I’m perplexed. Only a few months ago the mayor and the Board of Trustees of Great Neck Plaza announced that the commercial vacancy rate for the village was at an acceptable level given the state of the economy.

And just days ago they have changed direction and announced that there are too many vacancies and they now want to approve zoning changes to create conditional-use buildings to spur economic development.

A certified planner hired by the village took it a step further and had the audacity to use our tax dollars to make the suggestion that there is a shortage of apartments in Great Neck Plaza.

Perhaps this planner should go back to school to get his real estate license so he could properly analyze the current state of the real estate market and see that the village is drowning in apartments.

A recent search on Multiple Listing Service of Long Island for example identified more than 200 apartments for sale in the village and another three dozen rental units on Welwyn and Schenck alone.

While I am all for relaxing some of the ludicrous restrictions placed on commercial property owners, making this change won’t spur a thing. It’s like our village officials have been living under a rock made most evident perhaps by (Village of Great Neck Plaza) Trustee Marksheid’s recent comparison of “development” in Williamsburg.

Now before we ask Trustee Marksheid if she’s ever actually been to Williamsburg, it would be good to know if she has any basis to make that comparison, or has any clue about economic development.

I for one am willing to bet that she was given that line because it was a good sound bite. For those of us who have seen Trustee Marksheid in action as a quasi-representative of the village to the BID, I can tell you she doesn’t know the slightest thing about economic development or business.

If village officials were interested in economic development, and I mean really interested (not just because there is an election in March 2011 and they are aware of the impending challenge they face), they would appoint appropriate business-minded representatives to the board of the BID rather than themselves; they would invest in an aggressive marketing campaign that would generate traffic to the village; they would actually budget for and hire a competent economic development director to execute a series of new initiatives that go beyond their typical “elected official ribbon-cutting ceremony” photo-op’s to celebrate new businesses; and they would once and for all address the quality of life issues that make the village complicated – parking being among the most pressing.

If our elected officials want to talk out of both sides of their mouths, that’s fine, but the absent-minded representation that has dominated the village for over a quarter century, where our representatives in local government sat idly by as the downturn swept through the Plaza, should not go unnoticed by the voters of this village.

Great Neck Plaza needs leadership, not a bunch of pandering politicians who have an over-inflated sense of self that has prevented them from governing effectively.

Mayor Celender, if you’re serious about wanting to revitalize our downtown, let me commend you for addressing this issue (even if it took you too many years to come to this conclusion) and suggest that you call in experts to offer you guidance and advice and finally lift the unnecessary restrictions with which you have burdened property and business owners with for far too long.

It might also help if you and your colleagues on the Board of Trustees step away from interfering with the work of the BID and start focusing on the business of the people.

Michael S. Glickman

glickman1@gmail.com

You can judge a person’s character by the company they keep.

Did anyone notice the smiling face of downtown Manhattan’s own New York State Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver standing shoulder to shoulder with state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli? Silver looked like the cat who swallowed the canary, as he watched DiNapoli addressing a crowd of loyal supporters at the Sheraton New York Hotel to celebrate his victory on election night. It reminded me of the puppet and the puppeteer.

One wonders how much influence “King Maker” Speaker Silver has over Comptroller DiNapoli? Take a quick trip down memory lane to see how Speaker Silver as mentor made former state Assemblymember DiNapoli the comptroller today.

In a previous life, as a loyal member of the state Assembly under Speaker Silver – then state Assemblymember DiNapoli year after year voted in favor of each and every adopted state budget.

Year after year, by his vote — he concurred with both increasing spending above the rate of inflation along with allowing state debt to grow by billions of dollars.

In return, Assemblymember DiNapoli got to bring home his share of the bacon known as member item pork barrel spending. Many of his constituents don’t believe these treats are kosher.

As a result of his long-time faithful allegiance to Speaker Silver, he was selected by a joint session of all 212 members of the state Legislature to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of state Comptroller Alan Hevesi. (He just pleaded guilty to all of his crimes) Millions of registered voters were disenfranchised in the process by this back-door maneuver. It is interesting that after all these years, Comptroller DiNapoli attempted to reinvent himself from the days of Assemblymember DiNapoli. Having served as an Assemblymember for 20 years, DiNapoli is clearly one of Albany’s insider career politicians.

DiNapoli in his 2010 re-election effort refused to seriously criticize or campaign against any of his benefactors who are responsible for the fiscal mess we are in today.

Democratic Party loyalty is more important than any allegiance to the taxpayers picking up the tab. In return, Speaker Silver and many of his members actively supported and campaigned for DiNapoli. Many submitted letters to the editor just like our own state Assemblymember Michele Schimel urging voters to “Vote DiNapoli for comptroller to various weekly newspapers. Most incumbent Democratic Assemblymembers between gerrymandered districts, feeble non existent Republican opponents had plenty of time to campaign for DiNapoli.

Can Comptroller DiNapoli hold fellow Democrats Gov. Cuomo, Speaker Silver and the next state Senate majority leader accountable to honest finances along with avoiding waste, fraud and abuse. Will he speak up against the Albany infamous “Three Men In The Room” negotiating the budget behind closed doors?

Time will tell if DiNapoli will be a true profile in courage or just another politician looking for his ticket to be punched for re election in 2014.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

It’s a stunning thought that the next session of the New York State Legislature could begin without an answer as to which party will control the Senate. Officials say it could take weeks, even months, before the results of handful of races become official.

That means that the familiar logjam will be already be in place before the Legislature returns to Albany. The balance of power hinges on the outcome three races, one of them in the 7th State Senatorial District in Nassau County where Mineola Mayor Jack Martins, a Republican, holds a slim lead over Democrat incumbent Craig Johnson.

If the preliminary results stand the Republicans will regain control of the Senate with a narrow 32-30 seat majority.

Thousands of absentee and emergency ballots have still not been counted. Fortunately the problem is not the state’s new paper-ballot system or a dispute at any of the polling site like happened in nearby Bridgeport, CT., where some sites ran out of paper ballots on Election Day. Normally there are not enough paper ballots to affect the outcome of a race.

The State Assembly will remain firmly in control of the Democrats.

GOP Senate leader Dean Skelos, (R-Rockville Centre) said he is confident about the results of the recount.

“I’d like it to be over with,” he said, “but I’m certainly not nervous about it”.

Unlike Skelos, Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson said he is not particularly concerned about how long the recount takes. He told New York State Public radio, “You can’t put a time frame on democracy or the democratic process.”

That’s scary talk coming from a man who shared in the responsibility for a state budget that came in four months late. In Albany there is no “time frame” on democracy.

Unfortunately the undecided races will tie the hands of Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo who will need to move quickly to resolve the state’s budget crisis. Cuomo has promised that he will not raise taxes. In that case he will have to cut spending and that won’t be easy to do without the Legislature’s support.

It is even possible that when the recount is over the state Senate will be divided 31-31. In that case the lieutenant governor, a Democrat, will become the tie breaker.

The Republicans are already disputing the extent of the lieutenant governor’s role as a tie breaker.

Things could get ugly before they get better.

Editorial (Nov. 19, 2010)

The NHPAA 14U Team Intensity were crowned champions of the 2010 HBQVB “Never Give Up” Fall Travel Tournament winning three consecutive hard fought games against the Brooklyn Cyclones, Middle Village Explosion, and the Cyclones Silver.

The girls were relentless in their pursuit of the grand prize and stood the test, displaying fierce determination against these elite teams comprised of All-Stars from many different towns.

In the first game, New Hyde Park squared off against the Brooklyn Cyclones who had a dominant pitcher who has been clocked at 57 m.p.h. and is considered by some to be among the top pitchers in the PSAL Brooklyn/Queens High School League.

NHP was led by right fielder Kim Spagnuolo who had six hits in 10 at bats on the day along with five RBI sand also made several eye popping defensive plays.

Spagnuolo was 2-4, with two RBIs, two runs, and two stolen bases against the Cyclones, playing her best when it mattered most.

Jillian Sakowich (2-4) set the table from the leadoff spot scoring twice and had the game winning hit to right on a clutch two-out, two-strike single to score Kayla Buff.

Kristen Hickey was the winning pitcher throwing an impressive 5 1/3 innings allowing four hits while striking out six. Hickey also went 2-3 with a towering triple to left for two RBIs in the first inning and later had a sacrifice bunt to first base in which she alertly stopped and backpedalled towards home before being tagged out which allowed Geena Fornataro to score from third.

Mary-Kate O’Boyle again showed her toughness behind the plate, called a smart game, and was 2-3 offensively. O’Boyle would catch all 3 games for NHP while refusing to come out (even if injured), and displayed excellent leadership to her mates.

Lisa Pellegrino (five assists) was the consummate team player with four sacrifice bunts, three hits, and four stolen bases on the day and scored six runs. Pellegrino was equally efficient in the field anchoring the defense which stopped the Cyclones in its tracks.

The flame-throwing Geena Fornataro who has seen a steady increase in velocity (at times reaching 58 m.p.h.) pitched the final inning and 2/3 for the save.

Defensively, third baseman Jjillian Filippi had three assists as she continues her impressive Fall Season at the hot corner and is proving to be a steady performer in the big spot.

The offense was paced by Sabrina Spiridigliozzi who had a triple and two RBIs, Sabrina Santaruvo (1-2, walk, two RBIs on a perfectly executed slap hit), and Danielle Dziomba who was 1-2 with two runs scored and also surprised everyone with a delayed steal of home with two outs in the 5th. This type of aggressiveness has become the mantra for the girls who never give away an at bat and seize every opportunity.

In game two, Geena Fornataro (2-3, two doubles, two RBIs, two runs) and Lisa Pellegrino (2-3, two stolen bases, one run) were the offensive heroes along with Kim Spagnuolo (2-3, two RBIs) who continued her torrid hitting with the go ahead single in the 7th to lead NHP to a 5-3 victory over Middle Village Explosion.

Sakowich came on in relief of Fornataro in the 2nd inning and pitched a fabulous game for the win. Sakowich threw a variety of pitches (netting four strikeouts) to thwart the powerful Expolsion offense which had previously beaten the NHP team four times.

All-Star right fielder Spagnuolo made the play of the day with a running stab of a liner to right and in one motion then made a tremendous throw to O’Boyle who blocked the plate and applied the tag in the 5th inning to shift the momentum to NHP.

Krista King (1-2, stolen base) made a key backhand play at third base on a scorching liner to end the 4th inning with runners on second and third. Kayla Buff (1-2), Kristen Hickey (1-3, RBI), Sabrina Santaruvo (1-3), and O’Boyle ((1-3, 2RBI) each had key hits. This hard fought semifinal victory was especially gratifying to the girls since the Explosion seemed to have their number the entire fall – winning all 4 games.

The Championship Game played between NHP and Cyclones Silver at 4 p.m. was reminiscent of the famous “Ice Bowl” with temperatures hovering near 40 degrees yet the NHP offense was sizzling.

O’Boyle went 2-3 with 3 RBIs and was phenomenal behind the plate taking quite a battering all day.

Krista King (3-3, three stolen bases, triple, three RBIs) put on quite a show with her speed creating havoc for the defense and executed a slap hit to go along with a line drive triple into the gap in the 6th inning.

Fornataro had a booming double to left center for two RBIs and Spiridigliozzi went 2-3 ( two RBIs) with a monster double of her own.

Hickey (2-3, one RBI) started on the mound – and went as far as she could using a compliment of pitches going 5 innings (striking out five and allowing four hits) for her second win of the day.

After tiring in the 5th, Hickey was relieved by the fireballer and closer, Fornataro (who had four strikeouts in the final two frames) to record the save and secure the HBQVB Championship for NHP Team Intensity who celebrated with a team dinner at AppleBees following the successful day.

The New Hyde Park Girls U10 Firecats were busy last weekend playing a game on Saturday and a double header on Sunday.

Saturday the girls traveled to Glen Head to take on the North Shore Alliance.

The Firecats came out strong on a beautiful day and defeated the Alliance 5-1, improving their record to 6 wins and 0 defeats.

The girls’ offense was outstanding with stellar performances by Logan Ward, Irene Tsahas, Marian Pappas, Madeline Slaski, Jillian Cooper, Emily Rose, and Paden Dvoor. A strong defense was lead by Lauren Wasserman, Stephanie Zovich, Jasmine Kamdar, Joanna Mauceri and Paulina Valentine. They sit atop their division in the Long Island Junior Soccer League with one game remaining. Next week they take on Manhasset in their final game in an attempt to remain undefeated.

Sunday, the Firecats were in Great River for two games in the JSS League.

The first game was a hard fought battle against the girls from Commack.

Pappas scored the only goal of the game off a perfect pass from Slaski to put the Firecats up 1-0.

Shutout goalkeeping by Joanna Mauceri helped lead the Firecats to victory.

In game two the girls went up against a strong team from East Islip. But as the day grew colder, the girls played harder.

Ward and Pappas put the Firecats up 2-0, but East Islip came back to tie it by half time.

Rose scored the go ahead goal for the Firecats with a blast from the top of the box early in the second half.

East Islip came back once again scoring on a rebound after a save by goalkeeper Jillian Cooper.

After a hard fought game by both sides, the game ended in a 3-3 tie.

The New Hyde Park Kool Kats kept pace, in the U-17 division of the LIJSL, with the first-place POB Lady Force, by pulling out a late victory 1-0 against a stubborn Hauppauge Heat team at Memorial High School this past Sunday.

The Kool Kats came into the contest with confidence after defeating the Heat on their home field back on Oct. 3 by the score of 4-0.

However the Hauppauge team that came to New Hyde Park were no pushovers. The contest was very even with the play going back and forth between the two teams.

The first half ended in a 0-0 tie. The Kool Kats tallied five shots on goal to the Heat’s four in the first half.

The inspired play ofgGoalkeeper Kaitlyn Biscotti, who was credited with six saves for the game, cut off many balls and was aggressive coming out of the 18-yard box to clear balls the entire game.

Midfielder Lady Abrikaram had to play defense for a second straight game and again played admirably in the Kool Kats victory.

Lady shored up a defense that was missing two starters and later lost another defender to an injury in the second half.

The entire defense stepped it up holding the Heat to only two shots on goal in the second half.

The Kool Kats offense was able to generate a number of corner kicks with their attack, nine for the game.

At the 59th minute Casey Naab (assist) lined up to take the Kool Kats sixth corner of the match. Naab launched the ball from the right corner with her left foot, as the ball was curving towards the net striker Alyssa Franco drove towards the net and headed the game winner past the Heats keeper.

The Kool Kats still had to hold their breath as the game continued on. The Kool Kats took control tallying seven shots on goal in the second half but were not able to add to the score.

Everyone was happy to get the 1-0 victory to set up the Kool Kats for what will turn out to be the deciding game for the division championship.

The game is Friday Nov. 19 against the POB Lady Force at Tully Field.

Warm-Ups are at 5:15 p.m.; kickoff at 6 p.m.

We hope that all of the parents, friends and families of the team will come out and support us on our quest to win back to back division championships.

What a classic U8 Championship Game between the Blue Angels and he Cheetahs on a picture perfect Soccer Sunday.

The 2 p.m. match-up did not disappoint the crowd of nearly 100.

Emily Schecter played a great first half in goal for the Blue Angels, keeping the Cheetah’s off the board. It was tied at 0-0 until Lily Becker scored a spectacular goal on a pass from Sofia Quijada to give the Blue Angels a 1-0 lead into halftime. The goal proved to be the only goal of the game.

The second half was a defensive struggle. The goaltending of Zoe Gilad and the defense, led by Amanda Garcia and Jenna Neu kept the Cheetahs from scoring early in the second half.

Several shots on goal by Quijada, Schecter, and Becker were stopped by the Cheetahs Valerie Hoffer, who was fantastic in goal and kept her team in the game.

As the clock ticked down, the cheers from all the Blue Angels families and friends grew louder and louder.

The final whistle blew, ending a classic match-up that left everyone proud of the way both teams competed and played. It truly was a classic 1-0 victory by the Blue Angels.

Congratulations girls on a magical undefeated season.

It was fantastic to see every Blue Angel contribute to the team’s 8-0 record.

Six different girls scored this season, including Schecter(1), Michela Giura(2), Jenna Neu(5), Quijada(6), Amanda Garcia (6) and Becker(6).

More importantly, it was great to see everyone involved and giving 100 percent at practices and games.

It was also great to see our first -year players, Emily Greiff, Barrett Kanfer, Zoe Gilad and Micheala Lipp come on strong as the season progressed.

It’s that kind of effort and teamwork that made this a memorable Blue Angel season.

Coaches Tony Garcia and Anthony Giura thank you for letting them come along for this spectacular championship ride.

Congratulations Champs!!!

The Mineola Portuguese Soccer Club punched their ticket to a third straight New York State Amateur Cup Quarter-Final Sunday after defeating College Point 6-2.

The MPSC are Nassau County’s No. 1 soccer team, at all levels, and two-time defending Long Island Soccer Fotebol League Champions.

Under President Marco Dafonte’s leadership (Wheatly and C.W. Post Alumni) this club has been able to assemble the top soccer players from the Mineola-Williston Park area, including Wheatley High School, Albertson Academy, and Gotchee Alumni.

“This area is a breeding ground for top soccer talent” said Dafonte. “It is just a shame that they have no place to go once they graduate college.”

The team serves as a springboard for local talent as well as a home for older players to continue the sport.

Through a partnership with the Long Island Rough Riders, the MPSC has been able to develop young talent and draft them up to the Professional Development League as well as receive players who have retired from professional soccer.

Perhaps the teams most famous alumni is Mineola’s very own Carlos Mendes of the New York Red Bull, but many have come before him.

Currently, former New England Revolution’s Defender Gary Flood plays on the team, alongside over 10 other former professional players.

Additionally, Captain and team VP George Spanos, goalie Jason Landers, and Magic Serafin were all members of the U.S. National Junior team in the early 2000s.

The team, which is part of the Mineola Portuguese Center on Jericho Turnpike, boasts a notable fan-base, which include Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello and Mineola Trustee Paul Perreira, whom you might catch at local home games at Wheatley High School.

Village of Mineola Mayor Jack Martins also served on the board of the Mineola Portuguese Center in the late 1990s.

The club is celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, decades which have seen three New York State Championships, seven Long Island Championships, and over 100 other awards.

The team, which is on a current 16-game winning streak, is also involved in the U.S. Open Cup, representing one of the two sole amateur teams selected to enter the competition.

In September, the team was invited to the most honorable competition in the state,

The Sal Rapaglia Cup, in which they finished as finalists. For more information or news please visit www.mineolaportuguese.com.

On Veteran’s Day, the primary message Manny Grillo, commander of Mineola VFW Post 1305, delivered was one aimed at raising the consciousness of fellow veterans who might not be aware of the benefits due them, or knowledge of veterans’ issues.

As the keynote speaker at the observance in Mineola’s Memorial Park, he recounted his own story as a disillusioned Vietnam veteran, feeling unwelcome in his own country when he returned from the conflict. And he told the story of how a former World War II veteran helped him with his medical problems and encouraged him to join veteran’s groups.

It was a slow process of acclimation, but Grillo eventually joined the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Society of the First Division and the Vietnam veterans of America.

“By being a member, you help other veterans,” he said, adding that membership in veterans’ groups also gives ex-military men and women leverage with politicians.

Noting that there are 15 diseases now associated with Agent Orange, he said lobbying efforts ultimately enabled Vietnam veterans to get the treatment they needed for those diverse medical issues.

“They’re really taking care of us now. It’s not like it was years ago,” Grillo said.

Afterwards, one veteran in the crowd of more than 100 people gathered for the observance, told Grillo he had convinced him to join one of the local veterans groups.

Mineola Mayor Jack Martins emphasized that veterans everyone shares a responsibility to help today’s combat veterans reintegrate to society.

“It’s up to us not to forget. It’s important that we remember that we have men and women who are in harm’s way half a world away,” Martins said.

“There’s nothing more to say other than ‘Thank you’,” said Trustee Paul Pereira.

Sal Cataldo, commander of Mineola American Legion Post 349, rang a bell 11 times to commemorate the original occasion called Armistice Day, that recalled the end of World War I at the eleventh hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And then he rang it once more, for those currently in combat, he said.

He exhorted those present to make donations to veterans hospitals and Vet Dogs, a non-profit organization devoted to providing disabled veterans with companion dogs trained to assist them in daily life.

“Give as much as you can to the people who served,” Cataldo said.

“Freedom isn’t free lord,” American Legion Post member Carl Marchese said in the final invocation of the day’s ceremonies.

As the sound of taps faded in the bright morning air, veterans were recalling comrades and relatives who had made their final sacrifice in service to their country.

World War II Navy veteran Walter Hobbs said he was thinking of friends his father, a World War I veteran, had lost during that war, and his grandson, Jacob, who is in training for duty in the current conflicts overseas.

Korean War veteran Vito Stallone said he was thinking of his older brother Leonard, who was killed at age 19 during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

“What gets me is that people take us for granted. They don’t know the story,” he said.

One World War II veteran stared into the distance, overcome with emotion at recalling some of the men he served with.

“They’re all dead,” he simply said.

The golfers at the Spring Rock Golf Center on Denton Avenue won’t be eating sushi – or any other meals there – anytime soon.

A proposal to open a restaurant to replace one at the New Hyde Park driving range that’s been defunct for three years was tabled for lack of information at the Town of North Hempstead council meeting on Tuesday night.

Sue Lee, a representative of Han Mari Inc., the company seeking to establish the restaurant as a tenant on the property, said plans included modest catering jobs, but “not doing weddings or huge parties.”

The primary function of business would be restaurant service that features foods such as sushi and fried Korean chicken.

Residents expressed misgivings about the sort of impact the restaurant would have on the surrounding area.

Allen Street resident Jerome Galluscio said the restaurant’s illegal operation – in an area zoned for recreational use – between 1999 and 2007 – shouldn’t “guarantee” its presence today.

“Unless we get an [environmental study] and a traffic study, I don’t know how this will affect my life,” he said.

Galluscio said whatever limitations the owners said they might set for themselves now, if the restaurant is successful he said it’s likely they’d seek to draw more customers to it on weekend nights.

“We are not adverse to the restaurant. Our concern was that it would become more than a restaurant and your parking lots would change,” said Jim McHugh, president of the New Hyde Park Civic Association. “We prefer [Spring Rock] there rather than Lowe’s,” he added, referring a to a rumor that the home consumer construction chain was interested in supplanting the driving range.

Kevin Bai, vice president of the Bai Corp. which owns Spring Rock, sought to reassure residents and the council of his company’s intentions.

“We are not creating any problems for the parking. We’ve just found a prospective tenant for the restaurant,” Bai said.

Johnni Park, general manager of Spring Rock, said many of the club’s member spend several hours there and need to eat while they’re there.

“The question is what kind of use,” said Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman. “We’re all in favor of people eating. It just has to be within the law.”

Town of North Hempstead Council members suggested Han Mari submit more specific plans – plans submitted to the building department had already been rejected – to define the seating area and other details of the establishment’s proposed operations.

“Let’s see if we can craft something that might work,” Kaiman said.

The Town of North Hempstead Tuesday approved the Great Neck Park District’s 2011 budget, which at $15,454,927 represents a $1.9 million increase over its 2010 budget,.

Great Neck Park District finance manager Stephen Kessler said the 14 percent increase in the district’s budget was a result of state- and federal-mandated benefits for full-time employees.

Kessler said the park district is responsible to pay for mandated benefits that have risen $390,000 from last year, including $210,000 for pension contribution, $124,000 for health insurance, $40,000 in Social Security taxes and $16,000 in miscellaneous costs.

The Great Neck Park District, Kessler said, has budgeted for 46 full-time employees in 2011 and that mandated contractual salaries and benefits make up 80 percent of the overall budget.

“We have no control on what the increase in state and federal benefits are,” Kessler said. “In 2009, the park district was able to consolidate two full-time management positions into one management position. The district was able to save approximately $85,000 on salary expense plus employee benefits and we are always looking to be cost effective in our operations.”

The increase will be shouldered by park district residents who will pay on average $29 more per household, Kessler said.

The district’s more than 30,000 park district residents will generate a tax levy of $11,247,010 – an 11 percent increase over 2010.

The park district serves all of Great Neck except the villages of Saddle Rock, Great Neck Estates, and Lake Success, and the neighborhoods of Harbor Hills and University Gardens. As a special district, the park district is under the supervision of the Town of North Hempstead and requires town approval for its budget.

Great Neck Park District Superintendent Leonard Celluro said the budget estimates more than $3.1 million in revenue to support the budget. Celluro estimates that the greatest revenue sources for the district include $722,600 for beach and pool fees, $630,000 from the skating rink, $552,156 from indoor tennis, $523,700 from recreation program fees and $309,500 for parking.

Celluro said the district is asking for a $20 increase for family membership to the Parkwood Pool complex.

Celluro said there is also $1.1 million in the fund balance, which was built up over several years by controlling expenditures and increasing revenues.

“The board has done an excellent job with this budget,” Celluro said. “They have made a conscious effort to continue providing excellent services and at the same time, keeping taxes down to our residents. It’s also important to keep cash in reserve in the fund balance to cover for any unanticipated emergencies.”

Celluro said he plans to have an advertising campaign to try to raise revenues for park district’s facilities including the Parkwood Pool complex, the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink and open houses.

“We need to make all of our facilities appealing to keep residents and guests interested in coming back to the park district on a continuing basis,” Celluro said.

Celluro said the board has not invested in capital items for the last two years during a bad economy, but the district can not delay work for a long period of time.

“The longer you go without fixing capital projects, it effects the infrastructure,” Celluro said. “It will end up being more expensive to repair in the long run.”

Celluro said the district’s special projects in the 2011 budget include changes to Ravine Park and Steppingstone Park. The district will spend $200,000 at Steppingstone Park to repair an existing house on the property and construct a maintenance building that will store heavy equipment including lawn mowers, grass cutters and snow plows that was previously left outside.

“We want to secure our investments on the big machinery to keep its depreciation value up,” Celluro said.

The district has also invested $130,000 into Ravine Park to install a new playground, remove the chain link fence and raise the canopy of trees to create more light to make the park more inviting.

Other capital projects that the district will work on include a sensory wall play unit for the Village Green PlayGarden, replacement of original air-conditioning units at Great Neck House and Parkwood indoor tennis courts and new soccer goals and a baseball backstop for Allenwood and Kings Point Parks.

The district is also in the process of receiving bids to plant about 50 to 60 new trees at the Village Green which will be covered by insurance. But the district will need to purchase a water tank trailer to irrigate the replacement trees.

Kessler said he does not believe the district’s 2012 budget will see a major increase like this year’s because it will not have as many capital special items.

“We don’t anticipate the magnitude of an increased budget next year like we had in 2011,” Kessler said. “We are conscious to keep operating at the highest level that the community wants and expects and will balance the two needs in our cost operations.”

After three years of planning and construction, Biener Audi has opened its new 16,000 square-foot state of the art service facility adjacent to its Northern Boulevard showroom.

Biener Audi’s new service facility features 19 car lifts, a car wash, brighter lighting and tile floors.

With the opening of the new service shop, Biener has closed its other two service facilities which were on East Shore Road and Water Mill Lane.

“It has been a dream of ours to do this project for a long time to provide efficiency and ease for our customers,” said Andrew Weinstock, executive vice president for Biener Audi. “We wanted to be customer friendly for our clients and our neighbors and this service shop has been a big investment on our part to accomplish our goals.”

Weinstock said the new service shop contains one entrance on the east side of the facility and one exit toward Northern Boulevard to decrease the amount of noise that residential property owners heard from Biener’s shop.

“We are no longer facing our neighbors,” Weinstock said. “The noise in our shop is now insulated so our neighbors don’t have any issues with the type of work that we are performing.”

Besides the state-of-the-art service shop, more than 10,000 new and pre-owned customers who use Biener Audi’s service shop can sit in a new waiting area that includes wireless internet, a television and cookies while their car is being repaired.

Weinstock said the dealership has plans to continue its expansion in the upcoming months by increasing the size of its showroom.

Wienstock said the service shop is fully staffed and Biener has also added jobs because of the size of the new facility.

Charles Stone, who has worked at Biener Audi for 20 years and is the service shop steward, said the new facility is a substantial upgrade over the old one.

“This is a clean and beautiful state-of-the-art shop,” Stone said. “The setup here feels like a production line that makes it very easy and accessible to get service done quickly. I have always loved working at Biener and this new facility makes me happy to be an employee for this business.”

Dennis O’Brien, a 14-year employee, said it is exciting having all the service workers in one clean building.

Manuel Rodriguez, a five-year employee at Biener Audi, said the accessibility of the new shop allows the employees to complete their job responsibilities on-time.

“Workers can be more efficient because there is more space to get around and move the cars in and out quicker,” Rodriguez said. “All the various equipment is conveniently hung up at our service stations and there are also more computers available to help us diagnose the vehicles. There is also more light which puts less stress on our eyes when we are working and makes it easier for us to think while we are doing our job. The new service area is a great benefit for the workers and the dealership because it increases the overall efficiency to complete the work which is always an important issue.”