________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD $1.00
Guns on their way to Ukrainians
local student wins art award
Nonprofit leader honored by town
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Vol. 24 No. 13
MARCH 24 - 30, 2022
LIRR incentives miss the mark Local train advocates feel neglected rush hours, at the start of the pandemic two years ago. Ridership dipped at one point to just Elmont community leaders 3 percent of pre-pandemic levhave expressed frustration with els, and remains below 50 perincentives announced by the cent. Long Island Rail Road aimed at The plan is for the discounts boosting ridership, instead call- to remain in place for three ing for more fundamental months, but they could be reforms at the new UBS Arena- extended, depending on how Elmont station, which opened successful they are. last year. While Claudine Hall, presi“We think we’re going to dent of the Jamaica Square bring a lot of riders Improvement back into the sysLea gue, a civic tem and encourage group that works more people to use on behalf of the the system,” MetroElmont communipolitan Transportaty, called the new t i o n Au t h o r i t y Elmont station chair and chief “absolutely gorexecutive Janna geous,” she said Lieber said at a she has not yet ClAUDiNE HAll news conference in caught a train Fe b r u a r y, wh e n President, Jamaica there. And Hall she unveiled the Square Improvement s t re s s e d t h at a new discounts, de- League major downside to signed to increase its current operathe number of tions is that it only train passengers after the pan- offers eastbound service, and demic sank ridership. cannot be accessed from New The incentives, which took York City. effect this month, include a “There’s hiccups at the 20-trip LIRR ticket costing 20 beginning of anything that’s percent less than 20 individual new,” Hall said, acknowledging peak trips, as well as 10 percent that there have been no issues discounts on unlimited-ride with the service that is currentLIRR tickets. ly available, but she called on The LIRR suspended peak the LIRR to begin westward serfares, which are up to 27 percent vice, as it plans to do this sumhigher for trips made during Continued on page 4
By RoBERT TRAVERSo rtraverso@liherald.com
i
t’s an inconvenience to get to Elmont
Courtesy Chef Gigi’s Place
CHEf PiERlUiGi ‘GiGi’ SACCHETTi said small businesses reinvest money into local communities and are less driven by profit than major corporations.
Local stores mount recovery Chamber celebrates ‘mom and pop’ shops By RoBERT TRAVERSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Two years after the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic that permanently shuttered hundreds of thousands of small businesses nationwide, local stores in Franklin Square are thriving and optimistic leading up to National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day on March 29. “Our economy couldn’t run without small mom and pop businesses,” said Lisa DelliPizzi, the president of the Franklin Square Chamber of Commerce. A survey conducted last year by Goldman Sachs found that despite the recovery of the
American economy since March 2020, small businesses continued to face obstacles driven by the pandemic, such as rising operating costs, lack of access to capital and labor shortages. The nationwide survey found that 81 percent of businesses polled that said they are hiring are finding it challenging to locate qualified candidates. Additionally, 83 percent of small business owners reported an increase in operating costs and 82 percent expressed concern about inflation, which nearly half of businesses polled said has caused them to raise prices. More recently, a Capital One Business survey found that small business owners are Continued on page 5