Time to say goodbye to the heart of Midland Beach | From the editor Updated Dec 20, 2020; Facebook Share Hi Neighbor, How can you help not looking back to this time, just a year ago. Our lives were so different. Face coverings meant sunglasses and a scarf. Shoppers crowded the Mall as Santa did his Ho Ho Ho’s. Restaurant maître d’s squeezed in partiers, all night long, in places like Trattoria Romana on Hylan, where Chef Vittorio had a motto: There’s always room for one more. Letters addressed “North Pole” were dropped in mailboxes, from Tottenville to St. George, a quick peek by mom and dad first, as Elfs found the way to the their Shelves.