________ Franklin square/elmont _______
HERALD $1.00
local Girl Scouts earn Gold Award
Residents urge Cuomo to resign
Summer institute at Hofstra
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Vol. 23 No. 33
AUGUST 12 - 18, 2021
New effort to boost vaccines Elmont among areas with lowest inoculation rates in New York was 3,354, an increase of 127 percent in two weeks, according to New York Times data. HospitalG o v. A n d r e w C u o m o izations and deaths attributed to announced on July 26 that New the virus have increased as well, York state would spend $15 mil- although not as dramatically as lion in an effort to boost corona- case counts. virus vaccination rates in areas Just 0.015 percent of New across the state with the lowest Yorkers who have been vaccinatinoculation numbers and higher ed have become infected, Cuomo levels of new cases, said two weeks ago, including Elmont calling the rise in and 20 other Long cases a “pandemic Island communiof the unvaccinatties. ed.” With the Delta The state plans variant of the to work with comvirus spreading, munity organizaaccounting for 72 tions to reach percent of all new unvaccinated resicases statewide as dents in 117 zip TiffANy CApeRS of late July, the codes statewide Elmont push for more inocwith low vaccinaulations in areas tion rates. Sixtywith lower rates is one percent of the focus areas seen as crucial to the effort to are in New York City, and 18 per- prevent a major spike in new cent are on Long Island, in both cases. Nassau and Suffolk counties. “I think if it’s for public safeThey account for just 6.7 percent ty, we all should be vaccinated,” of the state’s population, and, said Kay Davidson, a resident of Cuomo said, many are socio-eco- Elmont, “unless you have some nomically challenged and large- kind of health condition that ly minority communities. you can’t be vaccinated.” The Covid-19 positivity rate The goal of the new program, has risen since last month on Cuomo said, is to foster commuLong Island and across the state. nication and education about the As of last Sunday, the daily average number of cases in the state Continued on page 5
By RoBeRT TRAVeRSo rtraverso@liherald.com
Robert Traverso/Herald
ViNNy CeNTAURo GReeTed Claire Helfenbein, her son, Jake, and her daughter, Maghan, as they pulled into the driveway of their newly refurbished home for the first time.
F.S.-based nonprofit presents family with spruced-up home By RoBeRT TRAVeRSo rtraverso@liherald.com
While their home was being rebuilt by the Franklin Square-based nonprofit Rescuing Families, Claire Helfenbein, her daughter, Maghan, and her son, Jacob, stayed at the Residence Inn in Garden City. Their wait is now over: Vinny and Gina Centauro, cofounders of the house-building organization, presented the newly refurbished home to Helfenbein and her family on Aug. 3. When the Centauros, who created Rescuing Families in 2016, decided to renovate and repair the Helfenbein family home, on Byrd Street in Hempstead, two summers ago, they expected the house to be in better structural condition, Gina previously told the Herald. But the house’s malfunctioning 68-year-old
furnace and the deplorable condition of its exterior framing kept the family away from the rebuilt home longer than expected. The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 further complicated the situation, requiring Rescuing Families to raise more money in order to finish the Helfenbeins’ house on time. Work was slated to begin in January 2020 and take three to four months, but the pandemic shut down the fundraising events that are so vital to the organization’s work. A number of fundraisers and donations this year have made it possible to finish the project. Claire and her husband, Irving, were in the process of renovating their home when Irving fell ill and died of pancreatic and lung cancer in 2012. Claire, who has a physi-
cal disability and uses a wheelchair, took responsibility for repairing damage in the home, which was often caused by Jacob, who is autistic. To make matters worse, the house was infested with mice, there was mildew in a bathroom and floors were breaking apart. The cost for the charity, which funded the Helfenbeins’ stay at the Residence Inn, increased from $800 to $1,000 per week amid the pandemic. Gina Centauro estimated that the organization needed roughly $10,000 to cover its remaining expenses on the project. At the house reveal on Aug. 3, Vinny Centauro apologized to Claire for the long stay at the hotel, but Helfenbein praised the nonprofit for its help. “We were very comfortable,” she said, “which Continued on page 17
T
he issue here definitely isn’t access to the vaccine.