Serving Great Neck, G.N. Plaza, G.N. Estates, Kensington, Kings Point, Lake Success, Russell Gardens, Saddle Rock and Thomaston
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Friday, January 1, 2021
Vol. 96, No. 1
HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY GUIDE
NASSAU PBA REJECTS CONTRACT
COUNTY BILL SEEKS TO AID RESTAURANTS
PAGES 19-22
PAGE 2
PAGE 6
Dems find ally in Trump on stimulus
OH, (GINGER) SNAP!
Press for payments of $2K but McConnell thwarts Senate vote BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Local officials called on U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to push for $2,000 stimulus checks for American citizens after President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill into law on Sunday night. Congress approved the nation’s second stimulus package to aid people in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic last week. The bill passed in the House 359-53 and in the Senate 92-6. The measure calls for direct payments of $600 to adults and children, payments of $300 per week for workers receiving unemployment benefits through March 14 and $20 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Grants. Despite signing the legislation after a five-day delay, Trump advocated for an increase of $1,400 for the second wave of stimulus checks for American citizens. “$2000 for our great people,
not $600! They have suffered enough from the China Virus!!!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. Local officials on Long Island and in New York expressed support for the increased payments. “With Trump finally signing the bipartisan agreement, more relief is on the way. But it is not nearly enough,” U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) said Monday. “Today, the House will vote to increase direct payment checks to $2,000, just like the President wishes. Now he must get his Republican colleagues in Congress on board.” On Monday, the Democraticled House voted 275-134 to increase the payments to $2,000, but the measure’s fate in the Republican-controlled Senate was unclear. “The President’s cynical ploy to threaten the COVID relief package to obscure his dark of night pardons has resulted in a fighter’s chance to provide people with a $2,000 stimulus check if we can only get Continued on Page 27
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GREAT NECK SCHOOL DISTRICT
On Dec. 18, the Gingerbread Man was spotted in the Parkville School hallways and Principal Kathleen Murray chased him into the school library to get him back into the book where he belongs.
Manhasset Bed Bath & Beyond to close in Feb. BY R O S E W E L D ON Yet another major retailer on Northern Boulevard has fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bed Bath & Beyond store located
in the Munsey Park area of Manhasset will close by the end of February, a spokesperson for the retailer said last week. Bed Bath & Beyond spokesman Dominic Pendry
said in a statement that the closure would be part of “a store optimization plan that will see us establish the right network of stores to serve our customers.” Continued on Page 28
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