Rockville Centre Herald

Rockville Centre

HERALD Backyard Players go virtual

Nurse recognized as a ‘warrior’

Sixth-grader spreads hope

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VOL. 31 NO. 17

APRIL 23 - 29, 2020

Signs, ba nners show gratitude for ‘heroes’ they didn’t have any protection,” said Ruchalski, founder of the Mary Ruchalski Foundation, Over the past week, banners which funds cancer research, and lawn signs have sprouted up “and we started thinking about a ro u n d Ro ck v i l l e C e n t re, what else we could do for them.” expressing gratitude for those on Her daughter, Lyndsey, 23, the front lines of the suggested making a coronavirus pant h a n k - yo u s i g n . demic. The gesture “Originally, we were is yet another way just going to make a village residents are homemade sign,” showing their appreCarol said. “Then I ciation for their mentioned it to friends and neighKathy, and she took bors who are workit from there.” ing to keep others Baxley enlisted safe. the help of James In an effort spearMcDonald, owner of headed by Deputy L ost D o g A r t & Mayor Kathy Baxley, F rame Company, CAROL 10 banners, each 8 who helped design feet by 4 feet, have RUCHALSKI and create banners been created and RVC mother and signs. McDonald hung around the vilsaid he had been lage, and residents working with Baxley have purchased hundreds of on a project for the village that lawn signs to display in their had to be put on hold when the yards. The “Thank You” signs pandemic hit. So, he said, he let acknowledge first responders, her know he was available if any health care “heroes” and essen- other projects came up. About a tial workers. week later, he said, she contacted The idea stemmed from a con- him about the banners. versation Carol Ruchalski had “I helped with the layout, and with her daughters while cutting we turned it around within a fabric for face masks. “We were day,” he said. “We had 10 banhelping to make the masks for ners ready just before Easter hospital workers after learning CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

By JILL NOSSA

jnossa@liherald.com

I

Christina Daly/Herald

Parade boosts medical workers’ morale Friends of Mercy, a fundraising nonprofit organization, led a Morale Booster Day car parade on April 13 at Mercy Medical Center. More than 300 cars and 30 trucks from seven fire departments showed up, including Rockville Centre, Lakeview, South Hempstead, Lynbrook and East Rockaway, as well as the Rockville Centre Police Department. Parade participants were greeted enthusiastically by Mercy staff members. Story, more photos, Page 3.

South Side returns to normal grading for fourth quarter

By JILL NOSSA jnossa@liherald.com

South Side high and middle schools will return to their traditional grading system for the fourth quarter, after having moved to a pass/fail system at the start of the coronavirus pandemic during the third quarter, Rockville Centre district officials said.

The decision to grade on to the usual 1-to-100 scale was dis-

cussed at the April 15 virtual Board of Education meeting.

“We have evolved the online lear ning,” South Side High School Principal John Murphy said. “In collaboration with the middle school, starting with the fourth quarter, we will return to a traditional grading policy where assignments will be graded and students will receive numerical grades.”

All students will receive final course grades of 1 to 100, Mur-

phy said.

It was necessary to award students a grade of pass or fail during the third quarter, he explained, while they and their teachers adjusted to remote learning.

When schools closed so suddenly, Murphy said, “it was a shock to the system,” and there was a learning curve for both students and teachers and a lack CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

t’s nice that something positive can come out of such a crazy time.

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Medical center gets car, fire truck parade

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com

Sounds of sirens, car horns and cheers did not let up as the community came out in droves — in their vehicles — to show their appreciation for Mercy Medical Center workers on April 13.

Friends of Mercy, a fundraising nonprofit organization, led the “Morale Booster Day” car parade. More than 300 cars and 30 trucks from seven fire departments showed up, including the Rockville Centre, Lakeview, South Hempstead, Lynbrook and East Rockaway fire departments, as well as the Rockville Centre Police Department.

Hospital workers knew fire trucks would be coming by that morning, but were overwhelmed by the amount of residents that rode by in cars, waving signs, cheering and honking their horns.

“I can’t even explain how awesome it was,” said Barbara Gibbons, Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy. “Without the support of each other and community, I don’t think we’d be able to get through this.”

Health care workers at Mercy have been on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis for about six weeks now. The hospital treated some of Nassau County’s first confirmed Covid-19 patients in the beginning of March and saw one of the county’s first deaths to the virus, as well.

“I see these nurses and doctors, how mobbed they are right now,” said Andy Healey, a member of Friends of Mercy.

“People are stressed.”

The community waved homemade signs of support during the parade, then dropped them off to be hung around the hospital. “When they walk out at the end of the day, we hope it’s uplifting for them to see the signs that say ‘thank you,’” Healey said.

“Sometimes it’s difficult, I think, for

ALYSSA CAIN, AN emergency room registered nurse, sat next to one of the many signs at the hospital to celebrate the workers, above right.

MORE THAN 300 cars with homemade signs paraded past Mercy Medical Center, far right.

AS THE CARS drove by, Shannon Walcott from the physical therapy department rang a cowbell and cheered with staff members.

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Photos by Christina Daly/Herald

SEVEN FIRE DEPARTMENTS and almost 30 fire trucks lit up their lights and sounded their sirens to honor the staff at Mercy. the staff to come to work,” Gibbons added. “When they see the signs and an event like today, it reminds everybody what they’re doing this for — it’s for the community, the county, the town and our kids.”

Gibbons said the health care workers on the staff are true “heroes.”

“I am so proud of the staff and every person that works here,” she said. “It’s a team effort. We’re in this all together, and you can tell that Mercy is like a family.”

Video producer promotes RVC restaurants

By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com

As local restaurants continue to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic, one Rockville Centre resident is creating short web commercials, free of charge, to help them out.

Doug Z. Goodstein, a lifelong village resident, has worked in television production for 30 years. He was Howard Stern’s executive producer for 19 years, and last year finished a run producing conservative commentator Mark Levin’s Sundaynight show on Fox News.

Goodstein, 49, had recently begun working independently when the pandemic began. In February, a major cable network was showing interest in a show he pitched, but all talks came to a “screeching halt,” as he described it. “We had some good momentum on [that show],” Goodstein said. “It’s been more frustrating than anything that no one knows when an end is coming and when things will get back to normal.”

During his time at home, Goodstein wanted to put his skills to use. He reached out to a friend from South Side High School, Tommy McNicholas, who now owns Kasey’s Kitchen & Cocktails in the village, to see how he could help. Kasey’s is temporarily closed, McNicholas’s other restaurants, Craft Kitchen & Tap House locations in Wantagh and Lynbrook, are open.

Goodstein made a short video to promote them. Then, he reached out to other businesses via email to offer his services.

“At a time when so many people and businesses are down and disrupted,” Goodstein said, “helping out in any way I can to try to make a difference for others makes this all

It’s Your MoneY By

Jonathan Wolfsohn MBA, CFP, EA, ATA

worth it.”

For the videos, which are roughly 30 seconds long, Goodstein asks for photos of restaurants, their logos, high-quality photos of the food, recent web advertisements or fliers and text they want on the screen.

“Doug is so talented, and did an amazing job for us,” McNicholas said. “We posted the video on our site, and it definitely helped with our delivery and takeout business.”

McNicholas added that at a time like this, “every little bit helps to get the word out” that restaurants are open and taking extra precautions when preparing food. Restaurants have also used the videos to promote special offers.

Goodstein has now created about 10 videos for Rockville Centre businesses, including Bigelow’s, Parma Market, Valenti Pharmacy, Lenox & Park, Gino’s, Slider Joe’s and Parmagianni. They can be found on his YouTube channel, ZymurgyProd, and circulate around the business’s websites and social media as well.

“This is the kind of thing that gives me hope,” Mike Griffo, owner of Lenox & Park, wrote on Facebook. “I am so grateful for [Doug’s] generosity.”

Goodstein has a few more videos in the works. He’s been in touch with Michelle James, a resident who runs the Facebook group Support for Local Businesses and Front Line Workers, to see which restaurants are helping out in the community and could use the extra boost.

“Like I tell my kids, doing what’s right can never be wrong,” Goodstein said. “This isn’t going to make or break a business in the midst of this, but it is a piece of the puzzle that can start to help them. The last thing you want to see in this area is shuttered businesses.”

jnossa@liherald.com

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 Doug Z. Goodstein

DOUG Z. GOODSTEIN, of Rockville Centre, a veteran television producer, has been making short promotional videos at no charge for local businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Recognizing front-line workers in RVC

By JILL NOSSA

tAXPAYers WHo CAn't PAY tHeIr tAXes sHouLD stILL FILe on tIMe

Workers on the front lines have been particularly tested over the past few weeks, and yet they continue to do their jobs. Their commitment to saving others has not gone unnoticed, and the Rockville Centre community is finding new ways to thank them for their service.

On April 15, Assemblywoman Judy Griffin launched “Warriors for Wellness” as a way to express gratitude to all health care workers, first responders, and essential workers on the front lines, as well as people who have gone above and beyond to support these workers continue in the fight against the coronavirus.

“I encourage everyone to express their appreciation for the sacrifice that these incredible workers make to save lives and be of service to us all during this very challenging time,” Griffin said.

Griffin’s first Warrior for Wellness is Margaret Lindsay Gillis, a nurse at Mercy Medical Center, who the assemblywoman said she selected because of the “dedication and compassion that Margaret has shown to others by going the extra mile for families of loved ones who may be in the hospital battling this virus.”

Gillis has been employed at Mercy Medical Center for 35 years and has served as an assistant nurse manager for the past 20 years. Once the hospital became immersed in the pandemic, she

be g an working on the emergency department and Covid-19 floors, and is now helping patients recover from Covid-19, pneumonia and other issues.

Gillis said that to her, the most important thing she and her colleagues do at this vulnerable time is act as a liaison between patients and family. “I am grateful that I can offer that solace to families,” Gillis said.

Griffin will be recognizing someone every Wednesday on her Facebook page.

To nominate someone you know in Assembly District 21, email griffinj@ nyassembly.gov.

Rockville Centre

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Courtesy Assemblywoman Judy Griffin

MARGARET LINDSAY GILLIS, a nurse at Mercy Medical Center, is the first “Warrior for Wellness” recognized by Assemblywoman Judy Griffin.

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

Backyard Players & Friends programs go virtual

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

By BRIANA BONFIGLIO bbonfiglio@liherald.com

Back yard Players & F riends, a Rockville Centre-based non-profit that hosts programs for teens and young adults with special needs, is trying to keep social connections strong among participants despite social distancing.

For over a month now, the four directors and staf f of about nine instructors have been working social media and posting video lessons for participants to access for free in the following categories: ■ Fitness ■ Zumba Courtesy Backyard Players & Friends

■ Hip Hop Dance

TEENS AND YOUNG adults who have participated in Backyard Players & Friends’ online programs took photos while doing the virtual activities, such as “Game Show at Home,” and posted them to social media.

■ Theater ■ Creative Writing ■ Art ■ Yoga ■ “Movie Bites” ■ C o m m u n i t y a n d Re c r e a t i o n a l Enrichment (C.A.R.E.) “Our [instructors] will film something at home in [their] backyards, send it to us, and we put it on our website and social media,” Ryan Delaney,

9

one of the directors, explained.

Every activity that the group previously offered in person is now online, Delaney noted. The first virtual program was posted March 19, just about a week after in-person classes halted on March 11.

Some of BYP’s interactive programs, such as Movie Bites and game show nights, are a bit more involved than a video posted on YouTube. With “movie bites,” par ticipants are

JOIN US AS WE SALUTE

COVID-19

HOMETOWN

HEROES APRIL 30

encouraged to film themselves talking about a movie they recently watched.

The critique gets posted to BYP’s social media channels, creating an online community around the activity.

BYP also hosts virtual trivia, called “Game Show at Home,” via Instagram Live. Many participants have posted photos of themselves playing along, “to keep the connection alive,” Delaney said.

A trivia night was held on April 17,

at 7 p.m. The live stream was hosted on @BYPandFriends on Instagram.

“We want to make sure everyone has a chance to express their openness, joy and creativity,” Delaney said, “We’re doing that online for the time being, and it’s really coming together right now.”

For all Backyard Players & Friends’ virtual activities and classes, visit bypandfriends.com.

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

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

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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.

Stuart Richner Publisher

animalleague.org/sitstaywalk

srichner@liherald.com

Take A Walk And Save Lives

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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.

Real Estate Assistance for Buyers and Sellers!

Dear Readers, My name is George Haase and after a short-term retirement, following a 35 year Real Estate Career in finance, I am back in business! I will be announcing the South Shore Real Estate Firm I am joining, soon!

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

Register Today! With $20 registration fee receive: Fun Contests and Activities

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

Every life matters to us …

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.

REGISTER FROM APRIL 1ST TO MAY 31ST

Pet Bandana

Amid the fear and stress of the coronavirus pandemic, messages of hope are springing up throughout Rockville Centre. Last week, South Side Middle School sixth-grader Angelina Falabella used her artistic talents to raise the spirits of village residents. To show her concern for the community, she painted her family’s bench with the rainbow seen on many doors and windows, and added the optimistic message: “After every storm comes a rainbow.”

Dear neighbor:

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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Adam Jason Lipton, 37, of Rockville Centre, passed away suddenly on Friday, April 17, 2020. Son of Karen and Wayne Lipton, and brother of Sarah Lipton Douglass (Michael) and Alex Lipton (Karen Jang), Adam lived under the care of his parents after suffering a traumatic brain injury at 10 years old.

Adam attended the Riverside and Wilson Schools in Rockville Centre as a student with special needs until the fifth grade. His parents, teachers and therapists worked hard to provide him with support and encouragement through his early education. As a child, Adam loved swimming, singing and going to the beach.

In late September 1993, Adam was struck by a car and suffered a severe head injury while riding his bicycle in front of his home in Rockville Centre. The Rockville Centre Police and emergency responders —including Mayor Fran Murray, Former Village Trustee Jeff Greenfield, the late Village Trustee Ed Oppenheimer, Former Village Deputy Mayor Chuck Joyce and many others—arrived rapidly and acted urgently to provide aid to Adam. After being treated at Nassau University Medical Center, he spent 11 months at Mountainside Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Jersey, a pediatric rehabilitation facility. When released, despite his extensive injuries, his parents were determined to care for him at home.

The Lipton family modified their home to make it wheelchair-accessible and comfortable for Adam. The Rockville Centre School District also provided support to meet Adam’s needs after the accident.

Several years after Adam returned home, his parents purchased the lot next door and expanded their home to enable Adam and his siblings to have a more comfortable environment, as Adam required round-the-clock care from nurses and therapists.

Although Adam had a few setbacks over the years, he lived comfortably at home until last week when Adam started struggling to breathe. His parents rushed him to Mount Sinai South Nassau. Adam passed away within minutes of his arrival despite the heroic efforts of the Mount

Adam Lipton

ADAM’S LAST OFFICIAL school photo, at age 10, in 1993.

Sinai South Nassau staff.

Over the years, Adam had many dedicated nurses, caregivers and therapists who cared for him around the clock and who loved him. Adam had an impact on many other people in the community, including two of the neighboring children who grew up with Adam. They both became special needs teachers in part because of their interactions with him and remember him fondly. His family is grateful for the 37 years that they had with him and is devastated by the loss.

Funeral arrangements are private. The family hopes to arrange a celebration of his life at a future date.

Submitted by the Lipton family

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Rockville Centre Office | 314 Sunrise Highway, Rockville Centre NY 11570 | 516.536.8100

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

516-536-1500  

13

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

WE ARE OPEN

Here at RVC Auto we want to make sure that all of your

automotive needs are met, but at the same time we want to make sure our community stays as safe and healthy as possible. We are taking extra precautions on our end to keep the vehicles we service as germ free as possible. We are using seat covers, steering wheel covers, gear shifter covers, and putting your keys in bags to prevent any unneeded contact.

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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

LORI BERGER Sales Manager

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lberger@liherald.com

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AMY AMATO Executive Director

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COURTNEY MYERS Media Consultant cmyers@liherald.com

For more information call Rhonda at 516.569.4000 ext. 250

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

16

Photos courtesy Kathy Baxley

JOHN O’SHEA AND Carol Ruchalski hung one of the 10 “Thank You” banners that are now displayed around Rockville Centre.

Banners of thanks displayed in village CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE weekend.”

The banners were hung by Ruchalski, Baxley and Board of Education Trustee John O’Shea on fences at each of the elementary schools — Hewitt, Watson, Wilson, Covert and Riverside — as well as at South Side Middle School, the Rockville Centre Volunteer Fire Department on Maple Avenue, Molloy College, Mercy Medical Center and Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital.

After Baxley posted the idea on social media, the donations began coming in, along with suggestions from residents for lawn signs, which have caught on quickly.

MORE THAN 500 lawn signs have been ordered by residents to express gratitude and support for essential workers.

The first order was for 200 signs, soon followed by a second order for 300, due to arrive this week.

McDonald said he points the signs and banners out to his children when they’re out on bike rides. “It’s awesome to see them while driving around town,” he said.

Each sign costs $20, though Ruchalski said some people are donating more money. “Anything over the cost of the sign is being donated towards the purchase of dinners for essential workers,” she said.

“It’s snowballed into something really big, and it’s nice that something positive can come out of such a crazy time.”

School board discusses grading policy CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE of objective measures for online learning, making it difficult to grade properly.

“That informed the decision for the third quarter and created the Do No Harm policy that we’ve adopted,” Murphy said. “That has evolved over time to now incentivize student performance, and they need the reward system to continue participation, to differentiate excellent to mediocre to poor work, to develop a stratified system where students are rewarded and incentivized to participate.”

However, Murphy said, any high

grades earned by students in the third quarter, before school buildings were closed, will count toward the student’s course total if it “helps the student’s average.”

Superintendent Dr. William Johnson said grades earned during the first six weeks of the third marking period will “help, rather than hurt, students’ grades.”

Murphy likened the pass/fall designation to a “placeholder.” “A pass does not affect a student’s grade point average,” he said. “The hard work will be rewarded.”

Trustee Liz Dion asked about the col-

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tarting with the fourth quarter, we will return to a traditional grading policy.

JOHN MURPHY

Principal, South Side High School lege application process for current juniors. Murphy said the district has contacted admissions offices at several schools, and college officials are aware that students’ transcripts may not have extracurricular activities listed during this period and may have grading systems such as pass/fail. And, he said, the colleges are “developing a system where students are not harmed by it.”

He added that the National Center for Fair and Open Testing is compiling a list of “test-optional” colleges that will not require standardized tests like the SAT and ACT in the fall of 2021.

“There are a variety of factors that informed our decision, and we are in constant contact and reaching out to universities to make sure our students are being advocated for,” Murphy said, “and that they know what they’re looking for moving forward in the application process.”

“We have to understand that this is a continuously evolving process depending on what the rest of the year is going to look like,” Johnson said, noting that he remains hopeful that students would be able to return toward the end of the school year, though Governor Cuomo has not reached a decision on that yet.

The board held another livestreamed meeting on April 21 to finalize its review of the 2020-21 proposed budget. It is expected to adopt the budget on May 6, at another virtual meeting.

The meeting can be viewed on Optimum channel 19, Fios channel 36, or through the district’s YouTube site. Questions can be emailed to boe@rvcschools. org before the meeting, which will be answered during the public comment part of the session.

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.

HERALD

Employment

CLASSIFIED

To pLACE your AD CALL 516-569-4000 - press 5

Fax your ad to: 516-622-7460 E-mail you ad to: ereynolds@liherald.com E-mail Finds Under $100 to: sales@liherald.com DEADLINE: Monday, 11:00 am for all classified ads.

Every effort is made to insure the accuracy of your ad. Please check your ad at the first insertion. Credit will be made only for the first insertion. Credit given for errors in ads is limited to the printed space involved. Publisher reserves right to reject, cancel or correctly classify and ad.

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Computer proficiency is a must!

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Eligible for health benefits, 401k, and paid time off.

Will consider part time.

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

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Salary, Commission, Eligible for Health benefits, 401k and paid time off.

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

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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

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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?

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

Is the permit valid, or not?

19

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Answers

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21

OPINIONS

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

While our public school system will go through some wrenching times as it comes back to life, K-12 parents and students will not face the prospect of crushing debt and soaring costs that have been inflicted on consumers of ALFONSE higher education.

D’AMATO College students, in contrast, will return to campuses not only having missed most of a semester of classes; they will also struggle with exorbitantly high costs that will financially burden many of them for the rest of their lives.

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ADAmato@liherald.com.

A loving tribute to my irreplaceable elders

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

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

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

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

But only the ending was sad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I confess, I didn’t know Aunt Sylvia as

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 23, 2020

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For American higher education, it’s time to lead

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HERALD EDITORIAL

Rockville Centre

April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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Small businesses need more federal help

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for all you’ve done, Governor Cuomo

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

Good people like her are truly heroes.

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

LETTERS Stop the play dates!

To the Editor: As an RN at our local hospital, I’m seeing some horrific things during this crisis. I come home physically and emotionally exhausted every day. I pull onto our block and your children are playing together. On a typical day, I love to see this. When my children were younger, they did the same. But these are not typical times.

I know that for the most part, chil-

dren aren’t getting sick. Thank God! But there has been a very small percentage of children who do get sick.

Could you, for one minute, imagine dropping your child at the door of an ER? You wouldn’t be allowed to stay with them, to comfort them, no exceptions. And do you know for sure that they’re not carriers? Could they bring this virus home to the older people in the family? To you?

One of the saddest things to see is a patient who is dying from Covid-19, and their family can’t be with them.

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 They’re frightened and alone. Can you imagine that’s one of your family members, or even yourself ? Once someone becomes short of breath, they should be brought to an ER, and when you do drop them off, you may never see them again. Please stop the play dates! Please stay at home!

BERNADETTE ROCHE, RN, ONC Rockville Centre

Smiles from strangers To the Editor: We often hear that we need, periodically, to “stop and smell the roses.”

Well, now I’ve noticed that many of us, while maintaining our distance, are pausing to say hello or just exchanging a smile, whether it be on the street or the checkout line. Last Friday, while riding my bike through the village, I pulled alongside a large truck, and as I looked up into the cabin, I was greeted with a nod and smile by the driver. How often would this happen prior to the coronavirus crisis? Or the smile I got from a customer in King Kullen, who jokingly commented to me that I was more than six feet from her, leading to a pleasant exchange as we waited in line. Both the driver and the customer were total strangers. Made my day.

BUD COSGROVE Rockville Centre

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

The hypocrisy of stimulus checks To the Editor:

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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 my opening statement.”

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

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.

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

died al becom Before visitor daught ed them But Mur after th

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April 23, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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