APRIL 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 9
FROM THE PUBLISHER
April showers bring May flowers, so the saying goes, but while some pray for rain,
others make it pour through sheer will.
Two such individuals are Leo and Jennifer Vartanov, a pair of entrepreneurs from
Old Westbury who met years ago playing cards and together built an impressive
credit card processing empire.
As the weather starts to heat up, so does the real estate and home industry and
Long Island is a hotbed of activity. In Press Business, beat reporter Claude Solnik
had the opportunity to catch up with Bob Coughlan, coprincipal with TriTec Real
Estate Company, a leading developer of mixed-use housing on Long Island with active
developments in Ronkonkoma, Lindenhurst and Bay Shore. Solnik also has the latest from
one home-related industry whose liquidity depends on sunny days: solar panel manufacturing
and installation companies that are riding the green energy trend all the way to the
bank.
In Press Health, Briana Bonfiglio, our digital editor, peels back the layers of issues
with dangerous mold lurking in homes across the region. In Press Home, we explore
how the red-hot real estate market is swaying sales in unexpected ways. And in Press
Buzz, our reporters round up all the public gardens to visit while they’re in bloom.
In addition, Associate Editor Annie Wilkinson in this month’s Rear View column recalls America's sweethearts
just before World War I, the husband-and-wife dancers Vernon and Irene Castle who revolutionized ballroom
dancing and created the glide, the one-step, the bunny hug, the Castle walk, the hesitation waltz, the turkey trot,
and on and on. When not performing or teaching, they glided around their 5,000-square-foot Manhasset Bay estate
or spent time at their nightclub Castles by the Sea on the boardwalk in Long Beach.
As always, don’t forget to like Long Island Press on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and
sign up for our email newsletters rounding up all you may have missed on the updated-daily longislandpress.com
Happy Easter and Passover!
For more news and features, visit longislandpress.com
EDITORIAL
Publisher and
Executive Editor
Emeritus
John Kominicki
Publisher
Joanna Austin
Editor in Chief
Timothy Bolger
Associate Editor
Annie Wilkinson
Digital Editor
Briana Bonfiglio
Contributors
CJ Arlotta
Terrell Bush
Arlene Gross
Bernie Kilkelly
Alan Krawitz
Allison Matos
Joan MacNaughton
Drashti Mehta
Selia Mercado
Sheryl Nance-Nash
Tammy Scileppi
Claude Solnik
Maia Vines
Client Partners
Valerie Donato
Alan Gottlieb
William Levy
Joan MacNaughton
Martha Tucker
Jodi Turk
Schneps Media
President
Victoria Schneps-Yunis
CEO
Joshua Schneps
Long Island Press
38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside,
NY 11361
718-224-5863
www.longislandpress.com
Editorial e-mail:
tbolger@longislandpress.com
Advertising e-mail:
jaustin@longislandpress.com
Entire Contents
Copyright 2021
by Long Island Press
CONTENTS
Volume 200, No. 4 April 2021
Sincerely,
Joanna Austin
Publisher, Long Island Press
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10 THIS MONTH
The latest local news headlines on Long
Island. 14 COVER
How Old Westbury’s Leo and Jennifer Vartanov
gambled on love in a casino and won
big by building a credit card processing
company. 16 GUEST COLUMNISTS
Adelphi University President Emeritus
Robert Scott on the importance of voting in
a democracy. And New York Press Association
Executive Director Michelle Rea urges
state lawmakers to exempt newspapers
from a new recycling proposal pending in
Albany. 19 BUSINESS
LI’s solar industry basks in the sun, meet
Bob Coughlan, coprincipal of Tritec Real
Estate Company, the local invention helping
fight the pandemic, Habitat for Humanity
of Suffolk County comes home, and Tate’s
Bake Shop accused of union busting. 33 HEALTH
Why people should beware of mold in their
homes, exploring the lure of communities
that cater to residents ages 55 and older, and
the latest pandemic headlines. 39 FAMILY
What steps parents can take when their
children are missing milestones, tips for
reacclimating kids to socializing, the donor
keeping front-line healthcare heroes
stocked in fresh socks, and the Girl Scouts
upcycle T-shirts as shelter dog toys. 45 CAMP GUIDE
Tips for getting kids enrolled in the best
day camps, sleepaway camps, and specialized
camps this summer.
53 HOME
Spring real estate market update, inside a
spectacular Five Towns house on the market,
LI’s top interior designers, and how to
turn your backyard into a sanctuary for
another summer of social distancing.
59 BUZZ
A roundup of public gardens in bloom this
spring, the Main Dish food and dining section,
the latest Do This! Event listings, and
LI’s dancing duo.
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