Oceanside/Island Park
CoMMuNity uPDAtE infections as of Nov. 30
1,226
infections as of Nov. 23 1,207
HERALD
Giving thanks and spreading cheer
Drive-through testing site opens
Standing up against bullying
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DECEMBER 3 - 9, 2020
Vol. 55 No. 49
Merchants stay hopeful amid pandemic “It has been tough for every business, so we’re trying to drive more traffic to the store,” Li Amid intense competition said. “We send out emails and from online services like Ama- texts to our customers, and we zon and many challeng es also do Zoom and FaceTime brought on by the coronavirus sales sessions.” pandemic, local business owners Li has owned the store, at 3173 said they were optiLong Beach Road, mistic yet wary of for five years, but it how the holiday has been a fixture shopping season in Oceanside for will turn out for more than four them. decades. The busiSherri Li, owner ness sells house of Protass Gifts, in gifts, bracelets and Oceanside, said jewelry, handbags that while many and other accessore t a i l e r s s aw ries. Li said that mixed results in the store offered Black Friday sales, ShERRi li many Black Friday her store was as sales, both in-perbusy as in previous Owner, Protass Gifts son and online, and years, which she recently started said she hoped was a sign of promoting curbside pickup to things to come. She added, how- help customers feel comfortable ever, that business has been during the pandemic. tough to generate overall since the pandemic began. Continued on page 11
By MikE SMolliNS msmollins@liherald.com
F
Courtesy Oceanside School District
Strength in numbers The Oceanside High School Math Honor Society, known as Mu Alpha Theta, hosted a food drive the week before Thanksgiving, filling 12 laundry baskets with food and donating them to the Oceanside Community Service food pantry. Taking part in the drive were, standing from left, Meral Eviner, adviser Sherryl Garry, Allison Olazabel and Derek Zheng and, seated from left, Halle Eviner, Madison Graff, Evin Spanier, Courtney Murphy and Wren Allegra.
Holiday events moving forward Some plans remain uncertain as risk lingers By MikE SMolliNS msmollins@liherald.com
With an uptick in coronavirus cases, some plans for holiday celebrations in Oceanside and Island Park are taking on a twist this year, while others remain indefinite. For the Chabad of Oceanside, its annual menorah lighting will be a drive-through event to ensure that attendees stay safe while still taking part in the
Hanukkah celebration. The outing is set for Dec. 13, at 5:30 p.m., in Oceanside Park parking lot 3800, on Mahlon Brower Drive. The celebration will also include a concert by the 8th Day Band, and refreshments will be served to attendees in their cars. The event is part of a slate of socially distant Hanukkah outings the Chabad has planned. On Dec. 6, it will host a canned food drive; from Dec. 10 to 17, it will celebrate “Hanukkah at My
Neighborhood,” in which the congregation will bring Hanukkah treats and games, including latkes, doughnuts and dreidels, to different parts of Oceanside; and on Dec. 15, it will host a virtual latke cook-off. More information on the festivities is available at the Chabad’s website, chabadofoceanside.com, where information on where to register for the drivethrough can also be found. Continued on page 14
or the holidays, we’re trying to get customers to feel more comfortable.
Our COvid-19 traCker With the Covid-19 test positivity rate rising across the country, the Herald is adding a weekly coronavirus tracker to the upper left corner of our front page to help you gauge what’s happening in your area from week to week. the number is an aggregate of the communities that this newspaper covers. data is obtained from the nassau County Covid-19 dashboard, which provides the total number of cases reported in an area since the start of the pandemic, and is updated regularly.