Mural next to Massapequa High School being repainted but still shows 'Chiefs' mascot

The student-designed mural on the bagel shop next to Massapequa High School is being replaced by a new version that will still depict the school’s mascot, a Native American chief.

Students were painting the new mural, which is not on school property, on Monday morning and had already completed the school's logo, which includes the mascot and its feathered headdress.

"The district is excited for the new mural which continues to represent Massapequa’s pride, traditions and hope for a better future," Massapequa superintendent William Brennan said in a statement to Newsday.

Massapequa has not retired its Chiefs mascot after the state Board of Regents voted unanimously to ban Native American team names, logos and mascots at public schools in April 2023. The state and some Native American groups said the mascots and images perpetuate harmful stereotypes, and the state ordered districts to commit to retiring them, or face the potential loss of state funding and removal of elected school officials. Districts were given until the end of the 2024-25 school year to remove the imagery. The mandate affected 13 districts on Long Island, most of which have taken steps to retire their mascots and names. 

The state education department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Bagel Boss owner Jeff Grossfeld said he thinks the mural is a great thing for the community.

“I love it,” Grossfeld told Newsday by phone on Monday. “It’s a win-win. Kids are doing a nice job, they take pride in it, it’s good for the community and it makes it look nice, clean, sharp and attractive. I think it’s pride for the town.”

Grossfeld said he understands some people may not agree with the imagery and mascot.

“I’ve lived in Massapequa my entire life, so I would have to say I’m a little biased,” Grossfeld said. "It's something of pride, not denigration. You can’t please everybody in anything you do. But I don’t see how it offends anybody because it’s done in a prideful way.”

“Whoever says ‘Once a Chief, always a Chief’ is saying it with pride, not with any kind of animosity or anything negative attached to it.”

Newsday interviewed several Massapequa High School students on Monday who said all of the finalists they voted on included the use of the Chiefs mascot.

“Every three years, art students submit mural designs for the wall adjacent to the main campus, located off school property,” Brennan said in the statement. “This year, there were 20 submissions which was narrowed down to six. Opened to the entire student body and staff, 500 people recently voted on the winning design and painting has already begun.”

President Donald Trump has supported Massapequa's attempt to keep its mascot and team name, calling the state ban "ridiculous."

In December, 2025, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Massapequa school district and a North Dakota-based organization, the Native American Guardian's Association, to challenge the state's ban on Native American mascots and other imagery in public schools.

Susan Gelbman, who lives in Massapequa Park, said she graduated from Massapequa High School in 1979 and remembers seeing the mural when she was in school.

“I had seen it as a high school student, and then living here I noticed they would change it periodically,” Gelman said. “I always looked forward to seeing what it was going to be each year. I think it’s a wonderful community event for the kids to get involved in.  It’s important to be connected to where we live. It’s good for everyone.”

Lauren Rosen, who owns the building, said she hasn't seen the mural and has never been asked her permission to change it.

“As long as it doesn’t offend anybody, and it’s non-political, I’m okay with it,” she said. “If it’s bringing joy to people, that’s great. I’m happy about it.”