Glen Cove, New York – Thanks to the efforts of Assemblymember Charles Lavine (D-North Shore), members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 347 are closer to finally going home again.Nearly a year and a half after a fire forced the closure of the building where the group meets, a state grant secured by Lavine will push the group a step closer to reaching their final goal of securing the necessary funding to complete the rebuilding process. The group had met regularly in the basement of the century-old building on Hill Street in Glen Cove which was heavily damaged in the August 2021 blaze. Lavine was joined by members of the VFW along with Glen Cove City Councilwomen Marsha Silverman and Danielle Fugazy Scagliola to announce the grant.

Assemblymember Lavine said: “A horrible fire took place here and many of us never thought we’d be able to restore the building, that’s how extensive the fire was.Thanks to this grant, this building will continue to be a jewel for the City of Glen Cove.We are very, very proud of that and anything we can do to help the veterans who’ve done so much to help America and protect America, that’s a good day in my book.”

Councilwoman Silverman said: “I’m thrilled to see that Assemblyman Lavine and his office could help the City of Glen Cove VFW to push it towards their final goal for funding to rebuild this community asset. Veterans have been such a huge part of the Glen Cove community and this is their home.We’re lucky that our first responders (fire department) got here so quickly so the building was not a complete loss but it’s taking a lot to rebuild it.”

Councilwoman Fugazy Scagliola said: “There are so many people in this community that care so much about the vets and this building.I’m so grateful to the vets here for what they do for us and this is just a small thing we can do for them.Chuck is an incredible asset to our community in that whenever we’re in need he finds a way to help us and he made this a priority and he consistently comes through for us and I’m appreciative of that.”