Community events today and ongoing

HEMPSTEAD
Town to hold property tax seminar today
Hempstead Town tax receiver Donald X. Clavin Jr. will hold a property tax seminar and workshop today at the Freeport Memorial Library.

Clavin will answer residents’ questions at the event, and provide information about who qualifies for property tax exemptions, organizers said. Information about the STAR exemption and when and how to grieve property taxes will also be available, organizers said.

The workshop was organized by the Freeport Democratic Club, said Cheryl Clarke, the club president.

“No other workshop is being held before 2014 in the Freeport, Uniondale, Roosevelt, Hempstead or Lakeview area,” said Clarke, who added that information about “deadlines for exemptions and various types of filings” will be disseminated at the event.
The library is located 144 West Merrick Rd. in Freeport. The seminar is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m.
— PATRICK WHITTLE

BROOKHAVEN
Composting classes offered, start tonight
Brookhaven Town is offering classes on composting waste in residential yards.

The first class is scheduled for 7 tonight at St. Michael’s Recreation Center on Wilson Avenue in Gordon Heights. Six more classes are scheduled over the next three months by the town Department of Waste Management.

Each class is limited to 20 people and costs $50, which includes a home composting bin for each participant.

Preregistration is required; go to brookhaven.org or call 631-451-8696.

The town encourages residents to practice composting — turning yard and food waste into fertilizer — to reduce the amount of trash that must be shipped to landfills or incinerators.

Additional classes are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 at Rose Caracappa Senior Center, 739 Route 25A, Mount Sinai; 7 p.m. on Dec. 18 at New Village Recreation Center, 20 Wireless Rd., Centereach; 7 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the Parks Administration Building, 286 Hawkins Rd., Centereach; 10 a.m. on Jan. 25 at Brookhaven Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill, Farmingville; 7 p.m. on Feb. 5 at Henrietta Acampora Recreation Center, 39 Montauk Hwy., Blue Point; and 7 p.m. on Feb. 19 at Mastic Recreation Center, 15 Herkimer St., Mastic.
— CARL MACGOWAN

MASSAPEQUA
AIDS Memorial Quilt viewing set for Dec. 5
The Massapequa School District plans to host a public viewing of a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on Dec. 5 to heighten awareness, spark conversation and commemorate those who lost lives to HIV/AIDS.

Three quilt panels are being provided by the Names Project Foundation, custodian of the 54-ton handmade tapestry that consists of more than 48,000 panels dedicated to more than 94,000 individuals. They are to be on display from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Massapequa High School Baldwin Auditorium. Massapequa High School Peer AIDS Educators will be on hand to answer questions.

The event is being held in proximity to World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 and is part of the district’s annual HIV/AIDS Awareness Week, Dec. 2 to 6. During this time, state-mandated, age-appropriate lessons are to be taught to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
— BILL BLEYER