Long Island Briefs

LONG BEACH

Landlord fines for failed upkeep OKd

Long Beach has approved new, stiffer penalties for landlords who do not maintain their properties, and more tough measures could be on the way.

A change approved by the city council on Tuesday night quadruples the fine for failing to make repairs, to $1,000 per day. The measure changes city codes so Long Beach can levy fines against owners and managers of buildings with 25 or more units, according to documents filed at City Hall.

The City Council approved the change unanimously.

The city also will soon consider a code change that would extend the same penalties for owners of multiple-family buildings with less than 25 units. The city council unanimously voted on Tuesday to hold a Sept. 3 public hearing on that proposed change.

The public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Long Beach City Hall, 1 West Chester St. in Long Beach.

HUNTINGTON TOWN

Town retains high bond rating

Strong budget management and low debt have allowed the Town of Huntington to continue its AAA bond rating from Fitch Ratings, town officials said.

The AAA rating applies to the $13.43 million in bonds the town expects to sell later this month to finance various capital projects, as well as the town's $83.9 million in outstanding debt, a town news release said.

"I am gratified that Fitch continues to recognize the way I have managed town finances since becoming supervisor 20 years ago," Democratic Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said in the release. "As the report notes, under my administration, the Town has made and will continue to make the difficult decisions that control spending, hold down taxes and limit borrowing."

Fitch also classified the outlook as "stable," the town said.

According to the town, Fitch Ratings, in a release announcing the decision to maintain the Town's rating, singled out "conservative budgeting and the Town's demonstrated ability to control expenses."

Councilmen Mark Mayoka, a Republican, and Gene Cook, an Independence Party member, issued a statement expressing their concern that the rating relied "on an unaudited report presented by the interim comptroller." The councilmen said the annual audited report on town finances was two months late and said late filings "can have an adverse effect on our bond rating," especially if the audited report "is not in agreement" with the unaudited report.

They also said, "It is unfortunate that the only way we balanced the budget last year was by raising taxes."

Petrone responded, "Since the day each of them took office, Councilmen Cook and Mayoka have been on a campaign to cry wolf and falsely create the impression of a crisis to support their political agenda. They haven't been successful because the facts are not on their side, but they apparently won't be happy until they have affected the Town's bond rating and severely cost the taxpayers. Shame on them."

All three men are running for office in the fall; Petrone and Cook are among those running for supervisor.

LONG ISLAND

Parts of expressway

closed to add signs

Service roads along the Long Island Expressway in parts of Nassau County and throughout Suffolk will be closed over the next four weeks from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday to Thursday while signs are replaced with new, high-reflective ones.

The work, part of a $7.4 million project performed by Jericho-based Mana Construction Group under contract to the New York State Department of Transportation, began Tuesday in the Town of Oyster Bay on the eastbound service road south of the expressway, said department spokeswoman Eileen Peters.

Once completed through to Exit 73 in Riverhead, westbound operations north of the expressway will start and continue all the way to the Nassau/Queens border.

To reduce the impact on motorists, there will be no lane closures in the westbound direction on Sunday nights. In addition, only small sections of the service roads are being closed at one time.

Already, obsolete lamp-lit highway signs have been replaced with more visible, high-reflective signs on the LIE mainline, Northern State Parkway, Southern State Parkway, state Route 135/Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway, Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow Parkway and Robert Moses Parkway.

NASSAU COUNTY

2 agencies found

underpaying workers

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos announced yesterday that two agencies providing emergency shelter for the county -- Bethany House in Roosevelt and Glory House Recovery in Hempstead -- had been violating Nassau's Living Wage Law by underpaying some employees.

"All organizations have an obligation to ensure compliance with the County's Living Wage Law. While we are pleased with the response from these agencies, in which they agree to repay the affected employees, their lapse is inexcusable," Maragos said in a statement.

Sister Aimee Koonmen, who runs Bethany House, said the wage law, enacted in 2006, was not clearly described. "Three of our workers waived insurance because their spouses had it," she said, "and we classified part-time workers as those with under 30 hours a week. It's 20 under Living Wage."

Maragos said his audits, covering Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2012, showed seven Bethany House workers being underpaid a total of $10,056.

"This underpayment was rectified after meeting with the comptroller's staff and the employees were compensated for the underpayment," he added.

Glory House Recovery Director Terenna Williams likewise said the law was not clear. "But as soon as the auditors told us, we rectified it," she said. One employee was reimbursed $1,523.

Both agencies have set up new policies adhering to the law.

The living wage is currently $15.21 an hour without health benefits or $13.35 with them.

WESTBURY

Free legal help center rolls into county

A free mobile legal help center will be available today outside the Family Court in Westbury from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The center, making its first appearance in Nassau County, is sponsored by the New York Legal Assistance Group in cooperation with the New York State Courts Access to Justice Program.

It is made possible by the David Berg Justice Initiative, and is available to everyone in a variety of languages and is fully wheelchair-accessible.

To find our what services are offered, call 212-613-5000.

SOUTH FORK

10 water line extensions installed

Over the last two weeks, the Suffolk County Water Authority has completed -- or come close to completing -- the installation of 10 new water main extensions in Southampton and East Hampton towns, from a 243-foot line on Washington Drive in Montauk to a 3,216-foot line on Millstone Brook Road and two adjoining streets in Southampton.

The projects will collectively add more than 8,000 feet of new water lines to the two towns, in North Sea, Water Mill, Sagaponack, Noyac, East Hampton Village, Southampton Village and Montauk.

Most of the homes in the areas are served by private wells, and water authority officials say that residents who decide to connect to the public water supply will have less worry about a power failure such as the one that followed superstorm Sandy.

Following that storm, all of the Water Authority customers except those on Fire Island were able to keep using their water service.

People interested in the specific locations of the new water mains or who want to hook up to them can contact the Water Authority's new service department at 631-218-1148.

HEMPSTEAD TOWN

Annual Golf Classic lottery still open

Registration for the sixth annual Supervisor's Cup Golf Classic has teed off with 140 golfers to be determined by lottery drawing.

The Golf Classic is set for Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Lido Golf Course in Lido Beach.

Tee-off time will be at 10 a.m. and the rain date is set for Wednesday, Oct. 16.

Golfers will receive 18 holes of tournament golf, a bucket of balls for the driving range, continental breakfast, afternoon barbecue, motorized golf cart, on-course refreshments, goody bag, awards and photographs.

Participants will be chosen by lottery on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m. in the Clubhouse of the Merrick Road Park Golf Course. Players whose names are drawn in the lottery will have five days to submit the $15 payment following their notification of entry.

To enter the lottery, completed applications must be returned in person or by mail to the Town of Hempstead Parks Department, 200 North Franklin St. in Hempstead, or faxed to 516-292-6024 before midnight on Friday, Sept. 6.

Applications are available at most Hempstead Town parks and online at TOH.LI. Only town residents 18 years of age and older can register.

For more information, contact the Department of Parks and Recreation at 516-292-9000, ext. 245 or 266.

RONKONKOMA

Pilot gives sky-high

marriage proposal

When Jessica Rispoli, a 26-year-old wedding photographer from Lake Grove, got onto the Cessna Skyhawk for a flight around the Hudson River with boyfriend Mike Nelson, 22, the plane's pilot, she knew it wasn't an ordinary flight. Nelson's GoPro camera mounted on the dashboard raised some suspicions.

"He said the camera was to capture our expressions taking off, but we had flown a million times before," Rispoli said. "I had a feeling it was something else, but I wasn't sure."

In the middle of the flight, Nelson, who is a flight instructor at Long Island MacArthur Airport, asked Rispoli to read off a checklist for his autopilot. Rispoli reached into a pouch below the dashboard and pulled out a list. A smile crossed her face as she read the list aloud, with the final item, "Will you marry me?"

Bursting into tears of joy, Rispoli pulled out a white box containing a diamond engagement ring.

"Yes!" she said.

When Nelson and his new fiancee touched down at MacArthur, they were greeted by a salute from members of the MacArthur Airport Fire Department. Nelson is a volunteer EMT at the Islip Fire Department.

Nelson posted a video of the proposal on YouTube. It had been viewed more than 2,700 times as of Wednesday afternoon.

"It was tough, it wasn't your average proposal," Nelson said by telephone Tuesday as the couple headed upstate on vacation. "I still had the plane to worry about."

The couple is considering a wedding within the upcoming year, with Block Island as a possible location.

"I always knew it was going to happen, I always knew he was the one," Rispoli said. "I just didn't know it was going to be yesterday."

WESTBURY

Local Catholic fest celebrates 103 years

Joe Piscitelli was 11 years old in 1942, but he says he'll never forget that it was the only year the annual Feast of the Assumption in Westbury did not take place outdoors.

Because of blackouts related to World War II, Piscitelli -- a past president and member of the society for 51 years -- said the feast was moved indoors. That same year, the Maria SS. Dell'Assunta Society, which hosts the festival, was also denied a permit to hold its annual Aug. 15 procession through the streets of Westbury.

Still, to keep the tradition alive, Piscitelli, 81, of Herricks, said the society's members marched on the sidewalks carrying banners and a statue of Mary along the 4.5-mile route.

On Aug. 15 this year, a four-man team upheld this practice to kick off the 103rd annual feast. Following a mass at Saint Brigid's Church on Post Avenue, they placed the statue on their shoulders and paraded it to the parking lot of the parish school on Maple Avenue, where the feast was taking place.

The feast takes "a lot of hard work," said Mary Ann DiGuiseppi, the society's current president.

"We made 1,646 meatballs, 44 trays altogether, and we're down to eight trays," DiGuiseppi said Sunday evening, the final night of the five-day feast.

DiGuiseppi said all proceeds from the event would be donated to charities including Saint Brigid's Church, a local reading program and victims of the recent tornado in Moore, Okla.

DiGuiseppi estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 people attended the feast from Wednesday to Sunday. They enjoyed rides, games, fireworks, live music, raffles, shopping and plenty of Italian food.

Geri Mandart, a Westbury native, said she's been attending the annual feast for half of its 103-year history.

"It's a Westbury tradition," she said.