Friday, August 14, 2020
Vol. 96, No.52
FOUNDED 1923
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Results That Move You
LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Laura Mullig an
Li c. R. E. Sa le sp er so n O 51 6. 30 7.9 40 6 M 51 6. 72 9.6 88 5 laura.mulliga n@elliman.co m Garden City Office O 51 6. 30 7.9 40 6
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Gourmet pizza
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Why pineapples? PAGE 22
© 2020 DOUGLA S ELLIMA N REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOU 110 WALT WHITMA SING OPP ORT UNI N ROAD, HUN TING TY. TON STATION, NY 11746. 631.549.740 1.
GC Schools submit September reopening plan to NY state
TEAM UP TO FIGHT HUNGER
BY MEG MORGAN NORRIS The Garden City Public Schools have submitted plans to New York State for opening schools in September. Under those plans, students in grades K-4 will attend full time in person, and students in grades 5-12 will attend classes in person, on alternating days. On days when classes are not in person students will attend online remotely. In addition, all families in the school district have been given the option to do fully online education.
Flexible plans
The Garden City Varsity Football team recently held a food drive to benefit Island Harvest. The team collected food and cash donations outside Key Food on a very hot day. See page 55
Garden City Library Board reviews reopening, new safety measures BY RIKKI MASSAND
The Garden City Public Library Board of Trustees discussed its successes in reopening the 7th Street Library building, after months of shut down due to the pandemic, as well as its service to the Garden City community as an invaluable asset in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias, which caused causing widespread power outages. The Library Board met via Zoom on Monday night, August
10, and GCPL Board Chairman J. Randolph Colahan praised Village of Garden City officials for working to ensure the safest, secure plexiglass installations inside the library to buffer patrons and staff from each other and help stop the spread of the virus. “We may have some of the very best plexiglass around. I must compliment the Village and Village Auditor Courtney Rosenblatt, Trustee Colleen Foley and the Department
of Public Works. It’s a phenomenal job, performed and installed very quickly -- thank you!” Colahan said on Monday. Library Director Marianne Malagon sent a thank you note to the maker of the barriers and asked for them to come by GCPL to have a photograph taken of the plexiglass installed. Village Trustee Colleen Foley, the municipal governing Board of Trustees’ liaison See page 54
Under New York State guidelines, all districts in the state have been required to develop plans that address reopening their buildings during the Covid-19 pandemic. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that schools may reopen as long as the rate of positivity on infection tests remains below 5%. In addition, the governor has warned that if the rate rises above 5% over a 14 day average or 9% over a seven day average, then schools will be directed to close again. Currently the rate has been hovering around 1% for the Long Island region. In the event that the schools are closed again due to a rising infection rate, the Garden City School District has said that it is prepared to switch to a fully remote model. In a message to parents on August 9th, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kusum Sinha noted, “Our reopening plans are fluid and will continue to be refined, always keeping in mind that safety is our top priority. We will continue to follow the Governor’s decision on school reopening, which could require us to shift in a different direction.”
Masks and social distancing required
According to the plans submitted to the state, the district will follow all recommendations about social distancing and will require everyone to wear masks. In addition, the district has created strict cleaning protocols and will set up hand sanitizing stations in classrooms that don’t already have a sink. The use of shared equipment such as computers will be limited, and students will be required to wash before and after use. In the elementary schools all extra spaces such as the library and gym will be converted into classroom space to allow students’ desks See page 54
Library fines waived thru October PAGE 8 Revisions made to school calendar PAGE 12