Bethpage-Tribune_1970-07-23

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island Trees
Vol. 4 No. 39
Serving Bethpage - Ploinview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seaford Old Bethpage
Thursday, July 23, 1970 10c per copy •
BETHPAGE TALENT: Bob Nitschke, right, who
recently graduated from Bethpage High School where
he received the Dramatics Award, chats with Oyster
Bay Town Councilman Warren ML Doolittle prior to a
recent showing of the Town Teen Repertory Theatre
production of MA---<3hinea^-^fciita^i*?--,dra«i©''W««tOw,'"--
another member of the touring teen troupe; -*wa~""
Marilyn Rosen, the group's drama coach, join m the
conversation.
The Teen Repertory Theatre will visit the Bethpage
Community Park with another children's play on
Thursday, July 30, when it performs "The Plain
Princess" in which Nitschke plays a leading role.
Tact" Seeks To Defeat
Budget; Decries Salaries
A group of Bethpage residents
have formed a committee called
"FACT"' (FOR ALL CON­CERNED
TAXPAYERS) and
are vigorously campaigning to
defeat the 1970-71 school budget
to be voted on July 28, for the
third time.
FACT intends to contact every
taxpayer and parent in the Beth­page
area and acquaint them
with the "facts", according to a
spokesman for the group. "The
facts are not known to the public,
for example: two days after the
first budget was defeated the
Board of Education negotiated a
new contract with the School
Superintendent (although the old
contract had three more years to
go) and awarded him additional
new money. The new contract
gives him an increase of $5,000
this year and brings him to a
maximum of $45,000 plus an
automobile for his use. This is -
public information and'may be
reviewed in the District records
for verification."
The FACT spokesman stated
that in their researching of neigh­boring
school districts it Was
revealed that out of 42 school
districts on Long Island only 19
supply an automobile for the
Superintendent*Bethpage is one
Vs* of the 19.
"Bethpage also has the
distinction of being one of the
districts with one of the highest
paid superintendents serving one
Plainedge Senior Housing
Draws Support, Questions
of the smallest pupil
enrollment,'\,she claimed.
(For example: Island Trees',
5600 pupils, Superintendent's
salary approximately $29,000, no
car supplied, but a 10 cents a mile
allowance approved for inter-districttravel
or out of district
travel Hicksville has a pupil
enrollment of 14,000 pupils, the
Superintendent receives $31,000
and no car is supplied by the dis­trict.)
(Ed note: the above figures are
from F.A.C.T statements).
FACT is also disturbed by the
hiring of an administrator to do a
job some consider unnecessary.
They also decry increases in the
Administration salaries beyond
mandated raises.
The budget should be geared to
the ability of the community to
pay." reads a FACT press
release and Bethpage is not a
wealthy community...the people
will be forced out of their
homes."
/ Board President Joseph
Dawson stated that the in­formation
quoted by FACT does
not present the true picture.
"Let's talk in terms of today's
market place when we discuss the
Superintendent's salary and
benefits, urged Dawson "We
researched this salary structure
and'received information from
the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards
Association. His salary is not out
• (Continued on Page 5)
Artist's rendering of Senior Citizens' Housing, to. be built on Hicksville-
Massapequa Road and Mary Lane in Plainedge. (Colasono & Petrides, Ar­chitects-
Planners).
More than 125 people crowded
the hearing room at Town Hall in
Oyster- Bay Tuesday night,
voicing both support and
reservations about a petition to
zone a site in Plainedge for senior
citizen housing.
The Town Board voted to
reserve decision on the petition,
made by the Town Housing
Authority, a non-profit, quasi-public
organization seeking to
build 36 housing units with a low-cost
federal loan to be repaid by
apartment rents.
Support for the project came
from both senior and sub-senior
citizens. They cited the burden on
an older person of maintaining a
private home, and the desire to live
with neighbors their own age, as
reasons such housing should be
built. As one leader of the
"golden agers" noted, they find it
hard to fit in with their younger
families. "We want to have some
good times together", she ex­plained
to the applause of her
fellow senior citizens.
"We don't want to wait until
we're ready for the grave," she
added, hitting the many delays
which have beset the Town's
overall program.
While not opposing the idea of
the program, several Plainedge
residents, some representing
community groups, questioned
features of the project.
Jules Te h, president of the
Plainedge Finance Committee,
asked the Board about the effects
of the non-profit housing on tax
assessment in Plainedge. He was
told that $90,000 of the project's
value would remain on state aid
and tax assessment roles. The
entire apartment complex will
cost some $900,000, with $90,000
being the value of the 1.5 acres of
land involved.
Discussion arose whether
apartments or one-family homes
would cost the school district
more. While houses would
generate revenue, it was coun­tered
that senior citizens would
rarely have school-age children,
and so would not increase school
costs. At any event,
knowledgeable officials felt the
net amount saved or lost would
not be great.
Donald Kanter, vice-president
of the Plainedge School Board,
pointed out that Plainedge had
little vacant land or resources for
youth programs. He asked the
Board to furnish either direct aid
or recreation facilities to the
district,* as compensation for the
loss of a rare open lot.
Supervisor John Burke
responded that the Councilmen
had "under serious con­sideration"
the supplying of such
facilities. He added that the Town
would try to compensate the
district for tax losses. Such
compensation would probably
come from a 10 per cent levy on
the apartment rents, which is to
.finance maintenance and other
services supplied to the complex
by the Town.
A few people noted that the
priority given area residents was
secondary to considerations of
need. They also pointed out that
putting a ceiling on the assets of
applicants would bar from the
apartments oldsters who were
straining under the burden of
keeping up a home, but could not
sell it, since the money they
would receive would be con-
The only other alternative,
noted one senior citizen, would be
to sell her house and rent a non­public
apartment. She argued
that this could leave her a
"welfare case" if she outlived her
money.
Burke replied that many such
senior citizens would suffer, but
explained that until adequate
housing is available, the most
acute cases would have to be met
first.
Another woman expressed
concern over several aspects of
the project's construction. The
contractor responded that the
buildings exceeded the
specifications of the Town
Housing Authority, which are
reportedly more stringent than
for one-family dwellings.
Despite the many questions
asked, the overwhelming
majority of the audience (older
and younger alike) seemed in
favor of the apartments. One
senior citizen thanked the "ob­jectors"
for their concern, and
pledged to have senior citizens
work to help solve their
problems.
At the end of the meeting, John
Dyer, secretary of the Town
Housing Authority, said he was
"very hopeful" the Board would
soon approve the petition.
Facts About The Rousing
The Plainedge complex would
consist of three buildings housing
36 apartments. These would be
part of the Town's "first phase"
of senior house-building, which
aims toward 400 units. To date,
(Continued on Page 5)