Sergey Kadinsky

Following hundreds of petition signatures, emails, and calls to control speeding drivers on Woodfield Road, the West Hempstead Community Support Association hosted County Legislator John Giuffre and Inspector Gregory Stephanoff of the Nassau County Police Department on Thursday, October 27, to brief local residents on the situation.

The sidewalk on Broadway outside City Hall hosted a crowd of community leaders, elected officials, and activists in honor of Kew Gardens Hills activist Shimi Pelman and Rabbi Bob Kaplan of the Bronx.

Since my move from Queens to West Hempstead, I’ve had to adjust to mowing my lawn, paying higher property taxes, and encountering a very different political landscape. In Queens, elected officials and candidates have a high degree of visibility, making themselves known to voters by attending community functions, and retail politicking outside stores, shuls, and schools. To my dismay, the visibility of candidates in West Hempstead has been limited mostly to lawn signs, and the vast majority of them are for the Republican contenders.

The fatal incident on Woodfield Road last month, where a 12-year-old boy was struck by a car, highlighted what many West Hempstead residents have known for years, that this road is not safe for pedestrians.

Each decade following the census, federal, state, and city legislative districts have their lines adjusted for changes in the population. The lines reflect communities of interest, based on their ethnicity, race, and income, among other factors. While the Jewish community has been successful in keeping most of Fresh Meadows within the same district as Kew Gardens Hills, in Forest Hills the story is different.

This country has yet to have a Jewish president, but on numerous occasions the kitchen of the White House is kashered for a holiday event. Last week, President Joe Biden and his First Lady Jill Biden hosted Jewish leaders and activists for Rosh HaShanah.