Morehouse College Glee Club to Perform in Freeport
The Freeport United Methodist Church
will be presenting a concert on Sunday, March
12th at 4 p.m., which will be performed by
the widely acclaimed Morehouse College Glee
Club. The group, which is proud of its more
than 90-year tradition of musical excellence
and achievement, rose to prominence when it
performed during the 1996 Summer Olympics
with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Choir.
The concert will provide a varied pro-gram
of classical and contemporary works,
spirituals and African music. Tickets can be
ordered from the United Methodist Church by
calling 516-378-0659, or by emailing
freeportumc@msn.com. The cost is $30 for
adults and $15 for students who are 18
I-ON
OZSU AN
dlVd
years old or younger. Checks should be
made out to the United Methodist Church,
with the memo line stating "Morehouse
Concert", and addressed to the United
Methodist Church, 46 Pine Street, Freeport,
NY 11520.
Freeport's Fire
Department Needs
Volunteer EMTs
The Department is looking for Emergency
Medical Technicians to join Emergency
Rescue Company #9. The department will
provide the necessary training for the certi-fication
requirements for Fire Medics.
Anyone interested in joining the volunteers
should attend the special "Open House" on '
Sunday, March 26, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at
Fire Headquarters in Freeport. For further
information, call 516-377-2190.
We Have
Another
Photo
Winner
The photo contest
yyinner for February is
'Ray Bartley of
Freeport. His"photo,
titled "Blue Claw
Special" trujy, - cap-tures
the flavor of the
Nautical Mile.y/vhere
he took this picture
with a Canon
Powershot G5 digital
camera using a stock
Canon zoom lens 7.2 -
28.8mm early on the
morning of February
6, 2006.
OZS 1 1 AN '
Freeport Report
New York
FEBRUARY, 2006 www.freeportny.gov THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Mayors Seek to Keep Community Development
Block Grants Money
Pictured in the photo taken in Washington DC at the annual midwinter meeting of the United State Conference of Mayors are
Rock* Centre Mayor Gene Murray, Hempstead Mayor Wayne Hal the President of the US Conference of Mayors, Maya Beverly O'Nei, and Mayor 8il
Glacken.
4.0 a6e||jA
Freeport Mayor Bill Glacken, along with
Mayors Gene Murray of Rockville Centre and
Wayne Hall of Hempstead Village, attended
the recent midwinter meeting of the United
States Conference of Mayors in Washington,
D.C.
During the conference the three local
officials expressed their concerns over the
amount of funds distributed through the
Community Development Block Grant
Program, a federal funding program to local-ities,
which suffered 10% cuts in the 2006
federal budget and is expected to be reduced
again by 25% to $660,000 in fiscal year 2007.
"These grants provide much needed
assistance to a variety of local programs,"
explained Mayor Glacken, "including daycare,
nutrition, and the rehabilitation and
winterization of houses owned by elderly or
disabled residents who could not otherwise
afford the repairs. The money is also used to
help fund downtown revitalization projects."
The program is run by the Freeport
Community Development Agency and is
funded by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development through the Nassau
County Consortium.
The mayors are concerned that President
George Bush will include another round of
cuts to the program in his latest budget pro-posal,
further reducing the money available
for local assistance.
A MESSAGE FROM THE JMAYOR
For more than 30 years, the federal
government has channeled revenue back
to localities through the Community
Development Block Grant Program.
However, the current trend in Washington,
D.C. is to reduce significantly the amount
of funding that local governments will
receive through CDBG. After a 5% cut
affecting the current year, the total
amount allocated for Freeport in the 2006
funding schedule was reduced by 10%, to
$828,000. The proposed cutback for the
2007 funding is an additional 25%. A
reduction of this magnitude would cause
severe hardships for the recipients and the
money could not be replaced by local gov-ernments.
These funds are used to help commu-nities
fill a variety of critical shortages,
including offering help to low and moder-jie^
inconie^ Jndjyjduals and_jne|ghbo.r^
hoods. Since local communities may, with-in
the parameters of the CDBG program,
determine where to apply the funding
based on their own priorities, CDBG
money has benefited a wide variety of
projects in Freeport.
One of the more typical uses of CDBG
funds has been to cover the cost of helping
homeowners of limited means, usually
senior citizens, make health and safety, or
energy-related repairs to their homes.
Examples of these projects include repair-ing
a leaky roof, building a handicap ramp
for a disabled resident, or replacing drafty
windows and aging heating systems to
enable elderly citizens to heat their homes
through the cold winter months. All of
these improvements fall within the broad
category of residential rehabilitation.
GDBG money has also provided-a-sub^
stantial portion of the funding used to
revitalize vFreeport's downtown business
district. Th'ei recent relocation and expan-sion
of the: Love and Quiches Store on
Main Street is jusTohe of 30 businesses
which have expanded or improved their
storefronts or sites under the Village's
commercial revitalization program, which
began in 1999. r
Several Freeport-based non-profit
agencies and local churches have qualified
for CDBG funding for use as the "see'd
money" needed to start or expand pro-grams
aimed at addressing such critical
issues as nutrition for the elderly and 'gang
violence among teenagers. Whether- we
are talking about bringing hi-tech instruc-tion
to youngsters who do not have access
to computers at home, or a hot lunch at
the Interfaith Nutrition Network to those a
who would not otherwise have a noon-
:time meal, the money, from the CDBG
"furfding~Tr pu't:~to'very~goo'd use i n "
Freeport. Any further reductions in fund-ing
for these public service grants will
cause severe consequences to a wide vari-ety
of critical programs.
Freeporters can fight cutbacks to
these important programs by contacting
their congressional representatives and
requesting that there be no reductions
in the CDBG program. In fact, tell them
you want an increase in funding.
Correspondence should be sent to the
following:
Congressman Peter King
1003 Park Blvd.
Massapequa Park, NY 11762
peter.king@mail.house.gov
516-541-4225
Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
Garden City, NY 1-1530
carolyn.mccarthy@mail.house.gov
516-739-3008
Senator Charles E. Schumer
• 757 Third Ave., Suite 1702 ;
New York, NY 10017, r
www.senate.gov/schumer
212-486-4430 *
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
730 3rd Ave., Suite 2601
s • NY, NY 10017 #"
www.senate.gov/clinton ,-
212-688-6262
Community Development Block
Grants have played a Critical role in help-ing
Freeport address the various needs of
its residents for 30 years. It would be dev-astating
to stop this funding now. But we
need everyone's help to save the program.
Please write to your representatives today.
Mayor Glacken Reads to Giblyn School Students
The second^raders in Mrs. Costeltano's doss had plenty of questions.
The Leo F. Giblyn elementary school
embarked on its 8th annual "Parents and
Reading Partners" program during the
month of February. The plan calls for parents
or another adult to read to youngsters for at
least 15 minutes a day for 5 days out of each
week. Mayor Bill Glacken was invited by two
second grade teachers, Mrs. Roberta Ir and
Mrs. Laura Castellano, to read to their
students.
In Mrs. Ir's class, the Mayor read a won-:
derful story about a duck who wanted to be
the President and in Mrs. Castellano's class, he
read two books, Louis the Fish and Max. The
youngsters in both classes had plenty of
questions for the Mayor, asking him how
long he has held that position, how he got
the job, and if he enjoyed it. Mayor Glacken
answered all their questions, explaining the
election process, that he was first elected
mayor in 1997, has been re-elected twice, and
that heHbves being the mayor of Freeport.
Julius Pearse, Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson and program host Lyn May.
Deputy Mayor Frierson Appears
onWLIW21
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson was interviewed by Lyn May, the host of
the program Act Two with Newsday, concerning the current progress of civil
rights and how it affects the lives of African-Americans, as part of the
celebration of Black History Month. Ms. Frierson spoke of the legacy of the
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the influence of his teachings on young
people today. Also appearing on the program was Julius Pearse, co-founder
of the African-Atlantic Genealogical Society, an organization which helps
African-Americans trace their ancestors.
Freeport PTA Celebrates
Founders Day
Pictured are Mayor Bill Slacken, PTA President Laura Cardoso and School Superintendent Of. Eric Eversley.
The Freeport School District's Parent Teachers Association
recently'held its annual'Founders Day event and bestowed lifetime"
memberships in the organization on those individuals who have
made outstanding contributions to the district's schools and.to the
students over the years.-The honorees selected represent parents,
teachers, administrators, or staff. The announcement of the win-ners
is designed to be a surprise to the recipients, and usually
involves members of their families congratulating the honoree on
stage.
This year. Mayor Bill Glacken presented a proclamation to PTA
Council President Laura'Cardoso and'School Superintendent Dr.
Eric Eversley. Mayor Glacken praised the work accomplished by
the PTA organization and the many individuals who make the
Freeport School District a success.
Police Cliief Woodward
Addresses Chamber of
Commerce Lunch
„ „_„,.Chief...Michael .Woodward, was_inyite4=by.^the^Fcreeport
Chamber of Commerce to address the February luncheon meeting
and detail some of the department's programs which have been so
successful in keeping the village safe for its residents and visitors.
Chief Woodward described the police department's efforts
through outreach to the school district, and the local community,
including civic, business, and religious organizations, in an effort to
prevent youth violence. The police chief spoke about the Adopt-a-
Cop program, the middle school mentoring project, and the high
school intervention efforts, all of which have been successful in
providing young people with positive role models.
Pictured In the photo are: Jerri Qulbell, Chamber of Commerce 1st V,R, Chief Michael Woodward,
President Jane Dugan, and Francisco Jorge, 2nd V.P.
Nassau Hobby Shop Celebrates 60 Years in Freeport
. Pictured In the photo is Christopher Hlrschberg, Trustee Don Mouersberger presenting a
proclamation to Mr. Hirschberg, Hempstead Town Councilwoman Angle Cullln and Town
Supervisor Kate Murray.
Model trains, planes, boats, and
cars. Whether it is ready-to-run or
built from a kit, it can be found at the
Nassau Hobby Shop. The well-known
store has been owned and operated
by the Hirschberg family for 60 years,
located at four different sites, but
always in Freeport. Founded in 1946
by Ralph Hirschberg, the shop is now
run by his son Charlie, who expects
to turn the day-to-day operation
of the business over to his son,
Christopher, when the time comes.
Among those who congratulated Mr.
Hirschberg on his long-standing
success was Freeport Trustee Don
Mauersberger.
The store offers an extensive array
of ready-to-assemble models, as well as
the glue, paint, decals and other items
needed to produce a scale model of the
real thing. There is also a wide variety
of model railroad equipment in several
different gauges in stock.
