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Overcast Glen Cove business owners ready for Phase 2 re-opening
Restrictions on Long Island’s economy loosened up on Wednesday when Phase Two started, as per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s directive. Outdoor dining at restaurants can resume and barbershops and hair salons can open.
The updated reopening timeline represents a continued drop in new coronavirus hospitalizations, intubations and deaths, according to the governor. Over the last weekend in May, the number of overnight deaths fell to 56 — down from a high of 799 on April 9, he said. That is a 93 percent decline.
Paul Ferri, the owner of La Famiglia Pizzeria & Restaurant in Glen Cove, said that he was pleasantly surprised that outdoor dining could return. He and his staff will follow state and local guidelines to ensure customer and employee safety.
“We were the first ones in town to have outdoor dining 27 years ago,” he said. “People look forward to coming out and enjoying themselves. Although there are a lot more places that do have outside dining now, which is fine as we want to see the town look nicer, the customers are definitely looking forward to it.”
Joe Valensisi, the owner of Henry’s Confectionery in Glen Cove, said that he is also excited to have customers enjoying his food on the premises again. And while Valensisi did not originally have room for his customers to dine outdoors, his next door neighbor, Casa Bella Furniture, is allowing Valensisi to sit customers in front of the store.
“I could probably only put two tables in front of my store,” Valensisi said. “For the meantime, I’m going to use [my neighbor’s] front, so I could probably put three tables there. But he said, ‘If it works out well, go all the way down if you’d like.’ He doesn’t mind.”
Valensisi still needed to get his paperwork notarized to have outdoor dining and with the help of Matt Nartowicz, the regional branch manager at American Community Bank’s Glen Cove location, he was able to get it done on June 9.
“Soon I guess I can start putting tables outside,” Valensisi said. “People can look in the windows of [Casa Bella Furniture] and come in the store for any questions, [the owner] said it’s going to benefit the both of us.”
Space is needed to have outdoor dining while social distancing. The Glen Cove City Council passed resolution at a special Glen Cove City Council Meeting that will authorize the closure of School Street (between Highland Road and Glen Street) and Glen Street (between School Street and Pulaski Street) between Thursdays and Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m.
An additional parking lot that runs behind 51 to 69 Glen Street will also close between Thursday and Saturday nights for dining.
Restaurant owners looking to take advantage of outdoor dining are required to fill out an application that must be sent to the city clerk to be reviewed by the building department. Additionally, restaurant owners must submit an affirmation to the state indicating an understanding of the imposed guidelines on outdoor dining.
Phase Two Reopening will also loosen restrictions on other industries. Roberta Cerasi, a licensed salesperson with Glen Key Realty, said that the pandemic was tough on the real estate industry. “We were all concerned about our homeowners safety, the buyers safety and our family’s safety,” Cerasi said.
During the days of the stay-at-home order, Cerasi’s firm conducted virtual tours and continued paying special attention to taking photos of the homes up for sale.
But now that the industry is heading towards normalcy, Cerasi said she believes the real estate market is going to come back strong. “I think people are going to be looking to expand out a little bit,” she said. “It’s going to be a very good and strong market.”
To keep themselves and clients safe, Cerasi said that wearing gloves and masks, using disinfectant wipes and avoiding driving with buyers are among the practices in place.
