May 12, 2022
HERALD What’s up in East Meadow schools
Celebrating Nurses ROOTED IN STRENGTH
$1.00
______________
Inside
10000*
$
discount
1111028
Celebrating
east meadow
Page 2
Vol. 22 No. 20
1173531
_______________
MAY 12 - 18, 2022
County exec ends pandemic relief program that day to be processed, but nothing more after that. Roughly 70,000 payments County Executive Bruce were processed amounting to a Blakeman is ending Nassau little over $26 million — just a County’s Household Assistance quarter of the money budgeted Program, intended to offer low- for the program. To get the er-income residents check, a household a one-time direct had to submit an payment of $375. application with docSigned into law umentation verifylast October when ing income, typically Blakeman’s predein the form of an cessor, Laura Curincome tax return, ran, was still in as well as provide office, the program proof of residency. was supposed to allo“We received a cate up to $100 milcheck about a month lion in federal funds ago,” Joe Dertinger, from the American an East Meadow resRe s c u e P l a n a s ident wrote to the direct payments for Herald. “After a couup to 400,000 qualifyple of months of ing Nassau resisubmission errors, dents. The county StEVE RhoAdS they actually called overall received $193 County legislator me and helped me million from the act, clarify some of the wh i ch P re s i d e n t qualification quesBiden signed into law in March tions, so with the submission 2021. issues in mind, overall it took In a letter to county legisla- about six months to receive the tors, Blakeman said he wanted check.” to stop the program because of The program has had a rather “extremely low participation” complicated history since Curand because the program seems ran, a Democrat, first introduced to be “trickling out.” He planned it a year ago. The program’s first to pull the plug May 15, allowing draft would have automatically any applications submitted by Continued on page 4
By MAlloRY WIlSoN mwilson@liherald.com
W
Tim Baker/Herald
County helps vets’ four-legged friends Sparky and his handler, Gene Smith, came to Eisenhower Park to help out at the Vets2Vets Mobile Veterinary Clinic last Friday. More photos, Page 3.
Covid money now available for veterans organizations By MAlloRY WIlSoN mwilson@liherald.com
A recent change in the American Rescue Plan allows veterans organizations and other 501(c) (19) organizations to receive up to $10,000 each in special pandemic loan and grant assistance from the federal government. The original bill, signed in March 2021, listed financial assistance in the form of loans and grants to small businesses
and nonprofits without specifying who qualified. Veterans organizations, however, were unable to receive funds because of their particular tax-exempt status. While American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts are listed as 501(c)(19), the previous ARPA only provided benefits for organizations designated as 501(c)(3). This left out other groups such as 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, 501(c)(7) social clubs, 501(c)(8) fraternal
beneficiary societies and 501(c) (10) domestic fraternal societies. “This is amazing,” said Pete Wenninger, the commander of East Meadow American Legion Post 1082 of the recent ARPA change. “This could bring new life to my veterans hall, to our membership and our community outreach program.” The change was formally made by the federal government Continued on page 8
e weren’t going to stand in the way of providing $375 checks to those who wanted to apply for them.