Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced on Monday that nine pallets of fire equipment will be shipped overseas to aid the people of Ukraine.
Blakeman said the pallets consisted of hoses, helmets, jackets and other equipment to help Ukrainians who are under attack by Russian forces. The Russians, who launched a full-scale invasion in late February at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have carried out missile and artillery attacks on major Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kiev.
Blakeman also helped facilitate the shipment of more than 460 guns to Ukrainians last month, making it the first shipment of guns from the United States to Ukraine. The guns were obtained through a county-orchestrated gun drive.
Blakeman, along with U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove), U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Glen Cove Mayor Pam Panzenbeck previously pledged support for Ukraine after the invasion, with some urging Biden to close the Killenworth estate, a compound in Glen Cove used by Russian diplomats to the United Nations.
In 2016, President Barack Obama’s administration ordered a Russian-owned mansion in Brookville, which was described by the U.S. government as a “recreational compound,” to be closed in late December due to Russia’s interference in the presidential election. Since then, 35 diplomats were expelled while the Killenworth estate itself was unaffected. It remains a Russian property that does not pay property taxes.
“President Biden, expel these Russians from Nassau County,” Blakeman said. “We don’t need them here and let’s get this property back on the tax rolls so the people of Nassau County and Glen Cove don’t have to finance thugs and dictators and people who invade innocent countries.”
It is unclear if the U.S. government has legal grounds to act on Blakeman’s wishes.
Others throughout the county and the North Shore have rolled up their sleeves to try and aid Ukrainians in their time of need.
Port Washington’s Jeff Stone and Kathy Levinson are the leaders of Project H.E.L.P. Long Island. While their local efforts provide Long Island families with education and awareness on mental health, they said the developments abroad compelled them to provide aid.
Stone and Levinson also have connections with various Kiwanis organizations and said they are collecting funds to distribute to a variety of international organizations, including UNICEF, Save the Children and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The funds, Stone said, will be wired to those agencies to provide Ukrainian refugees with resources to survive.
Stone also said he and Levinson, along with help from the community, collected baby strollers, onesies, coats, jackets and other clothes at the Presbyterian Church in Garden City for Ukrainian refugees.
“We’re trying to circulate and create awareness on what is going on to hopefully motivate people to develop their own plan of action or to contribute with clothing,” Stone said in a phone interview.
Great Neck’s Abby Podwall and Tori Sobiecki organized a Hoops for Humanity fundraiser for Ukraine in conjunction with St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church to be held Thursday. Money raised will go to the Northwell Health Ukrainian Relief Fund, which has been supporting Doctors Without Borders on missions in Ukraine.
“We have been seeing on the news all the tragic things happening there, with houses being blown up, and many people needing food and medical support,” Abby said. “And it was a thing where we wanted to do what we could to help, because it’s so sad.”
“I try not to watch too much of it, because it’s upsetting, but of course we know what’s going on,” Tori added. “This is just something we think people will have fun doing, since we play basketball all the time.”
A group of Manhasset students has raised nearly $60,000 to provide everyday resources such as cleaning products, blankets, mattresses and clothing to the at-risk Ukrainian population. Junior Max Majewski and senior Alex Mlotkowski created a GoFundMe page on Feb. 28 that outlined the efforts they and others have made to aid Ukrainian families that crossed the Polish border.
The donations, they said, will be split between a group of 40 women and children that arrived in Poland and other not-for-profit organizations to help refugees.
“The long-term goal is to set the kids up in school and offer assistance to help find work,” the GoFundMe page said. “All donations raised will be used to purchase necessities locally, we will have direct contact and impact on these families, and we’ll be able to view their progress.”
