Glen Cove transport program to serve seniors

Glen Cove residents and business leaders have raised $20,000 to begin offering senior citizens and disabled residents transportation to medical appointments.

The Glen Cove Rotary Rides program, modeled after a similar effort in Oyster Bay/East Norwich, will serve Glen Cove, Glen Head, Glenwood Landing, Sea Cliff and Locust Valley. Staff at Glen Cove’s senior center will coordinate the project.

In announcing the program at Tuesday’s city council meeting, senior center director Carol Waldman called it “a joyous occasion.” She said the $20,000 raised would sustain the rides for at least a year.

Hendrickson Bus Corp. in Bayville will provide the vehicles and drivers at a reduced cost. A donation of $2.50 per ride is suggested.

Gabor Karsai, a real estate broker and Rotary district governor who helped organize the program, said he was proud of the response. “When compassion was needed, this community provided that compassion,” he said.

The Rotary Rides concept started last year, after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cut its Able-Ride service, which had served disabled Nassau County residents living more than three-quarters of a mile from the nearest bus route.