49.0°,
Partly Cloudy 5Towns Senior Center finds new home
Will use former ALP building at Hewlett High School
The Five Towns Senior Center has partnered with the Hewlett-Woodmere school district to find a new home. The Hewlett-Woodmere school board unanimously approved a lease agreement with the Five Towns Senior Center at its Dec. 16 meeting to have the not-for-profit organization use the former alternative learning program building at Hewlett High School.
The lease, which still needs to be signed by the senior center, would be for 10 years effective January 2010, and begins with an annual rent of $40,390 but will escalate throughout the next decade. Under the agreement, the senior center will complete renovations, pay for its own operating expenses, determine hours of operation and foot the bill for separate paved parking and walkways, according to District 14 officials. The agreement will also not change the number of parking spaces allotted for Hewlett High School staff and students. The building the senior center will use is called the Carriage House, and was formerly home of Hewlett High School's alternative learning program.
"The school district and the Five Towns Senior Center have worked cooperatively for many years providing services that benefit the entire community," said Dr. Peter Weber, Hewlett-Woodmere's assistant superintendent of business.
"This lease will help strengthen this relationship."
The Five Towns Senior Center's search for a new home came after its longtime building on 124 Franklin Place, Woodmere, was sold to Woodmere Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. The senior center has been operating the last 10 months at space rented inside Congregation Beth Emeth in Hewlett.
Hewlett-Woodmere officials are hoping that having the senior center on the Hewlett High School campus will enable increased opportunities for intergenerational learning. "This most recent collaborative initiative in bringing the Five Towns Senior Center and its members onto the Hewlett High School Campus is very exciting," said Mrs. Stephanie Gould, president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Board of Education.
Five Towns Senior Center president Richard Braverman is hoping that operating on the campus of Hewlett High School will enable students to participate in lectures and other programs they offer. "We're really excited about all the possibilities," he said.
