Many locals in our town know Jordana and Stan Levine. If you have kids in the Great Neck public schools, you know. If you are active with PTA/ PTO or a school parent, you know. If you are a member of Temple Beth El, you know. If you are a Halloween fan, you know. And, to know them is to love them.
Jordana and Stan both hail from Brooklyn. In 1998, they were newly married and set up their first Great Neck nest at an apartment on Schenk Avenue in the village of Thomaston. (Per Jordana, take note. It is pronounced “skank” not “shenk”).
The Levines still reside in Thomaston and have three adult children, aged 23, 21, and 18. It is an understatement to say that their kids and youth, in general, are at the center of their lives.
Jordana regularly finds herself in leadership positions. Jordana has a master’s degree in social work and certification in Jewish Communal Services, which basically means she was trained and destined to run things.
A lifelong “do-er,” she has held every volunteer position imaginable, from North High PTO president to Hadassah president to Temple Beth El president. Just recently, on March 21, Jordana was honored with the Lily Wang Award at the Great Neck Chinese Association Gala at Leonards for her community service contributions and advocacy on behalf of the Great Neck community.
Great Neck is no slouch in the community organization department. We have featured several in prior columns. Still, good helpers are hard to find. Volunteers like Jordana Levine are priceless.
With coffee in hand, she gets her “biggest joy” by connecting people and advocating for Jewish causes, especially in this post-10/7 world. As for Stan, he is a stand out at the Temple Beth–El annual comedy show as a stand-up, joke writer and his regular role as the MC.
These days, we all need to laugh and Stan delivers. When asked what drives her to do so much selfless work for the community (read: as an unpaid volunteer), Jordana says she is driven by “tikkun olam”, the Hebrew phrase meaning “repairing the world.” As she puts it, “it is incumbent upon all of us to do what is best for all”.
Aside from their local community work, Jordana and Stan are otherwise hooked on Halloween. Some twenty years ago, Jordana started by setting out pumpkins outside their door as holiday décor, but the gourds were intercepted by squirrels and disappeared. Not to be deterred, that led to the Levine’s growing collection of faux pumpkins and other decorations.
Today, with Stan as the director/ producer, the Levines’ “Highland Hallows” house has morphed into a theme- park worthy tricked -out spectacle with interactive characters, lights and sounds.
Recently featured in Newsday, the Levine’s festive and scary installation is the biggest Halloween House spectacle around. It’s a huge bonus that Jordana loves candy so much. Many of the treats find their way to her private stash.
As for Stan, the annual production and displays are a labor of love. He relishes the positive feedback from neighbors, family and friends and looks forward (& prepares) for Halloween week every year. With Jordana at his side, Levine’s spirit and teamwork make their dream work. Fun fact, they are both shameless pranksters and their kids are willing victims.
Of course, Jordana shops locally. This is no surprise. She loves to browse and spend at Red Boutique, Janet’s Collection and Great Zakka in town. Jordana does her best to avoid online “add to cart” and rather finds a parking spot, gets out of her car, and waits in line at local stores, as we all should.
Imagine. Jordana misses some of the past standouts, especially Country Café. “Their yogurt salad dressing and hazelnut coffee was the best!” Jordana, like many of us, misses the days when Great Neckers and visitors would walk around town, where we “knew everyone” – more of that neighborhood feel.
For eats, Jordana loves Rothchilds, Lola, Deli on the Green, and Kama. Bonus points if French fries or a great salad are on the menu.
So, what can we add to the retail mix in 2025 to make it “better”? Jordana believes we need a great coffee shop with couches, big mugs, sweets, board games, and maybe a wine bar. At night there could be local board meetings. Sounds like a winning idea!
And what about Great Neck hometown pride? Is there hope? Jordana feels optimistic. “We are a safe and beautiful town with good schools. Let’s be less tribal, more engaged, and connect in real conversations so we can all get along.”
Many, including Jordana have observed that we would do better if the nine Great Neck village leaders worked together, we are all interrelated, after all. “We need a town planner to envision the economic corridor, more unification of the villages to better connect us.”
Jordana also feels that there is too much real estate development permitted by the villages with jurisdictions along Middle Neck Road. “All of it is at the expense of and burden to local residents.”
Jordana believes we can and should “agree to disagree” about partisan politics. We are all good people who wish the best for our families, no matter what lane we are in. We must remember that, then learn from each other and celebrate our differences.
Jordana learned that ideal from her father, who was a teacher and guidance counselor in Park Slope. It is a tall ask, but Jordana’s idealism is irrepressible and contagious. Maybe it will all turn out okay? (Hey, we finally got our supermarket back!) Let’s all manifest the possibilities.
We can make Great Neck hip again! (great again?) given the abundance of our resources, celebration of our diversity and ultimately, our joining together in fellowship. Meanwhile, from all of us in Great Neck—thank you, Jordana and Stan. We appreciate your dedication to our town, your Halloween obsession, and, most of all, your ability to somehow make community service look fun.
Janet Nina Esagoff, a longtime Great Neck resident, founded Destination: Great Neck, a 501c3 community organization, in 2021. (Follow @greatneckbiz.) In 2017, Janet launched her eponymous litigation firm, Esagoff Law Group PC, in her hometown of Great Neck. Prior to the law, Janet was the owner/ operator of “Party Girl,” a popular girls/ teen boutique specializing in custom-made special occasionwear located on Bond Street.
