Coronavirus: Nassau OKs $12 Million Aid For Food Banks, Homeless

MINEOLA, NY — Responding to an increase in demand for public services, the Nassau County Legislature held an emergency vote Monday to approve more than $12 million in federal aid that will come earmarked for food banks, employment training, homeless prevention and other health services.

The assistance, to be disbursed under the federal CARES Act, will send $12,775,244 to Nassau County, where more than 36,000 have tested positive for coronavirus while more than 100,000 have lost their jobs.

Helping residents who have lost their jobs and teetering on homelessness and hunger will require more resources, lawmakers said. In a news release, District 6 Legislator Bill Gaylor noted that, "The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Nassau County’s families, economy, and healthcare system like nothing we’ve seen before. These funds will be instrumental in helping Nassau County residents get back on their feet."

Earlier on Monday, at a community food distribution event in Levittown, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran praised the work of Island Harvest and the region's food banks, telling reporters that the economic crisis "is one of the tragic side-effects of this pandemic."

Curran also announced that county had reached another coronavirus "milestone": On Sunday, only 12% patients tested for coronavirus tested positive, "the lowest number yet," she said. The promising trend follows Nassau achieving two other reopening milestones — decreased hospitalizations and positive tests — which Curran had previously designated as requirements for lifting Nassau's coronavirus-related lockdown.

On Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told representatives from around the state to prepare to reopen after the stay-at-home order expires on May ;15.