The Police Department of Long Beach also started the year on a chilly note, with the city that is. Effective Jan. 1 officers were put back on rotating tours. Police had been on steady tours since 1998 and since their contract expired in June, the PBA sought to make steady tours part of it's new deal. Proponents of steady tours included Marlene Bachan, of the North Park Neighborhood Civic Association. [Steady tours] worked much better for the neighborhoods, Bachan said. It has given the police the opportunity to work one on one with civic groups, which has made a great, great difference in Long Beach.
Going from chilly to icy, the city formally charged that the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association was not negotiating in good faith during six months of contract talks that failed to lead to a deal. The P.B.A. later returned the charge filing a formal complaint against the city.
The Dare program brought to Long Beach's Public School four years ago, by the Long Beach Police Department, continued its success as fifth grade students throughout the district completed the program. Fifth grade children are targeted in the critical year before they enter middle school. The LBPD was able to secure an almost $200,000 grant to aid in policing drug crimes in the North Park area. Included in that was money to help in creating a new computer learning center at the MLK Center.
Also at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, a new executive director was introduced on Martin Luther King Day. Lawrence Burns succeeded Patrick Graham in the position that earned Graham Long Beach Herald's Person of the Year designation for 2000. While clouds may have loomed in the sky, spirits inside were high as Burns addressed the crowd. We must remember, Burns said, that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character is the goal of education. It is easier to build boys and girls than to mend men and women.
The city hired a firm to examine the Recreation Center pool and determine the costs for renovations. According to Recreation Superintendent Bob Carroll, renovations could cost a minimum of $3.5 million and require the pool to close for a year while work is completed.
The Recreation Superintendent also considered a renovation of the Democratic Party with a bid to oust leader Gene Cammarato. We can't stay status quo forever, said Carroll. You have to go forward and we're going backwards. Carroll withdrew his bid early spring.
Another renovation was scheduled for Long Beach Medical Center. A modernization project costing about $25 million should upgrade facilities throughout the 80-year-old hospital. Martin Nester, former chief executive officer of the facility said, We're attempting to bring the medical center into the 21st century kicking and screaming.
In tax news Long Beach Schools received a check for more than $300,000 from Nassau County making up about 60 percent of a debt built up by the county over the past five years.
Several homes owned by the Long Beach Mestiva have been placed on city tax rolls while officials investigated their former tax-exempt status. There are some issues about the exemptions that I'm questioning, said tax assessor Mary Cammarato, who figured the amount of revenue for the city by placing the homes on the tax rolls would be just under $20,000.
The city held a forum on Jan. 16 to discuss the four plans proposed for the Superblock. State Comptroller Carl Mc Call spoke at the Long Beach Public Library on Sunday, Jan. 14, speaking on America, Where Do We Go From Here? at the same time local New York Giants fans were getting ready to go to the Super Bowl as the team won the NFC Championship.
John Naughton of Long Beach received a congressional Nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy. Long Beach resident Alex Levy was installed as director to Ronald McDonald House of Long Island located in New Hyde Park. The Ronald McDonald House serves as a temporary home to families with hospitalized children. Long Beach resident Bradley Blakeman was appointed one of President Bush's deputy assistants.
- Linda Delmonico-Prussen
February
The hottest' month
of the year
While Polar Bear swimmers recuperated from their late January ocean dip on Super Bowl Sunday, the events that followed during what should be the coldest month of the year really did turn up the city's heat. Battles both new and ongoing were fought on several fronts.
The PBA's battle with the city over tour changes was taken to another level as each side filed charges against the other for not negotiating in good faith. P.B.A. president Sgt. Richard Bart claimed that community police is adversely affected by police being taken off steady tours. City Councilman Denis Kelly disagreed saying, This threat that the community policing is gone because of tours is empty.
Long Beach's electoral system had to withstand the heat as a grand jury investigation yielded findings of abuse in the absentee voting process at adult care facilities within the city. The grand jury strongly urged the Nassau County Board of Elections to adopt election law 8-407, which puts the handing of absentee ballots in the care of bi-partisan inspectors and suggested the school board adopt a similar procedure until the board of elections takes action. Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon called the previous method of collecting votes a corruption hazard.
Parents turned the heat up on Superintendent Ron Friedman for not granting tenure to Lido elementary school principal Rosalie Schwartz. Middle School science teacher and administrative union president Wendy Klein joined parents in publicly supporting Schwartz, Dr. Schwartz has only the utmost respect of the teachers, Klein added, She has worked to move Lido into the forefront of education. This is a principal that deserves tenure and hopefully the superintendent will reconsider. The superintendent did not change his position.
On Feb. 6, two dozen teens showed up at the weekly city council meeting to ask the recently acquired former Jewish War Veterans building be turned into a teen center. City council president Joel Crystal responded by saying, Growing up in this community my mom always said there should be a teen center. I hope to deliver that.
Three fires in two weeks and only yards apart kept the Long Beach firefighters busy. Two fires took place on W. Fulton St. and one took place just around the corner on W. Hudson St.
Change was in the air along with smoke as the Long Beach Republicans named former city councilman James Moriarty to be their new leader. John Scaduto, who held the post for 40 years, stepped down at a special party committee meeting on Feb. 11. It is with great pride, humility and enthusiasm, Moriarty said, that I accept the challenge
of leading the Long Beach Republican
Committee.
The Long Beach teams of swimming, basketball and wrestling all finished out successful seasons. The basketball-playing Marines pulled a game from the flames when they beat the Farmingdale Dalers for an important conference win. Wrestling finished with five wrestlers earning county honors, with senior Derrick Fontaine winning the 112lb. County championship.
Developer Phil Pilevsky was chosen as the Superblock developer. His company's holdings include the Bryant Park Hotel in New York City, The Shore Club in Florida, The Andrew in Great Neck and the Residences at Ritz Carlton in Baltimore Maryland.
Ester Cabrera, an elderly woman who was struck by a Long Beach City bus in 1999 and lost her leg as a result of that accident received a $1.3 million settlement from the city. Lawrence Elovich, Cabrera's attorney, said of the settlement, Justice can never be done when a person suffers an injury such as this, but the money is a recognition of Mrs. Cabrera's suffering and will go a long way to helping her for the rest of her life.
February also marked the death of former police commissioner Joseph Lane. Lane, a decorated WWII veteran, served the LBPD for 30 years after joining in 1945. He rose through the ranks from patrolman to deputy inspector and chief of the detective division. He became police commissioner in the early 70s. Commissioner Ken Cohen said his former colleague was one of the finest gentlemen I ever met, and agreat police officer.
- Linda Delmonico-Prussen
March
A month of real (estate)
concerns
Whether it was new development, like the green light given to developers on the Bay Club Complex at the former Marineland, or renovation like Georgia Park and the unplanned renovation of the historical museum after a pipe burst and caused a flood, the issue of rent stabilization in Long Beach, or welcoming a new zoning board member March was chock full of issues regarding real estate.
State Supreme Court Judge Bernard McCaffrey upheld the variances granted by the Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals, which permitted construction of the complex known as the Bay Club. McCaffrey stated, Indeed it is more consistent with the residential nature of the area and will be less intrusive than a commercial development.
The Georgia Avenue Playground was approved for a $100,000 makeover. Denis Kelly said, Our engineers have really come up with a wonderful design...maximum fun on a minimum piece of property.
Historical Society trustee Liz Coffin Allerhand discovered a burst pipe when she was checking on the museum February 21. It sounded like a shower, she said. The water was coming through the dining room and into the basement. Located on one of Long Beach's few remaining brick streets, the house has changed minimally since 1909.
Landlords lobbied in court that when vacancy rates briefly exceeded 5 percent in 1996 rent stabilization should have ended. Judge Eli Wager did find a vacancy rate in excess of 5 percent for March through June of 1996 but his findings did not shed light on the fate of rent stabilization. City Manager Bruce Nyman said, There has been no indication to us that rent stabilization in Long Beach is going to end.
The month also saw the swearing in of Carol Paver as a new member to Long Beach's Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday March 22.
Paver wasn't the only Long Beacher taking on the oath of a new job. Two new firefighters were also sworn in during the month of March, William Piazza and Christopher Gormley.
Long Beach made its choice of which Tom it would support to run for the position held by County Executive Tom Gullota. On Monday, March 19, Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli got the nod from Long Beach Democrats. DiNapoli said, This is the winning campaign. This is the campaign to unify the party and we will be
victorious.
Superintendent Ron Friedman sent a strongly worded letter to operators of Long Beach's a dozen adult-care facilities to urge their cooperation in ensuring that no tampering or other illegal activities take place in the handling of the ballots in the May school board election.
Long Beach women were honored by Nassau County for their outstanding contributions to the community. Rena Iacono was honored for her work with meals on wheels and educational programs on gerontology. Ruksana Ayyub was honored for her work as an advocate for Islamic women, and for her work with families affected by drugs, alcohol and domestic violence.
Many people who hear about a difficult situation wish they could do something about it. And others actually do something. When Long Beach resident Gary Ingram of Long Beach heard on the news that 11 homeless people
