable commercial strip and they are opposed to having apartments there.
Pond project kicks off
Milburn Pond's long-awaited , $2.7 million facelift got underway in September, part of a $4.4 million county project to refurbish Baldwin's three ponds. The project entails the draining, dredging and refilling of Milburn Pond, which will be refilled and stocked with fish. The area surrounding the pond will also receive new asphalt paths, benches and antique lighting. Construction on the other two Baldwin ponds -- Lofts and Silver Lake -- will begin in the spring of 2004.
October
Crash site
Allison Grimm, was charged with DWI, and four passengers in the vehicle, all young women from Baldwin, sustained serious injuries after Grimm's vehicle hit an oncoming car on Grand Avenue.
Six people were taken to area hospitals with injuries and a Rockville Centre teen was arrested for driving while intoxicated after she crashed her car into an oncoming vehicle early last week. This latest accident was one of five major auto accidents in Baldwin within a week at the beginning of October, with three of them suspected of being alcohol-related.
'Freshman Friday' rumors overblown
Following a major hazing scandal at Mepham High School, in which three varsity football players have been accused of sexually assaulting junior varsity players at a Pennsylvania camp, concerns about hazing and so-called "Freshman Fridays" -- in which upper-class students gang up on and physically assault younger students -- have begun to surface throughout the county.
While the Mepham incident touched a nerve, many students and parents interviewed recently said that rumors may persist but actual of serious hazing in Baldwin School District are greatly exaggerated.
Baldwin Middle School James Brown said that he takes a very hard line against hazing, and students said that while they had heard about hazing while making the transition to middle school, very little bullying or hazing actually occurred. "It's basically just talk," said eighth-grader Jeffrey Laurino.
Jet grounded
New York Jets defensive lineman John Abraham was arrested on Oct. 1 for driving while intoxicated after he slammed his 2003 Hummer sport utility vehicle into a fire hydrant and light pole on Grand Avenue, near the Fairview Shopping Center. Sources said Abraham had spent time at Gentlemen's Quarters, a Grand Avenue strip club, before the crash. No one was injured in the incident, and Abraham pleaded not guilty to DWI in court.
Business burgeoning in Baldwin
For all the talk of a lack of upscale businesses such as the Starbucks and the Gap in town, Baldwin has seen some new activity along its commercial strips and seems to be reversing the trend of deserted storefronts along its main thoroughfares.
Several businesses, from family-owned restaurants to large chains, have opened or in the process of being built, including a women's fitness-center, Curves, and a new Italian restaurant, Legends Cafe.
Foul smell killing business
After receiving a 911 call from a woman who said that she smelled a dead body on Grand Avenue, the Nassau County Police Department broke down the front door of Fatou Hair Braiding at 2430 Grand Ave. in order to check out the foul odor. Upon investigation, police found no body. Nor did they find the source of the odor, though some tenants on this stretch of Grand Avenue said the odor is persistent and is driving some out of business.
Bruins setback
Tom Howard, the interim athletic director at Baldwin Senior High School, walked into work on the morning of Oct. 20 with a smile on his face. the Bruins football team was 4-1 and looked like they were headed to the playoffs. But after a shocking revelation, his day took a turn for the worse then he had to tell the team that all of its first five games would be recorded as losses.
Last week the team was forced to forfeit those games after it was discovered that one of team's players, Andrew Rose, an 18-year-old transfer student from Brooklyn, was ineligible to play because he entered high school as a freshman in September 1998. He has since been removed from the team, but the games had to be forfeited because Rose, a running back who carried the ball no more than 10 times, played in all five.
According to New York State High School Athletic Association rules, a student is only eligible to play sports in four consecutive years beginning with the students entry into ninth grade and ended their senior year. This would have been Rose's fifth year of high school.
Despite the setback, the Bruins finished off their season by winning all of its remaining games, and won a county Sportsmanship Award for their grace under the circumstances.
November
Go Bruins!
Nothing could dampen Baldwin spirit as students, alumni and community members celebrated Homecoming festivities on Nov. 1 as the Bruins shut down Uniondale 27-0. Spectators were also treated to the annual Band Day presentation, highlighting Baldwin's talented music program. Senior Nick Gandiello and Lauren Aksionoff were named Homecoming King and Queen.
Scannell stays put
Democratic incumbent Joseph Scannell cruised to his third term in the county legislature, despite a hard-fought and often acrimonious battle with fellow Baldwinite, Republican challenger Kevin Kamen. Scannell won the Fifth District seat with 56 percent of the vote, to Kamen's 40 percent. Baldwin resident Susan Wilmer, the Conservative party candidate, received 4 percent of the vote. The Democrats hung on to their slim 10-9 majority in the legislature, while the Town of Hempstead stayed firmly under Republican control.
New report card causes confusion
More than 100 parents of elementary-school children in the Baldwin School District signed a petition questioning the district's decision to change the grading system of elementary-school report cards.
The new system would grade students on a 1 to four rubric, and parents voiced a number of concerns about the change, saying that it is being implemented too quickly without sufficient teacher training or parental notification, and that the rubric system is not specific enough and may, in fact, cause some kids to underperform. Administrators, though, said that the new system would actually give parents more sophisticated information about their children's progress.
Parents presented their concerns at a board of education meeting, and based on their input, the board and the district decided to put off implementation of the new system until September 2004. Parents were pleased at the outcome.
A blaze close to home
In an ironic twist, the Baldwin Fire Department headquarters on Grand Avenue caught fire, fanning the flames of criticism by many people who have said that the ongoing renovation of the building has gone awry. The $2.95 million construction project is nearly seven months overschedule and about 10 percent over budget, according to fire commissioners, who insist that the building project is not out of control.
December
Teens arrested in fire spree
Two teens were arrested in Baldwin in early December after a month-long arson and burglary spree, mostly near the Baldwin Shopping Center. The final day-long fire-setting rampage began when a mattress was set afire behind China King. The flames scorched the back of the restaurant and spilled into the electrical room. Later that day, a dumpster filled with discarded curtains was set on fire behind Global Furniture.
After a month-long investigation, police arrested Daniel Steiner, 19, of Baldwin, and a 15-year-old male whose name was not released because he is a juvenile.
Bond will go to voters
The Baldwin Board of Education approved a $26.9 million bond proposal that would be used to renovate, refurbish and upgrade the district's 10 buildings over the next three years, if the bond is approved by voters. A district-wide election will be held on Feb. 4 to decide the issue. District officials say the building renovations are necessary and because of low interest rates and changes in how school district building projects are reimbursed by the state, bonding is the best way to go. Over three years, the average homeowner in Baldwin could expect to pay about $142 more in school taxes if the bond is approved.
