Mineola Superintendent of Schools Michael Nagler presented an $82.2 million school budget for 2011-2012 at last week’s school board meeting that would represent a 2.6 percent increase over this year and would result in a 3.6 percent increase in the tax levy.

Nagler called the proposal a first draft and said he hoped to eventually lower the tax levy increase to 2.5 percent or low with no reduction in school programs.

Nagler said the district expects state aid to decrease $600,000 and employee pension funds to increase $1.5 million. He said health care benefits also are increasing by $500,000, while total district salaries will decrease by $300,000 as a result of seven teachers retiring this year.

“One of the problems with the pension funds is after 10 years, according to law, teachers no longer have to pay 3 percent of their salary into pension funds,” Nagler said. “If teachers still paid into their pension, it would save the school district $900,000 a year and help pay down the levy.”

The draft budget excludes costs of adding staff or the anticipated revenue from leasing the Cross Street School.

Nagler also said that if the budget fails, the $1.7 million Hampton expansion project will be scrapped and $2 million will be moved to the capital reserve fund.

Nagler also made a presentation on the impact to the district of closing only one elementary school rather than closing two schools as the school board voted to do early last year. Closing only one facility would increase the 2012-13 tax levy to 6 percent due to the cost of maintaining the additional facility and adding staff to replace the seven teachers who are retiring.

Nagler presentation came in response to a letter from board members John McGrath Irene Parrino in a local newspaper in which they suggested that the district needed to only close the Cross Street School to consolidate the district.

Board president Terence Hale and Nagler both reacted angrily to McGrath’s letter.

“It felt like I had a knife put in my back, because it is now assured to me that two members of the board are clearly working against the best interest of the board,” Hale said. Hale’s comments were followed by enormous applause from the audience.

Nagler said the letter was “full of misconceptions” and a “personal attack” against himself.

“I don’t want to have to respond to this letter, but I’m afraid I’m forced to right now and it just bothers me that I have to even make a response,” Nagler said. “I had to scramble to come up with figures for this presentation when all you had to do was ask me.”

“I will print a retraction then,” replied McGrath.

This is the second occasion in recent months when McGrath has been publicly criticized for airing his opinions in print rather than introducing them to the board. He had previously suggested that Mineola propose merging its school district with the Herricks School District.

On another front, the board approved a resolution to bring a lawsuit against the county, fighting a newly enacted sewer tax by the county Legislature.

The sewer tax would cost the district an estimated $90,000, according to Nagler.

“Our lawyers told us the total fees for the case would only be $10,000, so if we win this suit, it’s well worth the money,” Nagler said.

Garden City Park firefighter Jim Salim knew that his two firefighter sons, Jamil and Matthew, could well be in harm’s way when they told him they were planning to enlist in the armed forces.

But he still gave them his blessing.

“When you’re raising your kids, you don’t want them to regret pursuing what they desire to do,” the elder Salim said. “I’m aware of the dangers of what they’re doing, but it’s in their hearts and that’s what they want to do.”

His elder son, Jamil, 21, left for basic training in Fort Benning, GA, to become a paratrooper in the U.S. Army earlier this month. His younger son, Matthew, will leave for Air Force basic training on March 8.

While their father said he and his wife, Ydelsa, were both supportive of their sons’ decisions, he said his wife cried during the three days following Jamil’s departure on Feb. 2.

The 44-year-old Salim and his older son had served in the same unit, Engine Company 4, of the Garden City Fire Department. Jamil had joined the department three years ago. His father joined the department in 2003 and played a key role in the formation of the junior firefighters organization that Matthew served in before becoming a regular member of the Garden City Park volunteers one year ago.

“He was instrumental in forming the junior firefighters. He was one of the founders,” said Garden City Park Fire Department Chief William Rudnick.

“They’re hard-working members of the department who really put forth an effort to serve the community and the public,” Garden City Park Assistant Chief Robert Mirabile.

Jim Salim thinks the sense of service they acquired from being members of the Garden City Park volunteers informed their decisions to join the military.

“I believe that by being in the FD, by seeing all the rescue that we do, it kind of opened their eyes to various things they can do to help out,” Salim said.

Salim said the discipline of serving in a chain of command will also help them in the military.

Salim’s 15-year-old daughter, Rachael, is currently a member of the Garden City Park junior firefighters.

Both sons sought his advice when they considered joining the respective branches of the military. The younger son made his decision while he was still in high school, according to Salim, who said his older son made the determination one year ago.

They were given a memorable send-off in a party at the Garden City Park Fire Department headquarters late last month, with 75 friends, fellow firefighters and members of the Salim family in attendance.

The priest who married Jim and Ydelsa in 1988, retired Monsignor Walter Murphy, also attended the send-off to give the two young men his blessing.

Salim has known the priest since he served as an altar boy with Murphy when he was at Sacred Heart years ago.

“It was a touching thing for him to come and bless our children,” Salim said.

E-mail:rtedesco@archive.theisland360.com

Jonai Singh, co-president of the Herricks school district PTA Council, is running for a seat on the Herricks Board of Education.

Singh said last week she plans to run for the school board seat currently held by Paul Ehrbar.

Ehrbar, who is also the mayor of Williston Park, said he had not yet decided whether he will seek another term on the school board. He said he intended to reveal his decision at the March 3 school board meeting.

Singh, who has been active with the Herricks PTA for the past 10 years, is coming to the end of her current two-year term as PTA council co-president. She said that her experience as a parent in the school district, her volunteer work with senior citizens and her interaction with disparate ethnic groups makes her a viable candidate.

“I have a lot to offer. I’m a person who’s connected not just with parents who have children in the community. I’m a person who’s connected with the senior citizens and all the ethnics groups within the community,” Singh said.

Singh has two daughters, Disha and Roshni, who are currently in ninth grade and sixth grade, respectively.

“I have been through the experience with all the different buildings so I have knowledge of the district,” she said.

With two children in the school district and as a volunteer with senior citizens groups in the community, Singh said she believes she has the ability to represent the viewpoints of all members of the Herricks community.

“Being a school board member, you have to keep the entire community in perspective,” she said. “When I hold that position, I will speak for everyone. I will speak for those who are not in the room.”

She has served as Searingtown Elementary School PTA President and is a past president of the Herricks Indo-US Community, Inc., an Indian-American organization.

A native of Calcutta, India, Singh migrated to this country when she was 23 years old. She has lived in the Herricks School District for the past 13 years.

She was the recipient of the New York State Parent Teachers Association Golden Oak award in 2009 and was inducted in the Women Roll of Honor by the Town of North Hempstead in March 2010.

Facing possible shutdown of a substation for northeast corridor cell-phone service, Verizon Wireless on Wednesday was granted an extension until April 13 by a Nassau County Supreme Court judge to complete work to reduce noise from a back-up generator on the border of Mineola and Garden City, according to a lawyer representing Mineola residents suing Verizon.

Attorney Joseph Sullivan said he agreed to the extension on behalf of his clients, who live adjacent to the Verizon facility on 13th Avenue in Mineola, because the telecom company has demonstrated progress in complying with a January directive from Supreme Court Judge Ute Wolf Lally. At the time, Lally ordered Verizon to resolve issues of excessive noises and noxious fumes emanating from the facility by Feb. 23 or face a shutdown.

“[Verizon] seems to be complying with the process. There has been a reduction in the noise,” said Sullivan, who originally filed a motion to shut down the facility in October.

Verizon officials said the facility in Garden City handles 1 billion cell-phone calls annually, according to Sullivan.

During a conference with Judge Lally on Jan. 5, attorneys representing Verizon presented plans to retrofit the cell-switching facility with insulation and additional baffling to muffle the noise produced from diesel generators on the facility’s roof and northeast wall and air conditioning compressors. The projected cost of the work was placed at $300,000.

The 13th Avenue residents brought a suit last fall against Verizon and the Village of Garden City, where the facility is located, seeking $5 million in damages for having to endure what they described as a year of recurrent noise and offensive fumes from the facility. The residents claim that the recurrent noise has interfered with their ability to sleep and live normally.

In a court conference on Wednesday, attorneys representing Verizon said the height of parapets on the side of the building had been raised and additional insulation installed between the parapets and the heating, ventilation and air conditioning units on the roof of the facility. The facility houses transmission equipment that produces excessive heat and must be maintained at constant temperatures to function properly.

The attorneys said that Verizon required additional time to install a carburetor to modify the loud grinding noise produced by a back-up generator, which has been largely silent during the past month, according to Sullivan.

Sullivan said the extension would allow his own engineering consultant to measure noise emitted from the building in warmer weather.

“Once the remediation has been completed by Verizon, they have consented to having the plaintiffs’ expert present,” Sullivan said. “The other reason that I wasn’t so demanding is to see whether this HVAC noise has been abated.”

John Ferriera, the 13th Avenue resident who spearheaded the effort to seek legal redress, said the generator and compressor noise had lessened since the January court conference. But he said the loud humming noise from the aire-conditioning equipment has resumed within the past week.

“The noise was still there the last couple of days,” Ferreira said.

Most 13th Avenue residents have given depositions in the case, which will proceed after Verizon resolves the immediate issues of concern to the residents, according to Sullivan.

Sullivan said he plans to conduct depositions of Garden City building inspector Michael Filippon and Verizon employees at the facility “to see what in hell Verizon got away with to let this occur.”

Sources say Verizon may not have been required to file permits with Garden City when it retrofitted the building in 2010 with the equipment that residents say has produced the excessive noise.

Readings taken last summer by Lally Acoustical Consulting, an audiology consultant for the Village of Mineola, indicated daytime noise levels at the Verizon facility’s eastern property line – which abuts backyards on Mineola’s 13th Avenue – ranging from 74 decibels to 84 decibels from the diesel generator and daytime and nighttime noise levels at or exceeding 60 decibels.

Those results are consistent with readings conducted by engineering consultant John Donovan for the plaintiffs, and acoustical consultants retained by Verizon and Garden City, according to Sullivan.

The readings were taken last summer when Village of Mineola officials had sought to resolve the residents’ issues with Verizon officials and representatives of the Village of Garden City.

The Lally report cites World Health Organization guidelines that state that continuous noise levels should not exceed 45 decibels to avoid moderately annoying people during nighttime hours, and should not exceed 50 decibels during daytime hours.

Garden City attorney Gary Fishberg has argued that the Verizon facility has always produced the same level of noise, Sullivan said. He said Fishberg also maintains that Garden City has no enforceable noise level codes, and thus has no responsibility to compel Verizon to mitigate the noise its facility is emitting.

Sullivan said he plans to apply Town of Hempstead noise codes in the discovery phase of the case.

Garden City officials have declined comment on the neighbors’ complaints about the Verizon facility since the court case was filed.

Repeated attempts to reach Verizon were unavailing. Telephone calls to one of the attorneys representing the corporation in the case were not returned.

E-mail: rtedesco@archive.theisland360.com

A 93-unit, family apartment building with eight affordable housing units on Great Neck Road will be coming to the Plaza.

After final approval of the compliance and site plan by the Great Neck Village Board of Trustees at a regular meeting last Wednesday, representatives of Plaza Landmark LLC, the property’s owners, thanked the board and said construction would begin “soon.”

Cleared by the Nassau County Planning Commission on Feb. 3, final approval of the project rested with the village board, which unanimously approved the project.

“I think it’s going to be a big asset to the village and it will be a pretty building and a nice thing to see as you come in,” said Village of Great Neck Plaza Trustee Gerry Schneiderman, just prior to the vote.

The residential apartment building will consist of 45 one-bedroom units and 48 two-bedroom units. Eight of the 93 total residential units are proposed as affordable housing units in compliance with the village code.

The project, located at 245-265 Great Neck Road, lies on the north side of the street at the intersection with New Cutter Mill Road, formerly Bayview Avenue.

Plaza Landmark LLC, is owned by Great Neck real estate developer Frank Lalezarian.

In 2007, the Great Neck Plaza Village Board approved the demolition of an office building at the site and for the construction of a 63-unit residential condominium building by Great Neck Road LLC, the former property owners at the location.

After demolition of the office building, construction of the condominium was abandoned leaving an undeveloped plot of land at the site.

In April of 2010, an application was submitted by Great Neck Road LLC for construction of a rental building at the site instead of the proposed condominium. After the request was approved by the Plaza village board, the Great Neck LLC sold the land to Plaza Landmark LLC.

E-mail:rjacques@archive.theisland360.com

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed tax cap bill will cause local governments to lose some local control and hinder their ability to fiscally govern, according to the Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees.

The trustees denounced the tax plan last in a resolution unanimously adopted Feb. 15 at a regular board meeting, which urged state Assembly officials to “do all that they can do to assist us in reducing costs and to liberate municipalities and school districts from state mandates and to develop a proper bill on tax growth.”

The resolution will be forwarded to state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, D-Great Neck, who opposes Cuomo’s plan to cap property taxes.

“We urge that [Shimel] work with fellow lawmakers to pass something that’s reasonable and doable” said Village of Great Neck Mayor Jean Celender.

New Yorkers need relief from high property taxes, but elected governing bodies should be held responsible to adopt budgets and maintain property taxes at the lowest increases reasonably feasible, according to the resolution.

Cuomo’s plan, which applies to schools and other local governments outside New York City, would cap property taxes at 2 percent, or the inflation rate, whichever is lower. Emergency expenses could be excluded by governing bodies.

“There’s lots of things that we find commendable to the governor” said Celender while introducing the resolution at village hall. “A property tax cap, without giving us relief on unfunded mandates, is not fair.”

Cuomo’s bill passed in the Senate on Jan. 31, the day before his budget was released. The Assembly is unlikely to vote on the plan until after the budget is approved later this year.

A public hearing on the tax cap is scheduled for March 1 in Albany.

Celender said mandate relief should be included in whatever final legislation gets adopted by the Assembly.

“We object to a property tax cap because it cannot be successful without significant mandate relief,” stated the resolution.

Why am I voting for Caroline DeBenedittis on March 15th?

She possesses all the traits that are important to me in an elected official. Caroline is a hard working, smart, caring, fiscally responsible individual who listens before acting. She believes in transparency in government and will not only keep us informed of what is going on, but will listen to what the community wants and act upon it.

I want someone who is their own person, someone with common sense who can stand up and voice what is best for the whole community, young and old alike.

In the more than 12 years that I have had the pleasure of knowing Caroline DeBenedittis, I have worked with her on many volunteer committees, in the village and the school, and I have grown to respect her work ethic, her generous nature and her ability to get the job done.

What you may not know is that along with volunteering in the community and the school, she is also the first person to help a neighbor with a home project, a sick child or take a senior neighbor grocery shopping. Caroline is a regular at the village board meetings and is very knowledgeable on what the community wants and what needs to be done.

She doesn’t need to be an attorney; we have one on staff. She doesn’t need to be a business person to know what is important to this community.

What we need is someone who knows this community, someone who loves this community, someone who has already served us well and is willing to devote the time and energy to make this an even better place to live.

That is why I am voting for Caroline DeBenedittis on March 15. I hope you will join me.

Ann Mageau

East Williston

I read with great amusement the signs posted throughout the village that spotlight the self-named Jean Team (Mr. Schneiderman, Ms. Green and Mr. Finkston) who describe themselves as “Experienced, Dedicated, Effective.” So I thought I would take this opportunity to break these terms down and offer a few other adjectives to describe those running our local government and hoping that a write-in effort won’t destroy their livelihood.

Experienced. Perhaps they describe themselves in this way because they are in fact experienced at selfishly placing their needs ahead of the community’s. “Experienced” is a regularly used term by politicians who want to make their constituents believe that they bring something to the table that makes them stand above all others.

With respect to this group of politicians, I think they accomplished that. Gerry Schneiderman is experienced at taking benefits from the community while ignoring the many quality of life issues that continue to plague us (doing nothing to address the dangers that confront us every day as people run stop-signs in our village, is one of things that pop into my head).

Marion Green is experienced at sitting on the stage at Village Hall during every trustee meeting and never raising an issue, never offering up legislation that would improve the community in some way, and never disagreeing with the mayor, a fact so prevalent that upon reviewing her voting record she appears to support the mayor 100 percent of the time.

Neil Finkston is experienced at sitting behind the justices’ bench and supporting a broken system that continues to sustain the Plaza’s overbearing parking regulations and enforcement procedures that make it near impossible to park in the village.

Dedicated. Perhaps this term was chosen because trustees Schneiderman and Green are dedicated to supporting the status quo, a system that is designed to better only the lives of Plaza politicians and not the people who put them in office. I for one appreciate their public acknowledgement of being dedicated to failed economic policies, burdensome barriers to entry for new businesses, shameful self-promoting political tactics, and a reckless dependency on a part-time mayor whose singular success is securing grant money from our nearly bankrupt state.

Effective. Perhaps this term is most accurate. The three politicians running for office in the Plaza are effective. That is, effective at ignoring the fact that 6,000 people reside in the village.

The success of this approach comes in the form of voter apathy, where most people fail to head to the polls and let their voice be heard. Instead, the outcome of each election is determined in great part by the mayor’s political machine that drains the assisted living centers of absentee ballots. (I wonder aloud if anyone has ever checked the validity of the reasons stated on the applications required to garner absentee ballots, and then checked those cast ballots against current voter registration records in the Plaza. Hmm. What an interesting thought!)

Time and complacency drive this political bunch. Their skills are unproven. Their record is void of action. Their representation is disappointing.

I continue to think that the best option for Plaza residents is to go to the polls in droves and vote for write-in candidates.

Michael S. Glickman

Great Neck

I would just like to commend the mayor and board of trustees for the excellent job that they have done in managing the village.

We have spoken with many of our boards who feel that the village is well run and more secure for residents and visitors.

It has been noticed that the village is clean, and the walkway to the railroad station is beautiful and safer, which is a major concern for those who commute.

The summer concerts and street fairs have been a great success and many of my residents are looking forward to the summer months because of this.

Again, we would like to thank the mayor and board of trustees, as we feel they are going in the right direction.

John D. Wolf

President

Alexander Wolf & Company, Inc.

My late husband, Roger Weiss, served in the Village of Great Neck Plaza from 1963 to 1985. He started out on the appeals board, became a trustee and then deputy mayor – all positions without compensation. He did receive “perks” – a badge when he became deputy mayor and a plaque mounted on a rotting concrete slab.

When the plaque is cleared of dog waste, bird droppings, cigarette butts, tissues, etc. – it reads “Roger A. Weiss, gave when others would have given up.”

Dedicated 1986, the plaque is located across the street from the Great Neck Diner, in the tiny sitting area at the front of the park lot next to a garbage can.

Roger Weiss was also one of the founders of the United Tenants Party!

When I read of the tremendous, outlandish “perks” given to the “Jean” team, I feel heartsick. The Village of Great Neck Plaza can ill afford to give such “perks” to parti-time people in the “Jean” team. Those “perks” should go to making the village’s needed repairs and, perhaps, to the senior center. It need not line the pockets of people who have decent employment and already receive compensation from that employment.

Ruth Weiss

Great Neck

Vote Bobby Shannon for East Williston Trustee on March 15 There is no better vote. Yes, I am biased since I married him, but I’ll tell you why it’s the best vote you’ll ever cast.

Bobby grew up in Williston Park, went to Chaminade High School, got an undergraduate finance degree from Hofstra and a law degree from St. Johns University. He has always stayed close to this community because it has always felt like home to him. Even his company, Reality Roofing, is based right around the corner in Mineola.

Bobby doesn’t shy away from responsibility or hard work. He is a dedicated husband and father to three young children. He has been extremely active in the Rotary Club of the Williston’s, is currently the president of the Williston Chamber of Commerce, is an active cub scout leader and has been a coach for East Williston Little League, Mineola Soccer and Saint Aidan’s CYO Basketball. He volunteers his time because the community spirit in East Williston, which we both love, comes directly from the involvement of families that live here.

As a trustee in a small village like ours it is critical to have business skills, important to have a finance background but it is most crucial to have a deep commitment to the community you are serving. Bobby has all of these qualities and many more. He will work hard to keep East Williston a vibrant, charming, and affordable village.

Vote for Bobby on March 15 – he is the best candidate. With his team, Dave Tanner for mayor and Bonnie Parente for trustee, our village will benefit from a unified team that provides continuity, skills and dedication to maintaining our small community spirit. In hopes to learn the real concerns of our residents, they’ve been knocking on doors all over our village.

Please feel comfortable telling them what you think if they knock on your door over the next few weeks.

See you at Village Hall on March 15!

Lauren Shannon

East Williston

Lewis Carroll wrote, “The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to talk of many things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax of cabbages and kings.”

I believe that is a great lead into a Letter to the Editor. The tough winter of 2010-11 is slowly, ever so slowly passing and there are signs that the economy might be turning around.

Major league pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training and our little league is completing registration for 2011.

Soon swarms of young ball players, including some grand sons and daughters of mine will start playing as proud families and friends stand by as avid fans.

So, I feel we should now talk and plan for other things, especially the future of our ballplayers and the entire Village of Williston Park.

Last year I proposed that the village buy the Cross Street School from the Mineola School District. It could be done by straight purchase or condemnation. It would be expensive, but it would enrich the value of our homes and guarantee future ball players permanent places to play. The acquisition can be done with some innovative planning and a bond issue. The long-term cost per household would be negligible, especially with the sale of the existing village hall to supplement the deal. Acquisition will guarantee the future use of the building and the ball fields.

I listed things I thought the property could be used for – a new Village Hall, large library, senior, youth and general meeting rooms, auxiliary fire equipment garage area and especially the playing fields.

If you want a good example on how well such an acquisition works, visit the Mineola Village Hall. That was a school and now serves Mineola very well for many uses.

My proposal stirred some hearts and minds; some opposed, but more in favor. At the time I naively believed we had a pledge from the school superintendent that we could always use the ball fields. But now I see that the district has forgotten that pledge and plans to rent the building to a private school. That may be a sound economic move for the school district.

But, it is questionable that once that lease is signed whether the new, private tenant will allow the village to use the fields.

In our litigious society, we could not fault a new tenant for limiting the use of the ball fields to avoid even the remote chance of being included in a lawsuit involving the fields. Also, the lease of a property is usually a precursor to its sale. I believe it is time we stopped talking and started acting.

If you believe this idea is sound, I ask you to become part of an action committee to acquire the property for the village. If you would like to talk about this idea and join in this effort, call me at 516 294 9842 (H) or my office (above) or my cell 516 946 1195 or by fax or e-mail.

Alan J. Reardon

Williston Park