As with the rest of the country, the Roslyn area has recovered smartly from the pandemic. Recovery means, among other things, full employment. That has never been a problem for an industrious people. Still, new jobs are always welcome.
Last summer, a building on 100 Forest Drive in Greenvale was set for an extensive renovation and that means jobs are coming to the Roslyn area.
The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has approved a transaction for Steel K LLC for the purchase and renovation of a 188,000 sq.-ft. building in Greenvale, formally owned and occupied by Slant/Fin.
The project, NCIDA officials said, represents a $38.6 million investment into the community and is set to create or retain a total of 247 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs, plus numerous construction-phase jobs by leasing the space to one or more tenants.
“While it is unfortunate that Slant/Fin moved their operations elsewhere, Steel K’s plan to renovate the building into a desired industrial space will once again turn this property into a job-creating, tax-generating facility for Nassau County,” said NCIDA Chairman Richard Kessel. “The market for quality industrial space continues to remain at record highs so we’re excited to see what type of tenant or tenants this new product will provide and the opportunities it will create for our residents.”
A stable economy means stable local governments. The state and federal government would do well to emulate towns and villages in the Roslyn area.
Year in and year out, boards of trustees in villages such as Roslyn maintain budgets that are lean and efficient.
This year looks to be no different. The Village of Roslyn recently released its tentative budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
The proposed budget, which was approved by the Board of Trustees, stands at $5,502,075, up from $5,318,661 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The village hopes to raise $1,930,570 in revenue, also up from last year’s $1,821,531.
Then there is the Village of East Hills. In 2022, the area’s most populous village achieved a budget without a tax increase for the 12th year in a row.
For the fiscal year, the village budget will total $13, 157, 577. The bulk of that will come from Government Support ($2,575,233), Public Safety ($2,330,845), and Employee Benefits ($2,601,263).
The village hopes to raise $2,307,673 in revenues from items other than real property taxes. That includes $678,050 from Licenses & Permits and $431,207 from State Aid. The village is receiving no Federal Aid. Fines & Forfeitures amount to $300,000 in revenue.
Not all was smooth sailing. Also in the spring, the New York State Comptroller’s office had placed the Village of Roslyn as being “susceptible to fiscal stress” for its near future.
Making the susceptible list is a long way from being in “significant fiscal stress.” Still, it was a surprise since the village, year in and year out, balances its books while keeping the property tax increase well within the state-mandated two percent cap.
As the village’s longtime mayor, John Durkin has presided over each of these balanced budgets. The mayor, not surprisingly, was quick to response. His statement sought to assure residents that any negative ratings will be temporary in nature.
“The Village Board has been monitoring this matter and the Board anticipates that the New York State Comptroller’s designation of ‘susceptible fiscal stress’ will no longer be applied for the fiscal year which ends on May 31, 2022,” the statement began.
“The Village of Roslyn was greatly impacted by COVID which significantly impacted our revenue side of the balance sheet in several areas, including building permits, parking meter fees and Justice Court fines. However, the second half of the 2021/2022 saw our reemergence from the pandemic with expected revenues to exceed expenditures by more than $500,000 even though the Village of Roslyn has never increased real estate taxes that exceed the New York State tax cap.”
The announcement came after State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office conducted its latest round of fiscal scores evaluating local governments with fiscal years ending between Feb. 28 and July 31, 2021.
Roslyn’s overall score was 50.8. The
susceptible range includes those villages and cities within the 45 to 55 percent category. Up to 73 villages and cities have failed to file their financial information.
In other news, the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce held its annual Concert in the Park featuring music from the band, Classic Clapton.
In November, Temple Judea honored its beloved teacher and Holocaust Center Director, survivor Irving Roth by renaming the center in his memory for those who were inspired by and taught by Mr. Roth.
Roth, a prolific speaker, Holocaust educator, and author, served as the Director of the Center from 1997 until his death in February 2021. In addition to speaking to thousands of schoolchildren all over Long Island, he lectured all over the world and accompanied students on trips to Auschwitz through the March of the Living organization. Irving developed the Adopt-a-Survivor program, a nationwide educational program in which students meet with survivors and pledge to give their testimony to others after the survivor is gone.
On the cultural front, Roslyn native Dave Brandwein, after a decade on the road with his “powerfunk” band, Turkuaz, took time to write and produce his new album, Sleeping Sun, Waking Moon.
Ending on a more somber note, the Village of East Hills held a presentation by Edward Rubin, M.D. and his son, Alex, on the lifesaving prescription, Naloxone (Narcan). The drug is used to heal the potential life-threatening effects of opioid overdose.
Does the Roslyn area have an opioid problem? This scourge of rural America has made it to suburbia and that could include East Hills and surrounding villages. It is always imperative to head off such a menace before it takes hold.
The Rubins used a power point presentation on Narcan. They partnered with Kathie Lombardi, Outreach Coordinator at CN Guidance and Counseling Services, to provide a demonstration on how to administer Narcan, and to provide attendees over 18 years of age (and 17 years with a parent present) with complimentary Narcan kits. The two described the opioid epidemic, its impact, and the need to help victims. Through this drug, they explained, lives can be saved, often by teenagers and young adults.
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, an Albertson native, issued his own report on the situation.
“In 2021, 30 New Yorkers per 100,000 died from drug overdoses; 25 per 100,000 New Yorkers died from opioid overdoses in that year, compared to 5 in 2010. New York’s opioid overdose death rates exceeded national rates in both 2020 and 2021,” the report concluded. “Fatalities and death rates grew across all racial and ethnic groups, increasing nearly five-fold for Black New Yorkers, quadrupling for Hispanic or Latino New Yorkers, and tripling for White New Yorkers. In 2020, death rates were highest for White New Yorkers at 28.7 per 100,000 people.”
Local officials are determined that young people in the Roslyn area are never included in such grim numbers.
The Year In Review: Back to normalcy, with warnings
Mayor Michael R. Koblenz, Center, is joined from left to right by employees from CN Guidance and Counseling Services, VEH Student Wellness Committee member Benjy Rubin, Dr. Edward Rubin, VEH Student Wellness Committee Member Eliza Liebowitz, Deputy Mayor Manny Zuckerman, Alex Rubin, Trustee Clara Pomerantz, and Samantha Rubin.
