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Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Team AOC The Situation, the Problem, the Plan
The Situation: With just 13 days until the final ballots are cast in this election, our team is finalizing our get-out-the-vote operation and digital advertising. We’ve had some of these plans in place for months.
The Problem: Our corporate-backed opponent raised a surprising and completely unprecedented $5.5 million last quarter. That level of funding is more than over a dozen swing district Republicans and can fuel a level of ads that New York’s 14th has never seen before in the final weeks of an election.
The Plan: We still have a huge advantage in this election. Team AOC has spent months working alongside the community providing COVID relief, boosting the census count, and supporting local activist organizations. You can’t buy that. So all we need to do is defend against these negative ads with a few of our own negative ads.
Thanks for all of your help,
Team AOC
CITY RELEASES INITIAL COVID-19 VACCINE FRAMEWORK, ENSURING EQUITY AND ACCESS FOR COMMUNITIES HARDEST HIT BY THE PANDEMIC
As the City moves forward with its vision for an equitable, health-focused economic recovery, the de Blasio Administration today announced an initial COVID-19 vaccine framework. The City will work with the State to guarantee maximum distribution of a safe, effective, and free vaccine, with an emphasis on communities hardest hit by the pandemic. Over the next two months, the City will engage public health stakeholders and community groups across the city’s hospitals, clinics, FQHCs, independent pharmacies, urgent cares, and independent providers to ensure broad and equitable access to a vaccine citywide.
“In the absence of federal leadership, New York City is stepping up to ensure and safe and effective vaccine for all New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With public health at the forefront, we are moving full steam ahead to rebuild our city, guaranteeing a healthier and more equitable future for all New Yorkers.”
Phase one of distribution—to be available as early as November—will provide a limited number of doses primarily reserved for healthcare personnel, frontline workers, and other vulnerable groups. To prepare for this initial rollout, the City is actively enrolling providers in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Citywide Immunization Registry, focusing first on hospitals and then on FQHCs. Over 2,500 providers are currently reporting to the Registry. Through webinars and meetings, DOHMH will continue to educate providers about vaccine availability, likely priority groups, proper storage, and how to order, receive, administer, allocate, and report on the vaccine.
Phase two of distribution, which could occur as early as 2021, will see more widespread availability for the general public. To meet this increased availability, the City will ensure that there is adequate storage and capacity. The City will continue to recruit and prepare community providers, including FQHCs, pharmacies, urgent care, hospitals, NYC Health + Hospitals, DOHMH COVID-19 testing sites, and community vaccinators. Vaccine uptake will be closely and consistently tracked through the Citywide Immunization Registry, with results reported out to the public on a periodic basis. The City will also monitor for serious, adverse effects and educate providers on how to report on them. Additionally, the City will conduct its own vaccine effectiveness studies and continually follow up with a sample of New Yorkers who receive a vaccine.
“New York City has decades of experience mounting successful vaccination campaigns—from smallpox to influenza,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. “As a City we will also partner with communities to address possible fear or skepticism toward a vaccine. Trust is an essential ingredient for turning a vaccine into a vaccination.”
RECOVERY AGENDA: MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO AND TRUST FOR GOVERNORS ISLAND ANNOUNCE PLANS TO CREATE NEW HUB FOR GREEN BUSINESSES AND NON-PROFITS
RFP released to activate 23,000 SF historic building on Governors Island as home for climate-focused small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits
New space to create 70 good-paying jobs; advances long-term vision to make Governors Island a global center for climate solutions
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Trust for Governors Island (The Trust) today issued a request for proposals (RFP) to develop a hub for businesses and non-profits working in climate and the environment in Building 301, a historic waterfront building located on the Northern section of Governors Island. An early step in establishing Governors Island as a leading center for climate solutions, this project will serve as a beta-space for new innovative technology, research and policy action within the climate and environmental fields.
The RFP released today will seek developers and operators to transform Building 301, a 23K SF historic structure, formerly used as an elementary school by the U.S. Coast Guard, into a hub for businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits working within climate and the environment. Already home to like-minded tenants and partners like the Harbor School, Climate Museum, and Billion Oyster Project, the project will expand opportunities for businesses and non-profits to focus on new, innovative research, technology and policy action on Governors Island. The project is expected to create over 70 good paying jobs once fully constructed and operating.
“The climate crisis is already – and will continue to be – a public health crisis, too,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “It’s time to rally New York City’s scientists, innovators, and big thinkers to preserve our ability to leave safe, healthy lives by fighting climate change and adapting to an unpredictable future.”
“Governors Island is uniquely poised to become a leading center for climate action, and we’re thrilled to begin realizing this vision now by bringing small businesses and non-profits together under one roof, with opportunities to showcase their work and engage New Yorkers,” said Clare Newman, President & CEO at the Trust for Governors Island. “This new space will create jobs and breathe new life into a treasured historic asset, while laying the groundwork to establish Governors Island as an even greater resource for the long-term resilience of New York City.”
“Climate change is an existential crisis that impacts our way of life, the health of our communities, and our economy,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation. “As we continue to look towards the City’s recovery, sustainability tied to green technology and jobs will play important roles. This new hub where small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs can research, innovate, and ideate, is an important starting point that will help create a more resilient New York City for years to come.”
“As the world works to recover from COVID-19, it is clear that we must put climate and environmental justice at the heart of our actions,” said Daniel Zarrilli, NYC’s Chief Climate Policy Advisor. “Supporting job-creating investments in clean energy, resilient infrastructure, and environmental justice will be essential to the city’s recovery and will accelerate the creative solutions necessary to end the age of fossil fuels. We applaud the Trust for Governors Island on their commitment to a livable future for the next generation.”
“Adapting the world to climate change is a mammoth task that blends science, engineering, and design,” said Jainey Bavishi, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency. “This hub will create new opportunities for innovation and collaboration across sectors, critical ingredients in our work to build a safer and more resilient future.”
Today’s announcement comes one month after Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Trust unveiled plans to bring together a multi-disciplinary community of researchers, educators, advocates, innovators, and policymakers devoted to addressing the global climate crisis on Governors Island, as part of the Mayor’s Recovery Agenda. Those plans and proposed rezoning of the South Island entered the formal public land use review process this week. In 2021, the Trust plans to issue a solicitation to attract an academic or research institution to anchor the center for climate solutions on Governors Island.
The complete RFP can be downloaded at govisland.org/about/rfps. Proposals may be submitted through January 2021.
“The release of a RFP for the revitalization of Building 301 marks a crucial point in Governors Island’s development into a leading center for climate solutions and action”, said Congressman Jerry Nadler. “Through this innovative hub, Governors Island will continue to provide valuable resiliency projects as well as economic opportunities for New York City today and for the future.”
In September 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Trust for Governors Island announced plans to bring a center for climate solutions to Governors Island as a key part of the Mayor’s Recovery Agenda. Leveraging the Island’s waterfront location and unique environment, the project will concentrate research and innovation, testing and development, and education and public engagement around innovative climate solutions in a single physical hub, bringing together a multi-disciplinary community of researchers, educators, advocates, innovators, and policymakers devoted to addressing the global climate crisis. In total, the center could encompass millions of square feet of mixed-use development to support and expand public access to Governors Island year-round, and create 8,000 direct jobs.
Over the next several months, the Trust and the Mayor’s Office will work with stakeholders, advocates, local elected officials, agencies, and New Yorkers to help bring the vision to life through a proposed rezoning of the South Island, which entered the City’s formal land use review process this week. The proposed rezoning will support a mixed-use district within development sites on the South Island, including an academic or research institution which will anchor the center for climate solutions, while protecting the Island’s park and open spaces.
For more information, visit www.govisland.org.
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Mayor de Blasio Daily Announcements, Including Discounts for Voters on Rides, But Only if They Download the Companies Apps
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Good morning, everybody. This has been, to say the least, an extraordinary year, an extraordinarily difficult year and painful year on so many levels, but also a year where New Yorkers have done amazing things to support each other and protect each other. And New Yorkers have been so vibrantly thinking about the kind of city that we need to be, going forward. People have really gotten involved and talking about how we have to address the disparities and the challenges, the unfairness that's still too much of life in this city that has to be overcome. And this is something that people are feeling, obviously, all over the country. And now, after months and months and months of all the frustrations, all the questions, all the challenges, two weeks from now people get an opportunity to decide the future direction of this country and to express everything we feel and use our democratic process to determine our course forward.
So, we're now in the final days before the most important election of our lifetime. We're going to talk today about some of the things that are so important to get people ready to fully participate. And particularly the fact that early voting starts this Saturday. So, it's really happening now and want everyone to know all the details, how to engage and get questions answered, make sure that everyone knows how to participate fully. But before that, let me give us all an update on what's been happening in our efforts to fight back the virus. And we're going through some challenges, but we're also seeing some really, really positive developments. And I want to talk about the importance of testing. Look, we've said it from the beginning, it just proves more and more true all the time – the more people get tested, the better we know what's going on and the better we can act. And from the beginning, we've said to people how important it is to just not doubt or question the testing process, but go out there and participate. It's very fair for New Yorkers, New Yorkers always asked tough questions, but really a lot of people talk themselves out of getting tested when it would be better for themselves and all of us for people to just go and experience it and participate and help us get the truer look on what's happening at this – over this whole city. So, that's why we have Get Tested Tuesday as a reminder to folks to folks who have never been tested – and there's still a lot of folks who've never been tested – or folks who haven't been tested in a long time, how important it is just to get out there and be a part of this. And it will actually give us the information we need to move this city forward.
And we're in the middle of a set of challenges, but they're challenges we can overcome. I've talked very openly about the fact there is a threat of a second wave, but we can stop that second wave. Absolutely requires people to participate and one of the best ways to participate is by getting tested. Now, in our school system, our public schools, we, from the beginning, determined that we would have a regular dealer testing program, a mandatory testing program every month, every school. And as we have started that testing program, we've just seen remarkable results. And this is a testament to everyone in our school system, the extraordinary work – our staff, our educators, parents, kids – everyone has done to make sure our schools are safe. So, now, after we've had testing in hundreds of schools, 16,000-plus test results have come back, only 28 students and staff have tested positive in our entire school system after more than 16,000 test results have come back. That is a positivity rate of 0.17 percent. This is really extraordinary. I want to emphasize, we all focus on our challenges and our difficulties, but let's take a moment to celebrate what the people of New York City have achieved – a 0.17 percent positivity rate – that's unbelievably good. And that means that all of those precautions that have been taken in our schools are working. When we said we were taking a global gold standard approach to our schools, that's exactly what's happened. You go into a school building, you see so many health and safety measures layered one on top of another, but the proof is in the results. And these are amazing results. And this really bodes well for the future of our schools and our ability to fight and overcome this disease.
Now. I want to remind all parents, all staff, the entire school community, we really want everyone to get involved in testing. And to do that, we need people to fill out those consent forms. So, again, a reminder to everyone, particularly parents, go online, fill out that consent form. Go to your account with the school system and do it that way or you can fill out a paper form and send it back into school. But this testing is working and it’s helping us keep our schools safe and is helping our city move forward.
Now, back to this historic moment – 14 days, two weeks to go. And, in fact, if you are really itching to vote, you can vote starting as early as this Saturday, October 24th. And early voting will continue from this Saturday, all the way to November 1st. Remember, voting is considered an essential service, just like the essential businesses that stay open. Voting sites will stay open throughout the city. All early voting and Election Day sites will be opened as planned, every borough, every neighborhood. And, of course, if you prefer not to vote on election day or not even to early vote, you can still vote by absentee ballot. That deadline is coming up soon. So, we are really pushing the Board of Elections to get clear information out, to not make some of the mistakes they've made previously and make this an easy, positive experience. But we're not just pushing them, we're doing our own work here at City Hall to get the word out, to encourage people, to give people answers, to make sure folks know that voting can be easy and safe. And our whole DemocracyNYC team has been deeply involved in getting people engaged more than ever before and showing people that everyone needs to participate. So, here to talk about this effort, my Senior Advisor and General Counsel to DemocracyNYC Laura Wood.
Senior Advisor & General Counsel Laura Wood, DemocracyNYC: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As the start of early voting approaches, we want to emphasize that voters don't have to choose between their health and their right to vote. And the DemocracyNYC team is working hard to make sure that New Yorkers know how to vote safely. To that end, with the Department of Health, we have developed a how to vote safely during COVID fact sheet. Starting this week, the fact sheet will be available at city COVID-19 testing sites citywide, including in the hotspot areas. And it can be downloaded at nyc.gov/votesafe in 13 languages – the top 13 spoken citywide. For those who choose to vote in-person, voting safely largely reflect the core four – wear a face covering; keep your hands clean; try to keep six feet apart from others, avoid crowds; and, if you're feeling sick, pick a different day to vote. And this year, that is easy, because you can avoid crowds by voting early. Early voting, as the Mayor said, starts this Saturday, October 24th and runs for nine days through November 1st. That includes two full weekends and five weekdays with early morning and evening hours available.
Additionally, DemocracyNYC, in partnership with the civic engagement commission has developed PSA’s on voting by mail, early voting, and voting rights at the polls. Starting this week, we will be running targeted ads in hotspot zones about voting absentee and early voting. These ads will run on broadcast, streaming, and social media platforms through November 1st. Lastly, we are making sure that New Yorkers have safe transportation options to get to the polls. As the Mayor announced last week, we've partnered with Curb to offer $5 off yellow and green taxi rides during the early voting period. If you want to take advantage, you can download the Curb app and use the code “vote early” from October 24th through November 1st.
Today, we're announcing a partnership with Citi Bike. New Yorkers can get 50 percent off Election Day rides, up to $10, from 4:00 AM to 11:00 PM on November 3rd. Use the code “2020 Vote” on the Citi Bike app to access the discount. Again, I want to encourage everyone to take the time to make a plan to vote, choose how and when it's best for you and make your voice heard. With that, I'll turn it back to the Mayor.
Mayor: Thank you so much, Laura. Thank you to you and everyone at DemocracyNYC. And I know for all of you, it is a labor of love to spread the word and get people engaged and make sure voting is easy and safe. And we're going to do that to make sure all New Yorkers get involved.
Now let's, let's talk about another effort where we worked so hard to get everyone involved. And I have to say, this is really ultimately a pretty amazing story and a tough, tough challenge that, as usual, New Yorkers met and exceeded all expectations – this is about Census 2020. We're now able to talk about our results. And I want to say at the outset, to talk about something where every conceivable obstacle was thrown in our way – the pandemic, all the fear and uncertainty, all the efforts from Washington D.C. to undermine participation, the horrible negative attacks on immigrants, everything that was done to make it impossible for the census to actually get a fair count in New York City. And yet, in the end, after all of this, the self-response rate from New York City – 61.8 percent. That's essentially identical to the rate in 2010, but with so many more challenges in the way. And I just have to say, when you look at this response, it makes me very proud of New Yorkers that people answered this census in such strong numbers. What a vote of confidence in this city. And also, what an amazing action by New Yorkers – with every effort to undermine and discourage them, they still came through. All of you came through. That's an amazing number, given what we were up against. We saw some really great results. Four out of five boroughs, in fact, reached higher response rates than in 2010. We saw in the African-American community, major improvements in the response rate. This is something that everyone should be proud of, but I particularly want to thank our incredible census team that took on this challenge. And they had no quit in them – no matter what was thrown at them, they kept fighting. And I want to thank our director, Julie Menin, and her whole team, and the incredible partners all over the city that joined together and they just would not give up. And when you heard people say, make sure you're counted, they meant it. And they went out there and they did it. So, Julie, congratulations to you and your team. Tell us all about the final results.
Director Julie Menin, NYC Census 2020: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. And I want to thank you for your support of our efforts, and also thanks to the City Council. So, as the Mayor said, no census has faced headwinds like the 2020 census, whether it was the attempt to add the citizenship question, underfunding the census, constant attacks by the White House, or literally the Supreme Court cutting short our deadline by two weeks. And, if that were not enough, having the fact that when the first mailer went out in March to New Yorkers, COVID hit, and we were literally the epicenter of this global pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, our effort to open over 300 census centers was stymied. And I mentioned that, because in a city where a third of New Yorkers lack access to broadband, that is a true impediment. Now, before COVID hit a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau predicted that our self-response rate would be 58 percent. And I'm so proud to announce today that not only did our team reach 61.8 percent, but we beat L.A., and Chicago, and Boston, and Philadelphia, and Miami, and Dallas, and Houston and many other areas. And we also beat the U.S. Census Bureau's prediction pre-COVID by close to four points.
So, why is that important? It's so important, because for every household over two people that is counted, that brings New York City $7,000 per year, or $70,000 over 10 years, not to mention, of course, the importance of the political representation. We could not, as the Mayor said, have done this without our closest partners, our citywide partners group, our complete count fund of grantees, faith-based organizations, labor unions, volunteers, and so many others. We have a slide here about the neighborhoods that have improved the most. So, I'll quickly go to that and you can see the Bronx-Parkchester, Queens-Laurelton, Brooklyn-Prospect Lefferts Garden, Staten Island-Park Hill, and Manhattan-Central Harlem, but we have so many other good stories to tell.
Just briefly on the data, our team sent 7 million texts, 4 million phone calls. We had over 1,000 events. And, through our outreach, we assisted half-a-million households to actually complete the census. And the digital ads drove over 1 million clicks throughs to the census website. We had 34 media campaigns in 27 languages. And we had everyone from Cardi B, to Alicia Keys, to Lin Manuel Miranda, to Kal Penn, as well as every-day New Yorkers. And while we certainly have so much to be proud of, the fight isn't over. So, I do want to close with the fact that we want to ensure that the count is accurate. President Trump will be an office in December irrespective of the election. And so, we will obviously closely monitor the data, because we know certainly that there were some issues regarding the door knocking. And we also remain a plaintiff on the case led by Attorney General Tish James before the Supreme Court on November 30th in the Trump Administration's attempt to exclude undocumenteds some Congressional apportionment. So, we need to still remain vigilant.
But, in closing, this campaign really proves that through the right and smart investment and outreach, New Yorkers really come through and we are thrilled with the results today. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Mayor: Thank you so much, Julie. And, everyone, look, this is about the future of this city. So, your effort to respond to this census now is going to give us a much greater sense, a much greater ability to get our fair share. And this is what the census was always about, getting our fair share, and, because New Yorkers came through, we're going to have much more chance of actually getting what we deserve from Washington. But, as Julie said, these next weeks ahead are crucial to make sure that what happens from this point on is fair. And that's why we're going to be engaged in the court process to make sure that what happens in Washington now doesn't further undermine a fair account for New York City. So, thank you, Julie. Thank you to your whole team.
Okay. With that, everybody let's go to indicators. Okay. Number one, daily number of people admitted to New York City hospitals for suspected COVID-19, threshold 200 patients – today's report, 62 patients with a confirmed positivity rate of 19.7 percent for COVID. Number two, new reported cases on a seven-day average, threshold 550 cases – today's report, 496. And number three, percentage of people tested citywide positive for COVID-19, threshold 5 percent – today's report, 2.52 percent. And today's seven-day rolling average number is 1.58 percent.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Since the mayor only takes questions from eight reporters we could not ask the mayor why the city is pushing one company over another in his speech for voters to obtain discounts only if they have the Curb or Citibike apps. Many people already have to many apps on their phones or tablets, and for the mayor to advertise that New York City is partnering with only these two apps which you must download for the election day discount should be investigated by the New York City Department of Investigation to see if it is legal for the mayor to do what he did.
NEW YORK CITY RELEASES FINAL “WHERE WE LIVE NYC” PLAN, A BLUEPRINT TO ADVANCE FAIR HOUSING IN THE RECOVERY FROM COVID-19
Today, Mayor de Blasio and Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been released the final Where We Live NYC Plan, the City’s blueprint for fair housing in the five boroughs. The plan is a culmination of a two-year planning process led by the Deputy Mayor’s office, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and involved more than 30 City agencies. Where We Live NYC is the City’s five-year plan to break down barriers to opportunity and build more integrated, equitable neighborhoods. Updated to reflect the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on low-income communities of color, the plan includes enhanced metrics, strategies, policy proposals, and new priorities to address a legacy of housing segregation and build a more inclusive city.
“Rebuilding a fairer, better city starts with listening to New Yorkers. I’m grateful for feedback from residents, advocates, and New Yorkers across the five boroughs as we find more ways to make our city more affordable and inclusive than ever,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Because of our incredible diversity, the role we play in welcoming and providing opportunity for so many people from around the country and the world, and our commitment to make NYC the fairest big city in the nation, we New Yorkers have a moral obligation to lead the nation in addressing structural racism and housing discrimination. The pandemic and the movement for racial justice have made that obligation more urgent and important than ever,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been. “The Where We Live NYC Plan lays out specifics about how we will double down on our work to make New York City fairer and more just. I am grateful to everyone who participated in the multi-year effort to make this plan an ambitious but concrete and achievable agenda, and I look forward in advancing the plan together.”
“To rise above our nation’s long legacy of racial injustice, and the ensuing deep-rooted inequities, the City needs a shared vision. Where We Live NYC is a balanced blueprint for addressing generations of housing disparities and fostering the neighborhood conditions that lead to better jobs and educational opportunities for all New Yorkers. With the coronavirus taking a greater toll on the city’s communities of color, it is clearer than ever that we cannot take our foot off the gas when it comes to building a fairer city,” said HPD Commissioner Louise Carroll. “I want to thank the amazing teams at HPD, our fellow City agencies, our many community partners and every New Yorker who shared their experiences and helped to shape this plan for a more integrated, equitable, and inclusive city.”
“NYCHA is a vital resource for low-income New Yorkers – many of whom are people of color – and we are working tirelessly to drastically improve the living conditions for residents who have been disproportionately impacted by decades of disinvestment in public housing,” said NYCHA Chair & CEO Greg Russ. “The comprehensive renovations and operational improvements the Authority is spearheading are central to the goal of creating a more equitable city – an effort that will be more crucial than ever as New York City continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“New York City’s greatest strength is our diversity. It’s imperative that we tackle a legacy of discrimination and inequality, so as to build a city that works for everyone. Where We Live NYC gets us one step closer to creating affordability across all our neighborhoods. With this plan, we’re setting the city on a path to a brighter future,” said DCP Director Marisa Lago.
Where We Live NYC is the City’s response to the 2015 rule issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Obama to guide cities and counties in interpreting what it means to “affirmatively further” the goals of the federal Fair Housing Act. While recent regulatory changes at HUD have all but erased these requirements, the City of New York moved forward with the Where We Live NYC process, drawing upon the 2015 rule as a guiding framework.
Through Where We Live NYC, the City has worked collaboratively with residents and community leaders to better understand their housing challenges and identify goals, strategies, and actions to advance fair housing. In developing the plan, the City engaged hundreds of residents, over 150 community-based and advocacy organizations, and the full range of governmental agencies whose work affects housing and neighborhood quality. Since releasing a draft of the plan in January, the city has collected public comments via a city-wide listening tour and incorporated feedback into the final version.
The city has also faced an unprecedented health and economic crisis that has heightened deeply embedded disparities. COVID-19 has laid bare the continued significance of neighborhood-based inequities and racial inequality. The final plan will advance fair housing in the recovery from COVID-19.
The plan lays out the City’s commitments over the next five years. Key goals of the plan include:
- Fight housing discrimination by pursuing increased resources and protections.
- Promote development that opens up more communities to low-income families.
- Preserve low-cost housing and prevent displacement of long-standing residents through stronger tenant protections and new affordable housing investments.
- Empower families receiving rental assistance and expand use of these benefits in amenity-rich neighborhoods.
- Create better and more integrated living options for people with disabilities.
- Align investments to address segregation, discrimination, and concentrated poverty.
New Actions in Where We Live NYC Plan
- Incentivize more affordable housing and increase neighborhood diversity in amenity-rich neighborhoods like Gowanus and SoHo/NoHo that have exceptional access to transit, schools, and job centers. The final plan follows the City’s recent announcements that the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan and SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood Plan will both advance into the City’s public land use review process.
- Expand housing options in low density zoning districts to encourage the development of low-cost housing options in neighborhoods across the City. This could open up a wider variety of neighborhoods to more New Yorkers and give small homeowners more flexibility to create extra space and income. Analysis of data and regulations will identify specific provisions that can achieve this.
- Propose changes to the Zoning Resolution to allow for an increase in density for affordable housing across the city. Preferential floor-area-ratio (FAR) for affordable housing would apply to income-restricted housing for all populations, including housing for seniors and special needs populations.
- Create a citywide housing growth framework that takes into account an equity-centered and race-forward approach to planning. The City will analyze housing trends and demographic changes to pursue growth, affordability and equity.
- Incorporate lessons from Where We Live NYC into decisions about affordable housing financing. Data and metrics collected through the fair housing initiative will help inform HPD’s allocation of annual capital funding and Section 8 resources to ensure that affordable housing projects serve a greater diversity of neighborhoods.
The de Blasio Administration has worked to ensure that the city’s growth and prosperity includes all neighborhoods and made substantial investments toward creating a fairer city. The City has worked to advance fair housing by preserving and creating affordable housing, preventing displacement, investing in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and fostering opportunities for households of all races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, genders, family status, and abilities. This progress includes:
- Financed unprecedented numbers of affordable homes for the lowest income and most vulnerable New Yorkers. Almost 13,000 homes reserved for formerly homeless households, more than 9,000 reserved for seniors, and more than 72,000 targeted to households with extremely low or very low-incomes, less than $30,720 or $51,200 for a family of three, respectively.
- Moved more than 100,000 households from the City’s homeless shelters into permanent housing and provided 260,000 individuals emergency rental arrears assistance grants.
- Helped more than 72,000 seniors and renters with disabilities afford rent in 2019 by freezing their rent payments and paying the difference to their landlords.
- Enacted the nation’s first universal access to counsel legislation, and provided free legal assistance to more than 100,00 households. Eviction filings and completed evictions have fallen by over 40% percent since legal assistance was expanded in 2014.
- In rezoned neighborhoods, ensured housing builders dedicate 20% to 30% of units to affordable housing. New York City’s aggressive Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) program has produced over 2,700 new permanently affordable homes in 18 Community Districts.
- Created affordable space for commercial and industrial businesses, particularly in high poverty communities and communities of color including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, Downtown Far Rockaway, and the East New York Industrial Business Zone.
- Financed more than 165,000 affordable units – enough to house about 350,000 New Yorkers through the Mayor’s ambitious affordable housing plan, with tens of thousands of more units on the way.
Governor Cuomo Announces Travel Advisory Requiring 14-Day Quarantine
Arizona, Maryland Added to NY's COVID-19 Travel Advisory; No Areas Are Removed
Non-Essential Interstate Travel Between Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Discouraged
Statewide Positivity Rate is 1.3 Percent
Positive Testing Rate in Hot Spot Areas is 2.91 Percent; New York State Positivity Without Red Zone Focus Areas Included is 1.25 Percent
12 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
Expanded Community Testing Continues This Week in Southern Tier, Western New York Counties Along PA Border
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Arizona and Maryland have been added to New York's COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days. The quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
Neighboring states Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania now meet the criteria for the travel advisory -- however, given the interconnected nature of the region and mode of transport between us, a quarantine on these states is not practically viable. That said, New York State highly discourages, to the extent practical, non-essential travel to and from these states while they meet the travel advisory criteria.
"We are now in a situation where 43 states meet the criteria for our travel advisory. This is really a bizarre outcome, considering New York once had the highest infection rate," Governor Cuomo said. "There is no practical way to quarantine New York from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. There are just too many interchanges, interconnections, and people who live in one place and work in the other. It would have a disastrous effect on the economy, and remember while we're fighting this public health pandemic we're also fighting to open up the economy. However, to the extent travel between the states is not essential, it should be avoided."
In "Red Zone" focus areas included as part of the Governor's Cluster Action Initiative, the positivity rate for test results reported yesterday is 2.91 percent - down from 3.31 percent the day before.
Within the "Red Zone" focus areas, 3,955 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 115 positives or a 2.91 percent positivity rate. In the remainder of the state, not counting these "Red Zone" focus areas, 86,585 test results were reported, yielding 1,086 positives or a 1.25 percent positivity rate. The state's overall positivity rate is 1.32 percent with focus areas included. The "Red Zone" focus areas are home to 2.8 percent of the state population yet had 9.6 percent of all positive test results reported to the state yesterday.
Today's data is summarized briefly below:
- Patient Hospitalization - 942 (+8)
- Patients Newly Admitted - 113
- Hospital Counties - 42
- Number ICU - 194 (-4)
- Number ICU with Intubation - 99 (-7)
- Total Discharges - 78,530 (+88)
- Deaths - 12
- Total Deaths - 25,672