Bethpage-Tribune_1984-02-23

              BETHPAGE
BEnMFPBfflll^
OLD BETHPAGE PLAINVIEW
LI T 4 COP I ES
8 C T H P A G C L I B R A RY
47 POWELL AVE
BET f< P A G E NY 1 1 7 1 4
ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 14 NO 46 Week of February 23-29,1984 20 cents per copy
Bethpage Has: Cleanup Campaign
Hope For Youth
by Ellen Epstein
When a Nassau County Court judge discovered that a boy
she had ordered sent to a foster home was instead placed in a
mental institution where he didn't-belong, she took action.
The result: the establishment of HOPE FOR YOUTH, a
state-funded organization of group homes for neglected and
emotionally disturbed youths.
The organization was formed 13 years ago to provide a
community-based home environment for Nassau and Siif-folk
County youths who could no longer live in their own
homes, but who weren't accepted into foster homes and
didn't belong in mental institutions. Now retired Judge Eli­zabeth
Bass Golding's efforts resulted in the first group
home in Bellmore.
Today, HOPE FOR YOUTH remains dedicated to inte­grating
youths into their communities and consists of five
group homes throughout Nassau and Suffolk, with new
executive offices in Bethpage. This past January it became
•one of three state prorams to receive additional funding for a
new concept called Supervisory Independent Living.
Sitting in his new office in
the Plainedge Community
Center on Stewart Avenue;
HOPE FOR YOUTH'S new
executive director, Kevin
Mahoney, explained that the
move from Westbury to
Bethpage had two important
advantages: lower rent and
closer proximity to the group
homes. Because HOPE FOR
YOUTH is a non-profit
organization, the savings in
office rent of $500 each month
goes directly for improved
services for the youths. This
means more money for those
'extras' not provided for by
the state, like a cassette
recorder for counseling pur­poses.
Kevin Mahoney
The group homes, located in Plainview, Seaford, Wan-tagh,
Babylon and Bellmore, are each designed to provide
seven neglected or disturbed youths with a stable home
environment for anywhere from one to four years. The
youths range from 10 to 17 years old and are often referred
to HOPE FOR YOUTH by family court or the Department
of Social Services, for behavioral problems such as truancy.
The youths' problems generally stem from family situations
which prohibit them, at least temporarily, from living in
their own homes.
The group home environment is deeply rooted in the
community. The youths are "those who can benefit from an
open community setting", according to Mahoney. They
cittend community schools, and participate in recreational
activities at local community centers. 'The community has
been very receptive", said Cullem.
"We're very good neighbors," Cullem stated, pointing out'
[hat there has been support rather than complaints from
leighbors of the group homes,.which look like any other
arge, attractive neighborhood homes. Comnvunity
nembers donate money, supplies and services. "In fact," said
Tullem, "every piece of furniture in the new Bethpage office
vas donated by members of the community."^
According to Mahoney, the organization's bottom line
)bjectives are to try to keep families together whenever
)0ssible and to save neglected or disturbed youths.
Married couples who are child care workers live in each
lome and are "committed to helping children on a day to
lay basis and working to restructure their behavior,"accord-ng
to Mahoney. The emphasis is on ongoing childcare.
)epending on each child's individual needs, extra care is
•rovided by outside psychiatrists, those skilled in child care,
(Continued on Page 7)
Members of a Hicksville-
Bethpage community organ­ization
which has been
active for the preservation
of local drinking water qual­ity
recently announced their
participation in a national
campaign to protect citizens
from hazardous waste
problems.
Bill Steinmetz of Beth-,
page and Ernest and Jose­phine
Buckner of Hicksville
represented the local chap­ter
of the New York Com- .
munity Action Network
(New York CAN) at a
Mineola news conference
earlier this month. Local res­idents
declared their sup­port
for the National Cam-paign
Against Toxic
Hazards, which will focus
attention on passage of a
federal Superfund cleanup
program -^ich will, allow
citizen participation in clea­nup
programs, citizen law­suits,
victim's compensation
measures, a mandatory
cleanup schedule, emer­gency
relief and studies on
health effects for people who
have been exposed to toxic
wastes.
The national campaign,
which was endorsed earlier
this month by the Women's
Club of Bethpage, is sup­ported
by over one hundred
national organizations,
including the American
Public Health Association,
the Audubon Society, the
Sierra Club, Consumer
Federation of America and
the. National Education
Association.
Mr. Steinmetz and Mr.
and Mrs. Buckner, who
have been engaged with
Bethpage and Hicksville
New York CAN members in
pressing for comprehensive
Local residents take part in national cleanup campaign news conference in
Mineola Fe.b. 13. Members include (left to right) Ernest and Josephine
Buckner of Hicksville; Elsa Ford of Brentwood; Sharon Luscombe of
Unjondale; Mau4e Anderson of plainview; Bill Steinmetz of Bethpage;
and Robin Karp of Farmingdale.
cleanup of the Hooker
Chemical Company site on
New South Road in Hicks­ville
and the Old Bethpage
landfill, stated that the
national campaign seeks to
guarantee "every Ameri-
-can's basic right to lead a
safe and healthy life."
'Town of Oyster Bay resi­dents
and all Americans will
benefit from passage of the
federal Superfund bill,
known as HR-4813," said
Mr. Steinmetz. 'The bill's
vital amendments will pro­vide
excellent protection for
communities throughout
our state and our country,
and we estimate that the $9
billion five-year plan will
more than double the fed­eral
contribution to New
York State's cleanup costs."
"And the vast majority of
federal Superfund dollars
will continue to come from
large firms using hazardous
chemicals," the New York
CAN members declared.
New York CAN members
from the area have met with
Congressman Norman F..
Lent's staff to seek his sup­port
for the nationaP pro­gram
and to urge him to
become a co-sponsor of the
HR-4813 bill, including the
amendments providing for a
cleanup timetable, citizen
suits, victim's compensation
and health effects studies.
The National Campaign
Against Toxic Hazards will
seek to secure the following
"Citizens' Rights" by law:
the right to be safe from
toxic exposure, the right to
know about the presence of
hazardous chemicals, the
right to cleanup of hazard­ous
sites, the right to com­pensation
for damages due
to toxic chemicals, and the
right to protection and
enforcement of toxic chemi­cal
laws.
The national effort is
being coordinated by the
Clean Water,Action Project
and Citizen vAction, a
national federation of
statewide citizen organiza­tions
with which New York
Community Action Net­work
is affiliated.
Local New York CAN
members have a speakers'
bureau available for inter­ested
groups who wish to
learn more about local prob­lems
and about the National
Campaign Against Toxic
Hazards. For information
and written materials, the
New York Community
Action Network may be
contacted at 741-1400.
Bethpage R.R. Station -
Relocate Or Remove??
State Senator John R. Dunne and Assembly-nian
Fred Parola announced today they are spon­soring
a pubHq hearing for Bethpage residents on
the planned renovation/relocation of the Beth­page
Long Island Rail Road station. The hearing
will be held Thursday, March 1st at 8:3Q p.m. at
the Bethpage High School auditorium.
- ' • . -' •
LIRR's electrification prograni will require
changes in the layout or location of the Bethpage
station. Presently, there are four proposals being
discussed.
1. Relocate the station West of Stewart Avenue
2. Relocate the station East of Broadway
3. Keep the station at it's present Ibcation
4. If none of the above is feasible, the elimina­tion
of the Bethpage station as a stop on the Long
Island Rail Road.
Dunne and Parola have invited Town of Oyster
Bay and Long Island Rail Road officials to parti-ciapte
in the hearing. "We feel it is important that
the State make every effort to accommodate the
heeds of Bethpage residents," Dunne and Parola
said. They added, "The position we take on this,
matter as State legislators will be guided very
strongly by what the people tell us at the hearing
and we invite all concerned individuals andgroups
to come and participate.