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Teen awaits lung transplant

Celebrating 105 with a parade Faustina Peri celebrated her 105th birthday by waving to a large procession of police officers, firefighters and Long Beach residents. Story, Page 4.

Masha Benitez, 17, finally makes list for life-saving procedure extraordinary precautions to make sure she doesn’t contract Covid-19. “The big thing is to Masha Benitez, a 17-year-old keep the virus from getting into Long Beach High School senior the house,” her mother said. who is awaiting a life-saving douMost days, no one leaves the ble lung transplant, has finally house. Quigley says she spends been placed on a waiting list for hours on the phone ordering the procedure at the Children’s deliveries and making doctors’ Hospital of Philadelphia. appointments. Once But these days of every week and a the coronavirus panhalf or so, Tony and demic are perilous Giancarlo go grofor Benitez. Her parcery shopping, and ents, Michelle Quigeverything that is ley and Luis “Tony” brought into the Benitez, said their house is quickly disdaughter was put on infected. Masks are the list on March 12. essential. Whenever But now she must her father and brothwait for a pair of er venture out, they lungs to become change clothes mICHelle available, and hospibefore they come tal officials say they QUIGleY back in. are unable to tell her Mother L a s t O c t o b e r, when that will hapMasha developed a pen. cold that quickly Because Masha is so small — spread to her already weakened she is 4 feet 9 inches tall and lungs. Her doctor sent her to weighs 80 pounds — the lungs Cohen Children’s Medical Censhe needs must be compatible ter in New Hyde Park, where she with her size and blood type. She spent a week before recovering may also need heart surgery. and going home. Many of her As the pandemic has spread, doctors’ appointments these she has been spending time at days are conducted online. home, like all other students. But Masha was born in Russia, to her parents and her brother, 16-year-old Giancarlo, must take Continued on page 3

By JAmes BeRNsteIN jbernstein@liherald.com

he big thing is to keep the virus from getting into the home.

Courtesy Stephanie Marra

It’s final: Boardwalk to stay closed with state’s blessing By JAmes BeRNsteIN jbernstein@liherald.com

A lawsuit demanding that Long Beach follow the proper steps to close its 2.2-mile-long boardwalk was withdrawn Wednesday after it was successfully resolved by the plaintiff. Scott Cohen, the lawyer for plaintiff Frank McQuade, who ran unsuccessfully for Nassau County District Attorney last year, said that McQuade decided

to withdraw the suit after being informed by the New York State Department of Health that it had given Long Beach the approval to close the boardwalk. Earlier this week, McQuade wrote in a letter to the Herald that it was never his intention to have the boardwalk reopened, but rather to see that the closing was done properly. McQuade’s suit was filed last Friday. Cohen said the state Health Department’s letter

detailing its action was dated Sunday. Cohen said he believed the department’s decision to approve the closing was a response to McQuade’s suit. “I believe it is a 100 percent victory,” Cohen said, The City if Long Beach said in a statement, “We are pleased the plaintiff has dropped the suit. We will continue to do everything possible to protect Continued on page 10

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Bringing local sports home every week

Uncertainty surrounds L.B. spring sports By TONY BELLISSIMO tbellissimo@liherald.com

Hours after completing the opening week of practice March 13, Long Beach High School spring sports coaches met with Athletic Director Arnold Epstein, who informed them the district would be shutting down the following week due to the global coronavirus pandemic. “I think all the coaches had a feeling of what the meeting was going to be about,” said Rachel Ray, whose 10th season as Long Beach’s girls’ varsity lacrosse coach has taken largely to Instagram. “It’s hard because of all the off-season training the girls put in,” she added. “Our workouts led right into the first week of practice. If we ever do get to play, I know we’ll be ready to go.” Time isn’t on spring sports’ side, however. Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced schools throughout New York State will remain closed until at least through April 29, this after President Donald Trump extended social-distancing guidelines through the end of the month. Nassau County Executive Director of Athletics Pat Pizzarelli said no decision will be made on spring sports until schools get a green light to reopen. “We have a small group of seniors, only four, but it doesn’t make it any easier if we end up not playing,” noted Ray, referring to Maggie Reznick, Alexis Palmer, Nuala Rafferty and Hailey Ulhar. “My feelings go back and forth and I’m trying to stay positive,” she added. “I can see a shortened season going deep into June. Or if worse comes to worse, maybe we can get a bunch of teams together and do a summer league.”

Not too long after practice was halted, Ray and several other Nassau girls’ lacrosse coaches, including Robyn Pastuch of Wantagh, collaborated on an idea and began posting daily challenges for team members on Instagram: @lbgirlsvarsitylax with the hashtag #girlslacrosseonlinechallenge. “We’ve gotten great feedback from the kids and parents,” Ray said. “We mix up the challenges to keep it different. One day it can be a lacrosse skill, one day it can be yoga or mediation. It’s to the point where if it’s not posted early enough in the morning, I’ll get a bunch of texts from the girls asking why it’s not up yet.” Similar to the girls’ lacrosse roster, Long Beach’s softball team isn’t dominated by seniors but boasts its share. Longtime coach Carmine Verde, a member of the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame, has All-State selection Katie Frisch, Jillian Domingo, Olivia Caggiano, Elizabeth Zielinski and Ashley Egan. “I like to be hopeful,” Verde said. “If there’s no season, I’d feel really bad for all the seniors in every sport. It’s their last chance to be on the field and represent their school and community.” Frisch, who batted .469 with 35 RBIs last season, plans to play at Nassau Community College and study American Sign Language. “I’m honesty not sure if there’s going to be a season,” she said. “It’s upsetting, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” Long Beach boys’ lacrosse coach Jason Pearl remains optimistic some form of a season can happen. The Marines have 11 seniors and were looking to make noise in Class B. “I’ve been in constant contact with the guys and we’ve had some chats on Zoom,” Pearl said. “If we don’t get out there, it’ll sting no matter how many seniors we have.”

J.Heck/Herald

LONg BEach SENIOr Katie Frisch is planning to play softball at Nassau Community College but remains hopeful she hasn’t played her final game for the Lady Marines.

Masha staying positive under tough situation continued from front page a mother who immediately gave her up for adoption. She was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and a host of other medical problems, which worsened over the years. Now she has pulmonary venoocclusive disease, or PVOD, a rare form of pulmonary hypertension caused by progressive blockage of the small veins in the lungs. Her prognosis is not the best. But she is a lively girl with flowing blond hair and triple her weight in spunk. Michelle and Tony adopted her in 2006 after they saw her at Cohen Children’s, where she was being treated for a lung disorder. Their battle to adopt her took over two years, because Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government opposes adoptions by American parents. In Long Beach these days, Masha spends time drawing and playing with her corgi, Lulu. In pre-coronavirus days, she volunteered on Sundays to help train dogs at Kennedy Plaza, outside City Hall. That’s something she can’t wait to do again. Asked how she was feeling the other day, she said, “I had a pretty good day.”

Christina Daly/Herald

MaSha BENITEz BrOughT her corgi, Lulu, to Kennedy Plaza for the weekly citywide dog walk and instruction before the pandemic.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Herald sports

L.B. salutes Peri’s 105th Long Beach temporarily suspends recycling birthday with parade By Darwin Yanes dyanes@liherald.com

Faustina Peri has survived the Spanish Flu, world wars, hurricanes, and is now witnessing a challenge that is taking thousands of lives around the world: the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, Peri is doing well, so well in fact, that she celebrated her birthday on April 14, with a parade of cars passing by her home on West Park Avenue. She has plenty to celebrate. She is 105 years old. Pe r i ’s g r a n d d a u g h t e r, Stephanie Marra, has worked as a police officer for the Long Beach Police Department for about 14 years. She said Long Beach Police Commissioner Michael Tangney, with the assistance of Peri’s grandson, Ronald Walsh, who is a Nassau County Police Chief, put together a parade for her grandmother. Members of the LBPD, Nassau County Police Department, Long Beach and other Fire Departments and many residents paraded down West Park Avenue to give her grandmother a special birthday. “It’s bittersweet, that we Courtesy City of Long Beach can’t be in the house with her,” Marra said. “Living to her isn’t fausTina Peri waveD as parade-goers honked their a big deal, but to us. . . it’s car horns and held up signs saying happy birthday. everything.” everything they ate was “right out of the Peri was born in Italy on April 13, 1915, and moved to the United bay,” including lobsters and other seafood. Marra attributes her grandmother’s States in 1927. She came to Long Beach in 1963 and has become a staple of the com- longevity to her healthy lifestyle. She said munity. Peri was married to John Peri for that just before her 101st birthday, Peri 69 years before his death in 2006. They was walking every day, reading a book a had four children -- John, Virginia, Carol week and playing endless hours of scraband Robert. Together they have many ble. However, now that her eyesight has grandchildren and even more great- isn’t as great, Peri’s sister Anna Santapolo, who turned 84 on April 15, reads to her grandchildren. Marra recalled spending holidays at as much as possible. “It’s truly amazing and it’s a testimony her grandma’s house and praised Peri’s “delicious” cooking. She added that to her quality of life,” Marra said.

Long Beach

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Effective immediately, all recycling services for the City of Long Beach have been temporarily suspended because of the Covid-19 outbreak. City Council President John Bendo said in a statement on April 9 that due to high Covid-19 cases in the contracting company that picks up the city’s recycling, the city was forced to suspend the service. “Due to the nature of the work, the contractor the The CiTY of Long C i t y u t i l i z e s fo r ther notice. recycling has been hit extremely hard by Covid-19 and cannot continue to process single-stream recycling during the pandemic,” Bendo said. Bendo is asking all residents to include their recycling with their garbage, which will be picked up on its normal schedule.

Courtesy City of Long Beach

Beach has suspended all recycling until fur“We will be resuming City-wide recycling as soon as possible and will communicate any additional changes to the program in the days and weeks ahead,” Bendo said. Compiled by Darwin Yanes

On behalf of All Good Electric, our hearts go out to all of those impacted by COVID-19. Our focus is on the health and safety of our employees, customers and community. All Good Electric remains open for business. We are committed to doing our part in slowing the spread of the virus. Our entire staff is practicing all recommended safety procedures, rubber gloves, masks, social distancing, sanitizers, etc. Our economy is suffering but there will be times that essential electrical work is needed and we’re here to help in any way within our means. If you find that you need to give us a call, please don’t hesitate 516-431-8585. We want to thank all of our customers for their support through the years and look forward to many more together.

As always, stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive! Sincerely, Paul, Erica and Staff

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the coronavirus effect on minorities

Sources: Nassau County, U.S. Census, American Community Survey. Illustration by Christina Daly/Herald

Governors get together over reopening the economy es,” referring to the possibility that Covid19 cases might climb again if people were to go back to work without adequate The governors of Delaware, Connecti- guidelines and insufficient preparation. cut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said the and Rhode Island gathered Monday in a coronavirus spread along his state’s Interteleconference to announce a regional sate-95 corridor, otherwise known as its panel that will study how best to reopen “commuter corridor.” The virus, he t h e e c o n o my a n d t h e appeared to suggest, was schools. spread by commuters in and Governor Cuomo, leadout of New York City. ing the effort, announced Pennsylvania Gov. Tom the creation of the panel, Wo l f s a i d a r e g i o n a l which will comprise three approach to reopening the representatives from each economy is vital. “We all state — a health official, an know we can do anything economic official and the better when we work togethchief of staff of each goverer,” he said. “We need to do nor. The governors are callthis right.” ing it a regional advisory He said he believes the council, which will not have Gov. andrew six-state approach will decision-making power, but become a model for reopenrather will help formulate Cuomo ing regional economies plans for a re gional across the country. approach to reopening that are subject to Delaware Gov. John Carney said the the governors’ approval. key question is, “How do we reopen “New York believes we have reached a things in a way that’s safe?” plateau” of new coronavirus cases, “The state boundaries,” he noted, Cuomo said. “This is relatively good news “mean very little to this virus.” in a world of bad options.” The objective, Rhode Island Gov. Gina With cases leveling off, he said, it is Raimondo said, is to “develop new guidetime to begin planning for the day when lines for this new normal.” businesses are allowed to resume operaAll of the governors are Democrats. tions and students may return to classes. The announcement came after PresiNew Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy said dent Trump over the weekend signaled the regional approach would help avoid that he believes he will be the arbiter of “inadvertent and unintended consequenc- when the economy will reopen.

By SCott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

ew York believes we have reached a plateau [of Covid-19] cases.

Herald file photo

Governor Cuomo Gathered five other Northeast governors to announce a regional advisory council to develop plans to reopen the economy regionally. In addition to New York, the council will include representatives of Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Covid-19 has affected minority populations and densely populated areas more than others. The maps below show the correlation between coronavirus hot spots in Nassau County and population density.

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Cuomo calls for SALT repeal amid pandemic By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

In his Saturday address, Governor Cuomo called on Congress and President Trump to repeal the SALT provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to provide relief to residents of hightax states like New York and California amid the pandemic. The SALT provision eliminated all but $10,000 of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known commonly as the SALT deduction, costing New Yorkers millions of dollars annually in federal taxes. “You want to help New York … you want to help the places that are affected [by Covid-19], then repeal the SALT provision,” Cuomo said. The provision “targeted” states like New York, the governor said. In a March 26 editorial, the Herald called for repeal of the SALT provision. For an excerpt from it, see box. Cuomo urged people not to play politics around Covid-19, particularly given that it is a presidential election year. President Trump, he said, has been responsive to New York’s needs amid the coronavirus crisis. “Keep politics out of the discussions,” Cuomo said. He noted that he does not plan to run for president, despite some pleas within the Democratic Party that he should jump in the race — Joe Biden is now the presumptive nominee after Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out last week. Some 783 people died of the coronavirus statewide overnight from last Friday into Saturday. The governor noted that was not an all-time high, which came three days earlier when 799 peo-

From the Herald’s editorial….

Gov. Andrew cuomo is asking Congress and President Trump to eliminate the SALT provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to provide financial relief to New Yorkers battered by the coronavirus. ple died. He also said the number of intensive care unit admissions and number of intubations were both down dramatically, which could indicate the state had hit a plateau of infections. Cuomo described the current phase of the pandemic in New York as the “end of the beginning.” He urged people to continue to “stay

the course” and practice social distancing. He noted that without it, a second wave of infection is possible. When New York’s economy should fully reopen is a subject of study and debate, the governor said. Reopening it, he said, “cannot be at the expense” of human life.

In high-tax regions like New York and California, the weight of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was already causing enormous fiscal strain for many homeowners, who lost all but $10,000 of the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known commonly as the SALT deduction. Loss of that single deduction in high-tax regions has cost people thousands of dollars. Many Long Island taxpayers reported that their federal tax bills rose $3,000, $5,000, $8,000 or more last year. Those bills are not expected to abate this year, unless Congress acts. It should immediately reinstate the SALT deduction. People here will certainly take $1,000 or $2,000 [in stimulus funds], but restoring the deduction would do far more for many homeowners who are suffering because of the coronavirus. For the full editorial, see liherald.com.

New York coping with a rising death toll By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

Governor Cuomo said at his news briefing last Thursday that additional funeral directors would be brought in to aid with final arrangements for the hundreds of New Yorkers who are dying of the coronavirus. Overnight that day, he said, 799 people had succumbed to the disease, bringing the total who had died in New York to more than 7,000. That was the highest overnight death toll New York had seen to date, and at press time, it remained the highest. As of April 13, there were 846 Covid19-related deaths in Nassau County, and 23,553 people had been diagnosed with the illness. Cuomo spoke of the coronavirus as a “silent killer.” “9/11 was supposed to be the darkest day” for New York in a generation, he

Social distancing, he said, is about said. As of Wednesday, April 8, Covid-19 protecting the most vulnerable in socihad killed more than twice as many ety. The governor ordered all American people in New York than 9/11, when the flags to fly at half-staff in total number of deaths honor of the dead. statewide reached 6,268. By executive order, he As of Monday, nearly also declared that all New 9,400 were reported dead in Yorkers can vote by absenNew York. tee ballot for the June 23 “Our hospitals and primaries. health care workers continAnd all unemployed ue to be stretched to the New Yorkers will receive an limit,” Nassau County additional $600 payment, Executive Laura Curran and unemployment benesaid. fits were extended from 25 Cuomo, speaking in to 39 weeks. some of the strongest terms T here were positive he had used yet last week, Gov. Andrew s igns las t we e k. Both called Covid-19 a “vicious Cuomo and Curran said predator of a virus” that cuomo social distancing appeared preys on those whose to be working and was health has already been compromised because of underlying reducing the number new hospitalizations. medical conditions.

/11 was supposed to be the darkest day for New York in a generation.

To maintain the plateau, they said, people must stay at home unless they are essential workers. Rapid testing for the coronavirus on a mass scale could allow people to return to work, Cuomo said he believes. He warned, however, that the virus may come in waves. He noted that the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 struck in three waves. And already, he said, there were scattered reports, including in The Los Angeles Times, that Wuhan, China, may be experiencing a second wave of infections. A secondary infection wave could come, he said, if the virus were to mutate into a new form, potentially infecting those with immunity to the first virus. There is an emotional toll the pandemic has had on many people, the governor said. Those in need of help can call the state’s Emotional Support Hotline at (844) 863-9314.

Officials: MSSN still performing surgeries sbrinton@liherald.com

Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside is still open for trauma and emergency cases, despite an influx of critically ill coronavirus patients in recent weeks. That was the message that Joe Calderone, MSSN’s senior vice president of corporate communications, and Dr. Rajiv Datta, the hospital’s chief of surgery, delivered to the public via a 15-minute Facebook Live session last Thursday. “We are still a trauma center,” Datta said. “We still take care of acute cases.” MSSN is the South Shore’s only trauma center, which treats the most urgent cases such as car crash and gunshot victims. An emergency patient, by contrast, might be suffering from an acute medical condition such as appendicitis. To remain a Level II trauma center, the hospital must maintain a trauma operating room and keep a trauma surgeon on duty at the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As of last Thursday, Calderone said, the hospital had 450 patients in total — 300, or 66 percent, were Covid-19 patients. All trauma and emergency patients are tested for coronavirus upon entering the hospital, Datta said, “so we can protect them, and we can also protect our staff.” The operating room is equipped with a

Facebook Live screenshot

Dr. rajiv Datta, chief of surgery at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside, and Joe Calderone, senior vice president for corporate communications, held a Facebook Live session in front of the hospital Thursday to let the public know trauma and emergency surgeries are still be performing at MSSN. HEPA filter to ensure the air remains pure, and all surgical tables and equipment are wiped down with bleach, he said. Surgical patients recover in the operating room, and then they are segregated in a non-Covid-19 section of the hospital. “The staff is very keenly aware of which patients are Covid positive and which are not,” Datta said. “That information is delivered to everybody.”

He emphasized, “The operating room is still functional, only doing trauma cases and emergency cases.” Follow-up care is provided in MSSN’s outpatient facility in Valley Stream and via telehealth video chat. “It’s a new way of practicing medicine,” Datta said. There is no longer visitation at the hospital. After patients are sufficiently recovered from surgery, family members or

friends must pick them up at the front entrance of the hospital on Merrick Road. They cannot enter the hospital. “This is an all-hands-on-deck situation at South Nassau,” Calderone noted. Several staff members from hospital’s surgical team, both surgeons and nurses, have been redeployed to medical wings of the hospital to help treat Covid-19 patients. Normally, the hospital might have 22 patients on ventilators. It had 80 as of last Thursday. “I’m amazed to see how our staff is helpful,” Datta said, noting that retired surgeons have called to volunteer their services. “So far we have been able to accommodate,” he said. “Everybody is stretched.” The hospital is still performing a small number of elective surgeries for cancer patients, said Datta, who is medical director of MSSN’s Feil Cancer Center in Valley Stream. Primarily, however, cancer patients are being treated with radiation and chemotherapy in cordoned-off wings — chemo at the front of the hospital, and radiation at the back. Both Calderone and Datta emphasized the importance of social distancing. “We are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” Calderone said. To watch the full video, see liherald.com.

Northwell Health clinical trials under way By Scott Brinton sbrinton@liherald.com

The Northwell Health medical system, with hospitals throughout the greater New York metropolitan area, has conducted clinical trials for a possible treatment for Covid-19 since March 18, and an effort that began with two patients now involves hundreds. That’s according to Dr. Christina Brennan, vice president of clinical research at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset. Brennan sat down with video producer Rob Hoell for a Facebook Live interview last Thursday in which she discussed the ongoing clinical trials that Northwell is engaged in. She noted Northwell was among the first health systems in the nation to undertake clinical trials for a treatment. Locally, trials are taking place at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. Early on, Feinstein Institutes researchers teamed up with Gilead Sciences and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to identify potential treatments for Covid-19 patients who are hospitalized with moderate to severe conditions. The goal, according to a Northwell release, is “to improve recovery and speed discharge from hospitals.” Brennan said last week that Northwell also undertook an additional study to gauge the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug that has been touted often by President Trump. With Gilead, the Feinstein Institutes is examining the safety and effectiveness of remdesivir (RDV), an investigational antiviral drug, to reduce the intensity and duration of Covid-19 in hospitalized patients. RDV, Northwell officials said, has “demonstrated positive effects” on other viruses such as MERS and SARS. The trial with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which now involves 216 patients, is examining the safety and efficacy

Facebook Live screenshot

of sarilumab, a human antibody that may help prevent severe pneumonia in some Covid-19 patients. It is normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Brennan said. “We’re really excited about the three opportunities and more to come of the trials,” she said. Northwell is not engaged in clinical trials to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, she noted. Brennan could not say how long development of a treatment drug or drugs would take, and if any of the drugs now in trials would ultimately be proven effective. Patients’ participation in all clinical trials is voluntary. Daily, Brennan said, clinical researchers are feeding data back to the pharmaceutical companies involved in the trials, and the companies are analyzing that information. When a sufficient data set is amassed, the companies will then approach the Food and Drug Administration for possible approvals. Northwell physicians on “the front lines” are selecting

Dr. chriStina Brennan, vice president of clinical research at Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset, sat down with video producer Rob Hoell for a Facebook Live session last Thursday to discuss ongoing clinical trials for a Covid19 treatment at Northwell.

patients for the trials with Feinstein researchers. “It can be tough as investigators,” Brennan said. “You so desperately want to help patients and find the right treatment for them.” She said, however, “We’re seeing more discharges daily from our clinical trials, so we’re hopeful.” Speaking of the clinical researchers, Hoell said, “You guys are, to my mind, the unsung heroes … Every day we get closer and closer to maybe finding out what’s going to work and what’s going to knock out this virus.” Brennan did say clinical research appears to substantiate anecdotal evidence from physicians in the field that Covid-19 is potentially more deadly for older adults and those with pre-existing medical conditions, and that anyone, of any age, can be infected and suffer its effects, including older teenagers. To watch the entire interview, see liherald.com.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

By Scott Brinton

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Three MSSN employees die of coronavirus By Mike SMollinS msmollins@liherald.com

Three employees at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital have died after contracting the coronavirus. Dr. Jesus Zambrano, 54, an attending pediatrician who worked in Freeport, died on March 29, while Mario Salonga, 59, a per diem physical therapist in home care, recently died, and Ferdinando Moretti, 73, an MSSN painting crew foreman, died on April 4. The hospital did not disclose the date Salonga died, and an inquiry was not returned. “They exemplify what makes every Mount Sinai South Nassau employee and medical staff member special, the willingness to be present during a time of unprecedented crisis with a special commitment to the patients we serve,” MSSN President and CEO Richard Murphy said in a statement. Zambrano was a Brooklyn resident and joined the MSSN medical staff in 2012. He worked with Dr. Luis HerreraAcevedo at a Freeport practice. He previously attended medical school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and trained as a pediatric resident at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx. He was board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, and many of his patients and colleagues saw him as a beloved figure. Salonga had been a part of MSSN’s inhome patient care staff for five years and

Christina Daly/Herald

Three eMployeeS of Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital died after contracting the coronavirus. worked for the Visiting Nurse Service. He was described as a kind, gentle soul and an upstanding father, husband and friend. He provided compassionate and professional care for patients and his daughter, Katrina, said he was dedicated to his profession, according to a news release from the hospital. She added she was raised by the motto “always put others first,” and her father exemplified it. In addition to

Katrina, Salonga is survived by his wife, Cecilia, and their son, Joseph, in Valley Stream. Moretti retired from MSSN in 2014 after 31 years of service. He returned to work per diem in 2015 to support the hospital’s various expansion projects. His colleagues recalled that Moretti was lighthearted and quick with a joke, and that he was well versed in topics ranging from

construction to cooking. He is survived by his daughter, Andrea, son, Mario, and four grandchildren. His wife, Olga, predeceased him. “I cannot sufficiently express my appreciation and respect for the contribution each of them has made to the life of Mount Sinai South Nassau,” Murphy said. “We extend our prayers and deepest sympathy to their families.”

Friends Who Give donate to hospital workers By MaTThew ferreMi mferremi@liherald.com

A once-a-year community event that was originated by a Mineola resident during the holiday season of 2016 has spread to donating goods to medical workers in the frontline of the coronavirus. Denise Heckelman founded Friends Who Give in December 2016 as an effort to raise money for local families in school districts that were in need of additional financial help around the holidays. Heckleman would accept donations of cash and gift cards at her home. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began rapidly spreading across Nassau County, Heckelman and others involved began thinking of ideas to help out others. “I’ve always been an advocate in giving back to others,” Heckelman said. “Since we started Friends Who Give in 2016, we’ve raised roughly $13,000 for those in the Mineola School District.” Lea Hennelly is a Garden City South resident who has been involved with Friends Who Give since 2016. She lives in the Franklin Square School District and has donated money and gift cards to families in the district. She also serves as the leader of the Girl Scout Troop 1754 in Franklin Square. Hennelly gave out her Venmo account username on the group’s Facebook page on March 28. Since then, roughly $3,500 has been donated to her Venmo account,

which Hennelly has used to deliver snacks and goods to three hospitals: NYU Winthrop in Mineola, Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset. “We felt like it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up on since people just want to help during a time like this,” Hennelly said. “My Venmo was blowing up left and right. I bought about $800 worth of snacks as a thank you to our frontline workers.” One of the frontline workers is New Hyde Park resident Jen Marsella, who works as a nurse at NYU Winthrop. Marsella helps with Friends Who Give in New Hyde Park and was “touched” by the delivery of snacks to the hospital. “It was amazing to find out that Lea was doing this,” she said. “It brings a smile to my face and that’s important because there is not a lot of smiling going on in hospitals right now.” Marsella added how grateful she and her colleagues were for the donations “At night there’s not much to choose from when it comes to food,” she said. “To come in and see this food, all you can is thank you.” Heckelman said the response from residents has been heartwarming. “We were put on this earth to do good things,” she said. “What we’re all doing such as donating masks to medical workers are all wonderful things that come from the heart.” For more information on Friends Who Give, go to https://bit.ly/3e92Xty.

Courtesy Lea Hennelly

lea hennelly Began collecting donations to give to hospital workers on March 28. She received more than $3,500 in donations and then bought nearly $800 worth of snacks.

By Mike SMollinS msmollins@liherald.com

Armed with a camera, Island Park resident Nicole Gubelli is making a difference while urging others to pay it forward. With most people unable to leave their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gubelli is visiting homes and using her passion for photography to organize photo shoots for residents in Oceanside, Island Park and Long Beach — from a safe social distance. She is not asking for pay, but requesting that those she photographs pay it forward with nice gestures or donations of their own. “My whole thing is to really just create a trickle-down effect,” Gubelli said. “My hopes were that by me doing something good, everyone would then pay it forward.” Gubelli calls her effort the Front Porch Project, which is based on the Front Steps Project, a national initiative in which photographers take pictures from a distance. Since beginning her project last month, Gubelli said, she has Photos courtesy Bella Voyage Photography photographed more than 50 families, iSland Park reSident Nicole Gubelli has been lifting families’ spirits by organizing photo shoots at their homes from a safe social and people have donated to several distance. Above, Dana Rush, second from right, with her children, Bella, left, and Hunter, and her parents Michelle and Robert Khoury. causes that are meaningful to them and have purchased food from local restau- couple was set to wed in Key West, Fla., though they rants for front-line medical workers, on April 4, but had to cancel their wedhad to postamong other good deeds. ding because of the virus. Gubelli came pone their Gubelli shoots a few days per week over to the couple’s home and photowedding on from 4:30 p.m. until sunset. She goes to graphed them on what would have been April 4, Rubie residents’ homes, leaves her car run- their wedding day. Rush watched the Lubold and her ning, hops out and spends about five session from her car and brought flowfiancé, Mike minutes taking photos from ers for the occasion. Finck, had their the street or sidewalk before “I was so emotional,” photo taken to retur ning to her car and Rush said. “Nicole is like a sending the shots to the fammark the occashining light throughout ilies digitally. sion, along this darkness.” D a n a Ru s h s a i d t h at Finck wore a suit and with Lubold’s Gubelli photographed her Lubold wore a white dress, children, Maya family last week, and they while her children from a and Charlie. were excited to have a disprevious marriage, Maya traction from all that’s hapand Charlie, also dressed up pening. Rush said Gubelli for the occasion. The couple dana ruSh took pictures of her, her is expecting their first child children, Bella and Hunter, Resident together in late July or early and her parents, Robert and August, and plans to web on Michelle Khoury. Michelle, 71, is a nurse March 27, 2021, which is Rush’s birthat Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, day. and Rush said the photography session Gubelli said the wedding photo sesprovided her with a nice distraction. sion was one of the highlights of her Michelle and Robert’s home was heavily project so far, and that she also had a damaged during Sandy, and Michelle is shoot in Long Beach, where a family put a breast cancer survivor, Rush said, and together art packages for children to the coronavirus is just the latest obsta- pay it forward by giving them a project cle for them to avoid, so the photo shoot to complete while they’re stuck indoors. chance to get dressed up and a reason to being photo g raphed are asked to kept their spirits up. She also photographed a surprise 25th put on make-up and get ready again. visit bellavoyagephotography.com and “My mom was like, ‘Oh, it will be so social distancing birthday party for “It’s giving them a purpose to get up and fill out a form, which asks them their nice to get dressed up,’” Rush said. “We Saige Amoruso, who works as a nurse at feel a sense of normalcy,” she said, contact information and to answer quesgot to get out of the house and get some Long Island Jewish Medical Center in “opposed to this crazy routine that tions, such as why they love their comfresh air while taking pictures.” we’ve become accustomed to the last few munity and how they plan to pay it forValley Stream. Rush said she paid it forward by ward after she takes their photos. GubelWith word spreading about her initia- weeks.” dressing as the Easter Bunny and driv- tive, Gubelli said, she has received more Gubelli’s mother, Darlene, inspired li has put each photo shoot into a coling to her daughter’s Brooklyn Avenue than 100 inquiries. her to become a photographer because lage on her website. School in Valley Stream to shoot a video “I was raised in a household with “My whole thing is, I want it to be un- she is an artist in her spare time and that she sent for families to enjoy, and posed,” she said. “I want it to be real taught her the basics growing up. Gubel- strong family and community values,” donating candy to cafeteria staff at the and the raw of the day-to-day life that li developed her company, Bella Voyage Gubelli said. “Just seeing the smiling school. She added that she has been we’re facing.” Photography, in 2017, and has been a faces and the joy that is coming to the brainstorming some more good deeds to Gubelli said she has also had photo part-time professional photographer for families when they see these photos, it’s perform in the near future. shoots with three expectant mothers three years on top of her full-time job as been so rewarding. Hearing the stories Rush also used the Front Porch Proj- who had to cancel their baby showers. a procurement specialist for the New about how they’re going to pay it forect to lift the spirits of her friend, Rubie She noted that many residents have York City Transit Authority. ward, or how they already have been, Lubold, and her fiancé, Mike Finck. The expressed their gratitude for having a Families or individuals interested in for me, that’s been the reward.”

icole is like a shining light through all this darkness.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Island Park photographer spreads hope

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

State approves closure of boardwalk continued from front page the health and safety of our residents.” “The Long Beach City Council took the steps required by due process and law to legally close the Boardwalk,” McQuade wrote in his letter. “I commend them for acting reasonably and responsibly, as I fully knew they would do. The case was amicably settled with minor tweaking of the legal requirements to properly close the Boardwalk, which took mere days to resolve after the suit was filed. Reopening the Boardwalk was never even the prime goal of the suit, much less the only goal.” He added, “The suit was a correct legal request to conform to law, to which the City agreed, which actually will make the Boardwalk closure even more protected from legal claims in the future that could compel its forced reopening. No money damages were ever considered much less requested. The principle was due process of law, the resolution simple and without expense, and the result is a proper Boardwalk closure. Honest people can disagree in important matters such as civil liberty, due process of law and public safety. Civility is the catalyst of listening and learning and sculpting strong and legally-consistent policy for the future.” The boardwalk was closed in late March after city officials said it was crowded with people who were not following social distancing guidelines. The structure is an iconic feature of the city, attracting thousands of people on summer weekends. It is also used year-round by walkers, joggers and bicyclists. There are now only two ways to access the beach near the boardwalk, one entrance at New York Avenue and another at Pacific Boulevard.

Christina Daly/Herald

A Long BeAch attorney filed a lawsuit against the City of Long Beach to reopen the boardwalk, which was closed last month, officials said, because people failed to adhere to social distancing.

Presents

FREE WEBINAR

April 20 • 10:00 am Crisis Marketing & Survival Strategies For Businesses With so many daily uncertainties, we are all asking ourselves tough business questions — especially with regard to survival, cash flow, and marketing. Your partners at Herald Community Newspapers have asked Emmy winning marketing expert Ryan Dohrn to share 10 MARKETING SURVIVAL STRATEGIES to help you survive COVID-19 business challenges and hopefully thrive when this crisis subsides. This webinar is offered at no cost as a value-added benefit to our business partners like you. Can’t make it live? No problem. Sign up and we will send a link to watch the replay.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Hempstead Town Is Here For You! During this challenging time, we want residents to know that employees and the Town Board are working hard to keep your essential services running.

NEED HELP FROM A TOWN DEPARTMENT? Email the following departments at: Building Department:

tohbuildingquestions@tohmail.org

Town Clerk’s Office:

tohtownclerkquestions@tohmail.org

Tax Office:

tohtaxquestions@tohmail.org

Parks Department:

tohparksquestions@tohmail.org

or call (516) 812-3600

For a list of other department email addresses, please visit hempsteadtownny.gov/directory

STAY CONNECTED • For email updates: hempsteadtownny.gov/townnews-mailing-list • Swift 911 emergency notifications: hempsteadtownny.gov/ emergency-services/ swift911-emergency-notification • Facebook: @hempsteadtown • Twitter:

@hempsteadtown

• Instagram: @hempstead_town

Have Questions About COVID-19? Join Supervisor Don Clavin, Councilman Anthony D’Esposito and Dr. Dave Neubert for three Facebook Live sessions:

Friday, April 17 at 2 p.m. Monday, April 20 at 2 p.m. Friday, April 24 at 2 p.m. IMPORTANT COVID-19 RESOURCES:

JOIN US!

New York State (NYS) Coronavirus Hotline .........................................................................(888) 364-3065 New York State (NYS) Coronavirus Website .................................................... coronavirus.health.ny.gov Nassau County Coronavirus Call Center .............................................................................(516) 227-9570 CDC Coronavirus Disease Hotline ........................................................................................(800) 232-4636 CDC Coronavirus Disease Website ...................................................................................coronavirus.gov NYS COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline ..........................................................................(844) 863-9314

Supervisor

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Don Clavin

Kate Murray

Council Members Town Clerk Dorothy L. Goosby • Bruce A. Blakeman • Anthony P. D’Esposito Jeanine C. Driscoll Dennis Dunne, Sr. • Thomas E. Muscarella • Christopher Carini Receiver of Taxes

Ten Years as a Best Community for Music The Long Beach Public Schools have been recognized by the NAMM Foundation as one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music Education, marking the tenth year that the district has attained this designation. The honor represents outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students. The BCME title indicates that Long Beach is leading the way with learning opportunities as outlined in the federal education legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act, which recommends music and the arts as important elements of well-rounded education for all children. According to the NAMM Foundation, research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music. After two years of music education, research found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores that their lessinvolved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically-trained children that in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as chil-

Courtesy Long Beach Public School

Long Beach PuBLic Schools have been recognized by the NAMM Foundation as one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music dren show stronger neural processing of sound; young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to

mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism. More than 1,600 students participate in the district’s 36 bands, orchestras and cho-

ral ensembles. Long Beach High School presents students with further musical experiences such as guitar and IB Music courses, as well as the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Spread the news(letter) not the virus!

THE ANIMALS ARE DEPENDING ON US TO BE HERE FOR THEM... CRISIS OR NOT

Stay up to date with the latest Nassau County news. Sign up for an online account at www.liherald.com to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox.

North Shore Animal League America is facing critical challenges during the coronavirus pandemic – but that will never change our NO-KILL PROMISE to care for homeless dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens.

PLEASE DONATE A GIFT TODAY Give what you can to help us through this emergency. We must continue our mission to rescue; provide shelter, medical care, and nourishment; and adopt out homeless pets during the COVID-19 crisis.

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YOU CAN SAVE THE LIVES OF INNOCENT ANIMALS NOW. VISIT animalleague.org or CALL 516-883-7575

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

What you need to know today.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

UNFORTUNATELY, ORTHOPEDIC PAIN DOESN’T STOP IN A CRISIS.

With our new on-call only model, neither does the opportunity to receive care. Balancing the need to be there for our patients with the health and safety of our staff and community, we’re temporarily becoming an “on-call” practice – offering both in-person and telehealth visits – for those experiencing orthopedic pain. If you think you have an orthopedic issue that can’t wait, call Orlin & Cohen and a member of our team will work with you to assess whether you need immediate attention. It’s a new, creative approach to our practice: Because in this crisis, protecting each other should be everyone’s top priority.

In light of this broad accessibility to our services and for everyone’s safety, we are suspending our Merrick after-hours and weekend walk-in clinic for the duration of the crisis.

On-call orthopedic care by appointment only! Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Call for your care needs assessment:

Nassau: 516-536-2800 Suffolk: 631-706-2800

Stay safe!

Rockville Centre Lynbrook Merrick Cedarhurst Garden City Massapequa Woodbury Melville Bohemia Smithtown Port Jefferson Riverhead Southampton Port Jefferson Station

OC743_PrintAd_OnCall_10.25x12.75_4C_Herald.indd 1

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orlincohen.com

4/10/20 2:19 PM

$500,000 IN GRANTS AVAILABLE NOW TO LOCAL BUSINESSES

SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING GRANT

Apply for your share of the $500,000 marketing grant available to assist locally owned businesses.

STUART RICHNER Publisher Herald Community Newspapers

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. We are a small business ourselves, so we understand the pain that small business owners are going through right now. We at the Herald want to do our part to make sure that members of our small business community can continue to promote themselves during this trying period.”

Herald Team

WHO For all locally owned and operated small businesses on Long Island that have been negatively impacted by coronavirus.

WHAT A $500,000 grant program to support local small businesses. Each local business is eligible to receive up to $15,000 of matching grant funds, which can be used for Herald Community Newspapers print, digital and direct mail products in April through July 15, 2020.

WHERE Apply at www.liherald.com/grant.

WHEN Applications will be accepted until April 30, 2020 or until maximum grant funding has been distributed. Businesses will be contacted within two business days of submitting their application.

WHY Studies show that businesses that continue to market themselves during down times are the ones that fare the best long-term. This grant program will allow Long Island small businesses to continue promoting themselves and any new services they are offering during these unprecedented times.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: • Every dollar that a grant recipient spends on marketing in Herald products will be matched with a dollar of grant funding, up to the award amount, to be applied towards marketing costs. • Businesses must be locally owned and operated. • Grants range from $300 to $15,000. • Grants can be applied to any Herald Community Newspaper marketing product or service during April through July 15, 2020. • Grants applied to direct mail products are net of postage/mailing costs.

RHONDA GLICKMAN VP Sales

LORI BERGER Sales Manager

rglickman@liherald.com

lberger@liherald.com

ELLEN REYNOLDS Sales Manager

AMY AMATO Executive Director

ereynolds@liherald.com

aamato@liherald.com

COURTNEY MYERS Media Consultant cmyers@liherald.com

For more information call Rhonda at 516.569.4000 ext. 250

APPLY TODAY AT

WWW.LIHERALD.COM/GRANT

A Special Collaboration With The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Animals along ‘slaughter alley’ get a rest

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com

Everyone is looking for silver linings in these dark days as the Covid-19 virus cuts an inexorable swathe through the county. For the local fauna, human sheltering in place is very, very good news. Tens of millions of animals are killed along New York’s roadways each year. Clearing away the roadkill is the responsibility of several state and local departments, according to media spokesman Stephen Canzoneri, of the state Department of Transportation. “It depends on who owns the road,” he said. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has its hand in as well. But since traffic has come to a virtual standstill, roadways like the Wantagh State Parkway, normally a “slaughter alley” for animals and humans alike, is almost entirely clear of the sad carcasses of animals that tried unsuccessfully to get to the proverbial other side of the road. In one recent afternoon cruising up and down one of the most destructively lethal sections of the parkway, only one animal carcass was seen. From its desiccated appearance, it had been there for some time. No agency keeps exact records of the total number of animals killed along Nassau County’s roadways. Nationally, though, an estimated 10 million deer

Courtesy Jon Katz PC

A gAgglE Of geese got lucky as it crossed the road. meet their demise at motorists’ hands each year, according to Maria Christina Lalonde, in an article for Wide Open Eats, an organization that seeks to educate on a variety of noncommercial dining opportunities. Harvesting roadkill for food is legal in 27 states, including New York — with a permit. “Animal rights activists and foodies alike hail roadkill as one of the most

ethical and environmentally friendly meats,” Lalonde proclaimed. “Advocates point out that these animals were not raised or killed for food, and argue [that] letting people harvest roadkill makes use of a valuable free-range protein source that would otherwise go to waste.” “Roadkill is free of the antibiotics, hormones, and growth stimulants found in factory-farmed meat,” Lalonde wrote.

? N E ʼ P O S T HA

“And many roadkill species — including elk, deer, boar, and certain game birds — are pretty darn tasty, and sell for quite a bit when farm-raised, packaged and offered in stores.” Lalonde would be more likely to find raccoons, squirrels, Canada geese and various species of house pets along Nassau’s roadways. In any case, those animals have caught a break — for now.

Let Your CommunitY Know!

FREE Online Business Directory liherald.com/whatsopen

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List your business’ status and find out information about other local businesses.

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Now What? Uncertainty looms as we reach the Apex On Monday, April 13 Gover nor Cuomo expressed that if we continue on our course, New York may have reached an apex of the pandemic. This outlook is positive, and considering all the grief, stress and heartache that we have felt and continue to feel, this positive outlook is a good thing. Yet, this doesn’t mean that things will go back to normal, or to our new normal. People are still getting sick, and sadly many are still dying. Our healthcare system has a better grip on the surge and capacity, yet there has not been a widely acce pted effective course of treatment. Our scientists, doctors and health care workers are continuously attempting different treatments to help save lives. This is both physically and emotionally straining. The perseverance of our frontl i n e wo rke r s h a s b e e n extraordinary, and as a community and society, we need to continue our part am as well. There are multiple stages or phases to pandemics; the first is containment to try to slow the spread so that it doesn’t enter into communities. We are beyond that point. We are currently in mitigation against the community spread. This can be identified by our social distancing measures, wearing masks or facial barriers, and the temporary closure of the non-essential businesses and services. But we can’t be in this phase forever, at some point we need to assume our new normal. The new normal will include a period of containment until a vaccine is proven and tested. The concern is that if the next steps are implemented improperly or are premature that we may have rebound effect. The conversation for considering how to initiate the “new normal” has already started at the federal, state and local levels. The implementation will be challenging to say the least, and seeing what will work will be dependent on the analysis of the interventions and tracking of the data. The focus on test-

ing for the virus and antibodies for reintegration has already begun. During this time we should continue to practice the mitigation efforts and have faith that the treatment plans are increasing in effectiveness. Handwashing and social distancing continue to be on the forefront of our tactical successes. As we continue forward the intention is to be on the downside of the plateau and for it to continue downward till a vaccine is in place. We all need to continue to do our part to help save lives. Our front line healthcare workers are doing everything in their power o n t h e t re at m e n t s i d e. Regardless of how you title it, “stop the spread” or “flatten the curve”, the community’s actions are essential to gaining headway against COVID19. We all know the saying that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, and now more than ever it into is being realized. We are weeks into the NY Pause mandates, and many of us have been home for much longer. Some of us don’t have that luxury and have been serving on the frontlines. Sadly there are still many who are fighting for their lives, or have lost the battle. As we engage the next steps of this pandemic, we are filled with uncertainty. How will our next days, weeks and months pan out? One thing is for sure, is that we all need to do our part. Stress and fear are high, but please don’t act out. Care for one another as if you don’t have a guaranteed future. Help others navigate through the stressors of the pandemic, and don’t be too proud to ask for help. The road ahead does not have a clearly outlined path, but together we can make the best of it.

guest column

Lt. Sam Pinto is a career firefighter, paramedic, nationally certified fire instructor, and certified fire and life safety educator. He can be reached at SPinto@iaff287.org.

Public Notices

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LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT. NASSAU COUNTY. L&L ASSOCIATES HOLDING CORP., Pltf., vs. KATHLEEN O’LEARY, et al, Defts. Index #608995/2018. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale dated March 21, 2019, I

will sell at public auction on Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 11:30 a.m. in the Calendar Control Part (CCP) of the Nassau Supreme Court, 100 Supreme Court Drive, Mineola, NY prem. k/a District 28, Section 59, Block 138, Lots 26-27. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed

judgment and terms of sale and the right of the United States of America to redeem within 120 days from the date of sale as provided by law. MICHAEL VENDITTO, Referee. LEVY & LEVY, Attys. for Pltf., 12 Tulip Dr., Great Neck, NY. #98531 12114

PUBLIC AND LEGAL NOTICES… Printed in this publication can be found online. To search by publication name, go to: www.mypublicnotices.com TO PLACE AN AD CALL 516-569-4000 x 232

Christina Daly/Herald

Long Beach LiBrary offering a variety of online programs.

Upcoming online events at Long Beach library The Long Beach Library has adapted to the Covid-19 outbreak and has begun serious online programs to keep the community engaged. Visit the library’s website for links to the Zoom meetings and more information. This week’s programs include:

Friday, april 17 Chair Yoga The essence of yoga is to serve, love, give, purify, meditate, and realize. This virtual Chair Yoga class will focus on a full-body practice from head to toe and will help strengthen your nervous system and reduce stress and stiffness. Kathleen Regan has been practicing yoga since 1993. She is certified in Hatha/Raja Yoga and is a certified Kundalini instructor. The class is from 9-10 a.m. Time for Kids Story Activity Join Miss Isabella from 10:30-11 a.m. with this Story Activity. The theme is: Pincer Grasp Suggested materials: ■ Kitchen toaster tongs or tweezer ■ Cotton balls, pom-poms, or small items ■ Musical instruments or two spoons Discussion with Small Business Attorney Borruso Law, P.C. Things are changing rapidly for small businesses in this new economic climate. Join small business attorney Brittney Borruso P.C. from noon to 1 p.m. for a discussion about what’s going on with small businesses and what the future might hold. Friday Movie Discussion: 400 Blows Join the library staff for our Friday Movie Discussion! This week they’re watching the film 400 Blows, which is freely available through Kanopy. So watch the movie for free using your Long Beach Library card, and then discuss the film on Friday from 1-2 p.m. Drawing Club for Kids Grab some paper, pencils, pens, mark-

ers, or crayons and join Miss Tanya on Zoom for an online version of our informal Drawing Club from 1:30-2:30 p.m. No events over the weekend

Monday, april 20 Molly Mouse Family Time Join your friend Molly Mouse in a one time class for the family on Monday, April 20 at 11 a.m. Board of Trustees Meeting The Long Beach Library Board of Trustees will meet virtually on Monday, April 20 from 1-3 p.m. Contact Library Director Tara Lanner-Stanton at (516) 4327258 or by email at director@longbeachlibrary.org. Craft Demo: Wire Weaving Join librarian Mary Aileen Buss as she demonstrates the art of weaving colorful aluminum rings into a pendant from 2-3 p.m.

Tuesday, april 21 The Long Beach Diaries: Share Your Experience Long Beach Library is collecting and building a record of the community’s collective experiences through this worldwide pandemic. If you’re interested in local history, please join librarian Eileen Pollis in this new weekly program where we’ll talk and share how COVID-19 is affecting our lives. Share your thoughts with writing, photos, recorded audio or video. The program starts at 2 p.m. Late Parent Survival Chat Put the kids to bed and come unwind and chat with Nicole and Jeannine, librarians and parents trying to navigate life at home with kids, work, and life...six feet apart. We’re hoping you need this as much as we do! Wine welcome.

By TIMOTHY DENTON denton@liherald.com

Courtesy PSEG Long Island

Osprey cams offer respite from Covid-19 PSEG Long Island has installed two webcams to offer a peek into the daily lives of local ospreys. Employees work throughout the year to balance PSEG Long Island’s commitment to deliver power for its customers with its commitment to being a good environmental steward, utility officials said. Providing a safe nesting area for the osprey away from vital electrical infrastructure helps PSEG Long Island maintain strong electric service reliability. Ospreys often use utility poles and transmission structures for nesting, which jeopardizes system reliability, causes outages and equipment. “The osprey have made a triumphant comeback here since the 1970s, and PSEG Long Island works to make sure that they can continue to flourish,” said Dan Eichhorn, president and CEO of PSEG Long Island. “Especially now, with so many of us remaining inside our homes for the sake of public health, these webcams offer a much-needed front-row seat to the comings and goings of these majestic

birds.” PSEG Long Island has installed 24-hour webcams at two of the nests that were relocated by line workers during the time of year when the birds are not raising young. The first shows a live feed of a nest in Oyster Bay; a second webcam has gone live from a nest in Patchogue. At the Oyster Bay location, the osprey pair returned late last month. Since the resurgence of the osprey population, PSEG Long Island and its team, with the guidance and support from environmental partners, have identified best practices for when to move a nest, and when to create alternative safer nest locations for the ospreys, utility officials said. PSEG Long Island workers have relocated two-dozen osprey nests to ensure the birds are out of harm’s way from high voltage systems. View the cameras online at https:// www.psegliny.com/wildlife/ospreycam.

ToH earmarks $40M for road improvements By J.D. FrEDA and TIMOTHY DENTON jfreda@liherald.com; tdenton@liherald.com

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Donald Clavin announced a $40 million stimulus package last week “in an effort to get people back to work once it is safe to do so.” Clavin said the money would be used for roadway improvements. With more than 1,200 miles of roadways in the town, the investment could “help workers recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, while enhancing quality-of-life and driver and pedestrian safety.” The town’s 2020 approved budget allocated roughly $150 million to fund the highway department and its various duties. Which new projects will be undertaken with the allocation remains to be determined. Some of the repair work has already

begun, according to Town Councilman Christopher Carini, whose district encompasses Wantagh and Seaford. Repaving the stretch of Beltagh Avenue between Forest Lake School and Old Mill Road began on March 23. “The road surface will be replaced, and, in addition, new concrete curbs, driveway aprons and handicap ramps will be provided,” Carini said. “Being near an elementary school, it’s an important improvement that will increase safety for residents. I look forward to its planned completion in the middle of May.” Clavin said the stimulus package represented a movement toward a return to normal life, following the Covid-19 virus. “This major capital investment symbolizes a significant step toward economic recovery … as we face the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic together,” he said.

As the wizards of finance begin to g rapple with the fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, it is clear that sales tax revenue — a major component in Nassau County’s 2020 budget — will drop off by at least 4 percent, according to a New York Association of Counties study. The study, cited in Moody’s Investors Service’s commentary on the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, estimated the loss “could punch a sizable hole of at least $50 million” in Nassau County’s 2020 budget, according to Moody’s Senior Credit Analyst Robert Weber. Because the county had already estimated a year-over-year increase of $33 million in sales tax revenue, the loss will likely be more than $80 million, or 2.5 percent of the budgeted general fund revenue for the year, Weber wrote. Citing the same NYAC study, however, Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman said the sales tax losses could be as high as $180 million, or 12.7 percent of the budget. “No one knows how long this will last or how deep the hole will be,” Schnirman said. The one bright spot was the strength of NIFA’s credit quality, Weber wrote. The authority is rated Aa1; Nassau County has a rating of A2

Courtesy Nassau Interim Finance Authority

ADAM BArskY, cHAIrMAN of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority since 2018. — still solidly investment grade. But NIFA’s higher rating will enable the county to borrow money at lower interest rates — critical in the coming recovery, Weber wrote. Finally, the 2021 budget for New York State includes provisions for restoring NIFA’s bonding authority. It also extends the Authority’s oversight of county finances to 2051 from 2025, enabling the county to continue to benefit from NIFA’s stronger credit.

Comptroller to launch study of post-Covid recovery to crisis-related expenses, the modeling is complex and challenging, he added. Schnirman said the Covid-19 crisis Nassau County Comptroller Jack more closely mirrors the economic Schirman announced late last week that downturn of 2008-09 than the aftermath his office will begin conducting an in- of Hurricane Sandy. “We need to know a depth analysis of the impact the Covid- range of potential impacts on county 19 virus has had on the counrevenues so we can ensure ty’s finances. The analysis essential government servicwill provide “a series of proes will continue unimpedjections on critical revenues, ed,” he said. so that Nassau can best preThe financial impact pare for recovery,” Schniranalysis will provide projecman said in a news release. tions of models relating to “Covid-19 is an unprecesales tax and various fees, to dented threat to the health project the county’s finanand safety of our communic i a l t re n d l i n e s i n t h e ty, as well as our fiscal months ahead, Schnirman health,” Schnir man said. said. Jack schnirman The difficulty in making any On the expense side, projections is that “we do direct purchases have not not know how long his will yet had a critical fiscal last or how deep the hole will be,” he impact relative to previous crises, said. because only a few million out of a Economically dependent sales tax “is multi-billion dollar budget have been key to plan for the immediate future” spent thus far, Schnirman explained. “It and what comes after that, Schnirman is the revenue side that will take longer said. Because revenue losses take longer to materialize and is of greater concern to materialize than potential increases at present,” he said.

By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Sales tax losses ‘punch hole’ in county budget

PsEG LONG IsLAND has installed two osprey cameras — one in Oyster Bay and the other in Patchogue — so people can watch the daily lives of these birds.

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his 11 Room, 2 story home is completely renovated, inside and out. Grand open living room with gas fireplace has custom cabinetry, shelves and archway to family room. This home boasts a beautiful formal dining room, eat-in-kitchen with Italian Carrera marble countertops, Thermador professional series appliances with oversized cast iron Kohler farm sink, Monogram Advantium micro/convection oven, double electric ovens, pantry, custom cabinetry including dishwasher and refrigerator, gas heat and 175’ deep lot. The bath-

Kevin Leatherman Real Estate Broker Direct Line: (516) 362-1828 | Client Text: (516) 271-2236 Leatherman Homes 25 S Village Ave. Rockvile Centre, NY

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rooms are high-end white and red onyx, Travertine flooring, paver walkway and driveway with power gates leads to 4 car garage used as 3 with 10’ wide doors. It also has brown wave stone, custom coco Andersen windows, barrel gutters and is professionally landscaped..A legal 2 family home with highest and best use as a single-family is located in the South Incorporated Village. a prime location for being in the heart of the village, just 3 short blocks to LIRR and in the Riverside Elementary School District Near All! $1,350,000. Taxes $18,529.50 © 2018 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All rights reserved. CENTURY 21® and the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. It is your responsibility to ensure that the marketing materials you choose or create are compliant with real estate and other local laws in your area.

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Interested in selling your home, buying, or investing? An experienced Realtor, former Baldwin High School Business Educator, & local resident for 35+ years, I’m an expert in helping people buy, sell, & invest in residential and commercial real estate on Long Island and in New York City. Contact me today for a free, confidential consultation and a free market appraisal.

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A. Unfortunately, no onte eeper one knows the answer to your question. We’ve heard many ideas from the medical community, but nothing is certain other than keeping a distance to avoid transmission. I just learned that I now have to stay at least 6 feet away from Bengal tigers as well. The theory and observation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health is that the coronavirus lives and multiplies in cooler and drier environments, and not as well in warmer, more humid environments. The rate of death has us all concerned for our safety and health. I’m beginning to hear of the deaths of people I either knew or who are related to friends, so it’s becoming more and more alarming as it becomes more personalized. I’m not sure what’s best in your particular circumstance, because absorbent finishes such as carpet, drapes and clothing require more effort to clean than hard flooring and furniture, for example. It is speculation, however, to think that these materials hold the virus longer than 24 hours, assuming that it is capable of latching onto surfaces, but people keep sending me bulletins about how it can live on hard surfaces, like metal and plastic, for that long. We can learn from the past, and 100 years ago, when the Spanish influenza struck, the equivalent of the surgeon general told the public, in the middle of winter, to keep their windows open. He believed that getting a breath of fresh air could keep the illness at bay. I can only tell you that it would have gotten pretty cold pretty quickly indoors. That’s the reason why, even for decades afterward, steam-fed radiators were so large and overdesigned — and why people regularly kept the windows open. Just under 30 million people died worldwide, and everyone knew of someone who was laid out in the parlor of their home, since funeral parlors were overburdened. In 1920, when the pandemic had ended, Ladies Home Journal made the uplifting suggestion that the parlor, a place of bad memories and sadness in the home, be renamed the living room. Room-unit air conditioners aren’t specifically made to filter viruses, so get some fresh air and keep a safe social distance.

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HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Keeping the coronavirus outside

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April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

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HERALD Established 1990 Incorporating the Long Beach Independent Voice JAMES BERNSTEIN Editor dARwIN yANES Reporter EllEN fRISch Advertising Account Executive OffIcE 2 Endo Boulevard Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: (516) 569-4000 Fax: (516) 569-4942 Web: www.liherald.com E-mail: lbeditor@liherald.com OffIcIAl NEwSPAPER: Long Beach Historical Society Long Beach City School District Long Beach Humane Society

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS Robert Richner Edith Richner Publishers, 1964-1987 ■ clIffORd RIchNER STUART RIchNER Publishers

Students, educators need to know what’s next

ew York City Mayor Bill de Blasio probably overstepped his authority when he decided late last Friday that he would keep the city’s 1,800 public schools closed through June, and he certainly bungled the decision politically. For starters, he didn’t tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo first — but he did tell Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, according to The New York Times. And when de Blasio did inform the governor, he did so by text. That led Cuomo to argue Saturday that only he has the authority to make such a decision, and he wanted to take a coordinated regional approach to school closings. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran immediately backed Cuomo, saying

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she, too, would like to see a regional approach. We agree. Lost in all the rhetoric, however, was an important point that de Blasio was making: He wanted to provide greater certainty to students, educators and parents about what they could expect over the next two and a half months. The governor has taken a wait-and-see approach to school closings, shutting them down two weeks at a time. We understand the need for such an approach. We shouldn’t be hasty in deciding to close the schools. Everyone wants children back in the classroom as soon as possible. That approach, however, leaves all parties involved in limbo, wondering what will come next. What educators and children need is certainty.

Right now, there is no coordinated approach to how schools should handle the state’s curricula, and so, statewide, we have a hodgepodge of approaches. Some districts are fully online, with regular teaching schedules. Others, citing privacy concerns, are not teaching remotely, but rather are emailing students their assignments. Many students — particularly those in low-income areas — don’t have computers and internet connections. The state must make a decision soon about the fate of this school year, and if the schools are to remain closed through June, there should be one plan for all that ensures children will continue learning during this trying time.

Don’t wait — fill in your census forms

pril 1, Census Day, came and went, but if you didn’t fill in your census forms, it isn’t too late to do so, and we urge you to complete them. With the coronavirus battering New York in every conceivable way — including financially — the state could use all the federal financial help it can get. The federal government uses census data to determine the number of representatives states have in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 435 House seats are apportioned based on the population of each state. The larger its population, the more seats a state receives — and the greater the voice it has in federal decisionmaking. The federal government also uses census data to distribute funding for pro-

grams like Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, a 2015 paper by the U.S. Census Bureau found that 132 federal programs used census data to distribute more than $675 billion in funds that year. Here’s the thing: If a state is underrepresented in the decadal census, then it receives fewer representatives and less federal funding than it deserves, and New York, by many accounts, is typically undercounted in the census. Now, not later, is the time to go online and fill in the census, or fill out the paper census you received in the mail and send it in. If you don’t, federal workers will swing by your home looking to count you and everyone who lives there. At a time like this, when a potentially deadly virus has spread among us, census workers shouldn’t have to do that when it

letters

Spring brings signs of hope To the Editor: New Yorkers are celebrating the arrival of spring differently this year and in their own way. Although we come from different faiths, the season brings a message of resilience, renewal and hope. Spring is a metaphor for positive change and rebirth. We can all agree that hope is more important now than it has been at perhaps any moment in the recent past. We are all facing unprecedented challenges and anxiety for ourselves and our loved ones. At this moment, our faith, our family and our friendships are more important than ever. This is the time for us to try to be the best partners, parents, siblings, friends and neighbors that we can be. As we take the time for spiritual reflection, consider what brings us together. The things we have in common, our shared love of family and community, are what will carry us forward. I wish every-

takes only 10 minutes or so to fill out the forms online. According to the Census Bureau, you should be counted where you are living and sleeping most of the time as of April 1. If you’re responding for your home, count everyone who lives and sleeps there most of the time. That includes young children, foster children, roommates, and any family members or friends who are living with you, even temporarily. If someone is staying with you because of the Covid-19 pandemic, however, they should be counted where they usually live. This includes college students, who should still be counted at school, even if they’re home early. If they live in student housing, the college will count them. If they live off campus, they should respond for their offcampus addresses.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Herald editorial

Long Beach

April 16, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

opiNioNs

No surprise: More blacks and Latinos are dying of Covid-19

ewly released data highlight major racial disparities in deaths from Covid-19, and it’s not surprising. It’s a reflection of the structural racism that has created an unequal foundation for so many aspects of life in America, including widely documented, underlying health disparities for African-American and Latinx people. It should move us to examine structural racism more closely, illuminate its impacts, and redouble our efforts to eliminate it. According to data released by the City of New eLaiNe York, black and Gross Latinx people are dying of coronavirus at twice the rate of white people. In New York state, excluding New York City, blacks account for 18 percent of deaths, despite comprising just 9 percent of the population. Fourteen percent of the deaths are Latinx people, who make up 11 percent of the population. In Michigan, according to The Washing Post, African-Americans account for 33 percent of Covid-19 cases and roughly 40 percent of deaths, despite comprising only

14 percent of the population. In Chicago, according to The New York Times, African-Americans account for more than half of those who have tested positive and 72 percent of virus-related fatalities, even though they make up a little less than a third of the population. Beneath these numbers are underlying health disparities for African-Americans and Latinx people. It is those underlying health problems that land people in the hospital and that lead to more deaths from the virus. Higher rates of infection for African-Americans are likely exacerbated by such factors as whether they can work from home, whether they work in “essential” services, whether they have routine access to health care, and how quickly they can get that care, among others. A study by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer found that 75 percent of so-called front-line workers in the city — grocery clerks, bus and train operators, custodians and child-care workers — are minorities. Those circumstances are a function of structural racism, not a function of race, which is a social construct. In considering these racial disparities, we shouldn’t confuse the two. We shouldn’t give credence to the idea that there is something inherently

different about African-American or Latinx people that makes them have higher death rates — other than the circumstances of structural racism. What we should focus on is this: How do we address the racism that has caused and continues to cause health and other disparities? That’s the question that rightly examines the impediments to racial equity that are leading to these racial differences in Covid-19 deaths. Structural racism is partly a function of conditions that are baked into our society: the effects of slavery, Jim Crow, redlining and other historic conditions. But it is also partly a function of ongoing activities. ERASE Racism’s own research, and a recent landmark investigation by Newsday, evidenced widespread, contemporary racial discrimination in real estate practices on Long Island, for instance. That discrimination continues to steer black and Latinx people to less-integrated communities with fewer resources, and thus to lessintegrated schools with fewer resources. Anecdotal evidence already identifies disparities in students’ access to distance learning. Some schools send students home with laptops, for instance, while others do not. Some schools provide students

hreequarters of the city’s nonemergency frontline workers are minorities.

Letters one a healthy gift of spring. THoMAS DINAPoLI New York state comptroller

Objects to town budget practices To the Editor: Covid-19 has unleashed a catastrophic financial crisis. our economy is shuttered, and it is uncertain when it will rebound. Leaders must make every effort to retain workers, but also to tighten spending. Shockingly, as municipalities across the country are doing just that, Supervisor Don Clavin and the Town of Hempstead Board gave $770,000 in promotions, raises and new jobs for party favorites on March 30. With unemployment in New York soaring 360 percent and more than 10 million Americans suddenly left jobless, with no income or health insurance, last week it was Christmastime in Hempstead. Clavin and Council members Anthony D’Esposito, Dennis Dunne, Tom Muscarella, Bruce Blakeman, Chris Carini and Dorothy Goosby gave away almost $1 million in taxpayer dollars to friends and family while they thought no one was looking. In an empty, debate-free meeting lasting 10 minutes, they doled out political favors while hardworking residents wondered how they would pay their bills. As 450,000 New Yorkers lined up for initial unemployment assistance, Clavin’s cronies, Hempstead GoP club leaders and their children lined up at Town Hall to collect unbudgeted raises and promotions.

Framework by Christina Daly

Compounding this outrageous and irresponsible betrayal was the March 30 vote to reduce the town’s fund balance by more than 50 percent. The fund is a rainy-day reserve to see the town through difficult times. Years of Nassau GoP patronage and irresponsible hiring practices, aggravated further by last week’s largesse, have led a financial structure in which payroll and related costs exceed 60 percent of the town’s budget. Couple this with the town’s debt burden, the new fund balance would not be sufficient to cover just two months of required payroll and debt service, not to mention utilities and other important expenses. At this meeting, there was no mention of how any of this might harm the unconnected rank and file. No one mentioned that the current town comptroller inflated revenue projections for 2020 — a concern that I raised during the budget process before Covid-19 hit. There was also no mention of shrinking mortgage recording tax fees, permit fees, recreation fees, a potential increase in health and pension costs, and potential decreases in utility payments from cash-strapped consumers. None mentioned how all of this might impact the town’s bond rating. This matters to residents, because when our bond ratings plummet, town costs rise, leaving fewer dollars for infrastructure and services. Not one board member mentioned Hempstead residents’ current pain before giving away their money. There was no voice of dissent speaking up for the rest of us. LAuRA GILLEN Rockville Centre Gillen was Town of Hempstead supervisor from 2018-19. Clavin, then the town tax collector, defeated her last November.

t’s with video-based instruction, while others to give them packets of material. New York cu state has left the details of remote learning gra to individual school districts, and that just amplifies the differences between the well- $2 trilli my tha resourced schools and those with fewer Alon resources. Again, structural racism is the determi- sures t help ke nant. The overwhelming percentage of black and Latinx students are in segregated and less-resourced schools, and are at a disadvantage now and, most important, in the fall, when they will most likely return to school behind their peers and the grade level standards. In 2018, ERASE Racism launched an ongoing regionwide public initiative called How Do We Build a Just Long Island? That’s exactly how we should approach this problem: How do we look at this data and together seek a just America — an America of shared action to disassemble structural racism. The coronavirus is creating a new future. Let’s create a future together that wasn’t does not accept the idea that these dispari- poses. P In N ties are unchangeable. Let’s take advantage of the light that Covid-19 is shedding shown on our society and come together to reflect ship. A that light onto a path to justice. It’s time to rus doe and Re work together as a nation and root out Con structural racism for good. econom period Elaine Gross is president of the Long our hea Island-based ERASE Racism. strengt unemp

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t’s good news that Congress was able to reach agreement on a financial rescue of our economy at a moment of grave national emergency. More than $2 trillion will pump oxygen into an economy that’s gasping for life. Along with the extraordinary measures the Federal Reserve has adopted to help keep businesses and financial institutions alive, the rescue legislation represents for our economy what respirators and ventilators are to those suffering from Covid-19 itself: a life-saving intervention to give them a chance to aLfonse survive. d’amato It’s particularly heartening that the legislation wasn’t held up for narrow political purposes. Partisanship has no place here. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has shown that kind of nonpartisan leadership. As he has pointed out, the coronavirus doesn’t play politics. It kills Democrats and Republicans alike. Congress didn’t play politics with the economic life of the nation, either. In a period of just three weeks, bills to help our health care system fight the virus and strengthen social safety net programs like unemployment insurance, Medicaid and

food stamps were sent to President Trump and signed into law. Language added to the rescue legislation provided greater transparency and accountability in the disbursal of $500 billion it set aside for loans to help American businesses meet their cashflow shortfalls and keep workers on their payrolls. The legislation stipulates that none of the funds can be used by corporations for stock buybacks or executive pay raises. And like the GMChrysler rescue bill passed during the Great Recession in 2008, the bill provides that once companies recover, they must repay as much of the money as possible. If more billions or even trillions of dollars are needed in the next few weeks or months to deal with this crisis, Congress should pass additional appropriations bills and send them to the president, who has signaled that he would sign whatever necessary spending legislation the lawmakers pass. That legislation should provide more help to state and local governments and our hospitals to help them meet the extraordinary costs they face. The ongoing emergency also presents Washington with a challenge to address some of the underlying problems the spreading virus has highlighted. America can no longer afford to be reliant on China

or other countries to produce drugs or medical equipment. That critical production must be brought home to America. Another thing this crisis has taught us is that the government and business can accomplish more when they cooperate in public-private partnerships. Witness how quickly our auto industry converted to the manufacture of desperately needed ventilators, and how the pharmaceutical industry is working with the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our academic research facilities to fast-track new treatments and an eventual vaccine. Cutting bureaucratic red tape has been central to getting these things done, and this flexibility should continue to guide government as we move forward. There are other areas where our government must take a new view. Our unemployment insurance system is proving woefully outdated when it comes to handling an unprecedented flood of jobless claims. Congress should look carefully at replacing unemployment insurance with employment insurance like that offered in Germany, where, in times of economic contraction, the government pays part of workers’ wages to keep them on company payrolls. We’ll also ultimately need to do some-

awmakers cut bureaucratic red tape to get people the help they need.

thing to assure that American workers’ health insurance isn’t interrupted by business downturns, and that they have adequate paid medical leave so they can stay home when they’re sick. The emergency bills move in this direction on both fronts, and that progress should continue. Our education system needs to learn a lesson from this crisis, too. Families have been getting a crash course in distance learning. In the future, our schools should fully embrace online education to allow students to more seamlessly do their schoolwork at home. That will require making sure that all students are equipped with the computers and internet connections they need. And for our higher education system, as I’ve said before, that also means discarding an outmoded teaching model that is bankrupting students with crushing debt and inadequate preparation to enter the workforce. When colleges and universities open this fall, they will face a drastically changed landscape, and they will need to change with it. The emergency measures Congress has taken are bold, life-saving ones that can help get our economy out of this emergency. America has stepped up to battle a crisis. Let’s keep it up. Al D’Amato, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the founder of Park Strategies LLC, a public policy and business development firm. Comments about this column? ADAmato@liherald.com.

Living through Covid-19, in bits and pieces

’ve been thinking about wagon trains; I’ll tell you why later. If I remember. Yeah, a serious side effect of the pandemic is definitely attention deficit disorder. It is increasingly difficult to focus and concentrate. Composing a sentence, which requires a grabby subject followed by a lively predicate, is challenging. Putting together 750 words is work. So I gave up. This week I will share the fragments that have been ricocheting around my brain. * * * My family is now the husband and me, and we seem to have shed RandI all the amenities of kReIss civilized life and regressed to our prehistoric roles. Example: He, the hunter-gatherer, risked his life this week to raid the local market in search of baking yeast. My hero. As the tender of the hearth, I decided to bake bread. Apparently, baking bread is an activity that fires all the endorphin receptors at once. * * *

I had a nightmare that dogs could carry the virus. That scenario would have terrible implications for Lillybee and all beloved pets. Real life is tough enough; why does the imagination offer up even more horrific iterations of the catastrophe? * * * How quickly we revert to basic survival mode. My friends and I are bartering: two rubber bands for a spool of thread, matzo ball soup for homemade muffins, hand sanitizer for a printer cartridge. * * * After years of railing against the dangers of too much screen time, my eyeballs are basically falling out of my head from looking at screens all day, my phone, my computer and my iPad all vying for my attention. * * * My husband has a bra on his face. It’s mine, and it’s nothing weird; we’re just following orders. We saw a website that explained how to make two masks from one bra, so I made the ultimate sacrifice and we now have two “brasks.” * * * There’s something about a global pandemic that flushes people out of hiding. I’ve been contacted by two long-lost rela-

tives, one I haven’t seen for 19 years and the other I haven’t seen for 27. They didn’t care if I was dead or alive for decades; now, suddenly, they want to say hello. * * * I’ve learned something about myself during this siege. I’ve always been fond of social distancing. I don’t mind time alone, and I don’t need to fill it up with phone calls or constant Zooming gettogethers. I’m composing a book about cooking through Covid-19 called “The Last Supper?” Everyone in the family is required to submit recipes and photos. I’ll trade you a copy for 5 Ziploc bags. * * * Our Seder was a table for two. We didn’t want to miss the fun part, so we hid the matzo (a Passover tradition) from Lillybee. She never found it, although it was hiding in plain sight on the carpet. This proves for all time that matzo is more cardboard than food. Lillybee can sniff out a peanut across the room, but matzo, not so much. * * * I stop in my tracks three or four times a day because I can’t believe something I’m reading or seeing in the news. There was the mother whose daughter had just died in her arms after contracting Covid-

19 while working in a nursing home. She had no protective gown. There were no masks. Then there was the doctor, a Kuwaiti refugee, who traveled on his own dime and at his own risk to work alongside the doctors in New York. He looked into the camera and said, “Don’t worry. We’re here. We’ll take care of you.” * * * I miss my kids and my grandkids, and I have no plans to see them. All these open-ended questions of contagion and immunity and pressing mortality preclude any planning at all. Enter the wagon train, last night’s epiphany. Our kids are out West. We won’t fly or drive in the foreseeable future. We aren’t great drivers, so an RV is out of the question. The obvious solution is to buy a wagon and a horse and rumble across the country in a convoy with other like-minded travelers. It could be OK. We could social distance. The only problem I can foresee is hitting the Rockies just as winter sets in. Come November we could get stuck in Donner Pass, and we all know how that ends. Copyright 2020 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — April 16, 2020

Congress steps up to battle the coronavirus crisis

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April 16, 2020 â€” HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS