Community news: Street dedication, taxpayer assistance

ROCKY POINT
Street dedication honors WWII vet

A Rocky Point street will be dedicated Saturday in honor of longtime community resident Frank W. Celentano.

The late World War II veteran’s name will appear on street signs at three intersections along King Road, said Frank Petrignani, a Town of Brookhaven Highway Department spokesman. King Road will keep its official name.

Signs honoring Celentano have been added where King Road intersects with Begonia Road, Broadway and Harding Street, Petrignani said.

Brookhaven Town officials and members of Celentano’s family are scheduled to gather at 2 p.m. Saturday for a dedication ceremony at King and Begonia roads. Celentano lived near the intersection for almost 50 years before he died last year. He was 90.

Celentano, a Marine who attained the rank of private first class, took part in battles on the South Pacific islands of Roi and Namur in the Marshall Islands. He lost a hand when a grenade exploded while he fought a Japanese soldier.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Navy Cross, the Marine Corps’ second-highest honor for valor.

Despite missing a hand, he played handball and held jobs in which he laid bricks, moved furniture and painted walls. He and his late wife, Eileen, raised nine children and had more than 50 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

— CARL MACGOWAN

HEMPSTEAD TOWN
Dates set for county taxpayer assistance

Nassau County’s Department of Assessment will present a taxpayer assistance outreach program in several communities in the Town of Hempstead.

Equipped with computers linked to the county’s database, Department of Assessment staff will process property tax exemption applications on-site for senior citizens, people on disability, veterans, volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

The staff also will review home improvement exemptions, the Basic School Tax Relief (STAR) property tax exemption — for residents who own a home, condominium or cooperative apartment with an annual household income of less than $500,000 — and Enhanced STAR, for people 65 years or older with annual incomes of less than $81,900.

Taxpayers can pick up or drop off their applications. Exemption specialists will provide assistance and answer questions. The program will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. on:
* Tuesday, Sept. 3 at the Merrick Public Library, 2279 Merrick Ave.
* Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Elmont Public Library, 700 Hempstead Tpke.
* Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the East Meadow Public Library, 1886 Front St.
* Friday, Sept. 13 at the Wantagh Public Library, 3285 Park Ave.
* Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the North Merrick Public Library, 1691 Meadowbrook Rd.
* Friday, Sept. 27 at the Roosevelt Public Library, 27 West Fulton Ave.

For more information, contact the Department of Assessment Exemptions Division at 516-571-1500 or visit www.mynassauproperty.com.

— AISHA AL-MUSLIM