Massapequa Cares Honored at Village Board Meeting

Massapequa Park residents not forgotten those who've served their country, nor have they forgotten those who've lent a hand to veterans.

Those who volunteered for the Massapequa Cares event held on April 17 were recognized at Monday night’s Village Board Meeting including a special Girl Scout.

For the past 24 years Massapequa Cares has been giving to veterans in the area.

This year, they got  a little help from a Girl Scout named Alli Philbin, who was working to earn  the Gold Award, the highest level a Girl Scout can reach

Massapequa Care’s Bill Colfer explained that Philbin asked if she could help by gathering merchandise and other things to help with the event. She did that and then some.

Philbin raised about $3000 in goods from places like JCPenney, , and .

She even wrote to casinos about the event and had them send decks of cards. Colfer said his house was filled with more decks than he knew what to do with.

“She’s just a wonderful, wonderful young lady, she really is," Colfer said. "And she did a tremendous job for us. Probably more than any single person that we have had in the whole 24 years of Massapequa Cares. She’s a gem.” 

Commander Richard Begandy of   also praised the dedicated scout.

“This young lady exemplifies what America is all about," he said. " We hear too often about the bad side of the youth of this country. Very rarely do we hear about the good side of the youth of our country."

Massapequa Cares gives gifts to veterans in nursing homes that they don’t usually receive, such as pajamas, bathrobes, and slippers, according to Colfer.

After the presentation, the board resumed with its regularly scheduled meeting.

One topic discussed was that the Planning Commission will be doing a study on Parking Lot 2, located on Front Street and Seventh Street, to determine whether or not the village can change the configuration of the lot.

“We don’t have the need for the employee parking as much as we have there, so we’re looking to reconfigure that parking lot to give more to the merchants and to the residents for parking,” Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna said.

Altadonna is not sure when the situation will be resolved.

“That’s up to the Planning Commission. They will take their time studying Parking Lot 2, and then they’ll render their suggestions,” Altadonna said.

The next Village Board Meeting will be held on May 23.