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NEW YORK STATE LAUNCHES CORONAVIRUS CONTACT TRACER PROGRAM

By Doreen Newman | Published May 9, 2020
Employment   Opportunity… New York State Launches Coronavirus Contact Tracer   Program
Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that New   York State is accepting applications for Contact Tracers to help slow the   spread of the Coronavirus. This program will help control the   infection rate and will be executed in coordination with New Jersey and   Connecticut. It will serve as an important resource to gather data and be a   model to replicate across the country. Applicants are being sought for   the role of Contact Tracer, Team Supervisor and Community Support Specialist.
The Contact Tracers are important to Long   Island, as “contact tracing” is one of the 7 metrics of the Governor’s   reopening plan for the state. The program will include a baseline of 30   contact tracers for every 100,000 individuals with a total of 6,400 to 17,000   tracers statewide. Currently, the Long Island region requires a minimum   of 852 contract tracers, which could change due to an increase or decline in   the number of COVID-19 positive cases. Go to https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/get-involved-how-you-can-help to   apply online.
New PSA   Contest: ​The Governor also   announced a contest asking New Yorkers to create and share a PSA video   explaining why people should wear a mask in public. You can learn more   at http://www.WearAMask.ny.gov. Please feel free to share with your   constituents.
Contact   Tracing: To learn about how   to apply to be apart of the NY contact tracing initiative, please   visit: http://www.health.ny.gov/assistance.​ At this link, you will find application to   apply to a contact tracer, team supervisor, and community support specialist.
Enforcement   Hotline: The NYS on PAUSE   Enforcement hotline is still active. Individuals can file complaints   regarding the operation of non-essential businesses or gatherings 24 hours a   day, 7 days a week through an online form or by calling 1-833-789-0470.​ The   online form can be accessed by clicking here​.
Sincerely,
Lisa M. G. Mulligan,   Director
Town of Brookhaven
Division of Economic   Development
www.brookhavenny.gov
 

WEBINAR TOMORROW 4/16 – GMCCC/U.S. DOL/WHD FFCRA Conference

By Doreen Newman | Published April 15, 2020
You have been invited to the event “Greater Middle Country Chamber / U.S. DOL/WHD FFCRA Conference”
On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor announced new action regarding how American workers and employers will benefit from the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act, both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to this new law, effective April 1, 2020. For more information, see https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/ffcra
.
FFCRA will help the United States combat and defeat COVID-19 by reimbursing American private employers that have fewer than 500 employees with tax credits for the cost of providing employees with paid leave taken for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The legislation will ensure that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus, while at the same time reimbursing businesses.
Nano Bustamante
Nano Bustamante is the Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist (CORPS) for the Long Island District Office. Nano began his career in the federal government in 1995. He transferred to the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division in 2010 as an Investigator. Nano accepted the CORPS position in April of 2016.
To know more, click https://dolwhd.cosocloud.com/exj3wuwclard/event/speaker_info.html
Event: Greater Middle Country Chamber / U.S. DOL/WHD FFCRA Conference
When: Thursday 16 April 2020, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Time Zone: (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Audio Conference Details:
To register now, please visit the following link:
https://dolwhd.cosocloud.com/exj3wuwclard/event/registration.html
To know more about the event, please visit our website:
https://dolwhd.cosocloud.com/exj3wuwclard/event/event_info.html
Thank you,
David An
 

Join us for a Virtual Chamber Meeting – April 21st

By Doreen Newman | Published April 15, 2020

We will be getting back to monthly chamber events, although for the time being, they will be virtual meetings. Next week, we will ‘host’ our previously scheduled March meeting. Join the Miller Business team as they demonstrate some of their favorite online resources, mobile apps, and more that are beneficial for small business owners.

Join the Meeting Here!

 

April Luncheon Meeting Cancelled

By Doreen Newman | Published April 3, 2020

Due to the Stay in Place order effective through April 30th, this month’s luncheon meeting has been cancelled.

The Active Shooter Presentation presented by Suffolk County Police Department Shield Program will be rescheduled.

 

IMPORTANT: Stimulus/Small Business Disaster Loan Relief

By Doreen Newman | Published March 27, 2020
Congressman Lee Zeldin held a Small Business Telephone Town Hall Meeting Thursday, March 26th. Below are the key points from this call:
Stimulus / SBA Loan:
– The vote has passed the Senate and is going for vote in the House on 3/27. If it passes the House it will be going to the White House to Sign.
– Further updates will be provided as this progresses the channels.
– There will be a special page that they come out with on Lee Zeldin’s website
– There is no section in the application for a specific dollar value request. The value will be based on the documents submitted.
– Money, if approved, will be disbursed in increments and based on the documents submitted with the filing.
Website for Submittal / Review – Disaster Loan Assistance
Should you apply?
APPLY, APPLY, APPLY – Get your User ID and get in the system now.
– Applications can take ~21 days to be accepted
– No matter what, you should apply for the SBA (If you are interested)
— Before it goes through final processing, you can ‘opt-out’ and deny the loan if something else comes out better
– Even if you are a new business / not profitable business, as long as you are making sales and headway, this loan is still an option and is not an automatic disqualification
Forgiveness / Payback
– The /entire/ loan can’t be forgiven, but there will be a portion that may be: payroll, utilities, rent, can be forgiven, up to a maximum of 8 weeks.
– All payments are deferred for 6 months
– Applies to all business that retain employees up until June 30th, 2020
– This is based on headcount (If someone leaves, you could replace with another person and it still counts)
Contacts:
Robert J. Piechota
Branch Manager- Long Island, NY Office
U.S. Small Business Administration
(631) 454-0762
(516) 672-6387 Cell
 

Stay informed – Helpful Links

By Doreen Newman | Published March 26, 2020

Please refer to these links as needed. Once we have more specific info to share, we will post it on our website, our group facebook page and via email. Please sign up for our facebook page if you have not done so.

US Offices:

US Chamber of Commerce – https://www.uschamber.com/

Department of Labor https://www.dol.gov

US Small Business Administration Covid-19 information – https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19

FEMA – https://www.fema.gov/

NYS Offices:

NYS Department of Health Covid-19 Info- https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home

NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo (Executive orders) – https://www.governor.ny.gov/executiveorders

NYS Small Business Development Center – http://www.nyssbdc.org/

NYS Unemployment – https://www.ny.gov/services/get-unemployment-assistance#overview-

Suffolk Country Offices:

Suffolk County Business Recovery Unit – https://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/News/suffolk-county-executive-bellone-announces-new-actions-to-support-local-businesses-affected-by-covid-19   Call 311 or email

Congressman Lee Zelden – https://www.Zeldin.house.gov

 

Helpful information on dealing with the pandemic

By Doreen Newman | Published March 16, 2020

The US Chamber of Commerce has published several helpful articles for businesses dealing with the
COVID-19 Pandemic.

Visit www.USChamber.com for more info.

 

A letter from Lenore Paprocky re. COVID-19 Crisis

By Doreen Newman | Published March 16, 2020
To All Members, Business Leaders and Residents,
During this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, we are faced with many challenges. Our small businesses are dependent on our local community and likely face some very challenging times ahead.  We must do everything we can, as a chamber and as a community, to combat and mitigate these effects. We can accomplish this by doing our part to shop local when feasible. Many small businesses are making changes to adapt to this crisis, like offering free delivery or curb side pickups.
If you are doing something unique or different to help make things easier for our local community to do business with you, please feel free to share with us on our Greater Middle Country Chamber Facebook page.
We will be posting other information on our Facebook page and on our website, as it develops.
The Greater Middle Country Chamber is only strong together.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions
 

March Luncheon Meeting Canceled

By Doreen Newman | Published March 12, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 Virus Pandemic, we will be cancelling our March Luncheon Meeting on Tuesday, March 17th. We will continue to monitor the situation, and will notify you if there is any change to our April Events Calendar. Please understand that everyone’s health and safety is of our utmost concern. Thank you.

 

Active Shooter Presentation – Tuesday, April 21st

By Doreen Newman | Published February 19, 2020

Please join us for this timely presentation. Please note this meeting will run a full 2 hours. More info to follow.

 
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