North High to hold graduation parade due to coronavirus pandemic

Dan Offner

Due to the social distancing requirements caused by the coronavirus outbreak, Great Neck North High School will hold a graduation parade on June 11 as an alternative to traditional high school commencement ceremonies.

The Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees unanimously approved plans for a car parade, to be held from 2 to 4 p.m., via a Zoom conference call on Tuesday.

The parade will begin at the Parkwood parking lot, go onto Arrandale Avenue, move past the middle school onto Polo Road, then at the roundabout by the high school turn onto Brokaw Lane toward Middle Neck Road, ending near the train station.

According to the board, cars will be lined up into five rows of 60 spots at Parkwood and will depart in three groups. The two-hour estimate is based upon vehicles driving five miles per hour and includes 30 additional minutes of delay. There are a total of 300 parking spots at Parkwood and the plan calls for the use of every other spot.

To further lift the spirits of the high school graduates and parents, the Board of Trustees also approved hanging up navy and orange banners along Middle Neck Road to honor the class of 2020.

The banners will be funded by parents’ donations and help from the PTAs of all schools willing to donate and will remain up through the month of June.

“The school didn’t give us any budget so we’re asking all the school PTAs to chip in,” the applicant said during the live Zoom chat. “Since we didn’t put any specific school on it, we thought we would just honor all the graduates from all the schools in Great Neck.”

She added that while the organizers are aiming to put up 20 throughout the area, “I want to put up as many as possible.”

Village trustees have also set aside a public hearing date for June 2 to discuss a proposed amendment to local law, which if approved by the Board of Trustees, would no longer require board approval for swimming pool applications.

Effectively this law would allow the superintendent of buildings to make the final determination on such construction, provided it meets village code.

The board also voted on two of three applications presented for the addition of a swimming pool.

One of the houses, located at 96 Station Rd., belongs to Mayor Pedram Bral, who recused himself from the presentation.

Building Superintendent Stephen Haramis said that the request to build a 20-by-40-foot in-ground pool meets all requirements, pending the board’s approval of a four-and-a-half foot variance.

“Everything is code compliant,” Haramis said. “It meets all the requirements.”

He further explained that there is nothing behind the rear of the yard except for empty lots and that a waiver would not have a significant impact on the welfare or safety of the community.

With Mayor Bral abstaining, the board voted 4-0 to allow the variance.

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