Issuu

Long Beach

to all our readers of the Christian faith

HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach

infections as of Dec. 23

1,654

Community uPDate

infections as of Dec. 16 1,471

$1.00

Kaminsky donates toys

a Christmas message for l.B.

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DeCemBer 24- 30, 2020

Vol. 31 no. 52

Maurice Vegh dies at age 90 Holocaust survivor did not speak of his experience for years By James Bernstein jbernstein@liherald.com

In the bitter winter of 1945, then 15-year-old Maurice Vegh was among the prisoners rounded up by the Nazis and marched 400 miles, from the Auschwitz concentration camp, in Poland, to the Buchenwald camp, in Weimar, Germany. He had already spent two years loading and unloading coal at Auschwitz. Two years earlier, Vegh, his parents and his 11-year-old sister had been taken to Auschwitz. Almost immediately, mauriCe his mother and sister were killed in the gas chambers, after his mother would not give her daughter up to Nazi troops. Vegh and his father were separated, and never saw each other again. At Auschwitz, Vegh said in an interview with The Jewish Star in 2011, “Every day I woke up starving. We marched four miles to the coal mine, we worked 10 hours in the mine, and then

Courtesy City of Long Beach

lighting up long Beach The home at 25 December Walk was voted the all-around favorite house in Long Beach’s Holiday House Decorating Contest. A map of all of the contestants will be live on the city’s website until Jan. 1.

For the Nicholas family, a different Christmas this year By James Bernstein jbernstein@liherald.com

At the Nicholas house on East Pine Street in Long Beach, the Christmas tree is up. So are the lights and the decorations. But for this family of six, Christmas won’t be the same this year, because the coronavirus has been here. Mother, daughter and mother-in-law were all hit with Covid-19.

Amina Nicholas, 36, the mother of three girls and a boy, who works as a corrections officer at Riker’s Island, New York City’s overcrowded jail complex, was diagnosed in April. “I felt really sick for two weeks,” Nicholas said. Breathing was difficult, and she had a high fever, but was never hospitalized. She has recovered and is back at work, but attributes her illness to the rapid spread of the disease at the

jail. “A lot of people there were sick,” she said. “The inmates were sick, and we worked a lot of overtime.” Her 15-year-old daughter, Akya, a sophomore at Long Beach High School, was also sick, along with Amina’s motherin-law. They, too, have recovered. For the family, Christmas Day has always meant a big dinner, Continued on page 3

came back. Got another piece of black bread and coffee and went to bed hungry. In the morning, we got another black coffee and a piece of black bread, and we marched to the coal mine again. Week after week, until we went on the death march” to Buchenwald. D u r i n g re s t periods on the march, some were so exhausted that they sank into the deep snow, and were left there to die. At Buchenwald, Vegh was given a new job: putting dead bodies on a wagon and taking them to a crematorium. Vegh Liberation came in April 1945, when Allied troops broke through the barbed wire of the camp. “It was like looking at angels,” Vegh recalled of seeing American troops. He did not speak of the horrors of the Holocaust until he was nearly 40, his son Warren, of Long Beach, said. He began talking about his experiences

very day I woke up starving. We marched four miles to the coal mine, we worked 10 hours in the mine, and then came back.

Continued on page 3

Courtesy Johanna Mathieson

Honorees from tHe first annual Women in the Arts” Awards and Recognition Fundraiser Party.

Artists in Partnership, Inc. 4th Annual “Women in the Arts” event goes virtual The names from the nominating committee for Artists in Partnership, Inc.’s 4th Annual “Women in the Arts” Awards and Recognition Fundraiser Party were announced, the March date was set and the invitations were sent. Then the unthinkable happened, and the world as we knew it changed forever. Long running annual festivals and programs had to be cancelled in the interest of the health and safety of participants and performers. Plans to celebrate AIP’s 20th Anniversary throughout the year were abandoned until last month when it was decided that we all needed to have a bit of fun before 2020 took its final bow. So, on Monday, December 28th at 7:00pm we will be celebrating these two events and the public is invited to participate. The 2020 Honorees are extraordinary women who all have the same thing in common- a love and support for the arts, culture and for the community. The 2020 Honorees include: Lifetime

Achievement: Janet McLaughlin and Jean Zeigler; Artists and Community: Lisa L. Cangemi, Liz Degen, Lisa Engellis, Norah Finn Kelleher, Pamela Lewis; Business & Community: Christina Martin and Prisha Szachacz (Chop Shop), Angela Skudin (Codfish Cowboy), Vicky Bartko-Green (Petrey Realty); Rising Star: Keasia Dale; Healing Arts (NEW): Mindi Ilana Dovberg, “Kimberly Angela” Pierson. The $10 ticket for the event includes one $5 raffle entry for surprise baskets of goodies. The evening will include music and entertainment and messages from our legislators, supporters and community members. Proceeds from the event will help to support AIP cultural arts programs and events in 2021. Artists in Partnership, Inc. is a 501-C-3 Not-forProfit Cultural Arts organization serving Long Beach and neighboring communities since 2000. For information, tickets, raffles and sponsor ads, please visit our website at: www.aip-arts.org.

Courtesy State Sen. Todd Kaminsky

Kaminsky donates toys to Long Beach Auxiliary Police On Wednesday, December 16, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky was at the Long Beach Auxiliary Police Department Headquarters to donate toys and assist their annual toy drive on behalf of the Bob Sweeney Foundation. The toys will all go to the foundation, which works with children who have lost a loved one to terminal illness. Kaminsky, center, was joined by Lt. Anna Fatigati, left, and Cpl. Christoper Rio.

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Local family plans smaller gathering for Christmas

with at least six other relatives. This year, the only guest will be Amina’s twin sister, Aqila, who lives in Brooklyn. All of her children — Akya; Aneisa, 12; and twins Taurean and Alivia, 8 — will get presents on Christmas, but to mark the seriousness of the Covid era, Nicholas said, the gifts will be more practical this year. She bought the children books and “what they need,” in the way of clothing. Amina is often too busy to be sick. She works the night shift at Rikers and has a side business, selling natural hair products online (www.minniehaircare.com). But this illness was different. The fever knocked her off her feet, she said. Her husband, Taurean Nicholas, 35, said he would miss taking the children out for a while on Christmas Day, another tradition. The house, he said, will also feel a little emptier this year. “We’re just going to be missing some of the rest of the family,” he said. Akya also feels different this year. After her fight with Covid, she said, “I sometimes feel anxious to be around other people.” But her mother said the family has gained something, too. “The family got closer” after the illnesses, she said. “We appreciate things a lot more. This year, I talked to my kids about giving back. The biggest difference this year? I think it’s that we appreciate each other a lot more.”

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

continued from front

Christina Daly/Herald

three members of the Nicholas family recovered from bouts with Covid-19. They hope for a better new year.

‘It was all in his head and his heart’ continued from front only during the last six or seven years of his life. His family recounted those stories earlier this week. Vegh, 90, died last Saturday at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside. He had lived in Long Beach since 1971, and was involved in the Holocaust Committee of Long Island.

a life upended

He grew up in Rachova, Czechoslovakia, which was invaded in 1941 and occupied by Hungary. Vegh attended a Hungarian school until Nazi troops took many of the villagers to the death camps. “When he turned 13, he had his bar mitzvah,” said his son, Warren Vegh, a former executive director of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. “The whole village came out. He told me everything was great. A few months later, the Nazis invaded. The cattle cars came.” At Buchenwald, Vegh miraculously escaped almost certain death. At the barracks where he and other teenagers lived, a German officer came in one day and asked “who the Jewish boys were,” his son recalled him saying. “Nobody would give anybody up.” Suddenly, an air raid siren went off, disrupting the officer’s plans. The Allies were coming. The German troops stripped off their uniforms and tried to

dress as prisoners so they would not be shot by Allied troops. Russian troops later handed machine guns to the prisoners and told them to shoot the German soldiers, who were ordered to lie on the ground. “He wouldn’t shoot,” Warren Vegh said of his father. “He didn’t have it in him.” Vegh told his liberators he wanted to go to Prague. He learned that his father had been shot and killed by the Nazis. Soon after, he wound up in Scotland and then England, where he met a couple, Jack and Sylvia Gordon, who had two sons, but took him in as one of their own. At a dance in England, he met his future wife, Phyllis. They were married for 51 year. She died in 2015, at age 83. With the help of an uncle in the U.S., Vegh found his way to Brooklyn. He was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, and was supposed to be shipped to Korea, but his orders abruptly changed. He was instead assigned to Special Services, commissioned a second lieutenant and sent to Austria to search for former Nazis, his son said. When he would knock on doors there, his son said, a woman, usually, would call out, “Hitler made us do it.”

a new chapter

He went to a beauty school in New York, and worked at a beauty salon at Macy’s Herald Square, and later as a tailor for the Goodstein Brothers, highend clothiers in Manhattan. There he

rose to become the company’s controller. The Goodsteins later went into the real estate business, but rewarded Vegh for his hard work. They helped him financially, and in 1971 he moved to Long Beach, where he opened the Plaza Beauty Salon. Vegh also owned concession stands at the King David Hotel in Long Beach and at the Nautilus Hotel in Atlantic Beach. In 2014, his son said, he delivered a 90-minute speech on Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass.” On Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed nearly 100 Jews. Vegh spoke before about 300 people at a gathering in Long Beach. His son wanted to help him, and asked to see his speech. “He had nothing on paper,” Warren recalled. “It was all in his head and his heart.” In addition to Warren, Vegh is survived by two other sons, Robert, of Levittown, and Darrell, of Rockaway Beach, and seven grandchildren. He had recently become a great-grandfather. Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft, of Temple Emanu-El of Long Beach, stressed the importance of remembering Holocaust survivors. “When a Holocaust survivor like Maurice leaves us, it is an important reminder that there are fewer and fewer survivors and World War II veterans left,” Zanerhaft said. “We must honor their memory. That’s the legacy of people like Maurice.”

Courtesy Vegh Family

maurice Vegh, a survivor of the Holocaust, had lived in Long Beach since 1971.

What’s neWs in and out of the classroom

Herald ScHoolS

STEM explorers at Lindell Students at Lindell have been sharpening their science, technology, engineering and math skills with various lessons and projects that allow them to make discoveries and witness STEM concepts firsthand. Under the guidance of teacher Lisa Rundo, fifth graders learned that matter is made up of atoms and built atomic models out of craft supplies. They identified the nucleus, protons and neutrons and outer ring and gained an understanding of the periodic table of elements. Fourth grade students are studying Einstein’s scientific theory about energy. In individual stations, they participated in activities focused on types of energy types and transfer processes. Third grade classes observed African Clawed Frogs as part of their studies on life cycles. Students developed models to illustrate the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms and recorded data in their field notebooks. While learning about the properties of buoyancy, second graders sculpted boats out of clay to test the impact of factors such as density, mass and shape. This school year brought the addition of a STEM specialist teacher at each elementary school to enhance hands-on learning and innovation. The district will share more highlights as the school year continues.

Photos courtesy Long Beach Public Schools

news brief

StudentS at LindeLL have been sharpening their science, technology, engineering and math skills with various lessons..

New Recycling Schedule Due to global market conditions and changes to the city’s vendor agreement, the City of Long Beach will be switching to Dual-Stream Recycling beginning January 1, 2021. Residents and businesses will now need to separate paper and cardboard from glass, cans and plastic. In addition, City-wide residential recycling will no longer take place on just Wednesdays, but will instead be picked up by zones, with each zone being serviced once a week.

ProjectS aLLow StudentS to make discoveries and witness STEM concepts firsthand.

The City is actively working to secure funds for additional residential bins. Commercial recycling will continue to take place six days a week with alternating pickup days for each of the items collected. Residential and Commercial Sanitation Pickup will remain the same. Bulk pickup will take place by appointment only on Wednesdays. Visit www.longbeachny.gov/sanitation, for more information.

Long Beach

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LindeLL StudentS Practiced different science projects.

nd! la Is g n o L , s o b b a h S d Goo Friday Dec 25 Candle lighting 4:15 Torah reading: Vayigash

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Read about the Torah portion every week in The Jewish Star… along with professionally curated news and opinion from Israel, across America and around the world. No fake news.

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■ DISPlAY ADVERTISING: Ext. 249 E-mail: sales@liherald.com Fax: (516) 569-4643 The long Beach Herald USPS 005231, is published every Thursday by Richner Communications, Inc., 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Periodicals postage paid at Garden City, NY 11530 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send address changes to Long Beach Herald, 2 Endo Blvd. Garden City, NY 11530. Newsstand Price: $1 Subscription rates: $50 for 1 year within Nassau County. Out of Nassau County: $60 for 1 year. Copyright © 2020 Richner Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

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Residential Parking Permits Residential parking permits will go on sale at the City Clerk’s office on Monday, December 28. The City has preserved the $50 annual fee for these permits in 2021, a tremendous value when compared to the $200-$300 per month parking permits issued by condominiums and apartment buildings. After years of running at a significant annual loss, the City has made the difficult decision to discontinue residential parking at three private lots (not owned by the City). ■ The corner of Monroe Boulevard & Shore Road

in annual revenue. The lease cost just for these three lots is $150,000. In addition, the City incurs costs for all of its other residential parking. Continued City-subsidy of these parking spaces is not feasible given ongoing and anticipated budget challenges, city officials state. All lots listed below remain available for residential parking with permits. ■ Georgia Avenue & West Beech Street

■ The corner of Wilson Avenue & East Broadway

■ Connecticut Avenue & West Beech Street

■ The Northeast corner of Maryland Avenue & West Beech Street

■ Center Mall lot 700 Block of West Park Avenue (South Side)

Residential parking permit sales, Citywide, generate only approximately $50,000

■ Long Beach Boulevard & Walnut Street

■ Maryland Avenue & West Beech Street (SW Corner)

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great holiday is about. It’s about God’s proximity to us. It’s Who doesn’t remember the excitement about the fact that He comes to us. He learns our language so that we’ll underof decorating the home for Christmas? From picking out a tree, to decorating stand His truth. Christmas tells us that whether it’s the it, to setting up lights in front of the house...it really was, and still is, “The soldier who defends our freedom or the cop who calms our fear or the nurse who Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” I particularly remember the Nativity comforts our pain, they don’t do their selfwhich would be strategically placed less work alone. None of us is ever alone, because of under the tree. There was something Christmas. about those figures which So, when that eightwere placed in and around year-old placed his toy solthe humble stable. It was diers around baby Jesus almost mesmerizing. Espeand the animals in that stacially through the eyes and ble, maybe he got it right? imagination of a kid. I suspect for all of For an eight year old, it us, 2020 can’t leave us was hard to resist playing soon enough. It’s been a with them as if they were long, tough and, in some toys. In fact, it wouldn’t be cases, heartbreaking year. long before my matchbox The uncertainty that cars and army men someCovid 19 bought so much how joined the world of of our lives was beyond Jesus, Mary and Joseph. unsettling. From the perspective of Father Brian Barr I like certainty and I an adult, the image of St. suspect you do too. This Joseph driving around in a virus, in many ways, dump truck or a soldier herding sheep with the shepherds may brought certainty to it’s knees. Well...this much is certain. We are have seemed ridiculous, but from the pernever completely alone and that’s because spective of a child, it all made sense. I remember my grandmother telling of Christmas. Because of what happened in that stame that the Nativity set “wasn’t a toy,” and that I shouldn’t be mixing up my items ble 20 centuries ago. He’s ours for the takwith those around the stable. I understand ing. So...this Christmas...especially this what she meant, and, she was right, but on Christmas...take Him. another level, maybe she wasn’t? Without knowing it, maybe my mergFather Brian Barr is the pastor of the ing of the those two realities, the human Beach Catholic Parishes. and the divine, was, and is, what this

By Father Brian Barr

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

“A thrill of hope... a weary world rejoices”

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

events and activities

community update Ongoing

2pm on all things tech. They’ll discuss how to avoid digital scams, what companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Zoom are up to, and so much more. The virtual event will take place from 2-3 p.m. on Zoom, visit the Long Beach Library’s website www.longbeachlibrary.org for information.

Library Board Meeting The Long Beach Public Library Board of Trustees meets at the library, 111 W. Park Ave., on the third Monday of every month. For more information contact info@longbeachlibrary.org.

Covid-19 Food Pantry Distribution Center

Wednesday, Dec. 30

The Nassau County-supported Covid-19 Food Pantry Distribution Center, located at 650 Magnolia Boulevard, will be open every Monday from 12- 4 p.m. for those in need. The Pantry is sponsored by Long Island Cares, Inc., the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Families are welcome back monthly for food support.

Wednesday Film Discussion: Diana

Thursday, Dec. 24

Have you binge watched The Crown but still want more of the Royal Family? Join Library staff for this special Wednesday discussion of the film Diana (2013, Drama, 1hr 53min) which is available to watch on hoopla with your library card The virtual event will take place from 1-2 p.m. on Zoom, visit the Long Beach Library’s website www.longbeachlibrary. org for more information.

Christmas Eve

Cardio-Barre-Stretch

In observance of Christmas Eve, the Recreation Center will close at 3 pm. The Ice Arena, Magnolia Senior Center and YFS Day Care are closed.

Friday, Dec. 25 Christmas Day LB City Hall, Magnolia Senior Center, Rec Center, Ice Arena & YFS Day Care will be closed in observance of Christmas Day. There will be no YFS Holiday Care, no sanitation pick up, and LB Buses will be running on a holiday schedule.

Saturday, Dec. 26 Yoga for Health & Peace This advanced beginner Hatha yoga class is designed to strengthen and lengthen your muscles and free your mind. Instructor Stephanie Durso will guide you into each pose and provide alignment cues for holding the pose and breathing deeply. The virtual event will take place from 10-11 a.m. on Zoom,

Courtesy City of Long Beach

City of Long Beach Blood Drive The City of Long Beach will hold a Blood Drive on Wednesday, December 30 from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Senior Center, 2nd floor, 650 Magnolia Boulevard. Call (516) 478-5262 for an appointment. Walk-ins will be permitted, if capacity allows. visit the Long Beach Library’s website www.longbeachlibrary.org for more information.

Monday, Dec. 28 Strength Training & Ab Conditioning with Pat Cappeto This challenging workout is for active adults looking for a full-body workout.

We will target multiple muscle groups, from your arms and abs to your calves and thighs. The virtual event will take place from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Zoom, visit the Long Beach Library’s website www.longbeachlibrary.org for more information.

Long Beach Writers’ Circle If you’re a writer and want to join other local writers serious about the craft, then come the Library’s Writers’ Circle on

Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 29 Low-Impact Cardio with Lori Do you have questions about privacy or freedom of information? Have you heard of malware and ransomware but want to know more? Join Long Beach Library’s Tech Guy for a talk every Wednesday at

If you’ve never tried a barre workout before, get ready to stretch and tone like never before! Fitness instructor Barbara Weinberg presents this full-body workout combining barre-based sculpting, noimpact cardio, and stretching. Beginners welcome. No barre required. Bring a chair, a mat, and optional weights. The virtual event will take place from 10:30- 11:30 a.m. on Zoom, visit the Long Beach Library’s website www.longbeachlibrary.org for more information.

Ask the Tech Guy Do you have questions about privacy or freedom of information? Have you heard of malware and ransomware but want to know more? Join Long Beach Library’s Tech Guy for a talk every Wednesday at 2 p.m. on all things tech.

Friday, Jan. 1 New Year’s Day In observance of the holiday, City Hall will be closed. LB Buses Holiday Schedule. No Sanitation pickup.

l West End Winter Food Drive happening till Jan. 2 l Buses will be running on a holiday schedule on Christmas.

State announced the COVID Rent Relief Program will be reopened for application with expandl ed eligibility criteria. l Local restaurant owners can apply for a grant from the County Legislature. l All library locations will be closed on Friday, 12/25 and 1/1/2021

Town earmarks $5.5M in CARES funds for schools By AlyssA seidmAn

Alyssa Seidman/Herald Life

Town of HempsTeAd Supervisor Donald Clavin, at lectern, and other town officials on Monday announced an initiative to help reimburse local school districts that have incurred unbudgeted expenses during the coronavirus pandemic. The $5.5 million, made possible by funding through the federal CARES Act, will provide $150,000 to each of the town’s 36 school districts and Nassau BOCES. they need help with.” The announcement followed a string of similar initiatives by the town to use $133 million in CARES Act funding secured by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer earlier this year. According to Clavin, the money has also been used to provide: ■ $4 million to local hospitals. ■ $8 million to area colleges. ■ $4 million for Covid-19 testing initiatives.

■ $6 million for food pantries. ■ More than a half million dollars for local fire departments. ■ $3.5 million for PPE distribution to benefit small business. ■ More than a half million dollars to local villages. “We’re committed to see this money utilized in the town,” Clavin said. “Alba-

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Town of Hempstead officials on Monday announced that each of the 36 school districts within the town and the Board of Cooperative Educational Services would receive a $150,000 grant to help pay for coronavirus-related expenses. The $5.5 million allocation was made possible by funding through the federal CARES Act. Nassau BOCES Superintendent Dr. Robert Dillon said the funds are much needed. “School districts spent millions of dollars in preparation to open up schools [in] September,” he said. “This $150,000 gives them a little bit of a cushion to reimburse them for things they’ve already paid for.” Covid-related expenses include hardware and software to boost WiFi bandwith, Chromebooks, personal protective equipment, desk shields and partitions, cleaning supplies and virus tests. Town officials said the grant would help school districts to recoup these necessary expenses. Dillon said school officials in each of the districts would decide how the grants would be spent. “This pandemic has hit everybody in so many different ways . . . and our school districts are no strangers to it,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Donald Clavin, a Republican from Garden City. “Teachers are essential workers on the front lines trying to educate our children, and they have numerous expenses that

ny has mandated school districts to do testing, unfunded. They dropped the burden on our school districts, [which have] no money for it. It’s a recurring theme when I talk to superintendents on a regular basis.” Tow n C o u n c i l m e n A n t h o n y D’Esposito, Dennis Dunne and Christopher Carini called on state and county officials to work to bring more CARES funding to residents on the front lines of the pandemic. “We in the Town of Hempstead would love to give more money to the schools, and each and every school deserves a heck of a lot more than this,” Dunne said. “We’re doing what we can with what we have, and the state has over $4.5 billion that they have not given to the schools yet.” In a statement, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat from Baldwin, criticized the town for not allocating more money to school districts. “If the supervisor had not refused to reimburse $50 million for Nassau’s brave first responders who answered the call in the Town of Hempstead during the first wave of the pandemic,” Curran said, “or spent more than $50 million for new bathrooms, along with his sanitation budget and town’s general fund, then all of Nassau’s school districts would have received much-needed funding from the county and in greater sums. School districts are being thrown a proverbial bone at the very last minute when they deserved much more, much sooner.”

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

aseidman@liherald.com

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

Staying Local for College MODERATOR

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Officials to consider adjustments halfway through school year By Darwin Yanes dyanes@liherald.com

The Long Beach Public School District released the results of a survey on Dec. 15, which evaluated the current reopening plan and detailed recommendations for the second half of the school year. At a school board meeting in November, it was announced that the Reopening Task Force would return to evaluate and make recommendations for the second half of the school year. Staff members, students and parents were asked about subjects including safety protocols, online learning and transportation, among many other issues. In a letter to parents, Dr. Jennifer Gallagher, superintendent of schools, detailed the district’s efforts to make Long Beach schools as safe as possible. “Over 75 people, representing parents, teachers, administrators, BOE members, and community members participated in the meetings held on December 1 and 7,” Gallagher said. “As always, we are working every day to provide an excellent education for all students, and to keep all members of our community safe and healthy.” When asked if they were satisfied with the safety precautions taken by the school in reopening, out of about 1,900 responses, the responses were split among parents and about 20 percent were unsure. As for the staff, more than 80 percent of 636 responses said they were satisfied with the district’s safety precautions. Another question asked in the survey

was if parents were worried that their child would contract Covid-19 at the school. Out of close to 1,900 responses, more than half said no. About 34 percent said yes to the question and a little less than 15 percent said they weren’t sure. However, when the staff was asked the same question, out of 636 participants, more than 57 percent said they were afraid to contract Covid-19 at schools. More than 22 percent said no and the rest were unsure. The survey also provided a section where participants could add additional comments. Though many parents said they were happy with the district’s planning in the comment section, many lamented the loss of social events and interaction. About 81 percent of parents said they would send their kids back to school full time if the district tried to bring all kids back full time, the rest would opt for remote learning. After reviewing the data, the reopening task force made several recommendations including a further examination of remote learning practices, implementation of mentoring/ally programs in each building and staff stress-relief/mindfulness workshops and support, among many other recommendations. The report also states that once the infection rate in Nassau County drops to a level between two percent and three percent the committee will reconvene to discuss how they can allow all middle and high school students to return if desired. To view the full report, visit the district’s website at lbeach.org.

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You are not alone

hese are unprecedented times. We need to work extra hard to manage our emotions well. Expect to have a lot of mixed feelings. Naturally we feel anxiety, and maybe waves of panic, particularly when seeing new headlines. Our anxiety — while uncomfortable — can be bonding, especially if we manage it well. At the same time, we must make an effort to prevent panic contagion and create periods when we can be screen-free and calm, engaging our attention in normal daily activities. Seize opportunities to share lightness and humor. Laughter right now is a relief for all of us! You can also find moments of hope and resilience all around us despite the uncertainty. It may be helpful for you to make a list of what you can and cannot control right now. Mental health experts suggest radical acceptance of the situations we cannot control, and focus on what we can do. Stay physically safe from the virus In this case, the biggest safety behaviors (physical distancing and hand washing), which decrease transmission of the COVID-19 virus, are also an integral part of anxiety management. Stay home when you can. When outside the home, wash your hands thoroughly and frequently. To help us make the thorough hand-washing a new habit, try this: “Wash as if you just chopped up a jalapeno pepper (without gloves) and you now have to put in your contact lenses.” Don’t forget the sides of each and every finger, the back of hands, palms, the creases and nail beds, and the back of nails. Wash for at least 20 seconds — as long as it takes you to silently hum the Alphabet Song, Happy Birthday, or recite the Loving Kindness Prayer. If you are a speedy hummer, say it twice. Limit media to reduce anxiety By now you have heard this recommendation many times and there is research behind it: Watching or scrolling through the media makes us even more anxious. An excess of news and visual images about a traumatic event can create symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and poor health years later, according to research by UC Irvine’s Roxy Silver, Ph.D., and others. Try to limit Covid-19 media exposure to no more than twice a day (i.e. checking for updates in the morning and before dinner) and try to avoid news about Covid-19 before bedtime. Take a vow to not forward (and thus propagate) alarming headlines to friends and family. Get and provide warm, comforting, social support Find and encourage support by video, phone, or text. This is critical! Taking time to share your feelings and to listen and support others will go a long way. Talking with others who have our best interests at heart makes us feel safe. Use phone, video, text, or email. Fortunately these new highways of social contact are unlimited resources. More than just providing social support about the current crisis, it is a good idea to use these connections to talk about the things you normally would — host your book club online, for example — which can create feelings of connectedness. Host a dinner using FaceTime or Zoom so you can talk while you eat (and talk about some positive things, not just this crisis). Loving and caring for our pets can be phenomenal stress reduction for us too! Find ways of expressing kindness, patience, and compassion Be extra kind to yourself. This is a hard time for everyone. Humans across the world are sharing this experience with you. We are all in this together and we may all emerge with a renewed appreciation for our interconnectedness. Helping others in need is both critical to get through this well, and also creates more purpose to our days and well-being. Donate blood if you are able. The American Red

Staying in control in a world that’s out of control Coronavirus stress takes many forms but can be managed

Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this coronavirus outbreak. Eligible and healthy donors are strongly urged to make an appointment to donate and help ensure that lifesaving blood products are available for patients. Create new routines and keep practicing health behaviors Routine and ritual are restorative to us. Our brain wants predictable activity so we can relax our vigilant nervous system. Go to bed early and go outside each day to be active. Remember that our activities, thoughts, and mood are closely linked. If you want to change your mood, change your activities and/or your thoughts. Eat well Good nutrition helps our mood. Stress makes us seek comfort foods, and in turn high carbs and sugars impact our mood. Many population-based studies show that a Mediterranean diet has been linked to better mental health and stress resilience, whereas a junk food western diet is linked to depression and anxiety. Try to fill your home with fresh produce, frozen vegetables, and whole foods when possible. Work well enough from home Working from home may be new to you and can have its own challenges, especially in a small home with children. Don’t expect to have the same type of productivity as usual. We are all distracted and needing to cope with a different daily life now, while helping others. Reduce your goals for typical work that is not urgent, if possible. Here are some recommendations on how to stay focused and productive during work hours: Confine your workspace to a specific clear area in your home so your job doesn’t intrude on your personal needs. Use this same space regularly to work. This will focus your mind and increase your productivity. Control sound. Use noise cancelling headphones or earbuds, or use music or fans to create white noise. End the workday with clear boundaries. Put away electronic devices and work tools at the end of your workday and set clear hours in the day for work. Have a morning or evening check-in with a colleague or supervisor to reduce social isolation and provide structure to your day. Use video communications when you can. Seeing faces provides more social connection and information than just talking. Above photo: Covid-19 has disrupted our routines and made everyday activities, such as work and caring for loved ones, challenging. Those changes, on top of the general uncertainty around this pandemic, has resulted in increased stress even for those who are generally not prone to stress-related concerns.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives, from health and exercise to work, school, parenting and socializing. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), many Americans are experiencing considerable stress related to the coronavirus. While you can’t control the virus, you can take steps to control how you respond to it. Coronavirus-related stress takes many forms Covid-19 has impacted many aspects of our lives, so it makes sense that our reactions to it vary widely. Many people experience physical symptoms, such as headaches, digestive problems or muscle tension. Some may have problems sleeping or may sleep too much. Others may lose their appetite or overeat. Coronavirus-related stress can also have psychological effects. People whose income has been affected, for example, may be anxious about paying their bills or supporting their families. Working remotely and distance learning can take a toll on both adults and children who thrive on social interaction, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Depression and irritability are common reactions. If you don’t get a handle on your stress, you can raise your risk of more health issues. “When we’re stressed, our blood pressure goes up naturally,” says psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Brackin.“That puts you at higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke, or even developing cancer.” How to deal with stress The pandemic has left many feeling a loss of control over their lives. The usual routines have been disrupted indefinitely, and the future seems uncertain. Coping techniques help. Dr. Brackin offers some tips to help you feel more in control of your life and keep your stress level in check. Maintain routines. No matter what your age is, it can be helpful to create some type of structure in your day. If you exercised before work, for example, try to continue to do so. Have meals at the same time as you did before the virus. Try to maintain familiar routines for yourself and your family. Of course, there will be

some changes, but attempt to create normalcy where you can. Stay in touch. Social distancing requirements have significantly changed how we connect with our friends, coworkers and even our own family members. Except for those in your household, you probably aren’t seeing family as often as you used to. Children and teens may find it particularly difficult to be isolated from their friends and sports groups. It’s important to continue to find ways to connect with people when you can’t see them in person, says Dr. Brackin, such as scheduling weekly phone calls or meeting virtually on Zoom. Getting outside of the house can help relieve feelings of isolation, and spending time in nature has been shown to help reduce stress. Arrange to walk with a friend or get together in the yard while maintaining a safe distance. Get adequate rest. If stress makes it difficult to fall asleep or you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, take a look at your sleep habits. Avoid looking at your phone, tablet and other screens for an hour before you go to bed. Not only can texting, watching news videos or playing games stimulate your mind, the blue light from screens can interfere with sleep. Having a glass of wine may help you relax, but it can also disrupt sleep later. If you wake up and can’t get back to sleep right away, it can help to leave the bedroom and read or do something else relaxing until you feel sleepy again. Breathe. Any time you feel stressed, take a few minutes to practice deep, mindful breathing. Focusing on your breath can interrupt your body’s stress response, slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. Take a slow deep breath in for three seconds, hold it for a count of four, exhale for three seconds. Repeat this a few times until you feel calmer. “Mindfulness meditation is a wonderful intervention to give yourself a sense of peace, regardless of what’s happening externally,” says Dr. Brackin. Above photo: Pandemic-related stress affects people in different ways. It depends on age, coping skills, genetics, even a person’s financial situation.

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

Emotional well-being during the pandemic

NSPC surgeon performs cutting-edge epilepsy treatment at local hospital

Superfoods that can soothe your anxiety

eurosurgeon Brian J. About Neurological Surgery, Snyder, M.D., P.C. (NSPC Brain & Spine operated on a young Surgery) man suffering from refractory Founded in Freeport in 1958, seizures with a new deep brain Neurological Surgery, P.C. (NSPC stimulation (DBS) technique at Brain & Spine Surgery) has grown a local Long Island hospital. He to become one of the largest, implanted the Medtronic DBS private neurosurgical groups in the System for Epilepsy to reduce U.S. with seven conveniently the frequency of his patient’s located offices on Long Island, seizures. Dr. Snyder is a partner including offices in West Islip, and attending neurosurgeon Commack, Port Jefferson Station, with Neurological Surgery, P.C. and Riverhead. (NSPC Brain & Spine Surgery), The practice’s experienced Brian J Snyder, M.D. Rockville Centre, NY, and a neurosurgeons and interventional fellowship-trained, board neuroradiologists are experts in certified expert in “Bloodless” brain and spine neuromodulation, surgery for epilepsy, movement surgery, including laser spine surgery, endoscopic disorders, and refractory pain. spine surgery, ultrasonic spine surgery, radiosurgery, Known as bilateral stimulation of the anterior and other advanced minimally invasive techniques nucleus of the thalmus (ANT), the technique uses which are used to treat brain tumors, brain aneurysms, trigeminal neuralgia, herniated disc, electrical impulses delivered by electrodes placed in spinal stenosis, chronic back pain, and other critical portions of the brain to block the onset of conditions. Please visit www.nspc.com to learn seizures. The electrodes are powered by a battery more. placed just under a patient’s collar bone. Affecting nearly 50 million people, worldwide, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases. “Studies have shown,” observes Dr. Snyder, “that treatments such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) can reduce seizures in epilepsy patients for whom other therapies have failed.” An expert in 100 Merrick Rd., #128w, Rockville Centre DBS, Dr. Snyder has implanted more DBS systems on 516-255-9031 • nspc.com Long Island than anyone else.

We all know the important of eating well to improve our physical health, but the all-important superfoods can do wonders for a mental health as well. Recent research indicates that dietary changes may improve cognitive function and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders.

Oily Fish Numerous studies have revealed that “oily” fish like salmon, mackerel and trout promote optimal brain health. These fish contain high levels of the Omega-3 fatty acid DHA. The study, spearheaded by Professor Welma Stonehouse, at New Zealand’s Massey University, revealed that DHA-rich fish improved both short-term “working” memory and long-term memory in the 176 healthy adults who participated in the study. Findings also reveal that DHA is a key nutrient that has the power to actually prevent the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Other “oily” fish that are high in DHA include pawns and sardines. High levels of DHA are also found in certain shellfish, such as mussels.

phenolics and flavinoids, which have been found to cleanse the brain, eliminating the toxins that serve to inhibit an array of functions, including memory. According to a study published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers discovered that women who ate strawberries (and blueberries) saw a delay in the on-set of age-related mental decline. The study was performed over the course of 36 years. A total of 16,000 women took part in the study and it was discovered that the women who ate lots of strawberries saw a 2.5 year delay in the on-set of memory problems and the development of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Sage Sage is commonly used to add flavor to a wide range of different culinary dishes, but it also contains powerful antioxidants and compounds that are similar to those Sage has also been found to improve the “interconnectivity” among the different regions of the brain, which serves to improve comprehension speed, concentration and problem-solving speed. Improving memory isn’t the only benefit that sage offers; it also has anti-inflammatory properties and it’s high in Vitamin K (which is also known as a brain-friendly vitamin!)

Health memos are supplied by advertisers and are not written by the Herald editorial staff.

Tomatoes Lycopene-rich tomatoes have been found to help individuals maintain optimal brain health for longer, enabling their bodies to stave off the impact of damage that’s caused by free radicals, which progressively damage the brain over time, resulting in an age-related decline in mental capabilities. Tomatoes contain the antioxidant known as lycopene, has been found to combat free radicals, which would otherwise damage brain cells.

Broccoli Broccoli is high in Vitamin K, which has been found to enhance brain function. Vitamin K has been found to reduce your chances of developing age-related dementia.

Blueberries Blueberries, which are rich in antioxidants and compounds called polyphenolics, have been found to improve short-term memory and concentration, while also delaying the onset of conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies performed at Tufts University’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging have revealed that the antioxidants successfully cleared away toxins that had accumulated in the brain. These toxins inhibit brain functions, especially short-term memory, attention-span and concentration.

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December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

Feed your mind

HEALTH MEMO

Strawberries Like blueberries, strawberries contain poly-

Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc, which serves to boost your memory, problem-solving skills, and mental speed. They also contain niacin, which serves to enhance GABA activity in the brain (while also reducing LDL cholesterol levels); this results in decreased anxiety. They also contain lots of protein, antioxidants and essential minerals like copper, iron, magnesium and selenium.

Whole Grains Whole grains such as wheat and oats contain choline, which enhances the body’s ability to produce acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that improves memory. So you’ll enjoy a boost to your short-term working memory and your long-term memory when you eat plenty of whole grains.

What happened to ‘normal’?

uring the Covid-19 pandemic, surveys show a major increase in the number of U.S. adults who report symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression during the pandemic, compared with surveys before the pandemic. And for those already dealing with mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression, their emotional health can worsen. It’s important to learn self-care strategies and get the care you need to help you cope. Take care of your body: Be mindful about your physical health Participate in regular physical activity. Regular physical activity and exercise can help reduce anxiety and improve mood. Find an activity that includes movement, such as dance or exercise apps. Avoid tobacco, alcohol and drugs. If you smoke tobacco or if you vape, you’re already at higher risk of lung disease. Because Covid-19 affects the lungs, your risk increases even more. Using alcohol to try to cope can make matters worse and reduce your coping skills. Avoid taking drugs to cope, unless your doctor prescribed medications for you. Relax and recharge. Set aside time for yourself. Even a few minutes of quiet time can be refreshing and help to quiet your mind and reduce anxiety. Many people benefit from practices such as deep breathing, tai chi, yoga or meditation. Soak in a bubble bath, listen to music, or read or listen to a book — whatever helps you relax.

Take care of your mind: Reduce stress triggers Keep your regular routine. Maintaining a regular schedule is important to your mental health. In addition to sticking to a regular bedtime routine, keep consistent times for meals, bathing and getting dressed, work or study schedules, and exercise. Also set aside time for activities you enjoy. This predictability can make you feel more in control. Stay busy. A distraction can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression. Enjoy hobbies that you can do at home, identify a new project or clean out that closet you promised you’d get to. Doing something positive to manage anxiety is a healthy coping strategy. Focus on positive thoughts. Choose to focus on the positive things in your life, instead of dwelling on how bad you feel. Consider starting each day by listing things you are thankful for. Maintain a sense of hope, work to accept changes as they occur and try to keep problems in perspective. Use your moral compass or spiritual life for support. If you draw strength from a belief system, it can bring you comfort during difficult times. Set priorities. Don’t become overwhelmed by creating a life-changing list of things to achieve while you’re home. Set reasonable goals each day and outline steps you can take to reach those goals. Give yourself credit for every step in the right direction, no matter how small. And

recognize that some days will be better than others. Recognize what’s typical and what’s not. Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to the demands of life. Everyone reacts differently to difficult situations, and it’s normal to feel stress and worry during a crisis. But multiple challenges daily can push you beyond your ability to cope. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling helpless, sad, angry, irritable, hopeless, anxious or afraid. You may have trouble concentrating on typical tasks, changes in appetite, body aches and pains, or difficulty sleeping or you may struggle to face routine chores. When these signs and symptoms last for

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

Covid-19’s impact on mental health

several days in a row, make you miserable and cause problems in your daily life so that you find it hard to carry out normal responsibilities, it’s time to ask for help. Be sure to get help when you need it Hoping mental health problems such as anxiety or depression will go away on their own can lead to worsening symptoms. If you have concerns or if you experience worsening of mental health symptoms, ask for help and be upfront about how you’re doing. Above photo: Worries and anxiety about Covid-19 and its impact can be overwhelming. Social distancing makes it even more challenging.

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December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

Metro Physical & Aquatic Therapy expands

etro Physical & Aquatic Therapy, a leading provider of comprehensive therapy and wellness services with locations across Long Island and in Florida, is on the move again, expanding its facilities and rebranding others to reflect its high end, spa-like facilities. Most recently, on Sept. 21, 2020, the organization opened the doors of its Greenvale/ Roslyn facility on Glen Cove Road. This was a relocation from the previous facility inside the nearby Roslyn JCC. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the new facility is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Metro officially introduced this office to the Roslyn/ Greenvale community on Oct. 29, 2020 during a ribboncutting ceremony sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Roslyn. According to Metro Physical Therapy CEO Michael Mayrsohn, DPT, OCS, “We have been part of the Roslyn JCC community for over 20 years. It was a great experience, but due to Covid-19, increasing patient demand and physician referrals, we needed a standalone space. Our new space affords us the opportunity to serve more patients in the Greenvale community, while also offering the same topnotch facilities and amenities with the addition of parking spaces located right outside the

facility.” Metro Physical Therapy will provide its comprehensive physical, occupational and speech therapies, as well as acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and aquatic therapies. Services are provided by experienced, certified manual therapists who provide one-to-one therapy services for each patient to facilitate the best outcomes. “We are receiving and want to continue receiving a steady increase in patient referrals from area physicians who recognize the value in one-on-one patient care. In addition, we are treating over 100 patients in a week and are looking forward to watching that number grow,” added Mayrsohn. “It is a testament to the high caliber of our medical team and the emphasis we place on quality care. All treatments are performed by experienced healthcare professionals and not assistants. Our goal is to elevate the healthcare experience through a culture of caring, quality, safety, service and innovation.”

50 Glen Cove Rd., Greenvale • (516) 626-8787 • www.metrophysicaltherapy.com Health memos are supplied by advertisers and are not written by the Herald editorial staff.

HEALTH MEMO

A safe and smooth transition...coming home to Maple Pointe

ur world is in a state of change, and the lasting effects may be there for years to come. Our previously normal lives have taken drastic turns, and we are all learning to adjust. Like the very seniors we care for, a great many of us are now experiencing loneliness, stress, and loss. Lacking the very thing we as people yearn for...connection. Throughout this ongoing change the one constant that has remained untouched is Maple Pointe’s devotion to our residents. Our care has never faltered and it will continue to grow and flourish no matter how tough this crisis becomes. The mission to serve seniors has never been more important and the strength to do so has never been so great. United we stand, with our residents and families ready to emerge from this the same way we started...together. We are here for you, living this change as it happens. Adapting the care and services to better support the community we cherish. The friendly visits to the community have become family video chats and heartfelt window greetings. Although the methods have changed, the message of love and affection have become greater. As the community around us continues to adjust to the effects of social distancing and we move towards pandemic recovery, Maple Pointe is charging ahead and engaging in new ways to connect with each other. Our sense of duty never stops, and we continue to enhance our own practices to make sure residents and families

feel supported and secure. Extending our reach outside to our local community, we aim to make coming home to Maple Pointe an option to all seniors. We are a team of dedicated healthcare champions that have always prepared, yet never had to react. We have now reacted, our response was to lead our families out of this crisis and move forward. Let us return your peace of mind, and guide you back to a place of sanctuary for your loved ones.

260 Maple Ave., Rockville Centre • (516) 764-4848 Health memos are supplied by advertisers and are not written by the Herald editorial staff.

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Experts discuss benefits of 5G at Inside LI webinar By ANDREW GARCIA “It’s safe,” Dr. Purna Prasad, chief technology officer at Northwell Health, said of recent advancements to 5G technology. Thus was the resounding opinion given by experts during the latest episode of the Herald Inside LI webinar series, “The Power of 5G,” in which Prasad and other professionals in the technology field spoke about 5G’s increasing role in public and professional connectivity. Panelists alongside Prasad included Ana Rua, the government affairs manager at Crown Castle; Caitlin Brookner, spokeswoman for New Yorkers for 5G; and Fan Ye, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Stony Brook University. Skye Ostreicher, of Herald Community Newspapers and RichnerLive, moderated the discussion. She kicked off the episode by naming a number of the devices that already use 5G technology, including household security systems, pet and baby monitors, and GPS guidance applications in cars. The potential for 5G is far-reaching, Ostreicher added, such as monitoring elderly parents’ blood pressure while they are in Florida and you are in New York. “The technology has been peer reviewed — both nationally and internationally by renowned and reputable organizations — and it has been found safe,” said Rua, noting the Food and Drug

ThE lATEsT EpIsoDE of Herald Inside LI, “The Power of 5G,” featured, from left to right from top row: moderator Skye Ostreicher; New Yorkers for 5G spokeswoman Caitlin Brookner; Crown Castle Government Affairs Manager Ana Rua; Stony Brook University Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Fan Ye; and Northwell Health Chief Technology Officer Dr. Purna Prasad. Administration, the National Health Institute and the American Cancer Society have deemed the technology safe. On the electromagnetic spectrum, 5G exists in the realm of visible light, with wavelengths similar to other harmless wavelengths commonly found in households. These exist within the non-ionizing spectrum of wavelengths that are lowenergy and low-frequency. In contrast, the ionizing spectrum, which includes gamma rays and X-rays, can harm a person. The debate and discussion surrounding the implementation of technology like 5G has been happening for decades, Prasad said. In the 1990s, he authored a study on the topic and found no evidence of nega-

tive effects. Those findings, he added, have not changed. 5G technology was developed from its four predecessors. When 2G was the norm, mobile phones were basically no different from any others, as they were primarily used for making calls. The era of 3G, however, turned mobile phones into computers, giving unlimited access to the internet, explained Ye. 5G “is just naturally the next step,” Ye said, “because people are always asking for a higher data rate with lower loss and lower latency.” Certain advances are only possible with the assistance of 5G, such as augmented reality, which requires streaming high-

quality video, Ye explained. Doctors can also perform operations on patients thousands of miles away if remote surgery is able to rely on 5G. 5G connectivity allows for the bandwidth needed for advanced medical services. An ambulance responding to an emergency call, for example, can use the full set of tools at its disposal, connect to a doctor via 5G and treat the patient at the scene, Prasad said. “It’s going to save lives,” Prasad said. Although 5G offers an enhancement of 4G technology, 4G isn’t going anywhere, Rua said. The 4G network that exists across Long Island will be the foundation for 5G developments, allowing for public and professional use between the two. “4G is not going to go away — we need to enhance that current infrastructure for 4G and build on top of it for 5G infrastructure,” Rua said. “High speed connectivity really impacts every facet of our lives and will have a large effect on almost every industry out there,” Brookner said. This episode of Herald Inside L.I. — the final episode of the first season — was sponsored by New Yorkers for 5G and Crown Castle. All 14 episodes of the premiere season can be found at liherald. com/insideli. The first episode of the second season of Herald Inside L.I. is set to stream on Jan. 7, 2021 — “Set your calendars,” Ostreicher said. “We have a lot of things planned.”

Wishing you a holiday season filled with joy and hope Your Friends at: Scott Brinton, Executive Editor Rhonda Glickman, VP Sales

1113854

Stuart Richner, Publisher

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

agarcia@liherald.com

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1111851

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

Employment

CLASSIFIED

To pLACE your AD CALL 516-569-4000 - press 5

Fax your ad to: 516-622-7460 E-mail you ad to: ereynolds@liherald.com E-mail Finds Under $100 to: sales@liherald.com DEADLINE: Monday, 11:00 am for all classified ads.

Every effort is made to insure the accuracy of your ad. Please check your ad at the first insertion. Credit will be made only for the first insertion. Credit given for errors in ads is limited to the printed space involved. Publisher reserves right to reject, cancel or correctly classify and ad.

We hire the smartest people who can solve the hardest marketing objectives with an arsenal of solutions and a smile through the journey.

(We said it was simple. We didn’t say it was easy.) to join our outside sales team, contact Rhonda glickman. send your resume today. rglickman@liherald.com, 516-569-4000 x250. salary, commission, bonuses and benefits. must have own vehicle and valid driver’s license.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

liherald.com

real local, real news

Full Time and Part Time Positions Available! Busy Print Shop in Garden City is Hiring Immediately for Full Time and Part Time Drivers. Must Have a Clean License and BoxTruck Driving Experience. Hours Vary, Night Availability is a Must. Please Email Resume to ehecker@liherald.com or Call (516)569-4000 x239

NO CDL required, 4 DAY WORK WEEK, (enjoy 3 days off). Run your own route. Year round No lay offs! 100% medical, dental, uniforms, 2 weeks paid vacation. 401K. Plus commission. Will train! 4am-2:30pm. . Route driver $800.00 per week, includes $100.00 weekly bonus program. Plus 10-12 hours overtime. Apply in person Monday- Friday 9am-7pm at 304 Crossbay Blvd, Queens NY 11693

HANDYMAN WANTED

SALES FT/PT: ALLSTATE LYNBROOK. FLEXIBLE HOURS. INSURANCE LICENSE & EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. S A L A RY / COMMISSION!! MEL 516-330-0833

OFFICE HELP WANTED FULL TIME

For Order Taking, Phones, Light Data, Commission, Entry, Will Train! $800.00 Per Week, Medical, Dental, 401K, 2 Weeks Vacation, Holiday Pay. Please Apply In Person MondayFriday Bet: 9AM and 7PM At CALLAHEAD CORP. 304 Cross Bay Blvd. Queens NY 11693

One phone call, one order, one heck of a good price to run your ad in any state, or across the country.

Call the USA Classified Network today!

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Rent Your Apartment through the Herald and PrimeTime Classified section. Call us for our great *specials. 516-5694000, press 5 for Classified Dept. *(private party only)

1113447

Buyers are enjoying lifetime low interest rates. Sellers are getting multiple offers at and above asking prices. Housing inventory is extremely low and buyer demand is strong.

1 Thompson Dr, BA, 4 BR, 2.5 Bth Exp Ranch w/Open Layout in Waverly Park Area. Updtd EIK. O/S Prop w/Deck. Att Gar. SD#20 ...................................................................................$599,000 101 Emmet Ave, BA, WATERFRONT! Rebuilt in 2010, 4 BR 3.5 Bth Split w/ Pool, Outdoor Kit & Deck. Open Layout. Private Mstr Ste, 2 Car Gar, SD#20 ..................................................................$1,250,000

WOOdMERE

946 Midwood Rd, BA, NEW! Renovated 4 BR, 2.5 Bth Colonial in Academy Area. Gran/Wood EIK, LR/Fpl, FDR & Den. Fin Bsmt. Gar ......................................................................................... $899,000

WOOdSBURGH

185 Bay Dr, BA, 5/6 BR, 4.5 Bth Exp Ranch on Parklike 1/2 Acre Prop. Guest Quarters, Full Bsmt, 2 Car Gar. SD#14 ..........$1,450,000

HEWLETT HARBOR

3 Payne Circle, BA, 5 BR, 3.5 Bth Spacious Split on Beautiful Street in Cul de Sac. State of the Art EIK, 2 Dens, Bsmt, & 2 Car Gar. SD#20 ................................................................................ $1,190,000 236 Richards Lane, BA, 5 BR, 5.5 Bth Contemporary Home on an Acre Of Resortlike Prop with IG Pool. Open Floor Plan. Full Fin Bsmt. Main Flr Master. SD14....................................REDUCED! $1,499,000 NEW TO MARKET!! 10,000 Sq Ft Waterfront Property on an Acre of Parklike Grounds Tucked away in Cul de Sac. 5 BR, 5.5 Bth Contemporary. Soaring Ceilings. IG Pool, Hot Tub. 285' Vinyl Bulkhead Raised & Redone. Dock. 3 Car Garage ............. $4,650,000 70 Heron Dr, BA, 6 BR, Contemporary with Open Layout on an Acre of Parklike Property. Move Right in! SD#14 .....................$1,699,000 159 Meadowview Ave, BA, Stately 5200 Sq Ft Colonial Featuring 6 BR, 6.55 Bths on Acre Of Resortlike Prop with IG Pool, Tennis Ct, & Outdoor Kit. Fin Bsmt, 2 Car Gar, Fabulous Location in SD#14 ............................................................ REDUCED!! $2,699,000

EAST ROCKAWAY 101 Emmet Ave, NEW WATERFRONT! Rebuilt in 2010, 4 BR 3.5 Bth Split w/ Pool, Outdoor Kit & Deck. Open Layout. Private Mstr Ste, 2 Car Gar, SD#20..$1,250,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman 516-238-429 HEWLETT HARBOR 3 Payne Circle, OPEN HOUSE BY APPT, Spacious Split on Beautiful Street in Cul de Sac. State of the Art EIK, 2 Dens, Bsmt, & 2 Car Gar. SD#20...$1,190,000 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman RE 516-238-4299

WOODSBURGH 185 BAY Dr, OPEN HOUSE BY Appt, 5/6 BR, 4.5 Bth Exp Ranch on Parklike 1/2 Acre Prop. Guest Q u a r t e r s , F u l l B s m t , 2 C a r G a r. SD#14...$1,450,00 Ronnie Gerber, Douglas Elliman 516-238-4299

Call me for a free professional consultation.

House For Sale

Melinda Beauchamp Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Mobile: 516.721.7805

mbeauchamp@coachrealtors.com mbeauchamp.coachrealtors.com 314 Sunrise Highway Rockville Centre NY 11570

Melinda & Thor

Apartments Wanted

Open Houses

HEWLETT HARBOR ba, 236 Richards Lane 5 BR, 5.5 Bth Contemporary Home on an Acre Of Resortlike, IGP, Open Floor Plan. Full Fin Bsmt. Main Flr Master. SD14...$1,499,000

1113586

Help Wanted

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

REAL ESTATE

Now is the time to buy or sell a home.

CASHIER WANTED For Grocery Store West Hempstead. Experience Helpful. Email Resume: ianddglatt2@optonline.net Or Call 516-444-6010

Ronnie Gerber 516-238-4299

HEWLETT BAY PARK

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

EMPLOYMENT

e s t. 1 9 1 1

EAST ROCKAWAY

ROUTES AVAILABLE AT CALLAHEAD Corp.

DRIVERS WANTED

Homes

February 4, 2021 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

OPEN HOUSES BY APPOINTMENT SUNdAY, 12/27/20

HERALD

January 7, 14, 21, 28, 2021 4 p.m.

Homes 1113585

Phone: 347-713-3552

INC

1104975

RICHNER

If you need care from your relative, friend/ neighbor and you have Medicaid, they may be eligible to start taking care of you as a personal assistant under NYS Medicaid CDPA Program. No Certificates needed.

Must have clean driver's license. Must be able to do light plumbing and carpentry. 4-day work week. $700 per week. 100% Medical & Dental, 401K, Uniforms, Paid Vacations, Sick and Holidays. Apply in person: MondayFriday between 9am & 7pm At: CALL-A-HEAD CORP. 304 Crossbay Blvd., Queens, NY 11693

HERALD Community Newspapers

HERALD

$18.50 NYC, $16 L.I., up to $13.50 Upstate NY!

1112179

RecRuiting a great sales team is Really simple.

EAST ROCKAWAY WATERVIEW! 3Bds, 2Bths, EIK, FDR, LR, Den, FBasement, Garage,,Large Yard. Zone X-no flood insurance. Too Much To List! 516-241-6075 MLS: 3271059/ Coldwell Banker HEWLETT BAY PARK NEW TO MARKET! 10,000 Sq Fet. Waterfront Property on an Acre Of Parklike Grounds. IGP, 5 bds, 5.5 Baths Comtemp., $4.650,000 Ronnie Gerber 516 -238-4299 Douglas Elliman

Mature - Single

Non-Smoking Woman Seeking 1-2 Bedroom Apartment with Long-Term lease. I Have a Steady Job at the Same Company for the past 20 years. I am Recently Separated and I am Looking for IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY. I am Quiet, Responsible and Extremely Reliable. Please Contact me with any Opportunities at cassiesmom810@aol.com. I have Plenty of References that I would be happy to supply to you upon request.

Apartments For Rent CEDARHURST NO FEE Pr ivate Entrance, Modern 1BR, 2BR, 3BR, CAC, W/D, Storage, Wall To Wall Carpeting, Indoor Parking Space. Starting At $1450 For O n e B e d r o o m W h e n Ava i l a bl e. (516)860-6889/ (516)852-5135/ (516)582-9978

Commercial Prop./Rent EAST ROCKAWAY: 131 Main Street 2nd Floor Offices. 100-1500 sq.ft. 24/7 access. Utilities included. Starting $350/ month. Retail Space 1350 sq.ft. $3,000/ month. OWNER 516-637-2182

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

HERALD

It’s not that different from surgery

Homes

HERALD

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

HOME OF THE WEEK

• To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

Q. Due to the pandemic, my family has been home together, and our house needs work. We have outdated stucco walls and a small kitchen. We want to see if we can remove walls, but the plumbing from two upstairs bathrooms goes right down the main dividing wall. Taking out the wall means changing the bathrooms, we’ve been told. That’s more than we can afford, and we don’t want to move out. The bathAsk The rooms were renovated less Architect than five years ago and are on an outside wall. We would like to add seven to 10 feet so we have a breakfast space, possibly with a high ceiling. What would you suggest we do?

Wantagh

A Family Dream Home

here will be no weeping for this willow, you will be cheering! Mint 4 bedroom 2.5 bath custom built 19 year young colonial. This home features sky lit family room with gas fireplace, granite sky lit eat-in-kitchen, king size master bedroom suite with full bath and 2 walk in closets, gleaming hardwood floors, huge finished basement with high ceilings, stunning entertainer’s backyard with saltwater heated in ground pool with waterfall with new liner and outdoor sprinklers with generator hook up. You will also enjoy a 2 car garage. Taxes are confirmed and are $10791.62 with star exemption. Only $999,000.

Sherlock Sherlock Homes Homes

Happy Holidays

75 SEAMAN AVENUE, ROCKVILLE CENTRE o: 516.766.7900 | signaturepremier.com

THINKING OF BUYING OR SELLING? Contact one of our hardworking professionals today for all of your real estate needs!

2678 COLONIAL PLACE, OCEANSIDE 1113739

List Price: $599,000 New to Market! 5 Bedroom 2 Bath Home Large Living Room with Fireplace, Basement, Garage, Gas Heat, New Roof

Annemarie DeLuca 516-884-3662

We look forward to providing home buyers and sellers with the highest level of personalized service and support. *If your property is currently listed with another brokerage, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the listings of other brokerages.

43 N Park Ave, RVC | C21sherlock.com | 516-764-2601

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Chair rental now available!

Where Dreams Come Home

JUAN JARA Licensed RE Broker Associate Cell: 516-318-0142 Juan@AllStarRealEstateBrokers.com

1099323

M: (516) 236-7269

We’re Keeping the American Dream Alive. www.AllStarRealEstateBrokers.com

NYS Licensed Real Estate Salespersons

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Rhonda Healy

CAMILLE GIARDINA Licensed RE Broker/Owner Cell: 516-318-1392 Camille@AllStarRealEstateBrokers.com

2949 Long Beach Road, Suite 8 • Oceanside, NY, 11572 Phone 516.766.8200

2119 Bedford Ave. John Lawlor, CBR, SFR Bellmore, NY 11710 Michele Librett-Lawlor, CBR, SFR

Real Estate Salesperson, abR, SRS E: Rhonda.Healy.VW@gmail.com Verdeschi & Walsh Realty 1025 W. Beech St. | Long Beach, NY

OneKey Multiple Listing Service

1110798

tanglES Salon Bellmore call annmarie (516) 810-9640

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A. What it really comes down to is getting the right people to find onte eeper solutions for each of the problems. Doctors and dentists often tell me that many people get the wrong advice from those who are unqualified, so that by the time they break down and seek trained professionals, the problem has gotten much worse, but the solution finally gets solved correctly and often more quickly. Your project has that possibility. All of the conditions, just like medical testing, involve choosing one of two ways to investigate the conditions. Unfortunately, people often expect all the answers to a construction project without the ultimate removal of materials, so the main way to plan is by gathering information on the probable location of main columns and beams as well as piping. Your problem has a solution, which may or may not include the extreme of altering the bathroom finishes. Often, when everything is finally exposed, a trained professional can see creative ways that installers may be afraid to try. In the presence of a plumber and carpenter, I have seen their concern of the unknown, where knowing what calculations to perform, it was possible to figure out the answers. It takes the cooperation of a team of skilled professionals — the architect, plumber and contractor — to plan, cut and assemble all the components to make this work. I suggest that the planning take advantage of the existing structure’s nature: the way the ceiling joists connect, the direction they run, and the potential to move plumbing in the same direction or identify how to correctly intersect the pipes through the main beams. With correct calculations and the right materials, your project can be accomplished without your having to spend the extra money on the bathrooms. Necessary disturbance of surrounding materials may be minimal. You have to make sure that each of the people you hire is communicating, and I highly suggest that you make a point to be in those meetings. Your involvement, your scrutiny that the people you hire are listening to one another and that you hired the right people, is no less important here than if you were advocating with medical staff for a family member’s procedure. The surgery might be much different between a building and a body, but the process isn’t all that different. Good luck!

Laura Dupkin Memisha Licensed Broker Associate laura@therealtyadvisors.com Cell: (516) 984-0343 3342 Park Avenue, Wantagh NY

1109112

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

© 2020 Monte Leeper Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.

Market Place • •

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5

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ESTATE SALE - LOG HOMES

PAY THE BALANCE OWED ONLY!!! AMERICAN LOG HOMES IS ASSISTING JUST RELEASED OF ESTATE & ACCOUNT SETTLEMENT ON HOUSES.

4 Log Home kits selling for BALANCE OWED, FREE DELIVERY 1)Model # 101 Carolina $40,840…BALANCE OWED $17,000 2)Model # 203 Georgia $49,500...BALANCE OWED $19,950 $36,825...BALANCE OWED $14,500

1113740

NEW - HOMES HAVE NOT BEEN MANUFACTURED

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1066253

JOBS, MERCHANDISE, REAL ESTATE & MORE... JOBS, MERCHANDISE, It’s inESTATE the Herald Classifieds... REAL & MORE... To Advertise Call 516-569-4000 JOBS, MERCHANDISE, REAL ESTATE & MORE... JOBS, MERCHANDISE, REAL ESTATE & MORE... press 5

4)Model # 403 Augusta $42,450...BALANCE OWED $16,500

Make any plan design changes you desire! Comes with Complete Building Blueprints & Construction Manual Windows, Doors, and Roofing not included BBB NO TIME LIMIT FOR DELIVERY! A+ Rating

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LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

HERALD

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

HERALD

Stuff

To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS

Finds Under $100

Tag Sales

CRYSTAL WINE DECANTER with 6 glasses brand new,must see Paid $50.00 asking $25.00 (516) 579-9089

ISLAND PARK TAG SALE 60 Florida Ave., 12/26 & 12/27, 10am-7pm. Furniture, China Kichen Set TOO MUCH TO LIST!

Adoption Single woman looking to build her family by adoption. Any ethnicity welcome, expenses paid. Please call (347) 470-5228 or my attorney: (800) 582-3678 for information

MERCHANDISE MART Antiques/Collectibles We Buy Antiques, Fine Art & Jewelry Same Day Service, Free In-Home Evaluations, 40 Year Family Business. Licensed and Bonded, Immediate Cash Paid.. SYL-LEE ANTIQUES www.syl-leeantiques.com 516-671-6464

Wanted To Buy I BUY OLD AMERICAN MOTORCYCLES UP TO 1999. Please Call Dan 516-639-1027

FINDS UNDER $100 Finds Under $100 BOYS CLOTHES: SIZES 3T-4, New with Tags. Gap, Old Navy, Macy's Call/text 917-420-5814. $7

GIRLS CLOTHES: SIZE 5, New with Tags. Jeans, hoodies, long-sleeve Tshirts Call/text 917-420-5814. $8 ORIGINAL TIFFANY ASHTRAY with certificate 4 1/2 " triangle shape, paid $100.00 asking $25.00 516-579-9089

SERVICES Electricians E-Z ELECTRIC SERVICES, INC. All Types Residential/Commercial Wiring, Generators, Telephone/Data, Home Entertainment, Service Upgrades, Pools, Spas. Services/Repairs. Violations Removed. Free Estimates Low Rates. 516-785-0646 Lic/Ins.

Handyman MIKE THE HANDYMAN: Light JobsPlumbing, Electrical, Specializing Vinyl Tiles, Gardening, Powerwashing, Painting. Interior And Exterior. Experienced. Reliable And Honest. Call Cell 516-225-8107; 516-837-3436

Home Improvement CARPENTRY & PAINTING: Residential/ Commercial. All Phases. Licensed/ Insured. FREE ESTIMATES! Anthony & J Home Improvements 516-678-6641

• To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5 • To place an ad call 516-569-4000 press 5 Home Improvement

HANDY DANDY NO JOB TOO SMALL! *Kitchens/ Baths *Painting *Sheetrock *Taping/ Spackling *Installations Ceramic/ Vinyl Tile *Carpentry *Alterations *Repairs/ More. FREE ESTIMATES. Dan 516-342-0761

*MICHAEL LO BAIDO CONSTRUCTION*

Cement Specialist, Brickwork, Interlock Bricks, Belgium Blocks, Stoops, Patios, Basement Entrances, Pavers, Waterproofing. Quality Work, Lic./ Ins. Owner Always Onsite Free Estimates 516-354-5578

Plumbing

PLUMBER! PLUMBER! PLUMBER! FREE ESTIMATES! Heating, Repairs, Installations. $25 OFF New Customers. 24 Hour Emergency Response. 516-599-1011 PLUMBING & HEATING ALL TYPES Boilers, Bathrooms. Small/Large Jobs. Licensed. Call Chris 516-697-8001 or Tony 347-843-9243.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Careers/Training TRAIN AT HOME TO DO MEDICAL BILLING! Become a Medical Office Professional online at CTI! Get Trained, Certified & ready to work in months! Call 855-543-6440. (M-F 8am-6pm ET)

Education

Miscellaneous DISH TV $59.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice R e m o t e . S o m e r e s t r i c t i o n s a p p l y. 1-888-609-9405

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HErald

Crossword Puzzle

Deals on Wheels

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! (844) 947-0192 (M-F 8am-6pm ET)

Health & Fitness HEARING AIDS!! BUY one/get one FREE! High-quality rechargeable Nano hearing aids priced 90% less than competitors. Nearly invisible! 45-day money back guarantee! 833-448-0751. VIAGRA & CIALIS! 60 pills for $99. 100 pills for $150. FREE shipping. Money back guaranteed! 1-855-579-8907 WE HAVE THE HELP YOU NEED HHA, LPN, Nurse's Aide, Childcare, Housekeeping & Day Workers. No Fees to Employers. Call Evons Services 516-505-5510

AUTOMOBILE & MARINE

Autos For Sale BUICK ROADMASTER 1994: Leather Interior, Excellent Working Condition, Must See To Appreciate. $3750. 516-428-3915 MERCEDES BENZ E350, 2006: 4-Matic, 70K Miles, Excellent Condition. Must See! $12,000. 516-603-8697

Autos Wanted ***AAA*** AUTO BUYERS $Highe$t Ca$h Paid$ All Years/Conditions! WE VISIT YOU! Or Donate, Tax Deduct + Ca$h. DMV ID#1303199 Call LUKE 516-VAN-CARS 516-297-2277 DRIVE OUT BREAST Cancer: Donate a car today! The benefits of donating your car or boat: Fast Free Pickup - 24hr Response Tax Deduction - Easy To Do! Call 24/7: 855-905-4755

Junk Cars Wanted

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Serving Nassau County 41 Years No Title, No Keys=No Problem ID Required. CALL US LAST!

Call us at 516-766-0000

NEED A CAR? Find it in the HERALD Classifieds.

Want to sell your car, motorcycle or boat? Have we got a deal for you! You can advertise your vehicle in the

Classifieds All for an amazing price! Your add will run until you sell your vehicle. Just call one of our expert classified account executives today and you will be on your way to making a great deal on your set of wheels!

516-569-4000 press 5, then 2

&/877(5 GULYLQJ \RX J\

CRAZY?

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anding in Bulgaria nearly 30 years ago, I felt as though I had stepped through a portal into another dimension. After a 24-hour trip, I at last arrived at Sofia International Airport — then a dim, decrepit facility, a far cry from the modern airport that it is today. There was, at the time, a definite divide between West and East. The Soviet Union had crumbled only a year earlier, and Bulgaria, a satellite of the USSR, was reeling, politically and economically. Food and scott gasoline were in short supply and brinton rationed. In the airport, which was hot and stifling without air conditioning, you realized fast that you were leaving behind the modernity of the West and taking a step back in time to a still developing nation. Bulgaria, where I served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, has since opened to the world and modernized. Its economy is now fully globalized. But I will never forget those first startling, heartwrenching steps onto Bulgarian soil. Recently watching the wonderful Apple TV+ series “Long Way Up,” with the hosts Ewan McGregor and Charley

Boorman, I was instantly taken back to that steamy June day in Sofia. For the series, McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the middle three “Star Wars” films, among many other roles, and Boorman, also an actor, rode custom-made Harley-Davidson electric motorcycles for 13,000 miles from Ushuaia (pronounced oo-SWAY-a), Argentina, practically the southernmost tip of South America, to Los Angeles in 2019. Toward the end of the 11-episode series, as the pair pass from Mexico into the United States, the stark difference between the two countries is glaringly obvious. At the border, they meet refugees who had fled narco-violence and were camping out in makeshift tents, hoping, praying, to enter the U.S. It is a squalid scene, full of desperation. Then, after a bit of chaos at the border crossing, McGregor and Boorman appear, as if by magic, in America, and all is suddenly well as the two ride, surrounded by a pack of motorcyclists, into Los Angeles. The road is pristine. There is order, a sense of lawfulness. “Long Way Up” shows us the clear socioeconomic differences between the U.S. and the nations south of its border. McGregor and Boorman never intended to play politics, they have said, but they show us the reasons why so many have

fled their homelands in South and Central America and Mexico in search of a better life in the U.S., despite the terrifying uncertainty of the journeys they must undertake. At the same time, our intrepid hosts show us the unwavering resiliency of people living on the edge. “Long Way Up” is a reality TV documentary that is one part travelogue and one part buddy film. It’s about the close friendship between McGregor and Boorman, but more so, it’s about their relationship to the road and the people they meet serendipitously and befriend along the way. They ride through some of the most unforgiving regions of the Western Hemisphere — particularly in Peru and Chile, where they pass through the Andes Mountains and the Atacama Desert, which is so dry that NASA uses it for Mars simulation exercises. Traversing treacherous terrain, the two fall off their motorcycles a lot, and stall occasionally. But they have a capable backup team in producers David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, who travel behind them, though far out of sight most of the time, in two 2.6-tonne Rivian electric pickup trucks. They also bring three stellar videographers — Claudio von Planta, Jimmy Simak and Anthony von Sek — along for

TV series reminded me of going from one world to another.

the ride. With drones, the three capture the breathtaking beauty of the terrain through which the team travels. “Long Way Up” is a perfect antidote for the pandemic cabin fever so many of us are feeling. The show is all about motion — moving from one stage of the journey to the next in rapid-fire succession. McGregor and Boorman never stop anywhere for long before they’re off to their next destination. They linger only when they stop to promote projects undertaken by the United Nations Children’s Fund, ranging from providing schooling for Indigenous people previously denied an education to sheltering orphaned children fleeing violence. McGregor and Boorman have featured UNICEF projects in each of their three travel series — the first two were “Long Way Round” (from London to New York via Central Europe, Eurasia, Russia and Canada in 2004) and “Long Way Down” (through Europe and Africa in 2007). I never realized how much good UNICEF does around the globe. I had to make a donation. “Long Way Up” offers lessons in geography and culture. More so, though, it is a lesson in basic humanity that I would highly recommend watching for yourself, along with its two companion series. Scott Brinton is the Herald Community Newspapers’ executive editor and an adjunct professor at the Hofstra University Herbert School of Communication.

2020: What did you do while you waited?

or me, the theme of 2020 has been waiting learning to wait, summoning the B (balance) C (courage) and D (determination) that Type A’s struggle to find. If someone had told me in February that I would wait months to see my children and grandchildren, that I would wait more than a year to score a Shake Shack burger, that I rAndi would wait, mostkreiss ly in my home, to hug a friend . . . I would not have found it credible. Our collective big wait has been for a viable Covid-19 vaccine, and now that it’s here, we’re waiting for our turn in line. I remember when the Salk polio vaccine was administered in my public school in 1955. They told us kids to line up in size order in the cafeteria, and I knew I would be first. Now we wait based on other criteria: age and general health and value to the community as front-line workers. We wait, too, on the political front.

Every process, from the Mueller investigation to the impeachment, to the election and now to the inauguration, has dragged out in agonizingly slow fashion. “Breaking news” generally means we will live with a story for countless days and weeks with little or no resolution. The Trump presidency has forced us to learn patience. Some of us have been waiting for more than four years for the foolishness of the conspiracists and the racists and the ill-informed to be swept into the past. Now it seems more patience will be required. As we wait, we hope this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic. It sinks in slowly that more than 320,000 of our fellow Americans have died in the past year from the disease. As we wait, we come to realize that many might have been saved if we had acted sooner. As we wait, we grieve the personal loss of friends and family and the suffering of 17 million who have struggled with the challenge of raising kids, going to work and getting health care while sick with the coronavirus. There are epic stories of waiting. My

favorite is from the novel “Waiting,” by Ha Jinn, which won the National Book Award in 1999. Based on a true story, it recounts the life of an Army doctor in China who waits 18 years to get a divorce from his wife in their home village so he can marry the woman he loves, a nurse who serves with him. While you’re waiting, you might give it a try. How ironic that we are the children of the instantgratification culture. From Amazon addiction to DoorDash to the ability to connect to others in a heartbeat, we have been trained to be impatient. We expect immediate satisfaction of our needs. We impatiently waited to ride bicycles and then to drive cars and to graduate from schools, and we wait to get through treatments and to dance at landmark birthdays and anniversaries. But 2020 pushed back. The demands of this year forced our attention outside ourselves. Think about this remarkable year, the year we hope to survive, the year we will never forget. It is said that the lesson of nature is patience, as we wait for seeds to sprout

ow ironic that we are the children of the instantgratification culture.

and babies to talk and trees to flower. During the days and weeks and months of waiting, we have become keener observers of smaller things. When you are homebound forever, you notice fluttering red wings outside the window that never caught your eye before. You take the many hours of a day to put together the ingredients of bread, feeling the stretch and pull of the dough because you actually have time to think about it. For women, the iconic wait of our lives is pregnancy, the time we go inward and focus attention on the seed of life growing inside. The young women I know who have had babies this year seem more intensely focused on this life event, more careful, and now they are waiting patiently to introduce their new children to the world outside and to other people. For many toddlers, life has been confined to rooms. We are all waiting for them, and the teenagers, to bust loose. I have tried to find music and art and conversation to get me through. But I am desperately awaiting 2021. I want to quietly close the book on 2020 and leap into a fresh new year. Copyright 2020 Randi Kreiss. Randi can be reached at randik3@aol.com.

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

‘Long Way Up,’ a deeply satisfying travelogue

Herald editorial

Long Beach

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

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

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It’s time for renewed vigilance over the virus

he Food and Drug Administration last Saturday issued an emergency-use authorization for the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, which is administered in a series of two shots one month apart. Announcement of the EUA came after a whirlwind week of media coverage following the EUA for the Pfizer vaccine. We can only say bravo to the vaccine researchers who developed these two treatments at breakneck pace, taking months to produce what, in the past, has taken years. The science behind the vaccines seems futuristic, but it’s very much in the here and now. Both use genetic material, rather than the virus itself, to trigger an immune response by the body. Amid the jubilation that so many of us felt as the vaccines were rolled out,

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— to our holiday gatherings, full of family members and friends. We are a long way from that. We are not likely to begin a staged return to our pre-pandemic lives until we see a precipitous drop in the infection and death rates, which Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s leading infectious disease expert, warns could come in April, at the earliest. Over the weekend, we also received word from Great Britain that the coronavirus may have mutated into a new strain there, causing countries around the globe to ban travel from the United Kingdom in the hope of stopping the spread of the mutated virus. No, this is no time for apathy. It is a time of hope, yes, but we must not be lulled into a false sense of security. We’ve been down that road before.

Finally, Congress offers relief

t long last, Congress members agreed on a $900 billion Covid19 relief package that will, we hope and trust, bring desperately needed aid to Americans reeling from the continuing coronavirus crisis. We are closing in on 10 months since the start of the pandemic in the U.S., and job losses remain unacceptably high. The national unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in November, but without the relief package, it could have climbed back up into the double digits. The unemployment rate peaked at nearly 15 percent in April before drop-

JEffREy NEgRIN Creative Director

new Covid-19 cases — and deaths — continued to skyrocket. On the same day that the EUA was issued for the Moderna vaccine, the U.S. recorded more than 250,000 new cases — more than on nearly any other day since the coronavirus was first reported here in early March. That same day, some 2,800 people died of the virus. The day before that, nearly 3,300. The day before that, 3,600. We would be foolish to believe we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It will be months before we understand the true effect of the vaccines. The coronavirus became so widespread in the U.S. that it is now ubiquitous across the land, and is truly inescapable, except through mask wearing and social distancing. We cannot believe that we can, at this moment, magically return to normal life

Remembering pets in verse To the Editor: Reading Randi Kreiss’s column about the end of life of her daughter’s dog, and Randi’s tribute with Mary Oliver’s poem, reduced me to tears (“Saying goodbye to a force of nature on four paws,” Dec. 10-16). It really hit home, and was so well written. This year I had to put my 17-year-old cat to sleep, so I’ll share my poem. Mittens Such a small loss Amidst overwhelming chaos. Such a minor tragedy In this present time of losses. Does the weight of a dying cat Equal one pound of human flesh? How does one measure a life so small

ping steadily in the following months, though the pace of job creation has slowed since September. By infusing another $900 billion into the economy, lawmakers hope to stabilize many of the small and medium-sized businesses that are on the edge of collapse, while continuing to drive down the unemployment rate. We can only say, it’s about time, and what took you so long? Providing relief to the American people at such a dire time should have been a bipartisan nobrainer, but instead it became a protracted battle of political wits that bene-

fited no one, most especially the American worker. The new aid package will provide a $300-per-week supplemental job loss benefit and, for most Americans, a $600 direct stimulus payment. As Presidentelect Joe Biden noted, such a package is a good start, but more will be needed if the pandemic carries on longer than expected. That is why it’s about time that members of Congress set aside their partisan differences and stop playing games with the health and welfare of the American people.

ea s ben0 dentage is ed if n

memrtisan with rican

opInIons

Our promise to never forget means we must wear our masks

want you to remember waking up on the morning of Sept. 12, 2001 — that is, if you had slept at all the night before. Recall how you felt about your country, your neighbors, and especially our lion-hearted first responders, whose bravery, selflessness and sacrifice we promised never to forget. Remember how you felt in the weeks and months that followed, when first responders and volunteers from Long Island and throughout the nation gathered at ground zero to search for survivors and victims sara and start the difficult task of DIrector rebuilding. We were rightly in awe of our first responders, mourning those who had laid down their lives for us, and profoundly moved by their devastated brethren, who spent months digging through the rubble, atop a smoldering pile of pulverized concrete and glass, dioxin, PCB, benzene,

asbestos and other deadly toxins. There was nothing we would not do for them. Those first responders, and indeed the downtown community of office workers, students, construction workers and residents who returned after the attacks, are now disproportionately filling operating rooms, chemotherapy rooms and oncologists’ offices. They are struggling to breathe, fighting cancer, fighting lung disease, fighting for their lives. Since 9/11, 68 cancers have been linked to the toxins, as well as numerous respiratory diseases. Today, the 9/11 community is in the grips of a health crisis. We have lost more people to diseases that arose in the aftermath of the attacks than we lost that day. What does our promise to Never Forget require of us now? The answer is simple: wear a mask. Many members of the 9/11 community have compromised immune systems and serious co-morbidities that make them especially vulnerable to the effects

Letters

of Covid-19. The men and women who sacrificed so much for us, who rushed to answer the call and who eventually rebuilt New York City’s financial heart, are all around you. They are behind you at the supermarket, picking their kids and grandkids up from school, on your train, on your bus — they are everywhere. Yet if you just look at them, they are unidentifiable. You may not know that your child’s teacher taught in a school in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 11 and now, as a result, suffers from chronic asthma. Or that your co-worker was a volunteer firefighter who answered the call of duty on 9/11, eventually resulting in a diagnosis of lung cancer. If today were Sept. 12, 2001, and Long Islanders were asked to wear masks to protect the 9/11 community from the spread of a virus, we would not hesitate. We would wear our masks with pride — pride for those first responders, and pride for our country. And we would be proud of our-

any members of the 9/11 community are vulnerable to the effects of Covid.

selves, for coming together and protecting those who protected us. Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent, we are all Long Islanders. Whether you believe that masks can stop or help slow the spread of the coronavirus or not, we are all Long Islanders. Whether you are a member of the 9/11 community or not, we are all Long Islanders. And we now have an opportunity to demonstrate the same unity we did 19 years ago, by following the safety precautions recommended by public health officials: wearing masks, socially distancing, washing our hands frequently and staying home when we’re not feeling well or showing any symptoms of Covid-19. We can protect our families and communities, particularly those with preexisting conditions, and we can and will crush this virus. The 9/11 community did its part. It is time for us to do ours. Never Forget. Attorney Sara Director, a native of Glen Cove who now lives in Locust Valley, is a partner at Barasch & McGarry, which has represented more than 20,000 9/11 first responders and survivors.

Framework by Alyssa Seidman

In the huge universe? Can the tiny paw petting my arm Or her face tilted to mine Be important enough to earn one day Of mourning among a year of lamentations? These questions hang in the air, The answer written in tears. EvELYN KANDEL Nassau County poet laureate Glen Cove

Stop the LIRR’s fare hikes To the Editor: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning to raise fares yet again, during a global pandemic, no less. Just as we return to work and our daily commutes on the Long Island Rail Road, the MTA plans to ask us to cough up even more cash to take the train each day. That’s unacceptable and unconscionable. We need to fight back and make sure the MTA rejects its wrongheaded plan. The MTA needs help from Washington, but it also must make the tough, necessary choices to trim fat, cut waste and deter fraud. But fare hikes always seem to be its answer, no matter the problem, or the decade, or whether service is good or bad. The cost of a monthly pass from any of our communities to Penn Station over the past two decades has doubled, far outpacing the rate of inflation. Indeed, a monthly pass that sold for roughly $150 in 1999 now costs nearly $300. What’s more, hiking the cost of an LIRR ticket at this juncture would do nothing to boost ridership, and frankly could dissuade

Read all about it! — Merrick

many commuters from coming back. Now is the worst possible time to contemplate yet another fare hike, when trust in public transit is low. I spoke out at a recent hearing against the fare hikes, but when we speak loudly with one voice, we can accomplish anything. So please log on to http://bit.ly/fightthefarehikes to submit your testimony to the MTA in opposition to its

proposal to charge us more for an LIRR ride. Together we will fight the fare hikes, and work toward fairness and affordability for Long Islanders. TODD KAMINSKY State senator, 9th Distric

LONG BEACH HERALD — December 24, 2020

meri-

December 24, 2020 — LONG BEACH HERALD

HERE FOR YOU IF YOU NEED US. HOLIDAY HOURS

Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve All locations open until 4:00pm

Because, unfortunately, injuries can happen during the holidays.

Christmas Day, New Year’s Day Merrick office open for walk-in patients 9:00am – 5:00pm 1728 Sunrise Highway, Merrick

That’s why Orlin & Cohen, Long Island’s premier orthopedic group, is open

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to treat them. All locations will be open until 4:00pm on Christmas Eve

Most insurance accepted.

and New Year’s Eve, and our Merrick location will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. As always, we employ strict safety protocols to ensure the well-being of our patients and staff.

Happy Holidays and Stay Safe!

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