Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
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Friday, June 12, 2020
Vol. 69, No. 24
SALUTE TO LANDLORDS, TENANTS CHALLENGERS PRESS SUOZZI GRADUATES IN CONFLICT IN CANDIDATES EVENT PAGES 23-27
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Nassau restart takes big steps forward Outdoor dining for eateries, home showings, in-store retail BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z Long Island kicked off the second wave of phased reopening on Wednesday, opening the doors for outdoor dining, barbershops, hair salons, real estate offices, car dealerships and rental, retail and professional and administrative services. For the past three months, these industries had to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic while maintaining a balance of safety and service for their customers. Some restaurants and retail stores offered curbside pickup and real estate agents gave virtual tours to try and make the best out of uncertain times. After more than 4,000 deaths and more than 40,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, Long Island’s economy will take arguably it’s biggest step on the road to recovery over the past three months. County and town governments have also lent a hand in trying to
expedite the reopening process. “I have been speaking to salon owners and business owners throughout our county and they had great protocols and ideas for how to reopen and how to reopen safely,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. “So I made the case to the state that salons, barbershops, retail, these are businesses we need. I’m just so happy we can begin to get our economy to reopen again.” Officials from the Town of North Hempstead said Monday that restaurants could apply for outdoor dining permits in advance of the second phase in New York’s reopening plan. According to a news release sent out on Monday, the town will expedite the permit approval process for outdoor seating to help restaurants include more seats for customers as quickly as possible. The permits, officials said, will be free of charge. Continued on Page 37
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH
Employees of Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center gathered on the hospital’s front lawn and knelt in solidarity for eight minutes and 46 seconds on Friday. See story on page 6.
Deadline to mail school election ballots extended BY R OB E RT PELAEZ
absentee ballots through the mail one week from June 9 to June 16. The move by executive order, Gov. Andrew Cuomo an- Cuomo said, will hopefully alnounced that he will extend low for more flexibility for voters the deadline for school districts throughout the state and allow throughout the state to receive everyone’s vote to be counted
despite the in-person restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “Extending the deadline to submit absentee ballots builds on our previous Executive Orders to Continued on Page 38
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