Lynbrook/East Rockaway Herald

Lynbrook/East Rockaway

HERALD Also serving Bay Park

Pizza place feeds medical staffs

Chiefs sworn in from a distance

Getting through a pandemic

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Page 15

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Vol. 27 No. 17

APRIl 23 - 29, 2020

Teacher back from brink 32-year-old recalls his hospital battle with Covid-19 turned him on his stomach to help his lungs receive oxygen.

They also placed bags of ice over At 1 a.m. on March 31, Lyn- him to reduce his fever and stabrook resident Jared Berry expe- bilize him. When he awoke the rienced what he called his most next morning, he could eat solid frightening moment as a corona- food, but had to remove the oxyvirus patient at North Shore Uni- gen mask, take a bite of the food, versity Hospital in swallow it and put Manhasset. the mask back on He awoke hazily for a few moments to a nurse asking to pump oxygen him to take a few back into his sysdeep breaths, foltem. l owe d by e i g h t For Berry, 32, a members of a music teacher for rapid response ninth- through team calling his 1 2 t h - g r a d e r s at name. His fever Manhasset High spiked to 104 and School, the symphis oxygen levels toms began on the dropped. He did not JARed BeRRy evening of March know what was Lynbrook resident 21, when he started happening. to feel feverish and “I don’t rememhad a high temperber too much,” Berry said. “I ature. Two days later, he went to was scared. I was aware of what the doctor’s office and was tested was going on, but the scary thing for strep throat, the flu and pneuwas just wondering what they monia, which he did not have. were going to do. What was scar- After a visit to Urgent Care and ier was just how they were each two trips to the emergency room trying to call my name and get at North Shore University Hospimy attention. That was worri- tal over the ensuing days as his some, and I knew something was symptoms worsened, Berry was clearly not good.” admitted to the facility after testThe medical staff placed a ing positive for the virus. facemask on Berry’s head to pump more oxygen into him and Continued on page 10

By MIke SMollINS msmollins@liherald.com

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Photo Courtesy Laura Ryder

The lyNBRook CoMMuNITy Cares Group was co-founded by village residents Laura Ryder and Steve Schmitt, and is helping those in need by offering various services to residents. Above, Ryder’s nephew, Tommy Atkinson, and her daughter, Shannon, loaded up a car full of supplies.

A community that cares

Lynbrook group helping others in need in community during pandemic

By MIke SMollINS msmollins@liherald.com

Betty Bergbuchler, 91, said the coronavirus pandemic has caused her to worry and has made routine tasks like grocery shopping hard for her. However, thanks to the Lynbrook Cares group, she no longer has to leave the Nathan Hale Senior Village where she lives to buy food.

“They’re angels from heaven, and they saved my life,” Bergbuchler said. “I never

knew there were such lovely people. They just do it out of the kindness of their hearts and to help people.”

Lynbrook Cares was cofounded by village residents Laura Ryder and Steve Schmitt, who are its chairs.

Schmitt approached Mayor Alan Beach about eight months ago with an idea to create a volunteer committee to help shovel snow for seniors and veterans. Ryder then gave him the idea to expand it by offering leaf rak-

ing, housework, companionship, grocery shopping and the option to pick up prescriptions for seniors or others in need of assistance.

The group is helpful for seniors like Bergbuchler, who moved to Lynbrook in 1941 and has lived at Nathan Hale for about 12 years. She said she has had trouble sleeping because the coronavirus has caused her to panic, but at least some of her worries have been lifted thanks to Continued on page 3

t’s one of those things, the more you think of it, the worse it sort of gets.

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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COntinued frOm page 1 Lynbrook Cares. Schmitt explained that people in need like Bergbuchler can place orders over the phone, and a volunteer will do their shopping for them.

“It’s important to help your community,” Schmitt said. “I see it a lot throughout the country. The idea is to help people who are older or disabled.”

Last November, the group held its first meeting, which about 45 residents attended. Volunteers are asked to fill out two forms when they join, a sign-up and information sheet, and another in which they must agree to be vetted by the Lynbrook Police Department, which performs a background check. The group also accepts volunteer applications from Lynbrook High School and offers them community service hours.

When the coronavirus outbreak began, the group’s regular meetings were put on hold, but the committee has increased its range of helping others. Members also check in with seniors by phone to make sure they are OK and began a food collection drive with Sister Barbra Faber of Our Lady of Peace Church to replenish its food pantry.

“At least every day, I get a call from people offering to help and offering to join and do whatever they can,” Ryder said. “It honestly has been overwhelming in a positive way. It’s so wonderful. Everybody wants to help. Everybody wants to do something.”

The group also started collecting reusable bags, and Ryder said Schmitt purchased 300 of them from Key Food, while another resident, Cindy Schreiner, purchased 200 online and donated them to the cause. In all, Lynbrook Cares has about 30 volunteers who offer different services, many of whom have gone shopping for seniors several times since the pandemic hit Nassau County.

Jim Hunter has volunteered for Lynbrook Cares since it began, and he regularly shops or picks up medication for those who are unable to do it themselves.

Since early March, he has made 15 to 20 shopping runs, he said.

“Lynbrook’s always been a very caring community,” Hunter said. “There are always people helping out each other, and now I think it’s even more vital, as there are more and more people in need. People lose their jobs, people get sick, and the elderly are left isolated from their families, who in the past they rely on first, so we’ve made it known if people are in need, please ask.”

Hunter said he is proud of what Lynbrook Cares has accomplished and noted that there has been an uptick in requests since the coronavirus began. To ensure safety, volunteers wear gloves and masks when they run errands and drop the items at people’s stoops or outside their homes.

While most people pay for the items that they need and are given receipts, the group has also partnered with the Lynbrook Community Chest, which provides financial help to Lynbrook residents who have fallen on hard times, to deliver groceries to six families in the village who can not afford them.

Photos courtesy Laura Ryder

Our Lady Of Peace Church’s food pantry was stocked with donations.

Jobs performed

by Lynbrook Cares —Grocery shopping —Leaf raking —Snow shoveling —Housework —Prescription pick-up —Companionship To volunteer or receive service, or donate to the Community Chest, call Village Hall at (516) 599-8300.

Ryder said that one family had three adults get laid off because of the virus, so the Community Chest paid for their rent for April and dropped groceries to them, and she gave them Tylenol because one of the residents was sick. Additionally, the Community Chest donated $1,000 to OLP to purchase grocery store gift cards for those in need.

Ryder said many volunteers have come forward amid the coronavirus pandemic, but noted the committee is looking for more.

“In the last two weeks, so many people have reached out to me that are not involved in our committee,” she said, “offering to help and offering to do anything that we need because they themselves are happy and grateful that they’re healthy. They want to help other people.

It’s been amazing.”

tOmmy atkinsOn and Shannon Ryder dropped supplies off at the food pantry.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

Lynbrook Cares is making a difference

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A distance learning curve for Lynbrook students

By Julia Swerdin lyneditor@liherald.com

Editor’s note: Swerdin is a sophomore at Lynbrook High School.

Life in high school is never simple.

Even less so when there is a global pandemic. The first few months of 2020 have not been smooth sailing, to say the least.

Covid-19 has completely transformed everyday life for nearly everyone on the planet, and it is difficult to see how we will shift back to the norm after quarantine is forgone and hospitals see a decline in patients.

To prevent the further spread of the virus, entertainment industries like the NBA, Broadway, and music concerts have been cancelled. Restaurants, stores, lines of transportation and schools have also closed across the country. Many rarely leave their homes, and when they do, it is with a face mask to cover their mouths and noses, and the constant paranoia of disease surrounding them.

However, life does not just stop in its tracks, although it may feel like it has.

Students are still expected to hand in assignments, complete exams and maintain high averages in class — all from the comfort of their homes. “That sounds

It’s Your MoneY By

Jonathan Wolfsohn MBA, CFP, EA, ATA

tAXPAYers WHo CAn't PAY tHeIr tAXes sHouLD stILL FILe on tIMe Taxpayers should remember to both file and pay any taxes they owe by the deadline. Taxpayers who do not file and pay in a timely manner will see their tax debt grow. In fact, penalties and interest can cause a taxpayer's debt to grow by more than thirty percent in just a few months.

Here are some tips for taxpayers who owe tax, but who can't immediately pay their tax bill: File your return or request an extension of time by the July 15 deadline.

Taxpayers who owe tax and do not file their return on time or request an extension may face a failure-to-file penalty for not filing on time.

Pay as much as possible by the July due date.

Whether they are filing a return or requesting an extension, taxpayers must pay their bill in full by the July filing deadline. Taxpayers who do not pay their taxes on time will face a failure-to-pay penalty.

Taxpayers should remember that an extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay.

Set up a payment plan as soon as possible.

Taxpayers who owe, but cannot pay in full by the deadline don't have to wait for a tax bill to request a payment plan. Taxpayers can apply for a payment plan on IRS.gov. Taxpayers can also submit a payment plan request in writing using form 9465, Installment Agreement Request.

Presented as a service to the community by

Courtesy Julia Swerdin

StudentS in lynBrook Public Schools are dealing with some issues that arise from distance learning. great!” one might initially think. “Who would not want to sleep in past seven, not be responsible to attend classes, and wear pajamas all day?”

In theory, distance learning seems like a great alternative to school. In reality, it has been quite a challenge for many students, as well as a hefty burden of work.

In Lynbrook, the staff and administration are doing all that they can to ease the transition to virtual learning for students. Classes are taught through online platforms and applications, such as OneNote, and exams are given on websites, such as Castle Learning.

“I think the Covid-19 outbreak presented all schools with an unprecedented task of redefining the delivery of instruction to its students,” Superintendent Dr. Melissa Burak said. “Of course, there are obstacles with regard to keeping everyone engaged as if school were still in session. There are also the concerns of providing support to those who need it the most. However, we continue to evolve and develop our plans … Status quo is not necessarily good enough, so we will evaluate how we are doing throughout this whole situation.”

As Burak mentioned, distance learning has proven to be challenging and stressful. Technology is shaky and unre-

liable: for the first few weeks of distance learning, Lynbrook High School used Zoom, a video conference platform used by hundreds of thousands of schools across the country. Just as students and teachers were getting comfortable with the program, LHS announced that it can no longer be used due to security risks.

Students are now shifting toward another platform, Microsoft Teams.

Additionally, the drastic influx of students using Castle Learning has taken a toll. Its software is slow and often glitches during exams, sometimes freezing midway.

“Multiple people have problems with Castle Learning glitching, and when that happens, we can’t do anything about it,” LHS Junior Mason Benvenuto said. “I think the teachers are doing the best they can, though, and Castle Learning is one of the only websites available to be tested on. I am much more a visual learner, so distance learning is not in my favor. It’s hard for a lot of students to adjust without having a teacher to explain the work.”

Many students in the junior class are in the midst of SAT and ACT testing, which has been cancelled due to the virus. After months of studying and preparation, students must wait until possibly next school year to take the

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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exam, adding even more stress to the college application process. Advanced Placement exams have also been modified to fit the needs of students during this chaotic time. Rather than the usual three-hour test, comprising variously styled questions, AP tests this year are only 45 minutes and are being administered at home.

This sudden and unexpected shift in testing has come as a shock to some students.

“While a lot of [AP] work during the year was done at home, it is even more difficult to study now without the help of a teacher,” sophomore and AP student Sophie Ward said. “There was minimal information given about the AP throughout the year; therefore, it is stressful to study the topics as well as learn the new format of the test.”

Furthermore, some students do not have the internet access necessary to take the exams, leaving them unsure of how to proceed. It is quite impossible to succeed in online school if one’s house does not have Wi-Fi, yet virtual education depends on it.

There was a virtual Board of Education meeting on April 21 to discuss these issues, as well as solutions to improve distance learning.

For many students, academia is just one factor of their busy schedules. All extracurriculars, sports and clubs are currently on a hiatus, spelling boredom and unrest for those who regularly participate. School concerts and music events, such as NYSSMA, have been cancelled, and after months of practice, students have no platform to display their talent.

Despite these difficult obstacles the community is faced with, LHS administration has high hopes for the future and is continuing to work its hardest to provide students with the best education available.

“Together, we will get through this ordeal,” Burak said. “We learn about our own resilience in times of crisis, and we will emerge better and stronger when this is over. This too shall pass, and we will pass it together.”

County exec: School tax collection delayed so are looking for financial relief.

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

She explained the county must Curran announced Monday that, by order of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the guarantee all school tax collections, school tax collection deadline has been meaning if the school districts come up short in their collecdelayed by three weeks. tions, then the county “At my request,” Curmust provide the funding ran, a Democrat from Baldto the districts — by law. win, tweeted Monday eveShe said the county is ning, “ [Governor Cuomo] hurting financially, as are is issuing an executive all municipalities, amid order that will push back the coronavirus pandemic. the May 11th property tax Sales and property tax colp ay m e n t d e a d l i n e fo r lections comprise 67 perschool districts in Nassau cent of the county’s more County. More details to than $3 billion budget. come soon.”

Sales taxes have plummetThe new deadline is during the outbreak, June 1.

Laura curraN ed starving the county of one Earlier in the day, the of its two primary revenue Republican-controlled Leg- County executive sources, Curran said. islature had voted to push She worries about counback the deadline to June ty employees, she said, and 10, but Curran contended the Legislature did not have the wants to ensure the county maintains authority to change the date, only the its force of first responders, including police officers and medics. governor.

The federal and state governments, Curran spoke at length on Saturday about the proposal before the County she said, must step in to ensure the county has enough cash on hand to Legislature to delay collection of school taxes that were to come due in meet its financial obligations, including to its employees, so it can continue May. to provide essential services.

Many residents have been laid off or have seen their hours reduced, and

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By scott BriNtoN sbrinton@liherald.com

a

t my request, [Governor Cuomo] is issuing an executive order.

Christina Daly/Herald

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

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

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

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

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

By scott BriNtoN sbrinton@liherald.com

W

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

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

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

system.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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On the front lines with a Northwell ICU nurse

By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy Northwell Health

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Working in the ICU is tough, she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For the full interview, see liherald.com.

Catholic Health Services taking part in clinical trials

By Jeff BeSSen jbessen@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Herald file photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

n

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

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

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

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

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

Local town and city clerks may provide further guidance.

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

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

■ The couple must affirm that they

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

–Scott Brinton

State releases data on nursing home deaths

By James Bernstein jbernstein@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

The governor had said the figures were being compiled.

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

Herald file photo

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

lion of them are workers.

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

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

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

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Senator freed from prison amid pandemic

By Jill nossa jnossa@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Skelos was sentenced to four years in prison.

Herald file photo

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

Trump lawyer, Lawrence native, to be released from prison

By Jeff Bessen jbessen@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

Jeff Bessen/Herald

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

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

Cohen testified multiple times in front of Congressional commit-

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Melissa Koenig

Villa Formia donates pizza to front-line workers

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By Nicole AlciNdor nalcindor@liherald.com

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the number of sick people needing professional care increases every day.

Hospitals filled with patients leave many health care workers exhausted from working long shifts in order to care for those diagnosed with Covid-19.

In an effort to help keep the workers within the hospitals well nourished, Villa Formia pizzeria in Lynbrook has begun donating pizza pies once a week to local hospitals, including Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside and Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Valley Stream.

“We have customers who are health care workers, and they work long hours and they are putting their lives at risk, so we wanted to help in any way that we can,” said Rob Veltri, the vice president of Villa Formia. “The more people donate, the more often we can do this.”

Community members can donate through the restaurant’s account on the Venmo money sharing app, and the proceeds pay for the pizza that the restaurant donates to the hospitals. Typically, the pizza is brought to the facilities in the morning, and serves the health care workers who work early shifts. However, in the near future, Veltri said, he hoped to also donate food at night to allow for the eve-

9

Courtesy Rob Veltri

ning-shift workers to also receive nourishment.

“The health care workers were very happy when they received the pizza, and it makes their day brighter,” Veltri said.

“It’s a great feeling to help others for a good cause.”

Community members can donate by finding @VillaLynbrook on the Venmo app.

VillA FormiA pizzeriA in Lynbrook donated pizza pies to Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre, Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside and Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Valley Stream.

HeAltH cAre workers at LIJ Valley Stream enjoyed pizza donated by the restaurant, top left.

Full STEAM ahead — at home — for students west eNd elemeNtAry School first-grader Kaylee DeCiantis, top right, successfully completed a basketball tower challenge that asked students to build a structure out of newspapers that could hold the weight of a ball.

Although schools are closed, learning has not stopped in the Lynbrook Public Schools.

Elementary school students from across the district are turning their homes into science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics — or STEAM — classrooms with the help of their school’s respective library media specialist, including Meghan Ceglie at Waverly Park, Heather LaBarbera at West End and Marie SarroPizarro at Marion Street.

The specialists have been conducting weekly virtual STEAM challenges for students while schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Together, the three educators have collaborated to bring their students fun and challenging projects to participate in either individually or with loved ones at home.

The goal is to help the students continue to build their skills, while also staying connected to their school community. Challenges that have been completed include a pom pom drop, a basketball tower and a wind anemometer challenge. The hands-on projects encourage engineering and problem-solving skills, along with teamwork if students engage in the activities with a family member.

After completing their STEAM challenge for the week, students are encouraged to share pictures and videos with their school’s specialist, who also gets in on the fun. Ceglie, LaBarbera and Sarro-Pizarro have created videos for their students, showcasing how they completed the STEAM projects with their loved ones at home.

In addition to the STEAM challenges, the library media specialists have also assigned digital lessons for students in keyboard proficiently through TypingClub. com and computer coding through Code.org.

Courtesy Lynbrook Public Schools; compiled by Mike Smollins

wAVerly pArk elemeNtAry School first-grader Eli Badalov, left, showed off his completed wind anemometer. mArioN street elemeNtAry School fourthgrader Preston Trupia tested out his wind anemometer.

Photos Courtesy Lynbrook Public Schools

Teacher hospitalized for 11 days with Covid-19 Continued from page 1

When he was admitted on March 29, he recalled that his shortness of breath was so severe that he became winded when he had to get out of a stretcher and walk three feet, with assistance, to a hospital bed.

On April 1, the day after the scare, Berry gave doctors his consent to place him in a clinical trial, and they administered a rheumatoid arthritis medicine, Sarilumab, which he received intravenously for an hour, to flush his immune system. After that, his fever broke.

Five days later, Berry could finally breathe without the assistance of a ventilator, and he was brought to a windowless auditorium that was converted into a large medical room for coronavirus patients, which he compared to military barracks. Berry said there were about 40 stretchers and cots in the room, each separated by a white screen on the side, and each having an oxygen tank.

With call bells constantly ringing and the sound of patients coughing and sneezing echoing through the cramped auditorium, Berry said it was hard for him to sleep. The issue was exacerbated by the 6-foot-7 Berry having to cram his frame into a bed that was too small for him, with his feet dangling off the edge.

“It was never filled to the point where every bed was filled, but there was a constant in-and-out of people,” Berry said of the room. “. . . The stretcher wasn’t very comfortable, but it was the better choice. My legs could hang off, while the cot, I would be squished on.”

He was comforted, however, when he later discovered that being moved to the auditorium was a step toward being discharged. On April 7, his vitals were improving, and a nurse came by and asked him to walk for the first time in 10 days. It was a difficult task.

“Once I was standing up, it took me a moment to realize my full height again and then just getting my legs to

Courtesy Jared Berry

Lynbrook resident Jared Berry suffered from Covid19 and spent 11 days at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. He described his hospitalization as a harrowing experience. move,” he said. “The first two steps took me a little while just because my legs had felt so heavy from not moving at all in the bed, but it almost felt liberating to just put one foot ahead of the other. It almost felt like each one was dragging something behind it, that’s how heavy it felt.”

With the thought of going home motivating him, Berry slowly willed himself to walk, despite the difficul-

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ty and his shortness of breath.

The following day, Berry said he was feeling hopeful that he would be discharged. His oxygen level and blood pressure were good, and his fever was gone. His heart rate, however, was high. After an EKG showed no issues, the staff requested he stay one more day for observation, and Berry listened to music on his phone to calm his nerves and stay positive mentally after taking an emotional hit.

“That was probably the peak of my emotions,” he said. “It’s hard because you try to do everything in your power to try to calm yourself down. It’s one of those things; the more you think of it, the worse it sort of gets.”

On April 9, he had a CT scan to rule out blood clots.

At 1:30 p.m., a moment he had longed for finally came, as he was able to start looking over his discharge papers. He described the moment as “exciting beyond belief,” and that afternoon, after an 11-day ordeal at the hospital, Berry went home.

He is now in the middle of a two-week self-quarantine, but he said he is keeping in touch with friends, family and his students over FaceTime and Zoom video conferencing. He said he still has a cough and has struggled to sing, but he is working each day on restoring his voice.

He also shared his story on his website, jaredberry.com, and asked his students to read it so that they understand the virus should not be taken lightly and social distancing is important.

Berry said the experience taught him a great deal, including the importance of heeding health officials’ warnings and a new appreciation for front-line workers.

“People need to stay home,” he said. “If you’re going out, make sure it’s because you have to and you’re wearing a mask. Wash your hands and appreciate everyone who’s a first responder. Those were my takeaways.”

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

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

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Lynbrook HigH ScHooL senior Kiera Derrig was honored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers with two Silver Key Awards and an honorable mention for her exceptional art pieces.

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Lynbrook High School senior Kiera Derrig and junior Ursula Ratkiewicz were recently recognized as 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Award recipients by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.

Derrig earned two Silver Key Awards for her paintings entitled, “The Orange Peel” and “The Spartan,” and also earned honorable mention for every piece in her portfolio that she submitted. This includ-

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

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

ed paintings, mixed media pieces and drawings.

Ratkiewicz received the Silver Key Award for her painting, “Misplaced.” The award is given to students with outstanding work that demonstrates exceptional ability.

Courtesy Lynbrook Public Schools; compiled by Mike Smollins

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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$500,000 IN GRANTS AVAILABLE NOW TO LOCAL BUSINESSES

SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING GRANT

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

STUART RICHNER Publisher Herald Community Newspapers

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

Herald Team

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

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

WHERE Apply at www.liherald.com/grant.

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

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

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

• Businesses must be locally owned and operated.

• Grants range from $300 to $15,000.

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

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

RHONDA GLICKMAN VP Sales

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rglickman@liherald.com

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For more information call Rhonda at 516.569.4000 ext. 250

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Crime watCh

Four people were arrested in East Rockaway on April 16 after allegedly luring a woman to a home and assaulting and robbing her.

According to the Nassau County Police Department, Anthony Battaglia, 22, lured an unidentified 20-year-old woman to the East Rockaway home he shares with his brothers, Robert and Brandon Battaglia, both 21. Once inside, the three brothers assaulted the victim along with Kristin Milbank, 19, of Oceanside. They punched and kicked hermultiple times and stole her pocketbook.

The woman was able to escape the scene and contacted the police. She suffered injuries to her arms and legs, but refused medical attention.

When police arrived, Anthony Battaglia and Milbank were placed under

arrest without incident, but Robert and Brandon Battaglia attempted to run away and struggled with police officers, and were eventually taken into custody. During the struggle, a sergeant sustained injuries to his arm and shoulder and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.

Anthony Battaglia and Milbank were both charged with two counts of seconddegree robbery, while Robert Battaglia was charged with two counts of seconddegree robbery, second-degree assault and resisting arrest and Brandon Battaglia was charged with two counts of seconddegree robbery, resisting arrest, thirddegree menacing and second-degree harassment.

All four were arraigned on April 17 at First District Court, in Hempstead.

Courtesy Mayor Alan Beach

Swearing them in — from a distance Mayor Alan Beach swore new chiefs for the Lynbrook Fire Department into their respective positions on April 16. Taking part were, from left, Chief Michael Brooks, First Deputy Chief John Donald, Second Deputy Chief Chris Kelly and Third Deputy Chief Danny Ambrosio.

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Every life matters to us …

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Dear neighbor:

We live and work in this community. The lives of each and every one of you is important to us and we are here to tell your stories — from beginning to end. That includes the final chapter. At this difficult time, I want to remind you that obituaries in all Herald Community Newspapers are, and have always been, completely free.

COVID-19 has taken far too many, far to soon. Let us help you commemorate the life of your loved one with a story and photo celebrating their life. Contact our Executive Editor Scott Brinton, sbrinton@liherald.com or call 516-569-4000, ext 203, if you would like to memorialize a loved one in the Herald, regardless of their cause of death.

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Four people arrested after allegedly assaulting woman

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Getting through a pandemic

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

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

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

Courtesy Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing

ThouGh There have been many changes implemented to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, patients at Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing are doing many things to get by. Ronald Loyal read last week’s Herald while sitting in his bed.

We thank you

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

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

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

Courtesy Lynbrook Restorative Therapy and Nursing

While WearinG a protective mask, Nurse Devonie Ghingour took Michael Brady’s blood pressure.

MSSN sees Covid-19 curve flattening

By Briana BonfiGlio bbonfiglio@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy MSSN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It sends a great morale boost.”

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

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

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

Mike Smollins contributed to this story.

Nassau County is child care desert: official

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By TimoThy DenTon tdenton@liherald.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Herald file photo

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

families have no reliable child care.

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

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

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

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

The racing season normally runs 51 days.

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

17

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

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

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

Herald file photo

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

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Will consider part time.

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

COMBINED INSURANCE EXPANDING Long Island operation! Full time W2 sales agent opportunity full company benefits and leads provided. Call Bob (516) 567-7733 for immediate interview.

DISPATCH WANTED

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Will consider part time.

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

Duties Include: Patrols Throughout The Village, Issuance Code Violations Citations.

Qualifications: HS Graduate Or Equivalent, Valid Driver's License With A Satisfactory Driving Record. Willing To Work Evenings, Weekends, Holidays & Inclement Weather.

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© 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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EMPLOYMENT

1078172

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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

One phone call, one order, one heck of a good price to run your ad in any state, or across the country.

1081833

Call the

USA Classified Network today!

1-800-231-6152

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

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

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

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

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

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

What can we do?

HERALD

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

Is the permit valid, or not?

19

Stuff

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5 REAL ESTATE

MERCHANDISE MART

Real Estate

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HErald

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Power Washing

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

20

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Answers

to todAy’s puzzle

21

opinions

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

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

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

M

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

Total college student debt today exceeds $1.5 trillion.

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

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

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

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

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

C

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ADAmato@liherald.com.

A loving tribute to my irreplaceable elders

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

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

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

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

But only the ending was sad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I confess, I didn’t know Aunt Sylvia as

i

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

A

For American higher education, it’s time to lead

22

Herald editorial

Lynbrook/East Rockaway

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

HERALD Established 1994 Incorporating East Rockaway Observer Lynbrook News, Lynbrook USA Michael SMollinS Editor nicole alcindor Reporter jill kaplan Advertising Account Executive office 2 Endo Boulevard Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: (516) 569-4000 Fax: (516) 569-4942 Web: www.liherald.com E-mail: lyneditor@liherald.com official neWSpaper: Village of East Rockaway Village of Lynbrook

Copyright © 2020 Richner Communications, Inc.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS Robert Richner Edith Richner Publishers, 1964-1987 ■ clifford richner STUarT richner Publishers Michael bologna Vice President - Operations ■ ScoTT brinTon Executive Edtitor jiM harMon Copy Editor chriSTina dalY Photo Editor TonY belliSSiMo Sports Editor karen blooM Calendar Editor ■ rhonda glickMan Vice President - Sales ellen reYnoldS Classified Manager lori berger Digital Sales Manager

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Small businesses need more federal help

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for all you’ve done, Governor Cuomo

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

Good people like her are truly heroes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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oPinions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Letters my opening statement.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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‘Nourish your hopes, but do not overlook realities’

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

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

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

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

Framework by Christina Daly

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

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

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

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

ALWYN STANHOPE Bellmore

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

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

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

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

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

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

another term in 2022.

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

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