Roundup: Eminent domain in Centerport; Hike for Life event set for May 10

CENTERPORT

Park expanded using eminent domain

A Centerport park has been expanded as a result of eminent domain.

The Huntington Town Board voted 5 to 0 last week to acquire a 0.52-acre parcel through a “friendly condemnation” procedure.

The parcel was owned by the Greenlawn Water District and is next to 11-acre Phragmites Park on the north side of Route 25A. The plot was appraised at $6,250 in 2012, town officials said.

Town officials that year agreed to purchase the property after holding a public hearing. But water district officials said that when the Scudder family, landowners in Huntington from early Colonial days, deeded the property to the water district in 1928, covenants and restrictions required that it remain a pumping station or a single-family home.

Town officials said the only way around the covenant and restriction was to take the parcel by eminent domain, or in this case, “friendly condemnation.”

The extra space will likely be used for trails and possibly parking, officials said.
— DEBORAH S. MORRIS

ISLIP/ SMITHTOWN

Hike for Life event set for May 10

The New York Blood Center and the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference plan to hold the eighth annual Hike for Life event on May 10 to raise money for the center’s volunteer program.

The hike is scheduled to start at 6:30 a.m., rain or shine, at Heckscher State Park and continue north with stops at Blydenburgh County Park and the Smithtown Landing Country Club before ending at Sunken Meadow Field 4. Participants can walk from 3 to 32 miles, which can take up to 10 hours, said Shari Zagorski, the program’s coordinator.

Zagorski, a Greenbelt director, said the event has grown since she ran it from her basement eight years ago.

“During the first three or four years, things were slower,” she said. “We didn’t have social media to make connections.”

Last year, 300 participants raised more than $40,000 for recruitment, training and community outreach at the blood center’s volunteer program. The event’s first year in 2006 raised $3,500, she said.

“This is their way of honoring a person who has needed a transfusion at some point,” said Natalie Barnofsky, the blood center’s senior manager for volunteer activities.

Registration costs $20 per person and $10 for students and children. A picnic will be held at Sunken Meadow at the end of the hike. Participants who leave their cars at the Heckscher location will be shuttled back at the end of the day. For more information, go to ligreenbelt.org.
— SIOBHAN BARTON

WAINSCOTT

Animal Rescue Fund holding celebration

It’s a big party for canines, felines and their accompanying humans on May 3 when the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons marks its 40th year rescuing dogs and cats, and matching them up with homes.

More than 20,000 animals have been rescued since the organization’s founding in 1974, Animal Rescue president Lisa McCarthy said on its website, ARFHamptons.org.

The celebration, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the adoption center, 90 Daniels Hole Rd., Wainscott, gives owners a chance to show off their adoptees and staffers the opportunity to see how well their former charges are doing. The party, which is free, also is open to those who want to celebrate their pets, said Jamie Berger, director of marketing and communication.

Microchipping and rabies vaccinations will be available at no charge, donated by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. A veterinarian will also be on hand for “Ask the Vet” sessions.

Dogs are to be brought on leashes and cats in carriers. Send RSVPs to
tdix@arfhamptons.org.
— PATRICIA KITCHEN

FRANKLIN SQUARE

Free child IDs will be available at library

State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) will host a Safe Child ID program at the Franklin Square Library on Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.

Families can come to receive a free, wallet-sized identification card containing a child’s name and information such as date of birth, age, gender, height, weight, hair and eye color, and fingerprint images. The storage of the information in a state database is voluntary and requires the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.

“Statistics show that 34 percent of parents in the United States don’t know their child’s exact height, weight and eye color,” Hannon said in a statement. “When a child is reported missing, time can be the greatest adversary. Possessing up-to-date photos and important information about one’s child are important proactive measures a parent can take to assist law enforcement should a child disappear.”

For more information, call Hannon’s office at 516-739-1700 or email hannon@nysenate.gov.
— AISHA AL-MUSLIM

LINDENHURST

Meetings will address substance abuse

Two community groups in Lindenhurst dedicated to addressing substance abuse will hold meetings in the coming weeks featuring community officials.

The older of the two organizations, Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition, will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Fireman’s Park Pavilion. The key speaker is State Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore). Also speaking at the meeting will be counselors and clients from Phoenix House addiction treatment centers. 

Several programs and initiatives related to substance abuse and community safety will be discussed, including Neighborhood Watch and the Not on Your Life program, which attempts to stop the sale and promotion of alcohol products to underage youth. Lindenhurst Community Cares Coalition is seeking participants in this program, including students who can earn community service credit; and training for the state’s SBIRT public health initiative, an evidence-based approach to early drug and alcohol intervention. 

Clean Up Lindenhurst, a group that formed last month, will meet on April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Lindenhurst Middle School. Town and village officials are expected to attend. On the agenda is a discussion of the Face to Face program, which group leader Frank Panzarella describes as similar to a Neighborhood Watch, where residents walk around problem areas of the community to discourage illegal activity.
— DENISE M. BONILLA

FARMINGVILLE/MINEOLA

Portuguese Heritage Month celebrations

The Portuguese community on Long Island is holding two events in recognition of June’s designation as Portuguese Heritage Month: the third annual Portugal Day Celebration in Farmingville and the Long Island Portugal Day Parade in Mineola.

The Portugal Day Celebration will take place on May 24 at 7 p.m. at the Portuguese American Center of Suffolk, 1216 Portion Rd., in Farmingville. The event will include performances by Portuguese-American students, folk dancing and selections for “persons of the year.”

For more information, call 631-736-1254.

The Long Island Portugal Day Parade will be held on June 8, starting at 11 a.m. at Jackson Avenue behind the Chaminade Athletic Center. The parade will end at Wilson Park, where the Mineola Portuguese Center will hold its annual feast and carnival. The inaugural parade’s grand marshals will be the “children of the community,” said Rosa Leal, parade director and member of Daughters of Portugal.

Applications to participate can be sent to liportugaldayparade@gmail.com.
— PRISCILA KORB

PATCHOGUE

Courses offered to help with diabetes

People with diabetes and caretakers can sign up for a free four-session course on learning how to better manage the disease.

The sessions run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on April 28, May 5, May 12 and May 19 at the South Brookhaven Family Health Center, 365 E. Main St., Patchogue.

The classes share information to help people “properly self-manage their diabetes and enable them to lead healthier and happier lives,” said a news release from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, which is offering the course in collaboration with Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

As class size is limited, attendees are advised to register early with Anastasia Loper, 631-727-7850 ext. 340 or abl98@cornell.edu.
— PATRICIA KITCHEN