Sunday, May 20, 2012
A weekly look-in at news in the Town of Hempstead.
Court Upholds Zoning Board's Denial of Billy Dean's Wantagh Cabaret Application The Supreme Court of the State of New York announced Monday that it has upheld the Town of Hempstead's decision to reject North Bellmore strip club owner Billy Dean's cabaret application for a proposed Wantagh nightclub/restaurant on Sunrise Highway. Dean's suit against the town argued that the Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals should have never revoked its original June 2010 approval for cabaret usage on 3500 Sunrise Highway in Wantagh. The zoning board decided last March to schedule a rehearing of Dean's application under the name Green 2009, Inc. due to vocal opposition that mounted against the development, as well as a belief that not enough people were …
Saturday, May 19, 2012
A weekly look-in at the news of Nassau County.
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) on Thursday rejected County Executive Ed Mangano's proposed contract with Morgan Stanley to broker a deal for a privatized sewer system. The deal would have paid the financial service firm at least $5 million to broker a deal for the county with a private operator for the sewer system and an investor who would fund the transaction. According to Long Island Business News: The contract, approved by the Nassau Legislature April 16, would have retained Morgan Stanley to find an investor that would lend the county upward of $750 million in exchange for making a profit from running the county’s failing sewer system. "The NIFA board is clearly confused about the potential public-private partnership for …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Comptroller's analysis shows surge to Long Beach work force over past eight years.
The City of Long Beach comptroller conducted an analysis that shows staffing levels in the city have spiraled “out of control” over the last eight years — particularly in 2011 — according to City Manager Jack Schnirman, who has called for a staff reduction of 67 employees. Schnirman said at Tuesday’s City Council budget hearing that personnel costs presently account for 78 percent of the entire budget, or 81 percent of the general fund budget, when costs traditionally should be in the 65 to 75 percent range, according to the Long Beach Herald. Schnirman said: “A lot of people were hired in 2011 — it’s unsustainable, unaffordable and a major reason why the city is having such severe financial difficulties.” As Patch reported, Schnirman …
40.58942
-73.66592
City of Long Beach
1 W Chester St, Long Beach, NY
/articles/city-manager-says-staffing-out-of-control-in-2011
344761
/locations/7054482
Exempt employees, council members to pay into their health insurance plans.
The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday approved two resolutions: one requires roughly 23 exempt employees to pay a 10 percent portion of their health care premiums; the other asks council members’ to cut their nearly $20,000 annual salaries by 10 percent, the latter measure of which passed unanimously. The resolutions come at a time when City Manager Jack Schnirman is calling for layoffs and asking unions to pay a portion of their health care premiums. The city manager said: “We wouldn’t ask the unions to do anything we wouldn’t do ourselves. We feel that the right thing to do is show some leadership before we ask for contributions from our labor partners that we’d be willing to do so ourselves,” according to the Long Beach Herald. Exempt…
40.58942
-73.66592
Long Beach City Council
1 W Chester St, Long Beach, NY
/articles/long-beach-city-council-votes-for-pay-cut
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/locations/7050580
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Union leaders blast proposal to cut 67 workers.
The looming layoff of 67 city employees was the center of debate at the City Council’s budget hearing Tuesday evening. In a presentation given to a packed chamber council, City Manager Jack Schnirman proposed to layoff 25 full-time employees and 42 part-time workers in effort to close a $10 million deficit and balance the budget for fiscal year 2012-13 starting July 1. He projects the layoffs will save the city $2.5 million each fiscal year. “We’ve got to balance the budget,” Schnirman said. While these declared “first round” of layoffs will impact employees in several departments, from fire to sanitation to beach maintenance, some people contend that the reductions should be across the board. CSEA President John Mooney noted that not a …
40.58942
-73.66592
City of Long Beach
1 W Chester St, Long Beach, NY
/articles/city-layoffs
344761
/locations/7034950
Election results to be announced Wednesday to decide winner of second seat.
Newcomer Stewart Mininsky declared himself “sort of speechless” on learning that he pulled the most votes in Long Beach's Board of Education election late Tuesday night, even though official tallies were not released to determine the winner of the second seat in the at-large election. “I’m going to try to fulfill the trust of the people that supported me and had faith in me to do the right thing for the district and the children,” Mininsky managed to tell Patch from his home, where he waited with his family for the results Tuesday. “We will see about fiscal oversight,” added Mininsky, whose campaign struck the theme that the district must do a better job of cutting expenses and reducing wasteful spending. “These are the main things that …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Voters pass school budget.
While newcomer Stewart Mininsky picked up the most votes in the Board of Education election and residents approved the school district’s $122.1 million budget, the vote totals between the two incumbent candidates, Darlene Tangney and Gina Guma, were too close to call Tuesday. District officials refused to release any further details, but stated that Mininsky did receive the most votes. The district added that they would talk to Board of Elections officials Wednesday to validate approximately 18 affidavits ballots in an effort to determine who received the second highest vote total in the at-large election. Mininsky will serve a three-year term on the board starting July 1. The budget passed by a vote of 1841 to 936, according to Newsday. …
Officials say reductions will save $2.58 million.
The City of Long Beach will lay off 25 full-time workers and 42 part-time employees from various departments, including fire, public works, and transportation, and will also removed 69 "inactive" employees from its books in the coming days. The layoffs are projected to save the city $2.58 million in an effort to close a $10.2 budget deficit by June, the end of the current fiscal year, and the city also needs givebacks from the unions as it will require $7 million in personnel savings toward that end, according Newsday. City Manager Jack Schnirman said: "Our staffing analysis has concluded that the level of personnel in the city is unsustainable. And after working with our labor partners over a period of weeks, we have concluded that …
Monday, May 14, 2012
A summary of what will be on the ballot for Tuesday's vote.
On Tuesday, Long Beach School District residents will head to the polls and cast votes on the proposed budget and for three candidates running in the Board of Education race. Here’s a breakdown on what voters will decide tomorrow: Proposed Budget Long Beach’s proposed $122.1 million spending plan for 2012-13 represents a 3.7 percent increase from the current spending plan. The approximately $3.5 million hike is to the tax levy, the amount of money to be raised through property taxes, and represents money owed on a $98 million bond to upgrade district-wide facilities that voters approved in 2009. Under a new tax cap law that only permits a 2 percent tax levy increase, exceptions are made for districts that must pay previously approved …
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Long Beach Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center
615 Riverside Blvd, Long Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
344848
/locations/7005764
40.589654
-73.64665
East Elementary School
456 Neptune Blvd, Long Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
1256678
/locations/7005765
40.589069
-73.626601
Lido Elementary School
273 Lido Blvd, Lido Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
1265234
/locations/7005766
40.587618
-73.695924
West School
91 Maryland Ave, Long Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
1270883
/locations/7005767
40.591576
-73.68123
Lindell School
610 Lindell Blvd, Long Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
1270888
/locations/7005768
40.58862
-73.67051
225 W Park Ave, Long Beach, NY
/articles/voters-guide-school-budget-vote-trustee-race-in-long-beach
/locations/7005769
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A weekly look-in at news from around the Town of Hempstead.
Seniors Present Works From The Creative Writers' Workshop Hempstead Town has announced that members of the Department of Senior Enrichment’s Creative Writers' Workshop are holding a reading of their original works on Wednesday, June 13. The presentation will be held at 1 p.m. at the Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts, located at 2222 Hewlett Ave. in Merrick. The public is invited to attend the annual event and admission is free. The readings will be followed by an informal coffee hour. The short stories, poems and memoirs produced by seniors in workshop sessions will be published by the town this fall in an annual compilation entitled "Musings of Maturity XXIV." The Creative Writers' Workshop is partially funded through a grant from …
Marty Heyman
8:36 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
Well said, Wayne. The money for all that has to come from somewhere and needs to be raised but only after we see some discipline to reduce inefficiencies and produce a prioritized capital plan. Then we'll know how much the deal is really worth and we'll be able to figure out the best source. more ›