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Image provided by: Freeport Memorial Library
sinsrtstem as m& sex weteM www.freeportbaldwmleader.com Freeport Idtst Ifeaii N& 42 Freeport, N.Y. 11520 A HeraM Community Newspaper Thursday, October, 20, 2016 $1.00 Care Center probed for possible contamination Pages Freeport Week Ahead Page 5 Schools test for lead Page 6 Changing Face of LI. Page 10 Photos by Laura Schofer/Herald OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy was on hand for a ribbon cuttingteremony and opening of the new Target store in Freeport. Target opens in Freeport By LAURA SCHOFER lschofei@liherald.com It's here. Target has opened a store in the Meadowbrook Commons in Freeport. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 18, followed by its unofficial opening to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 8 a.m. By 9 a.m. about a dozen shoppers were browsing the aisles. \It's beautiful,\ Anita Fletcher, of Freeport, said. \I heard they were going to open on Facebook, so I ran over this morning. I need- ed a few things before work,\ she said referring to her basket filled with cosmetics. \I'm so happy to have this in Freeport. Now I don't have to travel to Westbury\ Freeport's Target store is a \flexible format store\ that is designed for a small- er space. The Freeport store is about 46,000 square feet. \Through Target's flexible format stores, we're able to build customized stores in urban centers to suit each neighborhood's wants and needs,\ Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Properties, Target, said in an email. Whitney McGinn, store team lead- er, or manager, said the flexi-format is built to suit Freeport's market. READY, WRUNG AND ABLE Target employees at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Freeporfs Target is now open for business. \This store caters to families. There is a large selection of groceries and kids apparel. It's also for those who just need to run in and pick up some- thing quick.\ In addition to apparel and its gro- cery store, there is an assortment of home products, toys and sporting goods. There's also a Starbucks. Ser- vices include Target Mobile and Order Pick-up, which allows customers to order products that may not be available in the Freeport store. \I've been getting hun- dreds of calls from resi- dents asking when Target will open,\ Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. \We are very pleased to have you here.\ Niki Tonnesen, District Manager for Target said the company hired between 60 and 65 local hires from the Freeport community. \Freeport has been a very welcom- ing community,\ McGinn said. \It's been a great partnership with the community and we are excited to be up and running.\ Freeport Target will officially open on Sunday, Oct. 23 at which time Target will distribute reusable bags and plush Bullseye dogs to children. Millions earmarked to combat zombie homes T By ANTHONY RIFILATO and LAURA SCHOFER arifilato@liherald.com, lschofei@liherald.com New York state was recent- ly awarded a $3.2 billion settle- ment from Morgan Stanley after the firm's scheme to mar- ket mortgage- ties contributed to the collapse of the housing market in 2008 and the ensuing recession. Ironi- cally, the state is awarding mil- lions of that set- tlement to local municipalities to clean up thou- sands of vacant and abandoned properties that have been dubbed \zombie homes,\ many of which have been vacant since the hous- ing crisis and Superstorm Sandy Town of Hempstead Coun- cilwoman Erin King Sweeney said that there are zombie homes in every community in her district, which includes parts of Wantagh, Seaford, Merrick, Bellmore, Baldwin, Freeport, Point Lookout and Lido Beach. \I would say this is one of the top five issues I hear about on a day-to-day basis,\ she said. \It's a horrible blight on the community There are var- oo many homeowners across New York are still struggling to rebuild their communities in the wake of the housing crisis caused by major banks. ERIC SCHNE1DERMAN New York State Attorney General ious safety issues involved, the values of the homes and prop- erties go down and when you throw the economy and the aftermath of Sandy into it, it's the perfect storm.\ Although legislation was passed in 2015 to help keep zombie proper- the town can't always go in and act. Sweeney said that legisla- tors have contin- ued to put pres- sure on business owners, land- lords and banks by implement- ing a 30<lay rule of securing or demolishing the property \There are all of these require- ments and laws that go into effect when there is a vacant home on private property,\ she noted. \There is also a host of problems for nearby neighbors who have to deal with the vacancies.\ Sweeney recalled homes that she has seen south Bell- more, at which bugs and ani- mals occupied the backyard. Officials also suspected that squatters were living in the local houses, which Sweeney said creates more complica- tions. \If squatters move in, the eviction process gets tricky CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 m* OH en L lrOZ/PZ/80 9/7 992.6 1 W 'ili'll-