Way to Go! Kellenberg student works to improve beach access
Anna Nealon, a senior at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, is working to improve accessibility at beaches in the Town of Hempstead. Credit: Veronica Nealon
A student at Kellenberg Memorial High School is striving to make visits to the beach easier for people with less mobility in the Town of Hempstead.
Anna Nealon, a senior at the school in Uniondale, has collected approximately 1,000 signatures as part of a project called "Live Without Limits," which would help increase access to the shoreline for the older people and those with physical disabilities visiting the town's beaches. Her aim, she said, is to compel the town to extend beach access rollout mats called Mobi-Mats.
Nealon, a Girl Scout, is pursuing the project as part of her Gold Award, the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA. She was inspired to pursue the idea after expericing difficulties reaching the shore while visiting beaches with her cousin Brianna, who has Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development in girls.
"I've seen firsthand the positive impact the beach has on her," Nealon said of her cousin. Of the petition, she said: "I just felt like I could gain support before introducing it to the Town of Hempstead, so they know how many people this would impact."
Nealon, 17, is also a member of her school's National Honor Society, teaches religion through the Parish Religious Education Program Club, and since 2019 has volunteered with the town's Camp ANCHOR in Lido Beach.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
