The-Leader_1972-07-13

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Official
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ROOSEVELT
Zip Cstfc I1S71
37th YEAR, No. 12 FREEPORT.NEW YORK, JUI-Y 13.197? PRICE: TEN CENTS PER COPY'
Another Main St.
Go-Around
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Momiey ntfit i s arpiirteitte'pro'iiiy "i^" w i i e : !^
Sitting way back from its South
Ocean Avenue rrontage between
Southside Avoiue and Archer
Street and surrounded by
carefully manicured lawns and
shading trees, the 32-year-oId
Freeport Hospital was not as
quiet as usual last wedt when the
news hit that, the 58-bed in­stitution
had msBived the State
Department of Mental Hygiene's
certification, the first such
facility devoted to the treatment
rf alcoholism to be accredited in
the slate and only one of 10 such
p r i v a t e l y - r u n hospitals
throughout the nation so
recognized.
Started as a general hospital in
1940. the switchover to "a
comprehensive approach to the
treatment of the alcfiioHc and his
family" actually tdiA place three
years ago under the guiding hand
erf its director. Dr. Frank HerzUn
and Executive Director Stewart
Paul. Outside oLinitial panic
when it was falsely rumored that
the site would be used for a drug
addiction center, the residents of
Freeport seem to live weU with
the institution which maintains
an open-door policy. Asked to
comment. Freeport Chief of
Police Anthony Elar stated the
department has received no
complaints regarding patients
and indeed the hospital offers an
alternative to throwing an in­toxicated
person into jail "which
we know does no good."
Executive Director Paul,
a banker-turned alcohoHc-turned-
recovered alcoholic-turned
administrator dedicate!
to helping others, told the
LEADER in an interview that the
hospital's programs stressed the
importance of intervention urthe
treatment of alcoholism. "Our
patients are not toothless
dereUcts or broken, homeless
women. By reaching out-
HERE TO HiLP. ixecutive DirectorStewartPwIttniiiioiithB fttpi
of FieeiXHt Hoffiital after aninumdiii mm thrt the Bfrbed facflity
on Soulii OBetn At«iu« has reeeif ad cenification as the itata't only
hospHal dsvotMl maium^V to the treatment of alcohollim.
(LEADER Photo}
educating labor and
management officials to
recognize the early symptoms of
this killer disease-we bring to
treatment people who are still
valued employees." He also
stated "it's nonsense" to wait
until a problem drinker "wants
help •• "You're dealing with a
confused mind that cannot reach
that decision. With the proper
professional help, the motivation
can be instilled." Asked as to the
age and sex ratio of the typical
patient load which averages 40
per week, Paul stated there was
no accurate statistic from this
hospital or from the field of
alcoholism in general. "One week
men may far outweigh women;
the next week that will not be
true. We are, however, concerned
with the growing numbers of
patients under the age of 30."
In general Paul stated the
crfijective of the hospital as being
(11 provision of immediate
medical treatment for the active
alcoholic; C2) the«iucationof the
patient so thai he has hope both to
arrest the problem and
rehabilitate his Hfe; (3) give
continuing assistance to the
patient and his family; and (4) to
establish, maintain and service
continuous referral and
educational programs among all
areas of society to bring to an end
the unnecessary destruction of
progressive alcoholism.
A member of the American
Hospital Association with an
application now penduig before
the Joint Commission for the
Accreditation of Hospitals.
Freeport Hospital has the
equipment and professional staff
to meet all the mescal needs of
its patients. Surgery, hdwever.
when necessary, is handled by
area general hospitals. The
hospital's seven to 14 day in­patient
therapeutic pn^ram Is
covered by all majiw hospital
insurance plans.
Paul pointed out the im-
(Cmtioued on Page 8)
The arguments pro and con
were the same but less heated
during the seccmd go-around at a
public hearing to discuss the
rezoping et Nortti Main Street.
Every seat was taken but few
re^dents had to stand at the
Monday night hearing at ViUage
Couit as opposed to the Jam-pai^
ed atmosptere of the March
hiring. Too, the session lasted
inly one hmn* and 15 minutes, a
brevity to which a faulty air-conditioning
s^tem may have
contributed.
As we go to press no final
decision on t t e rezoning < the May
15 approving vote was repealed
at the start of the pibUc hearing)
had beAt readied by the VUIage
Board membois, ^o, accordiiig
to a spokesman* haye "dodded to
~isieep:'joii-it-:aidlule4*xfi>idi<#^
k^ai«V:hopi#«|fi|iiKa^
f^ianfs havingto rdocate a s was ^ «s«»BaioB wtm^i
plead(^ for by many in the
audience. and an antJ-hara^
ment provision to protect
such tenants against their lan­dlords
as was called for by the
Freepori Human Rights Com­mission.
In opening the meeting. Mayor
Robert Sweeney stated that
althou^ l^al counsel felt the
allegations in a pending law suit
asserting that the Board had
acted illegally in voting in a
rezoning plan on May 15 without a
second hearing, were "without
merit." it was decided to conduct
such a meeting to "avoid the
expense and time of a law suit."
With each audience speaker
given five minutes for initial
statements, North West Civic
Associatioo President Harold
Held led off the supporters by
stating that the proposed plan
would allow for "a viable street
where business can flourish and
pei^le can be happy together"
while pointing out the danger of
someday having to go into some
type of {Hiblic building.
Freeport Human Relations
Commission spcd^esman Edward
Yamin said that although the
Commission was pleased to see
that the May 15 plan had allowed
for a provision whereby
developers would provide
relocation expenses for tenants,
they felt that the sums called for
(fSOO for an 8-room house and a
maximum of |S00> were in­sufficient.
Answering Yamin's
challenge of "address yourself
more to the question of
relocation. ..look to the problem
of the people not only ar­chitecture,"
Mayor Sweeney
pointed out that to his knowledge,
Freeport is Ihe first community
in the nation to even provide a
relocation provislmi
Relocation too iVaS o n the mind
of a Black Coalition
spokeswoman who stated that the
group was not opposed to
apartments per se, but that the
people forced to move by their
construction should have ample
funds to do so and that those who
chose to remain in the ViUage
should be provided equal
housing.
TASCA President Jomer Rand
agreed with "people first,
buildings secimd," and further
urged that the Village itself buy
land parcels to be banked so
there would be control over aiiy
PUD developer. While stating the
group would favor clustered
townhouses, *'We are agahist 4
1/2 story apartmeiitebecaiise
ttils conimunity's faculties could
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Board member Peny Fischer
telling Maycnr Sweeny "Since
you 'changed your mind' (over
the apartment issue), let (he
people say if they want to change
theirs in the March elections."
Individuals speaking seemed
unclear as to the impact of the
rezoning with talk of rumors that
"our homes will be taken from
us." To this. Mayor Sweeney,
several times, pointed out that
"no Village, County or State
government will condemn your
property."
Asked about the long-unused
properti^ on North Main Street
which formerly housed Bohack's
and Holiday Bakery, Mayor
Sweeney stated that the Bohack
location is wanted by a Freeport
group who would utilize it as a
day care center but which has
been stymied by the State for the
past three years in doing so. As
for Holiday. Sweeney reported
that the owner has had not one
offer for the property which is
zoned for retail use and is con­sidering
donaUng it to a boys'
club. He further stated that it was
"economlcaUy reasonable to
believe that vacant parcels along
the strip will be the first to be
bought under any rezoning
because they allow the developer
thiB best return on his in­vestment."
A young married couple, Mr.
and Mrs. Marks of ISO N. Long
Beach Avenue, spoke for "their
segment of this community."
"Unless we can show our friends
who are looking for places to
settle, that Freeport can wipe out
the unsightly, we cannot boast of
the ViUage to them. Apartments
are the thing of the future and
they don't have to be un­sightly
...not as unsightly as
North Main Street of today."
Fireworks Seller Arrested
Freeport Police Patrolman
Edward Martin arrested Vincent
Perisi, 104 Lillian Avenue,
Freeport. on June 30 for
possession of fireworks.., Ferlsl
was spotted making sales to
ywingsters from the trunk of his
car p a r l ^ on liUian.
Perist had been arrested on
simUar charges in 1967 and 1969
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