Freeport Report 2008-11

              Santa Conies to the Village DON'T MISS FREEPORT'S
On December 13th, Santa
Glaus will officially open his
workshop at the Freeport Recre-
.ation Center at 6:30 p.m. to hear
the holiday wish lists of hun-dreds
of boys and girls. The dec-orations
at the center include a
forest of beautifully decorated
Christmas trees, a gingerbread
village, a train display, and Santa's
corner, where he will listen to
the gift lists of each youngster.
For the exact days and times dur-ing
the week to see Santa, call
the center at 516-377-2314
^ext. 10, or check the website at
www.freeportny.gov and go to
the Recreation Center s page.
At 7 p.m., the Freeport Ice
Skating Academy will perform
the 12th Annual Holiday on Ice
program in the newly installed
ice rink "bubble." Bring all the
children in your family to the
Recreation Center to see Santa
and the fabulous ice skaters for
the official beginning of the hol-iday
season in Freeport.
One youngster was fascinated by the model train display at the Recreation
Center last year.
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FRIDAY
DECEMBER 5TH
Holiday Boat Parade
of Lights 7:OOPM.
BOAT RIDES FOR ALL!
. S3.00 Children Under 10
$5.00 Adults
Contest for Best Decorated
Boats & Backyards
SUNDAY,
*- ^DEGEMBERJ7TH—**
Kids Eat Free at
Participating Restaurants
2-5p.m.
Nautical Mile of Lights Parade at 5p.m.
at Front, Street
<" V" ,"'"•••' Sponsored by the Criarnber of Commerce
November, 2008 THE HOME OF CHAMPIONS www.freeportny.gov
Freeport Honors its Veterans
The Freeport Memorial Library was the
setting for the Veterans Day Celebration on
November llth. This year, the theme was
the Spirit of Patriotism, and the guest of
honor was Pat Cassetta, a Marine veteran of
WW II, who currently serves on Nassau
County and Town of Hempstead veterans
committees.
Mayor Bill Glacken addressed the
assembled guests by recalling the story of
the Broadway musical, South Pacific, a
deeply moving tale of true love conquering
prejudice in a remote island in the Pacific
Ocean among members of the armed serv-ices
stationed there during World War II.
The play won several awards during its
original run on Broadway, beginning in
1949 and closing in 1954. The 2008 revival
at Lincoln Center has garnered similar
awards, including several Tonys. Mayor
Glacken suggested that the moral lessons
about bias, prejudice and equality described
in the play, are as valid and critical today as
they were in the late 40 s.
The Veterans ceremony was organized
by Stephen A. Nicolino, a Past Commander
of the William Clinton Story American
Legion Post #342.
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Pictured in the photo are: left to right, Commander Lincoln R. Parsons and behind him, School Board Member Michael Pomerico and Select Chorale Director
Stephen Pagano and the members of the Select Chorale; next to Mr. Parsons are three members of the Select Chorale, Freeport School Superintendent Dr. Eric
Eversley, School Board V.P. Debra Mule, School Board Member Carmen Pineyro, American Legion past commander Robert Pachas, Freeport Trustee Don
Miller, Guest Speaker Pat Cassetta, Hempstead Town Councilwomen Dorothy Goosby and Angle Cullin; behind them, Mayor Bill Glacken; behind him, Freeport
Zoning Board of Appeals member Robert Lewis, Past Commander Stephen Nicolino, Trustee Bill White, Jr., and Nassau Legislator David Denenberg.
A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
I recently had the opportunity to ap-pear
on the Cablevision "Meet the Lead-ers"
program, hosted by the former Suffolk
County Executive, Patrick Halpin. He
began the interview by discussing the
recent tragedy in Suffolk County that
involved the killing of an Ecuadorean man
in Patchogue by a group of teenagers
accused of committing the crime. The
murder has been labeled a hate crime by
justice officials, and Mr. Halpin was sad-dened
to have the county where he lives
and is raising his children branded as a
place where such a travesty could happen.
Mr. Halpin described Freeport as one
of the most diverse and harmonious
communities on Long Island, and he
asked how we have been so successful in
accomplishing this. I suggested that out-side
of New York City, Freeport is actually
THE most diverse community through-out
New Yofk~State, and tharthis'is our-strength.
I explained that Freeport has more
than 64 different cultures represented
among a population of 44,000 people. I
explained that the reason we have been
able to live and work together so success-fully
in Freeport is because it is a very
open community, where people of
different cultures and races are welcome,
and individuals who come to Freeport un-derstand
that right away. In any area of the
village, you can see children playing with
their next door neighbors who all belong
to various ethnicities, religions, races, and
cultures. Youngsters growing up in
Freeport today are accustomed to these
differences and learn from them. They
also learn how similar we all are.
The Village also provides a healthy
erivironmenTf6Tinclividuals"arid families
to thrive. Our schools celebrate diversity
with special events and occasions,
including an international luncheon held
every year at the Leo F. Giblyn School,
where the youngsters proudly display their
heritage in dress, music, food and other
activities. A visit to our Recreation
Center, which is really the crossroads
of the Village, provides a view of the
community that includes people of every
age, every culture and every race playing
and relaxing together.
As a public official, I think that
among the reasons people seek out
Freeport as a place to live, is its diversity.
We provide a stable government with
clean, safe, accessible parks, playgrounds,
and a recreation center open to all.
We attract businesses and residential
igrowth with- our own electric and water
utilities, our own police force and the
largest volunteer fire department in New
York State. We have created an economi-cally
thriving atmosphere that encourages
people to invest in homes and businesses.
Mr. Halpin asked about the difficult
problem of illegal immigration and day
laborers, and we both agreed that it is
really a national issue that cannot be
readily solved on the local level. In
Freeport, we have established a hiring
center, which is run by Catholic Charities
and modeled after similar centers around
the country. The center works to find
employment for unskilled and semi-skilled
laborers. Freeport is even-handed and
fair in enforcing housing and building
code regulations, keeping safety as our
main goal in order to protect families and
individuals from dangerous conditions
and unscrupulous landlords who would
take advantage of them.
I also suggested that communication
has been a major factor in reaching out
to every member of our community,
through the schools, the churches, civic
organizations, and service clubs, in order
to get our message across, which is simply,
if you are willing to be a part of this
community, you are welcome regardless of
race, religion or ethnicity. Tolerance is a
virtue which not only must be preached, it
must be practiced.
As is readily evident to Pat Halpin and
many others, Freeport has the reputation
as a very special community to live, work
and raise a family. Enjoy the holidays.
Mayor Glacken Appears on
Meet the Leaders
Host Patrick Halpin on the set of the "Meet the Leaders"
program with Mayor Bill Glacken.
Mayor Bill Glacken appeared on
the Cablevision program, "Meet the
Leaders" hosted by former Suffolk
County Executive Patrick Halpin.
Along with discussing Freeport's
well-known success as a diverse
community, the Mayor also talked
about the revitalization efforts in the
village, including the improvements to
Guy Lombardo Ave. and South Main
Street in the Central Business District.
The program will be broadcast on
Channel 18 seven days a week
throughout the month of December
at 1:30 a.m., and 11 p.m., as well as 8
p.m. every Thursday evening. It is also
available on HBO On Demand free
on channel 502.
Freeport
Village Promotes
Six Police Officers
Mayor Bill Glacken was pleased to announce at
the Board of Trustees meeting on November 17th
the official promotion of six members of the Village
Police Dept. The promotions included Lieutenant
Wayne Giglio to Detective /Lieutenant, Sergeants
Michael Capriola and Raymond Horton, to Detec-tive/
Sergeant, Sergeants Miguel Bermudez and Ed-ward
Thompson to Lieutenant and P.O. Michael
Williams to Sergeant.
. Lt. Bermudez is.the first Hispanic member of .
the Freeport Police Department to attain that rank,
and Sgt. Williams is the second African-American
on the Village's police force to reach the rank of
Sergeant.
Pictured in the photo are: Front row, Trustees Jorge Martinez and Bill White, Jr., Mayor Bill
Glacken, Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson, Trustee Don Miller. Back row, Police Chief Michael
Woodward, Detective Sgt. Michael Capriola, Lt. Edward Thompson, Detective Lt. Wayne
Giglio, Detective Sgt. Raymond Horton, Sgt. Michael Williams, Lt. Miguel Bermudez, Deputy
Police Chief Debbie Zagaja, and Assistant Police Chief Al Gros.
Officials Dedicate New Fire Engine at Hose 5
The new engine, which is a 2008
Ferrara Pumper, was recently dedicated
to Ex-Cap tain Ike Wilson, a longtime
member of Hose 5. In presenting Ex-Cap-tain
Wilson with the plaque officially
naming the equipment after him in honor
of his outstanding service to the Freeport
Fire Department, Mayor Bill Glacken
thanked him for his many years of dedica-tion
to the community.
Ex-Captain Wilson joined the depart-ment
in 1974 and served as captain at Hose
5 in 1982 becoming the first African-
American Fire Dept. officer to serve the
Freeport Fire Dept. He also served as Hose
5's Warden to the Fire Council, a position
he held for several years. Ex-Captain
Wilson has been a positive influence on the
younger members of the company, and it
was their idea to honor him by dedicating
the new equipment in his name.
Pictured in the photo are: left to right, 3rd Assistant Chief Mark Stuparich, 2nd Assistant Chief Dan Fee, 1st Assistant Chief Rick Layton,
Chief Kevin Muldowney, Village Justice V. Roy Cacciatore, Trustee Bill White, Jr., Trustee Don Miller, Deputy Mayor Renaire Frierson,
Mayor Bill Glacken, Ex-Capt. Ike Wilson and his wife, Doris Wilson, Capt. Terrence Clark, NY State Fire Administrator Floyd Madison,
Dept. Chaplain Robert Dawley, Firefighter Justin Higgs and Fire Dept. Executive Director, Ray Maguire.