Plaques saved from Seaford Ave. School

In the past few months, the Seaford Herald Citizen has been running excellent news articles by Editor Andrew Hackmack, Reporter Laura Shofer and others.  In the issue of November 20-26, 2014, it reports on several items saved from the Seaford Avenue School before demolition and donated to the Seaford Historical Society.  Almost every time I voted there, I looked at the 1939 plaques and resolved to photograph them.  I never did so, but I am glad the Herald Citizen has published the photos.
---
I erroneously thought that the upper plaque referred to the WPA, which we learned about in history books of the early 1950's.  Instead, it refers to the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, which built 7,488 school buildings, the Triborough Bridge, and financed the 11,000 volt electrification of the Pennsylvania Railroad, if I'm correct, from New Rochelle to Harrisburg and Washington.

Wantagh Preservation Society

At the Wantagh railroad station, the Wantagh Preservation Society has a display of photographs and announcements as shown below.

Arlene, one of his granddaughters, lived here and attended Freeport High School because Wantagh High School had not yet been built.  Later, she shone as teacher of Latin and English literature at Freeport High School.

 I wonder which direction this view is, east or west.

When did Mulcahy's arrive?

Was it in 1972 that McDonald's replaced the hotel?  That McDonald's had decorations of railroad themes inside.  Because it did not have a drive-thru, it was demolished (in the 1980's or 1990's?) and the present building constructed.

Seaford Fire Dept. Tree Lighting December 6th

Veterans' Day, 2014

 Each year, the well-phrased prayers and comments on peacetime and wartime impress me, especially since respect, decency, mature values and common sense replace jingoism.

 Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Groups of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts added to the commemoration by their presence.

Autumn, 2014

North from the station platform, October 19, 2014.

View from Shore Place near Island Channel Road.

Mill Pond Park, Merrick Road, Wantagh, October 27, 2014.

Harvest Festival, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014

Speed cameras

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

This device clocked a skateboarder at 12 m.p.h.  The cameras are about 400 feet north of this sign.

Both northbound and southbound devices are attached to this pole.  At top are the lights.

The camera lens in this photo seems to be aimed at the rear of northbound cars.  Presumably, the boxes are merely controls and transmission devices.  Or is downloading done physically by an employee visiting each camera?  Near the lower box can be seen a flat pad, one in each direction. Might this register an approaching car and ready the camera, or is it the radar capturing the speed of the car that has just passed?  I could not determine the aim of these pads. 

American Lion

American History / American Biography Book Discussion a the Seaford Public Library, Monday, September 29, 2014, 2 p.m.  Book: American Lion, Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham.
A thought-provoking study of Andrew Jackson chronicles the life and career of a self-made man who went on to become a military hero and seventh president of the United States, analyzing Jackson's role during a turbulent era, the political crises and person upheaval that surrounded him, and his legacy for the modern presidency. Facilitated by Library Director Frank McKenna.  Copies of the book will be available when you register.  Registration begins Monday, September 8th, at the Registration Desk.  
---
I have no idea whether the street names were selected, recalling Jackson's nickname "Old Hickory," which he earned during the War of 1812.  I suspect that Jackson indicates a family that was around here in the 1700's.  Maybe Hickory resembles the Maple Street two blocks north and parallel.

Marie McCormack, taught at Seaford Manor School

We are sad to learn that friend Marie McCormack passed away yesterday, August 3, 2014.  She and her husband raised their family of eight in Seaford.  For many years she taught at the Seaford Manor School.  May she rest in peace.
---
Her funeral Mass is Friday, August 8, 2014, 10 a.m. at the church of St. William the Abbot, 2000 Jackson Avenue, Seaford.

A hundred years ago

A hundred years ago, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.  In 1917, the United States entered the "Great War," leading to this memorial facing Sunrise Highway in front of the Seaford train station.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Newsday has taken the alphabetical list of World War I dead as assembled by volunteers at the New York State Military Museum and made it more searchable by community, linked here. Entering community names Seaford, Massapequa, Wantagh, Bellmore, and Merrick comes up with no names.  The list for Hempstead shows eight, but it is ambiguous whether it is Town or Village of Hempstead.  As Baldwin is unincorporated, but listed with six losses, I surmise that communities with "no names" did not suffer deaths. The lists show how, in combat, illnesses also could be fatal.  

---

Many thanks to all who served.

Taco Bell demolished and rebuilt

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The week of July 20, 2014, saw the destruction of the closed Taco Bell restaurant at 3950 Sunrise Highway, Seaford.  As of August 25, 2014, the signs indicate that a new Taco Bell is under construction.  Edit: a new building was opened for breakfast, lunch, and "dinner" a few days before Christmas, 2014.
---
The county tax records state that the building was built for Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips in 1972.  Please see the comment from a man who worked there.  Recent assessments were for $591,000. What was there in the 1950's?

Sugar and Space Band

Eric Wasserman welcomes the band and thanks the sponsors.

An appreciative audience of about 160 heard the first Summer Concert organized by the Seaford Public Library and sponsored by local organizations.  The Motown band Sugar and Space replaced the scheduled band that could not come.  Please see the calendar above for further dates of these enjoyable Saturday night outdoor concerts.

Public supervision

Maybe these cameras are part of the Nassau County Domain Awareness program described in a Newsday article on August 24, 2013.  Maybe they are part of the monitoring system to be installed at 511 Ocean Avenue, Massapequa, as described in the Seaford Herald Citizen of May 29, 2014. It seems that the Nassau County Executive praised that work at a recent press conference.  The private firm, IntraLogic, received several forms of tax breaks through the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. 

Memorial Day, 2014

On the morning of May 26, 2014, the Seaford American Legion and other organizations honored those who died in combat with a parade to the marker at Seaford Middle School.

Above are the marchers of the American Legion.  Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

School Budget Passed

On May 20, 2014, the proposed 2014-2015 Seaford, New York, school budget passed 1,427-592. 

The repair reserve fund passed, 1,326-425.  Resolved, the Board be authorized to transfer up to 2.5 million dollars from the proceeds from the anticipated sale of the Seaford Avenue School to a repair reserve fund for repairs to the facilities in the Seaford School District, which transfer of funds shall not cause an increase in taxes.
----
The Basic Veteran's Exemption advisory passed, 1,280-448.  Resolved, that the Board of Education exercise its discretion and approve the basic veteran's exemption that is permissible under Section 458-a of the Real Property Tax Law.
----
Brian Fagan and Stacie Stark were elected as trustees on the school board. 

The Citizen renamed

Above is the masthead of the final edition of The Citizen, a weekly newspaper that was purchased by a larger organization several months ago.  Note that it is issue 17  of Volume 61, dated April 28, 2014.

Above is the masthead of the next edition, the Seaford Herald Citizen, with a spread date of May 1-7, 2014. The masthead appears to lack a Volume and Issue number.

Seaford 7th Precinct Meeting 4.7.2014

Meeting with Seventh Precinct police commander 4.7.2014.

These are merely my notes from the meeting, and errors can be corrected.

County Legislator David Denenberg arranged this meeting at the Seaford Library, for 7:30 p.m.  Dan, a legislative assistant, arrived first.  He said Denenberg was at a special session of the Nassau Legislature (true), but would come.  Inspector Joseph Barbieri of the Seventh Precinct would be late.  Dan said that out the consolidation of the First Precinct into the Seventh Precinct is “off the table.”

At 7:50 p.m. Inspector Joseph Barbieri arrived from a meeting at the Seventh Precinct.  He, instead of POP officers, attended our meeting because the Problem-Oriented-Policing officers are busy with school safety, and the POP staff had been cut.

The inspector was at the Seventh Precinct during Sandy, when a 50’ yacht was on Merrick Road and the precinct house was out of service.  He spoke of the danger of future storms.  That is why they purchased SUV’s, which ride higher than sedans.  He spoke about the burglars captured in Massapequa Park because of their footprints in  snow.
---

He spoke of the ways in which thieves scam older people.  Some thieves phone about false IRS bills, or fees for missing jury duty, or a computer virus scam, or a request to call back a certain number.  He mentioned the skimming device found on a Ticket Vending Machine at Baldwin station.  The inspector said we should lock our windows and doors.

He spoke about thieves looking for valuables in cars parked near gymnasiums.

He said that along the park trails, Nassau County Public Safety Officers were patrolling.

8:07 p.m. The Inspector resumed by asking that questions be held until later.

He spoke of strangers and youngsters.

Regarding car break-ins, he said that almost all people caught had an addiction to something stronger than alcohol.  The notion of a drug user as a dirty junkie is passé.  One problem is that heroin has become cheap, $6 to $8 a bag.  He thanked the County Executive and the Legislature for attempting to provide kits to revive people who have overdosed.
---

8:16 p.m. Legislator David Denenberg arrived from a session that was featured in Newsday the next day.

Denenberg said the funerals from overdoses tend to be people in their 20’s. High school students attend forums on drugs, but there seems to be little done with the college-age person, where the deaths have spiked.

The Inspector said one problem is the family medicine chest as the source of overdoses.  Denenberg said that problem houses should be reported to 911, so that police can begin some form of observation.

A member of the audience asked Denenberg whether he felt he was getting enough NY State support on blocking the supply chain.  Are both the state and the feds active on the borders?  No, cutting off the drug supply is the task of the federal government.  On other drug-stopping issues, Denenberg  sees no leadership from the state.

He praised the Southeast Nassau Guidance Center, but both the state and the county have cut their budgetary support.  Denenberg pointed out that the red-light camera review was supposed to have funded similar programs, but the funds are being sent to the general fund.
---

A member of the audience complained about the lack of enforcement of one-hour parking on Locust Avenue near the car dealers.  Denenberg replied: Phone 911, not the precinct.  We pay a telephone charge for the Enhanced 911.  Not only does the 911 center, rather than the precinct, dispatch sector cars, but it keeps a record of the actions taken.
---

A member of the audience complained about drugs and romps at the dead ends of Mermaid Avenue and Wantagh Avenue, north of St. Regis Street. The inspector promised increased visits by patrol cars.

A member of the audience complained about a construction business making excessive noise.  The inspector said that the police department does not have decibel-reading machines.

A member of the audience inquired whether overdoses were followed by inquiries about the source of the drugs.  A user could be offered a plea bargain in return for information, but an arrest could also block the process of getting more information.  The inspector made a reference to arresting those who sell alcohol to minors.  He also said that opiate medicines should be treated like firearms in the house, under lock.
---

How large is the police force?  I think I heard Denenberg say it was 2,200 officers, historically quite low.  This drives up the cost of overtime.

A resident complained about the unloading of new cars from automobile delivery trucks when it is done on Seaford Avenue south of Sunrise Highway.

When I praised the diminishing number of obscured license plates, Denenberg and the inspector lauded the use of license-plate scanners atop two of the county’s police cars.

The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
---

Please note that the April 2, 2014, issue of the Massapequa Post has an article describing Inspector Barbieri’s presentation to the mayor and Board of the Village of Massapequa Park.  They complain that larceny arrests at Sunrise Mall draw sector patrols away from the village.
---
For a report on a 2010 meeting, please click here.

Seaford library budget passes 157-22

The Seaford Library budget vote was held on April 2, 2014.  The budget passed, 157-22 (179 votes cast).
James DiPietro won the seat on the Board of Trustees, 135-78 (213 votes cast).

Penultimate snow of March, 2014

The winter of 2013-2014 brought a series of snowfalls and low temperatures to Long Island, but not in such great amounts that the highways were blocked by the snow.  How many Snow Days did Seaford schools experience?  Maybe four.  The above photo of March 3, 2014, shows the accumulation when three inches were predicted.
---
A wet snow of about an inch fell during the early hours of March 31, 2014.  By noon, it melted.

Harold Bruechert remembered

On October 22, 2013, Wantagh resident and volunteer fireman (former captain) delivered a informative, interesting history of the Wantagh Fire Department at a meeting of the Wantagh Preservation Society.  Sad to relate, he passed away the last week of January, 2014.  His obituary, published in Newsday 1.29.2014, is linked here.

---

After the second snow of 2014

Some scenes from January 22, 2014:

Tackapausha Museum, along Washington Avenue.

A Town of Hempstead plow at work.

After the first snow of 2014

It's noon on Saturday, January 4, 2014, and travelers await a train to New York City.  The roads were cleared overnight, and the train service continued without interruption.
---
Clicking on a photo will enlarge it.