The Weekly Freeporter

TWF 366: Nor'Easter This Weekend (approx. 9/25/2026-9/28/2026)

2026-09-24T21:21:45.769-04:00

Hello, friends,

I hope you're all doing well. I also hope you've all been paying attention to the weather. If you have, this article comes as no surprise to you; if you haven't, well, take a deep breath.

This applies to all of Long Island, really.

This weekend, we're supposed to be getting a Nor'Easter storm. Accuweather brings you the details, but for the absolute basics:

First, the winds are supposed to be pretty strong starting Friday (I.E. Tomorrow), I'm seeing anywhere from 50-80 MPH depending on where you are. That means stow away anything outside that you don't want blowing around. Also, spend this time preparing in case you lose power.

Second, there's gonna be a lot of rain. A lot. That means roads might flood, so the usual rules apply. Don't try to drive in water that's too deep to see the bottom of, keep an eye out for downed power lines that go into puddles, all that jazz.

Third, when you put the first two together there's a good chance of coastal flooding. It's a full moon, and all that wind is gonna push water around. The Freeport Fire Department doesn't seem to think there is a tremendous risk of flooding beyond today, but it's hard to tell since this information is from yesterday (I.E. Wednesday) and may be outdated as the storm track may have changed.

Accuweather says it's gonna keep raining until Monday. Hopefully by that time the worst is over, but that doesn't mean it will be. Just be prepared with things like keeping your cell phones charged, having some battery backups, having some flashlights on hand, and all that jazz. If you lose power, try not to open your fridge/freezer if at all possible to seal the cold in and hopefully preserve your food - but if it's out for too long, don't feel forced to keep it, either.

Otherwise, yeah. Just be safe.

Jesse Pohlman is an ex-Freeporter who hopes you're all doing well in these trying times. If you want to support his work, he's a fantasy/sci-fi author whose latest novel, Locker's Rebellion, is available in physical print or Kindle format via Amazon.

TWF 365: Interview with Joseph Smith & Jose Cuevas Of Freeport Pride; Big Event On May 30th!

2026-05-28T19:04:57.678-04:00

Hello friends,

I hope we’re all having a great time as summer approaches, and that we’ll be sure to be safe with summer heat. The former lifeguard in me wants to remind you that there are two nearly-free pools in Freeport (Randall Park and MLK Park) that - last I checked, this may be outdated - you just need a Recreation Center Activity Card to use.

Take it from someone who’s treated heat stroke victims: You don’t want that, it’s awful.

Anyhow, yesterday (as of when I’m starting this, anyway) I had the opportunity to speak to Joseph Smith & Jose Cuevas of Freeport Pride! We discussed a lot of things, including what it was like growing up Queer in Freeport, and the fact that this Saturday, May 30th there’s going to be a big Pride event on the Nautical Mile.

This is the fourth year of Pride events being held in Freeport (I’ve been to two of the past three), but this is the first year under a newly-established organization that’s centered on the ideas of intentionality and community togetherness. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk with one another, and here’s the gist of how it went:

In Conversation With Freeport Pride

I started by asking Joseph & Jose what inspired them to start a new organization with a new remit. Aside from what it was like growing up Queer in Freeport, Joseph mentioned that it was “something that’s missing” from the community.

Jose had a more specific story; he was unable to make it to a NYC Pride event, but passed by the Freeport train station and found that so many people were getting off the train having clearly come back from one - and then they sort of just undressed so they could blend in. Paraphrasing, he wondered why people should have to leave their community to enjoy a night as their authentic selves, let alone feel like they had to dress more stealthily when they got home.

Both Jose & Joseph stressed that diversity was another key factor in their decision to get involved in the growing Pride movement years ago. Freeport has always been a diverse community, and there are Queer people born in every community. Me? I’ve always been of the belief that not acknowledging that fact is a mistake.

We talked about some of the things Freeport Pride does that goes beyond just, ‘Hey let’s host a big party’ - and it’s a lot! For starters, they’re involved in a lot of social programs such as anti-bullying initiatives and suicide prevention efforts. They have a Pride For Youth program. They work with Long Island Pride Lions, which is a subsection of Lions International, on projects like providing for food banks, and they’re working on a scholarship fund.

They’ve also taken up a role in advocating for the Queer community at large. Joseph explained it as an “opportunity to bridge the communication gap.” This includes working with other organizations, such as Rockville Center Pride, to write letters to politicians advocating in Queer peoples’ interests. There are other orgs on Long Island that Freeport Pride plans to turn out to when it’s their time to have events, creating a mutual support network that goes beyond any one gathering or group.

All of this comes back to the idea of intentionality. Jose stressed that the goal of the group is to “do good,” and by that he meant all of the aforementioned areas of work. The idea is to bring the community together in every area possible, at every level possible. Some people can offer a lot of time and resources and support via presence and provision; others can only do a little bit because of whatever they have going on in their lives. The point isn’t to just demand others do more, but to provide support and structure for those who do what they can.

My Personal Take On The Pride Movement

I’ll add a personal note: Stonewall? It was a riot. Pride? Started off as a protest.

It’s my personal belief that Freeport Pride is taking the next logical step - the establishment of an enduring organization which blends enjoyable events with sincere purpose. Pride isn’t just some party we go to once a year and then forget about, or some time when we hang flags up and then take them down later. Those are nice perks of the fact that in much (but not nearly enough) of the world, it has gotten easier to be Queer than it was in - say - 1969.

We’re here, we’re Queer, and a lot of people have gotten quite used to that.

But that doesn’t mean that Pride can exist without purpose, and I find myself thinking about what we do individually, as well. I do what I can, when I can, to help people regardless of the community they’re with. I’m also not in the best physical shape (says the guy who needed spine surgery almost a year ago), so while I can’t spend a lot of time at events or protests or physically-demanding work, I do what I can through raising awareness, using social media to share causes in need of support, calling my representatives (as you should really be calling yours), and helping with what resources I have to spare. When I have a platform, I use it to elevate those doing work I cannot - thus, this article!

I’m glad to have had a chance to talk with Joseph and Jose because it really seems like they’ve got that kind of mindset vis-a-vis doing more than just the symbolic, and while I know their organization is larger than just the two of them and it takes many hands to make the work solvable, I’m confident they’re two sets of hands that will do fine with making Freeport and its surrounding community better.

Don’t forget to swing by the Nautical Mile this Saturday, May 30th for a great time, and contribute what you can.

TWF 364: Upcoming Board Of Elections & Budget Vote - Tuesday, May 19th, 2026

2026-05-07T18:22:00.004-04:00

Hello, friends,

It's been a while, hasn't it? I hope you're all doing well. I don't have particularly much to say today, especially as you've already read the title of this post.

There is a School Board and School Budget vote taking place on Tuesday, May 19th, 2026. This is, in many ways, an ordinary election: There are seats up for re-election and there is a school budget to attend to.

This is your reminder that The Weekly Freeporter does not endorse candidates exclusively local to Freeport, seeing as I no longer live there.

With that said, we have reported on some of the controversies taking place in the district. Whatever you think of what's taking place, the metaphorical temperature is already higher than normal.

This is also an exceptional election because, unlike ordinary elections where two board seats are available, there are three school board seats up for election this year. This would constitute a majority of the school board being up for grabs, so it is especially important that you vote if you have a stake in how things proceed. Whether you want to lock in the current course or change direction in a significant way, with a majority up for election you can guarantee a path forward of your choice if you vote and organize others to get out and vote for you.

Again, we do not endorse Freeport-exclusive candidates here, but we do endorse voting itself, and we do endorse researching before you do so. Please do your own research into all of the candidates, and please vote for who you believe will do the best job for Freeport's future.

Also, don't forget to vote your opinion on the budget. That's very important.

I may not live in Freeport anymore, but I do care how my old friends are doing, and I want my hometown to succeed - whatever its definition of success might be.

Jesse Pohlman is a former Freeporter and former Freeport High School Employee who presently resides in Mineola, but still has friends he cares about in his hometown. His website can be found here, he has a new book coming out which you can pre-order on Amazon Kindle here, and he'll continue providing occasional election reminders, weather alerts, and other reporting as long as people are reading!

TWF 363: Another Big Winter Storm Incoming Sunday, February 22nd!

2026-02-21T16:40:00.004-05:00

Hello, friends,

I'm going to keep this quick because you've presumably already heard already, but over the course of the past day or two the outlook for this weekend's snow storm went from, "Eh, some snow, but not bad" to "Oh crap there's a lot, huh?"

For those curious about the details, check out Ryan Hall's video about it here.

Otherwise, the quick and clean is that the usual rules apply: Prepare as soon as plausible if you still have preparations to do. Get cars off the road overnight. Be aware of possible flooding with this one since water tables are already pretty high, especially after yesterday's rain.

To be honest, the worst-case numbers are a bit scary, I know; but I'm hopeful and not expecting too much more than a foot and a half. Nothing Freeport hasn't dealt with before.

I'm honestly more concerned about the possibility of power outages caused by the combination of wet, heavy snow and high winds.

All the usual advice is below:

- Keep a cell phone handy; a battery-powered radio is a good idea, too. If you need to report a non-life-threatening emergency, call the Nassau County line at 1-888-684-4274. For medical emergencies ONLY, use 911. Charge it up as much as you can as early as you can. FWIW I recently picked up a few battery banks and a small solar panel to charge them just in case.

- Try to stock up on anything you need before the snow gets heavy. It goes without saying that if you can't drive safely, if you can't move well, then you are at risk of getting injured while walking around, or crashing your car if you risk driving. I know it's kind of an old motif, but get your "bread and milk" now.

- Keep your pets and beloved animals inside!!! They won't be able to move through a foot and a half of snow any better than you will, and if the temperature is cold out, they can get sick or even freeze to death. Have some compassion. "Winter dogs" are the exception; your husky will probably enjoy the storm more than you do. If you can, put out a large styrofoam box/cooler/something, stuffed with straw (NOT blankets; straw reflects heat), for local stray cats/animals to take shelter in; in these days, compassion is a must. If you've got some spare pet food, put that out - staying warm burns calories.

- Help your neighbors clear the snow from their sidewalks if you can. If possible - and I mean unless you absolutely cannot - clear out a 3-feet circle around your nearby fire hydrants. (via TJ Johnson.) Make sure to dress warmly, wear sturdy and stable boots, and take your time shoveling! If a storm is a big storm, don't be afraid to do it in multiple smaller batches (like 3-4 shovels) versus one big all-at-once.

- If the power goes out, be careful with candles! Nobody needs a fire!

- Don't plug space heaters into power strips! Those things aren't designed to work for space heaters.

- Get your car off the road! Park your cars in your driveway, if you can. (Via FFD member Robert Volpe). Village lots are typically available for public parking if you can't part in your own spots.

- Try to have cash available! In the event that there is no electricity to run credit cards or operate ATMs, you'll want to have money around if you need to pay for anything.

- Once the storm is over, call your friends and family and see if they're alright!

TWF 362: Winter Storm "Fern" Arriving Sunday-Monday, Jan 25th-26th

2026-01-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends,

A real short one today to let those of us living under rocks know there's a huge winter storm coming this weekend. If we're the first place you're hearing this, well, here's your warning to not be scared, but get prepared.

Ryan Hall has the predictions as per usual, though check his channel regularly for updates.

The gist is that it should start snowing (I believe) early Sunday morning and it'll snow into Monday evening. This is a tricky storm to predict in a tricky place to predict, so we might get 10 inches, we might get a foot and a half. It's hard to say and we'll get more certain information as we get further along.

This is nothing we haven't seen before, but it's been a while so just take it seriously and be responsible for yourself and those around you. I know up by me in Mineola they've already salted the roads to make the first pass easier.

Here's our usual winter weather advisories; use as you see fit. Leave a comment if you see something you'd like to have added.

- If the power goes out, be careful with candles! Nobody needs a fire!

- Don't plug space heaters into power strips! Those things aren't designed to work for space heaters.

- Try to have cash available! In the event that there is no electricity to run credit cards or operate ATMs, you'll want to have money around if you need to pay for anything.

- Once the storm is over, call your friends and family and see if they're alright!

TWF 361: Vigil For Renee Good at Freeport LIRR Station, 5:00 PM Sunday January 11th

2026-01-10T17:01:00.003-05:00

Hello, Freeport,

Just a very short one for you today; just spreading the word that there'll be a candlelight vigil for the murdered Renee Good at the Freeport LIRR station on Sunday, January 11th at 5:00 PM EST. You can see the details below.

If you can't make that one, there's one at the Nassau County Executive building at 1:00 PM which I will be doing my absolute best (assuming my back is stable) to attend.

If you live under a rock and don't know what happened, I covered the ICE murder of Renee Nicole Good in a Dystopian Report, linked below. Most of the details of my at-the-time reporting have proven true, or at least reasonably consistent with the originally available video footage.

Otherwise, get on the line to your representatives (in Freeport, I do believe that's Laura Gillen, who managed to spit out a sentence a day late) and Senators (Chuck "Sellout" Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand) and demand that they abolish ICE.

Or primary one of them. I dunno.

TWF 360: Chaos In The School District

2025-11-29T16:03:00.005-05:00

Hello, friends,

I’ve been bemused by some of the things I’ve been hearing coming out of Freeport for a while now, I’ve kept my thoughts to myself for the most part for reasons I’ll explain in a sentence or two, but I think it’s finally time I give them some written form.

So let’s get the obvious disclaimers out of the way:

Disclaimer Time.

1: I no longer live or work in Freeport. I’ve said this in at least half of the latest articles, but, yeah. Consider my opinion to be that of a former resident’s, as someone who isn’t impacted personally by what happens.
2: I am a former Freeport High School Teaching Assistant from 2010-2015. That means I actually know some of the people involved in this drama. I was also the assistant coach for the boys’ swim team for two years.
3: Other than a couple very brief dialogues, I am working off of what I have read from many Freeport Residents and other people concerned with the situation, as well as other publications from other media outlets (particularly the Long Island Herald). That means I have NOT, as a matter of principle on this one, reached out to talk to those deeply involved. That, in turn, means that I am almost exclusively referring only to things which are public, wide-spread information, with the caveat that such information is sometimes incorrect and imprecise.
4: I’ll try not to curse too much, but given how insane this all is, I might. (I did)

So What The Heck Is Going On With Freeport Public Schools?

The long and short is that there seems to be no one thing going wrong, but rather a constellation of weird stuff that sounds like it shouldn’t be happening.

The overarching theme is that there is a conflict between the school board and, so it would seem, everyone-the-hell-else. School board is fighting its own Superintendent, school board is fighting concerned residents, school board is fighting teachers, and all of this is most definitely having an impact on student wellbeing.

Let’s take these things on mostly in that order, because why not?

Freeport School Board Versus Superintendents And Structures

As reported on by the Long Island Herald wayyy back in April of 2025, Freeport placed its rather new Superintendent, Fia Davis, on administrative reassignment. Basically, that means she’s on paid suspension - she collects a paycheck, but she isn’t doing any work. What the Herald notes, and what I want to stress here, is that this was a 3-0 School Board vote with 2 of the members not even fucking present.

There goes my swearing promise.

For now, we can postulate as to why the school board felt such an important vote had to happen without the whole board present until the cows come home. The bottom line is that two members didn’t even get to voice their opinions about it on the record, and that’s an enormously bad sign because either the situation was so immediate that the Board couldn’t wait, or the Board’s majority chose not to wait and deliberately shut the other two members out from even getting to speak about it.

The Herald further reported on May 1st that the administrative reassignment was apparently not meant to suggest wrongdoing had taken place, just that it was “neutral.” It simultaneously reported that Assistant Superintendent for personnel and projects, Benjamin Roberts, was leaving the district.

Dr. Alice Kane (Who I’m kind of sure I’ve worked with in the past, but at a very far distance; no hostility, she was pretty cool, we just did very different things at the school - but I miiiight be mixing her up with someone else?) was appointed interim Superintendent.

Since this all went down, it’s my understanding that the school board has been radically reshaping its superintendent structure.

On November 21st, the Herald reported that the school board is re-organizing its administrative structure entirely. Five assistant superintendent roles were replaced with four executive director ones. What does that mean?

I have no idea. When it comes to education, I’ve always believed that it isn’t so much, “what does the administrative organization chart look like” as it is, “how does this organization work to benefit its students.”

I’m hearing - again, from a distance - that it’s not.

Special Needs Services In Question?

For example, I’ve read numerous crowdsourced reports that students who are entitled, through their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), to speech therapy services have not been getting them. For months, apparently. I’ve read that other students with disabilities have similarly not gotten their educational needs met.

I don’t know the exact details as to what is and isn’t being provided, but it’s my understanding that with all of these changes to the Superintendent structure (and other issues I’ll get to later), the necessary resource acquisition, management, and distribution for a school system to function appropriately is simply not happening.

As always, students with special needs are getting left in the dust.

Now, three brisk paragraphs about me and my background with education, specifically with students with disabilities, so you get where I’m coming from and why this is so frustrating. First and foremost, I was one: Among other things, I have a fine motor skill impairment. I had a 504 Plan (similar to an IEP) that included my right to have access to a computer when taking tests. I couldn’t hand-write, but as you might imagine from reading this, I can type quite a bit.

My job as a Teaching Assistant at Freeport was - primarily - to work as a one-to-one assistant to students with special needs. Does a student have a disability that requires a little outside help? That’s me! I’m the outside help! That could take the form of academic support such as reading for someone with dyslexia, or it could take the form of providing external regulation to a student with emotional balance issues. That’s what I did.

I eventually moved on to teach Social Studies and ELA for New York City, where I had more than one Inclusion class that I’d work with a co-teacher on. That means I have first-hand experience as both the teacher in the front of a room full of students with special needs, and the teaching assistant in the back with a kid who needs extra help.

In other words, I know my shit.

And those services are required by law.

Let’s move on to the way the board has handled community concern about this.

How The Freeport School Board Has Handled Public Meetings

Let’s go back to one of our Herald articles. In it, Board Member Shuron Jackson claims he was given notice of an unusually-timed 5:00 meeting at…2:44 PM. 2 hours and 16 minutes is not, to my understanding, a fair amount of notice of a meeting. In fact, I dare say Google’s “AI Overview” (which, I mean, it’s AI so it could very well be wrong) suggests that you need 72 hours notice for a meeting by law.

I’ll leave it to lawyers to settle that question.

That said: This is where I largely break with almost serving as a curational journalist towards the Long Island Herald and just…Go with what I’ve been reading on Facebook. See, I might not live there anymore, but I still have a lot of friends and semi-friends who live in the Village.

And they are pissed.

For starters: Apparently the Board hasn’t been letting people ask questions about the numerous problems that they have with what’s going on. Or, if they are, they’re hiding behind things being under investigation. Which, I mean, I get it - if you can’t talk about an ongoing personnel matter, you can’t, right? But then you also can’t get mad that people are hearing rumors and getting angry about it. Because you aren’t telling them what’s really going on.

We will circle back to this when we get to our final section (Remember, this is only our second of three major topics) about teachers.

So, people are mad that their questions aren’t being answered, sure - but they’re also mad that they apparently, so they claim, aren’t being allowed to ask them in the first place. Some of that has been deflected on to issues like, “This meeting never had public comment to begin with.” Which…Okay, I mean, I remember back in 2010 when The Weekly Freeporter first launched and how people didn’t grasp that not every Village Board meeting would have Public Comment.

But, again, if you never allow for comments and, on the rare occasion you do, never answer questions, people are gonna be pissed. That’s just the nature of the beast called governance.

Let me pull from yet another Herald article by Mohammed Rafiq:

“They are not actually meetings of the public” is a hell of a quote when you’re an elected representative of the public.

Well, at least they acknowledge that they’re not acting like “most school boards.”

Freeport School Board Versus Freeport Teachers

One of the earliest complaints I heard about the way the school board was behaving was how it treated Football coach Jimmy Jones. I know Jones as a solid man who has my respect. Hell, I’ll extend that to the whole Jones family - I’ve sat with students in Meredith Jones’ Health class. He took over after Russ Cellan’s departure.

Jones was removed as head coach this year.

Allegedly, someone threw something at Jones (Which by the way is assault). Jones had a reaction to this, and the nature of that reaction seems to be the source of the conflict, here.

Like…Here’s Eddie “Truck” Gordon, someone I’ve known distantly for a long time, speaking on the topic. Gordon is a few years older than me, so we didn’t spend much time at FHS together, but we’ve brushed shoulders here and there over the years. And, yeah, he’s a resident who helped lead a lot of people into going to board meetings.

Where their questions weren’t answered.

Hmmmmmm.

I wanna move on to another, somehow-even-worse situation: Pat Langan is the president of the Freeport Teachers Association. I knew Pat as both a student and as a TA. She was always kind, always chill, knew her students and her material down cold. She’s great. She is heavily quoted in this Herald article here talking about the conditions she’d been working in, lately.

It’s my understanding that Pat was just recently reassigned from her decades-long position at Freeport High School to Dodd Middle School. This certainly looks like on-the-job retaliation for her speaking out. I can’t put it any more plainly. She is the union president and she’s singled out for a transfer? What? Freeport can’t hire new teachers, they have to transfer people around mid-fucking-school-year?

See, confession time: I’ve had the displeasure of taking up a new schedule in the middle of the school year. In fact, I’ve had that displeasure twice - And I was only successful the first time. The first time I had a lot of administrative and colleague support, and was able to pull off a good school year. The second time, I didn’t have nearly the same support, and I couldn’t pull it off. It led to me eventually having to resign mid-year because I just didn’t have the strength to do it. That’s how demanding it is.

If any of the kids I disappointed in 2017 read this: I’m sorry. I truly failed you.

Simply put: Taking up a class in the middle of the year is extremely difficult. Doing it because you are re-assigned mid-year is insane. And having to do so because you are targeted by the school board?

When the simplest and least painful solution for everyone involved is “Find a teacher, even a permanent substitute (as I was) to fill the gap and leave everything else alone?”

Speaking as a teacher with first-hand experience, let me be extremely plain: There is no good educational reason for doing this.

This can only be punishment.

I’ve heard other horror stories, too. I’ve heard that the schools have started using per-diem, placement-service-provided Teaching Assistants and even forced an old friend of mine through that path for some unclear reason. I can’t speak to that because I don’t know all the details and that old friend has since passed on.

Her name was Judi Kupi, and she ran a computer lab at the high school for decades. I went to her lab when I had tests to take as a kid. She was my union boss when I was a TA. She dedicated her life to Freeport and its students in ways most people simply can’t imagine.

And, if I have my facts right, at the very end of her career they took her computer lab from her.

Yeah. I think we’re almost done here.

So What Can Be Done About It?

It’s my understanding that within the last week, efforts were being made to organize a protest. It’s fitting: One of The Weekly Freeporter’s first articles back in 2010 was about a protest against the school budget.

How the world turns, eh?

I would encourage parents and residents alike to check out mostly-Facebook for information about when and where any actions might be, and to take part if they are at all capable. It may take a bit to figure out who is leading what and which group will best fit you, but spend a few minutes researching. It might be a good idea to keep an ear to the ground for any Freeport Teachers Association actions that might or might not take place, and to support them.

I would also encourage attendance at school board meetings. Even if you don’t ask questions yourself, your presence demands respect, and you can bear witness to what takes place.

Lastly, and this should go without saying, but please be active in voting for the school board. This isn’t to say, “Don’t vote for the budget.” The budget is the resources that are supposed to go to the students. Don’t take those away!

Instead, think of who you’re voting for on the school board.

Or, hell - If you’re curious, if you have some free time in the structure of your life, and especially if you have kids in the district you are afraid aren’t being properly taken care of, run for school board yourself.

Thank you for reading.

TWF 359: An Endorsement Of Seth Koslow For Nassau County Executive

2025-10-24T17:09:00.004-04:00

Greetings, friends,

I promised you, dear readers, that I wouldn’t intervene in politics which I no longer have anything to do with. That’s why I’ve stayed out of a lot of Freeport shenanigans lately. But I still live in Nassau County and on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 we’re all voting together for Nassau County Executive (among others). You’ve already read the headline, so allow me to lay out where things stand.

I am pretty confident that I’m much further to the left than Koslow is - in fact, I’m not presently a Democrat; I’m in the Working Families Party.

Koslow is, by all accounts, quite the centrist candidate in a, “This is just what will work for Nassau County” way. To be clear, I don’t believe in that approach, preferring to stand or fall based on the strength of one’s beliefs and ideas, but I’ve seen enough from Koslow that I feel like it’s better for him to have power than it is to sit back, do nothing, and allow current executive Bruce Blakeman to retain power.

In other words, Koslow had to sell himself to me in a very different way than he is trying to sell himself to most of Nassau, but that doesn’t mean that I’m unwilling to accept boiler-plate mediocrity accompanied by uninspired bland governance when the alternative is a Fascist.

(For two definitions of Fascism as applied to Donald Trump, specifically, and thus transitively towards his followers and lackeys like Blakeman, check this video of mine where I cover both Roger Griffin's "Palingenetic Ultranationalist" framework and Umberto Eco's "Fourteen Points" framework of the term "Fascism.")

Let’s Start With An Anti-Authoritarian Praxis.

For starters, Koslow has said (if I’m recalling Newsday’s endorsement of him correctly) that he would stop cooperation with Trump’s Getstapo, ICE, and stop allowing ICE to stash its kidnapping victims in Nassau county jails. We know of one victim who has already died in Blakeman’s cooperation with Trump’s Gestapo, but there may be others who were kidnapped by ICE, transferred, and “disappeared” who may never be heard from again.

That alone is enough to warrant a vote for change.

Ending ICE cooperation would be a boiler-plate start; ordering Nassau County PD to arrest Trump’s masked kidnappers and terrorists when they break county law and harass or assault residents is far more to my liking, but I somehow doubt Koslow will go that far. It'd be awesome if he did, though!

Now also seems to be a good time to mention that Blakeman himself has raised a private militia accountable only to the County Executive. I reported on it for my now-retired (because fuck Substack and it’s cozying up to Nazi writers) publication, The Progressive Cafe, and I’m sort of surprised I never published anything about it here. But, yes, Blakeman has a personal micro-army that he can deploy in case of whatever emergency he deems fit. That seems unnecessary and bad, and certainly not ‘small government,’ now, doesn’t it?

It’s my understanding Koslow will disband this organization, which would be a tremendous benefit to Nassau County. It would eliminate both the risk that they go rogue and harm civilians, as well as the risk to the county of the lawsuits that would amount if they did, indeed, go insane.

But there’s more to this endorsement than just an authoritarian vs anti-authoritarian dissection, here.

Koslow Seems To Be A Rational Human Being. Blakeman isn’t.

I was unable to attend the Nassau Pride Coalition’s ‘Meet The Candidates’ event, but it’s my understanding Seth Koslow was there and - surprise! - Bruce Blakeman wasn’t. Gee, I wonder why a transphobe like Blakeman would shun a Pride-oriented political event?

That means that Koslow is, at the very least, the closest thing to an Ally that we in the Queer community have. That’s a huge step. I don’t know what he said or if he’s really good enough to earn my support based on that alone, but I also didn’t hear any bullshit like, “He came but he said insulting stuff.” So based on the fact that I didn’t hear that he did a bad job, I have to assume he was at least passable to people who are more on-the-ground than me.

I also seem to remember him having staff at Pride On The Mile this year, telling me that at the very least he’s been consistently reaching out to us.

But besides his pro-LGBTQIA+ stance on stuff?

Well, I did hear a clip of a debate where he talked about a plan for increasing affordable housing in Nassau County. He wants to assess the County’s various buildings that it owns but isn’t using, see what it really needs, and then sell some of those assets off to be developed into housing. Is this plan revolutionary? No, not really. Will it be a tremendous help? Not unless Nassau is holding a LOT of unnecessary land. But will it be better than Blakeman’s answer, which was that he doesn’t want to add affordable housing at all and wants housing costs to go up, actually?

Yes.

Koslow is also at least tangentially involved in an ongoing chaotic situation with the Freeport School Board. He and ex-member (now County Legislator) Debra Mule gave Shuron Jackson and Maria Jordan-Awalom citations regarding their dedication to the school board. Considering that the school board situation is absolute madness, too, it's worth noting that him giving them these citations could be interpreted as a support of a political faction that's opposed to the absolutely batshit things I've heard coming out of the schools, lately.

Speaking of: Of that situation, the only thing I feel like I have room to say anything about is that I know Patricia Langan has been leading the Freeport Teachers’ Association. I'm an ex-TA in Freeport who worked with her and I'm pretty sure I knew her even as far back as being a student. I’ve always known Langan to be a respectable and truthful person. If she says there’s a problem, I’d suggest you believe her.

Remember the NUMC scandal? Where Bruce Blakeman’s hand-picked lackey fucked up our county’s healthcare safety net? I can’t be sure, but I somehow doubt that Seth Koslow would allow something so stupid to happen. I somehow suspect he would be base-line competent enough to manage NUMC, to find some way to improve it even.

Or, at the very least, he would find someone to run it who could.

I’m Unhappy, But Overall, Koslow’s Better Than Sitting Out

There are some elections where there’s just no upside. I call these “Republican Versus Republican-Lite” votes. I live in District 3 where our “Democrat” is a lying Republican-lite coward named Tom Suozzi who was forced back on us after he left us in the dust for a vanity governorship run without so much as a primary to decide if we should take him back. Thanks for nothing, Jay Jacobs! I would never vote for him again. I hope he is primaried. I’d rather just have a Republican who I know will sell me out instead of a “Democrat” who lies to me and sells me out - as he did when he pledged to sponsor Medicare For All and never followed through on his promise. Sellout Suozzi.

Laura Gillen in District 4 (that’s Freeport, IIRC) is shaping up to be the same kind of failure, and I sincerely hope someone primaries her, as well. Maybe one of you reading this will take up that challenge!

I don’t know enough about Koslow to know if he’s going to be a Republican-Lite. I don’t know if he’s going to pretend we live in the 1990’s and that the parties aren’t so far apart. It’s 2025. One has fully conceded to and embraced Fascism while the other is oh-so-scared to do much about it - or, at least, its leadership is.

When I don’t know something about a politician, my first tip is what they have on their websites.

A lot of the talk on his website is just laughable to me. He’s going to lower taxes? At a time when the Federal government is going into austerity and the economy is on the verge of collapse? Okay, so then what money is he going to use to take care of the indigent given that SNAP is about to be left unfunded? In fact, I literally just got today's mail confirming that my tax credit for my health insurance is being taken away (Thanks, "Big Beautiful Bill!"). Lowering taxes means less resources for NUMC and other hospitals in the area.

Koslow wants to erase wasteful spending? That’s a Republican talking point, bud, and I know what they mean when they say “wasteful spending.” They mean starving “wasteful” people to death and denying them healthcare - literally "Big Beautiful Bill Language." Why are you trying to reclaim that, man?

On his priorities page, he dedicates three - count ‘em, three! - whole sentences to disabled Nassau County residents and a whopping two sentences to protecting people against discrimination. That’s genuinely pathetic. It’s actually kind of insulting to read that and go, “He couldn’t even mention things like making sure police aren’t abusing Black-And-Brown people” or “Not a word about the LGBTQIA+ community.” Two. Sentences.

Again: It’s pathetic, really.

It’s entirely possible that Koslow wins, does absolutely nothing for minority groups, and goes out next election exactly the same way Laura Curran went out for not standing up for what she might have (?) believed in and spending more time on Fox News than actually pushing anything she’s supposed to stand for as a Democrat. It’s entirely possible he’s Republican-Lite.

But, then again, I left the Democratic party because New York State’s party as an organization doesn’t stand for much of anything, exceptions like AOC aside. That’s why so many of them lose easily-winnable races. And this might be one of them where strong ideals get people motivated to go out and vote where boiler-plate centrist language fails to.

Under ordinary times, in my perfect world, I might not be endorsing Koslow, who I really hope reads this and proves me wrong. PLEASE prove me wrong. If you're reading this? Prove. Me. Wrong. I want to be apologizing to you for ever doubting you. Maybe he'll be the scary hyper-leftist that's in keeping with Zohran Mamdani as so many of the bullshit attack ad flyers we get daily paint him as.

Probably not.

The fact remains, however, that all of this contrasts with our present state of insanity. All of this is against a backdrop against Trump and Blakeman’s authoritarian madness. Koslow isn’t one vote out of many that can be made up for elsewhere. Koslow is running for an executive position where he’d be overseeing some of the most important things in this difficult time.

A friend of mine once appealed to Koslow for help and described him - this is my interpretation of my friend's story - to be the kind of Legislator who says “There should be a law about that!” but forgets that he could write one - or thinks it’d be too hard. I don’t know, I’m not that friend. Maybe he'll have something to say about it in the comments.

As Executive, Koslow will need to do better than he did for my friend. He will need to do better than his website promises, because his website reads like an empty suit. He will need to do better than Jay Jacobs and the Nassau & New York Democrats ever promise, because those two are terrified of anything that might upset their wealthy donors.

Can he do it? I don’t honestly know. I hope he can! But I harbor doubts.

Nonetheless, voting for Koslow is better than sitting out and letting Blakeman continue to run the county into the ground. It’s better than sitting out and letting Blakeman continue to be a bigot towards Trans people. It’s better than letting Blakeman have a private militia. It’s better than letting Blakeman work with ICE.

I endorse Seth Koslow for Nassau County Executive.

(Yes, you may consider this a proxy-endorsement for the entire Democratic ticket) (ALSO: Don't forget to turn your ballot over to vote on any propositions that might exist!)

Image courtesy of Seth Koslow's website.

TWF 358: No Kings Protests In Mineola, Elsewhere Tomorrow, 10/18/2025

2025-10-17T16:38:00.001-04:00

Hello, friends,

I hope this message finds you well, and that you weathered last weekend's storm well!

This is just a notification that on Saturday, October 18th at 11:00 AM-12:30 PM there's going to be a No Kings rally at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola in conjunction with many other events held nationwide.

I will say that as long as the protest goes off like every other protest there does, it's a pretty chill affair. I've heard some truly unbelievable numbers may turn out, but that doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels.

I made a short video about it for my Dystopian Review Youtube channel, which you can check out below, that includes a few very basic amateur tips for protesting.

I hope you'll be able to attend.

TWF 357: Major Storm Incoming This Weekend (10/10/2025)

2025-10-10T21:41:00.002-04:00

Hello, Freeport (and the whole of Long Island, and the north-east in general),

I hope this post finds you well. While I'm no longer weekly - nor a present-tense Freeporter - I do keep an eye on Long Island in general, my hometown in particular, and situations that might impact those I care about back home.

So if you've been living under a very peculiar rock (wherein you see this post but haven't heard about this elsewhere), there's a major storm system coming through this weekend that you should be prepared for.

Accuweather has an article about it here. Of particular note is the line that the storm surge "could rival that of Sandy in some areas." That's no small claim, so if you're near the shore? Be alert for warnings and be prepared to protect yourselves.

Hopefully it won't be that bad, but one can never be sure.

For the video-centric among you, Ryan Hall has a video that covers the storm (starting a few minutes into the video) here. I'd suggest subscribing to Ryan's Youtube channel, he makes good weather warnings.

The New York State Department of Health has a list of things to do to be storm-prepared here. Make sure you're covered for your specific situation.

Otherwise, that's about all I have to say for now. Leave a comment if you have any feedback.

TWF 356: Pride On The Mile Has Grown So Much In Two Years

2025-06-21T16:05:00.005-04:00

Hello, friends,

Back in 2023, Freeporters organized and launched Pride On The Mile, a to-become-yearly Pride event centered around celebrating Freeport's incredible diversity in a whole new way.

I mean, growing up Queer in Freeport in the 90's was certainly challenging, but it was also rewarding. I was never as alone as I sometimes felt, and I was never unable to find people like me.

Last year, I wasn't able to attend. I was ill, and I just figured it to be a better idea to stay home and rest up than risk getting anyone sick.

With my neck in quite bad shape, I decided I wanted to definitely get down there this year because I felt like things were different.

And they were.

Now, I lack last years' performance to compare this years' to, but I do remember how relatively small the event was in 2023. It had a few dedicated vendors, some events, some businesses on board.

The first thing I noticed about this years' event was that there were a number of cars in the parking lot with Pride stickers, decorations, and the like.

The second thing I noticed this year was that there was a huge stage set up in the parking lot across from the esplanade, a place where performers could really get a great view of the crowd, and vice-versa.

Also, this year? The vendor section (where I spent most of my limited time) was wonderfully large in comparison to the first time through.

Okay, so some of them were relatively 'normie' things like Mount Sinai and Northwell Health having booths.

It's coming up on election season in Nassau, and I noticed a number of Democratic candidates had boots set up. Didn't see any Republicans that I'm aware of. I wonder why? (No, I don't)

If you read this before it's too late to get down there, try getting down there! There are events all night.

TWF 355: ICE Is Active In Freeport - Be Careful

2025-06-07T22:57:00.005-04:00

Greetings, friends,

This is one whereby the headline tells you a lot of what's up, and your knowledge of the history of this publication and my political beliefs gets you the rest of the way there.

About a day or two ago, Freeport resident and activist Carmen Piñeyro posted alerts that ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) was operating in Freeport, presumably to illegally arrest and disappear undocumented immigrants living in Freeport.

At the time, all I could really do is share the post around and notify people as I found out. Hopefully, that helped people.

But with the way things are escalating in Los Angeles tonight, it's worth reiterating to Freeporters that, in fact, ICE is active in Freeport and actively looking to interfere with peoples' lives in the worst ways possible.

Now is when I remind you that I no longer live in Freeport, so I can't serve as a rapid response person (not that I'm physically able). Still, I hope my hometown is taking steps to be safe with these roving bands of brigands in its streets.

ICE, I mean. They're the ones who exile American children. Who did you think I meant? Maybe you need to check that.

Anyway.

I just hope Mayor Kennedy is making sure that Freeport PD will in no way assist ICE in its crimes against Humanity; I really, truly hope he's prepared to have Freeport PD protect its residents against due process violations, even if that means getting between ICE and its victims.

I know how insane that might sound to some, but, such is our life as we resist Fascism.

In the meantime, if you are at all at risk for being targeted, be as safe as you possibly can. If that means you have to prepare go-bags and be ready to leave on a moments' notice? I'm so sorry, but please do what you have to to be safe.

Freeport is being targeted for its integrated community, but it's a community like few others. I firmly believe the Village can resist, provided its government does the right thing early on.

TWF 354 - Nautical Mile Festival: June 7th, 2025

2025-05-27T20:13:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone,

No big news, here. Just one event to talk about, really:

For those maybe using a text reader, the Nautical Mile Festival is going to be Saturday, June 7th, from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

I don't know that I'll be able to get down there and be there in person, but I do hope the Festival goes on safely and smoothly - and profitably, for those vending and those who own established businesses, alike!

TWF 353 - Pride On The Mile, June 21st!

2025-05-10T23:19:00.003-04:00

Hello, friends,

Just spreading the word about the third annual Pride On The Mile!

As per their post on Facebook, this year's Pride On The Mile is going to consist of:

"New this year:

The Pride Caravan, a rolling celebration of visibility and pride! Registration opens soon (limited space — stay tuned!)

Here’s what else to expect:

🏳️‍🌈 A bustling vendor market featuring local LGBTQ+ makers and businesses.

🏳️‍🌈 An afternoon festival entertainment and performance.

🏳️‍🌈 The return of the iconic Dragaret, a ticketed drag showcase you won’t want to miss, followed by an after party.

🏳️‍🌈 Light activities for all ages to explore and enjoy throughout the day.

Let’s come together, make memories, and fill the Mile with all the love and pride we can! You won’t want to miss this."

Stay tuned at their Facebook group for more announcements.

TWF 352 - Protest At Merrick Train Station Was Hugely Successful

2025-04-19T14:51:00.001-04:00

Hello, friends,

I hope this message finds you well. As we reported on our Facebook pages (both our "Page" and our "group"), there was a protest today at the Merrick Train Station.

Remember: Any nearby/Nassau County protests will be announced on that Facebook group, so if you haven't already checked it out, check it!

As a tentative heads up, it looks like 50501 is going to be doing a May 1st protest. I won't be able to cover that one due to prior engagements, but I do support them!

That said, let's talk about our Merrick Train Station protest:

Merrick Train Station Protest. Photo by Jesse Pohlman

About The April 19th Protests In Merrick, NY

It was definitely an interesting experience, as most of the people were gathered in the east-side parking lot. That meant that as you approached the train station itself, it was hard to see the action. But the trickle of people with signs told me all I needed to know, and I parked as close to the protests as I could, hoofed it over, and stood actually at the front of the westbound lane's line of sign-holders.

It was a nice experience.

It wasn't perfect, of course. There were a couple of trucks that drove by with Trump flags or flipping us off. One lady parked her car in front of the protest line, got out of it, whipped out an American flag and started chanting "Trump" until the cops forced her to move for blocking traffic. One person decried us all as terrorists, which was funny because January 6th happened and they don't seem to mind insurrectionist terrorists, so...That's noteworthy.5

But at the same time, the number of people honking and giving a thumbs up was huge.

I'm not a professional crowd estimator, but I'd estimate about a thousand people came out for the event. There were speakers, many of whom came from various Democratic Party clubs in the area - sort of a surprise to see them out and about, to be honest.

After all, the whole Merrick event was organized by the Merrick-Bellmore Democratic Club. So, props to them.

I might not be a Democrat at this time (Go Working Families Party! I can hook you up if you have any questions), but I'm happy to see my former party actually starting to wake up and go, "Holy shit this is a real threat."

Whether that'll pay off in the long run is another story, but, yeah.

Other Protest Events Which Took Place Today, April 19th, 2025.

My understanding is there were two other protests planned in just the Long Island area.

One was a continuation of the Tesla Takedown campaign up in Manhasset, but that's a specific movement with a specific goal.

The other was a similar event to the Merrick one, but held out in Patchouge. I don't know who organized it, but my hope is that it went just as well. If you're someone who attended, please leave a comment on this article and I'll be happy to add a little credit.

Anyway, until next time: Be safe, be strong, and don't tolerate Fascist shit.

TWF 351 - Hands Off Protests At Nassau County Courthouse; Huge Crowd!

2025-04-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

Hello, friends,

Hope you're all doing well. I'm pretty happy, all things considered, as today I'm happy to report on the sheer size of the Hands Off rally at the Nassau County Courthouse which took place just hours ago!

Let's Talk About The Event

The event was especially geared towards NOSH, a north-shore food pantry. See, food pantries and other help-the-poor projects were hampered by harsh funding cuts and support slashing. So the goal was to help gather a whole bunch of food, or at least donations to that organization.

NOSH isn't the only food pantry in the area. In fact, Freeport has one, the Long Island Food Pantry, that I'm sure could also use donations and other forms of support.

With that said, food banks weren't the only goal of the event: It was, after all, a protest!

I know that picture might be chaotic, but if you look straight at the center you'll see what is, in fact, a mobile billboard. There was a mobile billboard brought to bear. Neat.

In all seriousness - despite the rain, estimates are that about 2,100 people confirmed they would be attending. That number may have been predicated on people saying they'd go who later didn't, but it also included people who weren't on the e-mail list.

I've been to a number of protests at the courthouse and I've never seen it this crowded. Or, if I have, it's been a long time. Maybe one of the Roe v Wade protests matched it, but the Schumer/Gillibrand protests - though large! - didn't come close to matching what I saw today.

I missed it! How do I find out about future events?

First of all, insofar as it falls on me to tell you protests are taking place, I'm sorry I kinda dropped the ball on this one. My neck has been extra-bad, so I've been dropping balls. ...Okay that's ripe for a joke. Back to seriousness: Surgeon appointment near the end of the month, then we schedule a cut or two.

That said, I recently did a video on my Dystopian Review channel all about the various organizations and protest lists you can look up. That includes Mobilize.us as well as the Big List Of Protests.

These resources and others like it will help you stay in touch with local organizers who might be hosting an event near you.

With all that in mind, I'll try to do a better job of announcing these events ahead of time for the next one, but I'm quite sure there will be a next one.

What if I don't agree with the protests?

I dunno? Organize a counter-protest if you can find the people to do it? But you should probably be open to reconsidering your position, and this publication won't be helping you.

Remember: I'm not politically neutral except in matters exclusive to Freeport.

Thank you for reading.

Jesse Pohlman is a retired teacher and former Rec Center lifeguard who now busies himself writing sci-fi/fantasy and political stuff. Check out his website here!

TWF 350 - Redistricting Discussion At The Library, March 27th 6:00 PM EST

2025-03-26T21:16:00.005-04:00

Hello, friends,

Just passing this information along as I get it. I know it's short notice, but you might be interested in it!

Basically, it's a meeting about (I assume) some recently-won changes to the way Nassau's districts are drawn, and the representation you'll get in the future.

Check it out!

TWF 349: Village of Freeport Elections: March 18th, 2025; some TWF updates.

2025-03-15T23:54:00.003-04:00

Hello, friends,

Hope you're all doing fantastic. Life is okay - imperfect as always.

This is just a reminder that this Tuesday, March 18th, are the Village of Freeport elections.

Spend the next 48-ish hours getting together your information as to how you might wish to vote - then, vote on Tuesday!

Pretty simple, right?

So let's do a couple of updates.

Reminder on TWF's activity:

I really only publish one of these posts when I have something worth saying that relates to Freeport, be it a weather update or an event that's taking place - or maybe something that I cover directly, if for some reason I feel compelled to head back home.

So if you don't hear from me much, or hear from me twice in a row out of the blue and then hear nothing for a while, that's probably why.

If there is a charitable event that you'd like me to talk about, reach out to me (the best way to do this is through my Bluesky - and NOT just submitting your event through the comparative graveyard that is Facebook) and we can talk about if there's something I can do to help you out.

- I definitely won't share your religious event. (You probably aren't my religion, BTW)

- I probably won't share your business-related event. (That's called an ad. You wanna pay for one, reach out to me)

- I probably will share your fundraiser event. (That would be charity)

- I definitely will share Freeport's Pride events. (Because it's newsworthy and a good charitable thing, too)

If that helps lock you in when it comes to what I'm talking about when I mention charitable events, well, that's good. That's good to hear.

Important update to the "non-endorsement" rule:

First, as a blanket statement: The Weekly Freeporter does not endorse candidates for Freeport-only office. I don't live there anymore, so this will not change. I have little-if-anything to do with it except for fond memories.

However.

As non-partisan as The Weekly Freeporter began, it's time to make something clear: I am not, and have never been, impartial. I think you all knew that. But we live in a time when trying to be politically agnostic is impossible.

Thus: Insofar as elections where Freeport and I intersect (I.E, we are both impacted), I will provide my political insights to the best of my abilities. This means I will consider endorsing for certain Nassau County, New York State, and Federal offices.

For the purposes of context as to what sort of coverage you might expect, I will report that I am presently a member of the Working Families Party. I figured you have the right to know that much.

As to how you can get endorsed by me? There's one way, really, and that's for me to know you, know your positions, and know I can trust you with power. That means either I'll do it without you ever knowing I'm planning on it, or - if you ask me - then I'll dig into your beliefs until I'm sure one way or another.

And if you're Chuck Schumer or Kristen Gillibrand? Who later sold us out on the 2025 Enabling Act? No.

But if you're reading this three years from now and thinking about primarying Chuck Schumer or Kristen Gillibrand, then, your odds have gone up substantially.

TWF 348 - Protests at Schumer & Gillibrands Melville Offices

2025-02-05T23:25:00.007-05:00

Hello, friends,

It's time for the first article of the year from this once-weekly publication. As a reminder, I hiatus'd this project in 2015, so it's been non-weekly for almost a decade, now. Neat, huh?

But this news effects all of Long Island - the whole country, in a sense - so we're diving right in.

Up-front: I'm biased. Real journalism has biases. Deal with it, or just click off now.

What Were These Protests?

Protest on 2/5/2025, photo by Jesse Pohlman

In many ways, these protests were frustration-ventilation for those of us who are fed up with unelected not-even-bureaucrats getting access to our Treasury department.

But for a more focused take on things, the protests were held at the Senators' offices to encourage them to do something about this situation. The truth is, there are a few simple demands, some of which I'm sure I'm missing:

- No more approvals.

- Quorum checks.

- No more unanimous consent.

- No more voice votes.

Leeja Miller does a fantastic breakdown of what Democrats could be doing about the situation, for those who want the juicy details. She goes over how each tool would work, and all that jazz.

Now, would these decisions be a departure from the norms? Sure!

But we've already widely departed from the norms. Here's an interim U.S. Attorney dismissing charges against an accused criminal who was - at the time! - his client as a defense attorney. Picture that! Imagine if any criminal you don't like (I dunno, insert Osama Bin Laden for New Yorker anger) had a defense lawyer who, over the course of defending charges against them, got a job as a U.S. Attorney supervising their case.

They then dropped their own case.

So...Yeah. Norms? Those are long gone.

Is That All?

Well, no. Technically the protests were focused on Russell Vought, the Project 2025 co-author who wants to be in charge of the Office of Management and Budget. You know! That office Trump's been sued over? Look it up.

Anyway, the goal was to get the Senate to do the above things to slow down, if not totally block his appointment. A good goal. After all - didn't Trump run on Project 2025 NOT being his thing? We shouldn't be letting Project 2025 people in, then - right??

Also, coincidentally, there was a movement I'm aware of called "50501" which had the goal of hitting 50 state capitals in 50 states in 1 day. Obviously this wasn't an Albany-based protest, but it also was coincidental timing, wasn't it? Or maybe they knew that Indivisible, MoveOn, and The Working Families Party were doing events today, and just kinda winged it. Who knows? I approve.

What Can You Do?

The three organizations I just mentioned (Indivisible, Move On, and The Working Families Party) are all good groups to follow for more actions. You can always call your Senators, Representatives, and who-so-ever.

As part of another project I'm doing, I made a whole video with a few protest tips using my experience as a teacher/TA under the Taylor Law as an example of things to be aware of when trying to organize a movement.

That said, today's protest had about 400 people at it - and I know there were others like it in NYC, in Peekskill (though I believe that was on the 4th), and many more.

I've seen video of plenty of protests nation-wide, to boot. This wasn't just a New York thing, even if this article is about Long Island's end in the business.

But, anyway. That's all I have for you.

Well, other than the fact that the police threw us out of the Senators' office. I don't even know which Senators' office we were at, since they're separate but adjacent buildings. And...Well, let's just say they didn't want to face us.

Jesse Pohlman is an author from Freeport, New York, who will always remember his roots in Port Knox. The easiest way to reach him is through his Bluesky account.

Editorial note: ~~I reached out to the protest organizers for comment about being thrown out, but they didn't get back to me. If they do, I'll update.~~

Update: I was notified by the protest organizers that they did indeed get to speak to representatives. So at least our message was conveyed. There's that.

TWF 347 - Efforts To Save Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) Underway! Or...Are They? Let's Look!

2024-12-28T16:30:00.002-05:00

Hello, friends,

I hope you're all having a great, happy holiday season - whatever it is you celebrate. It may be that you don't celebrate anything, in which case I hope you're just plain-old happy. If not, I hope things improve.

Just as a reminder, I don't really use The Weekly Freeporter for much, these days, seeing as I'm no longer in Freeport. I may not be as nosy, these days. Still, when major news or issues are in the air, I do still have a nose, so I sniff about. And sometimes a story involves all of Nassau County (Where I do, in fact, live), or Long Island, or New York. Sometimes it's about more than Freeport.

That's how we got to today's story.

Now, this is a classic, "Jesse sat down to write because of a mailer he got." It's about NUMC - Nassau University Medical Center.

Now, unlike our dive into Maven Charter Schools, hopefully this doesn't become a gigantic rabbit hole. Let's more-or-less start by looking at the document in question, and we'll dig into the website.

BUT! One quick note: I don't suggest anyone scan random QR codes, but I do believe this mailer came from a legitimate source because the website in question seems to be legit.

So What's Up With NUMC?

The mailer says some heavily charged things, there's no question about that. Besides listing some statistics on how much care NUMC provides, the big shocker of a claim is this:

New York State has been violating Federal law with regards to NUMC, slashing the funding it's entitled to and - therefore - crippling the institution and delivering worse care to Long Islanders as a result.

Nobody loves going to the hospital, but we do want them to be funded because if (really more when) we wind up in one, we want the doctors to be paid well to investigate deeper; we want the nurses well funded so they have lower patient-to-staff ratios and can take better care of us; we want the chefs well paid so the hospital food isn't quite as terrible.

And if NYS is shortchanging Nassau? THAT'S a problem. We LIVE here! WE might be taken to the hospital through no fault of our own! And if that hospital might not exist? Or might be crippled? Or in fact is crippled? We should know.

So let's keep digging.

The mailer also says that "Albany politicians" (A loaded term, to be sure) are planning to take over and run the hospital. Well, that's neat! How's THAT work?

Let's look at the website, next.

Digging Deeper, Because Of Course We Are!

Hey. Unlike Maven, this is actually very important - and maybe the website will have more to say. Again, that website is at this link. I strongly advise you to read it on your own, because whatever it ends up saying? That'll be important.

One quick read later, and my thoughts are...

Okay, so, here we go. The website goes into more detail about these claims, but it doesn't provide a bevy of links to reporting or fact sheets or budgets, which is unfortunate because it means now I have to do that work. Which is what I was hoping to avoid.

When I say it doesn't provide a "bevy" of links, that doesn't mean it doesn't provide any. For example, here's a link to a .PDF-file-format letter from NHCC Chairman Matthew J. Bruderman to the New York State Department of Health and its Commissioner, James V. McDonald, dated November 19th, 2024.

In it, Bruderman goes into more detail about some of the, well...Concerns? Is that the right word for, "You're fucking with my hospital?" Concerns he has about how New York State is, well, fucking with his hospital.

Yes, I curse when appropriate. I am a born-and-bred Freeporter, what did you expect?

Now, I have to interject something, here, because sadly it's extremely relevant: Bruderman was a very controversial pick for his position. He's described by ABC News as a "millionaire investor and entrepreneur" who just so happened to be the biggest donor to Bruce Blakeman's campaign for Nassau Executive.

Interesting.

It's interesting that Blakeman put a complete novice in Healthcare in charge of such a vital, if decaying jewel of Nassau County's. Because he's an "outsider," and surely not at all because he may have paid for the opportunity to run the place to his benefit.

In fact, Bruderman apparently offered to donate $1.5 million to NUMC if - IF - he was allowed to take over. What?!

It's also worth noting that NUMC was already struggling with funding issues, so whatever's up, it isn't strictly a Blakeman-NYS conflict. It predates that. So whatever's up, this isn't strictly a "Blakeman's guy messed it up" situation. It's more a, "It's been messed up for a while, and Blakeman's guy hasn't necessarily helped."

ALSO-ALSO: Newsday points out that Bruderman is in charge of NuHealth, which is in fact the organization responsible for the mailer and the website.

In other words, this is definitely some kind of rabbit hole. Dammit.

Anyway, the letter. It's proving...Interesting.

Bruderman's Letter

Some of the terms in the letter, like "VAPAP 2025 Application" are totally unknown to me. It seems to relate to the Nursing Home Vital Access Provider Assurance Program. It seems there's some kind of dispute over that, but Bruderman isn't particularly clear.

In fact - and, like, I'm trying to be generous here - Bruderman goes on to rant about political processes (which, okay?) and then starts yelling about a person named Meg Ryan (the actress? He doesn't introduce her role well, but I think she's NuHealth's CEO) and the work she's done to - I think? - boost the financial situation of NUMC.

He literally opens a paragraph with, "While we're on the topic of Meg, What's your obsession with her?"

INTERESTING

The longer this letter goes on, the more insane it starts to sound. This doesn't sound like a person begging for a reconciliation, it sounds like a person seeking to blame others. Maybe he has good reason to? I don't know, because he isn't explaining it very well. Then again, maybe when he wrote it he didn't expect to have to make it public? But, then, why the political posturing about Meg?

Honestly, it sounds like a bunch of Crybulling. That's basically when you complain that you're a victim, but throw a bunch of accusations and attacks against those who you complain about and expect that you'll get your way when maybe there's more to it than that.

Okay. So Bruderman's letter is...Unhelpful. If I were grading it, it'd get at best a C-; and that depends on me knowing background information that wasn't well presented here.

On to another document, one I hope will do me better.

NuHealth's Press Release - It's...It's Bad, Y'all.

According to this press release from...

......Fuck, they don't have a date. There's no date! NO! DATE! Whoever this press person is? In my own personal opinion, they need to be fired for gross incompetence. You always date a press release. Why? Because some hack-job journalist (meee!) might stop by and have questions.

I feel like I can't even use this because I don't know what time it's referring to. Like, do I really want to spend my limited time in this life reading documents that won't even tell me up-front what time period they're relevant to?

And you know what? I tried. I went back a page to their Press Release page. I tried the 'ol Ctrl + F feature to MAYBE match a headline to an article and get a date. And you know what I got? Nothing!

So as far as I'm concerned, this press release may as well not have any context.

Basically put: This article accuses New York State of withholding roughly one BILLION dollars. But since I can't even find a date for it, I'm not reading through some poorly written schlock to find out specific details that, based on my first read, don't seem to really exist.

Sorry, but if you want your argument heard, do a halfway-decent job of presenting it.

Seriously. You can reach out to me as a consultant. I am available as a writer. I don't even charge that much.

We're zero-for-two. But I still have to try, don't I? Consider what's next under protest.

The big takeaway I get from the article is that NUMC is lawyering up (HEY their demand letter is dated November 19th, 2024!!!) to sue New York State for inappropriately withheld money. Yep? Yep. Got it.

Enough with this nonsense. Let's look at some independent reporting and cross-examine what we've got here versus what others are on about.

What News Agencies Are Saying

Let's start with the Long Island Herald's Jordan Vallone. What a shock - he put a date on his article! Amazing! It's almost like you can just do that.

We're looking back to December 13th, 2024.

Vallone pretty much sums up what I've been able to piece together. NUMC wants $1.06 billion plus interest because, basically, they were denied funds they were entitled to

As per Vallone, Governor Kathy Hochul's Long Island Press Secretary, Gordon Tepper, said that Hochul is trying to work with Nassau on the issue of funding. Sooooo nothing, because I know how Hochul operates (Warning: Link is political - like even more than this mess), and that's Hochul-speak for "nothing."

But wait! There's more! Here's a December 11th, 2024 article by the Newsday Editorial Board. It states that NUMC has debts of over $300,000,000 - yes, $300 million! - to the state. The board attacks Bruderman's management, arguing that his aggressive approach is a "doesn't want you to know" one designed to keep your mind off the fact that the aforementioned Megan Ryan was hired in a questionable manner. INTERESTING.

It's also interesting that, right after this article came out in Newsday, Nassau County switched its Paper of Record from Newsday to the New York Post. Almost like the editorial board said something Blakeman didn't like, so he switched to a far-right rag?

Interesting.

So it seems like this fight is on a lot of levels. NUMC is hiring people that apparently aren't qualified (like, sayyyy, Bruderman, himself? Megan Ryan? Maybe others?), is fighting these battles to some victories in court, and ultimately this is a dispute about who owes who money conducted by people who at least, on the surface, appear to be politically inclined.

I tried to find some kind of response letter from NYS DOH to NUMC, but I couldn't find one. In fact, none of the State's replies to NUMC seem to be showing up. All I found was a much earlier letter dated May 16th, 2024, from Bruderman and Ryan replying to an un-findable letter from Commissioner James V. McDonald with...A lot of the stuff I really would have appreciated from them on the website set up to 'save' NUMC! What?! WHAT?! What is this Kafkaesque madness!?

This information should be front-and-center with your appeal to the populace to save the hospital! This is literally the first thing I looked for, and I had to do a random Google search to find letters SENT TO YOU to find one YOU sent to THEM (because why would NYS do any informing of its own!? Under Hochul? BWAHAWHA!) MONTHS ago?!

It's fucking dystopian.

Meanwhile, patients suffer from the lack of funding - and that's when political fights are supposed to end, and they haven't.

We need solutions, not bullshit.

So What Should Be Done?

Medicare For All, honestly. Here's my write-up of that. It'd solve this entire problem.

If not Medicare For All, then maybe the New York Health Act. What a shock! I've written about that, too! It'd also solve this problem, and NYS Senator Jabari Brisport says there are more co-sponsors of the bill than votes needed.

But if we can't get an actually useful healthcare system in place to take care of sick people? What should be done about the present situation?

Honestly, both sides need to shut the fuck up and sit down at a negotiating table. We need to have a non-partisan committee of some healthcare experts (NOT insurance people, mind you - actual healthcare policy experts) sit down and figure out who owes what.

- Was NUMC robbed?

- How much does NUMC owe New York State when you consider what it was supposed to get versus what it has gotten?

- What can be done immediately to ensure NUMC does not stop operating?

- What can be done to ensure local control while also not allowing NUMC and its patients to be political footballs run by a big-ticket donor appointee with absolutely no relevant experience?

These are all questions I can't answer without hours upon hours of digging through documents. My current word count is...1931 (Prior to revisions; it's gone up).

My hands hurt. I have none of the documents I'd need to look at, such as budgets, contracts, and sections of law. I wouldn't even know where to start, because I am not a healthcare expert. I know about enough about healthcare to get through my personal and familial medical problems, including "Sitting in this chair is bad for my neck."

I'm a guy who isn't in either of the two big political parties (sorry, Dems; I left when so many of you abandoned Trans people - I guess I'm "Far Left," after all, even though I'm really just a European Center-Left guy).

On one level, it's the same old politics, too: Republicans are loud and shouting about everything not being 100% in their favor, and Democrats refusing to say anything at all because that MIGHT make them have to stick to a position and that's scary.

I'm just a guy who can read, who understands fundamentals, who asks questions, and who knows how to date a fucking document. Which I guess means I'm better qualified than some of the people currently doing the job for NUMC, but, so can your average middle-school student, thus I've digressed.

But the bottom line is that this certainly appears, from every scrap of information I've been able to find so far, like a political fight where patients lose. Hochul is her typical silent self - none of my searches for statements really turned much up from NYS's perspective. In fact, as stated previously, they've only turned out more statements from NUMC that'd have actually been useful IF NUMC chose to use them to make their arguments instead of tirades and anger.

As for "Save NUMC?"

How about NUMC save itself by being less dumbassedly combative and more constructive?

How about Hochul do her job for a change (Although she seems to think that's giving hundreds of millions of dollars to billionaires for stadiums, so maybe she should delegate a professional) and actually be forthright with the people about the problem?

And how about we, the people, hold our electeds and unelecteds alike accountable by not letting partisan hacks get through primaries, and not voting for them if they do.

Jesse Pohlman is a recovering Social Studies and ELA Teacher from Freeport, NY. He still lives in Nassau County and still cares deeply about those who are sick and unable to get healthcare. He also thinks we need to take the profit motive out of healthcare. Go figure. His website is at the attached link, in case you want to read more. He is most frequently found at his Bluesky account.

TWF 346: Public Hearing On Proposed Charter School: Thursday, August 22, 2024, 6:00 PM EST. Plus, my thoughts on the idea.

2024-08-17T16:34:00.001-04:00

[EDIT: I received some additional documentation, reported on below]

Hello, friends!

It's certainly been a while. I was thrilled to get a chance to visit Freeport's second-annual Pride On The Mile event back in June, but I wasn't physically well enough to put an article about it together. I just wanted to start with that belated shoutout because, well, they deserve it!

On to the star of today's article: Maven Charter Academy School is interested in opening, well, a Charter School in Freeport, and I want to discuss that a little bit.

Now, before I say anything else: I am biased on this issue. I spent eight years working in public education. Nearly five of them were spent as a Teaching Assistant at Freeport High School. I am very big into public education, very confident in Freeport's academic strengths, and based on my experience in education, I am very hesitant to think that a charter school is going to do the best job it can with the resources its given.

With that out of the way, I want to encourage you to undertake all the possible research you can if this issue at all attracts your attention, because it is a community-redefining one.

For starters, here's a Freeport Public Schools public hearing flyer for you to peruse. I'll have more to say after you look at it.

You don't necessarily have to have something to say to go to a public hearing, by the way. You aren't required to speak. You can go and listen. Remember a decade and change ago, when myself and my sometimes co-conspirator Jason Bass would go to the Village of Freeport Board of Trustees meetings and take notes, then report back?

You can do this for yourself, or report it for others through your own publication, Facebook group, whatever. Freeport School District meetings are (or at least used to be) usually easy to get in and out of, usually have plenty of seating, and are generally polite affairs.

I was also able to get a more detailed briefing for the meeting, along with some initial information on the School District website:

This letter stresses that the State University of New York's Charter Schools Institute, and the State Education Department itself, are deeply involved. This document goes so far as to imply, if not directly state, that the final decision will be made by the SUNY Board of Trustees, and so how much actual say the Freeport Public Schools has over this issue is...Questionable?

I legitimately don't know.

Now, On To Maven.

One of the first things any parent considering where to send their school - or any citizen trying to evaluate a school - should do is research their website.

Maven does have a website laying out some of their plan, which is nice. And, I'll be up-front about fairness: They don't exactly have a school running yet, so I don't expect there to be too much information. But let's see what they've got.

- They say they provide Youtube content, but I can't find any that's clearly related to them.

- Their "About" page is two paragraphs long with an invitation to reach out to find out more.

- Their "Academics" page is one paragraph long with a few Eduspeak buzz-words and little concrete information. There is a "Learn More" button on this page that does nothing so far as I can tell.

Of greater interest: Their "Student Life" page has some actual information, if you know how to translate it out of Eduspeak. Their thoughts about "Social Emotional Learning" are, though not detailed, at least the boiler-plate for what I'd expect a good school to be. They talk about restorative justice as a cornerstone of discipline, which is a practice I'm familiar with and happen to think works well about 85% of the time.

Then it starts getting weird.

Maven Might Be Religious.

The commentary about "Emotional, Moral, and Ethical" development raises "spirituality," which I find incredibly dangerous. Spirituality tied to moral and ethical growth? Is this a religious school?

Well, I went looking around their site and didn't see much, so I hopped on their Twitter account and found, well...

And it gets...Less pleasant.

When trying to research who exactly was behind this project (because their website lacks details), I discovered this Long Island Herald article.

Maven's ringleader seems to be Craig Mercado, a former principal of - among other things - a religious school, St. Ephrem Catholic Academy. All the talk about "classical education" I see on their website, plus those references to spirituality, plus those posts about doing information blitzes outside of churches and also the concerns about faith-based charters coming?

Add that to a religious educational background and you get me deeply suspicious that this would be a religious charter school.

I know Maven goes to great length to try to claim they don't take money from public schools, but that's obtuse at best. "Charter school students are removed from public school enrollment, and the per-pupil funding for those students is then directed to the charter school. The community is paying the same cost for the child's education, and the local public school continues to be funded for every child it educates."

Not only is that still tax dollars going to what I can only assume, at this point, is a religious institution, but the idea that the Charter School is somehow going to pay for its own building and infrastructure, it's own material resources, and its own teachers - all without any taxpayer dollars - and turn around to make a profit based solely on average per-student expenditure?

Well, here's one way that Maven's other mastermind, Dr. Patrick Fogarty talks about achieving this pipe dream in his Long Island Herald article: Using non-union labor.

In other words: The plan is to provide teachers less job protection - and probably lower wages, since unions typically raise wages. This means that the students get inferior teachers who are constantly fearful that their job could screw them over at any moment. After all, that's what "lower overhead as far as teachers we hire" must mean, because how could you spend more money on a teacher that's got lower overhead?

The Bottom Line - It's A Bad Idea.

The goal of a charter school isn't student outcomes. It's to turn a profit.

Supporters might argue, "If the school doesn't produce good outcomes, enrollment will fall off and it will fail!" And, yes, it might. But school results aren't super hard to fake, especially at the lower grade levels that Maven seems to be targeting. There are some state-wide tests, of course, but a lot of that could be resolved simply by teaching students how to take the test, and not actually teaching them what they should be learning at those grade levels.

I know I'm not an elementary specialist, but I've worked in elementary classrooms. It's not easy. It's definitely not something you're going to want to do without a union to protect you if you rub your principal the wrong way. You're not gonna wanna put as much effort in when you find out that you don't have the same kinds of retirement, health care, and compensation packages that your union teacher at the public school has. I know because I've talked to Charter school teachers who have felt this way.

Never mind that this school seems awfully shady when it comes to whether or not its a religious institution, talking about "spirituality" and the unleashing of faith-based charter schools, but not clearly delineating a particular faith, and also not clearly delineating that it is non-faith-based.

The truth is, there's not enough information available about what these guys want to do: And if you're heading into public comment to try to get public school money to pay for your private profits? And you don't have enough information for curious readers to decide? When you aren't clear if you'd just be accepting Freeport students, or if you'd also accept from nearby communities? When you don't even seem to have a shortlist of locations to actually build your school in a Village that doesn't exactly have the most prime real estate available?

I would be strongly against this.

-----ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CAME IN-----

I managed to get hold of a bunch of documentation regarding this school. I found this page particularly disturbing.

"While not explicitly stated," they are aligning with Catholic school values.

This is a Catholic school in disguise.

Jesse Pohlman is a recovering teacher, sci-fi/fantasy author, and the publisher of The Weekly Freeporter, which is no longer Weekly nor a Freeporter's perspective, but rather an occasional former Freeporter's take on topics that generally go broader than just the Village.

TWF 345: Nassau County Bans Masks In The Name Of Safety, Makes County Less Safe

2024-08-06T01:45:00.003-04:00

Hello, friends,

As per the NY Civil Liberties Union, as well as many other sources, Nassau County has passed a ban on wearing any form of face covering. There are supposedly medical and/or religious exemptions to this, but those are reportedly unclear and vague.

Friends, let me tell you: For the chronically ill, for those who are headed to or from a doctors' office, for those who will be in a confined space with strangers? Masks are a lifeline that allows them to participate in public life with less fear of getting sick and dying.

Now, those people may be subject to fines and possibly - I am not kidding - a fucking YEAR of imprisonment.

Just a month ago, our usually-inept governor issued a warning that CoVID infections were once again on the rise. Thus, our county's ban flies in the face of basic public health.

The rationale I keep hearing is "public safety." The idea that everyone on the street must be identifiable so that crooks can't hide who they are.

I may not love our governor, but she's right to warn us that CoVID is still a serious threat. I may not choose to mask under most circumstances, but I damn sure don't believe in taking that right away from others. Should our police really be playing "Check people wearing a mask for a doctors' note"? Is that what you want our tax money spent on?

I promise you this much: At least once, while a cop is harassing someone over their mask, a real crime will be committed that they could have stopped. And that'll be on the cop for enforcing the stupid law, the legislature for passing the stupid law, and county executive Bruce Blakeman for signing the stupid law.

Because it seems like our county doesn't give a damn if innocent immunocompromised people die. They just want to watch those peoples' face as they choke down their last agonizing breath.

This ban needs to be overturned, and people need to speak out about it.

TWF 344: Lego At The Library!

2024-06-04T17:53:00.003-04:00

Hey all,

Been a while. Hoping to make it to Pride On The Mile this year (June 15th I believe), but in the meantime I just had to share this.

After all, I am a huge Lego fan. I just wish there were more opportunities.

TWF 343: Hurricane Lee Isn't Quite Coming to Town

2023-09-15T19:30:00.002-04:00

Hello, friends,

This is a short update to let you know that Hurricane Lee is in the neighborhood, this weekend.

I've found Ryan Hall to be a pretty good meteorologist to listen to. His prediction is that Hurricane Lee will pass Long Island to the east. It'll push a lot of water our way. I was listening to another meteorologist talking about how we aren't likely to get rain or super-heavy wind, but we will experience a pretty severe high tide that might, I suspect, flood parts of the south shore of Long Island.

That means South Freeport might flood, too.

Image courtesy of Accuweather

I was unable to find anything on the Freeport website or the Facebook page for the Office of Emergency Management about predicted impacts, so maybe it won't be that big a deal, but it's still worth being weather-wise.

Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author and part-time journalist who occasionally publishes The Weekly Freeporter when there's important news like hurricane information. You can find his website here if you're interested in a fantastical adventure of some kind.

TWF 342: Sparkle On Stage At The Esplanade On Thursday, 8/17/2023, at 7:00 PM!

2023-08-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

Hello, friends!

This is just a quick signal boost about the Long Island Arts Council and its partnership with Sparkle On Stage to put on the original musical 'Woof!' If you're in the area and especially if the weather is good, I hope you can make it to the 7:00 PM showing at the Nautical Mile Esplanade.

The Weekly Freeporter is no longer a weekly production, but it gets broken out when a good cause can use a signal boost. Jesse Pohlman is an author born and raised in Freeport; you can check out his sci-fi/fantasy novels and other projects here at his website.