By Leslie Gonzalez
Because of the major financial contribution he made about a year and a half ago by investing in the long-abandoned Woolworth building between Broadway and Atlantic avenues, a renewed vitality in the village was initiated.
"I'm deeply indebted to Glenn Edwards and his firm for stepping up to the plate and putting really exciting businesses in there. It was the shot in the arm that we needed," said Lynbrook Mayor Eugene Scarpato. The space was subdivided, and the first level is now home to two vibrant restaurants, Cheeburger, Cheeburger and Angelina's, and Peak Performance, which offers physical therapy. The second level of the building houses several offices, including the training facility for All Metro Health Care, a thriving business owned by Edwards.
"He turned an eyesore into the most beautiful building in the community," said Bill Gaylor, president of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce and owner of the Lyn Gift Shop and Lyn House of Flowers at 11 Atlantic Avenue. "He's a very fine businessman, and he intends to remain in Lynbrook."
"Glenn Edwards has made a tremendous commitment to the community," said Harry Levitt, who, while president of the Lynbrook Chamber, convinced Edwards to make the investment, described by officials as well over a million dollars. Levitt is the owner of Mur-Lee's Men's Shop at 24 Atlantic Avenue and chairman of the Lynbrook Business Improvement District.
Being named Person of the Year 2000 by the Herald is not the first recognition Edwards and his All Metro Health Care business have received this year. On Nov. 13, County Executive Thomas Gulotta presented a proclamation to Edwards for his business's 45 years of service to the community, and honored All Metro employees Susan Banberger, Carole Jones, Gladys Miranda and Madgeline White as Caregivers of the Year. On Nov. 18, All Metro Health Care was nominated as Lynbrook's 2000 Business of the Year.
"When Woolworth closed, you could feel the vacuum sucking the remaining air from our gut. Glenn Edwards has enough faith in Lynbrook that he was willing to risk a huge investment in our downtown," Mayor Scarpato said at the Village's Fifth Annual Community Awards Night, sponsored by the Lynbrook Independent party. Before Edwards' investment, the Woolworth building had been vacant for about three years.
Currently, Lynbrook's downtown area is bustling. Restaurants are packed, and more jobs have been created in town. Buildings are filling up because the quality of life has improved. With recent renovations to restaurants, streets, sidewalks, lighting and local stores, Lynbrook has become a nicer place in which to work.
"Isn't it amazing how this town has come back?" Edwards said during a recent interview. "We were first to enter a community that was going through a downturn. Other people are now investing in the community."
All Metro Health Care was founded in 1955 as Plaza Nurses Agency by Edwards' parents, Irving and Norma. Glenn took over the family business as All Metro Health Care in 1980, and the company has since expanded, employing over 3,000 full-time home careworkers. From its Lynbrook headquarters, Edwards and his staff supervise a home-health agency, emergency response company, corporate benefits company and a domestic and companion agency. Recently acquired was another home-health agency and medical recruiting company, and a neighboring building in Lynbrook for additional space. With these acquisitions, the company now operates about 40 offices throughout the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Colorado.
Edwards is a graduate of Freeport High School and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1980. He is married 19 years to wife Lisa, a managing director for the company's Plaza Domestic Companion Agency, and the couple has three children: Jordan, 15; Gabrielle, 11, and Tyler, 9.
Edwards, a member of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce, also serves on the board of trustees at Franklin Hospital Medical Center in Valley Stream and North Shore/Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. He is also on the advisory board of Child Abuse Prevention Services and serves on the board of the Five Towns Community Chapter.
