Franklin Square/Elmont Herald 08-13-2020

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Franklin Square/Elmont

HERALD Veteran to run for assembly

elmont releases reopening plans

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university presidents & faculty on th Protest becomes e latest on going back to school

contentious FREE WEBINAR • AUG Page 7 21 • 10am RESERVE YOUR

OT TODAY www.liherald.cSP om/insideli$1.00

aUgUsT 13 - 19, 2020

1098817

Vol. 22 no. 33

Higher Education & COVID-19 Hear from college &

F.S., Elmont reeling from tropical storm By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com

Melissa Koenig/Herald

Tree liMBs fell on a resident’s truck on Washington Street during the storm.

Ben Vega needs to keep his cat’s insulin cold, but he struggled to do so after his power went out during Tropical Storm Isaias last week. He kept his essential items in a cooler with ice because “there isn’t much else to do,” he said, and “with the pandemic situation . . . it makes it harder to go to a family member’s house to ride it out.” “It has been difficult so far,” Vega told the Herald on Aug. 6, after three days without electricity, adding that he lost a

great deal of food during the outage. He tried many times to contact PSEG via its automated systems and social media, and received a message on Thursday saying that power would not be restored to his area until Saturday. “I know it’s an overwhelming task with weather, but PSEG took over for LIPA after the Sandy fiasco,” Vega said. “They had plenty of time to improve on that. Their communications with customers like me is horrible.” Nearly 50,000 Long Island Continued on page 3

Curtains close at Franklin Square movie theater Owners struggle to find new tenants for landmark building amid pandemic By Melissa Koenig mkoenig@liherald.com

The Franklin Square movie theater will not reopen when Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifts all restrictions on businesses, a sign on its door says. “I’m disappointed that this particular building is closing,” said Katherine Tarascio, who filed an application in October 2018 to designate the Art Deco building a historic landmark. The Town of Hempstead’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the appli-

cation in February 2019, and the Town Board passed a resolution last October officially designating it as a landmark. Then, at the end of November, Jasmin Frankel and Jay Levinson signed a lease for the theater, and took over its operations shortly thereafter. At the time, they told the Herald that they wanted to make it more familyfriendly, with $5 tickets on Tuesdays and discounted tickets for seniors on Thursdays. Tickets would only cost a maximum of $8, Frankel previously said, and the theater would host events for

local schools and camps. But after months of not paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic, Frankel and Levinson were forced to shut down the operation, according to Chris Browne, an attorney representing property owner Nauman Hussain. Their last day was July 29. “They saw no path back to prosperity,” Browne said. Frankel and Levinson could not be reached for comment as the Herald went to press. Movie theaters across New York have been closed since March, when Cuomo ordered all

non-essential businesses to cease operations. They were originally set to reopen in Phase 4 of the state’s reopening protocols, but at the end of June, Cuomo removed movie theaters, malls and gyms from the list of businesses that could reopen, citing an increase in Covid-19 infection

rates in other states. The Franklin Square theater has earned no revenue since it closed, according to Charles Procasi, who ran its promotions and marketing department. Now, Browne said, he and Hussain are struggling to find Continued on page 11


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