WHITESTONE, N.Y. -

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, or GNYADA, says auto dealers collectively contribute more than $20 million annually to charitable causes in local communities such as Long Island, New York City and Westchester County.

Once again, the association said, dealers are racing to the aid of their neighbors.

GNYADA, which represents more than 400 franchise new car dealers in the downstate region, is donating 500,000 face masks to at-risk New Yorkers to keep safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The association is distributing the masks throughout the metro New York region beginning this week. The effort starts with 50,000 each in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties and 250,000 equally divided among the five boroughs. The group will distribute 35,000 to Rockland County and 25,000 each to the smaller-population counties of Orange, Putnam and Dutchess.

GNYADA, coordinating with the offices of county executives and borough presidents, is distributing the three-ply paper masks to individuals who need them, such as seniors, essential workers and other vulnerable populations.

The association notes that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a requirement for all New Yorkers to wear masks in situations in which adequate social distancing is not possible. Because of that, the need for masks has become clear.

Auto dealers have been eager to help, the association said.

“When New Yorkers are in need, time and again, franchise new-car dealers and their employees are always there for the communities where they live and work,” GNYADA president Mark Schienberg said in a news release.

Schienberg continued, “Auto dealers are the brick-and-mortar backbones of Main Streets and neighborhoods throughout the region, supporting little leagues, hospitals, schools, senior centers, and many charities large and small.  During this extremely challenging time, when so many New Yorkers are suffering, losing loved ones, losing jobs and struggling, car dealerships are once again here to contribute.”

The month of April is when GNYADA and the auto industry would have hosted the 120th annual New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The center was converted to overflow hospital space.  The event has been rescheduled to late August and early September.

The association reports that franchised new-car dealers collectively represent the fifth-largest retail employer throughout the downstate region. Sourcing a 2019 economic impact survey, GNYADA says those dealers help support 71,280 jobs, contribute $2.5 billion in local and state taxes and support a payroll of $4.5 billion.

GNYADA adds that new-car dealers have been declared essential businesses. Service departments must fix cars and perform roadside assistance for doctors, nurses and other essential workers in addition to ordinary people traveling to grocery stores and the pharmacy and carrying out other daily-life necessities.