Coalition for Glen Cove

Glen Cove Mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp speaks at Coalition for Glen Cove meeting

Glen Cove mayor Mary Ann Holzkamp, guest speaker at the October 13^th meeting of the Coalition for Glen Cove, outlined the services that the city provides for youth.

The mayor said that the Glen Cove Youth Board recruits adult mentors who become friends with individual students and help them with their courses and making decisions. Coalition member Ronnie Lavine commented that the Connolly-School Site-based Committee feels that an expanded mentoring program, possibly including senior citizens, would be a tremendous help to the schools.

The Youth Board Learning Center in the Housing Authority provides training in computers and access to computers for those who may not have them at home. There are also computers available at La Fuerza Unida and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club. The Board, together with the carpenters’ union, provides training in the construction trades, leading to apprenticeships and jobs. The Youth Board Summer Youth Employment Training Program gave fifteen young people work skills and responsibilities while they worked in Glen Cove, on the waterfront esplanade, and on the preservation of parts of the Regina Maris last summer.

The Youth Board Rent-a-Kid office (516-676-4600) connects young people with Glen Covers who need babysitting or help with yard work or home maintenance.

The Board cooperates with the Glen Cove High School Social Studies Department to run the Community Action Using Student Empowerment (CAUSE) class each year which teaches leadership and community service to prepare high school seniors to become informed, responsible, and involved citizens. The CAUSE class organizes the annual high school talent show and Halloween dance, registers students to vote, makes monthly visits to Glen Cove nursing homes, meets with Nassau and Suffolk legislators, and has held smoking and violence prevention sessions for high school students and recycling and cleanup sessions with elementary students.

The Youth Board runs supervised activities at Pryibil Beach Wednesdays through Saturdays from 8 PM to midnight during July and August and provides a bus from School Street to the beach.

Coalition and school board member and Youth Board family services director Carol Sucharski noted that Teen Night at the YMCA is a huge success. On Saturday evenings 8^th to 12^th graders are granted access to the entire YMCA facility, including the pool, weight room, and basketball court. The city provides a bus to bring the teens to the Y.

When asked about other opportunities for recreation, Mayor Holzkamp pointed out that previous administrations had worked to bring the bowling alley and the movie theater to Glen Cove. The theater has recently been purchased by a new owner who is cooperating with the city to improve the choice of films and to reduce the number of people hanging out on the sidewalk near the theater.

The Glen Cove Department of Parks and Recreation maintains the city’s excellent soccer, lacrosse, and baseball fields, and basketball and tennis courts used by the Junior Soccer, Junior Baseball, Junior Softball, Junior Football, and Junior Lacrosse Leagues. Parks and Recreation also runs a city summer camp for 400 children between the ages of four and twelve that includes arts and crafts, tennis and swim lessons, trips to Nassau County pools, roller skating, movies, and bowling. The city provides certified water-safety instructors who offer swim lessons at Pryibil Beach during the summer.

The Department of Parks and Recreation also runs evening recreation during the school year at the high school, offering basketball, weight lifting, and floor hockey. The city hosts the Mets Camp, a soccer camp, the Big Red Sports Camp and the Robbie Wagner Tennis Camp and the Glen Cove Police Boxing Club provides facilities and training for Glen Cove residents eight years old and above.

In response to a question from Richard Tortorici, Mayor Holzkamp said that the City of Glen Cove purchased the Coles School from the Glen Cove School District, providing money for the District to use for maintenance and repair of its other buildings. Had the building been sold to a private landlord the city would have lost control over the development of a large and important piece of property. The Solomon Schechter School has a long term lease on the building.

Coalition president Don Scarl introduced Diane Yatauro, candidate for Nassau County Legislator, and Charles Lavine, candidate for Glen Cove City Council.