EAST HILLS

East Hills will soon be embarking upon an extensive road repavement project spanning about 15,000 linear feet and 13 village roads.

The board of trustees last week approved the overlay of roughly 5,000 linear feet, in addition to the approximately 10,000 linear feet approved in August of 2015.

Civil engineer Anthony Raguseo, of Woodbury-based D&B Architects and Engineering, said the residential roads, largely located in the northeast section of the village, were selected based on need. Only portions of the roadways will be addressed.

Ideally, roadways have up to a two-decade lifespan, but factors such as extreme weather conditions can reduce this, Raguseo said.

Village attorney William Burton said the repaving of the two combined road projects would likely commence in April. Raguseo said construction was scheduled to take three months and would be completed in the summer.

CHRISTINE CHUNG

SEAFORD

The Nassau County Office of Community Development has approved a $230,000 grant for Karen’s Hope, a nonprofit seeking to provide housing, independence programs and support for people with developmental disabilities.

The grant, approved Jan. 21, is to supplement renovation costs of a home in Seaford. It will house three people with developmental disabilities, including nonprofit founder Karen Siler’s son Ryan, 25, who has autism, and Laura Cook, the home’s previous owner who is to be the caregiver.

The renovation is expected to cost about $369,000 because the house did not have work done in several years, Siler said.

“It’s crazy the money that is needed to move this along,” Siler said. “But it’s not going to stand in the way because we’re going to figure this out.”

Karen’s Hope was approved as a nonprofit organization on May 2, 2014 — two months after Michael, Siler’s brother with Down Syndrome, died from cancer.

Siler’s three daughters and son also are involved in the effort. Kathryn, 18, 15-year-old twins Jenna and Julia, and Michael, 22, have “been involved ever since it [Karen’s Hope] became a thought ... They help me run my meetings, my fundraisers, make copies — anything I need, they’d always be there.”

The Seaford home has been in Cook’s family since 1950. She and the Silers had agreed that it would be used to house Ryan, Michael and others.

“We felt it was a win-win situation that her son Ryan could live independently,” said Cook, a family friend who is currently living with the Silers. “Her family’s my family.”

Karen’s Hope offers support groups and workshops to promote independence, Siler said.

“Once we are complete with this home, we will be running cooking classes, laundry classes, social, and anything that pertains to independence.”

For more information about the effort, go to karenshope.org

JANELLE CLAUSEN

KINGS PARK

The Kings Park Heritage Museum plans to celebrate Black History Month with its annual, free jazz festival.

The Ranny Reeve Jazz Festival, which was named after the late Ranny Reeve – an accomplished jazz musician, composer and piano teacher for more than 60 years who passed away last November at age 90, celebrates the genre with the participation of young musicians.

“If we remember Ranny for anything, it’s to keep jazz music alive with the younger kids, and keep jazz music in their hearts,” said Lois Vulpis, a museum volunteer.

Reeve set up a jazz improvisation clinic in his Fort Salonga home in the 1970s that became the foundation for the “Jazz in the Living Room” series, which he established at the Smithtown Township Arts Council.

The jazz festival, held Feb. 26, includes performances by professional musicians, the Kings Park High School Jazz Band and young music students, said Vulpis. The night culminates with a jazz jam by musicians of all ages, she said.

During the festival, the museum will also be open for tours. Attendees will be able to see displays of Kings Park and Fort Salonga history from the Revolutionary War era to present day, said Vulpis.

The jazz festival will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the Ralph J. Osgood Intermediate School, at 101 Church St., in Kings Park.

LAUREN R. HARRISON

NASSAU COUNTY

County Executive Edward Mangano announced Friday that 2015 was another successful year for the county’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA), which supported 15 projects with a total benefit to the local economy of $2.6 billion.

The IDA projects - which included the Nassau Events Center, a new Publishers Clearing House site in Jericho, the Hilton Garden Inn in Roslyn, facilities for high-tech businesses and affordable transit-oriented apartments, among others - created or retained 4,905 permanent and construction jobs.

The year-end results were announced at the IDA’s January 28th Board Meeting.

“My economic development team continues to pursue new employers and assist current companies with keeping their operations in Nassau County,” Mangano said in a news release. “The job-generating projects supported by the . . . IDA in 2015 will provide a significant boost to our local economy,”

According to Mangano, the Nassau Events Center, which is replacing the aging Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, will inject $1.97 billion into the county’s economy; Publishers Clearing House’s planned move to 300 Jericho Quadrangle will have an estimated impact of $136 million; Mineola Metro apartments is estimated at $131 million; and Supreme Screw’s move from the Bronx to Plainview is estimated at $98 million.

Other projects approved for IDA economic development compacts include StorQuest in Westbury; Sunrise Honda’s move to Valley Stream; Public Storage in Hicksville; and the Cornerstone apartments in Farmingdale.

SID CASSESE

BABYLON

Babylon Village trustees last week increased the slip rates at municipal marinas from $50 to $60 dollars per boat foot to $55 to $65 per foot.

“The way things are going now, we always have to look for ways to raise revenue within our budget constraints, and our rates are still the cheapest around,” said Deputy Mayor Kevin Muldowney.

The village maintains 440 slips. Last year the fees generated about $250,000 for the village, and the increase is expected to raise that to $275,000 this year. Some of that goes toward marina maintenance and bulkhead repairs.

The village rate translates to about $500 to $600 for most village residents’ boats, Muldowney said. Unclaimed slips are rented to non-residents, who are charged double.

Trustees approved the increase by a 4-0 vote last week, with Carol Amelia absent.

NICHOLAS SPANGLER

BABYLON

The Babylon Town Planning Board tonight will hold a public hearing on a proposal to turn a Wyandanch residence into a church.

Bishop Clarence Peters of the Church of God of Prophecy has applied to the planning board to create a house of worship in a home on the corner of Long Island Avenue and South 26th Street. Peters has applied to construct a 643 square-foot addition onto the 799 square-foot house, and to convert a 366 square-foot detached garage into a food pantry.

According to the Babylon Town assessor’s office, Wyandanch, which is 4.4 square miles, currently has 43 parcels designated as having a religious exemption.

The Church of God of Prophecy describes itself as a “Protestant, Evangelical, Wesleyan holiness, Pentecostal movement that believes in man’s free will regarding salvation.”

Headquartered in Cleveland, Tenn., the church claims to have over 1.5 million members who worship in over 10,000 churches in 125 countries. According to its website, the church has about a dozen locations on Long Island.

The public hearing will take place at 7 p.m. at Babylon Town Hall in Lindenhurst.

DENISE BONILLA

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Wind damage on LI ... Cold Spring Harbor cuts ... Empty space, hungry commuters at Grand Central ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV Credit: Newsday

Wind damage on LI ... Cold Spring Harbor cuts ... Empty space, hungry commuters at Grand Central ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME