Hundreds Honor Plainview's Omer Neutra With Street Renaming

PLAINVIEW, NY — Hundreds of people turned on Sunday to honor Omer Neutra, the IDF soldier from Plainview, who was killed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

A portion of Manetto Hill Road was renamed Captain Omer Neutra Way, started by an unanimous bill sponsored by Nassau Legislator Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview).

"It was very bittersweet. I wish we didn't have to do it at all," Drucker told Patch. "But, it was gratifying to see how our community came together."

Neutra's parents kept hope alive for months that Neutra was alive as a hostage in Gaza. However, in December it became known that he was murdered when the war with Israel began. Neutra was one of the 1,139 people killed during the attack during a battle in the vicinity of Nir Oz, a small kibbutz located near Gaza.

"The Plainview community has just been outstanding," he said. "We rallied, we marched, we cried, but we never gave up hope."

Once the worst scenario became a reality, "I needed to do something to honor that young man," Drucker said.

They chose to rename the road in front of the Mid-Island Y JCC, where Neutra spent many hours growing up. The street marker bearing his name serves two purposes, the legislator said.

"His name will be there in perpetuity, so that every car that drives by on Manetto Hill Road, forever, will see his name," Drucker said. "Either they will know about him or they may be inclined to ask 'What did he do?'

Ultimately, though, his legacy is more than what shows on the street.

"[It] furthers a discussion on the importance of standing up and defending the value that Omer had," Drucker said.