East Meadow
HERALD
to all our readers of the Christian faith
Infections as of Dec. 22
1,906
CoMMuNITy uPDATE
Infections as of Dec. 15 1,713
$1.00
Kiwanis shares holiday cheer
Schools get Covid-19 relief
Page 3
Page 19
DECEMBER 24- 30, 2020
VoL. 20 No. 52
PTSA adapts to the pandemic EMHS advocacy group donates over 8,000 pounds of clothes By BRIAN STIEGLITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Courtesy Patsy Mustafich
A plea from Frosty Sebastian Mustafich, 5, of East Meadow, left a message on a snowman he made after last Wednesday’s nor’easter.
Borrelli’s gets a boost from Barstool
Media group launches its own Covid-19 relief fund By BRIAN STIEGLITZ bstieglitz@liherald.com
Frank Borrelli wasn’t sure if his restaurant would be able to survive the next three months — typically his busiest. Borrelli’s Italian Restaurant, in East Meadow, had already taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic, mainly due to the lack of customers coming from events at the Nassau Coliseum. The situation only grew bleaker
over the past month, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered a 10 p.m. curfew for bars, gyms and restaurants. Borrelli said he was considering closing for the winter, though he hadn’t made any definitive plans or told his staff. “I just didn’t think I’d make it through,” he said. Little did he know that his financial challenges had come to the attention of Dave Portnoy, founder of the digital media com-
pany Barstool Sports. Portnoy recently launched his own Covid19 relief fund to help small businesses that are struggling to stay open. In a video on his Twitter page, he announced that Borrelli’s would be the first to benefit. Portnoy explained that he saw little to no help coming from the federal or state government to New York businesses that had to continue adapting to new coronavirus restrictions. “These people Continued on page 5
While students were back in their classrooms this fall, the district closed its buildings to parents and community members because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This posed a challenge to the Parent Teacher Student Association at East Meadow High School, which uses the building to host a nu m b e r o f f u n d r a i s e r s throughout the year, and to sell snacks and pretzels to students after school. “Principal [Richard] Howard has been very helpful through all of this,” said the organization’s president, Donna Goldstein. “But it’s definitely affected us to not be able to use the building.” Nevertheless, the group has continued each of its fundraisers by holding them at members’ homes. And this year’s annual clothing drive was one of its most successful, yielding 8,764 pounds of clothes and supplies like blankets and handbags. The drive ran from Oct. 18 to Dec. 6, in partnership with Carecycle, a clothing recycling company that pays nonprofit or charity organizations to donate
used clothes. PTSA Membership Chair Stephanie Inger and Treasurer Wendy Shea hosted this year’s event, and used Shea’s home as its drop-off location. In a post on the Facebook page “Nice Things that Happen in East Meadow,” Inger posted a photo of Shea’s garage, filled with bags of clothes. “We can’t say thank you enough,” she wrote in the post, adding that Carecycle named the PTSA one of its top donors. The PTSA typically funds scholarships for graduating seniors as well as the student gover nments in each grade, helping to foot the bill for events like dances, Homecoming and prom. With most of those canceled this year, most of the money is going toward the scholarships. In 2019-20, the association gave out 20 scholarships. Last year’s clothing drive, however, didn’t have as much support as usual, and the group had to organize a last-minute plant sale to make up for it. The success of this year’s drive will bring a tremendous boost to the scholarship program, Goldstein said. Continued on page 7