'Stay New York smart' this weekend
Cuomo urges NYers to keep virus in check
There will be no fireworks display on the Fourth of July at Jones Beach, pictured here on Saturday. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
918 people were confirmed positive for COVID-19 out of 66,392 tested on Thursday, for a 1.38% level of positives, according to state data released Friday. The level on Long Island was 0.9%, and in New York City 1.5%.
Those results are “a reminder that the virus is still here and I cannot repeat enough that our actions today — those of individuals being smart and following all precautions, and local governments enforcing the state's guidelines — will determine which direction these numbers go,” Cuomo said in a statement.
“This holiday weekend please wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, and stay New York smart."
The daily death toll from the coronavirus was nine across the state, down from a peak of nearly 800 in April. Some 857 people were hospitalized for COVID-19, a drop of 21 from the previous day.
New York’s continuing low-infection numbers came as other states broke daily records for the number of new confirmed cases.
The number of new positives today, as of 3 p.m.: 37 in Nassau, 47 in Suffolk, 460 in New York City and 918 statewide.
These bars track how many patients are currently hospitalized for coronavirus each day.
The chart above shows the number of patients hospitalized for the coronavirus in Nassau and Suffolk. Search a map and view more charts showing the latest local trends in testing, new cases, deaths and more.
Quarantine order likely to hold up in court, experts say
An arriving passenger wearing a face shield, left, collects her luggage in the baggage claim area of LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B on June 25. Credit: AP/Kathy Willens
Cuomo’s quarantine order for travelers from 16 high-coronavirus-infection states likely would hold up in court if challenged, legal experts say.
But a week after it went into effect, one Long Island state lawmaker said with enforcement a “logistical nightmare,” it’s designed to discourage travel rather than impose widespread quarantines.
Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said last week that the tristate travel advisory, which requires 14 days of self-isolation upon arrival in the area, is aimed at preventing the spread from states with high, and growing, infection rates.
New York has collected information from more than 4,600 travelers at airports across the state, said a top Cuomo administration official close to the situation, who asked not to be identified.
Local health departments are then asked to randomly check to ensure travelers are obeying the quarantine, the official said.
Foreclosure cases to resume for some
Contractor Ben Jackson, in an excavator, works on the backfill around the foundation of Darcy Avolin's house in Freeport in May. Credit: Yeong-Ung Yang
Darcy Avolin feared she would lose her Sandy-damaged Freeport home on March 24, the day it was due to be sold in a foreclosure auction at the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola.
Eight days before the scheduled auction, though, state courts halted work on non-essential cases such as foreclosures to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The sale of Avolin’s home was cancelled.
Three months later, as state courts gradually resume hearing cases deemed non-essential, Avolin is scrambling to complete repairs so she can take in tenants and, she hopes, start to catch up on her mortgage and save her home from the auction block.
“If I lose the house I’m completely homeless,” said Avolin, 59.
The pandemic has given many homeowners facing hardships a temporary reprieve from foreclosure lawsuits and auctions during the shutdown. But as the economy and the state courts begin to reopen, some of those reprieves are coming to an end.
'Everything has changed': LIers pine for togetherness this Fourth of July
Thom and Alison Gencarelli, of Hastings on Hudson, talk about not having fireworks on the Fourth of July at Jones Beach on Saturday. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
On Long Island, the ongoing pandemic means a July Fourth without the massive Jones Beach fireworks display. It means keeping social distance and staying separate and hearing health and government officials urging people to stay home.
Without the traditional trappings of Independence Day, Saturday could mean more intimate gatherings.
Thom Gencarelli, 60, who grew up in Bellmore, offered a stoic perspective.
“It’s kind of unfortunate, but at this point, everything is crazy. Everything has changed.”
Fourth of July weekend may be more subdued this year, but there are still socially distant ways to celebrate.
More to know
Swimming pool at Jones Beach on Saturday in Wantagh. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The one remaining public pool at Wantagh’s Jones Beach State Park will open Friday, and the only other pool at a state park, which is in Montauk Downs, also opens on Friday.
A study shows the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine helps lower the death rate of COVID-19 patients, a Detroit-based health system said.
More than 11,270 Long Islanders filed for unemployment benefits last week, 400 more than the 10,870 who filed for aid the week before, according to state data released Thursday.
Major League Baseball has canceled the All-Star Game scheduled for July 14 because of the pandemic.
Stony Brook University is hoping to raise enough funding to usher 300 small business owners through a free workshop designed to help their firms survive the pandemic.
The NBA announced Thursday that nine more players tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 25 of 351 players in testing over a weeklong span.
News for you
Families gather in the parking lot of the Smith Haven Mall for the Summer Movie Series in Smithtown on May 30. Credit: Kendall Rodriguez
Schedule a trip to the drive-in. Pop-up drive-in movies have been springing up around Long Island, and some are set for this weekend. Here's the updated schedule.
The fate of the sushi bar. Japanese and sushi restaurants did not go unscathed during the pandemic, and are in the midst of a dynamic but unsettled moment. Here's how Long Island's sushi bars are faring post-lockdown.
Concerts in the parking lot. The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts is reopening ... on the outside. LIU Post’s concert venue in Brookville is getting in the drive-in concert game by launching a summer series.
And more drive-in concerts. After holding the first drive-in concert last Saturday with Queen tribute band, Almost Queen, there's more on the way. The Town of Hempstead set 28 more drive-in concerts at Point Lookout Park over the next two months.
But there's always the option to stream. National acts are off the road and tours are put on hold, but many artists are still providing live virtual content. Here are 11 acts streaming concerts.
Plus: Heading to the beach this weekend? Get a reminder about the beaches open for the season, admission fees and site-specific restrictions you might encounter.
Commentary
NY parents expressed a decrease in success for distance learning as the pandemic has worn on, especially for low-income families. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Andrew_Rybalko
Distance learning isn't cutting it for everyone. A March statewide poll of New York parents found that 57% described the distance-learning their children were being provided as “successful," writes Lane Filler in a Newsday Opinion column.
By June, a follow-up poll by Global Strategy Group showed that percentage had dropped 14 points, to 43%.
And the vast majority of the overall decline came from low-income families, whose approval had practically matched that of higher-income families in March but by June was 12% lower than higher-income families, 36% to 48%. And between March and June, satisfaction among Black parents dropped 16 points, while satisfaction among Hispanic parents declined 12 points.
The findings are part of a report released Monday by The Education Trust-New York, a nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating gaps in equity, opportunity and achievement in education.
The news isn’t all bad. Parents actually support their schools’ overall handling of the coronavirus, with 83% signaling approval. Here, too, however, lower-income families are far less enthused, with 76% approving while that number is 86% for higher-income families. In March, the two groups’ ratings had been nearly identical.
