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Vol. 85 No. 16

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APRIl 16 - 22, 2020

A symbol of Freeport’s unity

out for a little fresh air Despite Sea Breeze Park being closed, Jack McGinley was still able to enjoy a bike ride in Freeport on April 8. Story, Page 15.

Business communnity rallies behind local artist’s design

By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com

Christina Daly/Herald

As the Covid-19 pandemic continued to rage into April, Freeport residents started congregating online to discuss what people can do to help and support one another when so many are staying home and social distancing.

A message went out via the Freeporters for Freeport Facebook g roup seeking ideas.

Graphic designer Cristina Policaro designed a sticker that local businesses could put up on their doors and windows to show Freeport pride and solidarity.

“It’s something simple that anyone could print out from their homes or businesses,” Policaro said. “I hope it can put a smile on everyone’s faces.”

The design, completed on April 7, is 8.5-by-11 inches, and was inspired by the rainbow drawings that children are taping to their houses to spread cheer in this time of anxiety.

Monica Bennet, the Freeport Chamber of Commerce office manager, sent out Policaro’s design to the more than 250 members. Bennet said she was grateful to Policaro for spearheading this idea. Policaro also Continued on page 9

School district reflects on e-learning prgram

By RoNNY REYES rreyes@liherald.com

The Board of Education convened in a public, livestreamed meeting on April 7 to review programs and resources for students and parents amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the forefront of students’ education is the district’s e-learning platform, which was launched on March 18 and made available to all students in grades two through 12. The online courses feature daily assignments, which students receive after logging in to Google Classroom, and students submit their work reg-

ularly for their teachers to review.

Board Trustee Gabriella Castillo, 40, said her daughter, a fourth-grader, has adapted well to the online classes, as has her firstgrader, who receives assignments through the Class Dojo app, which is also for kindergartners.

The district “was well prepared for this,” Castillo said, “and although things were a bit hectic in the beginning, it seems like everyone is transitioning well to online classes.”

District Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said school officials reached out to students and parents to

A

lthough things were a bit hectic in the beginning, it seems like everyone is transitioning well to online classes.

GABRIElA CASTIllo School board trustee

make sure they could access online courses, whether it was through the district’s assigned Chromebooks or the student’s own tablets or laptops. Parents could also

drop off their devices for maintenance. And, Kuncham said, the district set up WiFi hotspots for families who have limited or no internet access.

“We’re working to ensure equity for all our students,” Kuncham said. “We’re still booking appointments as well for those who need maintenance and assistance.”

Pre-kindergarten students are the only ones not engaged in e-learning. They received workbooks and assignment packets to complete and drop off at the schools regularly. Danny Jordan, 43, of Freeport, said his pre-K daughter has been

able to keep up with the work.

But while Jordan and Castillo said learning from home has become easier for their children, the uncertainty of when they will be allowed to return to school is taking an emotional toll.

“It really hit my fourthgrader when she realized she might not get to see her teachers before moving on to Atkinson [Intermediate School],” Castillo said. “She was also sad that she might not get to do her moving-up ceremony.”

“At first they were excited when the schools were Continued on page 4

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Freeport’s Llompart family drove around the village to bring Easter greetings to their friends and neighbors on April 11 and 12.

Kimberly Creed Llompart, who drove with her husband, Rob, said her family had an Easter Bunny costume from a fundraiser event last year, so her son, Robert Jr., and daughter, Kaitlyn, dressed up as the Easter Bunny and a Minion, respectively, to try and bring joy to their fellow Freeporters.

“I felt bad for the kids around town since there would always be Easter events every year and now we’re all stuck home,” Kimberly said. “This was a fun way to get out of the house and make people smile.”

Courtesy Michele Longueria

Courtesy Patricia Knaack

RobeRt JR. was dressed as the Easter Bunny, above, while his sister, Kaitlyn, was dressed as a Minion. the LLompaRts, fRom the left, Kimberly, Rob, Kaitlyn and Robert Jr., drove around Freeport, left, to bring Easter joy to their village. fReepoRteRs Rushed to their porches, top-left, to get a glimpse at the Easter Bunny, from a social distance.

Courtesy Kimberly Llompart

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Freeport welcomes Easter surprise

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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DesPite the PaNDemic, Jenae Omel, 11, was able to enjoy a birthday caravan with the help of friends, family and the Freeport Fire Department.

Courtesy Freeport Fire Department

A birthday surprise in Freeport The Freeport Fire Department drove by in a caravan to wish a happy birthday to Jenae Omel, 11, on April 10.

While the Omel family had asked for a fire truck to stop by for Jenae’s birthday, the department decided to send a

truck from each firehouse over to help entertain Jenae amid the pandemic.

Friends and families also stopped by in their own caravan to sing happy birthday to Jenae.

Crime watCh Larceny ■ A Freeport resident reported that an unknown suspect entered his back yard on April 8, on Meister Boulevard, and stole two recreational vehicles.

■ A male, wearing a facemask, entered a store on West Sunrise Highway, in Freeport, and stole several items on April 11.

Police responded to the scene where they reviewed the surveillance footage.

Avenue, on April 10. Police investigated the interior and proceeded to board up the home.

Fire ■ Officers and members of the Freeport Fire Department responded to a kitchen fire that occurred on April 11, at Bennington Avenue and Benson Place. The firefighters extinguished the fire, and no injuries were reported.

Unsecure premise ■ Police found a rear door ajar on a vacant home at East Avenue and Atlantic People named in Crime Watch items as having been arrested and charged with violations or crimes are only suspected of committing those acts of which they are accused. They are all presumed to be innocent of those charges until and unless found guilty in a court of law.

HOW TO REACH US Our offices are located at 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530 and are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

MAIN PHONE: (516) 569-4000 ■ WEB SITE: freeport.liherald.com ■ E-MAIl: Letters and other submissions: freeporteditor@liherald.com ■ EDITORIAl DEPARTMENT: Ext. 328 E-mail: freeporteditor@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4942 ■ SUBSCRIPTIONS: Press ”7” E-mail: circ@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4942 ■ ClASSIFIED ADVERTISING: Ext. 286 E-mail: ereynolds@liherald.com Fax: (516) 622-7460 ■ DISPlAY ADVERTISING: Ext. 249 E-mail: sales@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4643 Freeport Herald leader, USPS 307320 is published weekly, every Thursday, by Richner Communications, Inc., 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Periodicals Postage is paid at Garden City, NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Freeport Herald Leader, 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Subscriptions by qualified request in zip code 11520, $30 for 1 year within Nassau County or $52 for 1 year out of Nassau County. © 2020 Richner Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

Herald File Photo

Nearly a moNth into the pandemic, the Freeport School District continues to work on its online resources available for students, staff and local residents.

School officials to host webinars for parents shops are hosted in partnership with closed,” Jordan said of his two children, Northwell Health and SKY Schools.

“The workshop helped parents to “but now they’re getting bored and want understand how they can to go back to see their communicate with their friends.” kids about the current situaTo help families cope, the tion and the Covid-19 virus,” district has several mental Kuncham said. health services available The district plans to host through the district’s webanother workshop in Spansite. ish on April 16. It will be Through the district’s held through the Zoom app partnership with SKY with the ID 835-061-8445.

Schools, an education orgaKuncham added that he nization that works with and the principals from each schools to create mental Kishore school would live-stream an wellness programs for stuonline seminar on April 16 dents and staff, the district KUNcham at 4 p.m. to discuss the disallows residents access to Superintendent trict’s work and answer free mental relaxation questions from parents and courses online. residents. Questions can be The courses are held six times a day mailed to freeportdiscussion@gmail. through the SKY Schools Facebook page at facebook.com/pg/skyschoolsusa/vid- com any time before the video starts.

The video will be up at https:// eos/. There are four sessions in English youtube/V_gdpDQQAuQ.. at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8:30 continued from front page

W

e’re working to ensure equity for all our students.

p.m. There are two additional sessions in Spanish at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The courses are 30 minutes each.

There are also 20 additional stressmanagement and wellness sessions available through Zoom, a chat room app. The sessions are 20 to 60 minutes each and are split into three groups.

Sessions for district staff start at 10 a.m. Parents’ sessions take place at noon, and students can take part at 1 p.m.

The district also hosted a virtual Parent’s University workshop on April 2 to provide parents with the resources they need to enhance their children’s learning and home support, and help parents better understand students’ social-emotional learning and needs. The work-

Parent University classes ■ Explore strategies that parents can use at home to support student academic success.

■ Teach stress management through breathing and meditation exercises for students.

■ Develop an understanding of how trauma affects learning in school.

■ Demonstrate how to identify and manage anger in children.

the coronavirus effect on minorities

5

Sources: Nassau County, U.S. Census, American Community Survey.

Illustration by Christina Daly/Herald

Governors get together over reopening the economy es,” referring to the possibility that Covid19 cases might climb again if people were to go back to work without adequate The governors of Delaware, Connecti- guidelines and insufficient preparation. cut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said the and Rhode Island gathered Monday in a coronavirus spread along his state’s Interteleconference to announce a regional sate-95 corridor, otherwise known as its panel that will study how best to reopen “commuter corridor.” The virus, he t h e e c o n o my a n d t h e appeared to suggest, was schools. spread by commuters in and Governor Cuomo, leadout of New York City. ing the effort, announced Pennsylvania Gov. Tom the creation of the panel, Wo l f s a i d a r e g i o n a l which will comprise three approach to reopening the representatives from each economy is vital. “We all state — a health official, an know we can do anything economic official and the better when we work togethchief of staff of each goverer,” he said. “We need to do nor. The governors are callthis right.” ing it a regional advisory He said he believes the council, which will not have Gov. andrew six-state approach will decision-making power, but become a model for reopenrather will help formulate Cuomo ing regional economies plans for a re gional across the country. approach to reopening that are subject to Delaware Gov. John Carney said the the governors’ approval. key question is, “How do we reopen “New York believes we have reached a things in a way that’s safe?” plateau” of new coronavirus cases, “The state boundaries,” he noted, Cuomo said. “This is relatively good news “mean very little to this virus.” in a world of bad options.”

The objective, Rhode Island Gov. Gina With cases leveling off, he said, it is Raimondo said, is to “develop new guidetime to begin planning for the day when lines for this new normal.” businesses are allowed to resume operaAll of the governors are Democrats. tions and students may return to classes.

The announcement came after PresiNew Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy said dent Trump over the weekend signaled the regional approach would help avoid that he believes he will be the arbiter of “inadvertent and unintended consequenc- when the economy will reopen.

By SCott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

n

ew York believes we have reached a plateau [of Covid-19] cases.

Herald file photo

Governor Cuomo Gathered five other Northeast governors to announce a regional advisory council to develop plans to reopen the economy regionally. In addition to New York, the council will include representatives of Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Covid-19 has affected minority populations and densely populated areas more than others. The maps below show the correlation between coronavirus hot spots in Nassau County and population density.

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Cuomo calls for SALT repeal amid pandemic

By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

In his Saturday address, Governor Cuomo called on Congress and President Trump to repeal the SALT provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to provide relief to residents of hightax states like New York and California amid the pandemic.

The SALT provision eliminated all but $10,000 of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known commonly as the SALT deduction, costing New Yorkers millions of dollars annually in federal taxes.

“You want to help New York … you want to help the places that are affected [by Covid-19], then repeal the SALT provision,” Cuomo said.

The provision “targeted” states like New York, the governor said.

In a March 26 editorial, the Herald called for repeal of the SALT provision.

For an excerpt from it, see box.

Cuomo urged people not to play politics around Covid-19, particularly given that it is a presidential election year.

President Trump, he said, has been responsive to New York’s needs amid the coronavirus crisis.

“Keep politics out of the discussions,” Cuomo said.

He noted that he does not plan to run for president, despite some pleas within the Democratic Party that he should jump in the race — Joe Biden is now the presumptive nominee after Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out last week.

Some 783 people died of the coronavirus statewide overnight from last Friday into Saturday. The governor noted that was not an all-time high, which came three days earlier when 799 peo-

From the Herald’s editorial….

Gov. Andrew cuomo is asking Congress and President Trump to eliminate the SALT provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to provide financial relief to New Yorkers battered by the coronavirus. ple died. He also said the number of intensive care unit admissions and number of intubations were both down dramatically, which could indicate the state had hit a plateau of infections.

Cuomo described the current phase of the pandemic in New York as the “end of the beginning.”

He urged people to continue to “stay

the course” and practice social distancing. He noted that without it, a second wave of infection is possible.

When New York’s economy should fully reopen is a subject of study and debate, the governor said.

Reopening it, he said, “cannot be at the expense” of human life.

In high-tax regions like New York and California, the weight of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was already causing enormous fiscal strain for many homeowners, who lost all but $10,000 of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known commonly as the SALT deduction.

Loss of that single deduction in high-tax regions has cost people thousands of dollars. Many Long Island taxpayers reported that their federal tax bills rose $3,000, $5,000, $8,000 or more last year.

Those bills are not expected to abate this year, unless Congress acts.

It should immediately reinstate the SALT deduction. People here will certainly take $1,000 or $2,000 [in stimulus funds], but restoring the deduction would do far more for many homeowners who are suffering because of the coronavirus.

For the full editorial, see liherald.com.

New York coping with a rising death toll

By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

Governor Cuomo said at his news briefing last Thursday that additional funeral directors would be brought in to aid with final arrangements for the hundreds of New Yorkers who are dying of the coronavirus.

Overnight that day, he said, 799 people had succumbed to the disease, bringing the total who had died in New York to more than 7,000. That was the highest overnight death toll New York had seen to date, and at press time, it remained the highest.

As of April 13, there were 846 Covid19-related deaths in Nassau County, and 23,553 people had been diagnosed with the illness.

Cuomo spoke of the coronavirus as a “silent killer.”

“9/11 was supposed to be the darkest day” for New York in a generation, he

Social distancing, he said, is about said.

As of Wednesday, April 8, Covid-19 protecting the most vulnerable in socihad killed more than twice as many ety.

The governor ordered all American people in New York than 9/11, when the flags to fly at half-staff in total number of deaths honor of the dead. statewide reached 6,268.

By executive order, he As of Monday, nearly also declared that all New 9,400 were reported dead in Yorkers can vote by absenNew York. tee ballot for the June 23 “Our hospitals and primaries. health care workers continAnd all unemployed ue to be stretched to the New Yorkers will receive an limit,” Nassau County additional $600 payment, Executive Laura Curran and unemployment benesaid. fits were extended from 25 Cuomo, speaking in to 39 weeks. some of the strongest terms T here were positive he had used yet last week, Gov. Andrew s igns las t we e k. Both called Covid-19 a “vicious Cuomo and Curran said predator of a virus” that cuomo social distancing appeared preys on those whose to be working and was health has already been compromised because of underlying reducing the number new hospitalizations. medical conditions.

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/11 was supposed to be the darkest day for New York in a generation.

To maintain the plateau, they said, people must stay at home unless they are essential workers.

Rapid testing for the coronavirus on a mass scale could allow people to return to work, Cuomo said he believes.

He warned, however, that the virus may come in waves. He noted that the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 struck in three waves. And already, he said, there were scattered reports, including in The Los Angeles Times, that Wuhan, China, may be experiencing a second wave of infections.

A secondary infection wave could come, he said, if the virus were to mutate into a new form, potentially infecting those with immunity to the first virus.

There is an emotional toll the pandemic has had on many people, the governor said. Those in need of help can call the state’s Emotional Support Hotline at (844) 863-9314.

Officials: MSSN still performing surgeries sbrinton@liherald.com

Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside is still open for trauma and emergency cases, despite an influx of critically ill coronavirus patients in recent weeks.

That was the message that Joe Calderone, MSSN’s senior vice president of corporate communications, and Dr. Rajiv Datta, the hospital’s chief of surgery, delivered to the public via a 15-minute Facebook Live session last Thursday.

“We are still a trauma center,” Datta said. “We still take care of acute cases.”

MSSN is the South Shore’s only trauma center, which treats the most urgent cases such as car crash and gunshot victims. An emergency patient, by contrast, might be suffering from an acute medical condition such as appendicitis.

To remain a Level II trauma center, the hospital must maintain a trauma operating room and keep a trauma surgeon on duty at the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

As of last Thursday, Calderone said, the hospital had 450 patients in total — 300, or 66 percent, were Covid-19 patients.

All trauma and emergency patients are tested for coronavirus upon entering the hospital, Datta said, “so we can protect them, and we can also protect our staff.”

The operating room is equipped with a

Facebook Live screenshot

Dr. rajiv Datta, chief of surgery at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, and Joe Calderone, senior vice president for corporate communications, held a Facebook Live session in front of the hospital Thursday to let the public know trauma and emergency surgeries are still be performing at MSSN. HEPA filter to ensure the air remains pure, and all surgical tables and equipment are wiped down with bleach, he said.

Surgical patients recover in the operating room, and then they are segregated in a non-Covid-19 section of the hospital.

“The staff is very keenly aware of which patients are Covid positive and which are not,” Datta said. “That information is delivered to everybody.”

He emphasized, “The operating room is still functional, only doing trauma cases and emergency cases.”

Follow-up care is provided in MSSN’s outpatient facility in Valley Stream and via telehealth video chat.

“It’s a new way of practicing medicine,” Datta said.

There is no longer visitation at the hospital. After patients are sufficiently recovered from surgery, family members or

friends must pick them up at the front entrance of the hospital on Merrick Road.

They cannot enter the hospital.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck situation at South Nassau,” Calderone noted.

Several staff members from hospital’s surgical team, both surgeons and nurses, have been redeployed to medical wings of the hospital to help treat Covid-19 patients.

Normally, the hospital might have 22 patients on ventilators. It had 80 as of last Thursday.

“I’m amazed to see how our staff is helpful,” Datta said, noting that retired surgeons have called to volunteer their services.

“So far we have been able to accommodate,” he said. “Everybody is stretched.”

The hospital is still performing a small number of elective surgeries for cancer patients, said Datta, who is medical director of MSSN’s Feil Cancer Center in Valley Stream.

Primarily, however, cancer patients are being treated with radiation and chemotherapy in cordoned-off wings — chemo at the front of the hospital, and radiation at the back.

Both Calderone and Datta emphasized the importance of social distancing. “We are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” Calderone said.

To watch the full video, see liherald.com.

Northwell Health clinical trials under way

By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

The Northwell Health medical system, with hospitals throughout the greater New York metropolitan area, has conducted clinical trials for a possible treatment for Covid-19 since March 18, and an effort that began with two patients now involves hundreds.

That’s according to Dr. Christina Brennan, vice president of clinical research at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset. Brennan sat down with video producer Rob Hoell for a Facebook Live interview last Thursday in which she discussed the ongoing clinical trials that Northwell is engaged in.

She noted Northwell was among the first health systems in the nation to undertake clinical trials for a treatment. Locally, trials are taking place at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens.

Early on, Feinstein Institutes researchers teamed up with Gilead Sciences and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to identify potential treatments for Covid-19 patients who are hospitalized with moderate to severe conditions. The goal, according to a Northwell release, is “to improve recovery and speed discharge from hospitals.”

Brennan said last week that Northwell also undertook an additional study to gauge the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that has been touted often by President Trump.

With Gilead, the Feinstein Institutes is examining the safety and effectiveness of remdesivir (RDV), an investigational antiviral drug, to reduce the intensity and duration of Covid-19 in hospitalized patients.

RDV, Northwell officials said, has “demonstrated positive effects” on other viruses such as MERS and SARS. The trial with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which now involves 216 patients, is examining the safety and efficacy

Facebook Live screenshot

of sarilumab, a human antibody that may help prevent severe pneumonia in some Covid-19 patients. It is normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Brennan said.

“We’re really excited about the three opportunities and more to come of the trials,” she said.

Northwell is not engaged in clinical trials to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, she noted.

Brennan could not say how long development of a treatment drug or drugs would take, and if any of the drugs now in trials would ultimately be proven effective.

Patients’ participation in all clinical trials is voluntary.

Daily, Brennan said, clinical researchers are feeding data back to the pharmaceutical companies involved in the trials, and the companies are analyzing that information.

When a sufficient data set is amassed, the companies will then approach the Food and Drug Administration for possible approvals.

Northwell physicians on “the front lines” are selecting

Dr. chriStina Brennan, vice president of clinical research at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, sat down with video producer Rob Hoell for a Facebook Live session last Thursday to discuss ongoing clinical trials for a Covid19 treatment at Northwell.

patients for the trials with Feinstein researchers. “It can be tough as investigators,” Brennan said. “You so desperately want to help patients and find the right treatment for them.”

She said, however, “We’re seeing more discharges daily from our clinical trials, so we’re hopeful.”

Speaking of the clinical researchers, Hoell said, “You guys are, to my mind, the unsung heroes … Every day we get closer and closer to maybe finding out what’s going to work and what’s going to knock out this virus.”

Brennan did say clinical research appears to substantiate anecdotal evidence from physicians in the field that Covid-19 is potentially more deadly for older adults and those with pre-existing medical conditions, and that anyone, of any age, can be infected and suffer its effects, including older teenagers.

To watch the entire interview, see liherald.com.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

By Scott Brinton

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Three MSSN employees die of coronavirus By mike smoLLins msmollins@liherald.com

Three employees at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital have died after contracting the coronavirus.

Dr. Jesus Zambrano, 54, an attending pediatrician who worked in Freeport, died on March 29, while Mario Salonga, 59, a per diem physical therapist in home care, recently died, and Ferdinando Moretti, 73, an MSSN painting crew foreman, died on April 4. The hospital did not disclose the date Salonga died, and an inquiry was not returned.

“They exemplify what makes every Mount Sinai South Nassau employee and medical staff member special, the willingness to be present during a time of unprecedented crisis with a special commitment to the patients we serve,” MSSN President and CEO Richard Murphy said in a statement.

Zambrano was a Brooklyn resident and joined the MSSN medical staff in 2012. He worked with Dr. Luis HerreraAcevedo at a Freeport practice. He previously attended medical school in Santo

Christina Daly/Herald

three empLoyees of Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital died after contracting the coronavirus.

Domingo, Dominican Republic, and trained as a pediatric resident at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx. He was board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and many of his patients and

colleagues saw him as a beloved figure.

Salonga had been a part of MSSN’s inhome patient care staff for five years and worked for the Visiting Nurse Service. He was described as a kind, gentle soul and

an upstanding father, husband and friend.

He provided compassionate and professional care for patients and his daughter, Katrina, said he was dedicated to his profession, according to a news release from the hospital. She added she was raised by the motto “always put others first,” and her father exemplified it. In addition to Katrina, Salonga is survived by his wife, Cecilia, and their son, Joseph, in Valley Stream.

Moretti retired from MSSN in 2014 after 31 years of service. He returned to work per diem in 2015 to support the hospital’s various expansion projects. His colleagues recalled that Moretti was lighthearted and quick with a joke, and that he was well versed in topics ranging from construction to cooking. He is survived by his daughter, Andrea, son, Mario, and four grandchildren. His wife, Olga, predeceased him.

“I cannot sufficiently express my appreciation and respect for the contribution each of them has made to the life of Mount Sinai South Nassau,” Murphy said. “We extend our prayers and deepest sympathy to their families.”

Judge to decide if L.B. boardwalk can reopen

By James Bernstein jbernstein@liherald.com

A Nassau County Supreme Court judge was to hear to hear a case filed Friday by an attorney who wants the City of Long Beach to reopen its 2.2-mile boardwalk, which was closed March 26 to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

At press time Monday, no decision had been reached.

Scott Cohen, who filed the case on behalf of Francis McQuade, an unsuccessful candidate for Nassau County District Attorney last year, said Long Beach acted improperly in closing the boardwalk because it did not have the permission of the New York State Department of Health to do so.

“I have a problem with the boardwalk being closed,” Cohen said Monday. “It wasn’t done in the right way.”

McQuade called the city’s decision “arbitrary.”

Long Beach officials said the city does not comment on pending litigation. But city officials had noted that the Nassau County Department of Health had not overturned Long Beach’s decision to close the boardwalk.

The suit was filed against the five elected city council members, interim City Manager Donna Gayden and her assistant John McNally.

Cohen said the closing left Long Beach residents with only two ways to enter the beach, at Pacific Boulevard and New York Avenue. He said this created a hardship for people who want to walk on the beach, as well as for residents of those two streets. An excess of cars could be parked on those streets, Cohen said.

“I’d like the decision to be overturned,” Cohen said.

He said the boardwalk was closed at a time when fewer people were aware of the dangers of the coronavirus.

“People are now more aware” of social distancing and other measures, he said.

The boardwalk was closed, city officials had said, because large crowds had been gathering there and few were observing social distancing. The boardwalk is an iconic part of Long Beach, attracting thousands during summer holiday weekends. It is also a favorite spot for joggers and cyclists. The boardwalk has bathroom facilities and a large food stand.

As of April 7, Long Beach City Council President

John Bendo said the number of confirmed cases in the city stood at 285, a large jump from the previous ago, when there were about 200 cases.

“We’ve been informed that some of this increase is attributed to increased testing and ramped up processions of tests,” Bendo said on the City’s website.

“But officials are also projecting that this and next week will see Nassau County reaching its peak epidemic.

While this may be welcome news of sorts, please know that now is the time to double down on our social distancing efforts, not to relax them.”

Bendo also said that Long Beach police are following up on complaints by some residents that some restaurants and bars are not adhering to social distancing and have stepped up patrols to enforce the guidelines.

The city has also temporarily suspended recycling.

The boardwalk close had the support of Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky. a Long Beach Democrat, as well as by some civic organizations.

Sam Pinto, president of the Eastholm Civic Association, said, “Right now, under the current pandemic situation, having the boardwalk closed will help flatten the curve. Closing it is a benefit.”

The case is to be heard via Skype.

Photos by Christina Daly/Herald

a Long Beach lawyer filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach to reopen the boardwalk, which was closed in March because officials say people failed to adhere to social distancing.

‘Never allow ourselves to give into fear’ helps assemble the chamber’s monthly newsletters.

“We need to focus on the positives and never allow ourselves to give into fear,” Bennet said. “The design Cristina put together is about staying together, and I’m glad to see a lot of members putting it up on their doors and windows.”

The design also made its way to Minuteman Press, in Merrick, which offered to print out a larger version of the design for Freeport Chamber of Commerce members.

John Jutt, the shop owner and a chamber member, said he wanted to help and show his support in any way he could.

About eight businesses had already stopped by to pick up their copies since it was made available on April 10.

“I figured we needed to give back to the community and show solidarity,” Jutt said.

Minuteman Press is also taking part in the Bounce Back USA initiative, for which the shop will provide free local business listings on its website, as well as free Covid19 safety posters for customers to put up around their businesses. The Bounce Back USA initiative was organized by Minuteman Press International to help local businesses through the pandemic. Owners can learn more at https://bouncebackusa.minuteman.com/.

Bennet added that positive thinking and creative solutions would be key to helping Freeport bounce back and prepare for the challenges to come.

The chamber, officials said, is working to maintain communications between local businesses and resources that can help them. Throughout the pandemic, the chamber has sent out updates from the Nassau Council of Chambers and county and state officials to keep members informed about the crisis, as well as information on how to apply for the Small Business Debt Relief program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

Chamber President Jenny Jorge explained that as businesses continue to struggle to stay open and residents suffer from a severe loss of income, the Freeport economy would take a hit.

Chamber members also said they were worried about

message from the freeport chamber

Ronny Reyes/Herald

the AllstAte offiCe on Merrick Road displayed the design for Freeport unity on its front door. when the pandemic would end. Bennet said that while Freeport usually sees an uptick in business in May as shoppers and diners flock to the Nautical Mile for the summer, no one knows exactly how the pandemic will affect consumer behavior or public policy.

“People might still be paranoid, and regulations over public gatherings could still be in place by then,” Bennet said. “There’s still a lot of unknowns at this time, and people are scared.”

“We’ll definitely see the after-effects of all this, but we’ve been through [Superstorm] Sandy, Hurricane Irene and so much together and still come out on top,” Jorge said. “We have to fight.”

By now we are all aware of the situation our country and the world are facing. As we are filled with uncertainty as to how this pandemic will directly affect each and every one of us, we have to look for ways to adapt to what has become our new reality. Our businesses have been disrupted, we have been limited to only leaving our house for essential business, and we have no idea when this will all come to an end.

As a chamber, we have also made a flier, which has been posted on social media and emailed to our mailing list, notifying people which local member businesses are open. Order your meal from one of our many restaurants offering takeout or delivery, work on some gardening after visiting our local nursery for seeds for the vegetable garden or order your groceries online from our local supermarkets. Visit the Freeport Public Library virtually and see what new activities we can learn or improve.

Let the chamber office know if your business is open during this time. Send us a flier we can post on our Facebook, Instagram or something we can email to our mailing list. Contact the chamber at freeportchamber@gmail.com. This is a time to come together as a community, help one another and show why Freeport is a great village to live and operate a business in.

Jenny Jorge Chamber of Commerce president

Freeport schools among best in music education The National Association of Music Merchants has again named the Freeport School District among its list of the Best Communities for Music Education.

The awards program, founded in 1999, recognizes more than 700 schools around the nation that demonstrate an exceptionally high commitment and access to music education for all students.

“Our talented, amazing students spread joy and inspiration whenever they perform,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kishore Kuncham. “Freeport Public Schools is dedicated to educating the whole child. This award recognizes our commitment to supporting a successful music program and the dedication of our staff and students.”

The NAMM is a nonprofit organization that works to support teachers, parents and community leaders with resources and programs to advance music studies.

This is the third year in a row that the NAMM has recognized the Freeport School District.

The Best Communities for Music Education awards program is conducted through the Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas, who analyze data sent in from school districts and evaluate districts’ music programs. The researchers consider teacher qualifications, student demographics, program

Courtesy Freeport Public Schools

Columbus Avenue students performed during the Freeport School District’s Black History Month concert. The National Association of Music Merchants recognized the district for its support for music. participation, requirements for graduation, music facilities and the district’s budget for music education.

Ruth Breidenbach, director of Arts and Community Relations for the district, said Freeport took great pride in the con-

secutive recognition from NAMM, adding that it reflected the efforts and excellence of the district’s music programs.

“Our music team is the most progressive and innovative in the field and creates opportunities for unique experienc-

es,” she said. “Our student musicians are ambassadors of the district when they perform in our village, county, state, region and nation.”

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

continued from front page

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10

News brief

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Kaminsky hosts emergency food drive through

Courtesy Office of Legislator Debra Mule

Nassau CouNty LegisLator Debra Mule, center, has joined Long Island Cares to host a supply drive for local families in need.

Mule sponsors supply drive Nassau County Legislator Debra Mule, of Freeport, partnered with Long Island Cares to start an essential supply drive for local families in need amid the Covid-19 pandemic on April 10.

The supply drive allows residents to shop from their homes and purchase items such as food, water, soap diapers and more to those deeply affected by the ongoing pandemic.

“During these trying times, it is

important to remember those in need,” Mule said. “I am working with Long Island Cares to support their relief efforts in response to the impact Covid19 is having on our fellow Long Islanders.”

Donors can contribute by visiting https://yougivegoods.com/debramule.

For more information, contact Mule’s office at (516)-571-6205. The supply drive will continue until mid-May.

Because of the Covid-19 health crisis, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat who re presents the Five Towns, 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 w i l l i n g t o d o n a t e, please reach out to my office and we will get it into the hands of those who need it most.”

To d o n a t e, c a l l Kaminsky’s office at (516) 766-8383 or email Kaminsky@nysenate. gov.

–Jeffrey Bessen

Courtesy Kaminsky’s office

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

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Hempstead Town Is Here For You! During this challenging time, we want residents to know that employees and the Town Board are working hard to keep your essential services running.

NEED HELP FROM A TOWN DEPARTMENT? Email the following departments at: Building Department:

tohbuildingquestions@tohmail.org

Town Clerk’s Office:

tohtownclerkquestions@tohmail.org

Tax Office:

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Parks Department:

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For a list of other department email addresses, please visit hempsteadtownny.gov/directory

STAY CONNECTED • For email updates: hempsteadtownny.gov/townnews-mailing-list • Swift 911 emergency notifications: hempsteadtownny.gov/ emergency-services/ swift911-emergency-notification • Facebook: @hempsteadtown • Twitter:

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Monday, April 20 at 2 p.m.

Friday, April 24 at 2 p.m.

IMPORTANT COVID-19 RESOURCES:

JOIN US!

New York State (NYS) Coronavirus Hotline .........................................................................(888) 364-3065 New York State (NYS) Coronavirus Website .................................................... coronavirus.health.ny.gov Nassau County Coronavirus Call Center .............................................................................(516) 227-9570 CDC Coronavirus Disease Hotline ........................................................................................(800) 232-4636 CDC Coronavirus Disease Website ...................................................................................coronavirus.gov NYS COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline ..........................................................................(844) 863-9314

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12

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

News brief

Courtesy Google Maps

ProHealtH’s FreePort Urgent Care center is now offering coronavirus testing.

Covid-19 testing at ProHealth, in Freeport

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Available while supply lasts, quantities may be limited. No rain checks.

ALL $1.19 special purchases are final sale.

THE ANIMALS ARE DEPENDING ON US TO BE HERE FOR THEM... CRISIS OR NOT North Shore Animal League America is facing critical challenges during the coronavirus pandemic – but that will never change our NO-KILL PROMISE to care for homeless dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.

ProHealth announced that it has expanded its coronavirus testing to 11 facilities across Long Island, including at its urgent care center in Freeport, at 129 W Sunrise Highway, starting on April 8.

ProHealth is also extending testing access to all first responders.

Patients who are exhibiting symptoms must first schedule an appointment through ProHealth’s hotline at (516)-8740411. If patients are found to need testing, they will be scheduled for drive-thru testing at available sites and then for an appointment at the nearest ProHealth facility.

The drive-thru testing is available at the ProHealth Campus in Lake Success, ProHealth Urgent Care of Jericho and ProHealth Urgent Care of Riverhead.

Hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Coronavirus symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. In more severe cases, it can become pneumonia.

Additional ProHealth testing is available at: ■ Massapequa Park Urgent Care: 4954 Merrick Rd. ■ Plainview Urgent Care: 1074 Old Country Rd. ■ Roslyn Heights Urgent Care: 250 S Service Rd. ■ Amityville Urgent Care: 148 Merrick Rd. ■ Huntington Urgent Care: 339 Main St. ■ Huntington Station Urgent Care: 247 Walt Whitman Rd. ■ West Islip Urgent Care: 148 Sunrise Hwy.

LIACF still to host 40th annual contest The Long Island Arts Council at Freeport has plans to continue with its 40th annual Juried Photography Show in June despite the coronavirus outbreak.

The council plans to host the show either in person, should things return to normal, or through a virtual gallery available to the public. The show will be up at the Freeport Memorial Library and on the library’s website.

Submissions will be accepted until May 1. Those interested in competing can email submissions to the LIACF at joelliacf@gmail.com or by mail at 130 East Merrick Rd., Freeport, NY 11520.

Submissions from LIACF members are now free, while non-members have a reduced fee of $10.

For more infor mation, call (516) 223-2522.

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Animals along ‘slaughter alley’ get a rest

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com

Everyone is looking for silver linings in these dark days as the Covid-19 virus cuts an inexorable swathe through the county. For the local fauna, human sheltering in place is very, very good news.

Tens of millions of animals are killed along New York’s roadways each year.

Clearing away the roadkill is the responsibility of several state and local departments, according to media spokesman Stephen Canzoneri, of the state Department of Transportation. “It depends on who owns the road,” he said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has its hand in as well.

But since traffic has come to a virtual standstill, roadways like the Meadowbrook State Parkway, normally a “slaughter alley” for animals and humans alike, is almost entirely clear of the sad carcasses of animals that tried unsuccessfully to get to the proverbial other side of the road.

In one recent afternoon cruising up and down one of the most destructively lethal sections of the parkway, only one animal carcass was seen. From its desiccated appearance, it had been there for some time.

No agency keeps exact records of the total number of animals killed along Nassau County’s roadways. Nationally, though, an estimated 10 million deer

ʼ TS

A H W EN? OP

13

Courtesy Jon Katz PC

A gAgglE Of geese got lucky as it crossed the road. meet their demise at motorists’ hands each year, according to Maria Christina Lalonde, in an article for Wide Open Eats, an organization that seeks to educate on a variety of noncommercial dining opportunities.

Harvesting roadkill for food is legal in 27 states, including New York — with a permit. “Animal rights activists and foodies alike hail roadkill as one of the most

ethical and environmentally friendly meats,” Lalonde proclaimed. “Advocates point out that these animals were not raised or killed for food, and argue [that] letting people harvest roadkill makes use of a valuable free-range protein source that would otherwise go to waste.”

“Roadkill is free of the antibiotics, hormones, and growth stimulants found in factory-farmed meat,” Lalonde wrote.

“And many roadkill species — including elk, deer, boar, and certain game birds — are pretty darn tasty, and sell for quite a bit when farm-raised, packaged and offered in stores.”

Lalonde would be more likely to find raccoons, squirrels, Canada geese and various species of house pets along Nassau’s roadways. In any case, those animals have caught a break — for now.

Spread the news(letter) not the virus!

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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.”

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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.

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

14

15

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020 Photos by Christina Daly/Herald

Randall PaRk Remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Emptiness in Freeport amid the pandemic After about three weeks since residents were asked to stay home to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the Village of Freeport has seen its usual places of activity turn eerily vacant.

The Nautical Mile, Freeport’s premier destination, now lies mostly empty as its pristine restaurants, bars and shops are either closed or trying to adapt this period of quarantine and social distancing.

Randall Park, Cow Meadow Park, Sea Breeze Park and the Freeport Recreation Center are also empty after closing in late-March, leaving residents without many places to go to for entertainment.

some RestauRants, like Hibiscus at Elliot’s, above, have chosen to shutdown for the time being.

Jacob G., left, made use of the emptiness to practice a switch flip and other skateboarding tricks on April 8. the fReePoRt RecReation Center, farleft, is locked down until further notice.

Public Notices

16

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

LFRE1 0416

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.

Friends Who Give donate 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.

LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the following Boards, Commissions, and Committees of the Incorporated Village of Freeport are scheduled to meet each month in the following locations: Board of Ethics - Meets as required Commission for the Conservation of the Environment of Freeport 1st Tuesday, 6:30 P.M., March through December - Splash Building, 202 Woodcleft Avenue Highway Commission 1st Thursday, 7:00 P.M., 355 Albany Avenue Commission on Human Relations - 4th Tuesday, 7:30 P.M., Freeport Memorial Library, 144 West Merrick Road Landmarks Preservation Commission 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 P.M., Freeport Memorial Library, 144 West Merrick Road Sewer and Sanitation Commission 1st Thursday, 7:30 P.M., 355 Albany Avenue Traffic Safety Commission - 1st Thursday, 4:00 P.M., 355 Albany Avenue Water and Light Commission 2nd Wednesday, 6:00 P.M., 220 West Sunrise Highway Electrical Board - 1st Tuesday, 6:00 P.M., 220 West Sunrise Highway Planning Board - 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 6:00 P.M., Village Hall, 46 North Ocean Avenue Plumbing Board - 2nd Wednesday, 8:00 P.M., BOT Conference Room, 46 North Ocean Avenue.

Mayor’s Veterans Advisory Council - 4th Wednesday in January, April, July & October 7:00 P.M., BOT Conference Room, 46 North Ocean Avenue Mayor’s Advisory Committee - Fire EMS Meets as required Mayor’s Advisory Task Force on North Main Street - Meets as required Public Safety Committee Meets as required Senior Citizens Council Meets as required Zoning Board of Appeals 3rd Thursday, 6:00 P.M., Village Hall, 46 North Ocean Avenue The regular meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village of Freeport for the forthcoming official year shall be held at 6:30 P.M. in the Main Conference Room, Municipal Building, 46 North Ocean Avenue, Freeport, New York, as follows: 2020

April 20 (public comment), May 11, 18 (public comment), June 1, 18, 29 (public comment, July 13, 27 (public comment), August 3, 18, 31 (public comment), September 14, 29 (public comment), October 5, 22 (public comment), November 2, 16, 30 (public comment, December 14 (tentative budget), 28 (public comment)

2021 January 11 (budget hearing), 25 (public comment), February 1, 22 (public comment), March 8, 17 (election results), 22 (public comment), April 5, 2021 Organization Night.

Pamela Walsh Boening Village Clerk Dated:Freeport, New York April 16, 2020 121610 Search for notices online at: www.mypublicnotices.com

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF CANCELLATION FREEPORT LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING Please take notice that the Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting regularly scheduled meeting for Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 7:30 P. M. at the Freeport Memorial Library, 144 West Merrick Road, Freeport, New York 11520 and all subsequent meetings have been CANCELLED until further notice.

By Order of the Landmarks Preservation Commission Pietrina J. Reda Chairperson Issue Date: April 16, 2020 121609 To Place A Notice Call 516-569-4000 x232

LEGAL NOTICE SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Index No. 8516/12 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NASSAU JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff, -vsRACHEL DUGAN; TODD M. DUGAN, JR.; UNKNOWN HEIRS TO THE ESTATE OF TODD DUGAN; CITIBANK (SOUTH DAKOTA), N.A.; DISCOVER BANK; GE MONEY BANK; MIDLAND FUNDING LLC D/B/A IN NEW YORK AS MIDLAND FUNDING OF DELAWARE, LLC; PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; MIDLAND FUNDING LLC APO GE MONEY BANK; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA O/B/O INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; Defendants.

Mortgaged Premises: 430 ROOSEVELT AVENUE, FREEPORT, NY 11520 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S):

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s Attorney(s) within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); The United States of America may appear or answer within 60 days of service hereof; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the C o m p l a i n t .

N O T I C E YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home.

Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property.

Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. NASSAU County is designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the mortgaged premises.

Dated: JANUARY 13, 2020 SIMONE SEBASTIAN, ESQ. FEIN, SUCH & CRANE, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff 1400 Old Country Road Ste. C103 Westbury, NY 11590 Telephone No. (516) 394-6921 QCHJN048 Premises known as: 430 ROOSEVELT AVENUE, FREEPORT, NY 11520 Tax Map/Parcel ID No.: Section: 62 Block: 156 Lot(s): 416, 742, 760 121422

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.mypublicnotices.com TO PLACE AN AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232 Place a notice by phone at 516-569-4000 x232 or email: legalnotices@liherald.com

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

Index #611000/2019. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale dated Feb. 24, 2020, I will sell at public auction on Tuesday, May 5, 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 9, Section 55, Block 364, Lot 10. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

STEPHEN FROMMER, Referee. LEVY & LEVY, Attys. for Pltf., 12 Tulip Dr., Great Neck, NY. #98482

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.mypublicnotices.com TO PLACE AN AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232

LEGAL NOTICE Manhattan Beach Jewish Center is seeking bids for the following work on 2 separate federally funded FEMA reconstruction projects: -Making permanent electrical work in our two buildings -Installing two (2) boilers and ancillary equipment for our building All federal laws and requirements must be adhered to.

For specifications and to submit a sealed bid, email mbjc1@aol.com 121357 PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.mypublicnotices.com TO PLACE AN AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232

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

ABRAHAM ZUNIGA, et al, Defts.

Index #608335/2019. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale dated Feb. 24, 2020, I will sell at public auction at the Calendar Control Part (CCP) Courtroom of the Nassau County Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Dr., Mineola, NY on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. prem. k/a School District 9, Section 55, Block 251, Lot 264-265. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. LISA SEGAL POCZIK, Referee. LEVY & LEVY, Attys. For Pltf., 12 Tulip Drive, Great Neck, NY #98478 121485

By TIMOTHY DENTON denton@liherald.com

Courtesy PSEG Long Island

Osprey cams offer respite from Covid-19 PSEG Long Island has installed two webcams to offer a peek into the daily lives of local ospreys.

Employees work throughout the year to balance PSEG Long Island’s commitment to deliver power for its customers with its commitment to being a good environmental steward, utility officials said.

Providing a safe nesting area for the osprey away from vital electrical infrastructure helps PSEG Long Island maintain strong electric service reliability.

Ospreys often use utility poles and transmission structures for nesting, which jeopardizes system reliability, causes outages and equipment.

“The osprey have made a triumphant comeback here since the 1970s, and PSEG Long Island works to make sure that they can continue to flourish,” said Dan Eichhorn, president and CEO of PSEG Long Island. “Especially now, with so many of us remaining inside our homes for the sake of public health, these webcams offer a much-needed front-row seat to the comings and goings of these majestic

birds.”

PSEG Long Island has installed 24-hour webcams at two of the nests that were relocated by line workers during the time of year when the birds are not raising young.

The first shows a live feed of a nest in Oyster Bay; a second webcam has gone live from a nest in Patchogue. At the Oyster Bay location, the osprey pair returned late last month.

Since the resurgence of the osprey population, PSEG Long Island and its team, with the guidance and support from environmental partners, have identified best practices for when to move a nest, and when to create alternative safer nest locations for the ospreys, utility officials said.

PSEG Long Island workers have relocated two-dozen osprey nests to ensure the birds are out of harm’s way from high voltage systems.

View the cameras online at https:// www.psegliny.com/wildlife/ospreycam.

ToH earmarks $40M for road improvements

By J.D. FrEDA and TIMOTHY DENTON jfreda@liherald.com; tdenton@liherald.com

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Donald Clavin announced a $40 million stimulus package last week “in an effort to get people back to work once it is safe to do so.”

Clavin said the money would be used for roadway improvements. With more than 1,200 miles of roadways in the town, the investment could “help workers recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, while enhancing quality-of-life and driver and pedestrian safety.”

The town’s 2020 approved budget allocated roughly $150 million to fund the highway department and its various duties. Which new projects will be undertaken with the allocation remains to be determined.

Some of the repair work has already

begun, according to Town Councilman Christopher Carini, whose district encompasses Wantagh and Seaford.

Repaving the stretch of Beltagh Avenue between Forest Lake School and Old Mill Road began on March 23.

“The road surface will be replaced, and, in addition, new concrete curbs, driveway aprons and handicap ramps will be provided,” Carini said. “Being near an elementary school, it’s an important improvement that will increase safety for residents. I look forward to its planned completion in the middle of May.” Clavin said the stimulus package represented a movement toward a return to normal life, following the Covid-19 virus.

“This major capital investment symbolizes a significant step toward economic recovery … as we face the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic together,” he said.

As the wizards of finance begin to g rapple with the fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, it is clear that sales tax revenue — a major component in Nassau County’s 2020 budget — will drop off by at least 4 percent, according to a New York Association of Counties study.

The study, cited in Moody’s Investors Service’s commentary on the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, estimated the loss “could punch a sizable hole of at least $50 million” in Nassau County’s 2020 budget, according to Moody’s Senior Credit Analyst Robert Weber.

Because the county had already estimated a year-over-year increase of $33 million in sales tax revenue, the loss will likely be more than $80 million, or 2.5 percent of the budgeted general fund revenue for the year, Weber wrote.

Citing the same NYAC study, however, Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman said the sales tax losses could be as high as $180 million, or 12.7 percent of the budget. “No one knows how long this will last or how deep the hole will be,” Schnirman said.

The one bright spot was the strength of NIFA’s credit quality, Weber wrote. The authority is rated Aa1; Nassau County has a rating of A2

Courtesy Nassau Interim Finance Authority

ADAM BArskY, cHAIrMAN of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority since 2018.

— still solidly investment grade. But NIFA’s higher rating will enable the county to borrow money at lower interest rates — critical in the coming recovery, Weber wrote.

Finally, the 2021 budget for New York State includes provisions for restoring NIFA’s bonding authority. It also extends the Authority’s oversight of county finances to 2051 from 2025, enabling the county to continue to benefit from NIFA’s stronger credit.

Comptroller to launch study of post-Covid recovery to crisis-related expenses, the modeling is complex and challenging, he added.

Schnirman said the Covid-19 crisis Nassau County Comptroller Jack more closely mirrors the economic Schirman announced late last week that downturn of 2008-09 than the aftermath his office will begin conducting an in- of Hurricane Sandy. “We need to know a depth analysis of the impact the Covid- range of potential impacts on county 19 virus has had on the counrevenues so we can ensure ty’s finances. The analysis essential government servicwill provide “a series of proes will continue unimpedjections on critical revenues, ed,” he said. so that Nassau can best preThe financial impact pare for recovery,” Schniranalysis will provide projecman said in a news release. tions of models relating to “Covid-19 is an unprecesales tax and various fees, to dented threat to the health project the county’s finanand safety of our communic i a l t re n d l i n e s i n t h e ty, as well as our fiscal months ahead, Schnirman health,” Schnir man said. said.

Jack schnirman The difficulty in making any On the expense side, projections is that “we do direct purchases have not not know how long his will yet had a critical fiscal last or how deep the hole will be,” he impact relative to previous crises, said. because only a few million out of a Economically dependent sales tax “is multi-billion dollar budget have been key to plan for the immediate future” spent thus far, Schnirman explained. “It and what comes after that, Schnirman is the revenue side that will take longer said. Because revenue losses take longer to materialize and is of greater concern to materialize than potential increases at present,” he said.

By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com

17

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Sales tax losses ‘punch hole’ in county budget

PsEG LONG IsLAND has installed two osprey cameras — one in Oyster Bay and the other in Patchogue — so people can watch the daily lives of these birds.

HERALD

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Qualified candidates should sent cover letter and resume to rglickman@liherald.com

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his 11 Room, 2 story home is completely renovated, inside and out. Grand open living room with gas fireplace has custom cabinetry, shelves and archway to family room. This home boasts a beautiful formal dining room, eat-in-kitchen with Italian Carrera marble countertops, Thermador professional series appliances with oversized cast iron Kohler farm sink, Monogram Advantium micro/convection oven, double electric ovens, pantry, custom cabinetry including dishwasher and refrigerator, gas heat and 175’ deep lot. The bath-

Kevin Leatherman Real Estate Broker Direct Line: (516) 362-1828 | Client Text: (516) 271-2236 Leatherman Homes 25 S Village Ave. Rockvile Centre, NY

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rooms are high-end white and red onyx, Travertine flooring, paver walkway and driveway with power gates leads to 4 car garage used as 3 with 10’ wide doors. It also has brown wave stone, custom coco Andersen windows, barrel gutters and is professionally landscaped..A legal 2 family home with highest and best use as a single-family is located in the South Incorporated Village. a prime location for being in the heart of the village, just 3 short blocks to LIRR and in the Riverside Elementary School District Near All! $1,350,000. Taxes $18,529.50 © 2018 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All rights reserved. CENTURY 21® and the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. It is your responsibility to ensure that the marketing materials you choose or create are compliant with real estate and other local laws in your area.

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Interested in selling your home, buying, or investing?

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

18

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© 2020 Monte Leeper Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

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A. Unfortunately, no onte eeper one knows the answer to your question. We’ve heard many ideas from the medical community, but nothing is certain other than keeping a distance to avoid transmission. I just learned that I now have to stay at least 6 feet away from Bengal tigers as well.

The theory and observation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health is that the coronavirus lives and multiplies in cooler and drier environments, and not as well in warmer, more humid environments. The rate of death has us all concerned for our safety and health. I’m beginning to hear of the deaths of people I either knew or who are related to friends, so it’s becoming more and more alarming as it becomes more personalized.

I’m not sure what’s best in your particular circumstance, because absorbent finishes such as carpet, drapes and clothing require more effort to clean than hard flooring and furniture, for example. It is speculation, however, to think that these materials hold the virus longer than 24 hours, assuming that it is capable of latching onto surfaces, but people keep sending me bulletins about how it can live on hard surfaces, like metal and plastic, for that long.

We can learn from the past, and 100 years ago, when the Spanish influenza struck, the equivalent of the surgeon general told the public, in the middle of winter, to keep their windows open. He believed that getting a breath of fresh air could keep the illness at bay. I can only tell you that it would have gotten pretty cold pretty quickly indoors. That’s the reason why, even for decades afterward, steam-fed radiators were so large and overdesigned — and why people regularly kept the windows open.

Just under 30 million people died worldwide, and everyone knew of someone who was laid out in the parlor of their home, since funeral parlors were overburdened. In 1920, when the pandemic had ended, Ladies Home Journal made the uplifting suggestion that the parlor, a place of bad memories and sadness in the home, be renamed the living room.

Room-unit air conditioners aren’t specifically made to filter viruses, so get some fresh air and keep a safe social distance.

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1085480

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1082954

I’m concerned about the coronavirus getting into my home. We live near a shopping strip where a lot of people come and go. We only use our single- room air conditioners when it’s absolutely necessary. I’m noticing that in warm-weather states, they’re still contracting the virus, so I doubt it will go away just because it’s getting warmer outside. Will my room air conditioners be enough to filter the air, and should I rely on them instead of opening my windows?

We like the fresh air and need to save money by not running the units if we don’t have to.

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Keeping the coronavirus outside

19

HERALD

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

20

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516-569-4000 press 5, then 2

Answers

to todAy’s puzzle

21

opInIons

t’s good news that Congress was able to reach agreement on a financial rescue of our economy at a moment of grave national emergency. More than $2 trillion will pump oxygen into an economy that’s gasping for life.

Along with the extraordinary measures the Federal Reserve has adopted to help keep businesses and financial institutions alive, the rescue legislation represents for our economy what respirators and ventilators are to those suffering from Covid-19 itself: a life-saving intervention to give them a chance to aLfonse survive. d’amato It’s particularly heartening that the legislation wasn’t held up for narrow political purposes. Partisanship has no place here.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has shown that kind of nonpartisan leadership. As he has pointed out, the coronavirus doesn’t play politics. It kills Democrats and Republicans alike.

Congress didn’t play politics with the economic life of the nation, either. In a period of just three weeks, bills to help our health care system fight the virus and strengthen social safety net programs like unemployment insurance, Medicaid and

I

food stamps were sent to President Trump and signed into law.

Language added to the rescue legislation provided greater transparency and accountability in the disbursal of $500 billion it set aside for loans to help American businesses meet their cashflow shortfalls and keep workers on their payrolls.

The legislation stipulates that none of the funds can be used by corporations for stock buybacks or executive pay raises. And like the GMChrysler rescue bill passed during the Great Recession in 2008, the bill provides that once companies recover, they must repay as much of the money as possible.

If more billions or even trillions of dollars are needed in the next few weeks or months to deal with this crisis, Congress should pass additional appropriations bills and send them to the president, who has signaled that he would sign whatever necessary spending legislation the lawmakers pass. That legislation should provide more help to state and local governments and our hospitals to help them meet the extraordinary costs they face.

The ongoing emergency also presents Washington with a challenge to address some of the underlying problems the spreading virus has highlighted. America can no longer afford to be reliant on China

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or other countries to produce drugs or medical equipment. That critical production must be brought home to America.

Another thing this crisis has taught us is that the government and business can accomplish more when they cooperate in public-private partnerships.

Witness how quickly our auto industry converted to the manufacture of desperately needed ventilators, and how the pharmaceutical industry is working with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our academic research facilities to fast-track new treatments and an eventual vaccine. Cutting bureaucratic red tape has been central to getting these things done, and this flexibility should continue to guide government as we move forward.

There are other areas where our government must take a new view. Our unemployment insurance system is proving woefully outdated when it comes to handling an unprecedented flood of jobless claims. Congress should look carefully at replacing unemployment insurance with employment insurance like that offered in Germany, where, in times of economic contraction, the government pays part of workers’ wages to keep them on company payrolls.

We’ll also ultimately need to do some-

awmakers cut bureaucratic red tape to get people the help they need.

thing to assure that American workers’ health insurance isn’t interrupted by business downturns, and that they have adequate paid medical leave so they can stay home when they’re sick. The emergency bills move in this direction on both fronts, and that progress should continue.

Our education system needs to learn a lesson from this crisis, too. Families have been getting a crash course in distance learning. In the future, our schools should fully embrace online education to allow students to more seamlessly do their schoolwork at home. That will require making sure that all students are equipped with the computers and internet connections they need.

And for our higher education system, as I’ve said before, that also means discarding an outmoded teaching model that is bankrupting students with crushing debt and inadequate preparation to enter the workforce. When colleges and universities open this fall, they will face a drastically changed landscape, and they will need to change with it.

The emergency measures Congress has taken are bold, life-saving ones that can help get our economy out of this emergency. America has stepped up to battle a crisis. Let’s keep it up.

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.

Living through Covid-19, in bits and pieces

’ve been thinking about wagon trains; I’ll tell you why later. If I remember.

Yeah, a serious side effect of the pandemic is definitely attention deficit disorder. It is increasingly difficult to focus and concentrate. Composing a sentence, which requires a grabby subject followed by a lively predicate, is challenging. Putting together 750 words is work.

So I gave up.

This week I will share the fragments that have been ricocheting around my brain. * * * My family is now the husband and me, and we seem to have shed RandI all the amenities of kReIss civilized life and regressed to our prehistoric roles.

Example: He, the hunter-gatherer, risked his life this week to raid the local market in search of baking yeast. My hero. As the tender of the hearth, I decided to bake bread. Apparently, baking bread is an activity that fires all the endorphin receptors at once. * * *

I had a nightmare that dogs could carry the virus. That scenario would have terrible implications for Lillybee and all beloved pets. Real life is tough enough; why does the imagination offer up even more horrific iterations of the catastrophe? * * * How quickly we revert to basic survival mode. My friends and I are bartering: two rubber bands for a spool of thread, matzo ball soup for homemade muffins, hand sanitizer for a printer cartridge. * * * After years of railing against the dangers of too much screen time, my eyeballs are basically falling out of my head from looking at screens all day, my phone, my computer and my iPad all vying for my attention. * * * My husband has a bra on his face. It’s mine, and it’s nothing weird; we’re just following orders. We saw a website that explained how to make two masks from one bra, so I made the ultimate sacrifice and we now have two “brasks.” * * * There’s something about a global pandemic that flushes people out of hiding.

I’ve been contacted by two long-lost rela-

tives, one I haven’t seen for 19 years and the other I haven’t seen for 27. They didn’t care if I was dead or alive for decades; now, suddenly, they want to say hello. * * * I’ve learned something about myself during this siege. I’ve always been fond of social distancing. I don’t mind time alone, and I don’t need to fill it up with phone calls or constant Zooming gettogethers. I’m composing a book about cooking through Covid-19 called “The Last Supper?” Everyone in the family is required to submit recipes and photos.

I’ll trade you a copy for 5 Ziploc bags. * * * Our Seder was a table for two. We didn’t want to miss the fun part, so we hid the matzo (a Passover tradition) from Lillybee. She never found it, although it was hiding in plain sight on the carpet.

This proves for all time that matzo is more cardboard than food. Lillybee can sniff out a peanut across the room, but matzo, not so much. * * * I stop in my tracks three or four times a day because I can’t believe something I’m reading or seeing in the news. There was the mother whose daughter had just died in her arms after contracting Covid-

19 while working in a nursing home. She had no protective gown. There were no masks.

Then there was the doctor, a Kuwaiti refugee, who traveled on his own dime and at his own risk to work alongside the doctors in New York. He looked into the camera and said, “Don’t worry. We’re here. We’ll take care of you.” * * * I miss my kids and my grandkids, and I have no plans to see them. All these open-ended questions of contagion and immunity and pressing mortality preclude any planning at all.

Enter the wagon train, last night’s epiphany. Our kids are out West. We won’t fly or drive in the foreseeable future. We aren’t great drivers, so an RV is out of the question. The obvious solution is to buy a wagon and a horse and rumble across the country in a convoy with other like-minded travelers. It could be OK. We could social distance.

The only problem I can foresee is hitting the Rockies just as winter sets in.

Come November we could get stuck in Donner Pass, and we all know how that ends.

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

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

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Congress steps up to battle the coronavirus crisis

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Herald editorial

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Students, educators need to know what’s next

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ew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio probably overstepped his authority when he decided late last Friday that he would keep the city’s 1,800 public schools closed through June, and he certainly bungled the decision politically.

For starters, he didn’t tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo first — but he did tell Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, according to The New York Times. And when de Blasio did inform the governor, he did so by text.

That led Cuomo to argue Saturday that only he has the authority to make such a decision, and he wanted to take a coordinated regional approach to school closings.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran immediately backed Cuomo, saying

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she, too, would like to see a regional approach. We agree.

Lost in all the rhetoric, however, was an important point that de Blasio was making: He wanted to provide greater certainty to students, educators and parents about what they could expect over the next two and a half months.

The governor has taken a wait-and-see approach to school closings, shutting them down two weeks at a time. We understand the need for such an approach. We shouldn’t be hasty in deciding to close the schools. Everyone wants children back in the classroom as soon as possible.

That approach, however, leaves all parties involved in limbo, wondering what will come next. What educators and children need is certainty.

Right now, there is no coordinated approach to how schools should handle the state’s curricula, and so, statewide, we have a hodgepodge of approaches. Some districts are fully online, with regular teaching schedules. Others, citing privacy concerns, are not teaching remotely, but rather are emailing students their assignments.

Many students — particularly those in low-income areas — don’t have computers and internet connections.

The state must make a decision soon about the fate of this school year, and if the schools are to remain closed through June, there should be one plan for all that ensures children will continue learning during this trying time.

Don’t wait — fill in your census forms

pril 1, Census Day, came and went, but if you didn’t fill in your census forms, it isn’t too late to do so, and we urge you to complete them.

With the coronavirus battering New York in every conceivable way — including financially — the state could use all the federal financial help it can get.

The federal government uses census data to determine the number of representatives states have in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 435 House seats are apportioned based on the population of each state. The larger its population, the more seats a state receives — and the greater the voice it has in federal decisionmaking.

The federal government also uses census data to distribute funding for pro-

grams like Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, a 2015 paper by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 132 federal programs used census data to distribute more than $675 billion in funds that year.

Here’s the thing: If a state is underrepresented in the decadal census, then it receives fewer representatives and less federal funding than it deserves, and New York, by many accounts, is typically undercounted in the census.

Now, not later, is the time to go online and fill in the census, or fill out the paper census you received in the mail and send it in. If you don’t, federal workers will swing by your home looking to count you and everyone who lives there.

At a time like this, when a potentially deadly virus has spread among us, census workers shouldn’t have to do that when it

letters

Spring brings signs of hope To the Editor: New Yorkers are celebrating the arrival of spring differently this year and in their own way. Although we come from different faiths, the season brings a message of resilience, renewal and hope.

Spring is a metaphor for positive change and rebirth. We can all agree that hope is more important now than it has been at perhaps any moment in the recent past. We are all facing unprecedented challenges and anxiety for ourselves and our loved ones.

At this moment, our faith, our family and our friendships are more important than ever. This is the time for us to try to be the best partners, parents, siblings, friends and neighbors that we can be. As we take the time for spiritual reflection, consider what brings us together.

The things we have in common, our shared love of family and community, are what will carry us forward. I wish every-

takes only 10 minutes or so to fill out the forms online.

According to the Census Bureau, you should be counted where you are living and sleeping most of the time as of April 1. If you’re responding for your home, count everyone who lives and sleeps there most of the time. That includes young children, foster children, roommates, and any family members or friends who are living with you, even temporarily.

If someone is staying with you because of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they should be counted where they usually live.

This includes college students, who should still be counted at school, even if they’re home early. If they live in student housing, the college will count them. If they live off campus, they should respond for their offcampus addresses.

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opiNioNs

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ewly released data highlight major racial disparities in deaths from Covid-19, and it’s not surprising. It’s a reflection of the structural racism that has created an unequal foundation for so many aspects of life in America, including widely documented, underlying health disparities for African-American and Latinx people. It should move us to examine structural racism more closely, illuminate its impacts, and redouble our efforts to eliminate it.

According to data released by the City of New eLaiNe York, black and Gross Latinx people are dying of coronavirus at twice the rate of white people. In New York state, excluding New York City, blacks account for 18 percent of deaths, despite comprising just 9 percent of the population. Fourteen percent of the deaths are Latinx people, who make up 11 percent of the population.

In Michigan, according to The Washing Post, African-Americans account for 33 percent of Covid-19 cases and roughly 40 percent of deaths, despite comprising only

14 percent of the population. In Chicago, according to The New York Times, African-Americans account for more than half of those who have tested positive and 72 percent of virus-related fatalities, even though they make up a little less than a third of the population.

Beneath these numbers are underlying health disparities for African-Americans and Latinx people. It is those underlying health problems that land people in the hospital and that lead to more deaths from the virus.

Higher rates of infection for African-Americans are likely exacerbated by such factors as whether they can work from home, whether they work in “essential” services, whether they have routine access to health care, and how quickly they can get that care, among others. A study by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer found that 75 percent of so-called front-line workers in the city — grocery clerks, bus and train operators, custodians and child-care workers — are minorities.

Those circumstances are a function of structural racism, not a function of race, which is a social construct. In considering these racial disparities, we shouldn’t confuse the two. We shouldn’t give credence to the idea that there is something inherently

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different about African-American or Latinx people that makes them have higher death rates — other than the circumstances of structural racism.

What we should focus on is this: How do we address the racism that has caused and continues to cause health and other disparities? That’s the question that rightly examines the impediments to racial equity that are leading to these racial differences in Covid-19 deaths.

Structural racism is partly a function of conditions that are baked into our society: the effects of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining and other historic conditions.

But it is also partly a function of ongoing activities.

ERASE Racism’s own research, and a recent landmark investigation by Newsday, evidenced widespread, contemporary racial discrimination in real estate practices on Long Island, for instance. That discrimination continues to steer black and Latinx people to less-integrated communities with fewer resources, and thus to lessintegrated schools with fewer resources.

Anecdotal evidence already identifies disparities in students’ access to distance learning. Some schools send students home with laptops, for instance, while others do not. Some schools provide students

hreequarters of the city’s nonemergency frontline workers are minorities.

Letters one a healthy gift of spring.

THoMAS DINAPoLI New York state comptroller

Objects to town budget practices To the Editor: Covid-19 has unleashed a catastrophic financial crisis. our economy is shuttered, and it is uncertain when it will rebound. Leaders must make every effort to retain workers, but also to tighten spending. Shockingly, as municipalities across the country are doing just that, Supervisor Don Clavin and the Town of Hempstead Board gave $770,000 in promotions, raises and new jobs for party favorites on March 30.

With unemployment in New York soaring 360 percent and more than 10 million Americans suddenly left jobless, with no income or health insurance, last week it was Christmastime in Hempstead. Clavin and Council members Anthony D’Esposito, Dennis Dunne, Tom Muscarella, Bruce Blakeman, Chris Carini and Dorothy Goosby gave away almost $1 million in taxpayer dollars to friends and family while they thought no one was looking. In an empty, debate-free meeting lasting 10 minutes, they doled out political favors while hardworking residents wondered how they would pay their bills.

As 450,000 New Yorkers lined up for initial unemployment assistance, Clavin’s cronies, Hempstead GoP club leaders and their children lined up at Town Hall to collect unbudgeted raises and promotions.

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t’s with video-based instruction, while others to give them packets of material. New York cu state has left the details of remote learning gra to individual school districts, and that just amplifies the differences between the well- $2 trilli my tha resourced schools and those with fewer Alon resources.

Again, structural racism is the determi- sures t help ke nant. The overwhelming percentage of black and Latinx students are in segregated and less-resourced schools, and are at a disadvantage now and, most important, in the fall, when they will most likely return to school behind their peers and the grade level standards.

In 2018, ERASE Racism launched an ongoing regionwide public initiative called How Do We Build a Just Long Island?

That’s exactly how we should approach this problem: How do we look at this data and together seek a just America — an America of shared action to disassemble structural racism.

The coronavirus is creating a new future. Let’s create a future together that wasn’t does not accept the idea that these dispari- poses. P In N ties are unchangeable. Let’s take advantage of the light that Covid-19 is shedding shown on our society and come together to reflect ship. A that light onto a path to justice. It’s time to rus doe and Re work together as a nation and root out Con structural racism for good. econom period Elaine Gross is president of the Long our hea Island-based ERASE Racism. strengt unemp

Framework by Christina Daly

Compounding this outrageous and irresponsible betrayal was the March 30 vote to reduce the town’s fund balance by more than 50 percent. The fund is a rainy-day reserve to see the town through difficult times. Years of Nassau GoP patronage and irresponsible hiring practices, aggravated further by last week’s largesse, have led a financial structure in which payroll and related costs exceed 60 percent of the town’s budget. Couple this with the town’s debt burden, the new fund balance would not be sufficient to cover just two months of required payroll and debt service, not to mention utilities and other important expenses.

At this meeting, there was no mention of how any of this might harm the unconnected rank and file. No one mentioned that the current town comptroller inflated revenue projections for 2020 — a concern that I raised during the budget process before Covid-19 hit. There was also no mention of shrinking mortgage recording tax fees, permit fees, recreation fees, a potential increase in health and pension costs, and potential decreases in utility payments from cash-strapped consumers. None mentioned how all of this might impact the town’s bond rating. This matters to residents, because when our bond ratings plummet, town costs rise, leaving fewer dollars for infrastructure and services.

Not one board member mentioned Hempstead residents’ current pain before giving away their money. There was no voice of dissent speaking up for the rest of us.

LAuRA GILLEN Rockville Centre Gillen was Town of Hempstead supervisor from 2018-19. Clavin, then the town tax collector, defeated her last November.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

No surprise: More blacks and Latinos are dying of Covid-19

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UNFORTUNATELY, ORTHOPEDIC PAIN DOESN’T STOP IN A CRISIS.

With our new on-call only model, neither does the opportunity to receive care.

Balancing the need to be there for our patients with the health and safety of our staff and community, we’re temporarily becoming an “on-call” practice – offering both in-person and telehealth visits – for those experiencing orthopedic pain.

If you think you have an orthopedic issue that can’t wait, call Orlin & Cohen and a member of our team will work with you to assess whether you need immediate attention. It’s a new, creative approach to our practice: Because in this crisis, protecting each other should be everyone’s top priority.

In light of this broad accessibility to our services and for everyone’s safety, we are suspending our Merrick after-hours and weekend walk-in clinic for the duration of the crisis.

On-call orthopedic care by appointment only!

Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Call for your care needs assessment:

Nassau: 516-536-2800 Suffolk: 631-706-2800

Stay safe!

orlincohen.com Rockville Centre Lynbrook Merrick Cedarhurst Garden City Massapequa Woodbury Melville Bohemia Smithtown Port Jefferson Riverhead Southampton Port Jefferson Station

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