🌱 Sloths In Seaford + Massapequa Zombie House Razed

Good morning Merrick! Merlin Douglass here, your twice-weekly guest curator. We’ve passed the hump and we’re winding our way to the weekend. Here’s the news you need to start your Thursday.

First, today's weather:

It won’t surprise you to hear it’s going to be rainy today. High: 53 Low: 45

Here are the top five stories in Merrick today:

1. The town of Oyster Bay is looking better. The city has decided to tear down a dilapidated “zombie” house on Alhambra Road in Massapequa on Monday. The homeowner has been cited with multiple maintenance violations but never made the improvements necessary to make the dwelling safe. Residents complained about the deteriorating property and city officials decided the only way to correct the situation was to take down the structure. (Patch)
2. Three Long Island young men were in custody Saturday after being arrested and charged with discharging a weapon outside of the Roosevelt Mall on April 2. NCPD Third Precinct officers responding to reports of gunshots located a vehicle matching the description given in the mall incident. The men were arrested without incident and police recovered three handguns. (Daily Voice)
3. Hempstead Village police will wear body cameras, Hempstead mayor Waylan Hobbs said Monday night in his state of the city address. Officers have agreed to wear the cameras while on duty and interacting with citizens. Hempstead officers join Nassau County law enforcement and the village of Freeport in wearing body cameras. Nassau County officers receive a $3,000 annual stipend in return for agreeing to wear the cameras. Hempstead is not planning to pay officers additionally for their cooperation. (Newsday; subscription required)
4. A gruesome accident took place in a cookie factory Tuesday. A woman’s arm was impaled in machinery My Dad's Cookies in Oceanside. Police and EMT personnel disassembled the machine and removed the woman’s arm which was severely lacerated. The woman was then transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation. (Daily Voice)
5. If you’ve ever wanted to meet a sloth close up and personal, this weekend might be your chance. Eddie, the two-toed sloth, is visiting the Tackapausha Museum and Preserve in Seaford for a couple of weeks while she waits to go to her permanent home. The meet and greet costs $200 for up to four people. You can’t hold the sloth but you can feed her and take photos with her. You can also learn what sloths eat and why they aren’t great pets. (Long Island.com)

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Today in Merrick:

• The Hofstra University Museum in Hempstead is presenting an exhibition called The Art of Dogon. The works of the Dogon people of Mali form a large part of the museum’s extensive and highly regarded collection of African art. The exhibit features jewelry, masks and sculptures. (11 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• In the mood for a musical comedy? The Nassau Community College Theater, 333 Earle Ovington Boulevard in Uniondale, is putting on "Urinetown," a satire about capitalism, social irresponsibility, municipal politics and revolution at 7:30 p.m. The play was performed on Broadway in 2001 and was the winner of three Tony Awards. General admission tickets are $18 with discounts for students, seniors, veterans and NCC employees.
• Join many of the area’s most popular weekend comedians in the All Star Comedy Show at The Brokerage in Bellmore tonight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $14 each with a two item minimum per person at the table.

From my notebook:

• Levittown Public School recently announced that local student Ana Compton has been selected to participate in the prestigious Simon Summer Research Program. Entry into the program is highly competitive, drawing applications from around the country. Winners are matched with a Stony Brook faculty mentor and participate in workshops, tours and events. Ana will be working in the Laser Teaching Center while working on an optics project. (Levittown Schools)
• The Episcopal Diocese will offer scholarships to descendants of slavery. The scholarships are in the amount of up to $5,000 per semester. The scholarships and the new Reparations Committee are designed to help the organization position itself as an antiracist church and to begin the work of healing and reconciliation, according to a statement released by the Diocese. The church has raised $1 million for the project, a large portion of which came from the sale of church owned properties. (Newsday; subscription required)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Food Truck Friday's - Levittown (April 8)
• Holy Land Hardball Film Screening (April 10)
• Palm Sunday Brunch and Branches! Free Family Community Event! (April 10)
• Celia Berk Sings: On My Way To You: Improbable Stories that Inspired an Unlikely Path (April 10)
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Announcements:

• Legacy Wood FloorsLLC (Details)
• Behind The Scoreboard – Ed’s Love Of Baseball (Details)
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Thanks for joining me today. Go out and make it a great day! Ash will be here tomorrow for all the important news you need to know.

— Merlin Douglass