Saturday, May 9, 2020
Pelhan Parkway Squirrels to the NYCDEP - Leave Our Homes Alone
Could there be more trees to be cut down on Pelham Parkway? Local Pelham Parkway squirrels are up in arms, and will defend their homes to the death. Anyone who may try to cut any tree down on Pelham Parkway, had better be careful of the squirrels who call the trees their home.
Above - Rocky wants to know where his favorite tree went.
Below - This squirrel wanted to remain anonymous, but is looking out for anyone who wants to cut this tree down.
Above - Another mad squirrel is on the watch for anyone who wants to cut down this tree.
Below - One squirrel stands watch in front of this tree, while its friend stands guard at the foot of the tree.
Above - Two more squirrels stand guard by this tree, as a third is not far away.
Below - Four squirrels guard these two trees.
No. 202.29: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency
No. 202.29
E X E C U T I V E O R D E R
Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency
WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, I issued Executive Order Number 202, declaring a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York; and
WHEREAS, both travel-related cases and community contact transmission of COVID-19 have been documented in New York State and are expected to continue;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law, do hereby continue the suspensions and modifications of law, and any directives, not superseded by a subsequent directive, made by Executive Order 202.15, 202.16, 202.17, 202.18, 202.19, 202.20, and 202.21, for thirty days until June 7, 2020; and
IN ADDITION, I hereby temporarily modify, beginning on the date of this Executive Order, the following:
- Section 214-g of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, to the extent it allows an action to be commenced not later than one year and six months after the effective date of such section, is hereby modified to allow an action commenced pursuant to such section to be commenced not later than one year and eleven months after the effective date of such section.
G I V E N under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State in the City of Albany this eighth day of May in the year two thousand twenty.
BY THE GOVERNOR
Secretary to the Governor
Governor Cuomo Announces State Department of Health is Investigating Evidence That COVID-19 Can Cause Severe Illness in Children
On Thursday, a 5-Year-Old Boy Passed Away in NYC from These COVID-Related Complications
Health Department Has Issued an Advisory to Inform Health Care Providers About This Serious Inflammatory Disease
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the State Department of Health is investigating several cases of severe illness in children and child deaths that may be related to COVID-19. There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome possibly due to COVID-19, and on Thursday a 5-year-old boy passed away in New York City from these COVID-related complications. The Governor has directed the Department of Health to work with the CDC to develop a case definition for this illness to determine whether the remaining cases under investigation are definitively associated with the syndrome.
At the direction of Governor Cuomo, the State Department of Health has issued an advisory about this serious inflammatory disease, called "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19," to inform healthcare providers of the condition, as well as to provide guidance for testing and reporting. Health care providers, including hospitals, are required to report to the Department of Health all cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19 in those under 21 years of age.
New Yorkers should seek immediate care if a child has:
- Prolonged fever (more than five days)
- Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids
- Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting
- Change in skin color - becoming pale, patchy and/or blue
- Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly
- Racing heart or chest pain
- Decreased amount of frequency in urine
- Lethargy, irritability or confusion
"There's still so much we don't know about COVID-19, and in the beginning we were led to believe that the good news about this virus was it didn't affect children," Governor Cuomo said. "Now we have a new issue that we're looking at where some children affected with the COVID-19 virus are becoming ill with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome. This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter in our fight against this virus, and the State Department of Health is currently investigating these cases to learn more. In the meantime, we are cautioning all people to look out for the symptoms of this serious illness and to seek help immediately if your child is sick."
New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "With each passing day we're learning more about this terrible virus, and this potentially new development requires even greater understanding. We'll devote the resources of the department to research each potential case and share our findings with healthcare providers around the state and country."
Though most children who get COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms, in the United Kingdom, a possible link has also been reported between pediatric COVID-19 and serious inflammatory disease. The inflammatory syndrome has features which overlap with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome and may occur days to weeks after acute COVID-19 illness. It can include persistent fever, abdominal symptoms, rash, and even cardiovascular symptoms requiring intensive care.
Early recognition by pediatricians and referral to a specialist including to critical care is essential. Molecular and serological testing for COVID-19 in children exhibiting the above symptoms is recommended. The majority of patients have tested positive for COVID-19, some on molecular testing for SARS-COV-2, others on serological testing.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Governor Cuomo Announces Members of the Reimagine Education Advisory Council
Comprised of Education Leaders from Across the State Chosen to Assist Schools and Colleges Prepare to Adopt Technological and Other Innovations to Safely Reopen
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the members of New York's Reimagine Education Advisory Council—made up of educators, students, parents and education leaders— to help districts reimagine schools as they prepare to reopen while protecting health and safety, how virtual learning can bridge the gap, and supplement face to face education when schools reopen. The Council - chaired by SUNY Empire State College President Jim Malatras - will be comprised of lower and higher education leaders from across the state. The list of members is available below:
- Kaweeda Adams, Superintendent, Albany City School District
- Jaime Alicea, Superintendent, Syracuse City School District
- Jody Gottfried Arnhold, Founder, Dance Educator Laboratory (DEL) 92Y
- Melodie Baker, Director of Education, United Way of Buffalo & Erie County
- Kyle Belokopitsky, Executive Director, New York State PTA
- Meg Benke, Provost, SUNY Empire State College
- Jackie Burbridge, Parent, Suffolk County
- Katie Campos, Partner, Strategic Collective
- Anthony Collins, President, Clarkson University
- Stephanie Conklin, Master Teacher, South Colonie Central School District
- George Dermody, CEO, The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference
- Karol Mason, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Austin Ostro, President, SUNY Student Assembly
- Martin Palermo, Master Teacher, William Floyd School District
- Roger Ramsammy, President, Hudson Valley Community College
- Seema Rivera, President, Guilderland Central School District School Board
- Shannon Tahoe, Interim Commissioner, New York State Education Department
- Dennis Walcott, Former Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
- Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
"When we closed school facilities because of the COVID-19 virus, our teachers and students rose to the occasion, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their heroic work," Governor Cuomo said. "Like everything else, when we do reopen schools it's not just about reopening as they were before, it's about building back even better than before. The collective expertise and experience of this new advisory council will help answer key questions about how we can strengthen New York's entire education system for decades to come."
The Council will work in collaboration with other experts and stakeholders including the state and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to answer key questions about what education should look in the future using new technologies and to develop a blueprint to reimagine education in the new normal.
MAYOR DE BLASIO on COVID-19 - May 8, 2020
Mayor Bill de Blasio: You know, sometimes I have talked about this virus like it has human characteristics, and I do that to get a point across, to help us understand our adversary. And even though we're fighting every day, it's important to never underestimate your enemy. So, if this virus had human characteristics, it would be a pretty clever virus. Clearly more than once has thrown the medical community a curve ball, and a lot to deal with all the time, especially because of what we don't yet know. But this virus is no match for a group of people who are much more clever in that is New Yorkers. This virus has met its match in fact, in this city more and more. What we've seen from New Yorkers is an extraordinary commitment to a winning strategy of social distancing, and shelter in place, and face coverings, all the things that are clearly working, but they would not work if people were not so devoted to them. And overwhelmingly that's what we've seen around this city. It is not easy to do these things. This may be the single-hardest place in the United States of America to implement those kinds of strategies, for us to live in that way, and yet you have been doing it, all of you in such an amazing, impressive, extraordinary fashion.
I'm going to go over the numbers and take a look at them in the perspective of a whole week, and what we will see is real progress and what we will see is a winning strategy, and you are winning, but it is so important to never rest on your laurels. When you're winning in anything in life, in sports, and anything else, when you start winning, that's not the time to relax. That's not the time to take it easy or take your eye off the ball. When you start winning, it's time to double down, and make sure you keep winning. So, we're not resting on our laurels here in the city. The fact that we're going to go on the offensive against this disease here in this city, and everyone's going to be a part of it, and it's been working already to have everyone be at the same table. 8.6 million people in common cause, and in this next phase we're going to take that even farther.
So, let's start with going over the indicators. And again, it's Friday. On Fridays now, we're taking a look at a longer time frame. So, when we look at the daily number, indicator one, the daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19. Alright, this is just extraordinary. Look at that progress in such a short period of time. Again, we are probably the place on earth, or certainly in this country with the most challenges dealing with this disease. The biggest population packed into the smallest space, big buildings, an international travel hub as we saw, that's the origins of this disease here in this city. So, many things working against us, and you could see early on in this crisis what it meant in terms of the number of people each day going into the hospital. And now look how far we've come. So, most days lately we've been under a hundred new hospital admissions a day for COVID-19. That's amazing, but we are not out of the woods. And today's indicator – so you see the big picture – but now let's just talk about today's indicator – unfortunately, is up. Another day where we see the big picture is unquestionably good, but still day to day we're not where we need to be, we've got more work to do. So, unfortunately today's indicator is up from 79 to 102. Still overall much, much lower numbers, good sign in the bigger scheme of things. Not yet what we need to take the next step towards loosening restrictions. So, more work to do on that one. Now, number of people in our public hospital ICU’s for suspected COVID 19. Again, the glass half full here is the improvement you can see clearly there. In the last few weeks, we've literally had over 300 fewer people in the ICU’s fighting for their lives. That number is really a crucial number, because it talks about the, the most extreme impact this disease has having. The folks in the ICU’s, are the ones facing the greatest threat. When that numbers going down, it really speaks to the heart and soul of this issue, the one we care about, saving lives. That number goes down, that means a lot more lives are being saved. A lot fewer people are in danger. But again, not yet where we need to be. Now, there's an uptick today by just one. I don't want to make more of that than I should. It went from 567 to 568. So, basically it break even, but we need that number to go down, and we need it to go down steadily, and we need to see fewer and fewer people fighting for their lives. So, progress overall today, we didn't get the progress we wanted.
Now, the one that might be sort of the biggest, obviously the biggest indicator in terms of the number of people it reaches and looking at the whole city. Percentage of people testing citywide positive for COVID-19. Now, this is going to be a number that is informed more and more by the fact that testing is coming on more and more each day. So, we're going to get a better and better picture the more testing we do. But you can see massive improvement. I mean, look where we were early on in that chart. Look at the stunning percentage of people are testing positive. Look where we are now, real progress. Today's number, progress as well from 16 percent down to 14 percent, that's great. More work to do, but that's a really good sign.
So, we are now going to take the next big step with this test and trace vision that is going to allow us to squeeze this disease, constrain it further. Remember, the disease flourishes when people who get it are not identified and spread it to other people. But this disease is put in a very bad place if more and more people are identified and isolated properly, their contacts are traced. Those people need isolation, or quarantine, or reach. The more knowledge, the more reach, the more ability to treat each person appropriately, the better off we are in fighting back this disease. Now, we've, the whole way through, not had the testing we needed or deserved, and it's still an issue. We're going to use every tool we have here to maximize testing, to maximize tracing, to change the trajectory even further in a favorable direction. And we put together a great team to do it, and this effort will be housed and will be led by the organization that's been throughout this fight nothing less than heroic, and that is our Health and Hospitals. The folks who have led the way in our public hospitals and clinics. The folks who have been at the front line fighting this enemy in a way that literally came to the attention of the whole country, of the whole world. I'll use the obvious example of Elmhurst Hospital. When I say Elmhurst Hospital, you're going to conjure up I think a vision of an extraordinary onslaught that that hospital took from this disease, but you should also conjure up the vision of heroes. People who fought back, people who had the wherewithal to hold the line. And our hospitals across the board, all 56 of them in this city, but particular respect for the 11 public hospitals and all the clinics, they held, no matter what was thrown at them, they held in this fight, and I have gained even more respect for the people in Health and Hospitals for the heroic role they have played.
So, considering that in this fight, New York City was the epicenter in this whole nation, and places like Elmhurst Hospital were the epicenter within the epicenter. It is such a statement on the strength and quality of the people at Health + Hospitals that they bore the brunt of the single biggest attack in the whole country by this disease, and they held and they fought back. They also, and I want to give a lot of credit to the folks at Health + Hospitals. They've been leading the way in so many other ways. They had to put together a huge new staffing plan, finding doctors, nurses, clinical staff, overnight, literally to fight back against this disease. They created the community testing program in the clinics literally in a matter of days. Everything at health and hospitals has been based on speed, and intensity, and precision, and they've done an amazing job. So, that is why it makes sense as we build this next effort to use that great leadership and that great organizational capacity of a huge, huge organization would reach into every part of the city, and have them lead the way on our new tool that we're bringing to bear in this fight. I am so happy to announce today the New York City test and trace corps. The New York City test and trace corps is going to be a dedicated group of trained individuals who will lead the way in creating testing and tracing on a level we've never seen before in this city or this country. And they are going to bring together a huge amount of expertise. The expertise of folks who have spent a lifetime in public service and in health care, but also the expertise gained from these last months fighting this disease at the front line.
The executive director of the Test and Trace Corps will be Dr. Ted Long. Dr. Long is Vice President of Ambulatory Care at Health and Hospitals. He oversees care at the 11 hospitals and 70 primary care clinics, this is the largest public hospital and clinic organization in the nation. This is the ultimate and Ted is the guy who oversees the day to day care to make sure that millions of New Yorkers get the help they need. He also led the way in putting together the community-based testing program over the last few weeks, literally in a matter of days creating grassroots testing all over the City. Ted has the experience and the knowledge and the spirit to lead this effort and I'm so thankful he's agreed to take on this assignment. Jackie Bray, Jackie Bray has done amazing work during this crisis and long before she will be the Deputy Executive Director of the Corps. She has been one of the unsung heroes with a great team of other unsung heroes and we're going to get a chance over the weeks and months ahead to really talk about the people who put together that amazing effort to get tens of millions of pieces of PPEs to our hospitals, our nursing homes, clinics, amazing efforts. Our first responders, you name it, Jackie was one of the ultimate leaders of that amazing effort that found PPEs all over the world, worked to get the federal government to get us more work to create more here in this City. The Chief Medical Officer will be Dr. Andrew Wallack. For more than two decades, Dr. Wallach has served at Bellevue and he knows our public health system in and out, and he understands the lives of New Yorkers and how to make sure they get what they need and how to create in real world circumstances. Bellevue is synonymous and revered all over the country, synonymous with practical front line medicine folks who deal with any challenge and somehow find a way. I first got to see that so vividly during the Ebola crisis and I got to tell you then, and now during the coronavirus crisis, folks at Bellevue are just tough as nails and they do not bend, and they do not break. Dr. Jay Varma, my Senior Advisor for public health. Jay brings a wealth of experience literally from all over the world. When you're talking to Jay and you ask him about certain realities we're facing with this disease, he'll tell you instantly about different ways he's understood this disease and other infectious diseases. And he'll reference the places he's been including Hubei Province in China, which is where this disease got its start. He's worked all over the world to understand how to fight back infectious diseases and he's renowned for his work nationally and internationally, but he also has a tremendous sense of New York City having served for seven years in the last administration as Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control, so, someone will bring so much to the table. And then, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, you've all seen and heard his good work during this crisis. He'll be advising this effort through his current role, of course, as Department of Health Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control – before fighting the coronavirus did extraordinary work in terms of reconceptualizing and helping to lead the fight against HIV and AIDS here in New York City. And he has been helping to lead the fight against the coronavirus from day one. So, someone who brings so much experience, but also so much creativity and good new thinking to the process, he'll be a key voice helping us build this unprecedented effort.
Test and trace and what this means. What it means is creating more and more testing all the time. Now we still have one hand tied behind our back because we're not getting the help we need from the federal government and we're still fighting for all the lab capacity we want, but unquestionably, we're going to be able to expand testing greatly. It means eventually being able to trace more and more, in our perfect world, every person who tests positive, we want to find everyone who is positive and then trace all of their close contacts. And then everyone needs help, you got to provide the help and that's what we'll do. So, someone who tests positive can they continue to see this disease through at home or they're in a place where they can isolate from the other members of their home or not? Do they need to be in a hotel? Do they need something more in the way of support to make sure they don't infect others? When you trace their contacts, the second question, someone was in close contact with three people. You interview those three people, those folks need to be tested, those folks need to be asked, can they isolate if they test positive, do they need a hotel room? If they need a hotel room, they're going to need a lot of support, medical support, food, laundry, you name it, this takes a big coordinated team to put all those pieces together.
We decided to call this the Test and Trace Corps because we wanted to make clear the word was chosen on purpose. By early June, we'll have 2,500 public health foot soldiers in this corps. So, it would take an entity that didn't even exist and the course of just weeks, it will be ramped up to 2,500 people to begin big number, but a necessary number to be able to build what we need to build that number will grow thereafter and keep growing as large as we need it to be. Now the same goes for testing, today our maximum daily capacity is hovered around 14,000, we need to go a lot farther. This team has guaranteed me that they will get the number up to a capacity of 20,000 tests per day by May 25th so basically in the next two weeks, and by that point we'll be using 33 community-based testing sites. Now, that's May 25th right around the corner, 20,000 tests per day, 33 testing sites, but that's just the beginning. This team is preparing to get us to the level of 50,000 tests per day and the goal is to have that in place in the next few months, 50,000 per day, 300 plus community sites and that will be both public health sites and working with private providers as well. When you get to the level of 50,000 tests a day, a hundred thousand every two days, a million every 20 days, you can see now we're starting to get into the kind of extraordinary levels we need, and we want to keep building all the time. So, the testing crucial at the beginning of it all, but now the tracing, think about what it means. A tracer needs to engage someone who tests positive, they have to say, who have you had close contact with in the last few days? Talk about all the places you've been, let's reconstruct it, then we have to find the people you had close contact with. We're going to use every tool we have, and I'm convinced we'll have a very high success rate identifying those contacts, tracking them down quickly. And then the whole process begins again with those contacts, if they test positive, everyone they've been in contact with in close contact in recent days, etcetera. In the next few weeks, as I said, we're going to build up rapidly, by later this month we'll be at a thousand contact tracers and folks working on the phone bank operation related to it. As I said, by early June 2,500 eventually we're preparing to get to a number of tracers and folks in the phone bank operation, so a corps that will reach between 5,000 and 10,000 individuals. So, this corps is going to be extraordinarily important and we're going to keep adding as many people as we need to get the job done.
I also had another conversation last night, which was also inspirational to me. One of the, I think the most impressive business leaders in America, Marc Benioff, of Salesforce. He's someone I've had the opportunity to get to know over the last few years and I think one of the business leaders in this country who has one of the strongest voices in terms of social conscience and what the business community needs to do to help the larger community. We talked about the work ahead with test and trace and Salesforce; his company is already doing this work with a number of States around the country. And we've agreed that we're going to work together and bring Salesforce into this effort - testing and tracing here in this city. Extraordinarily able company with the kind of technological vision and capacity to help make the test and trace approach as efficient and as far reaching as possible. Then they've been working closely with our information technology department DoITT and Commissioner Jesse Tisch, who's doing an extraordinary job on many different, addressing many different pieces of this crisis, but I want to thank Commissioner Tish and everyone at DoITT. We have called upon them many times in many ways and they've answered the call brilliantly, but the ability of our IT team to now bring in the talent of Salesforce, which will allow us to track every case, analyze the data constantly, keep the right information on each and every case, and manage the whole process efficiently. This is going to be a huge effort. Just think how it grows and grows over the weeks, but it's something that if we do right, continually will constrain this disease. So, Salesforce is coming on board in the next few weeks. Their effort will be up and running by the end of this month and a great thanks to Marc Benioff and everyone there. As we spoke, there was no question in my mind he believed this was a personal responsibility to support New York City. Also mentioned to you before Salesforce has done a whole lot in terms of getting donations of PPEs here to New York City to help our heroes and that's deeply appreciated as well.
Now, when we get to the reality of tracing people that will inevitably lead to folks who need to isolate and folks who sometimes won't be able to properly isolate in their own home. So, look if you live alone, you can isolate. If you live in the kind of home or apartment where there's enough space and you can be separated from other people in the home the right way - people are doing it all the time - that's fine, but there are many, many New Yorkers who live in such crowded circumstances that they simply couldn't isolate properly or they don't feel they could and they need support and that's why we're going to be leaning heavily into this isolation effort through the hotels. So, by June 1st, we'll have 1,200 rooms available specifically for this isolation effort, but we can build that number out very quickly anytime we need. Remember, it is not just here's a hotel room, have a nice day. It is we're going to get you to a hotel room, we're going to transport you, we're going to make sure that you have food, we're going to make sure you have medical care, we’re going to make sure you have laundry, whatever it takes and constant checking-in. Someone who is experiencing the disease we want make sure they're okay and if they need further care, we're going to get it to them. So, that hotel operation comes with a lot of support and all that has to be coordinated and individualized to the person. That's a key part of what the corps will do as well.
I want to talk to you about the way we're approaching social distancing because it has been unquestionably successful. So we're going to try a new approach and this is a beginning - this weekend - and we're going to try in a few places where we've had particular problems. It's something we can apply to more and more places if it works. We're going to experiment sometimes to try and get it right. And clearly, we've talked about this before. Our police officers are being asked to do something they never were originally trained for it. We're going to keep improving the training and the protocols because no one's had to do this before on this scale. But we know we had some parks last weekend that were more crowded than they should have been. And we know it wasn't just some [censored] individuals; it was really the physical reality of the park, so we want to do something different. So, for example, there are some places in Hudson River Park where we saw too many people too close together. Hudson River Park, Piers 45, 46 we're going to proactively limit the number of people who can be in any given area right there. We're going to have the NYPD working with other agencies from the very beginning of the day, limiting the number of people who go in. Obviously offering people face coverings as well and keeping an eye to make sure the number of people never reaches too high a point and when it does, obviously asking people to move out and make more space - make sure there's turnover. We're going to try that approach, see if that gets us where closer to where we need to be. Domino Park, Williamsburg, another place where we've had problems; we're going to intensify the enforcement and monitoring there to make sure the numbers are kept smaller as well. This is what we'll do to get started and try this out. We think that limiting access at the beginning make sense, helps us to stop problems before they begin. Helps us to educate people from the beginning there has to be limited time and turnover. Why? Why are we doing this? Because it saves lives and that's what we're going to tell people from the beginning.
This is also about saving lives, fighting back this disease, protecting our essential workers, but also protecting some of those vulnerable among us - homeless New Yorkers. We've talked about the subway initiative, what we've been doing with the state of New York, the MTA the last few days. Something we'd never seen before in the history of city, the cleaning out of the subways each night, making sure they're safe and clean. So, we continue to see unbelievable hard data, hard evidence of the positive impact this is having on our ability to reach homeless folks, get them support, get them services, get them to come into a safe, supportive environment. I told you about the last couple of nights. Last night, 163 homeless individuals accepted help. So again, the 163 out of 269 people are engaged. Now, we've had three nights in a row where more than 50 percent of the people engaged, accepted help. This is a very, very striking reality – 163 accepted help, 148 went to shelter, 15 went to hospitals. We have never seen anything like this. I have been working on issues of homelessness now for literally 20 years since I was Chairman of the Jail General Welfare Committee in the City Council going back all the way to 2002. We have never seen results like this in our history; that this many people accepted services and came-in in a single night and it’s happened three nights in a row. This is amazing; this is beyond anyone's expectation. This is good news and it's pointing us in a really powerful direction. So again, totaling the last three nights, 520 homeless New Yorkers have accepted help, have agreed to come in to safe havens and shelters or go to medical facilities; 520 people in three days – it's breathtaking. So again, a thanks to everyone involved.
Council Member Andy King Addressed The Senseless Killing of Family Member
Council Member Andy King
and
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams
It was also a day where again we speak on the injustice of young Black men being killed by White men. New York City Council Member Andy King addressed the ruthless and inhumane killing of Ahmaud Arbery - A young man who was shot and killed in Brunswick GA. "Maud" as he was called would have been celebrating his 26th birthday today, May 8, 2020 along with his family, but instead our family is mourning his death.
Racial violence, hatred, and systematic agendas still exists. We MUST continue to educate people, that the color of someone’s skin does not validate an execution!
The first step to receiving justice for our grieving family is the arrest made of his killers. In addition our family is calling for the immediate resignation of District Attorney Jackie Johnson. These murderers must never be set free!
Hatred Will Not Prevail!
Let Justice Be Served!
"Our Perseverance In The Future Lies In The Resiliency Of Our Past"
Council Member Andy L. King
TEST AND TRACE: MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES NEW YORK CITY TEST AND TRACE CORPS
Builds on City’s commitment to test and trace every case of COVID-19
Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced the City’s comprehensive plan to test, trace, and treat every case of COVID-19. Through a partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals, the City's "Test and Trace Corps" will launch with 1,000 contact tracers to investigate cases, trace and monitor contacts, and manage all case data and inquiries by the end of May. Their work will allow the City to immediately isolate and care for those who test positive for the virus, and then rapidly track, assess, and quarantine anyone they came into contact with who they may have infected.
"With every resource at our disposal, we are moving mountains to test and trace every New Yorker," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "COVID-19 has challenged us in ways we never thought possible, but it’s no match for the ingenuity of our city."
“Throughout the public health system’s pandemic response, our strategic planning and actions have been evidence-based, science driven and focused on providing high-quality care to our patients,” says NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “The Test and Trace Corps will allow us to expand testing capacity, trace the most vulnerable to serious impact of the virus, to improve on isolation for asymptomatic people, and strive to suppress outbreaks whenever they might arise.”
The Test and Trace Corps, housed within NYC Health + Hospitals, will be led by Dr. Ted Long, NYC Health + Hospitals, Jackie Bray, NYC Mayor’s Office, Dr. Andrew Wallach, NYC Health + Hospitals, Dr. Jay Varma, the Mayor's Senior Advisor for Public Health, and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Partnering with Community Clinics
With the goal of testing 20,000 people per day by May 25th, the City will expand its testing capacity and set up additional community testing sites across the five boroughs. These sites will operate outside of traditional clinic and hospital settings to minimize the burden on the healthcare system. Through these additional sites, the City will aim to test 50,000 people per day by August 1st
Through partnerships with community clinics, the City will support community health providers in neighborhoods hardest hit by the virus. Additionally, independent testing centers will be created across the five boroughs using existing infrastructure such as senior centers and government buildings.
Beginning today, NYC Health + Hospitals will expand beyond its 13 community testing sites to offer free walk-in COVID-19 testing at all 11 acute hospitals. Since April 17th, NYC Health + Hospitals has tested over 16,000 community members for COVID-19 across its 13 community testing sites.
Contact Tracers
Starting immediately, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) will transfer nearly 40 of its experienced contact tracers, who will lead and supervise incoming contact tracers, to the public health system. H+H will hire 1,000 additional people by the end of May with an immediate start date. Contact tracers should have public health backgrounds and an understanding of racism and its impact on underrepresented communities. Details on the scope of work, job requirements, salary, benefits, and how to apply are available here.
Isolation and Care
As part of the Test and Trace Corps, the City will also work with each person who has COVID-19 to connect them immediately to care and help them safely isolate at home, a hotel, or a hospital. The City will also ensure their close contacts are rapidly traced, assessed, and quarantined at home or a hotel, as necessary.
The City will provide meals, clean clothes, and medical refills for anyone who is isolated and quarantined who may require assistance. To help confirmed patients self-quarantine, support services such as groceries, laundry and pet services will be provided. Using tele-medicine, the City will perform remote medical checks on those in isolation and quarantined and evaluate individuals with symptoms to determine whether they should be tested or not.
MAYOR DE BLASIO APPOINTS MEMBERS TO OTHER SECTOR ADVISORY COUNCILS
Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed members to the following Sector Advisory Councils: Non-Profit and Social Services, Public Health and Healthcare, Faith-based, Construction and Real Estate, Education, and Surface Transportation. This is in addition to the Sector Advisory Councils on Labor and Workforce; Large Business; Small Business; and Arts, Culture, and Entertainment. Sector Advisory Councils will inform the Administration's efforts to restart the economy and city life. The councils will serve as critical links to disseminate information about re-opening and provide guidance to shape the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These councils will provide real world guidance to ensure our plans to reopen the city make sense and keep people safe. We are facing an unprecedented crisis, but by working together, we will come out stronger than before,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Non-Profit and Social Services Sector Advisory Council
1. Raja Abdulhaq, Islamic Leadership Council
2. LaShawn Allen Muhammad, Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation
3. Jo Ann Yoo, Asian American Federation
4. Donna Colonna, Services for the Underserved
5. Sharon Content, Children of Promise
6. Joel Copperman, CASES
7. Hazel Dukes, NAACP
8. Thelma Dye PhD, Northside Center
9. Regina Estela, Independence Care System
10. Nat Fields, Urban Resource Institute (URI)
11. Beth Finkel, AARP
12. David Garza, Henry Street Settlement
13. Eric Goldstein, UJA Federation
14. David Greenfield, Met Council on Jewish Poverty
15. Bob Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
16. Laurie Hanin, Center for Hearing and Communication
17. Wayne Ho, Chinese-American Planning Council
18. Tom Kamber, Older Adults Technology Services (OATS)
19. Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of NY
20. Jeremy Kohomban PhD, Children’s Village/Harlem Dowling
21. Keith Little, SCO Family of Services/Center for Family Life in Sunset Park
22. Elizabeth McCarthy, Sheltering Arms
23. Wendy McClinton, Black Vets for Social Justice
24. Frankie Miranda, Hispanic Federation
25. Haydee Morales, Casita Maria
26. John Park, Minkwon
27. Fr. Patrick Keating, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn
28. Michael Polenberg, Downstate Victims Coalition
29. Juan Ramos, Los Sures/ Southside United
30. Alex Roque, Ali Forney Center
31. Denise Rosario, Coalition for Hispanic Family Services
32. Muzzy Rosenblatt, Bowery Residence Committee (BRC)
33. Annetta Seecharran, Chhaya CDC
34. Frederick Shack, Urban Pathways
35. Beth Shapiro, Citymeals on Wheels
36. Niketa Sheth, WomanKind
37. Scott Short, RiseBoro Community Partnership
38. Prabhu Sigamani, ROC United
39. Joanne Smith, Girls for Gender Equity
40. Rev. Terry Troia, Project Hospitality
41. Glennda Testone, LGBT Community Center
42. Eileen Torres, BronxWorks
43. Colvin W. Grannum, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
44. Michelle Yanche, Good Shepherd Services
Public Health and Healthcare Sector Advisory Council
1. Pamela Brier, Former CEO Maimonides Medical Center; Board of Health
2. LaRay Brown, One Brooklyn Health
3. Ebone Carrington, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
4. Kaushal Challa, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
5. Carmen Charles, DC 37
6. JiHee Cho, Korean American Behavioral Health Association (KABHA)
7. Steve Corwin, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
8. Lisa David, Public Health Solutions
9. Angela Diaz MD PhD, Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center
10. Amy Dorin, Coalition for Behavioral Health
11. Rose Duhan, Community Health Care Association of New York State
12. Billy E. Jones MD, MS, Former CEO H+H, Commissioner of Mental Health
13. Ruth Finkelstein, Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging
14. Marki Flannery, Visiting Nurses Association
15. Bruce Flanz, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center
16. Mindy Fullilove, The New School
17. Rosa Gil PhD, CommunLife
18. Paloma Hernandez, Urban Health Plan
19. Jo Ivey Boufford MD, NYU School of Global Public Health; New York Academy of Medicine
20. Pat Kane, NYSNA
21. John Kastan, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services
22. Matt Kudish, NAMI
23. Rafael Lantigua MD, Alianza Dominicana, Columbia University Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian
24. Sheldon McLeod, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
25. Dan Messina, Richmond University Medical Center
26. Luke Nasta, Camelot
27. Mitchell Netburn, Samaritan Village
28. Milton Nunez, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
29. David Perlstein MD, St. Barnabas Hospotal
30. Amy Plasencia MD, Committee of Interns and Residents
31. Marco R. Damiani, AHRC
32. Ken Raske, Greater New York Hospital Association
33. Israel Rocha, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
34. Therese Rodriguez, APICHA Community Health Center
35. Helen Schaub, 1199 SEIU
36. Anthony Shih MD, United Hospital Fund
37. Wendy Stark, Callen Lorde
38. Ashwin Vasan, Fountain House
39. Eric Weingartner, The Door
40. Abraham Wurzberger, Chevrah Hatzalah
Faith-Based Sector Advisory Council
1. Rev Lawrence Aker, Cornerstone Baptist Church
2. Dr. Debbie Almontaser, Bridging Cultures Group Inc.
3. Rabbi Boruch Bender, Achiezer Community Resource Center
4. Dr. AR Bernard, Christian Cultural Center
5. Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, the Interfaith Center for NY
6. Bishop Victor Brown, Mount Sinai United Christian Church
7. Elder David Buckner, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
8. Reverend Dr. Michael Carrion, Evangelical Covenant Church
9. Rev. Phil Craig, The Greater Springfield Community Church
10. Gabby Cudjoe-Wilkes, Double Love Experience
11. Rev. Frederick Davie, Union Theological Seminary
12. Bishop H. Curtis Douglas, Dabar Bethlehem Cathedral and Overseer of Dabar Ministries
13. Rev. Que English, Bronx Christian Fellowship Church
14. Rev. Robert Foltz-Morrison, Presbyterian Church of New York City
15. Pastor Charles Galbreath, Clarendon Road Church
16. Fr. John Gribowich, Diocese of Brooklyn
17. Peter Gudatis, NY Disaster Interfaith Service
18. Pastor Daniel Honore, SDA North Eastern Conference
19. Archbishop Russell James Davenport, Arrow of Yahweh International Ministries
20. Dr. Arvind Kaur, Clinical Psychologist and Host of Jus Galbaat
21. Imam Tahir Kukiqi, Albanian Islamic Cultural Center
22. Rev. Bayer Lee, First Chinese Baptist Church
23. Raja Abdulhaq, Majlis Ash-Shura Islamic Leadership Council
24. Rabbi Michael Miller, Jewish Community Relations Council
25. Rev. Clinton Miller, Brown Memorial Church
26. Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, Rabbinical Alliance of America
27. Senior Cantor Daniel Mutlu, Central Synagogue
28. Rabbi David Neiderman, United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn
29. Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, NY Board of Rabbis
30. Pastor Johnny Ray Youngblood, Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church
31. Pastor James Richmond, Greater NY Conference SDA
32. Rev. Raymond Rivera, Latino Pastoral Action Center
33. Pastor Patricia Sealy, Mott Haven Reform Church
34. Freeman Su, NY Tzu Chi Foundation
35. Sunita Viswanath, Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus
36. Rev. Michael A. Walrond, Jr., First Corinthian Baptist Church
37. Bishop Edmund Whalen, Archdiocese of NY
38. Rev. Andrew Wilkes, Double Love Experience
39. Mohammed Mardah, Yankassa Mosque and Chair, African Advisory Council
40. Rev. Itang Young, Abyssinian Baptist Church
Education Sector Advisory Council
1. Melissa Aase, University Settlement
2. Shirley Aldebol, 32 BJ SEIU
3. Andrea Anthony, Day Care Council
4. David C Banks, Eagle Academy
5. Richard Beattie, New Visions for Public Schools
6. Sian Beilock, Barnard
7. Jack Bendheim, SAR Academy Riverdale
8. Lee C. Bollinger, Columbia University
9. Phoebe Boyer, Children's Aid Society
10. Marc Brackett, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence/Developer, RULER
11. Richard Buery, Achievement First
12. Mark Cannizzaro, CSA
13. Natasha Capers, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
14. Steven Choi, New York Immigration Coalition
15. Michael Coppotelli, Archdiocese of New York
16. Margaret Crotty, Partnership with Children
17. Traci Donnelly, Child Center of NY
18. Gregory Floyd, Local 237, School Safety Agents
19. Jane Foley Fried, NY State Association of Independent Schools
20. Kay Galarza, Student PEP Member
21. Henry Garrido, DC 37
22. Peter Gee, The Door
23. Barbara Glassman, Include NYC
24. Jasmine Gripper, Alliance for Quality Education
25. Anita Gundanna, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families
26. Andrew Hamilton, NYU
27. Kristin Kearns Jordan, Urban Assembly
28. Thomas Krever, Hetrick-Martin Institute
29. Vanessa Leung, PEP Member- Individualized Education Program
30. Stanley Litow, IBM Foundation
31. Joe Luft, Internationals Network for Public Schools
32. Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, CUNY Chancellor
33. Nequan Mclean, Education Council Consortium, (ECC)
34. Joan McMaster, Diocese of Brooklyn
35. Wes Moore, Robin Hood
36. Michael Mulgrew, UFT
37. Allison Palmer, ED, New Settlement College Access Center
38. Shael Polakow-Suransky, Bank Street College Of Education
39. Susan Stamler, United Neighborhood Houses
40. Robert J Troeller, Local 891, Custodian Engineers
41. Javier H. Valdes, Make the Road
42. Dennis Walcott, Queens Public Library
43. Sheena Wright, President & CEO United Way NY
44. Michelle Yanche, Good Shepherds Services
45. Rabbi David Zweibel, Agudath Israel
Construction and Real Estate Sector Advisory Council
1. Donnel Baird, BlocPower
2. Lawrence Benenson, Benenson Capital Partners
3. Jeff Blau, Related Companies
4. Susan Camerata, Wavecrest Management
5. Tim Cawley, ConEdison
6. Lou Colleti, Building Trades Employers’ Association
7. Larry Englestein, 32BJ SEIU Secretary Treasurer
8. Laura Ettelman, SOM
9. Don Fusco, Skanska USA
10. Kirk Goodrich, Monadnock Development
11. Colvin Grannum, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
12. Hana Kassem, KPF
13. Ericka Keller, Brisa Builders
14. Gary LaBarbera, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
15. Meredith Marshall, BRP Companies
16. Michael McKelvy, Gilbane Building Company
17. Cheryl McKissack Daniel, McKissack
18. Ron Moelis, L+M
19. Nayan Parikh, Ashnu International Inc
20. James Prendamano, Casandra Properties
21. James Rubin, Meridiam
22. William Rudin, Rudin Management
23. Carlo Scissura, New York Building Congress
24. Mary Ann Tighe, CBRE
25. Dan Tishman, Tishman/AECOM
26. Luis Tormenta, The LiRo Group
27. Elizabeth Velez, Velez Organization
28. James Whelan, REBNY
29. Francilia Wilkins, RFW Consultants
30. William Zeckendorf, Terra Holdings
Surface Transportation
1. Cira Angeles, Livery Base Owners Association
2. Quemuel Arroyo, Disability Transit Advocate
3. Jaqi Cohen, NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign
4. John Corlett, AAA NYS
5. Mary Dailey, TransitCenter
6. Bhairavi Desai, New York Taxi Workers Alliance
7. Laura Fox, Lyft (Citi Bike)
8. Josh Gold, Uber
9. Danny Harris, Transportation Alternatives
10. Kendra Hems, Trucking Association of New York
11. Jen Hensley, Lyft
12. David Jones, Community Service Society and MTA Board Member
13. Sarah Kaufman, NYU Rudin Center for Transportation
14. Robert W. Linn, MTA Board Member
15. Camilla Morris, Bus Association of New York
16. Betsy Plum, Riders Alliance
17. Daniel Ramot, Via
18. Sam Schwartz, Sam Schwartz Engineering
19. Ron Sherman, Metropolitan Taxi Board of Trade
20. Nick Sifuentes, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
21. Jaswinder Singh, Yellow Taxi Medallion Owner
22. Jennifer Tausig, NYC BID Association
23. Courtney Williams, the Brown Bike Girl
24. Tom Wright, Regional Plan Association