______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
CommuNIty uPDAte Infections as of April 18
8,178
Infections as of April 11 8,014
$1.00
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Vol. 32 No. 17
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Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
APRIl 22 - 28, 2021
A bid for a cleaner world Bond act could bring big bucks for projects in Elmont, V.S. ■ Flood risk reduction
By PeteR BelFIoRe pbelfiore@liherald.com
With the passage of New York’s Environmental Bond Act, officially known as the Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, along with the state budget earlier this month, communities across the state are potentially slated to gain access to roughly $3 billion in bond funding for various environmental and infrastructure projects should voters give final approval to the borrowing in November 2022. The money that would be provided through the act is intended for projects that fall into four broad categories, according to a report by Rebu il d by Design, a community and engineering advocacy organization formed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. They are:
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Courtesy Ruhee Kapadia
NoShI AhmeD, leFt, and Ruhee Kapadia both volunteer to help run the Masjid Hamza food pantry.
V.S. houses of worship remain lifelines as pandemic persists By NICole AlCINDoR nalcindor@liherald.com
As the first few months of year two of the coronavirus pandemic unfold, many Valley Stream houses of worship continue to give back to residents and neighboring communities with their own food pantries or by donating to other pantries to meet increasing need. “When Covid first hit, a lot of people were out of jobs, seniors couldn’t go to stores, and many stores were only
opened in limited time slots, so there was a larger need from families on Long Island for basic food needs,” said Valley Stream resident Ruhee Kapadia, one of the founders of Valley Stream’s Masjid Hamza food pantry, which started last August. “I feel truly blessed to be able to help so many families and to see that my passion for helping others has turned into a fullblown experience every week.” The Masjid Hamza pantry offers nonperishable food
items year-round and is open to residents and people in neighboring communities every Monday from 3 to 5 p.m. Occasionally, it offers milk, cooked meat and chicken to families in need. In addition, it is now offering special boxes with Ramadan items to serve Muslim families. Masjid Hamza has also been collecting food donations since the beginning of April for a separate Ramadan food pantry, and will continue to give and collect donations through May Continued on page 11
Rebuild By Design estimated that the bond act has the potential to generate 65,000 jobs, and State Sen. Todd Kaminsky called the funding a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to improve or replace aging infrastructure in Elmont and Valley Stream. Va l l e y S t r e a m , Kaminsky said, could request funding for the replacement of its sewer systems. “Valley Stream has been a community for well over 100 years,” he said, noting that some of its municipal infrastructure dates to its founding. “. . . It’s very rare for this kind of money to become available.” While the bond act outlines allowable uses for the funding, it would remain up to municipalities — villages, the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County — to identify need and administer the projects, Kaminsky said. Guy Jacob, a retired teacher
f approved by voters, the legislation would allow for $3 billion in bonds to be made available for environmental infrastructure projects.
■ Water quality improvement ■ Climate change mitigation ■ Open space land conservation
Continued on page 12