Readers Write: Honor Joel Liebowitz

The Island Now

About nine years ago the Village of Great Neck Plaza lost one of its prominent residents, Joel Liebowitz. 

Joel served his community with distinction in several capacities for about two decades and, at the time of his passing, was an elected trustee. 

Joel was my neighbor and one of the first people to extend a welcome to me when I moved into the Wyngate section of the Plaza.

Although almost a decade has passed since his death, it is baffling, if not inexplicable, that the current mayor, Jean Celender, the current deputy mayor, Ted Rosen, and current trustee, Gerald Schneiderman, all of whom served for many years with Mr. Liebowitz, have not sought fit or have thoughtlessly forgotten to remember their colleague and a longtime  leader of our village. 

In reality, this group of so-called officials, who like to be known as the “Jean Team”, and who’ve run this once charming jewel of a village into the ground while rewarding themselves with unconscionable salaries and benefits, haven’t even had the decency to dedicate or even conjure up a symbolic gesture in respect to Joel’s years of service.

May I respectfully suggest to the Jean Team that the new and beautiful designer parking lot on Maple Drive, replete with expensive and unnecessary accoutrements like fancy foliage and architectural paver blocks that has taken needless months to build, be dedicated to the memory of Joel Liebowitz and be named “The Joel Liebowitz Municipal Parking Facility”. I’m sure the village will want to work with the Liebowitz family to create proper signage and a proper memorial plaque that will properly honor and recognize the work and the dedication of one of our now departed but dearly respected citizens, Joel Liebowitz. 

I trust this can be done in relatively short order and we can all look forward to a pre-Thanksgiving, Sunday afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony with the Liebowitz family. 

 

Alan A. Gray

Great Neck

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