Long Island briefs

LINDENHURST

Principal tabbed as new superintendent

The Lindenhurst school district has chosen a new superintendent.

The school board on Thursday voted 7-0 to name Lindenhurst High School Principal Daniel Giordano as the replacement for Superintendent Richard Nathan, who is retiring at the end of the school year. The announcement brought thunderous applause from the audience at the meeting and Giordano told the crowd he is looking forward to the new job.

Board president Donna Hochman said there were 12 candidates for the position, noting in a statement that the board is "confident that his [Giordano's] experience with and knowledge of the community will contribute to his success in the position."

Giordano received a three-year contract at a starting salary of $210,000 per year. Nathan, who will remain in the position until June 30, was paid $220,000 annually.

Giordano has been principal since 2002 after serving as assistant principal since 1997. He also served as head principal of the Western Suffolk BOCES Summer School in Dix Hills.

He previously was a band director for the Huntington and Levittown school districts and has been a trustee with the Albertson Fire Company for 37 years.

Giordano has a bachelor's degree from Hofstra University, and a professional diploma in educational administration and master's degree from LIU Post.

Nathan said the district will start a search for Giordano's replacement at the high school.

ISLIP TOWN

Guards sought to keep eye on marinas

Islip is seeking to hire guards to patrol the town's marinas at night, from late May through September.

The pay ranges from $10 to $11 per hour, based on the shift. Hiring preference will be given to town residents, and applicants must be willing to undergo state security guard training that the town will provide, and obtain a state security guard license.

Application forms can be found at townofislip-ny.gov.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD

Bank gives grant to boost tree planting

The Town of North Hempstead has received a $20,000 grant, largely to fund tree plantings in New Cassel.

The grant from TD Bank, part of its TD Green Streets Grants Program, will also fund training for residents in tree planting.

The town received a "Tree City USA" designation by the Arbor Day Foundation, recognizing its tree management program, officials said Friday.

Supervisor Judi Bosworth and Councilwoman Viviana Russell joined elementary school students at Swalm Park in New Cassel for ceremonial plantings. Those plantings will aid the town's goal of beautifying areas of the hamlet, Bosworth said.

EAST END

Preservation fund revenue on the rise

Rising real estate values in the Hamptons helped revenues of the East End's Community Preservation Fund surge by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2014, officials said.

A 2 percent tax on most real estate transactions in the five East End towns funds the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund, which the towns tap to preserve and maintain open space.

The fund raised $21.85 million in the first three months of 2014 compared with $20.23 million in the same period in 2013, according to Assemb. Fred W. Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor).

Most of that revenue came from transactions in Southampton and East Hampton, which have accounted for a combined $19.53 million in revenue this year.

"Generally speaking, both Southampton and East Hampton towns over the last two years have recovered very nicely from the recession," said Thiele, who sponsored the legislation that created the fund in 1998.

The median home price in the Hamptons hit $880,000 in the first quarter of 2014, up 19 percent over 2013, according to reports by the appraisal firm Miller Samuel and the brokerage Douglas Elliman.

The Community Preservation Fund raised $95.43 million last year, making 2013 its second most successful year after 2007.

The tax is set to expire in 2030.

ISLIP

Charity sets free May picnic in Brentwood

An Islip food charity is hosting a free picnic for residents in Brentwood on May 17.

The second annual Islip Food for Hope community picnic, to be held at Ross Memorial Park on Brentwood Road, will run from noon to 2 p.m. The charity is also holding a food drive during the picnic to accept edible and money donations for distribution to Islip-area food pantries.

Event organizers said they also hope the picnic highlights problems of food insecurity and hunger in the area.

Attendees should bring a blanket to sit on.

For more information about the picnic and volunteer opportunities, visit islipfoodforhope.org or call 631-786-3419.

ISLANDWIDE

Air conditioning for the ill, based on need

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday that air conditioners will be available to low-income households in New York based on medical need.

The Cooling Assistance initiative, a component of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance's Home Energy Assistance Program, is part of a $3 million effort to aid ill and underprivileged New Yorkers who face extreme heat.

"This program will help provide relief from the oppressive summer heat for some of New York State's most vulnerable individuals, including senior citizens and children with illnesses that are aggravated by high temperatures," Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Kristin Proud said in a statement. "I encourage households in need of this assistance to apply soon so the air conditioning units can be installed before the higher temperatures arrive."

Applicants must meet 2013-14 HEAP income guidelines and have a household member with a documented medical condition worsened by extreme heat. Eligible households must also provide written documentation from a physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner explaining the need for an air conditioner.

Applications will be accepted beginning May 1 on a first-come, first-served basis. For questions about eligibility guidelines, visit otda.ny.gov/programs/heap.

HOLBROOK

Protest at bar over

alleged discrimination

Several dozen transgendered people and their supporters chanted "No bias, no violence, no more" as they protested Friday on Holbrook's Main Street outside a pub that they said discriminated against one of their own.

The nearly 40 people held placards with messages such as "Stop violence," "Trans rights are civil rights" and "Treat everyone with respect," saying the demonstration would be the start of increased activism for their group on Long Island.

The protest stemmed from an alleged incident on March 14, when West Sayville resident Andi Dier said she was denied admission at The Irish Times Pub in Holbrook.

Dier, 21, said bouncers at the pub refused her entrance and took her ID from her, held her against a door and insisted on referring to her as a male against her wishes.

She said she felt "unsafe" and embarrassed when bouncers kept her from joining a birthday celebration at the pub to which she was invited.

"Trans people face so much discrimination, so much violence, so much bias -- and this is just one instance of one trans person's life," Dier said at the demonstration.

Pub employees said management was unavailable to comment Friday. A Suffolk County Police Department spokeswoman said a complaint was filed on April 8 and was referred to the hate crimes unit. The incident was considered "noncriminal," she said.

Protesters said they were bringing attention to the case to highlight the challenges faced by New York's transgender residents, who have been seeking legislative reform in Albany to ban discrimination based on gender identity.

Juli Grey-Owens, of the Long Island Transgender Advocacy Coalition, which organized the protest, said that without a statewide ban on transgender discrimination and enforcement mechanisms, the community remains vulnerable.

"It's not only just about the Irish Times Pub. It's about the fact that transgender people are not being treated with the full respect and dignity," Grey-Owens said. "We don't have the equality and justice that we deserve."

LONG BEACH

Boy, 6, hangs ten before cancer care

As Bay Shore's Sarah Lindner stood on the sand in Long Beach on April 19, watching her 6-year-old son take his first surf lesson, she said he smiled for the first time in weeks.

"It meant the world to me to see him do the one thing he wanted to do," said Lindner, 25. "We don't know when the next opportunity will come for this."

Her son, Aaron Sisa, started an aggressive chemotherapy regimen just days later in hopes of shrinking a malignant brain tumor threatening his life.

"Does chemo hurt?" Aaron asked his mother last week while she explained the procedures he will face.

"He's very smart . . . he's like his own little advocate," she said.

Aaron was diagnosed with choroid plexus carcinoma in early April. His doctor, Mark Atlas, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, said there have been fewer than 100 cases reported in the last 20 years.

"This is rare among the rare, so there is a limited amount of data on it," Atlas said.

Aaron would be spending the summer in and out of hospitals and unable to participate in the surfing camp he had been looking forward to for months. So with less than two weeks until chemotherapy, his mom set out to get him on a surfboard.

But no surf shop had a winter wet suit that would fit Aaron, and the ocean was still too cold to send him in without one, Lindner said.

Tommy Grimes, the owner of Island Industries, a Massapequa-based company that manufactures surfboards and other watercraft, saw a Facebook post about Aaron and found a children's winter wet suit at Beach Breakwater Surf in Rockaway Beach.

Then he rounded up a few of his fellow surfers to take Aaron out for his first lesson.

"He was nervous in the beginning, but then he started to get comfortable," said Grimes, 23, of Massapequa.

The group returned to the beach after about 30 minutes to give Aaron a break, but Grimes said the boy was eager to get back in the water. They spent another 90 minutes surfing.

"The last wave, we got him up a little bit on his feet," Grimes said.

"It was cool," Aaron said.

HEMPSTEAD VILLAGE

Nonprofit helps girls dress to impress

Freeport High School senior Grace Lofudu browsed the racks of gowns at the Kennedy Memorial Park Recreation Center in Hempstead on Saturday, saying she was looking for a long lavender dress to wear to her prom.

For the fourth consecutive year, Women of Integrity, a nonprofit based in Hempstead, transformed the community center into a shopping boutique with nearly 350 dresses available to local teens.

Lofudu, 17, said she appreciated the free evening wear.

"It gives a lot of girls . . . an option to go to prom, because some people can't even afford a dress," she said.

Shantay Carter, 35, of Hempstead, the founder of Women of Integrity, said that between November and March, the dresses -- some new, others gently used -- were donated at drop-off locations throughout the community.

Each girl was allowed to select two dresses -- one to wear to prom, the other for another formal occasion such as graduation -- a handbag and pair of shoes.

Carter said Women for Equality also selects one senior girl on Long Island for a head-to-toe prom makeover each year.

This year's recipient is Roberta Samson of Roosevelt High School.

"Every girl deserves to go to their prom and the financial aspect shouldn't be a reason why you don't go, especially if you've worked hard," Carter said.