Roundup: LGBT center to open at new location

WOODBURY

LGBT center to open at new location

A center that brings together advocacy efforts and community programs for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of Nassau County has moved from Garden City, where it was established in 2011, to Woodbury as the group scouts properties for a permanent home.

The Center at Woodbury is already at its new location, at 20 Crossway Dr. North, but it will officially open for events and programs on Monday, said David Kilmnick, chief executive of the Long Island GLBT Services Network that oversees three centers on the Island.

“This is a big year of transition for the organization where we are putting roots down .?.?. to really give some permanency to our centers that are really a lifeline” for the LGBT community, Kilmnick said.

A deal for the purchase of a Hicksville building fell through this year over strict requirements for a certificate of occupancy, Kilmnick said, but the organization will continue its search for a permanent site.

Its other Suffolk County centers are in Bay Shore, where the network owns a building, and in Sag Harbor where it opened a center in rented space last year.

Kilmnick said the county center has quickly become a hub with about 160 volunteers, hosting programs ranging from events for youth and seniors to free HIV testing. “In Nassau County, there was a thirst for what we do,” he said.

— VÍCTOR MANUEL RAMOS

BABYLON

Plan to spend $800G to build on site OKd

The Town of Babylon has approved spending more than $800,000 for work related to its ashfill site.

The site, in West Babylon, houses the town’s Covanta Energy-owned garbage incinerator as well as eight ashfill cells and administrative structures. The bulk of the approved funding is $650,000 in bonds the town will issue to construct a small administrative building on the site, said spokesman Kevin Bonner.

The building will replace two temporary trailers that have been used for 25 years, he said. Up to 20 employees, who also work on the town’s lot cleanups, work out of the trailers, Bonner said.

Another $85,000 in bonds will be issued to build a concrete slab in an area next to the ashfill that is used by dump trucks bringing ash from the incinerator. The area consists of dirt, Bonner said, and has been problematic when it rains. Additionally, $50,000 in bonds will be issued to pay for the building of a vertical lining system for ashfill Cell 7, the only cell that is operational. The liner is needed to provide containment and prevent leakage, he said.

In addition, the town has approved a $35,000 contract with Kosuri Engineering & Consulting PC of New Hyde Park to assist the town in renewing its seven-year permit to operate the Cell 7 ashfill. This and all bond repayments will come from the town’s garbage funds, Bonner said. — DENISE M. BONILLA

NESCONSET

Music room named after former student

Developmental Disabilities Institute, the leading service provider for children and adults with autism on Long Island, has opened the Matthew Stansky Memorial Music Room in Nesconset.

Stansky, 23, was a former DDI student who died last year after a long illness.

Stansky's family and other donors raised $20,000 to renovate the room, at DDI’s Lake Avenue Adult Day Program.

The room’s contents include a new smart TV, wireless microphones, piano, acoustic guitars, a new drum set, music stools and benches, and numerous other instruments. A plaque hangs on the wall that reads, “A song may end but its melody lingers on forever.”

The program in Nesconset provides numerous services for more than 70 adults with autism and other developmental disabilities.

“During his short life with us, Matthew became a source of inspiration to all who knew him and provided care to him,” said John Lessard, DDI’s executive director.

“Matthew had an immense love for music,” said his mother, Millie Stansky. “It didn’t matter if he was listening to his transistor radio or a fellow peer playing the piano. Matthew would lose himself listening to music for hours on end.”

— SID CASSESE

ISLANDWIDE

LI fire departments to host open houses

Local fire departments across the state plan to hold open houses April 26 and 27 as part of the fourth annual RecruitNY, a recruitment effort established in 2011 to help bring in more volunteers to the local fire departments. During the open houses, visitors can tour the firehouses and fire apparatus, try on gear and take part in activities throughout the firehouse, according to the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York.

The association runs the program along with the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, the Association of Fire Districts of New York State, the Volunteer Fire Police Association of the State of New York, and the Country Fire Coordinators Association of the State of New York.

“We encourage departments to sign up to let their communities know of their participation,” said James A. Burns, president of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York. “RecruitNY has proven a success in past years and is a key initiative to help bolster membership numbers so fire departments can continue to provide the optimum level of protection to their local residents.”

On Long Island, 14 fire departments — 11 in Nassau and three in Suffolk — are expected to host open houses, according to the RecruitNY website.

For more information and to find a list of the fire departments participating in the program, residents can visit recruitny.org.

Fire departments interested in signing up for RecruitNY can log on and fill out the form at recruitny.org/signup. — PRISCILA KORB

BRENTWOOD

Students raise $30G for cancer research

Students in the Brentwood Union Free School District collected more than $30,000 in their second-annual Relay For Life fundraiser to aid with cancer research, school officials said.

The funds, which will go to the American Cancer Society, were donated in the past several weeks. More than 200 students from the Medical Society, a club that exposes children to careers in health care, and the Relay For Life club at Brentwood Senior High spent the night at the school last Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday. They stayed up all night and walked an indoor track through the hallways as well as played volleyball, dodgeball and danced to music.

Some of the participating students have been diagnosed with lung and brain cancers, said high school principal Richard Loeschner. The groups surpassed last year’s efforts, when they raised more than $20,000.

A “Survivor’s Dinner” was also held to honor 50 cancer survivors from the Bay Shore and Brentwood areas, Loeschner said.

Sharon Littman, a speech language pathologist who has been with the district for 19 years and is a skin cancer survivor, helped coordinate this year’s events. Along with cancer awareness, the students — led by fellow classmates Sumaiya Chowdhury and Mecca Tricoche — were able to learn communication skills through asking people for help.

“Between the high school and elementary schools, thousands of people gave either a couple of bucks or a hundred bucks,” Loeschner said. “It really motivated everyone for the last few weeks. There’s a real energy and passion for this event.”

— SARAH ARMAGHAN

SUFFOLK COUNTY

Discounts for vets at county golf courses

Veterans and active military personnel will pay reduced fees at Suffolk County golf courses, officials announced yesterday.

The county passed legislation this year making permanent lower prices to tee off at the county’s four public golf courses for service members.

Veterans and military personnel will pay $17 for 18 holes Monday to Friday, excluding holidays, compared to $28 for Suffolk County residents and $38 for nonresidents. Military and veterans will pay the same rate as residents on the weekends and holidays, $30. Nonresidents pay $48.

Discounts are also offered for nine holes of golf.

“This is one small way we can show our appreciation to the men and women of the armed forces,” said Legis. Jay H. Schneiderman (I-Montauk), sponsor of the bill, in a statement.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Schneiderman, Legis. Tom Cilmi (R-Bay Shore) and a dozen veterans made the announcement at the Timber Point Golf Course in Great River yesterday.

Suffolk County Veterans can contact the Parks Department at 631-854-4949 or go to Suffolk County Park locations where Green Keys are sold with proper proof of residency; veterans must submit DD Form 214 (Certificate of release or Discharge from Active Duty) or a Suffolk County Veteran Resident ID card issued by Suffolk County Veterans Agency.

A pilot program of reduced fees was introduced last year, when the county said 999 rounds of golf were played by active military and veterans, according to a Budget Review Office analysis. While the report estimated that $4,034 in revenue was lost because of the discounted fees, it also said more golf might have been played because of the discount. — DAVID SCHWARTZ