Long Island briefs

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.

HUNTINGTON

Sandy property tax relief could be on way

The Town of Huntington plans to hold an early morning public hearing next month to consider adopting a law to provide assessment and tax relief to property owners impacted by superstorm Sandy.

Because the town's assessment for taxes for 2012 were done before Sandy, many homeowners were forced to live in homes that were damaged or uninhabitable. Even though the homes were unusable, property owners who experienced substantial damage to their homes were still required to pay their normal property tax bill in 2013.

"It's for people who had damage and were not able to utilize their home," Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said. "We have about 400 homes in the township that probably will qualify."

The state enacted the Super Storm Sandy Assessment Relief act earlier this year. The act says municipalities can elect and adopt a law that grants assessment relief to those impacted and grant them a rebate of their taxes based on a formula established by the state. The basis of the formula will use the amount of damage as a scale to determine the rebate.

"According to the law, we have a schedule to follow on promulgating our own law," Petrone said. "That's why we are having a public hearing. We have to do it and enact it the same day in order to meet a deadline." The hearing will be held Dec. 6 at 9 a.m. at town hall.

WEST SAYVILLE

Museum to expand volunteer program

The Long Island Maritime Museum is expanding its volunteer program with a local nonprofit that works with people with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injuries.

Participants from the Old Bethpage-based Family Residences and Essential Enterprises program will volunteer at the museum in West Sayville twice a week as part of the museum's "Collections Care Crew."

The program will be expanded in the spring so that area school districts can send their special education students to participate in the crew, which washes, polishes and maintains the museum's collection of wooden boats.

An initial program ran from May through October.

"FREE's collaboration with Long Island Maritime Museum has been highly beneficial to our individuals, and we look forward to growing the volunteerism program to imbue others with greater self-esteem and the importance of teamwork and communication so that they become work-ready," said FREE's chief executive, Robert Budd.

Stephen Jones, Long Island Maritime Museum's executive director, said officials have felt "fortunate to have the FREE 'Collections Care Crew' with us for the season! This well-supervised group was always there week in and week out, keeping our Small Craft Building and the 60 display vessels within the building in top shape." He said the old wooden boats require extra care to maintain them properly, and they appreciate the crew's work. "We look forward to having them back in the spring."

For more information, call 516-870-1622 or visit

familyres.org.

BROOKHAVEN

Composting classes offered, start tonight

Brookhaven Town is offering classes on composting waste in residential yards.

The first class is scheduled for 7 p.m. 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.

RONKONKOMA

Turkeys collected for vets, military families

Adding to the tables and shelves filled with boxes of stuffing and nonperishables, Michele and Scott Beauchamp dropped off two turkeys, a ham and all the fixings.

They were among the families that stopped by Boots on the Ground's Veteran Activity Center in Ronkonkoma to donate turkeys and other thanksgiving items on Saturday.

Boots on the Ground, run by military veterans, collected 40 turkeys Saturday and would later deliver the food to veterans.

Members of the organization had taken the Beauchamp family under their wing after Army veteran Scott Beauchamp, 44, was injured by a roadside bomb on Dec. 28, 2010, while serving in Afghanistan. He was treated at Walter Reed for a broken back, injured left shoulder, crushed left hand and a traumatic brain injury.

"This is one of the ways we try to give back for all they did for us," said his wife, Michele Beauchamp, 44, of Woodmere. "Our family wasn't forgotten, so it's important to us that other families aren't forgotten."

Army veteran Frank Bania, president of Boots on the Ground, said the organization's main mission is to leave no veteran behind and help them get back on their feet.

"We've been collecting turkeys for three years, but this is the first time we're collecting at our new location," said Bania, 44, of Patchogue.

The organization will officially open the Veteran Activity Center, at 2184 Pond Rd., Unit A4, in several weeks, Bania said. It will provide a food pantry, recreational area, computer classes and veteran support programs.

Boots on the Ground will deliver Thanksgiving meals to veteran and military families again on Nov. 23, and will continue to accept donations of frozen turkeys and all the fixings on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

CENTEREACH

Afghan children sing 'Three Little Birds'

As a group of children approached Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Coscia while his Army unit provided security in Qalat, Afghanistan, recently, he began singing Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds."

Before he knew it, the kids -- smiling and jumping up and down -- repeated after him. The kids knew his unit, who supplied them with cases of water, food and candy.

" 'Three Little Birds' is a great song that I've known for a long time, and it always puts me in a good mood," said Coscia, 30, a Centereach native, who is still deployed there and corresponded with Newsday via email. "They don't know English, so I sung another verse and they repeated it. I gave it a shot and they sang with me."

Jennifer Faut, who has known Coscia since middle school, said her friend has a huge heart and deserves the praise he's getting from those who watch the YouTube video, which was filmed by a fellow soldier and then shared by Coscia on Facebook.

"Joe is missing out on the first year of his daughter Gabriella's life, yet still took a few minutes out of his day to bring smiles to these children's faces who are surrounded by war every day," said Faut, 30, of Centereach. "Joe has been a great friend to me, and I worry about him being over there every day. This video reminds me that he's serving a purpose and making a difference."

The hardest part about serving his third tour in the Middle East is missing holidays with his wife Michelle -- whom he married last year -- and his daughter. He hasn't been there for many of the 8-month-old's "firsts," Coscia, who has been serving in the Army for 11 years and now resides in Killeen, Texas, said.

AMITYVILLE

Dominican Village to refinance $18M bond

Dominican Village, the not-for-profit assisted living community in Amityville, will refinance an $18 million bond issue from the late 1990s in a move to lower operating costs.

The refinance will be done through a local development corporation whose board members, taken from the Babylon Town Industrial Development Agency, were appointed at Monday's Town Board meeting.

The move does not use any taxpayer dollars, said Robert Stricoff, Babylon IDA chief.

Dominican Village is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic. The original bonds funded construction and improvements to the 150-unit facility, Stricoff said.

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 p.m. to 9 p.m.

AMITYVILLE

Trustees to consider term limits bill

Amityville trustees will consider a bill to limit their own terms but have backed away from one that would have limited the term of the village justice.

Judge Debra Urbano-DiSalvo, the village justice, had threatened to sue over that measure, which she said would have unconstitutionally infringed on her office.

"We have had threats of a lawsuit," Mayor James Wandell said at Monday night's board meeting, announcing that the bill had been stricken from the agenda. "While we believe we were on sound legal ground, we do not wish to spend money on a lawsuit to defend a principle."

That bill would have limited the village justice to three four-year terms. A bill that would limit trustees, including the mayor, to two consecutive four-year terms, is set for a public hearing at the Dec. 9 board meeting.

"I'm glad the board recognized this was beyond their powers to do," Urbano-DiSalvo said in an interview yesterday. "I hope the board, going forward, spends its energy on matters that will improve the quality of life for village residents."

Trustees scheduled the hearing for the remaining term limits bill by a 3-1 vote, with Kevin Smith dissenting and Dennis Siry absent.

Trustee Nick LaLota and Mayor Jim Wandell have said the term limits bills were written to discourage people from making a career out of public office, and Deputy Mayor Jessica Bernius has joined them in support of the measures.

Siry has said he opposes term limits because they take authority away from voters.