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G.C. Hospital begins antibody testing

Lavine helps to fill a pantry

Schools closed for rest of year

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VOL. 122 NO. 19

MAY 8 - 14, 2020

Support for mayors amid pandemic

YOUR HOT SHOT

who come to them for help, Suozzi said, and the mayors are also consumed with finding ways to operA bipartisan group of Long ate their villages with reduced Island congressional leaders met revenues. once again on May 5 on the video“The shutdown has caused you conferencing platto lose your buildform Zoom. U.S. ing permit reveRe presentatives nues because Tom Suozzi, Peter there’s no construcKing, Kathleen tion going on, Rice, Lee Zeldon you’re not getting and Gregory Meeks revenues in from shared their peryour recreation spectives and fees and parking answered questickets,” Suozzi tions, as they did said. “You’re not during an April 23 getting all different Zoom meeting that types of revenue focused on helping that would normalsmall businesses. ly come in, and But this time their that’s our big conpur pose was to cern for all of you share a commitand how it’s effectment to helping ing your villages.” municipalities The entire New obtain federal fund- EDWARD York House delegaing, and to hear LIEBERMAN tion sent a letter to from their mayors. S p e a ke r N a n cy Sea Cliff mayor More than 100 peoPelosi and Senate ple took part in the Minority Leader meeting, included journalists and Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, several of Nassau County’s 64 requesting additional aid for state mayors. and local governments. It also Suozzi, a former mayor of Glen asked for flexibility on how the Cove, said he understood the bur- money would be spent. den that mayors are feeling. Every day they’re dealing with people CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

By LAURA LANE llane@liherald.com

Courtesy Roni Chastain

It’s dinnertime! While we spend our time worrying about Covid-19 this seagull’s only concern is finding its next meal. Bayville is home to many birds, which continues to delight residents and visitors alike.

County may soon ban littering of protective equipment By JENNIFER CORR jcorr@liherald.com

Across the county, the sight of gloves and masks in parking lots, on sidewalks and in parks has been off-putting to many, including Legislator Josh Lafazan. That is why he submitted a bill on April 29 that, he said, would ban littering with personal protective equipment. “The

legislation was inspired by personal observation,” said Lafazan, an independent from Woodbury. “Whether I was going to the supermarket, going to the park, the beach, walking in my community . . . I would see litter, used masks and gloves, everywhere. And it is disgusting.” A study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that the coronavirus can survive for

up to 72 hours on plastics, which prompted Lafazan to conclude that the passage of his bill is urgent. “The consequences of some of these actions, the littering of gloves and masks, isn’t just a quality-of-life issue,” he said. “It’s a public health hazard.” As for the environment, discarded PPE can add to the CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

give credit to them for hearing the mayors and promoting our position for federal help. But I’m not sure how much they can do. The issue is the Senate.

Take A Walk And Save Lives

Participate in North Shore Animal League America’s virtual walk for a chance to do something positive and active, while raising crucial funds for homeless animals that need your support now more than ever. Walkers can participate anytime, from anywhere. REMEMBER: Be safe and practice social distancing along the way.

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Class of 2020 Don’t miss Rockville Centre this Special Section coming out in the June 18 th issue

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will instead continue with distance learning to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Dr. Tom Dolan, interim superintendent It was sobering news but not unexpectfor the Locust Valley Central School Dis- ed. “Given the status of the pandemic and trict, said it has been pretty lonely at the many different protocols and practicwork since schools were forced to close es that are likely necessary to get schools due to the coronavirus. He can still up and running again safely, I was not remember saying in February, when talk surprised by the governor's decision to of Covid-19 began to first surface, that keep schools closed until the end of the Gov. Andrew Cuomo academic year,” said Dr. would never close the Laura Seinfeld, superinschools. tendent of the Oyster “Then it ended up Bay-East Norwich Centhat we had to close tral School District. before everyone else on The announcement March 9, when we found came as Covid-19 hospiout that two of our bus talizations and deaths drivers tested positive has continued a steady for the virus,” he said. decline. For the first time DR. LAURA SEINFELD “The next day the staff in weeks, the number of came back in for a super- LVCSD superintendent over night deaths intendent’s conference dropped below 300 from so we had a chance to tell April 30 into May 1 — them to take everything with them from 306 to 289, a 5.5 percent decline. New because we didn’t know when they would hospitalizations were also down. But be told they couldn’t come back. That Cuomo said on May 6 that the state is still ended up being the next day.” seeing 600 new cases a day, which is unacBut there was still a small hope among ceptably high. educators that they would be back, while The decision to close schools affects 4.2 the governor considered whether to million students statewide in 700 public reopen the schools. But on May 1, he school districts, 89 SUNY and CUNY colmade his decision. Students in kindergar- leges, and 100 private colleges. ten through 12th grade and college will Seinfeld said she has worked hard to not return to their schools in New York keep parents informed. She and other for the rest of the 2019-20 school year and CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

econfiguring the use of space and schedules all may be parts of this plan.

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GOV. ANDREW CUOMO has ordered schools to stay closed for the rest of the year.

By LAURA LANE and SCOTT BRINTON

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May 8, 2020 — HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

continued from front page The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Securities Act, known as the Cares Act, was passed to stimulate the economy. It provided for funding to counties, but the formula was specific to Covid-19 related expenses. The act set a population threshold of 500,000 for qualification. There is talk in Congress, said U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, to reduce the threshold to 50,000. “It’s not about reducing, it,” said Zeldin, a Republican from Suffolk. “It’s about getting rid of it. We need a pot of money for cities, villages and towns and need to drive the funding for the lowest level of government.” Bayville Mayor Bob De Natale said he agreed that the threshold should be reduced. There are only 7,000 residents in his village and 5,000 in the neighboring Village of Sea Cliff. “The current inequality of aid isn’t fair,” he said. “We are at the epicenter of the pandemic as Tom said. The federal government needs to understand that we need more help than anyone else.” A couple of weeks ago U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat, said she was on a call with 24 mayors from her district. She asked them to put a dollar figure on their loses. It is important to know how much is needed, she said. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy, a Democrat, is the past president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association and currently the president of the New York Conference of Mayors. He said he sees the lost revenues as a big problem. “Freeport has experienced an estimated

Laura Lane/Herald Gazette

A bipArtisAn group of congressional leaders, including, clockwise from top left, Peter King, Lee Zeldon, Tom Suozzi, Gregory Meeks and Kathleen Rice, took part in a Zoom meeting, expressing their support for municipalities and hearing from area mayors. $3.2 million loss in revenues in the first three and a half months,” Kennedy said. “We lose roughly $300,000 a month from our recreation center and we have to also reimburse the members who don’t have use of it. Our village building permits have dropped off — many of the developers have just walked away from the projects. And

licenses are not being renewed, building code violations are on hold.” And Freeport police are not issuing violations because they sympathize with residents and also worry that the illness could be transferred from residents to police officers. Fifteen village police officers have tested positive for Covid-19, Kennedy said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s prediction of a 20 percent reduction of revenues in the state would have a rippling effect on municipalities, Kennedy said. “I don’t expect that the dust is going to settle here until September, October.” Suozzi voiced his concern regarding a comment made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that the coronavirus is a blue state bailout. “This is no time to be partisan,” Suozzi said. “And we are the biggest net donor to the federal government of any state. We send more money to the federal government than we get back every single year.” For the past five years, he said, New York has sent $150 billion dollars to the federal government more than the state has received. Whereas Kentucky, McConnell’s home state, has received $150 billion dollars more in federal dollars for different services and contracts than the state has put in. Elliot Conway, the mayor of Upper Brookville, said after the meeting that he appreciates the congressional effort. “This was a call to action,” he said, “and I think the bipartisan group needed to get the support from mayors and I think they got it.” Sea Cliff Mayor Edward Lieberman, who is also the president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association, said the meeting was a nice display of congressional unity. “I give credit to them for hearing the mayors and promoting our position for federal help,” he said. “But I’m not sure how much they can do. The issue is the Senate.”

Administrators look toward a future reopening continued from page 2 members of the administration update parents using an automated messaging system that includes emails, robocalls and texts. “We are sharing messages and news on social media as well as on our website and our administrators also use apps, such as Remind, to contact families,” she said. “We continue to value two-way communication and the partnership with our wonderful learning community.” Dolan said foremost in his mind has been an effort to find a way to make the governor’s decision less painful. “How do we do as much as we can to advance the curriculum without exerting undue stress on our students, parents, teachers and administrators,” he said. “This is possibly the most stressful thing anyone has ever experienced.” Before the governor made his final decision the district immediately decided to have a flexible remote learning plan that did not duplicate the school day, period by period, Dolan said. “Students can do the work when they are available,” he said. “Some families have more than one student. This plan allows for people to do work on a schedule that they can set themselves.”

school elections set for June 9 By executive order on May 1, Gov. Andrew Cuomo reset the school budget and trustees election statewide to Tuesday, June 9. Every voter will receive an absentee ballot with a postage-paid envelope to return it. The order eliminates the traditional requirement that Board of Education candidates collect a sufficient number of petition signatures, but candidates must file their petitions 30 days before the election; that is, by May 10. Also, any village election that was scheduled for March through June will be held Sept. 15. And any special district election other than fire, library, sewer or water will also take place that date. The governor has justified social distancing practices, as mandated by the state, and closures with preventing an estimated 100,000 Covid-19 cases, which he said would have overrun the hospitals and caused many more deaths. Today’s actions will determine “the number of sick tomorrow,” he said — hence the need to keep school buildings closed and continue social distancing. The governor said colleges and school districts across New York must begin developing reopening plans, which must

be approved by state officials. Dolan said he has attended meetings that included parents, students, teachers and administrators that have been productive. The discussion has been about graduation and prom. No decisions have been made yet, he said, adding that within the next couple of weeks the district should have some ideas. The seniors that are a part of the meetings were upset to hear that a remote graduation was being considered. “The seniors are very anxious to find ways to replicate events,” Dolan

said. “They want us to help them find a way to get them together for graduation. A couple said that a remote graduation is not what graduation is about.” Seinfeld said she is looking ahead to September considering safety precautions, including proper social distancing. “Reconfiguring the use of space and schedules all may be parts of this plan,” she said. “I am also in very close contact with colleagues across the county as we examine guidance, research and best practices in order to provide meaningful learning experiences for all student while keeping our students, families, and staff safe.” During a May 6 press conference, Cuomo said Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths continue to be on a steady decline. But 232 people in New York died of the coronavirus on May 5. So, people should continue wearing their masks in public and keep up social distancing to protect others, he said. Dolan said he is not enjoying the new normal at work. He misses what is typical at the Locust Valley School District this time of year. “The parking lots are empty,” he said. “I smell in the air what I associate with spring. I was thinking of our baseball team. T hey should be playing. T his all makes me sad.”

HERALD COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS — May 8, 2020

Bipartisan pledge to help municipalities

CRIME WATCH

Locust Valley man arraigned for fatal ambulette crash DENIS MOTHERWAY WAS being transported to Glen Cove Hospital when his ambulette was struck by Alvaro GutierrezGarcia’s car.

Alvaro Gutierrez-Garcia, of Locust Valley, was arraigned on April 30 on aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter and other charges for allegedly driving drunk and crashing into an ambulette in Sept. 1, 2019, killing the patient inside, Denis Motherway, 85, of Bayville. Motherway was a retired NYPD detective, a father of five and a grandfather of 10. His son, Timothy, was also killed in a drunk driving accident in March, 2009. Gutierrez-Garcia, 28, was arraigned on April 30 before Judge Robert McDonald on charges of: ■ Two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide (B felony) ■ Second-degree manslaughter (C felony) ■ First-degree vehicular manslaughter (C felony) ■ Two counts of aggravated vehicular assault (C felony) ■ Second-degree vehicular manslaughter (D felony) ■ Two counts of first-degree vehicular assault (D felony) ■ Two counts of second-degree assault (D violent felony) ■ Two counts of second-degree vehicular assault (E felony)

■ Reckless driving (an unclassified misdemeanor) ■ Two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (an unclassified misdemeanor) ■ Aggravated driving while intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor) Bail was continued at $150,000 and Gutierrez-Garcia is due back in court on May 28. If convicted, he faces a maxi-

mum of 8.3 to 25 years in prison. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said at approximately 11:45 p.m. on the night of the accident, Alvaro Gutierrez-Garcia was allegedly driving a 1997 Cadillac sedan eastbound at a high speed on Forest Avenue in Glen Cove. His blood alcohol content was .18 when he struck a private ambulette driving southbound on Walnut Avenue. The force of the crash caused the ambulette, which was transporting Motherway to Glen Cove Hospital, to overturn.

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