Nassau County Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council
Nassau County Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council
Survey on Long Island Impact
Hofstra University collaborated with Long Island’s County Executives Laura Curran and Steve Bellone to coordinate a second survey open from May 19, 2020 – May 29, 2020 to assess the financial impact of COVID-19 on local businesses and get an update on how they’re faring as many prepare to reopen. The island wide survey is part of ongoing efforts to identify the needs of businesses, make economic projections, inform recovery strategies and advocate for state and federal support. There were 1,282 respondents to this survey.
On March 17, 2020, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran established a Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council to assess the countywide impact on both small and large businesses. The membership of the Council, representing leaders of Long Island’s business community, is listed below.
As part of this effort, Hofstra University, represented on the Council by President Stuart Rabinowitz, is supporting the County Executive and the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency in a data collection strategy to assist in addressing and mitigating the economic impacts of the pandemic.
In partnership with the Nassau County Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council, Suffolk County and the Nassau and Suffolk County Industrial Development Agencies, Hofstra University is coordinating the data collection strategy to assist Nassau and Suffolk Counties in addressing and mitigating the economic impacts of the Coronavirus on businesses of all sizes.
Read the County Executive’s Economic Advisory Council Interim Report dated May 14, 2020
Additional Business Resources: What Nassau Businesses Need to Know
Suffolk County Business Unit Recovery Page
The Nassau County Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council received 1,431 responses to the first survey, which was open from March 24, 2020 to April 1, 2020 to assist the Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council in assessing the impact of the coronavirus on their operations, finances, and employees. This information will be used by Nassau County to inform advocacy for economic relief.
We thank the businesses that took time to take our initial survey, which closed on April 1. The survey results are available below. Stay well and follow @NassauExecutive, @idaNassau, and @HofstraU, and visit New York State Empire State Development’s website https://esd.ny.gov/ to stay informed on the latest COVID-19 updates.
To better understand the economic impact of the coronavirus, and to formulate as sound a response as possible, Nassau County needs accurate information and are conducting a study through HR&A. First, the county is seeking projections of various best-to-worst case scenarios so that we can best prepare for a range of contingencies, as well as we can precisely assign resources and prepare requests for state and federal aid.
Council Members
- Co-Chairs: Stuart Rabinowitz, Hofstra University and Richard Kessel, Nassau County IDA
- Phil Andrews, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce
- Jamie Bogenshutz, YES Community Counseling Center
- John Cameron, Long Island Regional Planning Council
- Charles Chan, Harvest International Commercial Real Estate
- Kevin Dahill, Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council & Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York
- John Durso, Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
- Wayne Grossé, Bethpage Federal Credit Union
- Dennis Grossman, Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce
- Zeeshan Hamid, New York South Asian Chamber
- Kevin Law, Long Island Association
- Loren Lostritto, Steel Equities
- Kristen Jarnagin, Discover Long Island
- Alan Mindel, Samar Hospitality
- Richard Monti, Crest Hollow Country Club
- Jonathan Otto, MetroCapital Realty
- Bennett Rechler, We’re Group
- Jay Roewe, HBO
- Kyle Strober, Association for a Better Long Island
- Luis Vasquez, Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Jermaine Williams, Nassau Community College
Consultant Analysis
The Economic Advisory Council, through the Nassau County IDA, selected consulting firm HR&A to analyze the survey results and develop economic projections for Nassau County. Beginning in early April, HR&A will create a portrait of how the County’s economy was doing before the virus, the conditions right now and model what we can expect in the weeks, perhaps months, to follow. Their analysis is key to helping County officials make the case for more assistance from the state and federal government, by developing a sophisticated projection of various scenarios and collecting relevant data.
Resource List
We are aware of the following resources in the New York region that provide support to businesses challenged by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please click on the links to learn more.
- U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Assistance: Federal Disaster Loans for businesses, private non-profits, homeowners, and renters.
- New York State Empire State Development
- Guidance and resources for businesses: https://esd.ny.gov/
- How businesses/health care professionals and personal protective equipment (PPE) providers and manufacturers can help. Get Involved.
- Submit Your COVID-19-related business questions here.
- NYS Dept of Labor - Shared Work through the NYS Department of Labor helps certain employers keep trained staff and avoid layoffs. Employees can receive partial unemployment insurance benefits while working reduced hours. Full-time, part-time and seasonal employees are eligible.
- Hofstra University Center for Entrepreneurship - Hofstra University provides assistance to all types of small businesses and is offering programs, mentorship, and zoom workshops virtually during this difficult time through the Center for Entrepreneurship. Visit www.hofstra.edu/entrepreneurship more information or contact ideaHUb@Hofstra.edu
- NYS Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES): Public Assistance program for governments/special districts/certain types of non-profit organizations will fund “Emergency Protective Measures” as a result of the COVID-19 virus.