Great Neck Record

Lifelong Israel Advocate and Community Activist dies at 99 Myra Lovett Breakstone passed away peacefully on December 31, only hours before the beginning of the new year, just four months shy of her 100th birthday. A resident of Great Neck since 1954, she lived her 99 wonderful years to the fullest, all but the last two completely independently. Her life was characterized perhaps more than anything else by her love for and dedication to family, the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Great Neck resident Erin Lipinsky will be “Freezin’ for a Reason” at the Annual Polar Plunge and this year marks his 10th anniversary participating in the Plunge. Last year, Erin raised $28,000, making him the top individual fundraiser of the event. Plunging for the 10th year in a row, Erin’s goal, as it is every year, is to break the previous year’s record. The event will take place on Saturday, February 3, at North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington.

South High School Rebel Robotics Team #2638 is the proud recipient of a team award and team sponsorship from Optimum, totaling $3,000 in funding for the 2024 FIRST Robotics competition season. This is the third consecutive year that Rebel Robotics has received financial support through awards and sponsorship from Optimum. Last May, Rebel Robotics was one of 21 teams nationwide to be honored through the 2023 Optimum Innovator Awards program.

Temple Beth-El hosts Shabbat Service to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On Friday, Jan. 12, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck hosted its annual interfaith service honoring the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Great Neck’s Temple Beth-El for a rally during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Following former District 3 Congressman George Santos’ expulsion from the U.S. House of Representatives, a special election will be held on Feb. 13, 2024 to fill the vacancy. Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip (REP) and Former United States Representative Tom Suozzi (DEM) are running for the seat in Congress. Mazi Melesa Pilip (REP) The daughter of Orthodox Jewish parents, Mazi Melesa Pilip grew up in a rural village in Ethiopia.

Four students from the Great Neck Public Schools are recipients of the Outstanding Physical Education Award from the Nassau Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NYSAHPERD). Congratulations to award winners Lillian Wu and Dylan Yaghoutiel from North High School, and Michael Angelaras and Shannon Ethier from South High School.

Supervisor, Councilmembers sworn into office They may come from different points of view, but it was clear that all of the assembled electeds at the 2024 Town of North Hempstead inauguration care deeply about their community.

Longtime volunteer Lea Caplan, a retired CPA of 40 years who currently completes tax returns for lower-income seniors through AARP’s Tax Aide, will be honored at an enhanced Shabbat service at Temple Beth-El (TBE) on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 10:30 a.m. The community is welcome to celebrate Caplan, an active participant in Sisterhood, Torah Study, the rabbi’s Siddur class and the Worship Committee.

Approximately 50 community members of various ages and ethnicities channeled their creativity to spread hope during The Great Neck Dove Project at Temple Beth-El on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Participants expressed themselves in song, conversation and art, as they each decorated a paper dove with words and drawings to reflect their thoughts, prayers and feelings during this heartbreaking time.

Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care opened a new pediatric and adult urgent care center in Lake Success. The center is located at 1436 Union Tpke. in the Lake Success Shopping Center, just one mile away from more than a dozen Northwell Health emergency and specialty services, including Cohen Children’s Medical Center and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.