The Village of Port Washington North dedicated a crosswalk in memory of Lee Aschenbrenner, who sustained massive injuries as the result of being hit by a car as he crossed Shore Road on his way to the Chabad Synagogue on December 4, 2008. Aschenbrenner died of his injuries in August 2009.
The village did not release the news of the dedication immediately because it wanted the event to remain private. Aschenbrenner was an educator who served as principal of Manorhaven School for many years and he was a tireless volunteer in the community.
A small crowd of friends and family who knew Lee gathered to witness the dedication of the Traffic Safety Crosswalks on Shore Road in Port Washington.
Steve Kaplan, Village of Port Washington North traffic safety commissioner and longtime friend of Lee, welcomed everyone and introduced the mayor of Port North, Bob Weitzner, who thanked everyone involved in the crosswalk project. This included Nassau County Legislator Wayne Wink, who helped obtain grants allowing for Port North to install the advanced crosswalks and lights, increasing the safety on Shore Road. The project encompassed crosswalks that fall within the jurisdiction of Manorhaven and the Town of North Hempstead as well as the village of Port North.
Legislator Wink, together with Rabbi Paltiel of Chabad and Rabbi Zeplowitz of Community Synagogue, all praised the life and dedication of Lee Aschenbrenner to the group of friends, police representatives and family members of all ages that attended the dedication including Lee’s daughter, Karen Rosenthal, who worked with Kaplan to put the day together.
Steve Kaplan said, “The tragedy that took Lee from us must never happen again and in many ways led to the traffic calming and safety initiatives on Shore Road.” The Village of Port Washington North under the leadership of Mayor Bob Weitzner applied for and received matching grants from New York State and Nassau County which have been used to install traffic calming crosswalks and cross walk signals all along Shore Road including intersections in Port North, the Town of North Hempstead and Manorhaven.
