Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance September Meeting

 

This was the first meeting after taking two months off for summer vacation and VNNA President Bernadette Ferrara had a full agenda with several special guests. The two speakers were City Council members Oswald Feliz and Marjorie Velazquez. Councilwoman Velazquez had a family emergency but Councilman Feliz was able to talk for more than the amount of time both council members would of. 

Councilman Feliz went over a long list of items saying however his top priorities are Public Safety and Crime. He wants the streets to be safe and the no consequences to many small crimes is not helping the quality of life in the city. The garbage in the streets and graffiti with the business crime on Fordham Road makes his head want to explode. He wants more cops, and the city needs to do a better job in improving the quality of life in the Bronx. He then went through a list of monies he earmarked for various parks and playgrounds. Jacqueline Crossan of Councilwoman Velazquez's office agreed with Councilman Feliz that quality of life is important to people. 

VNNA President Bernadette Ferrara gave her President's report giving a brief summary of dates and events over the past two years of Community Board 11, and called on the District Manager of CB 11 to announce the September 29th Public Hearing CB 11 will be having on the Just Home proposal to house severely ill former inmates and those awaiting trial in a currently unused building on the Jacobi Hospital Campus. The public hearing will be held at the Jacobi Hospital Medical Center Rotunda to the right of Building #4. 

Councilman Oswad Feliz address the audience at Monday's Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance meeting.

VNNA President Bernadette Ferrara calls on Community Board 11 District Manager (far right) to raise his hand so the audience can see him. To Ms. Ferrara's right is VNNA Senior Advisor Bob Nolan, VNNA Vice-President Sharlene Jackson Mendez, and Secretary Marion Manfredi.

The VNNA Executive Board, Councilman Feliz, Jacqueline Crossan of Councilwoman Velazquez's office (far right) and the many people who were in the audience.

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - SEPTEMBER 13, 2022

 

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing, and Treatment

44 Statewide Deaths Reported from September 10 to September 12

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

 Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19. 

"As we head into the fall, I urge New Yorkers to remain vigilant in keeping themselves, their loved ones, and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Take advantage of the vaccine by staying up to date on doses. Test before gatherings or travel and if you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Last week, Governor Hochul announced the availability of bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for anyone age 12 or older and from Moderna for those 18 or older. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

In addition, Governor Hochul announced that masking will now be optional in multiple settings where they were previously required, including on public transportation, in for-hire vehicles, at airports, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, and detention centers. Masks will continue to be required at adult care and health care facilities regulated by the state Department of Health, and in clinical settings regulated by the Office of Mental Health, Office of Addiction Services and Supports, and Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 14.93
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 18.56
• Test Results Reported - 36,116
• Total Positive - 2,917
• Percent Positive - 8.07 %**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.96%**   
• Patient Hospitalization - 2,192 (+49)*
• Patients Newly Admitted - 798
• Patients in ICU - 231 (+1)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 76 (-8)
• Total Discharges - 340,575 (+653)*
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 44*
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 57,857*

 ** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.   

   The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.   

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.   

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 73,939

   This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.   

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows **:   

Borough	Saturday,   September   10, 2022	Sunday,   September   11, 2022	Monday,   September   12, 2022
Bronx	5.83%	5.69%	5.69%
Kings	3.64%	4.15%	5.11%
New York	5.12%	5.11%	4.99%
Queens	6.86%	6.75%	6.69%
Richmond	5.74%	5.89%	5.92%