Baldwin Herald

Baldwin

HERALD How Covid-19 affects testing

Water test drilling at Baldwin park

Griffin reads to children, virtually

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Vol. 27 No. 17

APRIl 23 - 29, 2020

Revitalization deadline likely pushed to June

By BRIdGet doWNes bdownes@liherald.com

Courtesy Windy Boodram

Now, if I can just keep the cars out Ryley Boodram, of Cub Scout Pack 824, Wolf Den 4, created rainbow art on his driveway on Grand Avenue to spread cheer in his neighborhood. Story, more photos, Page 10.

Public meetings have been postponed indefinitely or canceled, leaving the residents and officials charged with developing plans for Baldwin’s $10 million, state-funded Downtown Revitalization Initiative in the lurch and wondering what their deadline to submit plans will be. It was originally April 24.

“At this time, the Department of State is revisiting the overall timeline and deadlines, but no decisions have been made as we continue to monitor the situation,” state officials said in a

statement last week.

Officials said they paused all Downtown Revitalization Initiative Local Planning Committee and public meetings until further notice. The March meetings were postponed as coronavirus spread throughout the area.

But the deadline for Baldwin residents and officials to submit plans will likely be toward the end of June, state officials said in an email to Local Planning Committee members, a group of area leaders, last week.

“The DRI consultants will continue to work on developing project profiles during this time,” offiContinued on page 4

Baldwin is among hardest-hit by Covid-19

By BRIdGet doWNes bdownes@liherald.com

Baldwin is among the Nassau County neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by the Covid-19 strain of coronavirus, with 643 confirmed positive cases as of Monday, according to county De par tment of Health records. Of the more than 130 communities in Nassau, Baldwin is the ninth-hardest-hit.

The statistics come from the county Department of Health’s interactive Covid19 map, which tracks the number of confirmed cases by neighborhood. Baldwin’s cases are spread over two

areas, with 484 in Baldwin, and 159 in Baldwin Harbor.

The map does not include cases pending confirmation by the New York State Department of Health.

The news came as the state reported a total of 229,642 positive Covid-19 cases in the state as of April 17, with 28,539 cases confirmed in Nassau County since the outbreak began in early March.

While the New York State on Pause restrictions and closures have been extended to May 15, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said over the weekend there were signs that the number of new coronavirus cases was leveling off,

d

uring these trying times, it’s important to remember those in need. deBRA Mulé

County legislator and talks had begun to reopen the economies of New York and neighboring states that were shut down to slow the spread of infection.

“New York believes we have reached a plateau” of

new coronavirus cases, Cuomo said last week. “This is relatively good news in a world of bad options.” But he urged residents to continue practicing social distancing.

In addition to New York, the states involved in the talks include Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

As New Yorkers continue to self-isolate and wear masks in public in an effort to further spread coronavirus, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, whose district includes Baldwin, provided Personal Protective Equipment to local essential workers.

“Our first responders and essential workers are on the front lines of this health crisis, putting their safety on the line to help protect the community,” Kaminsky said. “Providing them with this equipment so they can continue to do their jobs safely is the least we can do.”

With donations and help from several local residents, including Brian Rathjen of Rockville Centre, Kaminsky delivered 100 surgical masks to Sanitary District 2 and another 100 masks to the Gala Fresh Farms Supermarket in Baldwin.

Continued on page 3

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020 Courtesy Legislator Debra Mulé

Nassau CouNty legislator Debra Mulé, center, has partnered with Long Island Cares to conduct a virtual food and essential items drive.

Officials coordinate food drives to aid residents continued from front page It’s critical that first responders, health care workers and essential personnel have access to PPE in order to do their jobs safely and effectively, Kaminsky said.

To donate to Kaminsky’s PPE drive, email Kaminsky@nysenate.gov.

The senator also recognized Dr. Sean Randazzo, an assisting physician at Stony Brook University Hospital, a volunteer firefighter at the Baldwin Fire Department and longtime Baldwin resident, as “Helper of the Week” for his work on the front lines of the Covid-19 outbreak. Each week, Kaminsky highlights a 9th District resident who has gone above and beyond to help local communities deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

Originally slated to graduate from medical school May 21, Randazzo and his fellow medical students were made doctors so they could immediately begin working in hospitals to help with the overflow of Covid-19 patients.

“When Dr. Randazzo enrolled in medical school, I’m sure he didn’t expect his graduation to be accelerated so he could help fight a pandemic, but he answered the call and is on the front lines of this crisis helping people recover,” Kaminsky said. “He, along with his fellow healthcare professionals, first responders and essential workers are heroes and deserve all our support.”

As a Baldwin resident and graduate of Kellenberg High School, Randazzo credited his time as captain of Ladder 2 as the biggest influence in his decision to become a doctor.

Kaminsky isn’t the only elected official looking out for his constituents.

Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé, whose district includes Baldwin, has partnered with Long Island Cares to sponsor an essential supply drive to support local families who are in need of

Courtesy State Sen. Todd Kaminsky

With the help of residents, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, left, provided 100 masks to Franky Jorge, the owner of Gala Fresh Farms Supermarket in Baldwin. vital goods.

“During these trying times, it’s important to remember those in need,” Mulé said.

The virtual supply drive allows residents to shop from their homes and purchase essential supplies, including food, water, soap and diapers, for local families affected by the crisis. Additionally, Long Island Cares provides a variety of vital services to assist those experiencing hunger, homelessness and poverty.

To contribute to Mulé’s drive, visit yougivegoods.com/debramule. For more information, contact Mulé’s office at (516) 571-6205 or dmule@nassaucountyny.gov.

State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin,

who also represents Baldwin, started a virtual food drive on March 18 in collaboration with Long Island Cares. Five percent of every online purchase goes back to Long Island Cares. To donate, visit yougivegoods.com/griffin.

“Next to [New York City], Nassau County has been the hardest hit county in the state,” Griffin said. Baldwin “is one of the communities that has been hit particularly hard. I fully support Governor Cuomo’s decision to direct a task force to research the surge in specific communities.”

It’s vital that everyone continues to follow social distancing guidelines to continue to flatten the curve, she added.

Courtesy State Sen. Todd Kaminsky

aNother 100 masks, held by Sanitation Commissioner John Cools, were donated to Sanitary District 2 in Baldwin.

“I am grateful for all our health care workers,” Griffin continued, “but especially those at our local hospitals like Mount Sinai-South Nassau, Mercy and [Nassau University Medical Center]. I have consistently advocated for nurses who work in our hospitals on Long Island to have the PPE they need to continue to fight the virus and help save lives. Their hard work, expertise and dedication have saved many lives. The consistent support throughout our communities has been heartwarming, and I look forward to seeing us beat the coronavirus once and for all.”

Scott Brinton contributed to this story.

Jake Gold/Herald

Baldwin american legion Commander Bob Hare, center, asked about housing projects at a Jan. 29 Baldwin Downtown Revitalization Initiative meeting.

Planning meetings postponed amid pandemic continued from front page cials said in the statement, “and will conduct any necessary outreach via remote channels to be in line with the governor’s directives on social distancing.”

For months, residents, consultants, and state and Town of Hempstead officials have discussed potential projects for the Baldwin zoning overlay district, which has a temporary zoning code meant to encourage developers to build there and revitalize the downtown, which has struggled with vacant buildings for nearly 20 years.

The Baldwin overlay zone is being implemented with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, for which Baldwin received a $10 million state grant.

Ten communities across the state were selected for DRI grants.

“The state is working on a plan to restart the DRI process, but has not yet finalized anything,” officials said in the email. “We need to restart the DRI process for the entire state at the same time, so we have had to do a lot of outreach to see how each community is doing.”

All of the meetings going forward will be virtual, officials continued, but they did not provide details.

Baldwin American Legion Commander Bob Hare, who is part of the Local Planning Committee, said planners and developers have basically bought themselves two extra months before plans are submitted to the state to finalize the process.

In the weeks before the pandemic shut down meetings, Hare noted that there was an increasing number of Baldwin businesses and commercial developers who were interested in taking part in the revitalization program despite having passed the January deadline for a call for projects.

“If any of us are looking for a silver lining for this whole time that we’ve been going through,” he said, “it’s maybe the two extra months we got will benefit the overall process by what we get from the developers and the businesses.”

Baldwin Civic Association President Darien Ward, who also sits on the LPC, said he is concerned about the availability of the funding allocated for Baldwin.

“My question is what happens when there’s not any revenue coming to the county or the state?” he asked. “Does that $9.7 million that was available — did that change?” Some $300,000 of the funds were used to hire consultants, including VHB Engineering.

“We don’t really know the status, the pandemic, and what its effect is going to be on any funding that has already been allocated but not yet realized,” Ward said. “We have not actually taken possession of [the grant] and put any shovels in the ground.

So that’s my question.”

Ward said he understood that addressing the pandemic must take precedence.

But he and other community leaders had tried to set up a meeting with town offi-

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cials, consultants and community leaders before the outbreak struck.

Ward and other civic association members have sought a virtual meeting with town officials, including Supervisor Don Clavin; consultants, including Eric Alexander of Vision Long Island; and Baldwin Chamber of Commerce representatives to discuss the density limits implemented in the Baldwin overlay zone by town council members. They said they hoped to have a teleconference call this week.

“We’re trying to have that conversation to discuss density and what does it really

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mean in the transit-oriented development segment around the Long Island Rail Road, because developers have come up with concerns about the viability of really doing transit-oriented development with some of the limitations that have been put in place,” Ward said, adding that he is looking for advice to help guide developers so that their projects succeed.

“We’ve been in contact with state officials about getting the process up and running again,” Clavin said. “I look forward to once again meeting with all the community members and stakeholders.”

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County exec: Delaying school taxes could hurt sbrinton@liherald.com

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran spoke at length last Saturday about a proposal before the County Legislature to delay collection of school taxes that come due in May. Curran, a Democrat, said Monday that she would speak with Governor Cuomo about the possibility of pushing back school tax payments to June 1, but the Republican-controlled Legislature proceeded passed the measure that day.

Many residents have been laid off or have seen their hours reduced, and so are looking for financial relief.

Delaying school taxes, however, could have serious financial consequences for the county, Curran said.

Curran explained that the county must guarantee all school tax collections, meaning if the school districts come up short in their collections, then the county must provide the funding to the districts — by law.

She said the county is hurting financially, as are all municipalities.

Sales and property tax collections comprise 67 percent of the county’s more than $3 billion budget. Sales taxes have plummeted during the pandemic, starving the county of one of its two primary revenue sources, Curran said.

She worries about county employees, she said, and wants to ensure the

county maintains its force of first responders, including police officers and medics.

The federal and state governments, she said, must step in to ensure the county has enough cash on hand to meet its financial obligations, including to its employees, so it can continue to provide essential services.

In Nassau County, new hospitalizations declined throughout the weekend, as did ICU cases and intubations, Curran said.

Over the weekend, the county was closing in on 30,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. Many of them have resolved, the county executive said.

She also said hospital “discharges continue to be robust,” indicating the county may be past the plateau.

“We become more eager and ready to reopen our society,” she said, adding the county must begin planning to reopen marinas, golf courses and beaches, including the county-owned Nickerson Beach in Lido.

Over the weekend, Gover nor Cuomo reopened marinas and golf courses.

Curran said a strategy to reopen all of the economy must be developed. “I do believe we can strike the balance” between opening up society and controlling new infections, particularly among the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, she said.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By scott BriNtoN

Christina Daly/Herald

Nassau ExEcutivE Laura Curran said she worries that if school tax collections were delayed, the county might wind up paying the bill.

Covid-19 deaths decline over the weekend In Nassau County, new hospitalizations declined for the third straight day, as did ICU cases and intubations, County For the first time since the Covid-19 Executive Laura Curran said Saturday pandemic struck more than a month ago, afternoon.

New York state saw sharp declines in the On Sunday, Cuomo appeared alongnumber of overnight deaths because of side Northwell Health President and the coronavirus, and Gov. CEO Michael Dowling to Andrew Cuomo was expressannounce plans to undertake ing cautious optimism over widespread, random antithe weekend that the state body testing to determine was past the peak of the dismore precisely New York’s ease. actual infection rate.

He noted, however, that Overnight from Saturday relaxing social distancing into Sunday, 507 people died could lead to a second wave of the coronavirus in New of infection.

York, Cuomo said at NorthThe number of deaths well’s Feinstein Institutes for because of the coronavirus Medical Research in dropped a little more than 14 Manhasset. That represented percent across New York an 8 percent drop in the overstate overnight from Friday night death rate. into Saturday, from 630 to New hospitalizations also 540, Cuomo said Saturday declined, from 2,000 the day afternoon. before to 1,300, a 35 percent It was the smallest numdrop. ber of overnight deaths the Gov. aNdrEW And new intubations, state had seen in a day since cuoMo whereby people are placed on early April, and represented ventilators to enable them to a 32 percent decrease in the breath, were down also. overnight mortality rate from April 9, If those statistics hold, Cuomo said, when the number of deaths from one day “we are past the high point,” and all indito the next peaked at 799. cations are the infection rate is “on the Cuomo noted, however, that the state descent.” still saw 2,000 new hospitalizations overStill, he said, “Thirteen hundred is a night, which, he said, was troubling. lot of people coming into the hospital

By scott BriNtoN sbrinton@liherald.com

W

e just pray to God [the infection rate] remains down on the other side … We still have a long way to go.

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Governor: Marinas can open New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are allowing marinas, boatyards and marine manufacturers to open for personal use, provided they adhere to social distancing protocols and sanitize their facilities, Governor Cuomo announced Saturday afternoon.

Chartered watercraft services or rentals will not be allowed, and restaurants at these sites will be limited to take-out or delivery.

system.”

State officials are taking a breather with the infection rate appearing to stabilize. Cuomo described the crisis “as a mountain that just kept building and building and building,” and he said, he had “no idea where the top of the mountain” was.

“We just pray to God,” he said, that the infection rate “remains down on the other side” of the mountain.

He also noted, “We still have a long way to go.”

The governor urged people to continue social distancing and practice sound hygiene. He worries that people will see the death and new hospitalization rates

“Throughout this pandemic, we’ve worked closely with our friends in neighboring states to implement a uniform regional approach to reducing the spread of the virus,” Cuomo said. “Aligning our polices in this area is another example of that strong partnership, and will help ensure there is no confusion or ‘state shopping’ when it comes to marinas and boatyards.”

–Scott Brinton declining, and then attempt to return to life as normal too soon. That, he said, would jeopardize the progress the state has made over the past 40 days in containing the virus.

In preparing for a reopening of New York’s economy, he said, the state needs greater testing, and it needs more federal funding. Cuomo estimated the state faces a $10 billion to $15 billion deficit. That money will have to be made up somehow.

Without federal funding, cuts are likely, he said, noting school districts across the state could see their state aid slashed by 50 percent in 2020-21 without federal assistance.

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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On the front lines with a Northwell ICU nurse

By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

Each time a patient comes off a ventilator in the intensive care unit at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset these days, the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” plays over the loudspeaker, alerting all staff and patients that a life has been saved.

Elyse Isopo, an ICU nurse practitioner at North Shore, with 20 years experience, spoke of that moment during a 19-minute Facebook Live interview with Northwell Health video producer Rob Hoell on Thursday.

It is an important moment for all in the ICU, as staff members work around the clock battling the Covid-19 virus, which, Isopo said, is yet to let up in the ICU. People throughout the ICU erupt in cheers and clapping when that Beatles song sounds, Isopo said, noting, “We need those wins, because it keeps us going.”

The number of new hospitalizations across New York state, including in Nassau, appears to be declining, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and County Executive Laura Curran.

The number of ICU patients where Isopo is at, however, continues unabated, she said, “because people who are hospitalized are getting sicker.”

Working in the ICU, she said, “is scary, and real, and rewarding at the same time,” adding, “Everybody has been amazing. It feels like a family.”

Courtesy Northwell Health

northwell health icU nurse practitioner Elyse Isopo spoke with video producer Rob Hoell about what it’s like to battle Covid-19 on the front lines.

One of the hardest parts that patients must endure is the sense of isolation from their families, because visitors are not allowed into the hospital, Isopo said.

Patients receive iPads so they can connect with loved ones, but it is not the same as meeting face to face.

If a patient appears near death, only then is family allowed in, she said.

Isopo spoke of one recent case, a patient originally from Korea. The patient asked that Korean music be played in his

final moments, and so it was. “It was beautiful,” she said, “and we supported his dying process.”

Such images, however, can also be haunting. “I don’t sleep very well at night,” Isopo said.

She is married with children. Worried about potentially infecting her family, she is careful each night to remove her clothes and shoes and take a shower before entering her home. “After a long day,” she said, “it’s draining.”

Working in the ICU is tough, she said.

“It’s very challenging. It’s very difficult.

It’s very stressful,” she said. “Everybody is as critical as the next person and the next person.

“It looks like a MASH unit,” she continued. “It’s bed after bed after bed … You walk in there, and you’re in the trenches.”

Isopo said the community has come out in unexpected and welcome ways, showering the nurses and doctors with praise and parades and food. “Seeing everyone in the community looking at us like heroes is very overwhelming and very much appreciated,” she said.

She emphasized, though, that “I never thought of myself as a hero.” The first responders in the field, the police and firefighters, are the heroes, she said.

Isopo said she believes Northwell has provided adequate personal protective equipment to hospital workers throughout the crisis. At first, workers were limited to one N95 mask per week, but now receive a new one daily, she said. Many place surgical masks over their N95 masks as an extra layer of protection to keep fluids off them.

In addition to masks, all workers receive paper scrubs, goggles, face shields and gloves.

She ended by saying people should stay home to reduce the infection and hospitalization rates. “The more people stay home, that helps us,” she said.

For the full interview, see liherald.com.

Catholic Health Services taking part in clinical trials

By Jeff BeSSen jbessen@liherald.com

Catholic Health Services is taking part in two clinical trials designed to develop treatments for Covid-19.

A Mayo Clinic trial is using what is called convalescent plasma donated by recovered Covid-19 patents to treat individuals who continue to fight the coronavirus.

Convalescent plasma comprises parts of the blood of people who have had the virus and recovered.

The second study involves using the medication remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat the Ebola virus and has been successfully used for other coronaviruses, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

The convalescent plasma study is being offered at CHS’s six hospitals. The remdesivir trial is taking place at St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center® in Roslyn and at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, CHS officials said.

One 200 milliliters/6.8 ounces dose of the plasma has benefitted a portion of patients, according to the initial data. People who recover from Covid-19 do so, in part, because their blood contains antibodies that are able to fight the virus. Previous research of other viruses found that treating patients with plasma obtained from those who have recovered from the same virus leads to rapid improvement, CHS officials said.

Using remdesivir to treat COVID-19 follows limited testing in the United States, Canada, China and other countries that led to an improvement in the condition of some patients. The treatment regimen using remdesivir takes place over 10 days and includes a 200-milligram dose on the first day and a 100-milligram dose on days two to 10.

Herald file photo

catholic health ServiceS of Long Island, which includes Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, above, is involved in two clinical trial seeking to develop a treatment for Covid-19.

“Catholic Health Services is excited to be on the front lines and participate in these clinical trials for Covid-19,” CHS Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer Dr. Jason Golbin, stated in a news release. “Our clinical teams have spent several weeks caring for Covid-19 patients. It means a great deal to everyone to take part in these two cutting-edge research efforts.”

Potential plasma donors must have a prior, verified diagnosis of Covid-19, but are now symptom-free and

fully recovered. Donors must also be at least 18 and weigh at least 110 pounds. The plasma can be administered only to a consenting Covid-19 patient or a patient whose family member offers consent. The treatment will be given to patients judged by a doctor to be at high risk of disease progression to severe or life-threatening.

To donate plasma and for more information on the two clinical trials, call Catholic Health Services at (855) 247-4500.

Cuomo extends N.Y. PAUSE to May 15 By scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

n

ew York PAUSE has worked, [but] we’re not there yet.

couple can now marry by video in new York state On Saturday, Governor Cuomo issued a directive allowing marriages to be performed via videoconference to help reduce the infection rate amid the coronavirus crisis.

Among other conditions, the order requires the following be met:

are present in the New York state jurisdiction where the marriage is to take place.

■ The couple to be wed must present valid photo ID during the videoconference.

Local town and city clerks may provide further guidance.

If a couple’s marriage license has or will expire during the Covid19 pandemic, the state is waiving the 60-day waiting period to obtain a new license. It is also waiving all fees to obtain a second marriage license.

■ The town or city clerk, the witness(es), the person to solemnize the marriage, and the couple must interact with one another. No pre-recorded ceremonies are allowed.

■ The couple must affirm that they

■ The couple must send a legible copy of the signed marriage document by fax or email to the town or city clerk, the witnesses, and the person to solemnize the marriage on the same date it was signed.

–Scott Brinton

State releases data on nursing home deaths

By James Bernstein jbernstein@liherald.com

The New York State Department of Health released a list of 22 nursing homes on Long Island, including homes in Long Beach, Glen Cove and Lynbrook, where residents have died from the coronavirus epidemic. The state said its list included only deaths that took place inside a facility or location where five people or more have died.

State health officials said 22 residents at the Long Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation Center had died of the virus; eight at the Glen Cove Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and six at the Lynbrook Restorative and Therapy Nursing facility.

Across the state, a total of 1,135 nursing home or assisted living center deaths at 72 facilities, officials said. The Health Department lists say 128 deaths took place at a total of 11 nursing homes in all of Nassau County.

The Health Department released the list after numerous complaints from the families of residents at the facilities, legislators and members of the media.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked repeatedly at his daily briefings about the coronavirus illness at nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the state.

The governor had said the figures were being compiled.

Cuomo ordered nursing homes to i m m e d i at e ly i n fo r m re l at ive s o f patients who test positive.

Herald file photo

the state health Department reported 22 cases of Covid-19 deaths at the Long Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Administrators at the nursing homes in Long Beach, Glen Cove and Lynbrook have not released information about Covid-19 cases. But most all facilities have listed on their websites that they are sanitizing all areas within the

homes, maintaining social distancing among staff members, and noting that they are closed to outsiders, to protect the health of patients.

Relatives have not been allowed to visit patients at the facilities, and many

told media outlets they had been unable to reach patients by phone.

Administrators at the Long Beach, Glen Cove and Lynbrook facilities did not return calls seeking comment.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

lion of them are workers.

New York on PAUSE — Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone — Gov. Andrew Cuomo last Thursday has kept the infection and hospitalizaextended New York on PAUSE, a 10-point tion rates to manageable levels, the govplan that shuts down “non-essential” ernor indicated. “We slowed the infecbusinesses and schools and requires tion rate by our actions, and that’s why social distancing, through May 15. The we’re in a better position today,” he said. announcement came during Wi d e s p r e a d t e s t i n g , his daily briefing, when he including antibody blood also continued to lay out his sampling, is needed to better vision to reopen the economy track the infection rate and — and the challenges doing assure people that they are so will present. safe when returning to their Previously, New York on workplaces. Cuomo said the PAUSE was to end April 30. state would conduct 3,000 “New York PAUSE has random antibody tests in the worked,” Cuomo said, but he coming weeks. noted, “we’re not there yet,” Last Wednesday, Cuomo referring to the reduction in said he would like to see the Gov. andrew the Covid-19 infection rate economy reopen in phases, needed to allow all people to cuomo in close coordination with retur n to work and ease six other states — Delaware, social distancing requireConnecticut, Massachusetts, ments.

New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode The governor said the state does not Island. yet fully know what the infection rate is.

He asked on Thursday that employers To date, more than 500,000 people have begin to consider whether their workers been tested in New York, more than Cali- can continue to telecommute when their fornia, Florida and Michigan combined, workplaces reopen, as well as think Cuomo said. That figure, however, repre- about the configuration of their worksents a fraction of the state’s population spaces. How far apart might desks be — 19 million people live here, and 9 mil- spread apart, for example?

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Senator freed from prison amid pandemic

By Jill nossa jnossa@liherald.com

Former State Sen. Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre has tested positive for Covid-19 and will serve the remainder of his prison term at home, according to court papers filed last Wednesday.

Skelos, 72, was reportedly in quarantine at the federal prison in Otisville, according to documents filed in federal court in Manhattan by Southern District prosecutors, and has been symptom-free since April 8.

Prosecutors said that medical authorities at the prison have cleared his release. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons said Skelos is expected to be approved for furlough and home confinement once the U.S. Probation Department has approved his proposed residence. A release date had not been set as of press time Monday.

L a t e l a s t m o n t h , S ke l o s

requested early release, citing fear of contracting the virus after another inmate tested positive. The motion, filed under seal, was opposed by federal prosecutors in papers filed publicly, saying that an application for release must first be filed with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which can better assess his health situation. His medical condition was not made public at that point.

Skelos has more than two years left on his 51-month sentence for extortion, wire fraud and bribery.

Skelos was convicted in July 2018 of using his political power to secure roughly $300,000 in jobs and fees for his son Adam, also of Rockville Centre. They were each convicted on eight counts of conspiracy, extortion, and bribery.

Adam Skelos was sentenced to four years in prison.

Herald file photo

former state sen. Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre has tested positive for Covid-19 and is expected to be released early to home confinement.

Trump lawyer, Lawrence native, to be released from prison

By Jeff Bessen jbessen@liherald.com

Michael Cohen, a Lawrence native and former personal attorney for President Donald Trump, who was convicted of several felonies and sentenced to three years in prison in 2018, will be released because of the coronavirus pandemic after a 14-day quarantine period, prison officials said. He will serve the remainder of his sentence confined to home.

He was serving his sentence and expected to be released in November 2021 from federal prison in upstate Otisville, where 14 inmates and seven staff members at the facility tested positive for Covid-19, as of press time. A federal judge had previously rejected Cohen’s request for a sentence reduction because of coronavirus on March 24.

Cohen was found guilty of breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress, among other charges in 2018. He was also ordered to pay $1.39 million in restitution, forfeit $500,000 and pay a $50,000 fine. The guilty pleas to the federal felony charges resulted in his disbarment as a lawyer in New York state.

Serving as Trump’s personal attorney, Cohen, 53, arranged sixfigure payments to a por n star known as Stormy Daniels, whose

Jeff Bessen/Herald

lawrence native michael Cohen who was serving three years in prison on multiple federal charges will be released because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Above, testifying before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform last year. real name is Stephanie Clifford, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to buy their silence about their one-time affairs with the president.

Cohen testified multiple times in front of Congressional commit-

tees on Capitol Hill last year, including the public hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, before which he famously called his former boss a racist and a cheat, and admitted,” I am a fool.”

News brief Long Island Trauma Recovery Network to provide free therapy The Long Island Trauma Recovery Network will provide free therapy to health care workers, first responders, essential employees, their families, and those whose loved ones are facing or have died from the coronavirus.

All services will be provided remotely by trained and licensed eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapists. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing is a form of psychotherapy in which a trauma patient is asked to recall a distressing image. It has been proven to help address the trauma symptoms that medical professionals and first responders face.

The Long Island EDMR Trauma Network will offer the Integrative Group Treatment Protocol, which provides individual EDMR therapy in a group setting. The program is administered to groups of people who have experienced the same type of trauma or who share a major life challenge.

There will be several groups weekly, and some individual appointments are available.

For more information, email LongIslandTrauma@gmail.com and contact Cathy Menzies, LCSWR Trauma Recovery Coordinator at (631) 466 - 7053 to register.

–Melissa Koenig

MSSN sees Covid-19 curve flattening bbonfiglio@liherald.com

The curve of coronavirus cases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside is flattening, according to Joe Calderone, the hospital’s vice president of corporate communications.

As of Friday, the hospital had 290 patients being treated for Covid-19, down from 383 on April 13, which hospital officials said they believe was the peak.

“The good news is the number has been steadily flattening,” Calderone said.

“The social distancing that people are doing, as difficult as it is, is definitely producing results. We are really urging people to not let up.”

Of those patients, 64 were on ventilators. MSSN has more than 100 ventilators available. In addition, Calderone assured that the facility has enough personal protective equipment, or PPE, for all hospital staff.

“We purchased some [ventilators] ourselves and were able to get some through Mount Sinai Health System,” Calderone explained. “Our partnership with them has been incredibly helpful through this pandemic, supporting both in a clinical standpoint in terms of new drugs being tested and plasma therapy. They also have a very good, robust supply chain operation.”

As of Friday, the hospital had 238 Covid-19 deaths, while 357 patients who were previously diagnosed with the virus were treated and discharged. When cases

Courtesy MSSN

Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital officials said there has been a flattening of the curve in coronavirus cases, however, the community must still be vigilant in practicing social distancing. began to climb last month, Department of Medicine Chairman Dr. Aaron Glatt spoke of the importance of social distancing during a Facebook Live session at the hospital.

“I want to stress the single most important thing that everybody can do is really understand what social distancing means,” he said at the time. “That’s the

buzzword of 2020. That will be the word of the year.”

One month later, Calderone urged residents to continue to heed that advice, even as the numbers continue to improve.

While the toll the virus has taken is unprecedented and beyond what most hospital workers have ever seen, Calderone noted that there is still much they

are grateful for. The hospital has received food donations from more than 50 local businesses.

“Many have come forward and funded food for the staff,” he said, “which is really helpful because they’re working 16-hour days and barely have time to take a break. This way, [the food] is readily available and they don’t have to think about it.

“But really, it’s not about the food,” he added. “It’s the message that it sends to the staff that people on the outside recognize what’s happening inside this hospital and the incredible challenge the front-line workers have faced during this pandemic, putting themselves and families at risk to care for often critically ill Covid patients.

It sends a great morale boost.”

Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital are also spreading positivity with their “message board of hope,” which they debuted in the hospital lobby last week.

Nurses Teresa Ebehart, Angelica Hoyos and Christine Doud handcrafted the board, which displays the number of Covid-19-positive patients that have been discharged from the hospital, and how many coronavirus patients have been taken off ventilators at the facility.

As each patient is discharged from MSSN, “Here Comes the Sun” is played as the board is updated. Each time a patient is taken off of a ventilator, the staff plays “Breath.”

Mike Smollins contributed to this story.

County boat launches, marinas taped off All Nassau County boat launch ramps and marinas, including the Milburn Pond Park boat launch on Merrick Road in Baldwin, were closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic. The closures be gan April 10 and would remain until May 7, according to the county website.

“Nassau County Public Safety will be patrolling the parks keeping an eye on places where people are getting a little too crowded,” county of ficials wrote on the website, “and go in and remind people to separate and spread out maintaining social distancing. We are in this together.”

For commercial fishing, contact re gional maintenance supervisor at (516) 642-6271.

Despite county boat launch and marina closures, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced last Saturday that marinas would be opened for private use as long as social distancing and sanitization protocols are followed.

the MilBurn Pond Park boat launch was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

the raMP waS expected to remain closed until May 7.

Photos by Christina Daly/Herald

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By Briana Bonfiglio

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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State suspends Regents tests; AP exams will be online Baldwin schools adjust to different evaluation measures

By Bridget downes bdownes@liherald.com

The Baldwin School District has been adjusting to a new normal since the outbreak of Covid-19 halted regular operations this spring, including testing.

The New York State Board of Regents passed a series of measures two weeks ago aimed at easing the burden on school districts, including the suspension of Regents exams for the year.

The State Education Department issued a news release on April 6, saying it will “amend the commissioner’s regulations to provide that an alternative form of evaluation for students receiving home instruction, in lieu of an annual assessment, will be permitted for all grades in the 2019 – 20 school year, due to the State of Emergency declared by the governor.”

“How will students be graded for Quarter 4 and the full course at the secondary schools?” Baldwin Schools Superintendent Dr. Shari Camhi wrote in a letter to Baldwin families posted on the district website on April 7. “This is a conversation already underway. We are looking at several options, but we do want to make sure that whatever is decided, it is fair to all students.”

Additionally, the NYSED last month had suspended shipping the grades three through eight English Language Arts tests that were scheduled to arrive in schools March 16 to 18. SED officials said this was done because schools are closed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has put a tremendous burden on many New Yorkers, and our schools and children are no exception,” Betty Rosa, the Board of Regents chancellor, said in a statement.

“The regulations passed by the board today will allow schools, students and pro-

Wallpaperflare.com

the state regents exams have been suspended for the 2019 – 20 school year, and Advanced Placement tests will be online. fessionals much-needed flexibility while they adapt to this rapidly evolving situation.”

Students who would have taken Regents exams would be exempted from passing the assessments in order to receive a diploma, according to another NYSED news release, and, to qualify for the exemption, students must meet one of the following eligibility requirements: ■ The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have earned credit in such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or ■ The student is in grade 7, is enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have passed such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or

■ The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and has failed to earn credit by the end of the school year. Such student returns for summer instruction to make up the failed course and earn the course credit and is subsequently granted diploma credit in August 2020; or ■ The student was previously enrolled in the course of study leading to an applicable Regents examination, has achieved course credit, and has not yet passed the associated Regents examination but intended to take the test in June 2020 to achieve a passing score.

Questions about the fate of the Advanced Placement exams, initially scheduled for May, are swirling, too.

According to the Baldwin School District and College Board, which administers the

exams, the tests will be online this year and “open book.”

The exam would only include topics and skills most AP teachers and students have already covered in class by early March, according to College Board. The tests will be given between May 11 and 22, and make-up tests will be available from June 1 to 5.

The College Board has created a webpage with updates related to schools impacted by coronavirus. Visit apcentral. collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/coronavirus-update.

“I do think we need to be prepared for a prolonged closure,” Camhi said in the letter. “It is in the best interest of public health that large groups of people do not congregate. This is not what our community wants to hear. It is not what our teachers, administrators and staff want to hear. It is especially not what our 5th-, 8th- and 12th- graders and their families want to hear. If we are lucky enough to open earlier than what is anticipated, we will do so joyfully. We will, however, do what is best for our entire community and what we are directed to do so by our governor. At this time, we must remain closed, and we will continue to do our best making sure our students are learning from home.”

Additionally, school budget votes have been delayed until at least June 1 because of the coronavirus outbreak, by order of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The votes were scheduled to take place on May 19.

Baldwin students also wondered about whether or not they would be able to walk at a graduation ceremony or attend prom.

“Will all spring activities be canceled?”

Camhi wrote in the letter. “All of these decisions will be made as events get closer. Obviously, if we remain closed, all activities will be canceled.”

Cub scout spreads cheer with street art A Baldwin cub scout recently let his creative juices flow and transformed his driveway into a colorful work of art to spread cheer in the neighborhood.

Ryley Boodram, under the supervision of his mother, Windy Boodram, used colored chalk to decorate the ground with the colors of the rainbow.

They are at 2611 Grand Avenue.

Doris Corporan, the den leader of Cub Scout Pack 824, Wolf Den 4, said Boodram’s street art aims to lift spirits during a difficult time in the world.

“It is a true sight to see!” she said.

ryley Boodram created rainbow art on his driveway with colorful chalk to spread cheer in his neighborhood. windy and ryley Boodram live along Grand Avenue.

Photos courtesy Windy Boodram

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

GET ANSWERS YOU CAN TRUST WITHOUT LEAVING HOME. With so many questions about COVID-19, it’s hard to know where to turn for answers you can trust.

If you or a loved one is feeling sick, use Mount Sinai NOW to access all of our virtual care options.

TM

MOUNTSINAI.ORG/NOW

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All of us, throughout New York City, Long Island and the entire tri-state area, are here for you.

We thank you

Herald Community Newspapers salutes our ‘hometown heroes’ While many of us have stayed at home to protect our families and loved ones, our health care workers, first responders and others on the front lines wake up each day and leave their families and loved ones behind to respond to those in need. In their selfless devotion to others, these courageous individuals expose themselves to risk for the people in our communities.

These are people who stand out in times of crises. They might first responders going above and beyond or even a good neighbor helping another neighbor in need.

The Herald joins our communities and readers in expressing our gratitude to these special people making a difference during this trying time. We are all thankful to our police officers, firefighters, mail carriers, grocery employees, restaurant workers,

REGISTER FROM APRIL 1ST TO MAY 31ST animalleague.org/sitstaywalk

Take A Walk And Save Lives

Participate in North Shore Animal League America’s virtual walk for a chance to do something positive and active, while raising crucial funds for homeless animals that need your support now more than ever. Walkers can participate anytime, from anywhere.

REMEMBER: Be safe and practice social distancing along the way.

Register Today! With $20 registration fee receive: Pet Bandana

Kaminsky hosts emergency food drive

Fun Contests and Activities

REGISTER TODAY: animalleague.org/sitstaywalk events@animalleague.org 516-373-3235

Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat who represents Baldwin, will hold an emergency food drive to benefit families within the 9th Senate District. Suggested donations include gift cards, fresh, canned or boxed food, toiletries/personal items and cleaning supplies.

“The Covid-19 health crisis is leaving too many families unable to make ends meet and lacking basic necessities,” Kaminsky said. “If you are someone with a little extra willing to donate, please reach out to my office and we will get it into the hands of those who need it most.”

To donate, call Kaminsky’s office at (516) 766-8383 or email Kaminsky@nysenate.gov.

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#GetYourRescueOn® Rescue Tag

delivery drivers and essential service providers who put themselves on the front lines of the crisis daily.

We will share these outstanding stories of our local “hometown heroes” in a special pull-out section,” Salute to Covid-19 Hometown Heroes,” in the April 30 editions of the Herald. The spirit and heart of Long Island are exemplified every day by the many outstanding individuals who often go unrecognized. The Herald honors them in this inspirational section. Get to know these amazing people who share their insights in their own words.

Net proceeds from this special section will be used to partner with local businesses to provide meals and gifts to our local health care workers, first responders and patients.

News brief

Nothing Wounds the Heart More Deeply than the Loss of A Loved One…

–Jeffrey Bessen

The Cecere Family has been helping families just like yours get through the unthinkable for Two Generations.

An emergency food drive to benefit people because of the Covid-19 health crisis is being held by State Sen. Todd Kaminsky.

Courtesy Kaminsky’s office

Impeccable facilities, Service beyond expectations.

Burials, Cremations, Pre-Planning

“Our Family Serving Your Family”

Cecere Family H O M E

2283 Grand Avenue • Baldwin • 516-223-4200 www.cecerefamilyfunerals.com

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F U N E R A L

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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OBITUARY

13

News BRIef

Anna M. Carney, longtime Baldwinite, died after living 50 years in Baldwin. There she spent the last two years of her life living close to unexpectedly on April 1. She was 89.

Born on July 12, 1930 in Brooklyn to John her eldest daughter and her family, something that family members said gave her great joy. and Anna Dennin, Carney was the youngest of In addition to her husband, Carney is prefour children — John Joseph Dennin, Thomas Francis Dennin and Theresa Veronica Dennin deceased by her siblings and siblings-in-law, with whom she was very close, Creighton.

John and Dorothy Dennin; Thomas Carney married Joseph Jerome and Anne Dennin; Raymond and Carney at the Church of St. ClemTheresa Creighton; her grandent the Pope in South Ozone Park daughter Colleen Wallace; and her on Sept. 27, 1952. They crammed beloved son-in-law Michael Wallace. four daughters, three houses and Carney is survived by her four countless dances into 28 loving daughters, Regina Smith (Sheldon); years before Joseph succumbed to Alicia Cloonan; Eileen Wallace (the lung cancer in 1980. late Michael); and Frances NesturCarney took a job with Adelphi rick (Gregory); her eight grandchilUniversity’s School of Social Work dren Maureen (Ben), Laura (Marin 1979, where she worked tirelessly cum), Michael (Lauren), Joseph, for more than 30 years. She helped Ann Carney Daniel (Melissa), Kaitlin (Amanda), coordinate the Breast Cancer SupSophie and Margaret; her ten greatport Program, which provides valuable resources for women suffering from the grandchildren Kaleigh, Heidi, Clare, Avirin, Morgan, Scarlett, Kyle, Mikaila, Michael and disease.

Carney was a longtime parishioner of St. James and her many nieces and nephews.

No memorial services are planned at this Christopher’s Church in Baldwin. She was proud of the memorial brick and pew that bear time due to Covid-19 restrictions; however, her family names: Carney, Dennin and Creigh- donations may be made to the Adelphi University School of Social Work Breast Cancer Support ton.

She loved to play with her grandchildren and Group and Hotline. Visit breast-cancer.adelphi. never hesitated to roll around on the floor with edu/donate/ or Arbor Acres Fund at www.arbothem, even well into her 80s. She was blessed to racres.org/donate-now.php. have spent time enjoying her great-grandchilCompiled by Bridget Downes dren, as well.

Carney moved to North Carolina in 2018

JOIN US AS WE SALUTE

COVID-19

HOMETOWN

HEROES APRIL 30

Christina Daly/Herald

All in-person librAry programs have been canceled through Aug. 31.

Baldwin Public Library programs canceled through August 31 All in-person Baldwin Public Library programs have been canceled through Aug. 31.

The library, though, is offering online programs and a list of upcoming events can be found at baldwinpl.org/online-events.

The due dates for all library materials currently checked out have been extended through Sept.

30. There is no need to return any materials at this time, library officials wrote on the Baldwin library’s

Facebook page.

If you have a question or comment and you would like to leave the library a voicemail, call (516) 223-6228 and dial extension 156. Otherwise you can email baldwinpl. org/contact-us or chat online using app.purechat.com/w/BPL. For library updates, visit baldwinpl.org/coronavirus. To apply for a digital library card, visit baldwinpl.org/digital. To use online services, visit baldwinpl.org/from-home.

NOW THERE’S AN EASY WAY FOR YOU TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL HEROES Donate at www.liherald.com/heroes Every dollar donated will be used to provide food & other goods to doctors, nurses, patients and other frontline essential workers in the local community. All food & items will be purchased from locally owned and operated businesses so we can support our business community, too Look for the HERALD HEROES special edition in your mailbox April 30

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The Herald and Richner Communications family thank our amazing heroes!

TO MAKE A DONATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.LIHERALD.COM/HEROES

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

Longtime Baldwinite dies at 89

$500,000 IN GRANTS AVAILABLE NOW TO LOCAL BUSINESSES

SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING GRANT

Apply for your share of the $500,000 marketing grant available to assist locally owned businesses.

STUART RICHNER Publisher Herald Community Newspapers

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. We are a small business ourselves, so we understand the pain that small business owners are going through right now. We at the Herald want to do our part to make sure that members of our small business community can continue to promote themselves during this trying period.”

Herald Team

WHO For all locally owned and operated small businesses on Long Island that have been negatively impacted by coronavirus.

WHAT A $500,000 grant program to support local small businesses. Each local business is eligible to receive up to $15,000 of matching grant funds, which can be used for Herald Community Newspapers print, digital and direct mail products in April through July 15, 2020.

WHERE Apply at www.liherald.com/grant.

WHEN Applications will be accepted until April 30, 2020 or until maximum grant funding has been distributed. Businesses will be contacted within two business days of submitting their application.

WHY Studies show that businesses that continue to market themselves during down times are the ones that fare the best long-term. This grant program will allow Long Island small businesses to continue promoting themselves and any new services they are offering during these unprecedented times.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: • Every dollar that a grant recipient spends on marketing in Herald products will be matched with a dollar of grant funding, up to the award amount, to be applied towards marketing costs.

• Businesses must be locally owned and operated.

• Grants range from $300 to $15,000.

• Grants can be applied to any Herald Community Newspaper marketing product or service during April through July 15, 2020.

• Grants applied to direct mail products are net of postage/mailing costs.

RHONDA GLICKMAN VP Sales

LORI BERGER Sales Manager

rglickman@liherald.com

lberger@liherald.com

ELLEN REYNOLDS Sales Manager

AMY AMATO Executive Director

ereynolds@liherald.com

aamato@liherald.com

COURTNEY MYERS Media Consultant cmyers@liherald.com

For more information call Rhonda at 516.569.4000 ext. 250

APPLY TODAY AT

WWW.LIHERALD.COM/GRANT

A Special Collaboration With The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Food pantry is open, feeding more than before bbonfiglio@liherald.com

The Island Harvest food pantry at Ark of Salvation Worship Center in Oceanside is continuing to operate and serving more people than usual, said Rev. Carlos D. Acosta, the church’s pastor.

“We’ve kept it active this whole time,” Acosta said, “but we’ve taken extreme-type precautions to ensure the safety and health of everyone going by for necessary food items.”

Nor mally, there are set days and times for individuals to pick up food.

However, to help prevent spread of Covid-19, food distribution is now by appointment only.

Those in need of food assistance can call the pantry coordinator, Thomas Ramirez, at (516) 492-1873 to arrange a pick up. The elderly or those caring for the sick, and unable to make it to the church, can schedule a food delivery with Ramirez, as well.

“Some families are quarantined, or tested Covid-positive, or are taking care of a sick family member,” Acosta explained, “so we will make contactless delivery and get a box or two bags of groceries. We call ahead and leave it right on the doorstep.”

While before the coronavirus pandemic, the pantry fed around two to

three families each of the four days it was open, it now feeds an average of 10 to 12 — and sometimes up to 20 — families per day.

Acosta attributed the dramatic increase of those in need to the rising rates of unemployment as businesses are closing amid the pandemic. Most families in need come from Oceanside, and others come from surrounding towns such as Island Park, Baldwin, Freeport, Rockville Centre and Valley Stream.

Acosta emphasized that the food pantry is open to all in need, not just church members or locals, he said.

“The food pantry is there for everyone that is in need,” Acosta said. “We are not looking to check anyone’s background, history or income. We’re here to serve and will continue to function as long as we can. We are here for the community.”

The Island Harvest food pantry at Ark of Salvation is located at 3161 Royal Ave. in Oceanside, just across from the Oceanside Long Island Railroad Station.

At this time, those in need must call (516) 492-1873 to arrange a pick up, as no one is permitted in the church building due to Covid-19.

For more information about Island Harvest food pantries, and how you can either receive food or donate, visit islandharvest.org.

the ark of Salvation food pantry in Oceanside is feeding an average of 12 local families per day during the coronavirus pandemic, said Rev. Carlos D. Acosta.

Courtesy Ark of Salvation Worship Center

Drilling to monitor saltwater intrusion

By Bridget downes bdownes@liherald.com

Workers are drilling a test well to monitor saltwater intrusion into the aquifer at Baldwin Harbor Town Park, officials said.

The United States Geological Survey, a federal agency, is conducting the drilling as part of a study done by the USGS. The Town of Hempstead, which owns the park, granted access to the USGS for their study on March 31.

The agency reached out to the Town of Hempstead to drill and install a salt water monitoring well at Baldwin Park to take salt water readings, Town Supervisor Don Clavin and Town Parks Commissioner Frank Zangla said in a statement.

All of the work is coordinated and funded by the USGS, they added. The agency also installed these wells throughout various locations in Nassau County, including some county parks.

Drilling is expected to take about six weeks, Clavin and Zangla said. All of the work is being performed in a remote section of the park, so it would not impact recreation and so it is not visible to neighbors of the park.

Those with knowledge of the park’s operations said the well reaches about 1,500 feet into the ground.

The USGS plans to take readings at this well two to three times a year, officials explained. Each time, workers will be sharing the collected data with the Town of Hempstead.

Photos by Bridget Downes/Herald

workers are drilling a test well to monitor saltwater intrusion into the aquifer at Baldwin Harbor Town Park.

drilling is expected to take about six weeks.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By Briana Bonfiglio

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Group donates snacks to hospital workers

By Matthew FerreMi mferremi@liherald.com

A once-a-year community event that was originated by a Mineola resident during the holiday season of 2016 has spread to donating goods to medical workers in the frontline of the coronavirus.

Denise Heckelman founded Friends Who Give in December 2016 as an effort to raise money for local families in school districts that were in need of additional financial help around the holidays. Heckleman would accept donations of cash and gift cards at her home.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began rapidly spreading across Nassau County, Heckelman and others involved began thinking of ideas to help out others.

“I’ve always been an advocate in giving back to others,” Heckelman said.

“Since we started Friends Who Give in 2016, we’ve raised roughly $13,000 for those in the Mineola School District.”

Lea Hennelly is a Garden City South resident who has been involved with Friends Who Give since 2016. She lives in the Franklin Square School District and has donated money and gift cards to families in the district. She also serves as the leader of the Girl Scout Troop 1754 in Franklin Square.

Hennelly gave out her Venmo account username on the group’s Facebook page on March 28. Since then, roughly $3,500 has been donated to her

Venmo account, which Hennelly has used to deliver snacks and goods to three hospitals: NYU Winthrop in Mineola, Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

“We felt like it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up on since people just want to help during a time like this,” Hennelly said. “My Venmo was blowing up left and right. I bought about $800 worth of snacks as a thank you to our frontline workers.”

One of the frontline workers is New Hyde Park resident Jen Marsella, who works as a nurse at NYU Winthrop.

Marsella helps with Friends Who Give in New Hyde Park and was “touched” by the delivery of snacks to the hospital.

“It was amazing to find out that Lea was doing this,” she said. “It brings a smile to my face and that’s important because there is not a lot of smiling going on in hospitals right now.”

Marsella added how grateful she and her colleagues were for the donations “At night there’s not much to choose from when it comes to food,” she said.

“To come in and see this food, all you can is thank you.”

Heckelman said the response from residents has been heartwarming. “We were put on this earth to do good things,” she said. “What we’re all doing such as donating masks to medical workers are all wonderful things that come from the heart.”

For more information on Friends Who Give, go to https://bit.ly/3e92Xty.

Public Notices

LBAL1 0423

LEGAL NOTICE BALDWIN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT 960 Hastings Street Baldwin, NY 11510 NOTICE TO CLAIMS AUDITORS GENERAL INFORMATION AND REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR Internal Auditor RFP #2020/04_17-001 The BALDWIN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) for the selection of Claims Auditor. You are invited to submit a proposal in accordance with this RFP. Proposals must be received no later than FRIDAY, May 8, 2020 @ 12:00 P.M. at the Business Office of the Baldwin Union Free School District, located at 960 Hastings Street, Baldwin, NY 11510.

Late proposals will be returned unopened.

RFP #2020/04_17-001 booklets may be obtained by contacting the Purchasing Agent via email at bidrequest@baldwinscho ols.org.

An original and two (2) copies of the proposal are required.

To prevent opening by unauthorized individuals, your proposal should be identified on the envelope or other wrapper as follows “PROPOSAL ~ CLAIMS AUDITOR ~ FOR BALDWIN UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT Proposals should be addressed to: Purchasing Agent Baldwin Union Free School District 960 Hastings Street Baldwin, NY 11510 In addition, please send a PDF copy to robinsonj@baldwinschool s.org .

BY ORDER OF: Baldwin UFSD 960 Hastings Street Baldwin, NY 11510 121624

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT. NASSAU COUNTY. ELM LIMITED, LLC, Pltf. vs.

LIND-JAC HOLDING CORP., et al, Defts. Index #608350/2019. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered Mar. 2, 2020, I will sell at public auction

on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. in the Calendar Control Part (CCP) of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY prem. k/a District 10, Section 54, Block 285, Lot 25. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

HAYLEY R. GREENBERG, Referee.

LEVY & LEVY, Attys. for Pltf., 12 Tulip Dr., Great Neck, NY. #98517 121122

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES To place a notice here call us us at 516-569-4000 x232 or send an email to: legalnotices@liherald.com

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that an order granted by the Supreme Court, Nassau County, on the 21st day of February, 2020, bearing Index Number 000170-20, a copy of which may be examined at the office of the clerk, located at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola, NY grants me the right to assume the name of Dalia D Hogan.

The city and state of my present address are Baldwin, NY; the month

and year of my birth are October, 1981; the place of my birth is Jamaica; my present name is Dalia Danielle Herbert.

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LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT. NASSAU COUNTY. L&L ASSOCIATES HOLDING CORP., Pltf. vs. PAN REALTY CORP., et al, Defts.

Index #613560/2019. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale dated March 5, 2020, I will sell at public auction on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. in the Calendar Control Part (CCP) of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY prem. k/a District 8, Section 55, Block 321, Lot 116-119.

Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. ROGER HAUSCH, Referee. LEVY & LEVY, Attys. for Pltf., 12 Tulip Dr., Great Neck, NY. #98527 121032 Place a notice by phone at 516-569-4000 x232 or email: legalnotices@liherald.com

Courtesy Lea Hennelly

Lea henneLLy Began collecting donations to give to hospital workers on March 28.

She received more than $3,500 in donations and then bought nearly $800 worth of snacks.

Griffin hosts digital library story times State Assemblywoman Judy Griffin, who represents Baldwin, has been hosting digital story times with local libraries within Assembly District 21 beginning earlier this month.

The local political leader has read stories with the Baldwin, Freeport, Oceanside, Malverne and Lynbrook public libraries.

In the coming weeks, she will read to the following libraries at the specified date and time for children who wish to join and listen in: Thursday, April 23: Digital Story Time with Rockville Centre Public Library at 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday, April 28: Digital Story Time with West Hempstead Public Library at 11 a.m.

For more infor mation about how to access each reading, please go to each library’s website or visit Assemblywoman Griffin’s Facebook page.

Courtesy Office of Assemblywoman Judy Griffin; compiled

by Briana Bonfiglio.

Courtesy Assemblywoman Judy Griffin

State aSSeMBLywoMan Judy Griffin held one of the books that she has read thus far, which was one of her own child’s favorites when they were little.

Nassau County is child care desert: official

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By TimoThy DenTon tdenton@liherald.com

Much of Nassau County is a child care desert, resulting in billions in lost revenue, according to a study released on Friday by Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman.

The lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus has highlighted the issue, showing that many Nassau County families depend on schools to provide daycare for their older children. Care for younger children, however, has always been a challenge for many families.

“Nassau County is a patchwork, varying widely from district to district,” Schnirman wrote in the study. “Despite nearly $9 billion in public school tax levies, only 10 percent of 4-year-olds have access to publicly funded pre-K programs, compared to universal access in New York City,” Schnirman wrote in the report.

Both Seaford and Wantagh are considered child care deserts — any census tract where more than 50 children are without providers, or where providers are so scarce that they are able to serve less than one-third of the total need, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

More than 60 percent of New York State is considered a child care desert.

Nassau County has a total of about 43,650 pre-K places, where more than 138,000 are needed, the study found, with minority and low-income families having the least access to pre-K programs.

Averaging more than $15,000 per year, infant care represents about 12 percent of a median family’s income of $116,300. For a family earning $52,400, or 200 percent of the official federal poverty level for a family of four, infant care for one child represents nearly 29 percent of the family’s pretax income.

According to the Census Bureau, “c=Child care is critical. It either propels or stalls the local economy.”

Locally, “child care has one of the highest economic multipliers, with a return of $1.95 for every dollar invested,” Schnirman wrote.

Of those who work part-time, lack of child care is

Herald file photo

nassau CounTy shows a wide disparity in access to affordable child care. the most commonly cited reason for not accepting fulltime work. Women make up 94 percent of the involuntary part-time workforce, due to child care concerns, Schnirman wrote, and 46 percent of Nassau County

families have no reliable child care.

Child care is an $800 million industry on Long Island, employing roughly 9,000 workers.

Belmont Park delays horseracing season The opening of the Belmont Park’s spring-summer horseracing season will be delayed because of the Covid19 pandemic from April 24 to June 6, when the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes is to take place, said New York Racing Association officials last week.

The date of the Belmont Stakes is subject to change, however.

“The Belmont Stakes is a New York institution and American tradition,” NYRA CEO and President Dave O’Rourke said. “We are committed to running the race in 2020 and aim to deliver an announcement in the very near future.”

The racing season normally runs 51 days.

“We are working closely with the New York State Gaming Commission and public health officials to determine a timeline for the resumption of live racing at Belmont Park,” O’Rourke said. “The

17

health and safety of our racing community is paramount, and any decisions or necessary adjustments to the racing schedule and operations must reflect that priority. I’d like to thank New York’s horsemen and the backstretch community for their dedication and patience as we navigate these uncertain times together.”

The Belmont backstretch, which is home to 585 workers who tend to the essential daily care of the more than 1,300 thoroughbreds stabled there, has remained open to the horses’ caregivers and operational for training. Owners are not permitted access to the backstretch until further notice.

NYRA posted coronavirusrelated signs in English and Spanish across the backstretch, noting key information about social distancing and hand washing, and a hotline to call for workers feeling the onset of symptoms.

Herald file photo

BelmonT Park’s sPring/summer meet will not open April 24 as originally scheduled.

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Please send cover letter and resume with salary requirements to rglickman@liherald.com PARKING ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: PT, Various Shifts, Retiree's Welcome.

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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*If your property is currently listed with another brokerage, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the listings of other brokerages.

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things can become so complicated? On one hand, your mother simply changed her mind and didn’t have the porch built, and on the other hand, the building department simply wants paperwork from you that seems simple enough to get but isn’t that easy.

I’m concerned that none of the children was given authority to act on your mother’s behalf, and you should seek an attorney to resolve the matters of her estate. As for the voiding of the permit, building departments are run by human beings with a heart, and you should write a letter so there’s a document on record explaining the situation. Sign it in front of a notary, and arrange to meet with a senior official before having more discussions with the building inspector.

The premises will still need inspecting, to verify the work was never done. To prove the home has no more issues with permits required, to satisfy the bank and the buyer, a new building department search sheet should be requested, showing no open permits. The biggest problem is time, and this isn’t a real situation. In most cases it’s a made-up bank or buyer timeline, because your closing is dependent on another closing, and so on and so on.

Because the search and a site review weren’t done early in the sales process, and because most people don’t really believe you need a permit to make changes to a home, great sleepless stress sets in and everyone is pointing fingers. It’s not unusual to get calls from people who need an ambulance architect — you know, the ones with the rotating light on the roof of their car and the siren blaring as they race to your home to start the process of satisfying the bank, their lawyers, etc. We see it all the time, and it’s avoidable if the seller calls an architect to check the home code compliance against recorded permit plans well before the sale has begun. Good luck.

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Q. My mother was admitted to a Florida nursing home and we have to sell her house. She has Alzheimer’s and is incapable of communicating. Our attorney had a title company prepare a report, and the title search showed that there’s an open permit for a porch, which my mom never had done for financial reasons, from about 10 years ago.

When my brother and I, separately, called the building department and asked about it, we were told different things about canceling the unused permit. One person said to call a building inspector and have onte eeper them cancel it, but then I heard that I have to get my mother to write a letter saying she didn’t do the porch, and have it notarized. She isn’t able to understand or sign her name, and never gave us power of attorney to take care of things for her before her illness.

What can we do?

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

Is the permit valid, or not?

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Answers

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21

opinions

s the nation emerges from the coronavirus lockdown and begins to return to a semblance of normalcy, many of our cherished institutions will face some harsh realities. Nowhere will this dose of reality be starker than for America’s colleges and universities.

While our public school system will go through some wrenching times as it comes back to life, K-12 parents and students will not face the prospect of crushing debt and soaring costs that have been inflicted on consumers of Alfonse higher education. d’AMAto College students, in contrast, will return to campuses not only having missed most of a semester of classes; they will also struggle with exorbitantly high costs that will financially burden many of them for the rest of their lives.

How did we come to this sad turn of events, in which college degrees that should create a pathway to opportunity and prosperity instead present a long road of debt and possible financial ruin? Today, tuition and costs at some private colleges hovers in the range of $50,000 to $70,000

M

per year. College grads carry debt that can run from tens of thousands of dollars for undergraduate degrees to over $100,000 for post-graduate degrees. As they struggle to cover this debt, buying a home often becomes a distant dream. Even buying a new car often gives way to making the monthly college debt payment.

Total college student debt today exceeds $1.5 trillion.

With the added burden of the current financial crisis, much of this debt is unsupportable. Student loan defaults on a large scale are likely unavoidable. And while the just-passed national financial rescue legislation provides some relief by postponing debt payment and interest for a time, the overall financial burden will remain.

Predictably, some in Washington are calling for forgiving much, if not all, college debt. But like the other emergency financial measures passed by Congress, such relief couldn’t go on indefinitely.

Future college students will continue to face high costs and mountainous loans.

The cycle of debt and default will continue to loom on the financial horizon.

The leaders of our higher education system have a moral obligation to break this vicious cycle. Just as the Federal Reserve system has taken extraordinary

C

measures to shore up the nation’s finances, colleges and universities should also take emergency action to ease the financial burden on their students. College administrators shouldn’t cry hardship and shirk from this responsibility.

Nationwide, colleges are sitting on endowments of well over half a trillion dollars, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. They should seriously consider making these funds available to students to help pay down their current loans and reduce future tuition costs. If the Fed can tap into the national treasury for “quantitative easing” to lessen strains on our national economy, higher education treasuries can likewise tap into their great wealth to help ease their students’ money crisis.

And going forward, it’s long past time for colleges and universities to get real about not just containing, but lowering their stratospheric spending. Too many campuses have become islands of extravagance and excess amid a sea of hardship in their surrounding communities. In just one glaring example here in New York, a college president makes $5.1 million a year, 35 times what the school’s professors make, on average, and equal to the tuitions of 99 students, according to the Chronicle

an’t colleges use their vast endowments to help students pay down debt?

of Higher Education. Yet the community in which the school is located is one of New York’s poorest, with finances so precarious that it hovers near bankruptcy. In that town, as in so many others, the college is literally the shining, distant fortress on the hill with the surrounding town languishing below.

This college, and others like it, should take a hard look at themselves. Every expense should be examined, every bit of excess wrung out. The goal should be to reduce tuition and keep costs manageable over students’ academic careers.

In the future, public policy in Washington and Albany must be to stop rewarding higher education’s financial excesses and incentivize affordability instead. Federal and state aid should increase only for schools that bring their costs down. That means fewer top-heavy college administrators tripping over each other, more professors teaching more than only 10 or 12 hours a week, and fewer extravagant campus building sprees.

When students return to college this fall, they’ll return to a world changed by nature and hard times. If colleges want students to succeed, it’s time for them to lead.

Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comments about this column?

ADAmato@liherald.com.

A loving tribute to my irreplaceable elders

y aunt Sylvia Gentile Brownstein died April 11 in a nursing home in New Jersey, of Covid-19. She was 97 years old, and lived in a room at the facility with her husband of 74 years, Murray Brownstein. He was my mother’s older brother.

The last time I saw him was seven years ago, when I visited him in Florida, and he insisted we go to a pub nearby because they were serving free ice cream to World War II veterans. A proud Navy vet who lied about his age to get into the service when he was 16, Uncle MurRAndi ray served on a kReiss minesweeper in the Pacific.

Aunt Sylvia died alone, because Uncle Murray had become sick and unable to comfort her.

Before the pandemic, which precluded visitors, they were cared for by their daughter, my cousin, who has shepherded them through these last difficult years.

But only the ending was sad.

Murray met Sylvia in Brooklyn just after the war. He fell in love, and defied

his Jewish family by marrying an Italian Catholic girl. Smart guy. She was a gem, loving and mildly crazy, so she fit right in, seeing as how everyone in our anxious, highly emotive clan is a notch off plumb.

When I was a kid, Aunt Syl and Uncle Murray lived in Valley Stream and we lived in Cedarhurst, so the visits were frequent. Murray was a Garment District wheeler and dealer who won big and lost big over the years. Aunt Sylvia was a homemaker extraordinaire.

She cleaned that house until it sparkled, every single day. And she was an outstanding cook. Her specialty was Italian food, and an invitation to their table was a gift.

When she hosted Thanksgiving, the meal started with homemade minestrone, and was followed by eggplant parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs and veal cutlet parmesan. I don’t recall seeing anything green, as in a string bean, on the table.

The last entry was the turkey, an afterthought, a gesture to the new world, fully dressed but largely ignored because we were all so stuffed from the Italian feast.

I confess, I didn’t know Aunt Sylvia as

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a woman. I have no idea what her dreams or joys or disappointments were. I do know she raised her kid sister, Madelaine, when their mother died very young. Madelaine joined Murray and Sylvia’s family, big sister to their own two kids.

I wish I had gotten to know Aunt Syl better, but in those days, people kept to their roles: She was the elder aunt and I was the young niece. Uncle Murray was difficult, but she would never talk about anything as personal as her marriage. She had a twin sister, Anna, and I suspect that that was her most emotionally intimate relationship.

They had a brother, too, Johnny, who went to the Naval Academy and was the pride of the family.

Every Christmas of my childhood, we went to Aunt Syl and Uncle Murray’s for an event that was part celebration and part child abuse. As dinner drew to a close, we would hear someone stomping up the basement steps and the loud jingling of bells. Eight little kids immediately dived under the dinner table and began screaming, which sent the adults into fits of laughter. Not normal, right?

ndelible memories of holidays and birthdays with Aunt Syl and Uncle Murray.

The stomping came closer, our screaming got louder, and suddenly Santa burst through the basement door. We kids were traumatized. He was a terror in his wild white wig and garish Santa mask. None of us noticed that Uncle Murray had disappeared from the dinner table some time earlier. This intruder was the Santa from hell, and we were scared out of our socks.

The elders, however, were greatly entertained, and so this became a cherished tradition, and we did it every year. I think I was finishing my junior year in college when I realized that Uncle Murray was Santa Claus.

All of our childhood birthdays were occasions for big parties. Aunt Syl and the other aunts and uncles would raise a glass or three, and before long the women were dancing on the table and the men were telling stories about the war and the old Brooklyn neighborhood. It was a rich experience for a little kid who was all eyes and ears.

I don’t know if Aunt Syl was a religious woman, but wherever she went, she wasn’t alone for long. The day after she passed, Uncle Murray died. He was 98.

Copyright 2020 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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For American higher education, it’s time to lead

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Herald editorial

Baldwin

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Small businesses need more federal help

et’s not mince words: The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, which was supposed to hurry loans to small businesses so they can make payroll and stay afloat, has been troubled from the start.

With $349 billion in its coffers, the program, administered by the Small Business Administration, ran out of money last Thursday, leaving tens of millions of employers in the lurch, wondering whether they will be able to meet payroll at a time when so many small businesses are limping along because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of Main Street America, employing 48 percent of our national workforce. In total, there are 28 million small businesses across the U.S., according to Forbes. They desperately need — and deserve — better, particularly in the hardest-hit regions like the Northeast.

According to a CBS News analysis of SBA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, New York, which has by far the greatest number of cases of Covid-19 of any state, was fourth on the list of states to receive PPP loans. Meanwhile, businesses in Texas received more such loans than any other state, even though the Lone Star State has the 10th-largest Covid-19 caseload

in the U.S. Apparently, Texas processed loans faster than New York, as the money went from the federal government to banks on a firstcome, first-served basis, creating a race for funding. But that was unfair, because in places where need was greatest, like New York, businesses were struggling most to run their daily operations, and so were hamstrung in their ability to file for loans.

The federal government should have set a date by which all loan applications were due, and then divided the money thereafter based on need.

At the same time, some very big businesses received loans under the program.

The owner of the Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain nabbed a $20 million loan, despite having more than 5,000 employees and $468 million in revenue last year. The PPP was supposed to have been limited to businesses with fewer than 500 employees, but Congress included an exception for hotels and restaurants.

Most big-name chains did not apply for PPP loans, but others, including Potbelly, Kura Sushi and Shake Shack, did. (Shake Shack announced Sunday night that it would return its $10 million loan, citing confusion over the program’s regulations and

saying that other businesses needed the money more than it did.)

There were other problems with the program. Big banks, for example, lent money to their own customers first, and then to others. Many required borrowers to already have an established line of credit with the bank to receive a PPP loan. The thing is, this was a federal government program, and no loan applicant should have received preferential treatment.

At press time, Congress was negotiating a $300 billion extension of the program, which would bring the total expenditure to $649 billion. One Forbes analysis, however, estimated the PPP really needs as much as $850 billion to fully fund all of the small businesses now in dire need.

We commend Congress for making money available to small businesses quickly. Sadly, however, the program has become another of many political footballs amid the coronavirus crisis. What’s lacking is national leadership. President Trump and Congress should be united in their desire to aid small businesses — now, not later.

If the federal government doesn’t act fast, with one voice, our downtowns could soon become ghost towns, and that would be terrible for us all.

Thanks for all you’ve done, Governor Cuomo

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e have offered high praise to our first responders and medical workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, and no doubt, they deserve every bit of it. Check out our story this week on Elyse Isopo, a North Shore University Hospital Intensive Care Unit nurse practitioner. Her determination to save lives is evident in her every word, and her fear of spreading Covid-19 to her family at her home is palpable.

Good people like her are truly heroes.

We must also acknowledge a hero of a different sort: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who, despite finding himself in the epicenter of this unfolding international disaster, has provided levelheaded, science-based leadership that has served as a model for governors across the U.S. Cuomo quickly realized the magnitude of the pandemic and acted decisively, without political rancor. He has been careful not to mix up it with President Trump, even when the president appeared to be spoiling for a political fight with him last week.

letters The hypocrisy of stimulus checks To the Editor: All conservatives and Republicans across the country should return their federal relief checks so they do not become “unproductive, lazy welfare recipients” who are accepting “government handouts” and “something for nothing” — “parasites” who are being “subsidized” by the federal government.

It would be hypocritical for conservatives and Republicans to accept help from the federal government when they constantly oppose such assistance for the middle and lower classes who truly need it, and whom they look down their noses at. Now, many of them are in the shoes of those in need.

Our allies in Western Europe and Canada have federal governments that do more to help their people than ours does.

To quote Al Pacino in “And Justice for All”: “I have now concluded

Cuomo has not used this crisis to further his own brand. Rather, he has acted in the best interests of all New Yorkers, and this week we are seeing the results of his actions. The Covid-19 death toll is, as predicted, beginning to drop, as are the new hospitalization rate, the ICU admissions rate and the number of new ventilator intubations.

Governor, thank you. We will surely need your steady guiding hand in the weeks, months and years ahead as New York recovers from this unexpected catastrophe.

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oPinions

rime Minister Winston Churchill offered those words as he led Great Britain during World War II, when citizens became accustomed to nightly bombings by the Nazis. We are in the midst of a different kind of war, against an invisible enemy known as Covid-19. And when people ask me when this grim period is going to end, unfortunately, the answer is that we don’t know.

But as we in the Town of Hempstead continue to follow federal and state mitigation measures, such as social distancing, Don we appear to be CLaVin “flattening the curve.” By staying at home, you are doing your part to fight the spread of this virus. Those who have “essential” jobs, however, do not have that option. Indeed, those people are integral to winning the war on the coronavirus.

Please be mindful of the rules and stay safe. At Town Hall, we have implemented a social media campaign urging residents

to practice social distancing and proper handwashing, and to wear masks and gloves. We are also providing information on sanitizing techniques. We proactively closed facilities to the public, including town offices and certain parks and public gathering spots. I’ve been working daily with my Town Board colleagues and our Coronavirus Task Force, led by Town Medical Director Dr. Dave Neubert, to make decisions that best promote public health.

We’re also in constant contact with village officials, coordinating best practices and monitoring updates from state and local health officials.

Rest assured, our dedicated CSEA Local 880 team of coworkers are working hard every day to serve residents and provide essential services safely. The town Building Department is still accepting paperwork via a drop box at Town Hall, sanitation workers are continuing to pick up garbage throughout our township, and many other departments are conducting day-to-day business on behalf of our residents. We encourage neighbors to contact the town via our

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hurchill’s words ring true for Town of Hempstead residents in a difficult time.

Letters my opening statement.”

STEWART B. EPSTEIN Rochester, N.Y. Epstein is a retired college professor who lived in North Bellmore from 1960 to 1972. He graduated from Mepham High School in 1968 and Hofstra University in 1972.

It’s a good time for bird watching To the Editor: Why not bequeath a lifelong appreciation for bird watching to the next generation? We teach our children wood shop, pottery and contemptible games like dodgeball, but bird watching can give them a greater appreciation for our threatened environment.

I’ve done the math, and it would only cost each taxpayer $10 to send every sixth-grader to the Cor nell School of Ornithology for two weeks.

There, eminent cultural historians and acclaimed or nitholo gists would instruct them on bird-centric environmental discrimination and inculcate a profound respect and admiration for the avian world. When you consider the frivolities our town spends money on, this would be money well spent.

Now well into my retirement, I still derive tremendous satisfaction from spotting the odd hummingbird on my afternoon walk. There is a comforting

public hotline, (516) 812-3600, to set up phone appointments with some of our departments. Other departments can be accessed via email. Please visit hempsteadtownny.gov for updates and how you can connect to town services. You can also call our Helpline, (516) 489-6000, from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday for assistance.

We are doing everything in our power to make life a little easier for residents of America’s largest township during this difficult time.

We waived all late fees and penalties for town water customers, and we’ve called on New York state to extend the second-half school tax payment deadline by 30 days, to June 11. And in preparation for getting people back to work in the near future, the town adopted a $40 million economic stimulus plan to undertake road improvements across our communities.

I encourage you to join us for our series of Facebook Live sessions. Along with Dr. Neubert, a certified Emergency Department physician, and Councilman Anthony D’Esposito, a former fire chief

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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‘Nourish your hopes, but do not overlook realities’

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and NYPD detective, we answer many of your questions and concerns about Covid-19. Our next session is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. Please check our Facebook page, @HempsteadTown, for ished i realitie future Facebook Live sessions and for be star town updates.

I thank all of our first responders as univer Whi well the front-line workers in the fields of health care, law enforcement, government, media, public transportation, grocery, pharmacy, postal, delivery, food service and so many more. I also commend Dr. Dave Neubert and the town’s emergency management team for their continued work and dedication to the town work force, as well as to our residents.

And I offer my condolences to all of the families who have lost loved ones during this pandemic. Let’s keep them all in our thoughts as we continue to do our part to stop the spread.

Working together, we will continue to loosen the grip of Covid-19, from both a health and economic perspective. Please es not o semest be safe and healthy, and know that the Town of Hempstead is here for you dur- with ex financi ing this challenging time. rest of How Don Clavin is the Town of Hempstead events, supervisor. should and pro of debt tuition hovers

Framework by Christina Daly

sense of accomplishment in knowing that you can see what others cannot.

Why deprive the next generation of this feeling of intellectual triumph?

The beauty of birds is all around us, and once you learn more about them, your experiences with nature become so much richer. During this lockdown, I have noticed our ecosystem responding positively to reduced human inference, and more exotic birds flying out and about. What joy.

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and liv her hu stein. H The las ago, wh

ALWYN STANHOPE Bellmore

MTA ‘lock box’ isn’t really locked To the Editor: Governor Cuomo recently included in the approved state budget a provision that amends the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $15 billion Congestion Toll Mitigation Revenue “lock box.”

This provision was originally included to ensure that all proceeds would be used to help fund the MTA’s $51 billion 2020-24 Five-Year Capital Plan. Now these funds can instead be used against any future deficits in the MTA’s annual $17 billion operating expense budget.

Language buried in the state budget also allows $10 billion in real estate mansion and internet sales tax revenue to be used for operations rather

At Sagamore Hill, one captivating reason to get out of the house — Oyster Bay

than capital expenses. Combined, these total $25 billion of the $51 billion Capital Plan funding.

Cuomo has become the great train robber of capital transit funding. He has taken billions of this funding. His picture should be hung on a wanted poster at commuter and subway stations. Commuters can collect their reward by not electing him to

another term in 2022.

died al becom LARRY PENNER Before Great Neck visitor Penner is a transportation historian, writer daught ed them and advocate who worked for the Federal But Transit Administration Region 2 New York Mur Office for 31 years. after th

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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