Jonathan Brandvein, Philip Eye, Brett Kugelmass, Michael Mezzina, Rahul Prabhaker, Matthew Schenker and Caroline Weisser were among the 50,000 highest scoring students nationwide who took the PSAT/NMSQT in 2003.
Police: Baldwin's no bevy of crime
Police officials released the latest crime statistics, which indicate that crime is at an all-time low in Nassau County and Baldwin. They added that the perception that Baldwin is an unsafe community is just that.
Baldwin is a good and safe place to live, said Inspector Patrick O-Connor of the First Precinct, who, along with Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin), presented statisticscomparing crime in Baldwin with nearby communities in the First Precinct.
Priest cleared
After finding insufficient evidence that he had sexually abused minors, Bishop William Murphy sent Rev. Michael Carroll back to St. Christopher-s. Allegations leveled against Carroll have been dismissed and he was given his collar back. Carroll, who had previously worked at St. Christopher-s, was a chaplain at Mercy Medical Center before his suspension in 2002.
Arrest made for
impersonating
an officer
A Baldwin mechanic who was arrested in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, for impersonating a New York City police officer at a Red Cross office in Mineola, was at it again, say police. This time, Paul Dolan, 24, flashed a phony badge and a handgun to an off-duty detective at a bar, according to police.
Police say that on May 5, Dolan, who lives on Barnes Ave. in Baldwin, was at J.P. McGeevers Bar in Garden City when he identified himself as a police officer and began talking to off-duty New York City Police detective Brian O-Toole, who was there with friends. He then showed a phony badge and a handgun to O-Toole during a conversation.
Dolan was arrested on Sept. 15, 2001, at a Red Cross office in Mineola. At the time, Dolan was wearing paratrooper pants, a bulletproof vest, a New York City police shirt and a gun belt with an imitation 9mm pistol in the holster. He was also carrying handcuffs and a police radio and was accompanied by a German shepherd that he claimed was a police canine dog.
School budget passes
Baldwin residents voted in favor of the 2004-2005 $88.3 million school budget on May 18. The budget passed by 907 votes, with 651 residents opposing the measure. The approval means the property tax levythe amount of the budget raised by property taxeswill increase 9.7 percent to $67.2 million.
Baldwin-s budget passed as residents in other districts were less enthusiastic about the numbers. Twenty-two of the 56 school districts in Nassau County saw their proposals fall.
Dean sues district
A Baldwin Middle School dean was placed on administrative leave after claiming that she was sexually harassed at the school in 2003.
The dean, Cheryl Farb, claimed to be placed on administrative reassignment since May 14, and said the district recommended to the Board of Education that she be terminated.
The lawsuit against the Baldwin School District was set in motion after Farb filed a notice of claim against the district in January. She notified the New York State Division of Human Rights in April, claiming that she was sexually harassed, defamed and forced to work in a hostile environment at the middle school between June 2003 and January 2004.
Farb was terminated in June, setting the stage for a possible federal lawsuit against the district. The district and board of education would not comment on the allegations.
June
A link to past in Lenox
Lenox Elementary School hosted an afternoon tea for former Lenox students to honor retiring teachers Ronnie Bloom and Harvey Dagen on June 22. Old friends came out to share memories of these beloved teachers.
Fond farewells
Gloria Giuliani, a teacher in Baldwin for 18 years, retired. Giuliani was among 25 retiring teachers and administrators honored at its board of education meeting, most of whom had served in the district for decades.
Also honored during the ceremony were Harriet Dell-Aria, Frank Loverro, Richard Leek, Lee Chapman and Jeff Hollman.
To fill the void, the board of education granted tenure to more than 20 teachers.
Scientific symposium held
After months of researching and experimenting, more than 200 students submitted projects for Baldwin Middle School-s science symposium. The students presented their work on tri-fold boards and spent time explaining all they had learned and discovered with parents, teachers and community members.
Human skulls found in Baldwin home
Nassau County Police said that construction workers unearthed two human skulls at a home in North Baldwin. Police said that the home was built in the 1930s.
Workers renovating the home at 1617 Carman Place were removing soil when they unearthed the first skill at 3 p.m. on June 16.
The second skull was found five days later, three feet from the first skull. The remnants were taken to the Nassau County medical examiner-s morgue for examination.
July
Clean up on tap
An investigation into the extent of contamination at a former industrial complex in Baldwin was slated to begin in July, and will determine whether chemicals may have seeped into Milburn Creek.
The vacant complex, located at 1175 Atlantic Ave., was built in 1974 and is operated by Safeguard Storage. The building was used as a manufacturing facility from 1990 to 1999 that produced emergency lighting fixtures. During that time, raw materials used at the site included several heavy metals, paints and cleaning solvents, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Between 1997 and 2001, environmental investigations discovered chlorinated volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, in the groundwater, the department said. VOCs are chemicals used to clean and degrease metal parts. As of year end, the investigation was still pending.
Deadly crossing
Hempstead Turnpike was named as one of the deadliest roads in New York State in a study released by the watchdog, non-profit group, Tri-state Transportation Campaign. The study also found that the road, the location of 34 fatalities between 1998 and 2002, was the deadliest in Nassau County.
Baldwin keeps good financial tabs
Following the recent spending scandal that rocked the Roslyn School District, the Baldwin Board of Education reassured residents that its accounting and auditing procedures are sound and that adequate safeguards are in place.
At a school board meeting, board members said that despite the recent Roslyn scandal, in which school administrators allegedly embezzled around $2 million, the district felt secure that the necessary safeguards to help prevent similar malfeasance already exists. The board was asked by a resident just how thoroughly auditors look over the district-s finances.
It-s on everybody-s mind, said school board member Mary Jo O-Hagan, explaining that the Roslyn scandal has made boards across the state think twice about school financing.
According to school board president, James Scannell, Baldwin goes above and beyond in terms of systems in place to prevent fraud, which include utilizing internal and external auditing firms.
Sounds like trouble
For 27-year Baldwin resident Marie, who asked that her real name not be used, weekends are about relaxation, quiet and tranquility. She sees them as a time to give her mind and body a rest from the arduous daily commute to her job in Manhattan.
But what she describes as the proliferation of motor scooters in the Baldwin area has wrecked her once idyllic weekends.
The neighborhood used to be quiet, said Marie, who has a grown daughter. But these scooters are so loud, it shatters the mood of the neighborhood over the weekend.
Marie, who lives off Grand Avenue, is not alone. Many Baldwin residents, as well as those in other communities, began campaigns to remove the scooters from the streets.
Housing laws beefed up
Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) and fellow members of the Nassau County Legislature approved an amendment to a local law designed to dramatically increase penalties and provide stricter enforcement of current human rights laws.
Addressing the plague
Ed Ambrosino, Town of Hempstead Second District councilman, shook hands with Nassau County-s assessor of taxes in a symbolic gesture indicating a partnership to eradicate illegal housing. Ambrosino described the illegal housing situation, saying, This is not an issue, it-s not a problem, it-s a plague in our community.
August
Transit tangle
Many South Shore commuters chose to deal with the Republican National Convention by not dealing with it. They stayed home instead.
When the convention opened on Aug. 30, at Madison Square Garden, four of Penn Station-s six entrances, used by thousands of commuters every day, were closed.
Brain Dolan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that LIRR officials were expecting normal service that week. The two exits remaining open the Amtrak entrance at 32nd Street and Seventh Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road entrance at 34th Street are used by 75 percent of Penn Station customers. He also stressed that the subway entrances will not be affected.
Rocky rink
The roller-hockey rink in Baldwin Park remained closed nearly seven months after it was shut down for repairs in January.
Residents are angry that the Town of Hempstead has failed to fix the rink in a timely manner. Ron Trimboli, a member of the Baldwin Police Athletic League, says he has grown increasingly frustrated, as the PAL-s roller-hockey league has long suffered because of the poor conditions of the rink. With the league scheduled to start in September, Trimboli is afraid the entire league might be wiped out entirely.
After the PAL complained about the rink last year, and the town repaired it in time for the fall season, but because of cracking and thawing in cold weather, the repairs haven-t lasted.
Levinson cracks down on illegal housing
In an effort to put an end to what he called a black market for housing, Nassau County Assessor Harvey Levinson announced a plan to reclassify illegal multifamily homes as commercial properties, dramatically increasing their property taxes. Levinson has notified the property owners that their taxes could more than double and dozens of other illegal homes have been targeted.
Three sue district
The Baldwin School District has come under fire from three former and current staff members, who announced at a news conference last week they were suing the district on a number of charges.
Middle school deans Cheryl Farb and Alvis Brown, as well as school psychologist Dr. Mark Lerner, are in the process of filing lawsuits, charging, among other things, sexual harassment, racial discrimination and inappropriate administrative practices, respectively. All three are being represented by attorney Thomas F. Liotti of Garden City.
A district spokesperson said they cannot comment on personnel issues or the lawsuit specifically.
Please see December, for updated information on the Lerner case.
Baldwin landmark
to move
Since 1998, the horses of the Nunley-s carousel located for half a century on Sunrise Highway in Baldwin have lain motionless. However, if an Oyster Bay Civic group and pop star Billy Joel have their way, the entire carousel might be on the move soon.
Joel has taken up the cause on behalf of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association. The group is hoping to move the carousel from the confines of a hangar at Mitchel Field to the heart of Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park.
Before the carousel can be moved, however, the civic group needs approval from Nassau County. A spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi said that the county is currently considering the proposal. The Nunley-s carousel has sat in a warehouse, neglected and mismanaged, for many, many years, the spokesperson said. The Nassau County executive is committed to restoring it to its former glory as it is a part of Nassau-s history.
Cell phone aids in escape
A Baldwin woman was able to escape a sexual assault thanks to a ringing cell phone. The woman arrived early for work and sat outside waiting on a bench.
A man approached her and began touching her chest and legs. Luckily, however, the man-s cell phone rang and the victim was able to bite his arm, provoking him to shove her to the ground.
Slight increase in aid
Baldwin schools are projected to receive a scant increase in state aid of less than 1 percent over last year-s financial support, according to figures released by state legislators on Aug. 9.
