Scenes From The Oak Park Exchange Congress In Freeport
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CD
Freeport Human Rela-tions
Commissioner
Margaret O'Connor (r.)
meets with Jim Davis
(I.) of Irvington, N.J
and Percy Slaughter
(c:) of Oak Park, III.
NOVEMBER 1981
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REFERENCE ONLY
Freeport Mayor William H.
White confers with (I. to r.)
Oak Park, III. President
.(Mayor) Sarah Bode, HUD
Regional Administrator
Joseph Monticciolo and
Freeport Human Relations
Director Michael Kirwan.
Sarah Bode (2nd from r.),
President (Mayor) of Oak
Park.'jilll., chats with of-ficers';
of the Freeport
banch'of Citibank (I. tor.):
L.I. Community Affairs
Officer Sal Vella; fvfa'ry
"Terry" Brooks; Assist-ant
Branch Manager; Vice
President for Community
Affairs Janet Thompson;
Bode; and Manager of the
Freeport Branch, Frank
Pellicione.
Freeport Mayor William
White speaks with the Rev.
Clifford Anderson (I.) of Ar-lington
Heights, III. and
Rev. John Dischinger (r.) of
"reeport's First Baptist
Church.
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 j
Celebrating An Anniversary & Planning A
Yiilaee
Town of Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Thomas Gulotta (left) and Senator Norman Levy (center)
stand with Freeport Bicentennial Committee members at the successful Yorktown Victory Ball attend-ed
by-over.200 people at the Recreation Center on October 17. Senator Levy presented a Citation to
Committee Chairman Robert Raynor(third'from right) who directed five years of activities in the
Village. At the Ball, which was the end of the Bicentennial celebration, it was announced that October
18 marked the 89th anniversary of the incorporation of the Village and plans are already underway for
festivities around that date in 1982 when Freeport will have its 90th "birthday." Left to right, are
Gulotta, Helen Paturzo, Rhoda Keller, Mrs. Levy, Levy, Elaine Stettner, Raynor, Marion Gottschalk
and Thomas Moore.
Trustees: Dorothy Storm, Alfred Sirlin, James Clark, Timothy Peternana
Village Clerk: Thomas DeVincenzo: Treasurer: James J. Lyons; Counsel: Michael Solomon
A Welcome Message
(The following was delivered by
Mayor William H. White at the
opening General Session of the
Fifth Annual Oak Park Exchange
Congress, October 1, at the Free-port
Recreation Center.)
It is my great pleasure as
Mayor of Freeport to welcome
you, the delegates of the Fifth]
Annual Oak Park Exchange Con-1
gress, to our Village. We were.,
very honored to be selected as the':
site of this year's sessions. Those\
of us working on our local organ-izing
committee now doubly ap-preciate
the efforts of the govern-ment
and people of Oak Park,
Illinois, in putting such an ex-change
meeting together original-ly.
We also appreciate the birth-ing
pains of Shaker Heights,
Ohio, which hosted the Congress'
for the first time in 1979, for now
we share them.
The Village of Freeport is
known as ' 'The Boating and Fish-ing
Capital of the East.'' As such,
we 've become experts at running
canoe races, international off-shore
power.boat races, fishing
tournaments and boat shows.
This is the first major event we 've
hosted on dry land and I am proud
of my fellow Freeporters for tak-ing
up the challenge on short
notice and, I think, doing an
excellent job.
We have our own municipally-run
electric utility in Freeport so
we are the entity that sends out
the monthly electric bills—show-ing
lower rates than anywhere
else around I might add. In that
electric, bill we include. ,a. public
information bulletin. The August
bulletin included a form to be fill-ed
out by any resident who
wished to volunteer their services
for this Congress.
I was gratified at the number <
who responded, but not surprise- •
ed. We have much to be proud of
in the physical sense in Ffee- ;
port-—but I am proudest of an
intangible—the Spirit of Free-port,
the.spirit of its people to
work together for their com-munity.
<
/ have welcomed you to Free-port,
but let me also welcome you
to Long Island, a long spit of land
far larger than the tiny but much _,
more famous Manhattan Island to
our west.
Manhattan Island—there's also
a Staten Island—and Long Island
—all bodies of land surrounded
on all sides by water.
Freeport has eight-and-a-half
miles of waterways as its south-ern
boundary, but it is no island.
Many outsiders wish it were in
some ways isolated from them-selves
so that the traumas Free-port
has faced will somehow
never reach them. Many wish
Freeport didn't exist at all. It
makes them uncomfortable when
they contemplate in all fairness,
their own communities. Others
from outside are delighted there •
is a Freeport they think they can
shape with less than noble
motives. '
Freeport never has been, and
never will be, isolated unto itself.
We are the world of tomorrow.
Our Village was settled over 300.
years ago and is now one of the
largest incorporated Villages in
the State of New York. Surround-ed
by unincorporated hamlets, we
were among the first to enjoy
sewers, paved streets, telephone
and electric service.
Similarly, in the 1960 's we were
among the first to experience the
social unrest that was to eventual-ly
rock the entire nation. With no
guidelines to follow, we dealt with
the problems and set patterns
others have since followed. Fame
is fickle. We are remembered for
the problems, not for our solu-tions.
That is our cross, our
"image" problem .;
The Fifth Annual Oak Park
Exchange Congress is convened
this year in a community of fight-ing,
proud people. Those that
would flee, when the unscrupu-lous
would have them do so, are
long gone. The fighters stayed
and have attracted others of
similar determination to the
community.
Freeport is not an island and as
such to be isolated, forgotten. It is
a viable, integrated community
on the doorstep of New York City.
Of some 219 communities on a
long island, Freeport is one of
only a handful with a racially
diverse population. Freeport is
not supposed to work. That.was
decided 20 years ago. But there
are some 40,000 of us out to prove
that Freeport is :working, and
even when it mean's sticking our
chins out and taking unpopular
stances, we will see to it that it
continues to work.... , .
Annual Holiday Festival
The Annual Holiday, Festival,
co-sponsored by the Freeport
Chamber of Commerce and Free-port
Recreation Department, will
be held on Saturday, December
19,11 am to 4:30 pm, at tne Free-port
Recreation Center.
Early plans call for the yearly
visit by Santa Claus and Mrs.
Claus who will have a free gift
bag for all children' up to the age
of 10 who come to chat with them.
Older children and adults will be,
invited to a free ice skating
session. There will also be enter-tainment
for the entire family
throughout the day and a craft
gift sale.
There will be no admission fee
and all events and refreshments
will be free.
Residents are urged to watch
the local media for further details.
Flyers will be distributed through
the Freeport School District.
1982 Parking Permits
Permits, necessary for parking
in all commuter parking lots dur-ing
1982, will go on sale begin-ning
the second week in Dec-ember.
All 1981 permits expire as
of December 31.
The permits may be obtained,
at a fee of $10, from the Regist-rar,
Village Hall, 8:30 to 4:30,
weekdays. Automobile registra-tion
must be shown at time of
purchase as permits are available
to the residents of the Village
only.
National Congress A Success In Freeport
Delegates attending the 5th
Annual Oak Park Exchange
Congress in Freeport on October
1 and 2 from communities in
Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut,
Missouri, New Jersey and Long
Island, were impressed with the
Congress' host site and its
people. In a closing session, a
resolution was passed describing
the 1981 session as "an outstand-ing
Congress" noting "the spirit
of the Freeport community and
the warmth of the hospitality
extended to the delegates."
Another resolution proposed
that when the delegates returned
to their communities, they contact,
their Senators and Congressmen
as well as US Housing and Urban
Development Secretary Pierce
regarding an expected future
statement by President Reagan
on integration. The delegates
have requested that the Oak Park
Congress National Advisory
Board have an opportunity to
meet with the President, or his
representatives, to discuss their
concern that attention be given to
the need to preserve and maintain
the integrated status of presently
integrated communities. The
resolution authorized Michael
Kirwan, the Village's Human
Relations Director who served as
Coordinator of the 1981 Congress,
to make any necessary arrang-ments
for such a meeting.
Also at the final session, rep-resentatives
from iUniondale
suggested that local Nassau and
Suffolk Towns represented at
the Congress, continue their con-tact,
and cooperate and coordin-ate
their efforts to maintain and
promote.integration.
Thirteen workshops and audio-visual
presentations were offered
to delegates over the busy days.
One such panel discussion, "The
Freeport Experience: Govern-ment
Intervention to Promote and
Maintain Racial Diversity,"
included Mayor William White,
Kirwan, Community Develop-ment
Director Eric Hemphill,
Village Clerk Thomas DeVincenzo
• Homefinders Director Ramona
Crook, Concerned Freeporters of
the Northwest Co-Chairmen Glen
Mitchell and Vernon All wood,
Homesteaders Thomas and Linda
Drew, Arts Council at Freeport
Executive Director Lila Diringer
and Human Relations Commis-sion
member Charles Friedman.
Other Freeporters participating
in panels included Roger Martin,
Director of Stabilization, New
York City Human Rights Commis-sion;
Freeport School District
Superintendent John Bierwirth;
Nassau Avenue resident Wiltna
Buchanan who is a former Presi-dent
of the community council of
Rosedale, Laurelton and Spring-field
Gardens, Queens; Human
Relations Commission member
Margaret O'Connor; Stearns Park
Civic Association member Anita
Landau who is also a member of
the Village' s; Stabilization Task
Force; Human Relations Commis-sion
member Rev. Joseph Rob-inson;
Freeport Branch of Citi-bank
Assistant Manager Mary
. Brooks; and Adjunct Professor of
the College of Insurance Eliott
Berrin.
Non-business activities of the
Congress included a cocktail
party at the Woodbine Drive
home of Dr. and Mrs. David
Westring, a box luncheon, a boat
tour and a "clambakr" at Water-front
Park. The annual banquet
was held at the Salty Bay Yacht
Club where delegates were enter-tained
by the Betsy Dickerson
Performing Arts Center's En-semble
and soloists from the
, Freeport Community Chorale.
The official program of the
Congress expressed gratitude to
Citibank, National Bank of North
America, Chemical Bank, Metro-politan
Savings & Loan Associa-tion,
Lydia E. Hall Hospital,_
Freeport Chamber of Commerce,
the Apache II, Arts Council at
Freeport, Freeport School District,
' Freeport Memorial Library, Betsy/
ON CABLE
"United We Stand," a
half hour program of high-lights
from the Congress,
including introductory
scenes of the Village and
interviews with Mayor
White and Congress Co-ordinator
Michael Kirwan,
will be shown on Channel
12 of Cablevision on
Fridays, December 11 &
18, beginning at 8:30 pm.
This show will also be aired
in the Chicago area.
Dickerson Performing Arts
Center, Dr. and Mrs. David
Westring, the Freeport Commun-ity
Chorale, Atlantic Nursery
' "and many hundreds of Freeport.
residents."
Holiday Schedule
All Village offices will be closed
November 26 and 27 (Thanksgiv-ing),
December 25 (Christmas)
and January. 1 (New Year's).
Because of the holidays, there
will be no garbage and trash col-lection
in the northern section on
Thursday, November 26, and in
.the., central section, .on Fridays,..
December 25 and January 1.
IT
MAKES SENSE-TO
$HOP FREEPORT
A Healthy Business
Community Lessens The
Burden Of The Taxpay-ing
Resident . . .
• by broadening the tax
base
• by providing employ-ment
• by attracting more
tax-reducing develop-ment.
You can Help By Thinking
"Freeport First"
For Purchase Of Goods
and-Services—
SHOPPING!
IS GREAT
IN
FREEPORT
Freeport Mall, Merrick Road: &
Woodcleft Avenue, Guy . ;J
Lombardo Avenue, Atlantic
Avenue
' all around town...
