Serving Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Albertson and Searingtown
$1
Friday, December 18, 2020
Vol. 69, No. 51
GUIDE TO WINTER
MAN STEALS CAR FROM MOTORIST IN MINEOLA
COUNTY OK OKss NIFA REFINANCING DEBT
PAGES 21-36
PAGE 2
PAGE 10
Vaccine arrives; deaths rise BY ROSE WELDON AND ROBERT PELAEZ New York state’s largest health system, Northwell Health, made history on Monday by vaccinating the first person in the United States against COVID-19. In a Zoom conference with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Dr. Michelle Chester, director of employee health care, injected Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine into Sandra Lindsay of Port Washington, an intensive care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling was also present. “Today is V-Day in our fight against COVID-19,” Dowling told the governor. “This truly is a historic day for science and humanity, one in which we here in New York and across the United States have been waiting for quite some time.” The system said Lindsay’s parPHOTO BY SCOTT HEINS, COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF GOV. ANDREW CUOMO ticipation kick-started a long-anticipated vaccination deployment program throughout the country, Sandra Lindsay, a registered nurse and director of critical care at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Continued on Page 52 receives the COVID-19 vaccine during a live conference with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Police reform demanded in Nassau BY R OB E RT PELAEZ Chants of “No justice, no peace, no contract for the police” were
heard outside the Nassau County legislative building in Mineola last Thursday night as more than 100 people gathered to demand that the county not approve a new po-
lice labor contract until more public input is heard by officials. Representatives from the Long Island Advocates for Police Accountability, Long Island United to Transform Policing & Community Safety, Young Long Island for Justice, and various NAACP branches throughout Nassau County made up a prominent number of those
who gathered outside the county building. “This police contract is not considering needed reforms to the police,” Shanequa Levin of Long Island United to Transform Policing & Community Safety said. “They need to hear us because they don’t care. We need them to know that Black lives matter to us.” On Nov. 23, the County Legis-
lature approved a new labor deal with the 350-member Superior Officers Association, the county’s largest police union. The tentative deal is for eight-and-a-half years and awards raises totaling 15 percent and provides officers with a $3,000 stipend upon completion of the county’s body camera program, expected to begin by September. Continued on Page 44
Support local journalism and get real news Subscribe to the Blank Slate Media newspaper of your community https://theislandnow.com/subscription/