Friday, September 15, 2023

TWF 343: Hurricane Lee Isn't Quite Coming to Town

 Hello, friends,


This is a short update to let you know that Hurricane Lee is in the neighborhood, this weekend.

I've found Ryan Hall to be a pretty good meteorologist to listen to.  His prediction is that Hurricane Lee will pass Long Island to the east.  It'll push a lot of water our way.  I was listening to another meteorologist talking about how we aren't likely to get rain or super-heavy wind, but we will experience a pretty severe high tide that might, I suspect, flood parts of the south shore of Long Island.

That means South Freeport might flood, too.



Image courtesy of Accuweather


I was unable to find anything on the Freeport website or the Facebook page for the Office of Emergency Management about predicted impacts, so maybe it won't be that big a deal, but it's still worth being weather-wise.


Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author and part-time journalist who occasionally publishes The Weekly Freeporter when there's important news like hurricane information.  You can find his website here if you're interested in a fantastical adventure of some kind.

Monday, August 14, 2023

TWF 342: Sparkle On Stage At The Esplanade On Thursday, 8/17/2023, at 7:00 PM!

Hello, friends!


This is just a quick signal boost about the Long Island Arts Council and its partnership with Sparkle On Stage to put on the original musical 'Woof!'  If you're in the area and especially if the weather is good, I hope you can make it to the 7:00 PM showing at the Nautical Mile Esplanade.






The Weekly Freeporter is no longer a weekly production, but it gets broken out when a good cause can use a signal boost.  Jesse Pohlman is an author born and raised in Freeport; you can check out his sci-fi/fantasy novels and other projects here at his website.

Monday, July 10, 2023

TWF 341 - Some Randall Park & Lifeguarding Stories

 Hello, friends,


It’s summer-time, and the other day, as I sometimes do I, was driving around south Freeport where I spent thirty years of my life.  My plan was simple:  To swing by Randall Park and say hello to any of my old lifeguard friends who might be working there.  For those who are new to The (once-)Weekly Freeporter, I was a lifeguard for the Village for, give or take, twenty years.


It was, surprisingly for 3:30, closed, with what looked like maintenance work in-progress.


That’s got me feeling like telling some of my stories today.  Nothing too crazy, just some of the experiences I had.


To begin with:  I grew up two blocks away from Randall.  I didn’t go there too often as a child (I did a lot of swimming at the Rec on swim teams), but I started lifeguarding primarily at Randall when I was 16 years old.  It is, by and large, a wonderful thing for the community to have a local pool.  Freeport has two such facilities besides the Rec Center:  Randall at the mouth of the Nautical Mile, and Martin Luther King Jr. Park up on Stevens Street.  I’ve worked at both, and both are fantastic resources that by-and-large have nice people that visit.


Randall Park, photo by the Village.  I know it's not the pool area, but it's a big Randall Park sign!




Swim Lessons At The Rec


Some of the best were my times as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) for the Rec.  I had a practice mostly oriented towards adults.  I taught a few years worth of the Wednesday night Adult Swim classes, but I also did private lessons where I primarily taught adults - many of whom were terrified of the water.


You see, here’s the thing:  When my mom was a kid, she was pushed into water over her head and nearly drowned.  For the rest of her life, she never went into water above her knees.  She never learned to swim, even when I became a swimmer.


Her story was not unique.  I came across many adults who were afraid of various swimming components.  Some were comfortable going into water they could stand in, but couldn’t put their faces in the water.  Others were trickier, being afraid to get in the pool altogether.


It takes a lot of time to get people to trust the water.  My usual method was to let the student hold on to my arm when putting their face in the water.  Oftentimes, this resulted in them clamping down on my arm.  This, in turn, meant that there were definitely days at which I went home to my wife with fingernail wounds.


That was always fun.


I also have to give a shout-out to my time not so much with the Village, but with the Freeport Schools (who I TA’d for) as the assistant boys swim team coach.  I got to watch a whole generation of Freeport lifeguards start as swim-team kids, some of whom were hardly able to swim, and help them elevate their skills so that they could not just compete, but make a bit of cash as lifeguards.  I’m still in contact with a lot of swim team folks.


As a side-note:  I believe that between her work as the head for aquatics at the Rec Center and her role as the head swim team coach for many years, the Rec Center pool should be named in honor of Carole Murphy.  She was an amazing boss, an excellent coach, and an all-around cool person to know.



The Scariest Day Of My Career


I won’t go into too much detail about this, but even though about 90% of lifeguarding is just sitting back in a shade-umbrella and watching a pool, maybe while twirling a whistle, there are emergencies.  They can be all sorts of unnerving - sometimes bloody, sometimes heat-related, sometimes fall-related.


The scariest day of my career, one of the scariest in my life, happened when I was at Randall.  I was patrolling the deck when I observed a woman floating face-down, someone who hadn’t been there thirty seconds ago.  I blew three whistles - our code, at the time at least, for “I need a backboard” - and leaped into action.  I rolled her over with training long-ingrained in my muscle memory, and I threw up a prayer (a successful one, I suppose) that I could observe her breathing.


I will never forget her eyes - she was unconscious, but her eyes were open, staring at the sky, absent.


We put her on the backboard while EMS was on its way.  She regained consciousness as we lifted her out of the water and was clearly terrified. I can’t honestly say I know what happened to her because information doesn’t usually flow back down to us, and what we get are often just rumors.  But we know she survived.  We know that on that day, everyone worked to keep her alive, and we succeeded.


So the next time you see a lifeguard just chilling in a chair ‘doing nothing,’ just remember that somewhere else there’s a lifeguard saving a life.



Filter Follies And Rain Days


Of course, a pool is only as safe as the water is clean.  By and large, Randall (and MLK) are clean pools, but filters are hard to operate.  I received a decent amount of training on how they work.  I know how the water traveled through the pipes, I know how to clean and maintain the waffles in the vat, and I know how to shovel chlorine tablets into a chlorinator, usually without accidental inhalation of anything unpleasant.


With that said, as far back as when I was a kid, there were days when the filters simply would not work.  These situations often led to relatively easy days where one or both pools were closed and our job was to stand by in case of some kind of medical emergency in the park - or, at the very least, there was a lessened demand on our attention with one pool closed, and we got a little extra time away from the sun.


Of course, sometimes this led to patrons getting agitated - and I can't blame them! As much 'fun' as it might have been to be on standby, many of us like our days to be 'the usual day' for better or worse, and unusual days can be good or bad. We get it, we're lifeguards because so many of us grew up in the water and we like to swim, so we sympathize. We just can't help that sometimes old filters don't hold up.


But I’ll never forget the rainy days, the days where we knew there’d be a few hours where we were going to be closed while thunderstorms filled the sky.  We hung out in the office.  Back in the day - in the early 2000’s - we had someone bring in a portable TV to watch. This was a time before cell phones had touch-screens.  Other times, we played board games (Risk and Monopoly were favorites), and we imagined what it would be like if we suddenly had to face a zombie invasion.


Zombies were popular at the time, you see.



All This To Say


Lifeguarding is a great ‘starter job’ for young people to learn responsibility.  You can start saving lives as early as 16.  But it’s a hard job, too.  Sitting outside in hundred-degree heat is draining even if you’re in the shade.  Training and staying in shape for the job is difficult (I resigned in large part because my neck issues became overwhelming).  The easy times seem easy, but the hard times require quick decision making to save a life.


That's training that can last - and start! - a lifetime.


I picked up the Long Island Herald at my dad’s house and I saw that Freeport was talking about how it’s police department had expanded and promoted officers.  I recognized a name on the list of promoted officers and I smiled to myself because I knew that man when he was a youngster.  He wasn’t always the best behaved of the bunch, either, being a little sneaky-sneak with his cell phone once upon a time!  But he turned out to be a good dude, and last I saw him we had a nice chat.


And he’s not the only one I’ve known who has gone into either policing, fire-departmenting, or EMS work.  Many lifeguards use lifeguarding as a starter job for a career in public service, either as first-responders or in some other capacity.  Many others, like myself, become teachers and lifeguard as a summer job while educating during the rest of the year.  It’s like public service was a calling to most of us.


But at the end of the day, the vast majority of lifeguards at the Rec are young folks who are charged with no less a task than saving lives in an emergency.  Whether they’ve been there two decades like I was, or a few weeks like the young man who was second in the water on the day that woman I talked about nearly died, they deserve to get paid well, to be taken care of, and to get respect.


I hope that happens. With that said:


It’s my understanding that contract negotiations are rapidly approaching, and I hope the Village will consider that those young people who are just getting their start in civil service could use a fair paycheck for a fair day’s work. I won't lie - it was widely known that our salary was some of the lowest in the county.


The world is only getting hotter - Last week it hit new record highs - and Freeport is not immune from the weather. Yes, we're on an island where there's some breeze and air exchange, but it still gets hot.  Freeport needs as many lifeguards as it can get, and higher salaries will make sure that when the mercury is high, the pools are open and ready to cool residents and outsiders alike down.



Thanks for reading The Weekly Freeporter.  Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author from Freeport.  You can check his novels out at his website.


Saturday, June 10, 2023

TWF 340: First "Pride On The Mile" In Freeport!

 Hello, friends,


Beautiful beginnings are small.  This is just a quick report on my experience at the Freeport "Pride On The Mile" event I talked about in a previous article, the first such event that's been put together.  It's an ongoing event at the time of reporting, with a Drag Show taking place at 8:00 PM.




The event consists of three major events, disclosed here:




I spoke to a wonderful person at the Vendor Fair who referred me to many other events taking place all across Long Island.  The Vendor Fair is small, yet cozy; but that's to be expected for a first-time event.

I stuck around for a couple of performances at Halfway Down.  They were nice, and the place was fairly crowded so that was an awesome thing to see.

Unfortunately, prior obligations have kept me from being able to see tonight's show.  I would have loved to check it out.

Other considerations?  Parking was plentiful (I remember a time when parking was free, too!), though that might fill up as the night goes on.

And it was wonderful to look down the street and see people like me.  It reminds me of the best parts of Freeport.

Which is why it's strange that I didn't see any endorsements from the Chamber Of Commerce.  That was a bit unusual, and should be rectified next time this event is held.

Anyway, you've got some time to get down to Pride On The Mile!



Jesse Pohlman is the editor and all-around show-runner for The Weekly Freeporter.  He's a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author born and raised in Freeport (Well, born at South Nassau, but that's about as close as it gets, these days), whose website can be found here.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

TWF 339: Air Quality Warnings To Continue Due To Canadian Wildfires

Update 1:  Freeport Schools are closed tomorrow, 6/8/2023.


 Hello, friends,

I hope you're all okay, and I do mean that sincerely because of the air quality situation we have on Long Island.  And New York.  And at least ten other states, if my recent weather report on News 12 was any consideration.

I have to keep this post kind of quick because I have appointments, but I wanted to put out a short thing about the air quality situation we're facing.  After all, if you've taken a look outside your window, you've probably noticed that the sky is orange and the air smells like smoke.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation put out an air quality warning not just for today, but for tomorrow (Thursday the 9th) as well.  News Twelve (I watched their live broadcast, so I don't have a link) said this could continue not just until Friday, but until Saturday as well.

But what's causing this?

First off:  It's mostly global climate change.  That area of Canada is experiencing a heavy drought combined with higher-than-usual temperatures, although supposedly the big fires were accidentally created by Human fires.

But as to this specific event: To my absolutely-amateur understanding, the Jet Stream is pulling the smoke from major wildfires in Canada down through New York, New England, and other states.  Here's what the jet stream looks like at the moment.

Image taken from https://www.netweather.tv/charts-and-data/global-jetstream#2023/06/07/1200Z/jetstream/surface/level/overlay=jetstream/orthographic=-78.61,27.26,712


That lines up pretty well with the New York Times' smoke map:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/us/smoke-maps-canada-fires.html


And, thus, we can't breathe well.

There's not much we can do about it at this point, other than to consider that we need to fix our environment as much and as fast as possible to minimize the number of times this happens in the future.

Mitigation efforts include not going outside  as much as possible (So for the kids in school that means not having outdoor recess), closing windows, making sure air conditioner filters are cleaned out, and all that.

You could also download an air quality monitoring app to your phone.  The Weather Channel just told us that New York's in 355, which is among if not atop the worst in the world.

Be safe.



Jesse Pohlman is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author from Long Island, New York, born and raised in Freeport.  If you're interested in his writing, check out his website here.

Sunday, May 28, 2023

TWF 338: Some Goings-On In Freeport (Memorial Day, Nautical Mile Festival, Pride!)

Hello, friends!

Freeport's got some events coming up I thought I'd touch on real quick.


 - I know it's late notice, but tomorrow (5/29/2023) is Memorial Day, and that means it's time for the Memorial Day Parade.  The Parade will be held along Merrick Road, from Freeport High School to the Freeport Memorial Library.  Step-off is at 10:00 AM.  Many civic groups such as the NAACP will be marching, and the Freeport school bands will be playing.  May you all have a thoughtful Memorial Day.

 - The Freeport Nautical Mile Festival will be held on, well, the Nautical Mile on Saturday, June 3nd, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  Traffic restrictions and parking limitations are definitely going to be a consideration.

 - On Saturday, June 10th, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Freeport will be hosting a Pride parade called "Pride On The Mile."


Jesse Pohlman is the editor and all-around show-runner for The Weekly Freeporter.  He's a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author born and raised in Freeport (Well, born at South Nassau, but that's about as close as it gets, these days), whose website can be found here.

Sunday, April 30, 2023

TWF 337: May 4th School Board Candidate Forum To Be Held By PTA/League Of Women Voters.

 Hello, friends,


Really, *really* short little one, today.  It's pretty much all in the title, except for the time and location, but here goes:  The Freeport PTA is hosting a candidate forum for the school board candidates, to be moderated by the League of Women Voters.

The event will take place on Thursday, May 4th at Dodd Middle School at 7:00 PM EST.  I'd suggest getting there a little early to find a seat, just in case its crowded.  Sadly, it will not be livestreamed, but I encourage you to attend if at all possible, or to appoint a friend to bring back notes/thoughts if you can't.

Please remember that the election itself will be on Tuesday, May 16th - two school board positions are open, but we're also looking at a vote for the school (and, I believe, library) budget, so even if you can't be at the forum, you should definitely get out and vote.

Lastly, please remember that The Weekly Freeporter does not promote or endorse candidates for local elections.


The Weekly Freeporter is a no-longer-weekly publication by Jesse Pohlman, an author from Freeport NY.  Check out his website here.

Monday, March 13, 2023

TWF 336: Nor'Easter Inbound - Expect Some Snow

 Hello, friends,


Just a quick one to remind you (as if you didn't already know) that there's a Nor'Easter headed to New York.  Well, really to the whole north-east.


Here's a look at the current AccuWeather map:  




Now, there's no guarantee there's going to be a lot of snow.  In fact, it seems like there won't be all that much.  Still, here's a list of our usual winter weather advisory tips, though you might not need to get the car off the road for this one (? that's to-be-determined):

Try to stock up on anything you need before the snow gets heavy.  It goes without saying that if you can't drive safely, if you can't move well, then you are at risk of getting injured while walking around, or crashing your car if you risk driving.  I know it's kind of an old motif, but get your "bread and milk" now.
 - Keep your pets and beloved animals inside!!!  They won't be able to move through two feet of snow any better than you will, and if the temperature is cold out, they can get sick or even freeze to death.  Have some compassion.  If you can, put out a large styrofoam box/cooler/something, stuffed with straw, for local stray cats/animals to take shelter in; in these days, compassion is a must.  If you've got some spare pet food, put that out - staying warm burns calories.
 - Help your neighbors clear the snow from their sidewalks if you can.  If possible - and I mean unless you absolutely cannot - clear out a 3-feet circle around your nearby fire hydrants.  (via TJ Johnson.)  Make sure to dress warmly, wear sturdy and stable boots, and take your time shoveling!
 - If the power goes out, be careful with candles! Nobody needs a fire!
 Keep a cell phone handy; a battery-powered radio is a good idea, too.  If you need to report a non-life-threatening emergency, call the Nassau County line at 1-888-684-4274.  For medical emergencies ONLY, use 911.  Charge it up as much as you can as early as you can.
 - Get your car off the road!  Park your cars in your driveway, if you can. (Via FFD member Robert Volpe).  Village lots are typically available for public parking if you can't.
 - Try to have cash available!  In the event that there is no electricity to run credit cards or operate ATMs, you'll want to have money around if you need to pay for anything.
 - Once the storm is over, call your friends and family and see if they're alright!


Anyway, that's really about it.  Just care for each other and we'll be through this hopefully quick!

Sunday, January 22, 2023

TWF 335: Lots Of Library Events Coming Up!

 Hello, friends,

A short one, today.  I've talked about the Freeport Memorial Library previously.  It's awesome.

I saw a post on one of the Freeport Facebook groups that I wanted to talk about.  There's a Freeport Camera Club meeting on Wednesday, January 25th, from 7:00PM-8:45PM.  That got me looking at the library schedule and, hooo boy is it busy!

I encourage you to look for yourself, but here are some highlights:

 - There are apparently multiple sessions of ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for those looking to learn English.

 - There's a social work intern, Kathleen Willig, who will be available at times to help people with any social services, such as emergency housing.

 - There are Yoga, Zumba, and healthy-living classes available, as well as substance abuse counseling.  It's good to have these things in our community!

 - There's a whole chess-club meeting!  I mean, I used to be big into chess.

 - There's even tween anime viewing sessions!



The bottom line is that there are some really cool programs going on, and they shouldn't be forgotten about!


Jesse Pohlman is a science-fiction/fantasy author born and raised in Freeport.  His novels are available through his website.

Thursday, January 12, 2023

TWF 334: A Casino Complex To Replace The Nassau Coliseum?

 Hello, friends,

This'll be a medium-length dive, since news is still breaking on this issue.  Today, our county executive, Bruce Blakeman, declared proudly that Las Vegas Sands is entering into an agreement to build a mega-entertainment complex at the site of the Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum.  



I...Have thoughts.

First up:


What Happened To The Hub?!

If there's one thing Nassau County needs, its homes for our children as they grow into adulthood.  With property values orbiting somewhere beyond the moon, it's unlikely that most just-turned-18'ers with full time, low-wage jobs are going to be able to afford to buy a house any time soon.  And it just so happened that the Coliseum site had 70-odd acres of undeveloped land around it.

The Nassau Hub was supposed to be the answer to this problem.

Developed by RXR, the Hub was billed as "a new suburbia," a "vibrant, walkable mixed-use downtown" in Nassau County.  There would have been a mixture of homes and employers, including an emphasis on research and development centers.

Now, I know the website for the Hub was threadbare and devoid of recent information.  It's latest bulletin was from around the 2019-2020 era.  It spelled a nice picture:  500 housing units (which, while not a lot, is still 500 more than we'd have had otherwise), a massive innovation center organized by Northwell Health, entertainment and retail opportunities, and more.

Unfortunately, the site seems derelict at best, with no updates past 2020.  Maybe that's just from CoVID putting the brakes on things?  Well, the latest news I have was that RXR was granted an extension on the project in September 2022RXR's website still lists the Hub as a project

...But the casino idea was suggested in December 2022?

This is weird.  Maybe the idea was floated and RXR decided it didn't want to be involved?  I can't tell, and a deeper dive is hard to accomplish at this time, but I'm open to tips.


So What's The New Plan?  And how can (will) it go wrong?

Well, there's a lot still to be determined.

First off, the casino everyone's using as the headliner is only 10% of the entire scope of this new version of the Hub.  But with Hofstra immediately adjacent to the property, how long will it be until we read a headline that states, "Hofstra student loses tuition at the roulette tables."  Having been a college student once upon my life (though I was at Hofstra's friendly-rival school Adelphi), I can confirm with 100% certainty that that time in one's life is not necessarily bringing the best impulse control.

Blakeman also says there will be "outdoor community spaces," although without the construction of actual housing in that area, it's hard to tell what that would mean.  Would it be a large park like nearby Eisenhower, open to all County residents?  Or, would this imply that the 500-or-so housing units planned for the Hub are going forward and there will in fact be a community?

Bragging about adding hotels is great (Freeport is pretty driven to build one on the Mile), but while that would certainly add some low-entry-point jobs to the area, it would put even more of a tremendous strain on our transportation systems.  Even when the Coliseum (whose fate in this affair is unknown, according to Alex Costello of the East Meadow Patch) was the only major draw to the area, traffic was known to back up on the Meadowbrook badly, and Hempstead Turnpike was often hard to navigate.  Now - picture being a car accident victim trying to get transported to nearby NUMC, or being a Hofstra or Nassau Community College (it's closer than I thought!) student trying to get to class on time.

I'm not going to dive into the conventional crime-based scare tactics against casinos.  I have no idea how much, or if at all, they effect nearby crime statistics.  I can't imagine it'll be a positive change, but it might not be so bad.  Or, it might.  I don't know that research, and that's a lot of statistics to dig into to get a concrete answer.  The concern is therefore acknowledged.  Do with it as you will.


So What Do I Think?

I think I was much happier with the original Hub solution than I am with what I've heard, here.  We need affordable housing in Nassau County.  We need to reduce our dependence on our already-strained transportation infrastructure.  We need high-paying jobs in cutting edge fields to attract and keep people in our area.  Long Island is getting older; a major Northwell Health research facility was a great idea to address the area's medical needs.

These plans are still in their early phases, of course.  Things could change.  Things are uncertain.  For all I know, they're going to build 1,000 housing units with this! No, hotel rooms don't count.  I don't know, because I don't think there's been much shared about specific developmental plans.

But I'd like to see an area of affordable housing mixed with a modest entertainment suite (so, renovate the Coliseum, I like that place), plus a healthcare facility, plus some green space.  I'm a big fan of green space, especially in communities that might not have much.

Therefore, I would say I am tentatively against this plan.  There's too many unknowns and too many changes proposed from the original Hub idea to consider it a spiritual continuation.  It's a total change.  It's not widely publicized.  It's too focused on spectacles like high-end hotels and casinos, and not on things our community actually needs.

Oh, and, oh my. I must take this swing - One more thing:  Why are the "crime is so awful!" Republicans like Blakeman suddenly backing a casino if there's any crime risk, at all...?

I bet there are rea$ons.


Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York, with thirty years of that time spent in Freeport.  His website can be found at this link.