Feb. 18: Headlines From Around LI

Some news  from around Long Island  this week.

Bollinger's to Close in Farmingdale

 Bollinger's Family Restaurant in Farmingdale will close Sunday after decades on Main Street. The old-fashioned ice cream parlor dates back to the 1900's, when it opened as Von Leesen's. Fred Bollinger took over and renamed it more than a decade ago before retiring in October 2010 and selling it to current owners Jim Brennan and Joe Tinisi.

"The decision to close is financial," Brennan said on Wednesday. "Last winter there were a lot of days we couldn’t even open. Plus a lot of other businesses in Farmingdale have went out, which has hurt."

LIPA to Plant New Trees in Malverne After 'Aggresssive' Trimming

The leaves aren't the only thing missing off of trees around Malverne and West Hempstead right now. Many have lost their limbs, some at the hands of Long Island Power Authority workers, as the company takes an "aggressive" approach to trimming the trees in the area, says Paul Jessup, superintendent of Malverne's Department of Public Works. Utility companies could be hit with hefty penalities if one of their transmission lines is brought down by a branch, say during a storm, because they have failed to maintain the minimum clearance levels.  Jessup told the village board that LIPA's "aggressive" trimming efforts have "destroyed" the trees on Ackley Court, but he's been in talks with the company to resolve the issue.

Mark Gross, a spokesman for LIPA, said that upon the request of Malverne DPW, LIPA had returned to trim the trees some more in an attempt to fix their awkward shape but that plan didn't work. Therefore, they have now agreed to cover the cost of replacing the pine-oak trees on Ackley with a more "wire-friendly" species that typical won't grow as tall and has thinner branches.

Massapequa School Officials Hint at Layoffs

The Massapequa School District may be forced to lay off teachers as a result of the coming budget shortfall. At a budget presentation at last week's Board of Education meeting, Deputy Superintendent Alan Adcock hinted at the possibility while answering a question posed by Joe Garbarino, the chair of the Massapequa Committee for Educational and Fiscal Responsibility. When Garbarino expressed the opinion that the district doesn't need as many teachers because enrollment is down, Adcock responded that the number of teachers may drop.

Islanders: The Clock Is Ticking

Urgency to build a new Coliseum was conveyed at Tuesday's Nassau Legislature Economic and Community Development and Labor meeting. "We have to make a decision on the Coliseum," New York Islanders Senior Vice President and Alternate Governor Michael Picker pleaded in front of the legislature.

Picker was joined by local politicians and labor officials who urged redevelopment at Nassau's HUB before time runs out.

The idea of public funding might seem insane to Nassau residents, who handily defeated a public referendum on Aug. 1, 2011 to fund a new Coliseum, but according to Picker and Richard Bivone, chairman of the LI Business Council, public funding is necessary.

South Huntington School Board President Honored

 South Huntington School Board President Jim Kaden has been named Advocate of the Year by the New York State Boards Association. Kaden will be honored March 11 in Albany. Each year, the NYSBA honors one person for work which serves as an inspiration to other local school leaders about the importance of state and federal advocacy to public education, according to nomination guidelines.