Long Island Now
The latest community buzz and updates. | Sign up for community newsletters.
New Jersey music festival raising funds for Ronkonkoma special needs school
Photo credit: Handout, 2012
Maria LaMon was about to head out one Saturday night in late April, when the phone rang in her Oakdale home. She answered it and the man on the other line indicated that they had never met before, but he wanted to help her.
The caller, Jerry Ryan, 37, of Galloway Township, N.J., told LaMon that he was planning a three-day music festival in Atlantic City and had selected her music school to...
Read more »Officials to offer free training on use of Narcan to save opiate overdose victims
Photo credit: Ed Betz
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and Legislative Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) are inviting the public to receive free training on recognizing an opiate overdose and how to reverse its effects in order to save a life.
The program will be held Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Morrelly Homeland Security Center, 510 Grumman Rd. West in Bethpage.
“Our residents...
Read more »Smithtown moves to tear down abandoned church
Photo credit: Erin Geismar
Smithtown Town officials are taking steps that could lead to the demolition of an abandoned Smithtown church.
The Church of the Gospel Ministry, at 436 Edgewood Ave., is structurally unsafe and shows signs of “decay and disrepair,” said town building director John Bongino. A swimming pool on the property is filled with stagnant water, he said.
Chain-link fences are roped shut at the...
Read more »Support for dog walking in more Huntington parks
Photo credit: HealthDay
About a half-dozen people spoke in favor of a proposal to allow on-leash dog walking in more Huntington parks during a public hearing on the measure at Tuesday’s town board meeting.
“This new program will provide exercise and socialization for both people and their dogs,” said Barbara Buscareno, the founder of the Long Island Dog Owners Group.
“It is something that will be welcome by...
Read more »The Bench 5K draws hundreds of runners to benefit Play Fit-Stay Fit
Photo credit: Jordan Gibbons
When Adrianna Oliva, 9, of Stony Brook was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the age of 2, her parents, George and Michele Oliva, said doctors told them the tumor would likely leave their daughter disabled.
They remember specifically that doctors said she would never be able to ride a bike.
Since then, Adrianna has been through seven surgeries, and with the help of physical and occupational...
Read more »Smithtown trash-collection contracts to be put out for bid as deal with embattled Jody Enterprises expires
Photo credit: Handout
Trash-collection contracts held by a Bay Shore carting firm charged last year with stealing recyclable paper from Smithtown are among several expiring deals the town is putting up for bid next month.
Jody Enterprises and two employees were charged with grand larceny last year by Suffolk County prosecutors, who said they diverted more than $200,000 worth of paper from Smithtown to a West Babylon...
Read more »Hempstead Village group receives approval for Main Street enhancement grant
Photo credit: J.C. Cherubini, 2011
The Village of Hempstead Community Development Agency has received state approval for its $1.6 million Main Street Pedestrian Enhancement and Improvement Project.
The village was awarded the funding for pedestrian enhancements on Main Street in 2007 from the Federal Highway Administration through the state Department of Transportation. The village CDA is overseeing the federal grant and is...
Read more »Former heavyweight boxer David Brunelli crowned hot dog eating champion in Patchogue
Photo credit: Ann Luk
Former heavyweight boxer David Brunelli, 37, knocked out his competition during the First Hot Dog Chow Down contest by devouring 27 hot dogs in 8-and-a-half minutes at Rudi’s, a bar in Patchogue.
The victory didn’t come easy.
“I’ve been working out . . . I do water training, which is drinking gallons of water to stretch my stomach,” Brunelli said, “The other day I ate 10 pounds of food,...
Read more »Riverhead considers a ban on new houseboats, floating homes
Photo credit: Handout
Riverhead is preparing to join other Long Island towns such as Southampton, Huntington and Brookhaven in severely restricting or banning new floating homes.
The town board held a public hearing Tuesday on a local law that would ban new houseboats, house barges and floating cabanas, and require existing ones — officials say there are only about a dozen now in town waters and marinas — to get...
Read more »Shoreham-Wading River art students' mural destined for Sandy Hook school
Photo credit: Brittany Wait
Small and large butterflies float down a path leading to an open field at sunset in a painting meant to instill hope in the survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
On the mural local students created, 20 small butterflies represent the children lost, and six larger butterflies represent the adults.
Art students from Shoreham-Wading River High School spent four months...
Read more »