Legislator Abrahams Approves Licensing for Locksmiths; Funds for Senior Job Training Program

Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead) this week approved a law requiring all locksmiths to be licensed by the Consumer Affairs Department. Under the law, the two-year license will cost $400. Violations could bring fines up to $500 and other penalties.

“This law would add a layer of protection for both customers and the locksmiths themselves,” Abrahams said.

Abrahams also approved a measure that would authorize the Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, Division of Museum Services to loan and borrow museum objects for exhibition purposes.

According to County officials, loaning museum objects and archival materials will benefit the residents of Nassau County in several ways, including, making the County eligible for grants available to government agencies for the loan of collection objects.

            In other business, legislators approved:

  • A resolution to file an application for funds with the New York State Office of the Aging. This federal grant will enable a limited number of economically disadvantaged persons 55 or older to work a specified number of hours per week in public or private non-profit agencies, providing on –the-job training and work experience.  This grant provides part-time employment opportunities for 25 unemployed low income persons who are 55 years old or older, while promoting transition to unsubsidized employment. The county is required to fund 10% of the total grant.
  • A resolution authorizing the County of Nassau to accept an award of grants funds from New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) in the amount of $500,000.  AHC creates homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate- income families by providing grants that subsidize the cost of newly constructed houses and the renovation of existing housing to serve low- and moderate-income families. The grant funds will be used for seven, two-family dwellings, totaling fourteen units, an average of $35,714 per unit.  For the purposes of this project, a home may be a one-to-four family home consisting of one owner occupant, or an owner occupied unit in a cooperative or condominium.
  • A resolution authorizing an inter-municipal agreement with the Village of Freeport in relation to community visioning projects, a grant program to foster public participation and consensus-building for local improvement projects that spur economic development.  The County has chosen to focus on the areas of brown field redevelopment, development of the Nassau Hub area, addressing the needs of emerging minority communities, and downtown revitalization as highest priorities in order to address all of the issues in the 10-point blueprint. The County intends to provide the Village with $70,000 of Grant Funds to undertake a Community "Visioning" project on North Main Street.

            The next legislative session will be on October 22 at 10 a.m.