LI Faces 'Economic Devastation' From COVID Without Federal Help

LONG ISLAND, NY — Long Island's two county executives on Thursday released a report that shows just how hard the region's economy was hit by the coronavirus while asking the federal government to save the region from economic devastation.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone joined together to speak about the report and to plead with the U.S. Senate to pass the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would provide financial assistance to regions that were hit hard by the coronavirus shutdowns. The bill has already passed in the House.

"These numbers are devastating. This report makes clear that COVID-19 has turned the Long Island economy upside down," Bellone said. "And what do we need to do to recover? Three words: federal disaster assistance. This burden should not be placed on the shoulders of local taxpayers, essential employees and first responders. That should not happen. The federal government should have already provided the assistance that this report makes abundantly clear is absolutely necessary."

According to the report, the economic shutdowns following the outbreak of the coronavirus caused the fastest rise in unemployment in Long Island's history, as well as a steep drop in revenue for the counties, which the report dubbed "economic shock."

Long Island lost 270,000 jobs during the first two months of the crisis. Jobs were shed at a faster rate on Long Island than even in New York City or in other suburban counties in the area. The report says that the total job losses for the year are expected to be around 375,000.

A disproportionate number of the jobs lost affected the Hispanic and Latinx community, as well as low-paying jobs and workers with lower educations.

"It underscores the ugly truth that our low-income and minority communities have been the hardest-hit by this pandemic," said Curran. "Not just health wise, but also economically."

The hardest-hit sector of the region's economy was hospitality, which shed a staggering 82,000 jobs — 30 percent of the total job loss for the region.

The health care industry was also hit hard, losing 59,000 jobs during the two-month period. Many of those jobs were from personal care or home care aides, technicians and thousands of registered nurses.

"While we were focusing on the pandemic, a lot of other care was not being provided," said Curran.

The massive job loss, the shutdowns and fears in residents, led to a "monumental decrease" in economic activity on Long Island, creating a 30 percent tax revenue decline for the counties, which earn most of their money through sales tax.

Nassau County is facing a deficit of $749 million in the next 15 months. Suffolk is facing double that — a $1.5 billion budget deficit in the next 15 months. Curran said the budget crises the counties are facing are "due 100 percent to the economic devastation of COVID-19."

The only way the region will recover quickly, and not have the economic pain dragged out for a decade or more, Bellone said, is for the federal government to act. Bellone said the coronavirus was a natural disaster, wreaking economic devastation without the physical damage.

"This is the equivalent of getting hit by a category five hurricane," Bellone said. "The only appropriate way to respond to that is for the federal government to do what it always does when responding to natural disasters, and that is to provide funding for the communities that have been hit hard."