'We have done the impossible'
Cuomo addresses New Yorkers to end daily virus briefings
At Claudio's Waterfront in Greenport, clear partitions have been installed to separate patrons at the bar. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus
Cuomo offered his message from the State Capitol in Albany at an executive desk and framed by the American and state flags, as if delivering an address to the nation. In emotional terms, and seemingly relieved the state has brought the crisis under control in what was the nation's epicenter of the outbreak, he congratulated New Yorkers for all they have accomplished.
“I’m so incredibly proud of what we all did together and as a community, we reopened the economy and we saved lives, because it was never a choice between one or the other" to decide how to respond to the virus, he said. "It was always right to do both.”
"We have done the impossible," Cuomo said.
He touted the state's level of COVID-19 patients falling to 1,284, "the lowest number we have seen," and the weekly average of deaths also tallied as "the lowest weekly average of lives lost."
He confirmed the state will continue to inch forward on its reopening plans, with New York City entering the Phase 2 that will bring back many more retail, food and office businesses in some measures.
The number of new positives today, reported as of 3 p.m.: 38 in Nassau, 54 in Suffolk, 410 in New York City and 796 statewide.
This chart shows the cumulative number of people who have suffered coronavirus-related deaths and where they lived.
The chart above shows the cumulative number of people who have died from the coronavirus on Long Island. Search a map and view more charts showing the latest local trends in cases, testing, hospitalizations and more.
Malls are closed, but some stores open doors outside
Customers leave Macy's at the Westfield South Shore mall in Bay Shore on Wednesday. Credit: James Carbone
When Long Island entered Phase 2 of the business reopening plan on June 10, some mall retailers reopened for in-store shopping.
Under Phase 2, stores with their own entrances and exits to the outside were allowed to reopen last week for the first time since state-mandated closings in March to help stop the spread of the virus.
So, at shopping malls, the only businesses allowed to open are mostly large department stores and some restaurants that offer outdoor seating and takeout.
For about the last week, shopping malls’ anchor tenants have been reopening their doors or making plans to do so soon.
Pent-up demand, shortage of homes for sale drive up prices
Rachel Richter's family received multiple offers on their Long Beach home before any of the would-be buyers saw it in person. Credit: Danielle Silverman
Rachel Richter figured her family’s newly renovated house in Long Beach would catch prospective buyers’ attention, but she was taken by surprise by the frenzy.
The Richters received two offers on the three-bedroom home, listed for $589,000, even before they allowed any in-person showings. On June 12, seven potential buyers visited on separate tours. By the next morning, the Richters received a third bid, and accepted an offer over the asking price.
The market is “really, really hot,” Richter said. “People that typically would have been looking in March, April, May, they're all backed up and now they're released and [saying], ‘Let's go!’”
Just over a week after the reopening of Long Island’s real estate market, a shortage of homes for sale and competition from potential buyers leaving New York City are driving up prices for the most in-demand homes and forcing buyers to make quick decisions, according to buyers, sellers and real estate agents.
New York State officials gave the green light for Long Island’s real estate agents to resume in-person work on June 10.
Black and Latino educators donate tablets to students
Third-grader Jezur Hernandez-Contreras, of Central Islip, received a tablet from Long Island Black Educators Association volunteer Brenda Jackson and Long Island Latino Teachers Association president Dafny Irizarry. Credit: LILTA
Back in 2006, Dafny Irizarry started knocking on doors to talk to her community about how to address education disparities bilingual students face on Long Island.
Now, 14 years later, Irizarry is knocking on doors again — this time, as the founder and president of Long Island Latino Teachers Association. And she’s not showing up empty-handed. Irizarry’s organization has donated more than 60 tablets and laptops to local students in need, to help them in the age of distance learning.
Irizarry said children in low-resource communities can experience a “digital gap” in their learning and it has become magnified during the pandemic.
“Many times they have expressed how difficult it is to complete work from a phone,” Irizarry said. “Some children have to borrow their parents’ phones, and also have to share it with their siblings.”
Read more stories about Long Islanders' acts of kindness here.
More to know
Stephen Loverdy, a warehouse worker for Long Island Cares, sorts food for distribution. Credit: Barry Sloan
Food pantries from Hempstead to the Hamptons have seen a staggering increase in demand for meals in the three months since the pandemic reached Long Island, officials said.
Lost revenue from NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum closure will boost pressure on Nassau County's budget, which already faces a $384 million deficit this year because of the economic shutdown, county officials said.
The full application to have a Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiven has been cut in half, officials said.
PSEG Long Island is working with LIPA to create programs to help business districts get back on their feet as lockdown restrictions lift across the region.
The Long Island Ducks are working with several other independent league teams to play a 70-game schedule that would begin in mid-July and end in late September with a five-game championship series to follow, the Atlantic League announced.
Long Island added more than 48,000 jobs in May as businesses called workers back in anticipation of reopening, state data released Thursday shows.
News for you
Couples can enjoy the Pocono Mountains while maintaining social distancing. Credit: PoconoMountains.com/Christopher Elston
Get a change of scenery. Long Island families are more than ready — and finally able — to begin venturing out again. But where can you go and still practice social distancing? We've got five road trip destinations for you to consider.
Back-to-back Southside Johnny concerts. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes will come to the South Fork. The band will headline drive-in concerts for the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on July 25 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., rain or shine.
Get ready for the Belmont Stakes. Saturday’s 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes is already one for the history books, given the changes from the pandemic. Here's a horse-by-horse analysis.
Looking for catering? You might not be able to have tonight's dinner catered, but you might be able to eat at a catering hall. Some venues formerly dedicated to weddings and other special events are now offering outdoor dining.
More concerts postponed. Rod Stewart's Aug. 14 show at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater with special guest Cheap Trick was postponed to July 18, 2021. And, The Stadium Tour featuring Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts is now coming to Citi Field on July 15, 2021, instead of the original Aug. 23 date.
Plus: Each Father’s Day, Newsday invites Long Island high school student-athletes to honor their dads with personal letters. But this year, we asked for letters to fathers on the front lines as health care workers, first responders and essential workers. Read them here.
Get real-time updates about the virus' impact on the Island by visiting our live blog and watch our latest daily wrap-up video, which looked at the divide between those who wear a mask and those who don't.
Commentary
Joan Hamburg is featured in the "Life Under Coronavirus" podcast.
Out on the East End. How is the other half living on Long Island’s East End? Lots of canceled events, and lots of eating.
On Episode 30 of the “Life Under Coronavirus” podcast, we caught up with Joan Hamburg of WABC about what she’s seeing in the Hamptons, from delivery Blue Hill boxes to Sagaponack drive thru rosé.
“If you're a social person, and you love the Hamptons for your social life, this may be not your season,” she says.
Listen to more episodes from the series here.
