Tom Suozzi’s Legacy As County Executive

Time Will Tell Its Story

On Wednesday, Dec. 16, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi held a farewell party at the Garden City Hotel. He reflected on his years as county executive in front of staff members and supporters.

“Never forget you were part of something positive that made people’s lives better,” he told his staff members and supporters.

He also encouraged his supporters and staff members to stand by each other and take pride in the job they have done. “The challenge for each of us is to take this defeat and define meaning from it,” Suozzi said.

Legislators Join Together and Repeal Home Energy Tax

Despite narrowly passing a 2.5 percent home energy tax earlier this year, the Nassau County legislature last week voted 13-5 in favor of repealing it. During a meeting Dec. 21, the 19-member legislature voted 13-5 in favor of eliminating the tax; Republican Nassau County Executive-elect Edward Mangano, who currently represents the 17th District, was not present for the meeting and therefore did not vote.

The home energy tax, approved by the legislature in February and implemented in June, was imposed on all residential home energy sources – including LIPA electric usage, oil, natural gas, steam services and even coal, propane and firewood.

Republican legislators were opposed to the tax since initially proposed but earlier this year the 10-member Democratic majority approved it. As a result, Republicans, specifically Mangano, promised elimination of the tax once in office and, as of Jan. 1, the GOP will have an 11-8 majority.

Fifteen Major Social Networking Sites Now Using e-Stop

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced last week that 13 additional social networking sites, including those owned by Google, Yahoo! and AOL, have agreed to remove New York sex offenders from their sites. This comes in the wake of the attorney general’s announcement earlier this month that Facebook and MySpace – the two largest social networking sites – successfully removed over 3,500 sex offenders.

As of press time, 15 major social networking companies have agreed to use New York’s Electronic Securing and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-STOP), authored by Cuomo, to purge registered sex offenders from their sites. The law requires all registered sex offenders to register their email accounts, screen names and any other Internet identifiers with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). That information is then made available to social networking sites. Several other companies continue to ignore this critical measure to make the Internet safer.

Westbury Superintendent Is Proud of District, Students

With the 2009-2010 school year in full swing, Dr. Constance Clark-Snead, superintendent of the Westbury School District, recently sat down with The Westbury Times to discuss student accomplishments, district initiatives and the various “misconceptions” surrounding the school community. Clark-Snead said the message, not just to parents but to the entire community, is that Westbury students are improving.

According to the district, between the 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 school years, the graduation rate has steadily increased from 85 percent to 88 percent. In fact, in 2008, 89 percent of the district’s 270 graduates, including those with special needs, went off to attend two- and four-year colleges and universities, including such prestigious schools are Dartmouth and Harvard.

Mangano Names New Deputy for Finance, Chief Deputy Executive

County Executive-Elect Appoints Sullivan, Walker

Last week, Nassau County Executive-elect Edward P. Mangano named Republican Assemblyman Rob Walker of Hicksville his Chief Deputy Executive and on Monday, Mangano held a press conference to provide an update on the transition process and announce that he appointed Tim Sullivan as Deputy Nassau County Executive for Finance.

In Local Elections, Incumbents Prevail

On Dec. 8, Carle Place, East Meadow and Westbury residents took to the polls to cast their votes in various special elections. The results are as follows:

Suozzi Concedes Election to Mangano

Says He’s Proud of Accomplishments

Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi announced Dec. 1 that he would not challenge the election between him and Republican opponent Ed Mangano, ensuring that Mangano will become the next Nassau County Executive next month.

With New Name Comes New Mission

Nassau Health Care Corporation Now NuHealth System

The parent company of Nassau University Medical Center has renamed itself in hopes of connecting with its community in a new way. In September, the board of directors for the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC)  – which consists of Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC), the A. Holly Patterson Extended Care Facility and five Family Health Centers – became the NuHealth System.

Lowe Properties Granted Special Use Permit

Next Showing December 14 Before Village Zoning Board

On Nov. 19, the Westbury Village Board of Trustees granted a special use permit to Lowe Properties, the developer of the movie theater on Post Avenue. This approval now frees the applicant to proceed with an application for a parking variance from Westbury’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Westbrook Prep Awaiting Green Light from State

Last summer, the Westbury Village Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved SCO Family of Services’ (SCO) request for a special use permit to operate a school out of St. Brigid’s vacant convent. But in December 2008, SCO announced it would not be moving forward with its application in Westbury and instead planned to explore other possibilities, including utilizing agency-owned property in Suffolk County.