In New Cassel, long-awaited basic services

Smiles are bigger and brighter in New Cassel these days.

The opening of a dental office -- the first in 40 years -- marks visible progress in the small Nassau County hamlet that has struggled with blight and a lack of basic services.

"It's hard for me to even describe," what it means to have The Family Dental Center open in New Cassel, said Viviana Russell, who has lived in the community for 12 years. In 2009, she was elected as a councilwoman for the Town of North Hempstead, which is overseeing the hamlet's revitalization efforts. "For so long, we wanted a dentist, a pharmacy."

New Cassel's first drugstore in decades, Nu-Cassel Pharmacy, is expected to open in the coming months, pending final licensing from the state.

The Family Dental Center offers patients affordable care with "Park Avenue" amenities, said business manager Bob Weinberg. The spacious waiting room features a large flat-screen television. Smaller televisions have been installed above the dental chairs. A children's room is in the works.

"When the folks come in, they see we give them respect," Weinberg said. "We're here so many folks can take a short walk and get work done."

Dr. Sachin Sood said he wants the practice to become a part of the community, a place where residents feel comfortable.

"He's a very nice person," Gladys Ocasio said of Sood after getting a root canal on a recent morning. "He wants to learn Spanish."

Sood said he's learning the language to better serve patients like Ocasio, 63, who is from El Salvador. Staff members in the office are bilingual, he said.

Ocasio said she appreciates that the office is immaculate and just 10 blocks from home.

Three blocks from dental center, Nu-Cassel Pharmacy owner Henry Cunningham stood in the shop, where vitamins lined shelves in front of what will be the pharmacist counter. Rows of greeting cards were displayed near the entrance. Boxes on shelves were ready to be unpacked to give customers access to a full-service pharmacy.

Local residents have been stopping by often, Cunningham said, eager for the shop to open and for job opportunities.

Cunningham is in the process of hiring four employees from the neighborhood and said he would like to offer internships for local high school students.

Russell said seeing a dentist and pharmacy on Prospect Avenue -- now wider, smoother and lined with elegant street lamps -- shows the vision for New Cassel is becoming a reality. A bank and full-service grocery will soon call the hamlet home, she said, providing residents with other basic services they've long lacked.