JAN 80 I
Over-Occupancies Hurt You And The Village Children's Theatre
When a one-family house is il-legally
converted for the use of
two or more families, every pro-perty
owner in the Village is
affected. Illegal over occupancies
bring a demand for increased Vil-lage
and school district services,
the cost of which must be absorb-ed
by all property owners. Quite
simply, you and your family oc-cupy
a one family house and pay a
certain amount of taxes for such
service to your family as sanita-tion,
fire, police, education, etc.
Another house, for which the
same amount of taxes may be
levied, could contain two or even
three families. More services are
demanded yet the taxes are the
same. Every taxpayer makes up
the difference between service
demand and funds available.
Living in an overcrowded sit-uation
is not emotionally healthy
for the persons involved and can
be dangerous. Within the last few
years in the village three persons,
including an unborn child, died in
a fire when they could not escape
from their illegal attic apartment.
Two young men died as the result
of a faulty heating system in the
basement they illegally occupied.
Further, there is the trauma of
being forced to move when the
over occupancy is discovered and
the situation must be rectified
before tragedy occurs.
The Freeport Building Depart-ment
maintains a code enforce-ment
unit to deal with such over
occupancies and has behind it the
Village Court where fines up to
$250 for each day of violation,
and/or 15 days in jail can be
levied against the property owner
who illegally maintains an over
occupancy.
It is urged that any resident
who has definite knowledge of an
over occupancy report it immed-iately
to the Building Department
at FR 8-4000. The name of the
complainant will be kept in. strict-est
confidence.
Rent Stabilization Adopted For Apartments
The State's Emergency Tenant
Protection Act has been adopted
in the Village of Freeport fol-lowing
numerous tenant com-plaints
aired at public meetings of
the Board of Trustees as to rent
hike, inability to obtain more than
one year leases, etc. The Act
allows for the Nassau County
Rent Stabilization Board to set
rent guidelines which are at
present a 7% increase on a one
year lease, 10% on two and
13% for three. Under the law,
landlords have the right to appeal
the decision of that Board in cases
of capitol improvements, hard-ships,
etc.
The Act became effective in
.Freeport as of December 1.
Tenants whose leases were
signed prior to that date may
appeal directly for rollbacks by
contacting: Division of Housing
Community Renewal, Local Rent
Administration Office, 50 Ginton '
Street, Hempstead, NY 11550.
The phone number is IV 1-9494.
Exempted under the State Act
are structures containing less
than six apartments and buildings
constructed after January 1,1974.
Municipal Budget Hearing
The Board of Trustees will hold
a public meeting on Monday,
January 7, 8 pm, Village Hall.
The subject will be the adoption
of the 1980-81 municipal budget.
Copies of a tentative, line-by-line
budget are scheduled to be
available for residents, several
days before the meeting, at the
Village Clerk's office. The tenta-tive
budget is compiled following
extensive meetings between the
Board of Trustees and the various
department heads which are open
to the public.
Those wishing to speak at the
January 7 meeting will be asked
to fill out a slip when entering the
meeting room so all can be heard
in turn. Speakers are limited to
residents and taxpayers of
Freeport.
The Freeport Arts Council will
present three educational enter-tainments
for youngsters during
school holidays. All performances
will be at the Freeport Recreation
Center beginning at 1 pm. Price
for all three is $4.50 or $1.75 for
individual performances.
Nicolo Marionettes will present
an original play set in outer
space, "Adventures in Star
World," on Thursday, December
27. It features such usual marion-ette
figures as robots, interpla-netary
travelers and prehistoric
monsters. On Tuesday, February
19, the Richard Morse Mime
Theatre will take audience mem-bers
on an imaginary trip to an
amusement park in "Head Over
Heals" with the children having
the opportunity to participate in
the production. Finally, on Thurs-day,
April 3, the PAF Playhouse
will present "Tracking West-ward,"
a chronicle of America's
westward expansion in drama,
song and movement.
To subscribe, mail a check
made out to the Freeport Arts
Council, with a stamped self-addressed
envelope, to P.O.
Box 97, Freeport.
IT BENEFITS YOU
WHEN YOU $HOP
IN FREEPORT
A Healthy Business
Community Lessens The
Burden Of The Taxpay-ing
Resident . . .
• by broadening the tax
base
e by providing employ-ment
• by attracting more--
tax-reducing develop-ment.
You can Help By Thinking
"Freeport First"
For Purchase Of Goods
and Services
ir$ SMART TO
$HOP FREEPORT
Village
REFERENCE ONLY
DECEMBER 1979
News
A PUBLIC INFORMATION BULLETIN OF THE VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
46 NORTH OCEAN AVENUE TELEPHONE FReeport 8-4000 WILLIAM H WHITE. MAYOR
Public Meetings On The 1st and 3rd Mondays Of The Month, At 8:00 P.M.
It's Time For Greetings of the Season
Mayor William White (left) helps Barbara and James Prochllo pick out a holiday decoration at Atlantic
Nursery for their new Freeport house as their daughter, 14-month-old Mary Kay, looks on. The
Prochilos, natives of Baldwin, are among the close to 70 families who have purchased houses in the
Village during the past two years through the Homefinders Service which puts buyers and sellers
t9gether, without a n y f e e t o buyerprseller. _ . s r s r _ _ s _ ... . .
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES and the MUNtGtf
join in Wishing You and Your Fami
ALL THE HAPPINESS Of THE
and a HAPPV and HEALTHY NEW
Trustees: Dorothy Storm, Alfred Sirlin, James Clark, Timothy Peternaria
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzo - Treasurer: James J. Lyons - Counsel: Michael Solomon
Marguerite Meyer, a real
estate salesperson residing in
West Hempstead, has'had her
license to operate revoked by the
Secretary of State after being
found guilty of racial steering.
Ms. Meyer had been "tested" by
Thomas and Judith Connors,
residents of the Village of Free-port.
The Connors are among
scores of volunteers involved in
the on-going monitoring of real
estate practices under the direc-tion
of Michael Kirwan, Coordin-ator
of Freeport's Stabilization
and Affirmative Housing Task '
Force.
According to testimony, the
Connors visited the offices of
Real Estate Innovations of N.Y.
(REI), Cambria Heights", on
November 19 last year and were
assigned to Ms. Meyer. The j
testers, who are white, as is : Ms. Meyer, stated they wanted a
three bedroom house for less than
$50,000 near the water .within
commuting distance to the city.
Ms. Meyer asked the Connors if >
they were .testers because what
she was about to do was "steer-ing."
. She " then"" said, "you're
a nice young couple and there are.
certain areas that.I feel you don't:
want to go to. "'Ms. Meyer then
drew circles on a map to show
communities where, she claimed,
blacks had infiltrated or where
there are bad school systems. She.
circled Freeport, Hempstead,
Uniondale, Merrick, Baldwin,
Oceanside, Malverne and Hemp-stead
Gardens. Ms. Meyer then
began to speak of West Hemp-stead,
her own community, as
being "a built up town with good
schools."
In his written findings, the
hearing officer noted, "the facts
clearly establish that she engaged
in the practice of racial steering,
even by her own admission...her
license to act as a real estate,
salesperson is hereby revoked,
effective immediately."
Kirwan noted that if the Con-nors
had actually been interested
in purchasing a house, they would
have been denied the right to look
"at housing in Freeport, the com-
' munity they actually described to
Ms. Meyer, because they were
white. "This is not the first case
of racial steering we have en-,
countered and successfully have
had prosecuted. This is why the
Stabilization Task Force urges
Freeporters who must sell their
home not to have the property on
multiple listing thereby making it
available for sale by far flung real
estate brokers who.have no con-cern
for the future of our Vil-lage,"
Kirwan said. "Our Home-finders
Service is made up of
residents who have successfully
worked to sell over 60 homes with
no fee to either seller or buyer.''
The Main Conference Room of
Village Hall will be the site of a •
Village-wide.meeting at 8.pin on'
Wednesdayf January" 23. It fol-lows
a smaller session in October.
The ultimate goal of the meetings
is the establishment of block as-sociations
throughout the Village.
The meetings are arranged by
Michael Kirwan, Coordinator of
the Village's Affirmative Housing
and Stabilization Task Force, with
the participation of the Freeport
Association. Seed money for the
establishment of block ' associa-tions
has been donated by Citi-bank.
Roger Martin, a Freeport resi-dent
who is Director of the
Neighborhood Stabilization Pro-gram
for .the City, of New York,
led the October meeting. Martin,
who was responsible for the set-ting
up of several thousand block •
associations in the city during the
past five years, explained that
.such associations. .were;,. noti • in-.
tended to circumvent larger civic
associations. He pointed put that
the meetings of residents of one
block, or small area, provide an
intimacy for the voicing of prob-lems
and concerns. These, in
turn, can be transmitted to appro-priate
civic groups with the
"clout" to obtain resolution.
According to Martin, block
associations involve both property
owners and tenants meeting in a
private home with the meeting
place rotated. Such associations
usually have committees on
safety, sanitation, beautification,
membership, block party and
social. Block associations in the
city have successfully combatted
block busting.
Freeport's Director of Business
Development, Martin Silb
has announced that two firms
be shortly moving into the village.
Bristoline, Inc., a manufacturer
of scientific and medical equip-ment,
will be moving from Island
Park to a 15,000 square foot build-ing
at 248 Buffalo Avenue. Sanco
Industries, a photo copier equip-ment
distributor, will be moving
its warehouse division from
Valley Stream to a 4,000 square
foot building at 16 Niagara
Avenue.
Silberg pointed out that in the
current energy crisis, Freeport's
low-cost electricity is a major
attraction for firms seeking re-location
sites.
The winter/spring season at
the Freeport Recreation Center
begin on January 15 and ends on
May 31. ,
Cost for the season's use of the
health wing of pool, steam and
sauna, gymnasium ".and", exer-cise
room is $65 for a family, .and
$30 for an individual ($15 for
seniors). For those who pur-chased
both a summer .and" fall
plan, the cost is $45 for a family
and $25 for an individual. ., .
Registration for the .season's
programming will be held at-the
Center for children on Saturday,
January 19,10 am to noon and for
.adults on Tuesday.^J.anuary,^,
7'to 8 pm. Programs for children
include art, arts and crafts, baton
twirling, bowling, creative play,
ballet, tap, dog . obedience,
drama, fencing, guitar, gym-nastics,
lacrosse, ski trips, soccer,
swimming and tennis. Programs
for "adults include art, ceramics,
disco dance, dog obedience,
fencing, golf, ski trips, slim-nastics/
fitness, tennis, swimming
and yoga exercise.
Registration for. ice skating
lessons can be accomplished at
the rink any Tuesday or Thurs-day
at 5:45 pm. Cost is$15 for
eight, one half hour lessons.,One
session begins on January 5 and
another on February 2. Lessons
are given on Tuesdays, Thurs-days,
Saturdays and Sundays, ,
iteir SCt Tiroii
.•• The Freeport Recreation De-
I
: partment is again sponsoring one
day-trips to such .ski areas as
Hunter, Catamount, Great Gorge
and Vernon Valley for students in
grades seven through 12. Cost is
$26 unless equipment must be
rented which brings the price to
$33 on a Friday trip and $32 on a
•Sunday trip..Trips, dependent of
weather conditions, are sched-uled
for December 16 and 28,
January 6, 13, 20 and 27, Febru-ary
3,10 and 22, and March 2.
. A bus will leave the Center on
trip days at 5:45 am and. return
about 8 pm. Permission slip and
fee must be returned to the
Recreation Office ho later than
4 pm the Tuesday preceding the
trip. Phone reservations may be
phoned in to 223-8000.
Fee includes transportation via
deluxe motorcoach, lift ticket and
instruction on a beginners level.
Lunch may be brought or pur-chased
at'the ski area. Skiers are
urged to wear warm clothing
including a hat to cover ears and
an extra pair of socks and gloves.
. . ADULT SKJ WEEKEND
Adults, age 18 arid over, are in-vited
to "participate in a Rec're-
'ation pepartment'weekehd trip to
the Cameiback and Shawnee ski
areas in the Poconos, January 26-
27. Accommodations will be at
the Pocono Hilton which has an
; indoor pool. Cost for the hotel,
which includes. Saturday dinner
and''Sunday' 'breakfast, will be
$52'.50''per person with four in a
room and $63.50 with two in a
roomrrTranspprtatioij by deluxe
motorcoach is included in ' the
cost: •*"•.:/ ;'•' ;'- _: ']"' '•':•/
'_ Lift tickets for Shawnee are $9
and $11 at Cameiback. Ski equip-ment'may
be rented'for $7.50 for
one dayror$10 for two. Accident
coverage of $2,000 ($25 de-ductible)"
is available "for $2 per
day: . ;
A bus will leave the Recreation
Center on Saturday, January 26,
at 6*am and return about 9 pm on
Sunday. Reservations with a
deposit of $30 per person are re-quired
immediately and the
balance of the trip money must be
paid to the Recreation Depart-ment
no later than Thursday,
January 3. •-
The Freeport Recreation Cen-ter
offers unique gift-giving
.opportunities now at holiday
time, and throughout the year.
Attractive gift certificates can
be purchased at the Center to be
presented to the gift receipient
which bear the giver's name.
Such certificates can be bought
for unlimited use of the Center's
health wing of pool, steam,
"sauna, gymnasium and exercise
room for $65 for a family or $30
for an individual ($100 and $50 for
.non-residents); 15 admissions to
the ice skating rink for $12.50 for
an adult and $7.50 for a child
($17.50 and $10 for non-resi-dents);
eight one' half hour
skating lessons for children and
.adults for""$15 ($20 non-resi-dents);
and a host of programs
from art classes to yoga begin-ning
January 19 and costing an
average of $5.
The Freeport 'Arts Council also
provides unique items for the
•holidays. For sale at 55$ each and
10 for $5 are holiday season
greeting cards designed'and pro-duced
at the Council's Gallery/
Workshop, "A Little Off-the-
Mall," at 12 Newton Boulevard
(off Freeport Mall). There are six
cards to chose from bearing either
a menorah, peace dove, a dreidle,
"snow crystal. Star of Bethlehem,
or a Christmas tree on White with
white embossing. A seventh card,
The Freeport Recreation De-partment
is planning three Holi-day
Family 'Events.
On Wednesday, December 26,
a-bus: will-leave/the-'Recreation
Center-at 2:pm for the Nassau
Coliseum and a performance of
the Nutcracker Ballet. The fee of
$6.00 includes front area seating
and transportation. The bus will
return to the Center about 5:30
pm. On Thursday there will be
free ice skating at the Center from
10 am to noon for all ages. Those
Residents are reminded that
the use of portable heating equip-ment
which uses a flame, gaso-line
or kerosene is prohibited
throughout the Village, be it in a
private home or in a place of
public assembly.'
During the current energy
depicting a winter scene, is a silk
screen. The cards have no printed
message but room for a personal-ized
greeting.
The cards may be viewed at the
Gallery on Mondays, Tuesdays
and Thursdays, 10 am to 5 pm;
Wednesdays and Fridays, 1 to
3 pm; and Tuesday evenings from
7 to 9 pm. They can also be seen
at the Council's office at the
Recreation Center, . Monday
through Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm.
Cards can be ordered at the
Council's office or by mail by
sending a deposit of half the total
payment due by a check made
payable to the Freeport Arts
Council. Please indicate the
amount of each design desired.
Order should be sent to the
Council, P.O. Box 97, Freeport.
All proceeds from the sale of the
cards will go towards Gallery
programs. . .
The Council is also offering a
"holiday special" on the sale, of
their cookbook, "A Cook's Tour ./
of Freeport,'' which contains over '•'£*
250 favorite recipes of Free- V«
porters, illustrations by Freeport •*.
artist Robin Smith, and notes by '?
Village historian Clinton Metz.
An ideal gift for any resident,
former resident or friend or
relative of a Freeporter, the
special holiday price is $4.50.
Copies can be purchased at the
Council's office.
who have their own skates are
asked to bring them as the
Center's supply is limited. On
Friday a bus wil) leave the center
•at '2:30 "pm"for the" Lynbropk
Workshop Theatre and a per-formance
of "Alice .In Wonder-1
land." The fee is $2.50 and the
bus will return about 5:30 pm.
Fee arid permission slip (for
trips only) must be brought to the
Recreation Office work days.
Reservations are limited on a first
come, first served basis.
crisis, .such equipment is being
'heavily advertised for sale. They
have been prohibited in Freeport
'for many years however, as being
both a fire hazard and emitting
dangerous gases. Portable elec-tric
heaters are not covered under
this ban.
