Editorial: A legislator's legacy to vets
Paul Harenberg Credit: NEWSDAY/Vincent Pugliese
The late Assemb. Paul Harenberg (D-Bayport), first elected to the Assembly in 1974, got a lot done there before he retired in 2000. Some accomplishments took longer than others, such as creation of the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.
His quest began when Harenberg visited a state veterans home in upstate Chenango County. Though he wasn't a veteran himself, he knew that Long Island's large veteran population had no state nursing home in Nassau-Suffolk. So he worked on it, with typical doggedness, for about a dozen years, until it opened in 1991.
On Friday, Harenberg's key role was the centerpiece of a ceremony for the home's 20th anniversary, and a plaque commemorating him will be prominently displayed there. This home is a gem for our veterans, and Harenberg's vision made it happen. hN
