Start the Year Right,
Join the Recreation Center
January is the perfect time
to take a good look at the
many activities offered at the
Freeport Recreation Center.
There are sports programs,
exercise classes and activities
for individuals from tots to
teens to seniors to keep you
physically fit and active dur-ing
the cold Winter months.
The Health Wing offers
an exercise room equipped
with treadmills, stationary
bikes' an indoor pool with 'a
steam room and sauna, pri-vate
showers, and lockers. A
full size gymnasium accom-modates
organized basketball
teams and is available for
individual use. Certified fit-ness
professionals offer exer-cise
classes to meet every
interest, including aerobics,
strength training, body
sculpting, and yoga.
There are courses in art,
drama, singing, and dancing
for teens and pre-teens who
think they might want a
career on Broadway or
Hollywood. Toddlers can join
the popular half-day Kiddie
Club program, the Saturday
morning crafts and creativity
course, or Karate classes
designed for four-year-olds
and up.
The center's. Senior
Citizens Program Wing offers
a special place for the older
population to get together^
~wit^i ~theV contemporaries,
make new friends, play cards,
learn new skills, take part in
special trips, or just relax. In
addition, the Center's ice rink
is home to the Freeport
Skating Academy under the
direction of Liz Eldredge. The
schou[ trains girls and boys in
-figuraand synchronized skat-ing.
?
F^>r membership fees or
otherihformation, contact the
Cente?at5l6-377-2314!X 10 or
view the" website at
Rec.Center@freeportny.gov.
18TH ANNUAL
WINTER MODEL
TRAIN SHOW &
EXHIBITION
I -ON
025 1 L AN '
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ajey >)|ng
Sponsored By
The Great South Bay
Model RailRoad Club _
/ FREEPORT RECREATION CENTER
/ 130 E. Merrick Rd., Freeport, NY
SUNDAY, JANUARY 6, 2008
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Operating Model RR Layouts in all Major Scales
Admission: $5.00
Children Under 12 FREE with Adult
Door Prizes - Raffles $l .00 each - 6 for $5.00
2 RAFFLE PRIZES
•'-uiSi 1.1-»„. Freeport Report
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. • - • . .
New York
DECEMBER, 2007 www.freeportny.gov THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS
Santa Comes to the Village
1. Lionel Train Set
Donated by
.Nassau, Hobby Center
. ISW.MerrickRd.,
Freeport, NY 11520
2. HO Starter Set
Donated by
Trainville Hobby Depot
535 S,. Broadway,
Hicksville,NYH80l
AN
ay >ib«3w M
: : : 0"£
6cO 3**-LG~ia03*********** ***********
Mayor Bill Glacken joins Santa on board one of the many boats in the flotilla
travelling down the Woodcleft Canal to mark the beginning of the Holiday Season,
Ttiree sisters tell Santa what they hope to see under their Christmas tree this year.
Everything in Freeport is unique, including
the arrival of Santa Claus. This year, thanks to
the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce,
and with special help from Nona Jagnow and Al
and Artie Grover, Santa journeyed down
Woodcleft Canal in a special holiday flotilla
on Friday evening, November 30th, waving
and wishing everyone along the Nautical
Mile a very Merry Christmas. Saturday
evening, December 1st, Santa was on dry
land, carried high above the crowd atop a
fire truck ringing the
bell and calling out to
everyone along
Woodcleft Avenue
down to the Scenic Pier.
A week later,
December 8th, Santa
officially opened his
workshop at the
Freeport Recreation
Center to hear the holi-
OZS11 AN 'uodaajj
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One Bite boy is captivated by the train display at Santa's workshop.
Mayor Bi Glacken, along with Deputy Maya Renaire Frierson, Trustees Don Miller, BI White, Jr. and Jorge
Martinez, joined Hempstead Town Coundlwoman Angie Culn in thanking Dona Jagnow, Jerri Quibell and
Undo Vita for their efforts in organizing the celebration.
his helper elf presented them each a candy
cane.
After seeing Santa, the children
watched the Freeport Ice Skating Academy
perform the 11th Annual Holiday on Ice pro-gram.
This year, for the first time, the show
featured the little children from the
Recreation Center's Kiddie Club. The 3-and 4-
year-olds skated as Santa's elves in the
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer segment in
Act Six of the program.
day wish lists of hun-dreds
of boys and girls.
The decorations at the
center included a forest
of beautifully decorated
Christmas trees, a gin-gerbread
village, a train
display, and Santa's cor-ner,
where he listened
to each child, and then
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
Dear Neighbor,
Our Commercial Business District has
been an integral part of the Village's over-all
revitalization efforts since the Glacken
Administration took office in 1997.
Through the efforts of the. Freeport
Community Development Agency's
Commercial Facade Rehabilitation and
Signage/Fixture Replacement programs,
we began the long-range downtown ren-ovation
with improvements to 40 West
Merrick Road, the building located at the
northwest corner of Church Street and
J/Vest_Merrick Road.. _ _^ ^^
So far, fifty storefronts have been ren-ovated
under these programs. To date,
property owners in the facade program
have matched CDA grants with more than
$1,000,000 of their own money to invest in
Freeport's stock of traditional "Main
Street" commercial and mixed use build-ings.
The momentum of the downtown
revitalization has not been lost on astute
investors. Businessman David Silverstein,
with his partner John Horan, purchased
the property on the northwest corner of
Pine Street and Guy Lombardo Ave. Since
2004, they have spent approximately $1
million to renovate six storefronts, includ-ing
the new Polio Campero restaurant.
Frank Darcy, Sr. and his son, Frank Darcy,
Jr., are renovating the building located at
49 West Merrick Road, the former Fulton
and Delaney Funeral Home site, for
professional office space. Their current
project includes the renovation of a
second building and two warehouses
located around the corner on Church
Street, which when completed, will form a
professional office complex in the heart of
downtown. "We have invested millions in
renovations and improvements alone
because we believe that Freeport is a very
progressive community, and that this is
an opportune time to "acquire these
properties," said Mr. Darcy, Sr.
This influx of private money is a direct
response to the Glacken Administration's
long-term commitment to rebuild the
Central Business District, including critical
infrastructure, such as the major north-south
corridor, Guy Lombardo Ave. This
ongoing development will continue to
attract more people to our downtown to
work, shop and socialize.
Finally, this month the village will
be going out to bid on a project to
reconstruct South Main Street between
Sunrise Highway and Henry Street during
the Spring of 2008. The project will-include
the" installation of brick pavers, antique
lighting and trees.
49 Merrick Rood currently under renovation
Other renovation or construction pro-jects
undertaken with private funding
include the new CVS Pharmacy on the
northwest corner of South Long Beach
Ave. and West Merrick Road, and the
Bethpage Federal Credit Union, which is
near completion directly across from the
pharmacy on the northeast corner. And
there are many other Freeport businesses
which have seen the wisdom of reinvesting
in their own properties, including the
Imperial Diner located at 63 West Merrick
Road, which has plans for a second expan-sion
in the near future.
These buildings are tangible evidence
of the 180-degree turnaround in the pub-lic's
perception of the Central Business
District; and the ultimate proof of that
change lies in the level of private invest-ment
being made in Freeport's future.
Freeport PAL Awards
Its Players
The Freeport Police Athletic
League held its awards ceremony on
the Saturday after Thanksgiving for,
the hundreds of boys and girls that
took part in the organization's soc:
•cer, football and lacrosse programs
this year.
Mayor Bill Glacken handed out
the PAL trophies with assistance
from Trustee Jorge Martinez. The
Mayor told the children that being
part of a team will teach them
important life skills such as sports-manship,
cooperation and working
hard for a common goal.
Mayor Bill Glacken, Trustee Jorge Martinez and children from the PAL junior soccer teams,
Career Day Features Mayor Glacken and
Deputy Mayor FriersoiT™^ ~
the village election process works.
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson described her education includ-ing
her early years in the Freeport School District, attending the
Bayview Avenue School, graduating from Hofstra University and
earning a law degree at Boston University in 1985. Ms. Frierson
told the students to read as much as possible and learn to write
well in order to excel in both school and in their future careers.
Mayor Bill Glacken speaking to the children about village government.
the elementary school students enjoyed hearing from Mayor
Bill-Glacken-and^Deputy-Mayor Renaire Frierson at the Bayview~
Ave. School of Arts and Sciences Career Day event held in
November. The children asked Mayor Glacken several questions,
concerning the job of a village mayor. He described his
responsibilities and duties and explained to the youngsters how '
Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson describing the importance of education to the youngsters,
Dr. King Celebration at Freeport
Memorial Library
The Freeport Human
Relations Commission will once
again sponsor a special event to
commemorate the birthday of
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. The celebration will take
place Sunday, January 20, at the
Freeport Memorial Library at
2:00 p.m. in the upstairs meet-ing
room and will be open to
the public.
The celebration will feature
songs sung by Freeport school
children, a dance presentation
by members of the Freeport
Pride organization and readings
honoring the life and teachings
of Dr. King by Julius 0. Pearse
co-founder of the African-
Atlantic Genealogical Society.
Dr. King dedicated his life to
protect the civil rights of indi-viduals
of all races, religions and
nationalities.
