This Morning’s Bulletin — 5.29.20

Good Morning!

• We’re expecting a 40 percent chance of showers today, with patchy fog before 11 a.m., mostly cloudy skies and a high near 72 degrees, with a south wind 10 to 13 miles per hour. There’s a 50 percent chance of showers overnight, with mostly cloudy skies and a low around 62. There’s also a 50 percent chance of showers Saturday, with skies clearing throughout the day and a high near 74. Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 70.

• The New York Forward Loan Fund is providing working capital loans so that small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords who did not receive a loan from the SBA have access to credit as they reopen. These loans are available to small businesses, nonprofits, and small landlords. The loans are not forgivable and will need to be paid back over a 5-year term with interest. The NYFLF targets the state’s small businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (90% of all businesses), nonprofits and small landlords that have seen a loss of rental income. More information is online here.

• Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that regions may be able to open their economy faster than in two week increments between phases if they continue to meet metrics to stop the spread of Covid-19. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said Thursday that he supports reopening more quickly, and also that the Suffolk County Health Department “will grant automatic approval” for any new restaurant outdoor seating area approved by local governments to slow the spread of the disease.

• Greenport Village will shut down parking to make a temporary pedestrian walkway in the center of town on Front and Main streets for two days this weekend, beginning 9 a.m. Saturday, as a trial run to get an idea of any issues that may come up if it puts in place a semi-permanent plan proposed by the village’s BID last week. Riverhead Town is also pursuing a plan to allow outdoor dining on Main Street.

• Vegetable growers here had not yet begun their spring planting when the lockdown went into effect, and many farm stands had not yet opened for the season. But agriculture is an essential business, and as it awakened here from its winter slumber, many farmers had already had a couple months to prepare to reopen safely. But there are still some big unknowns for stand-out Long Island agricultural products. The Beacon’s full story is online here.

• There are now 39,359 Suffolk County residents who have tested positive for Covid-19, after 101 new diagnoses were made on Wednesday, said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone on Thursday, along with 12,956 people who have tested positive for antibodies to the disease. As of Wednesday, there were 301 people hospitalized in the county with Covid-19, a decrease of four, while 92 people were in ICU, a decrease of two. Twelve people had gone home from the hospital in the past 24 hours, and 10 had died, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,871.

• HRHCare, which has been doing Suffolk County’s hotspot Covid-19 testing at its health centers, is now offering antibody testing. Anyone who would like antibody testing can make a telehealth appointment at hrhcare.org.

The high tides on the East End for the next two days are as follows:

May 29
Plum Gut Harbor: 3:20 a.m., 4:11 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 2:28 a.m., 3:19 p.m.
Greenport: 3:57 a.m., 4:48 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 4:50 a.m., 5:34 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 3:52 a.m., 4:43 p.m.
New Suffolk: 5:19 a.m., 6:10 p.m.
South Jamesport: 5:26 a.m., 6:17 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 2:19 a.m., 3:14 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 12:28 a.m., 1:23 p.m.

May 30
Plum Gut Harbor: 4:24 a.m., 5:11 p.m.
Montauk Harbor: 3:32 a.m., 4:19 p.m.
Greenport: 5:01 a.m., 5:48 p.m.
Mattituck Inlet: 5:52 a.m., 6:32 p.m.
Sag Harbor: 4:56 a.m., 5:43 p.m.
New Suffolk: 6:23 a.m., 7:10 p.m.
South Jamesport: 6:30 a.m., 7:17 p.m.
Shinn. Bay Entrance: 3:18 a.m., 4:11 p.m.
Shinn. Inlet: 1:27 a.m., 2:20 p.m.

And that’s the way things look at dawn’s light here today.