Seaford
HERALD Citizen
Helping save turtles
Camp emerges amid fanfare
Helping children cope with grief
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VOL. 68 NO. 21
MAY 21 - 27, 2020
Local church group ministers with masks By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com
Scott Brinton/Herald-Citizen
Brush blaze at Jones Beach More than a dozen departments joined Wantagh and Seaford firefighters to battle a 10-acre brush fire at Jones Beach State Park last Saturday. Story, more photos, Page 9.
It has become common over the past two months to enumerate the ways in which the country failed to prepare for the coronavirus pandemic. But those problems have also given rise to a range of humanitarian cottage industries, like ad hoc grocery delivery services and the production of protective gear for first responders and front-line workers. H o ly T r i n i t y O r t h o d ox Church, in East Meadow, began such an effort in March, when its Sisterhood of Our Lady of Kazan established a “mask min-
istry” for its members. The parish, which serves all of southeastern Nassau County, including Seaford and Wantagh, counts police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, nurses and at least one nursing home manager among its members. The team was led by parishioner Nancy Geng Vassilakis, of Merrick, who has her own business making custom jewelry and decorative fabric items. “[Parish President] Loraine Babaian had some really beautiful antique fabric from the 1960s and ’70s,” Geng Vassilakis said. “I cut the fabric into 6-inch by 9-inch rectangles, [and parishioners] ValerCONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Nonessential business reopening pushed back further By TIMOTHY DENTON tdenton@liherald.com
Nonessential business in Seaford and Wantagh will remain on hold until at least May 28, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo again extended the state’s stay-at-home order for the region. Nassau County inched closer to reopening as it hit the fifth of seven benchmarks the governor has set, with a decline in new hospital admissions posted by the governor’s office on Sunday. Only the number of fatalities and the lack of contact tracing still stand in the way of reopening. “The closure’s hard on every-
body, even essential businesses,” Wantagh Chamber of Commerce President Cathy McGrory Powell said. McGrory Powell and her husband, Bill, own the Seafordbased Universe Home Services, which specializes in air conditioning, electricity, heating and plumbing — and is deemed essential. “For the hospitality industry, though,” McGrory Powell added, “it’s been a disaster.” Tim Murray, director of promotions at Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall, on the WantaghSeaford border, agreed. Given that it is one of the most popular nightclubs in the area and a perennial favorite gathering
spot, Murray said he expected the business to survive. “But the smaller places are getting killed,” he said. Curbside and delivery-only service can only recoup a small percentage of restaurants’ regular business. And most bartenders and wait staff, many of whom are part-time employees and all of whom depend on tips, have been laid off. “We were able to get a [Payroll Protection Program] loan for our full-time people,” Murray said. “But we had to lay off all our part-time employees.” Even businesses that qualify for federal loans struggle with red tape, because rules and pro-
cedures change frequently, said Matt Kondrup, owner of Matty K Travel Group. With offices in Wantagh, Matty K is one of the largest travel agencies in the area. Kondrup estimated that the business had lost more than $4 million in sales since Cuomo’s order went into effect in March. And while he secured a PPP loan that covers his employees’
base salaries, most of their income comes in the form of commissions. “Some of our peop l e h ave l o s t m o re t h a n $100,000,” Kondrup said. “And remember: Not only is this a commission business; we don’t get paid until people actually travel. So even if they book something now, it’s going to be a CONTINUED ON PAGE 17