________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD $1.00
local students celebrate Dr. King
Historical society holds 1923 coin
Ceremony held for F.S. chamber
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Vol. 24 No. 5
JANUARY 27 - FEBRUARY 2, 2022
Demand high for at-home Covid test kits Residents request Covid-19 kits relief bill signed into law last March, would cost $4 billion. Tests are expected to ship seven When the Biden administra- to 12 days after being ordered. tion launched its website allowHall, who said she had ing Americans to request free at- already requested her at-home home Covid-19 tests on Jan. 18, kits, called the rollout an “aweresidents of Elmont and Frank- some idea and gesture,” and lin Square added that an appeared eager to increase in testing stock up on test would help “keep kits amid the largpeople safe and est surge of cases healthy.” nationwide since State Assemblythe coronavirus woman Michaelle pandemic began. S o l a g e s, wh o s e “I think there’s 22nd District a big rush,” Clauencompasses dine Hall, presiElmont and parts dent of the Jamaiof Franklin ca Square Improve- miCHAEllE Square, compared ment League, a SolAgES at-home test kits to civic organization Assemblymember, N.Y. a “brick of gold” that serves Elmont, amid the Omicron said, adding that State Assembly wave, adding that everyone she had they were sorely contacted had already requested needed and would make it much tests online. “I think it’s going to easier for people to stay safe. do well.” Solages said she first recogFour at-home tests can be nized the demand for home test requested per residence at www. kits when she organized a Jan. 2 CovidTests.gov and delivered by distribution of tests to local resimail. The Biden administration dents. Because of the rise in has said that purchasing and dis- Omicron cases, she said, many tributing the first 500 million of people were searching for them, 1 billion promised tests, funded by the $1.9 trillion coronavirus Continued on page 9
By RoBERt tRAVERSo rtraverso@liherald.com
t
Ronny Reyes/Herald file photo
CommUNitY lEADERS SAiD Nicolosi fought passionately for Elmont and local residents.
Pat Nicolosi, 64, died on Jan. 11 Fellow community leaders: ‘He loved Elmont’ By RoBERt tRAVERSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Pat Nicolosi, a passionate and respected Elmont community leader, died on Jan. 11. “He was a devoted and dedicated civic leader,” said Claudine Hall, president of the Jamaica Square Improvement League and longtime friend and colleague of the late community leader, who was described in the same reverent terms by the leaders of various civic groups and nonprofits across Elmont.
The president of the Elmont East End Civic Association, Nicolosi, who died at age 64, moved to Elmont in 1967 from Astoria, Queens. He fought passionately for and against a number of causes – vocally tackling issues including the revitalization of Belmont Park, political corruption and patronage, high taxes and more – and earned a reputation as a staunch defender of Elmont. “He loved Elmont… He fought until the end for Elmont,” Hall said. “We lost a
fighter.” Maria Grody, whose late husband, Bob Grody, had worked closely with Nicolosi for years as a co-leader of the Elmont East End Civic Association, said Nicolosi never failed to stand up for what he believed in – and, most importantly to him, Elmont. Grody said that Nicolosi often focused on “negative” issues affecting Elmont, and many people took issue with his approach, leading him to earn enmity from the political Continued on page 15
hey’re just nice to have even if they’re not needed...