Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt Dies

Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt died suddenly on the morning of Oct. 3. According to Ed Ward, spokesperson from the legislator’s office, Schmitt, 62, collapsed while in a budget meeting with Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building and was rushed to Winthrop Hospital. He died at 11:55 a.m.

“Nassau County has lost a dedicated public servant,” said Mangano in a statement. “My wife Linda and I lost a friend of over 20 years. Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt served the residents of Nassau County with great integrity and pride. I had the privilege of serving closely with Peter in the legislature since its creation in 1996, where he distinguished himself as an outspoken advocate for the residents of the 12th Legislative District.”

Mineola Street Fair Promises Fun For Everyone

September 30 event to highlight local talent, businesses

Local economy enrichment — that’s what matters to the Mineola Chamber of Commerce (COC) and the Mineola Street Fair set to kick off Sunday, Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. will showcase all hands on deck from Mineola businesses. A rain date is set for Sunday, October 14.

Willis Hobbies owner and past COC president and Fair Co-Chair Steve Ford detailed the upcoming fair exclusively to the Mineola American. He hopes this year Mother Nature doesn’t delay the fun for the village.

Strauss Gives State Of The Village Address

Chronicles the fiscal and community highlights of Mineola

Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss presented the State of the Village address on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Village Hall. He detailed current issues in Mineola as well as highlighting future projects beginning to take shape.

Mineola Chamber of Commerce President Bill Greene gave the opening speech, with founding member Lou Sanders introducing Strauss. He was elected trustee to the Mineola Village Board in 2010 and was elected mayor in March 2011. Strauss has lived in Mineola since 1964. He’s a graduate of the Mineola High School Class of 1981.

Mineola Comes Together To Remember 9/11

It was a solemn day in Mineola last Tuesday, as the village held a ceremony a Memorial Park to remember those lost in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It was the 11th anniversary of that fateful day, also on a Tuesday, and the similarities were not lost on the featured speaker of the evening. Eleven years ago, terror struck the nation on a brisk, cloudless day. The weather was eerily similar last week.

NCVOA Honors Martins And Schimel

The “dynamic duo” lauded for their efforts in advocating for villages

The “dynamic duo,” New York State Senator Jack Martins and New York State Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, were honored by the Nassau County Village Officials Association last Thursday evening, Sept. 13, at the NCVOA’s 87th annual dinner. Senator Martins and Assemblywoman Schimel were praised for their individual and joint efforts to support and advocate for local government. The NCVOA includes 64 villages, and both the senator and the assemblywoman represent many of these villages within the Seventh Senate District and the 16th Assembly District.

Hosting the event, NCVOA President Ralph Kreitzman, mayor of the Village of Great Neck, offered a brief history of the organization, starting with its inception in June of 1925, when officials from four villages (Freeport, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre and Hempstead) met mainly to discuss traffic problems, an issue still today. “At the meeting, they had a presentation from a company that proposed adoption of three-color traffic signals to avoid some of those traffic problems,” the mayor said, adding, “Importantly, they agreed that a close association of those and other villages should result from that meeting.” Soon after, by-laws were adopted and the Village Officials Association of Nassau County came into existence. Mayor Kreitzman noted that “significant among its provisions was its purpose of ‘the promotion of mutual community welfare’ and a provision that there were to be monthly meetings.”

Former Town Supervisor May Newburger Dies At 92

A mentor to so many, a legend in her own time

To all who knew her, and many who did not, May Newburger was truly a “legend in her own time.” She died last Thursday, Aug. 30, at her home in the Village of Great Neck. A former New York State assemblywoman, former North Hempstead town councilwoman, immediate past North Hempstead town supervisor, and a strong guiding hand and mentor to a whole host of prominent elected officials, May Newburger will be missed. She will be sorely missed by those who often took her very firm, always tough out-stretched hand and by a public who may never realize all she has done for one and all.

For U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, “There is no substitute for May Newburger.”

Redistricting Commission Announces Hearing Dates

Commissioners attempt to move forward in a bipartisan way; League of Women Voters advocates nonpartisan process

While the previous meeting of the Nassau County Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission on Thursday, June 28 was somewhat contentious, the mood at the latest meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5 was very different, with both Democratic and Republican commissioners largely agreeing on most points raised. The commission announced the times and locations of the first round of public hearings on the 2013 redistricting, intended to solicit feedback from residents before the drawing of the new district map, then discussed the logistics of future hearings.

The four public hearings scheduled so far will take place Thursday, Sept. 20 at Long Beach City Hall at 6 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 24 at Elmont Public Library at 7 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 27 at Glen Cove Landing School at 6 p.m.; and Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the Nassau County Legislative Chambers in Mineola at 6 p.m.

Innovative Product Makes Memories Come Alive

Mineola business has patent pending on ‘Tablums’

Our lives are filled with special moments such as weddings, graduations, bar and bat mitzvahs, first communions, and other special occasions. While these celebrations last only for a few hours, the memories are cherished for a lifetime.

Preserving these moments with photographs helps to preserve these occasions. However, video brings these special moments back to life. Imagine gazing through a wedding album and being able to not only see the images, but also hear the band playing music and the best man as he toasts the happy couple.

District Court Judge Scott Fairgrieve Seeks Re-Election

The Hon. Scott Fairgrieve is on a campaign to seek re-election for a third term to the Nassau County District Court. As a judge with 11 years experience, the Nassau County Bar Association has rated him “well qualified.”

In 2010, he was also given the position of acting county court judge, which covers a felony in County Court. He is the author of many legal opinions, which have been published in the New York Official Reports on Westlaw and New York Law Journal.

Court Declares MTA Payroll Tax Unconstitutional

Transportation authority to appeal decision

The Metropolitan Transit Authority stands to lose about $1.5 billion in revenue per year after a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled on Wednesday, Aug. 22 that the MTA payroll tax is unconstitutional. The MTA plans to appeal the decision made by Judge R. Bruce Cozzens Jr., according to a released statement last week.

This didn’t stop local officials from calling the ruling a “win for taxpayers” during a press conference last Thursday. Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano, along with numerous members of local and state government, were out in full force to applaud the decision, and plead to the powers that be to not grant a successful MTA appeal.