Here is the latest edition of LI Main Street News for day 78 of the Coronavirus economic shutdown. We cover the push to help small businesses through outdoor dining despite government regulations, charitable efforts, latest news on reopening and NYS and County officials against the removal of local zoning. Check it out….
presented by Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance June 1st, 2020
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Quotes of Day
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Helping Main Street through the
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Pink Tie Delivers to Four more CommunitiesVision was out last Thursday and Friday with the Pink Tie Delivers team to deliver food and financial contributions to the communities of Roosevelt, Freeport, Riverhead and Mastic Beach. Thursday’s delivery took us to Memorial Presbyterian Church in Roosevelt. Their organization has a full set of services aiding the increased need from the community. A big thank you to Food Pantry coordinator Dana Faison and her team for all the work they are doing. Special thanks also to Fred Brewington for connecting us with their operation. Our next stop was a return to the Salvation Army in Freeport. Giovanny Guerrero and his team have seen their demand for services radically increase. Special thanks to the Keller Williams team for their robust participation in Thursday’s drops. Friday took us out to Riverhead Salvation Army. When we arrived they had just finished serving 100 neighbors at their soup kitchen, which has seen their demand tripled due to the impacts of the Coronavirus shutdown. Kudos to Florette and her team for their continued work as well. The final stop for the week was the Mastic Beach Property Owners Association food pantry. Suffolk Legislator Rudy Sunderman was out in support of the effort going on there. Beth Wahl from the Chambers of Commerce of the Mastics and Shirley and the William Floyd Community Summit has been pulling funds together to keep the pantry going during these difficult times. Companies that participated in these visits included Keller Williams, Dime Savings Bank, 1st Equity Title, Late Night Chauffers, Trinity Solar, and ReCommerce and Remove It Man. The team has five more stops this coming week that include Baldwin, East Patchogue/N.Bellport, Huntington Station and East Northport. Anyone looking to donate food, join a corporate doorstep donation program, or financially support these efforts should check out PinkTie.org. |
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Local Leaders and Main Street Businesses Call for Fast Tracking of Outdoor DiningVision was out today with members of the LI Main Street Alliance and dozens of elected officials and local chamber leaders calling for fast tracking outdoor dining for Phase 2 of the reopening if not sooner. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin, Nassau County Presiding Officer Rich Nicollelo and Nassau Village Officials Association President (and Village of Sea Cliff Mayor) Ed Lieberman assembled the group in downtown Massapequa in front of a local restaurant the Good Life. The elected officials are calling for action to help Main Street businesses. While Nassau County had previously presented a policy supporting road closures on County Roads to encourage outdoor dining, technicality shut the opening down on Friday. There is pent up demand for this though, as shown in a LI Business News poll showing 88% of Long Islanders in support of the move. This collective community support comes as anger grows over current regulations still in place that overwhelmingly favor big box stores, and has for almost 3 months now. While hundreds of cars were present at a Wal-Mart that has been allowed to remain open, most Main Streets were businesses as a majority of businesses were forced to remain shut or deliver limited service. Nearly 40 elected officials representing well over a million residents in Nassau were in attendance at the press conference, including: NYS Assemblymembers Ed Ra, Andrew Garbarino, Michael Montesano and John Mikulin. Nassau County Presiding Officer Rich Nicollelo and Legislators Rose Walker, Steve Rhoads, James Kennedy & John Ferriti. Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin, Town Clerk Kate Murray and Councilmembers Bruce Blakeman, Anthony D’Esposito, Dennis Dunne and Chris Carini. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato and Councilmembers Lou Imbroto, Laura Maier, Vicki Walsh and Michelle Johnson. Village elected officials included Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand, Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender, Rockville Centre Mayor Frances Murray, Massapequa Mayor Theresa Spinoza, Sea Cliff Mayor Ed Lieberman, Lynbrook Mayor Allan Beach, Brookville Mayor Dan Serota, Upper Brookville Mayor Elliot Conway, Old Brookville Mayor Bernard Ryba, Laurel Hollow Mayor Dan Devita and Oyster Bay Cove Mayor Charles Goulding. Chamber of Commerce Presidents and members from Farmingdale, Bethpage, Massapequa, Freeport and others were also in attendance. Governor Cuomo Announces Western New York and Capital Region Expected to Enter Phase 2The following is an update from Governor Cuomo’s website: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced Western New York is expected to enter Phase 2 of reopening tomorrow and the Capital Region is expected to enter Phase 2 of reopening on June 3 following a review of regional data by global public health experts. The Governor also announced the lowest rate of positive test results since the pandemic began. The State performed 50,000 tests yesterday with less than 2 percent returning positive. “If you take a step back, what we have done with this virus is a really amazing accomplishment, and it was all done by the people of this state. 19 million people did what they never did before – they responded with a level of determination and discipline that I was amazed with,” Governor Cuomo said. “Remember where we were. We had 800 people die in one day – we had the worst situation in the United States of America. At one point we had the worst situation on the globe, but we are now reopening in 50 days. The whole closure period has been about 93 days – albeit a disruptive 93 days. But look at what we did in 93 days. We went from the worst situation on the globe to actually reopening. That’s where we are. We should be very proud of what we’ve done.” The Governor also confirmed 941 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 371,711 confirmed cases in New York State. You can watch the Governor’s full press conference here. |
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As LI reopens, water quality needs to be a priorityThe following op-ed was writting by Nadine Leslie, CEO of SUEZ North America “Our business is re-opening and employees are heading back to work. Is the water OK?” Long island’s various water companies are maintaining safe, fresh water in their respective systems, but business owners who were compelled to leave work places vacant during the stay-at-home period need to take important actions as the region prepares to reopen. In a COVID-19 world, returning to life after a shutdown of a month or longer needs to include flushing a building’s water system a priority to prevent stagnant water sitting in pipes from sickening employees, residents, customers, or visitors. It is one more unanticipated recovery priority as we seek to bring the nation’s economy back to health. This is also a priority for those who left their places of residence to shelter elsewhere during this time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization report that fresh drinking water is safe and chlorine, the most common disinfectant in drinking water, is effective at removing the COVID-19 virus. However, water takes on a far less benign character when it has been sitting for long periods of time. While your water company continues to deliver water that meets or surpasses all safe drinking water standards, bacteria can build up in stagnant water that has remained in the portion of the service line that usually extends from the curb to the property in question. That means resuming operations makes flushing of the service line nothing less than essential. The science behind the instruction is simple: What arrives in your tap has been regularly tested, sampled, filtered, and blended with chlorine and other treatment chemicals to ensure safe, healthy drinking water. Left stagnant in building pipes for weeks or months, bacteria finds a home, transforming the water into a potential health threat. The preventive remedies are easy but they need to be priorities the way masks and hand washing have become. Water quality recovery strategies include allowing a small amount of water to run from office faucets or spigots in the days before the workplace is open for business. The running water will help reclaim and sustain chlorine levels that will protect water quality the day a business or vacant home is cleared to reopen its doors. Office or plant managers should create an inventory of all water-using appliances that provide amenities to employees. These include ice machines, coffee machines, and dishwashers. Water should also be flushed through toilets and, if industrial showers are on site, run them as well. Different buildings have a variety of water storage devices. They should all be identified, drained, and flushed as part of a larger strategy of pipe cleaning. The object is to open every site where water serves a purpose and flush pipes to ensure stagnant water is replaced with fresh, safe water. A two month-long shutdown can also create havoc with a building’s infrastructure. Building managers will be inspecting mechanical equipment including boilers, pumps, water heaters, and backflow preventers to determine if there are any issues affecting their function. Before the first cup of coffee is drawn in the breakroom, before an industrial employee showers after a shift, before a glass of chilled water is drawn, flushing the system should be on the recovery checklist. America is faced with the overwhelming challenge of navigating the aftershocks of COVID-19. And while there is no roadmap or precedent for how best to move beyond a pandemic, paying attention to potential health threats lurking in long dormant water pipes would be a very good place to start. |
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Calendar of EventsThe following is a list of upcoming and ongoing calendar events. Check back on each publication for updates: • Virtual Walks: The Health Education Council will be holding Virtual Walks every Monday at 12:30 pm EST and Wednesday at 3 pm EST, with a Spanish language virtual walk each Friday at 3 pm EST. If you’re interested in taking a walk with friends while still practicing social distancing you can head to the the website here to sign up for a virtual walk. A Spanish speaking version is available here. You will then receive a zoom link and all you’ll need is a smart phone and a good pair of shoes and you’ll be in business! • LIBN invites you to join their team every Friday at 2PM on libnow, LIBN’s live end-of-week recap, where they take the pulse of the Long Island business community and chat with experts on the state of their industry. This Friday, we’ll chat with District Attorney Timothy Sini and Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, President & CEO of Family & Children’s Association. Participate in an interactive Q&A where YOU tell them what your business needs to know to stay ahead of the curve, as Long Island inches toward going back-to-business. You can register for the event here. • Northwell Health remains focused on responding to the needs of the communities we serve. To keep you informed, we have set up a webinar so you can hear the most up to date information on COVID-19, Northwell’s response, and our plans moving forward. The next webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00PM. Dr. McGinn and Dr. Farber will be joined by Dr. Stacey Rosen and Dr. Karina Davidson. Details are below, and we have also set up a site to allow you to ask questions in advance to be addressed either as part of the presentations or during Q&A. • A forum series on suburban labor organizing and worker power in the COVID pandemic and beyond will be presented by Hofstra Labor Studies and the Center for Labor and Democracy in collaboration with Long Island Jobs with Justice and A.L.L.O.W. (Advancing Local Leadership Opportunities for Women). The event will take place on Tuesday, June 2, 2020 from 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Advance registration is required: RSVP HERE. Registrants will be sent an event link to attend prior to the event. Free and open to the public // Capacity: 300
• Please join the Queens Chamber of Commerce for a complimentary webinar to learn about:
This webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 9th at 2 pm. You can register for the event here. • Wednesday, June 10, 2020 Long Island Advancement of Small Business presents ZOOM Video Conference “Office 365 Unleashed for Small & Medium-sized Businesses” 8:00AM to 10:00AM RSVP at www.liasb.com or call 516-473-7202. Registration is Free, but you must register for this event. |
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New York State Launches NY Forward Loan FundYesterday, New York State opened pre-applications for the New York Forward Loan Fund. Loans from this fund are available to small businesses, nonprofits, and small landlords in New York State that did not receive a loan from either the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for COVID-19 in 2020. New York Forward loans must be fully repaid over a 5-year term with fixed annual interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and landlords. Small businesses may apply for the lesser of $100,000 or up to 100% of the average monthly revenues in any 3-month period from 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as industries and regions reopen however, priority for New York Forward Loans will be given to industries and regions that have been reopened. Resources are available to assist in preparing applications for small businesses, landlords and nonprofits in industries and regions that have not yet reopened. To view more details, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, click here:
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CDC Guidelines on Coronavirus PreventionAs concern about the ever-expanding impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) grows, we can minimize or prevent the spread of coronavirus by taking these steps:
These are everyday habits that can help prevent the spread of several viruses. CDC does have specific guidance for travelers. For more information see the CDC website or call the NY State Coronavirus hotline to speak with a representative 888-364-3065
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Our Daily SponsorThe Engel Burman GroupA tireless energy and entrepreneurial spirit is what drives The Engel Burman Group, and has for over 50 years. Building on a solid foundation that includes some of the area’s most known and respected development brands — notably, The Bristal Assisted Living & The Seasons Active Adult Communities — The Engel Burman Group continues to extend its reach, expanding even further on a national scale. Over the last several years, Engel Burman has been broadening its scope, seeing rapid growth and portfolio diversity; developing new and innovative projects, with more on the horizon. Whether it’s developing, building and managing next-generation housing for first-time homebuyers, creating exceptional yet affordable living solutions for independent active adults, or trailblazing ongoing innovation in senior care and senior living, The Engel Burman Group continues to anticipate, adapt and advance — challenging, rethinking and redefining what’s possible. |
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