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LOCAL Act aims to help businesses and even medicinal herbs. Last year, a total of 23 new businesses set up shop in LynLast year, local business brook, according to the village. Despite initial challenges in owner Amina Iduma realized she needed to move her ware- spreading the word, Iduma’s reliance on word-of-mouth house out of Queens. referrals has “Rent was really helped establish a expensive, and I steady flow of cusdecided I wanted to be closer to home,” tomers, not only Iduma said. from the African A West HempAmerican commustead resident and nity, but also Latia native of Nigeria, no customers, who Iduma transitioned find common from grocery ingredients in wholesaling to their cuisines. opening her own She imports store after identifymany of her proding a local demand ucts, which sets for authentic Afrih e r s t o re ap a r t can goods. from mainstream I n i t i a l l y, s h e groceries, which, chose Lynbrook for Iduma said, may its more accessible carry only a small real estate market, selection of Afrifinding a 2,800can goods. LEo CACCIAToRE square-foot build“I’m glad that Owner, the Rustic Loft ing between we can be a place Elmont and Valley for them to shop Stream — two areas with large and find what they need to cook African American populations. traditional dishes.” she said. Last March, Iduma opened For Iduma, the hardest part L’ami African Market, at 445 has been overcoming the chalMerrick Road, which offers a lenges of advertising her mardiverse range of products, from ket to make it known to a wider fresh produce to traditional Continued on page 11 spices, grains, meats, snacks
By AINSLEY MARTINEZ
amartinez@liherald.com
W
Courtesy Lynbrook School District
Federal funding cuts could affect local districts, and their students in all grades.
School districts monitor threats to federal education funding By AINSLEY MARTINEZ amartinez@liherald.com
As President Trump considers executive action to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, local districts like Lynbrook and East Rockaway are closely monitoring the potential impact on their budgets. The Trump administration’s plan, which could eliminate a range of federal education functions, has raised concerns about the future of funding for schools across the nation. According to Michael Van Wart, the East Rockaway School District’s assistant superintendent of finance and operations, the district receives nearly $500,000 annually from the DOE, and potential changes at the feder-
al level are an “obvious concern.” “As it relates to the Department of Education, the Executive Order has not been signed and released yet so everything is pure speculation at this point,” Van Wart said in a statement to the Herald. “We are monitoring the situation to see how things develop and if there is any impact on the district.” Paul J. Lynch, superintendent of Lynbrook schools, echoed Van Wart’s remarks in a statement to the Herald, saying that if the district lost the $1.2 million in annual funding it receives from the DOE, it could hinder student resources — or burden taxpayers. “A disruption in these funds could force us to make difficult decisions that may impact educational resources, staffing and Continued on page 9
e had to rely on word of mouth and social media in the early days, but advertising is expensive, and for small businesses it can be a significant burden.