Wednesday, April 8, 2020

MAYOR DE BLASIO ON COVID-19 - APRIL 8, 2020


  Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, good morning, everybody. So, yesterday I told you that we were starting to see something very important. We were starting to see some change in the right direction. And I want to really talk this through for a few minutes and I want to make it very real, and very personal to all of you, because this is one of those things where understanding what it means, what it doesn't mean, is really, really important. Understanding that when we see progress, we do need to talk about it, because it tells us something, and it's something I think New Yorkers should be proud of, because it's really about what you have done. It's really about the fact that New Yorkers listened to the guidance from the health care leadership telling you to socially distance, telling you to shelter in place. People really listened, and they really did what was needed even though it was very tough.

But let's talk about what you have achieved, because I think the real heroes here are everyday New Yorkers who had to change their lives. All of you had to do something very, very different in very little time. You know, a month ago this city was in a very different reality and a month ago feels like, you know, a year ago now. I think a lot of us are having that kind of feeling that so much has happened so quickly. There's really nothing I can think of in our lives that has had this kind of reality where we've gone through just massive, massive changes in so little time, with, it seems like, every day there's something very, very different, very new. Sometimes, you know, hour by hour we saw huge changes. This is hard for all of us to make sense of. We're human beings. That's asking a lot of us to constantly adjust to such a difficult circumstance. And we as New Yorkers, we are warm people, we are emotional people, we love our family gatherings, we love our gatherings with our friends, we love to go to restaurants and nightclubs. We're probably the most social people in the whole country. We're used to being close together, and for these last weeks that hasn't been possible, and that's really hurt.

You know, the fear about the disease, the anxiety, the pain we're seeing around us, every New Yorker knows someone who has the coronavirus. So many of us know people who have passed away. That's what's in the front of our minds, and that's what we are every day fighting together. But at the same time, we all feel a sense of loss that we had a life that we in so many ways loved in this city. And it's been so strange and so different in the last few weeks. But I want people to know, the reason I say the heroes are every-day New Yorkers, is because when asked to do something incredibly difficult, when asked to make these massive changes, New Yorkers went and did it. Amazing levels of follow through, compliance with these instructions no matter how hard it was. And it's something everyone should be proud of, because even though we’ve got a long way to go, this is still going to be a very long battle, what we've seen these last few days really proves that social distancing, shelter in place, these are ideas that make a huge difference. And they only make a huge difference when people do them the right way, and New Yorkers are doing that in so many ways. So, this gives me hope, more hope than ever that we can get through this really tough moment and come out together, save a lot of lives and get on to recovery at some point.

But now here's the point I want to make about not drawing too many conclusions, because, again, there's a danger in that. We're proving every day that these smart strategies can save lives, can protect people. But we know from some other parts of the world that he started to see a little bit of progress, took their foot off the gas, let down their guard, and guess what? This awful ferocious disease started to reassert itself. And that's something we have to guard against. We have to beat it back, not open the door again too early for it to resurge and hurt so many people. So, what I'm telling you today is something has started to move. We're going to let you know day by day if we see that that positive pattern is sustained or not, because there's no guarantees. Clearly tells us something about what has been working, but it doesn't tell us when this is going to be over. It tells us we got to actually double down. I'd stick to the strategies that are working, and that is frustrating. I'm trying to tell you the truth based on all the information we have, but it's frustrating because we all want to get back to normal. We all want to go see our family, our friends, you know the weather's getting nice. Everyone would love to go out, be in the park, you know, eat outdoors at a restaurant. There's all sorts of wonderful things in this city, outdoor concerts, all the things that we look forward to as it gets warmer, but we're not there yet and we can't get our hopes [inaudible] up the wrong way. We have to keep vigilant, disciplined, strong, resilient. This is what New Yorkers have done, and this is what we've done in other crises too, and we need to keep doing it.

So, the point about doubling down is the strategies working, stick to it. Even as it gets warmer, you start to feel that pull like you want to go do some of the things you used to do, stick to the plan, stick to the strategy. Over time we'll be able to give you more a sense of how long this will be. I've always said, expect a tough April and a tough May. I'm still saying that. But what we'll do is with every piece of new information we'll update you, give you a sense of what it means. But in the meantime, see the progress as an affirmation that you have done the right thing, and if you keep doing it, it's going to help us through this.

Why are we telling you there's some progress? Well, this is about the facts. First of all, the ventilator use. We've talked so much about ventilators. They are lifesaving. This is the way you ensure that someone, God forbid, they're in distress, this disease is a close to taking their life, and a ventilator can save their life, help them keep breathing, help the doctors and nurses see them through. The question until very, very recently, just a few days ago is would we have enough? And that was based on the fact that we saw some very clear patterns in the use of ventilators. And in the last few days we've actually seen fewer ventilators needed than were projected. And that's very, very important. We expected a really deep intensification of this struggle. We expected the number of ventilators to keep being needed to be more and more going into this week. We've seen actually much fewer needed than we expected. Now, to be clear, we still need more, meaning that they're still each day more people who need them, but much less than expected. That's a good sign. The hospitalizations have stabilized. For a long time, that just kept going up and up. We're now seeing some leveling off. Again, based on only a few days, but something good on that front too. That's telling us something positive. And I want to be clear, we know that means we're not out of the woods. It's too early, it’s to preliminary, but we'll keep telling you each day what the evidence is saying. So far, so good, but a long way to go.

Now, the ventilators. So, I want to just recap to you what was going on as recently as Sunday. I said then we, based on all the estimates we could put together, we talked to all the hospitals and looked at every pattern, all the facts that at that point are about 4,000 New Yorkers who needed to be intubated, who needed the ventilator to keep alive. And as recently as Sunday, we expected the number of new ventilators we were going to need each day to be 200 to 300 maybe even more. But what's happened in the last couple of days is that number has come down, and it looks like that number is more like a hundred or even less in terms of the number of ventilators we'll need new each day. That's a striking difference. It's very early. It's very preliminary. But that is a striking difference. We thought we would need many more ventilators to come in this week just to get through the week. As recently as Sunday, I told you that we needed 1,000 to 1,500. A few days earlier I told you we needed something more like 2,500 to 3000. That's how different things have been day to day. We thought we'd need a huge number of ventilators just to keep the hospital system running, just to save the lives that could be saved. That number went down, and it's gone down again. Still a long way to go, but that is striking.

Now, constantly over these last few weeks, we have appealed to the federal government, the state government to help us with ventilators. I want to be thankful and I want to be clear that our call for help has been heard time and time again. So, we got constantly shipment after shipment, including most recently 500 more ventilators from the state of New York. This now means we have a total of almost 5,500 ventilators available throughout our New York City hospitals of all kinds. We have a small emergency reserve of 135 that we're holding in case something has to be quickly moved to a place where the need is greatest. What it means for the first time in a while, is I can say with assurance that we will get through this week in terms of ventilators. We actually have enough to get through this week, free and clear. We are not going to say that we can accurately predict next week yet, it’s still too early this week to say that. But the fact that we have confidence we can get through this week is definitely a good sign.

Now, there's some other things to report, and some of them are hopeful, and then some of them are very, very tough, and raise very important questions about what's really going on. But one that's good is when it comes to our public servants, our first responders, the people who we depend on to keep us safe. So many of them we know were out sick because of symptoms of coronavirus or because they had a confirmed case, the coronavirus. And that has been something that caused tremendous worry we were worried for them. They're our heroes, we wanted to make sure they came through okay; their families came through okay. But we also saw fewer and fewer of our first responders available on any given day and people got very worried about what that would mean. I want to thank the NYPD and the FDNY for holding the line throughout this crisis, always coming up with another way to address all the challenges out there to make sure that the men and women we relied on were ready, always bringing in new first responders. Of course, the amazing effort to bring in paramedics and EMT is from other parts of the country we're so thankful for that. But here now we're seeing something good start to happen because I've said all along, one thing that's true about our first responders is primarily they are younger and obviously very healthy people. And that meant that they could go through this disease quickly thank God in the vast majority of cases, and I'm not for a moment for getting, we have lost some of our first responders. Their families are grieving, but thank God for the vast majority they've come through quickly and they've come through well.

So, the NYPD now reports that they have 276 officers who had tested positive, who have now returned to duty. The FDNY reports that 1,310 EMT, paramedics and firefighters who either tested positive or were exposed to a patient who had tested positive or were suspected of having been infected. 1,310 of our first responders at the FDNY have returned to duty and that's so moving and that's so important for all of us, so we're very grateful. But I told you there's also some things we're learning that really should cause real concern and facts that now are clear and we want to make it very clear to people this city that as facts become clear, we're going to put them out. We're always going to make sure that we believe the information is accurate, but once it's factual, once it's clear, we're putting it out.

So, one of the things that's been discussed in recent days is what do we know about who is being afflicted by this disease? Who are we losing? What does it tell us? Are there some larger realities that we need to look at here? The answer is yes, there are. Here is a disease that has hurt people, hurt families in every corner of our City, let's be clear, every community, every ZIP code has been hurt by this disease, families are grieving right now across every part of the five boroughs. But we also now have information that points out that there are clear inequalities, clear disparities in how this disease is affecting the people of our City. The truth is that in so many ways the negative effects of coronavirus, the pain it's causing, the death that's causing tracks with other profound health care disparities that we have seen for years and decades in this City. So many people have struggled to get the health care they need, who didn't have the money to afford the health care they deserve. So many people have lived with chronic health care conditions throughout their life, so often associated with challenges like poverty. We're seeing folks who have struggled before really being hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. Look, that's a blatant inequality and we don't accept it, meaning we have to fight in new ways we have to come up with new strategies to address what is now a documented disparity. As you're going to see, again, every community feeling this pain, some communities feeling it disproportionately, we're going to help everyone. And the strategies we have in place are meant of course to save the lives of New Yorkers across the board, every part of our City. But we're going to double down on the strategies that reach people who are the most vulnerable now because we're seeing these very troubling facts.

So, here's what the information from our Health Department shows us and this is preliminary information, but it is based on specific records meaning, and this is a tough thing to say, but I want to make sure people understand the facts. This is based on a death certificates, this is based on the work of our medical examiner's office and our Department of Health confirming that someone has died of a COVID-19 related illness and that their specific background is documented. So, what we've learned is that the deaths, because of COVID-19 in the City, first and foremost have affected the Hispanic community with 34 percent of the deaths. That community is about 29 percent of all New Yorkers in terms of population, but 34 percent of the deaths. And, again, this is preliminary information that we'll keep adding to. It's hard to talk about this stuff like statistics, this means human beings, this means families but we have to look in the face, these disparities that we're learning about. So, the Hispanic community, 34 percent; the black community, 28 percent of the deaths compared to about 22 percent of the overall population; the white community, 27 percent of the deaths compared to about 32 percent of the overall population; the Asian community, 7 percent of the deaths compared to about 14 percent of the overall population. This is painful to talk about, but we have to be honest about it, there's a lot more information that will keep coming out as we have information, excuse me, we can verify. We will keep making it public, but it already tells us something we need to know and it tells us that we need to act.

So, now I want to talk about the plan that we will put in place immediately to address this information we now have about disparities. First, the first and most important element of the plan is to focus on our public hospitals in particular and some other hospitals, some of our independent hospitals certainly as well. But first and foremost, our public hospitals because this is about the most essential concept of ensuring that everyone gets health care regardless of their background, regardless of their ZIP code, regardless of their income. That has been the entire idea of our extraordinary public hospital system from the very beginning we have the biggest, best public hospital system in America. It was always built on that New York belief in fairness and equality. We need to double down on that now, we need to ensure that our public hospitals get absolutely everything they need because we know that so many New Yorkers who are in the most vulnerable communities in the most danger. Where do they turn to? They turn to our public hospitals the most obvious example has been Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. We've all seen what's played out there and the doctors and nurses, all the health care workers have been the most amazing heroes because whatever was thrown at them at Elmhurst, they held, they kept that hospital going, they handled an extraordinary number of cases, they kept saving lives. The public hospitals are the greatest guarantee we have that there will be fairness and equality in saving lives. And that's the single most important thing because we know the blunt truth is we know a huge percentage of New Yorkers, no matter what strategy is put in place, this disease is here, it's going to reach a huge percentage of us, most likely over half and even more. So, people are going to have to confront this disease, it's painful, it's awful that's the truth, but that's the truth. But when they need urgent health care, when they need to have the best doctors and nurses there to save their lives, for so many people that means going to their local public hospital. And we must ensure that that hospital has all the personnel it needs, all the ventilators it needs, all the PPEs, everything that's been the core of the strategy. And we got to go even deeper into that strategy because that's where you literally save the lives that can be saved.

The second is, we're going to do a major campaign to educate people, to give them more and more detailed information on how to address this crisis. There'll be a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, a traditional media digital campaign focused on communities of color, focused on communities where English is not the first language. In fact, these ads will be in 14 different languages with a deep effort to get to folks who have gotten some of the word obviously, but not all the information we want them to have so that we can further protect them. We're going to keep investing in this kind of effort to make sure we get much deeper into communities, including immigrant communities with real valuable information about how to navigate this extraordinary challenge. Third, you know, the media efforts everything we're trying to do to educate people every day are crucial, but they certainly will not be enough and now comes a part that's going to be very challenging because the nature of this crisis, but we have to do a grassroots outreach again. This is something we're going to develop over the next few days, we're going to have to work closely with community based clinics where there are health care workers who have a deep sense of their own communities who speak the language in every sense of their own community, who have the relationships and the trust. We're going to have to find a way to get health care workers out into communities to educate people, to answer their questions, to help them address their immediate challenges, but in a way that's safe for those health care workers. We are absolutely, as you heard earlier, sticking by shelter and place a social distancing. But we need to find a way to get health care workers in a safe, smart, strategic way out into communities for direct communication with people in greatest need. So, we'll have more on that plan in the coming days, clearly those health care workers will need to have proper protection and that has to be absolutely secured for this plan to work, which is why we will continue all our efforts to bring in a huge amount of additional supplies to the City’s PPEs to protect all our health care workers and first responders and everyone who needs them.

Fourth point is to deepen our efforts that have started, but I think they can go a lot farther. When you call 3-1-1 for example, there are many times when you're patched through to a Health + Hospitals clinician, a doctor or a nurse or another health care worker who can answer questions and determine - for example - why people call wondering if because of how they're feeling if they need testing. That's been something that people have been able to get through 3-1-1, but we need to deepen that and make it more possible for people to call just to talk through their situation more, to get more advice. And not just because they're wondering whether they need a test, but to actually have a dialogue with the health care workers – again in multiple languages – about what they're feeling, what's going on, maybe it is not someone even just calling about their own condition; maybe it's someone calling about their grandma, their grandpa, maybe it’s someone calling about their mom or their child. We need to create more of an opportunity for every-day New Yorkers who many of whom don't have a doctor that's their everyday doctor - to get someone on the phone right away; a trained professional who can talk through the details and give them guidance. That has to be much more available and that's what we're going to do.

Now, to ensure that we protect that first key part of this plan, are public hospitals. We just need more help, particularly when it comes to personnel. The frontline health care workers have gone through hell, but they've held the line. They've been heroes in every way. Some of them have gotten sick themselves and been out and we look forward to them coming back healthy - we're praying for them, we're hoping for them and for their families. But in the meantime, the many, many health care workers who are continuing to fight this fight, they have really borne the brunt and they're tired and they need relief and they need support, which is why I've repeatedly asked for military medical personnel and it's been a plea I've made to Washington repeatedly. We've seen some progress; we have almost 300 who have come in now out in our public hospitals. These are doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, highly trained people, highly effective medical personnel, many of them with a kind of military experience that makes them very, very ready to handle the toughest situations. Almost 300 of them now, deployed out in our Health + Hospitals public hospitals. The Navy has sent health care professionals to Elmhurst, Bellevue, Woodhall, and Kings County hospitals. The Air Force has sent health care professionals to Lincoln, Jacoby, and Queens Hospital. I'm very grateful that our armed forces have come forward to help our public hospitals, but we will need more help and we need it quickly.

Now, let me talk to you about building out even more health care capacity for people who need it. And this is another area where there's some real progress and we got to make sure we keep building. We're still working always, always from the worst-case scenario to make sure that whatever happens with this disease, New York City is ready. So, one of the crucial things, again, is adding additional beds to relieve some of the pressure on our core hospitals. Last week, about eight days ago, I was at the Billy Jean King Tennis Center in Queens. When you looked at it then it was a bunch of tennis courts – indoor tennis courts. Now, right now, it is being converted into a hospital facility. We'll start receiving patients this week. We will convert 20 beds in the new facility to ICU care and the total number originally was going to be 350 beds, will now be 470 beds. So, this is a case of continuing to go faster, add more to make sure we can serve people in need exactly when they need it.

On the Personal Protective Equipment, a lot of us didn't really use the phrase PPE before a few weeks ago, and now it's something we talk about all the time. We've gotten a lot more in to protect our first responders; to protect our health care workers. And yesterday we made a delivery out to the hospitals of this city; over 3 million surgical masks, over 2 million surgical gloves almost 1.2 million N95 masks, over 100,000 pairs of eyewear – protective eyewear – 61,000 surgical gowns. It's very important that this material has come in and gone instantly out to the places that need it. And we're working hard every day to make sure each and every hospital gets what they need, distributes it effectively, constantly gets resupplied when they need it. But we have one urgent need and that is these surgical gowns. I was at the Brooklyn Navy Yard yesterday talking about an amazing homegrown effort to produce them here in our city. A really heroic effort by companies in the Navy Yard and the folks who work there to protect all of our heroes. They're creating a lot of surgical gowns, but this is an area where we need a huge new supply. So. we have asked the federal government for over 9 million surgical gowns to get us through April and into May. We are hopeful that we'll start to get deliveries from that request quickly. We need them even to get through this week. We need more and we're going to have fallback options in place to make sure we can protect people this week.

So, the final thing I want to do is talk about some of the people who are stepping up. And even amidst the challenges we see nonstop everyday New Yorkers helping each other, people feeding our health care workers, our first responders, businesses stepping up - amazing efforts. I want to keep talking about them because it's something people should be really proud of and it's something that's helping to sustain us. And one that's very special I want to talk about today because it's from a foundation that was born out of our city's darkest hour and it’s a foundation that [inaudible] means so much to us all, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Born out of 9/11, symbolic of the strength and resiliency of our city, Tunnel to Towers has done so much for so many people - always there for our first responders and their families. Now stepping up again, we've just heard of a $3 million pledge by Tunnel to Towers to help our health care workers and I'm so appreciative of yet another heroic action by that amazing foundation.

Also, crucially, Senator Schumer has unveiled something important, the COVID-19 Hero's Fund and this is an idea that would give the essential workers additional pay up to $25,000 and would give a one-time $15,000 payment to health care workers, home care workers, first responders. This is an idea that needs to be made real to help those who are suffering the most. I keep reminding people - the federal government - we did see some progress in that last stimulus bill -we need a lot more. Spoke to Senator Schumer this morning about the next stimulus bill. I know he is proposing to his credit, I know Speaker Pelosi is leading the way as well, that in the next stimulus there be money for our hospitals, there be money for food banks, money to support small businesses, not big corporations, small everyday businesses, and money to help localities and States that have borne the brunt; obviously that means all of us here in New York and New Jersey, especially. Crucially, Senator Schumer, Speaker Pelosi are focused on ensuring that all the cities and States that have lost not only lives, but they've lost so much of the resources to save more lives and protect people and recover, that those resources would be restored through a fourth stimulus bill, hopefully as early as this month. So, I want to thank Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership. Now we need to get the Congress to come back and pass that bill, so we can still fight this battle and win this battle and then start on the road to recovery.

Look, I'll finish just affirming the point that we all need hope - we all need hope. And when we see good news, when we see something that's working, we need to talk about it, we need to feel good, and we need to especially feel good that everyday New Yorkers built this progress with their hard work, with their sacrifice. Every one of you, when you're hearing today that we see some progress, you should feel that was because of you because it was. At the same time, recognize we're not out of the woods. There'll be a long time before we're out of the woods. We've got a strategy that is working, let's go deeper into it. Let's double down so we can get through this together. I am confident, really confident, always felt in my heart that New Yorkers would rise to this occasion and you have, you have it in a remarkable way - let's finish the job. It's not going to be days, it's going to be weeks and months, but let's finish the job.

ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ PROPOSAL FOR ABSENTEE VOTING ON JUNE 23 TO BE MADE BY EXECUTIVE ORDER









Legislation circulating among the New York State Assembly from Dinowitz proposed to temporarily expand eligibility for absentee ballots due to public health crisis.

  On Wednesday morning, Governor Cuomo announced in his daily COVID-19 briefing that all New Yorkers would be able to apply for an absentee ballot for the June 23 primary and special elections. The still-pending Executive Order is expected to codify the third and final component of legislation circulated by Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, which called for expanding absentee ballot eligibility to include registered voters who are “unable or averse to appear personally at polling places due to imminent, impending or urgent disease outbreak, including but not limited to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz issued the following statement in response to the Governor’s announcement: “I am very pleased to hear that Governor Cuomo has agreed to expand absentee ballot eligibility to all New Yorkers during this pandemic. We saw on Tuesday night in Wisconsin the exact opposite of what good public health policy dictates, and we will need all the time we can get to make sure local Boards of Election are prepared to handle what I expect to be a huge volume of new absentee ballot applications. I have not seen the final language of the relevant Executive Order, but I expect that it will be very consistent with the language my legislation used in order to remain consistent with our New York State Constitution. As June 23 rapidly approaches, I hope that local Boards of Election quickly start to prepare and makes clear what they need to successfully operate all primary and special elections for Congress, the New York State Legislature, political party positions, and any special elections. Nobody should be denied participation in our electoral process due to fear about personal or public health as a result of the coronavirus.”

EDITOR'S NOTE:

Is this the same Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz who has constituents in his district complaining about not receiving mail for almost two weeks now due to a shortage of USPS workers due to COVID-19?

MAYOR DE BLASIO AND COMMISSIONER SALAS PROSECUTE REPEAT PRICE GOUGERS


City files three additional lawsuits against price gouging violators, seeking up to $101,500 in fines

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei Salas today announced the Department has filed three additional cases against repeat price gougers for knowingly increasing prices in violation of DCWP’s regulations under the City’s Consumer Protection Law. DCWP issued a total of 203 violations to three businesses for selling face masks, hand sanitizer, cough medicine and other products at drastically increased prices. In one particularly egregious example, one business was charging a consumer $20.00 for one N95 face mask. The cases will be heard at the City's Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) where DCWP is seeking a total of up to $101,500 in fines. On March 25, DCWP filed its first case against a repeat offender of its price gouging regulations.

"Taking advantage of New Yorkers in a crisis is unacceptable," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "Don't even think about price gouging in our city. We won't stand for it, and we will hold you fully accountable."

“If you continue to knowingly take advantage of consumers, shame on you! We hope the message is loud and clear – we will not tolerate price gouging,” said DCWP Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “If you have been overcharged, we urge you to file a complaint by calling 311.”

DCWP is filing cases against: 
  •      Burns Pharmacy (68-04 Burns Street, Queens) for 24 violations of price gouging hand sanitizer and face masks. DCWP is seeking up to $12,000 in fines.
  •      Hong Kong Supermarket (157 Hester Street, Manhattan) for 139 violations of price gouging face masks, gloves, disinfect wipes and hand sanitizer. DCWP is seeking up to $69,500 in fines.
  •      Thomas Drugs (171 Columbus Avenue, Manhattan) for 40 violations of price gouging face masks, gloves and cough medicine. DCWP is seeking up to $20,000 in fines.

DCWP is actively inspecting stores based on consumer complaints. Businesses found to be overcharging consumers by 10 percent or more for any personal or household good or service that is needed to prevent or limit the spread of or treat COVID-19 will be issued a violation. Examples of covered products include disinfectants, soap, cleaning products, diagnostic products and services, and medicines. Since March 5, DCWP has received more than 7,200 complaints and issued more than 2,700 violations for price gouging. DCWP encourages consumers who are overcharged to file a complaint at nyc.gov/dcwp or by contacting 311 and saying “overcharge.” Consumers who believe they were victimized by price gouging should keep their receipts and any information about the store where the transaction occurred, and file a complaint with DCWP. If the price gouging occurred while DCWP’s regulations were in effect, DCWP can prosecute the illegal activity.

On March 5, the Commissioner declared face masks in short supply and that declaration was extended with the addition of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes on March 10. The declarations were made under the Rules of the City of New York (6 RCNY 5-38), which allows the commissioner to declare certain items temporarily in short supply for 30 days during extraordinary circumstances. On March 16, the Agency promulgated an emergency Rule under the City’s Consumer Protection Law that makes price gouging illegal for any personal or household good or service that is needed to prevent or limit the spread of or treat COVID-19. The Rule (NYC Administrative Code 20-701(b)) makes it illegal to increase prices by 10 percent or more for a 60 day period. The Rule can be extended once for an additional 60 days. The Rule covers any personal or household good or service—such as disinfectants, soap, and cleaning products, diagnostic products and services, medicines, and tissues—that is needed to prevent or limit the spread of or treat COVID-19. The fine for price gouging is up to $500 per item or service. If businesses are paying more to obtain these items themselves, they must provide proof to DCWP and any increase must be comparable. If a business paid $2 more per item, they cannot charge customers $50 more.

No. 202.14: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency


No. 202.14

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 and each successor Executive Order to 202, for thirty days until May 7, 2020, except as limited below.

IN ADDITION, I hereby temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or parts thereof, of any agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency or if necessary to assist or aid in coping with such disaster, for the period from the date of this Executive Order through May 7, 2020, the following:

  • Section 6524 of the Education Law, section 60.7 of title 8 of  NYRR and section paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) 405.4 of title 10 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to allow any physician who will graduate in 2020 from an academic medical program accredited by a medical education accrediting agency for medical education by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association, and has been accepted by an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residency program within or outside of New York State to practice at any institution under the supervision of a licensed physician;
  • Subdivisions one, two, four, five, eight and nine of Section 1726 of the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act are hereby modified to provide that any parent, a legal guardian, a legal custodian, or primary caretaker who works or volunteers in a health care facility or who reasonably believes that they may otherwise be exposed to COVID-19, may designate a standby guardian by means of a written designation, in accordance with the process set forth in such subdivisions; and such designation shall become effective also in accordance with the process set forth in such subdivisions; and
  • Sections 3216(d)(1)(C) and 4306(g) of the Insurance Law, subject to consideration by the Superintendent of Financial Services of the liquidity and solvency of the applicable insurer, corporation subject to Article 43 of the Insurance Law, or health maintenance organization certified pursuant to Article 44 of the Public Health Law, to:
    • Extend the period for the payment of premiums to the later of the expiration of the applicable contractual grace period and 11:59 p.m. on June 1, 2020, for any comprehensive health insurance policyholder or contract holder under an individual policy or contract, as those terms are used in such sections, who is facing a financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
    • Require that the applicable insurer, corporation subject to Article 43 of the Insurance Law, or health maintenance organization certified pursuant to Article 44 of the Public Health Law shall be responsible for the payment of claims during such period and shall not retroactively terminate the insurance policy or contract for non-payment of premium during such period. 

FURTHER, I hereby issue the following directives for the period from the date of this Executive Order through May 7, 2020:

  • Any medical equipment (personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, respirators, bi-pap, anesthesia, or other necessary equipment or supplies as determined by the Commissioner of Health) that is held in inventory by any entity in the state, or otherwise located in the state shall be reported to DOH.  DOH may shift any such items not currently needed, or needed in the short term future by a health care facility, to be transferred to a facility in urgent need of such inventory, for purposes of ensuring New York hospitals, facilities and health care workers have the resources necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and distribute them where there is an immediate need. The DOH shall either return the inventory as soon as no longer urgently needed and/or, in consultation with the Division of the Budget, ensure compensation is paid for any goods or materials acquired at the rates prevailing in the market at the time of acquisition, and shall promulgate guidance for businesses and individuals seeking payment.
  • By virtue of Executive Orders 202.3, 202.4, 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.8, 202.10, 202.11, and 202.13 which closed or otherwise restricted public or private businesses or places of public accommodation, and which required postponement or cancellation of all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason (e.g. parties, celebrations, games, meetings or other social events), all such Executive Orders shall be continued, provided that the expiration dates of such Executive Orders shall be aligned, such that all in-person business restrictions and workplace restrictions will be effective until 11:59 p.m. on April 29, 2020, unless later extended by a future Executive Order.
  • The enforcement of any violation of the foregoing directives on and after April 7, 2020, in addition to any other enforcement mechanism stated in any prior executive orders, shall be a violation punishable as a violation of public health law section 12-b(2) and the Commissioner of Health is directed and authorized to issue emergency regulations. The fine for such violation by an individual who is participating in any gathering which violates the terms of the orders or is failing to abide by social distancing restrictions in effect in any place which is not their home shall not exceed $1,000.
  • The directive contained in Executive Order 202.4 as amended by Executive Order 202.11 related to the closure of schools statewide shall hereafter be modified to provide that all schools shall remain closed through April 29, 2020, at which time the continued closure shall be re-evaluated. No school shall be subject to a diminution in school aid due to failure to meet the 180 day in session requirement as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, provided their closure does not extend beyond the term set forth herein. School districts must continue plans for alternative instructional options, distribution and availability of meals, and child care, with an emphasis on serving children of essential workers, and continue to first use any vacation or snow days remaining.
  • Superintendent of Financial Services shall have the authority to promulgate an emergency regulation, subject to consideration by the Superintendent of Financial Services of the liquidity and solvency of the applicable insurer, corporation subject to Article 43 of the Insurance Law, health maintenance organization certified pursuant to Article 44 of the Public Health Law, or student health plan certified pursuant to Insurance Law § 1124, to:
    • extend the period for the payment of premiums to the later of the expiration of the applicable contractual grace period and 11:59 p.m. on June 1, 2020 for any small group or student blanket comprehensive health insurance policy or contract, or any child health insurance plan policy or contract where the policyholder or contract holder pays the entire premium, as those terms are used in the Insurance Law, for any policyholder or contract holder who is facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
    • require that the applicable insurer, corporation subject to Article 43 of the Insurance Law, health maintenance organization certified pursuant to Article 44 of the Public Health Law, or student health plan certified pursuant to Insurance Law § 1124, shall be responsible for the payment of claims during such period and shall not retroactively terminate the insurance policy or contract for non-payment of premium during such period.   
  • Superintendent of Financial Services shall have the authority to promulgate emergency regulations necessary to implement this Executive Order, including regulations regarding: (1) the waiver of late fees; and (2) the prohibition on reporting negative data to credit bureaus.    
  • For the purposes of Estates Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL)  3-2.1(a)(2), EPTL 3-2.1(a)(4), Public Health Law 2981(2)(a), Public Health Law 4201(3), Article 9 of the Real Property Law, General Obligations Law 5-1514(9)(b), and EPTL 7-1.17, the act of witnessing that is required under the aforementioned New York State laws is authorized to be performed utilizing audio-video technology provided that the following conditions are met:
    • The person requesting that their signature be witnessed, if not personally known to the witness(es), must present valid photo ID to the witness(es) during the video conference, not merely transmit it prior to or after;
    • The video conference must allow for direct interaction between the person and the witness(es), and the supervising attorney, if applicable (e.g. no pre-recorded videos of the person signing);
    • The witnesses must receive a legible copy of the signature page(s), which may be transmitted via fax or electronic means, on the same date that the pages are signed by the person;
    • The witness(es) may sign the transmitted copy of the signature page(s) and transmit the same back to the person; and
    • The witness(es) may repeat the witnessing of the original signature page(s) as of the date of execution provided the witness(es) receive such original signature pages together with the electronically witnessed copies within thirty days after the date of execution. 

G I V E N   under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State in the City of Albany this seventh day of April in the year two thousand twenty.

BY THE GOVERNOR           

Secretary to the Governor

Mayor de Blasio on COVID-19 April 7, 2020


  Mayor Bill de Blasio: Everybody, all along I've said this would be a tough fight against the coronavirus and it's important we understand more and more we are fighting this war on two fronts. First, in our hospitals to save lives, but the second front now is more and more an economic one as well, where folks are struggling to make ends meet, running out of money, New Yorkers who don't have enough money to pay the rent to get the medicines they need, to get the food they need. So, we're going to talk today about our efforts to get food to New Yorkers who need it because this is a growing problem. This is a problem that's going to more and more affect the people of our city as they run out of money. And even though there is some federal help coming, it's not that much and it's going to take too long for many people. So just as we deal with the most important moment in the fight against the illness in our hospitals to save lives, there's a new front opening up and we have to be there for people who need food, cannot have any New Yorker go hungry.

Since we're talking about two fronts, I want to open on the first one and I'm going to say to all of you, it is way too early to draw any definite conclusions. I want to really make sure none of us in public life tell you we have turned a corner until we are absolutely certain. We are not there yet and I want to make sure no one stops practicing social distancing and shelter in place. We must continue those strategies if we're going to protect lives, but I can say in the last couple of days something is starting to change. We don't know if it will be sustained, but it is meaningful now. We projected to you even on Sunday that we had seen a little bit progress in terms of when we were going to need ventilators. We've seen more progress now. That means the number of people showing up in our hospitals who need a ventilator, that situation has improved a bit in recent days. I'm hopeful, but I'm not drawing conclusions until I'm 100 percent sure and my health team is 100 percent sure, but the good news is it is giving us some more time. It is giving us the opportunity to get more ventilators in and know we get farther into the week, so that's very good news. Just the fact that we know we've bought a few more days and we can absolutely protect lives because ventilators will be there. That's crucial news.
We'll have to see in the days ahead if it's something sustained and something that deepens, we will give you daily updates to tell you what's going on, but I want to at least note a little improvement last few days and thank God for that. But as I said, when it comes to the economic battle, when it comes to battling to make sure that people have the food they need, that situation is not getting better, it's getting worse, and think about why, because all of those people lost jobs. All those people still work, but not as much. All those people not getting a paycheck or getting reduced paycheck. The number is staggering. The initial projection is at least half a million New Yorkers are either already out of work or soon will be. That is the kind of level of unemployment and economic distress, the only comparison you can make for that is the Great Depression, which scares me to death to even say that and, and it's right where we are here. Here in Manhattan I am reminded of what this city went through in the Great Depression. I'm reminded of it because of the stories I heard from my family, my older relatives who went through the depression right here in this part of New York City. And the stories they told about how difficult it was, how painful it was, how disorienting it was, we have to understand that what we're going through now and what we will go through, that's the only parallel we can look at and we cannot underestimate the problem for everyday New Yorkers, especially when it comes to food. We're having a lot of people literally having to ask that question, where is my next meal coming from? More and more people are in that situation, so we have to act very aggressively to address that.
Now I want to be clear, I've given you the extent of the problem, but I want to be clear what the mission statement is. I want to be clear what our resolve is. We will not let any New Yorker go hungry. Literally, we will not let any New Yorker go hungry. We have been planning from the beginning of this crisis to address the hunger problem and because we understood that this would be a profound part of what we faced, and this is something that we had seen in other crisis as well, but this is a whole different scale, but we knew this was something we had to prepare for. I named a few weeks ago, an extraordinary public servant, Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, as our Food Czar with the responsibility to come up with a system that we've never had to have in decades in this city, but a system to feed people on a mass scale if it came to that. She has been working closely with Department of Education, Department for the Aging, and Emergency Management to immediately put into action a food plan, but also build for anything bigger we may need to do.
The Chancellor and I had opportunity, a very special opportunity to spend some time with the food service workers here at P.S. 1. They've served 3,100 meals in the past week to people who need it. They’re good people. I said in there, there are another kind of first responder they've showed up to help people in need and they've been a lifeline for people in this community. So, 3,100 meals in the past week for children and families right here in the Lower East Side. This is a part of something much bigger and I want to thank of course everyone at P.S. 1, all the teachers and staff, everyone who's been part of this effort here, the food service workers, the principal, Amy Hom, everyone who has done this work and this whole team that has come together focused on food. Chancellor Carranza again, from Department for the Aging our Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, of course our Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, all of them, our Emergency Management Commissioner, Deanne Criswell, working under the leadership of Kathryn Garcia who's been helping to coordinate all the agencies and common cause. And as always, our elected officials are helping us spread the word, helping us find people who need help, helping us to make sure we have the resources we need. Thank you to state Senator Brian Kavanagh, who's with us now for everything he's done.
So, I want to give you a sense of the scale of this effort and this is just the beginning. In the last three weeks, the efforts of Department of Education, Department for the Aging, Emergency Management, all coordinated by Commissioner Garcia, those efforts have provided 2.6 million meals to New Yorkers who needed food. 2.6 million meals in the last three weeks and that is just the beginning. Now everybody, the site you see here, there are 434 other sites around the city just like this where anyone can come get breakfast, lunch, dinner, all three if they need it for as members of our family as they need. So, we're asking for students or students with their parents to come earlier in the day, 7:30 to 11:30, we're asking adults who are alone to come later in the day, 11:30 to 1:30, but it's the same exact standard everywhere. No one is turned away. No one has to pay anything. You get as many meals as you need. This is about making sure people have food.
Now there's a different initiative for those, for the senior citizens who need help for folks who are homebound, for folks who are vulnerable and that the only solution for them is a delivery. There's also a growing delivery system. This is something Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez has been working on from the beginning and it's building all the time. So, anybody who truly needs a home delivery can call 3-1-1 and we'll get them that delivery. Or they can go to nyc.gov/getfood to sign up. There's a lot of different things that we can get for people. We've got these grab and go sites at the schools. There are a lot of food pantries. The home delivery, we can make sure people who do not get food stamps sign up if they're eligible. Lots of different things we can do to help people. So again, anyone who needs help can go 3-1-1, you can go to nyc.gov/getfood or text the word FOOD or in Spanish they can text the word COMIDA to 8-7-7-8-7-7 to find the site nearest to them. So, if anyone needs it, you can use that text. Again, the word FOOD or the word COMIDA to 8-7-7-8-7-7 and find out a site near you where you can get the food you need for yourself and your family.
Now that's about helping all New Yorkers, anyone in need, but I also want to mention something very particular about our heroes, our health care workers who are at the front lines dealing with this crisis. It's been a very, very difficult month for them. The month of March into April has been very, very tough. These folks are working so hard, under such adverse circumstances. They often don't even have time to go outside for even a few minutes. They don't have time to go to the deli like they used to in the hospital, or the cafeteria. They need help in every way they can get it and we want food to get to them. So many people are responding in communities all over New York City and getting food to hospitals, helping our health care workers directly. But I want to mention some very special efforts, really appreciate these efforts. For example, Lavazza Coffee, that company is helping hospital staff. They're donating 60,000 bags of coffee for doctors, nurses, and hospital workers. And we all know how important it is to have coffee in the middle of this fight. So, I thank them deeply for that.
On a very big level, amazing announcement today. This is something I'm announcing as brand new: I want to thank Deborah and Leon Black, two New Yorkers who are showing extraordinary generosity. They have teamed up with the Mayor’s Fund. They have donated $10 million to help get food and crucial household supplies for the families of the health care workers. So this initiative is called Health Care Heroes and Deborah and Leon Black had put their $10 million forward. They are looking for matching donations from others who can help. If more comes in, they're ready to provide another $10 million to match up to $10 million in donations from other donors. So an incredible, incredible effort. I want to thank both of them on behalf of all 8.6 million New Yorkers. They teamed up with the Mayor’s Fund and in turn they have partnered. Everyone's partnered with the company, Aramark that does food services. They will be putting together at least 300,000 packages of food and household supplies for doctors, nurses, hospital workers of all kind to ease their burden and to help their families. The Red Cross will be doing a lot of the deliveries for the Health Care Heroes. The Robin Hood Foundation will be managing the matching funds to make sure that as other donations come in, we activate that match. This entire initiative will be beginning to deliver these crucial supplies and the food to the families of the health care workers hopefully no later than Monday, maybe even sooner.
So that's an amazing effort. We also have an effort by New York Road Runners. They're a wonderful New York organization. Last week they have 20,000 pairs of gloves to help our health care workers. Now they're donating 10,000 meals for doctors and nurses and frontline staff. So, we see so many different efforts coming together. Every day New Yorkers standing up, people doing everything they can to help our heroes.
Now, one more point I want to make before some quick summary in Spanish. I talked to you over the weekend. It was very moving to me that the Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, volunteered ventilators from Oregon to help New York. See another great act by a governor, Governor Newsom of California who has taken 500 ventilators that they were using in California, had a very tough time, we know it in many parts of that state. They're taking 500 ventilators returning them to the national stockpile so they can go to places like New York and the other places that are hard hit. So, I want to thank Governor Newsom. There is something happening all over this country where people are pouring out their hearts to New York. They're standing with us. People all over the world are standing with us and I think New Yorkers are feeling it more and more. We're in a deep, deep fight, but New Yorkers know we can win this fight. We see more and more people helping us and our own toughness as New Yorkers. Our own resiliency is coming through more and more, but look at all the ways that people are lifting each other up. It's absolutely amazing. So, we're in a fight, but we will not lose this fight. We will prevail and I have great faith that with all the help we're getting, we're going to see this through together. 

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES FUN AT HOME, A NEW PLATFORM TO ENGAGE YOUTH IN FUN, SAFE ACTIVITIES AT HOME


Teens and young adults can visit nyc.gov/funathome or text “Fun” to 97743 to receive the latest updates on resources and activities

  Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Fun at Home, a free new digital platform to provide safe, fun, and entertaining virtual activities for New York City’s teens and young adults. This first-of-its-kind campaign combines city and community resources to engage teens who are at home during the COVID-19 crisis, and also provides tips to cope with the public and mental health challenges that may arise during this difficult time.

“These unprecedented times demand sacrifices from all New Yorkers,” said Mayor de Blasio. “As we completely change the normal way of life for our youth and ask them to remain indoors, I encourage everyone to take advantage of these virtual activities to help cope with this challenging new reality.”

“This is a stressful time for many people in our city, but we want New Yorkers to know that we are here to offer hope and support as they adjust to a rapidly changing world,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray. “This new platform will create healthy online environments for young people, and provide them with tools to support their physical and mental health.”

Fun at Home can be accessed at nyc.gov/funathome or texting “Fun” to 97743 to receive the latest updates on resources and activities. This platform, built-in consultation with youth from the NYC Youth Leadership Councils, was designed to engage teenagers while encouraging them to stay home and practice physical distancing. Users can access to dozens of diverse activities, including exercise videos, SAT practice sessions, and links to free NBA League Pass and Mario Kart tournaments.

Fun at Home builds upon the Children’s Cabinet’s Generation NYC initiative, which aggregates youth-friendly resources across dozens of City agencies. Fun at Home is a partnership between the Children's Cabinet, the NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, and Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, NYC Service and the Young Men's Initiative.

“Youth in New York City need entertaining and healthy options while they must stay at home during this challenging time,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and NYC Children’s Cabinet Chair Dr. Raul Perea-Henze. “We are pleased to gather resources across the de Blasio administration and offer the Fun at Home platform as a virtual initiative to uplift youth and their families.” 

“The most important thing our students can do is stay home to stay safe, and I thank our partners in City government for providing resources for young people to engage with and keep their spirits high,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “We’re committed to continuous learning remotely during this crisis, but know there is also time for fun—and we’re glad there’s a space for that!”

“Now more than ever, families are under an unusual amount of stress due to the COVID-19 public health crisis and this new platform is a safe, fun way to engage teens while they're at home,” said ACS Commissioner David A. Hansell. “ACS will continue working to ensure that New York City children and teens are safe and supported during this challenging time.”

“We need New Yorkers to stay home but we don’t want them to remain idle,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “Fun at Home will give young people a way to stay active and healthy while also doing their part by staying inside.” 

“DYCD is proud to support Fun at Home, a single platform providing tens of thousands of our participants with access to all the City has to offer. Our My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper Youth Council will help launch some of DYCD’s hallmark programs that have gone digital during the COVID-19 crisis, including Recipe Rescue, Step It Up, DYCD Film Festival and My Voice, activities include DYCD’s digital art series in partnership with The Comic Book Project and Young Audiences New York; open mic and writing workshops provided by Urban Word NYC; film workshops with Show the Good; and weekly dance/step sessions featuring the ‘All About Hip Hop’ class with our partners at Gibney Dance. We look forward to bringing home the fun for teens and young adults alike,” said Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Bill Chong.

“The organizational challenges we are facing at home and in our schools are unprecedented and many of our young people are feeling anxious and confused right now,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Community Partnerships Chauncey Parker. “This is a great way to practice social distancing, learn and have fun in a safe place.”

“Fun at Home is a vital resource for young New Yorkers during this difficult time, including many positive activities and coping strategies that can play a valuable role in promoting mental health,” said Susan Herman, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Director, Mayor’s Office of ThriveNYC.

 “Fun at Home is a testament to the importance of finding innovative solutions to address the needs of all New Yorkers as we adapt to life during COVID-19. This initiative will help ensure that New York City’s youth has ample access to resources and support during this pandemic and beyond,” said Elizabeth Glazer, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.

“The Young Men’s Initiative is proud to support Fun at Home. Now more than ever, our youth need fun, engaging activities to stimulate their minds and uplift their spirits,” said Jordan Stockdale, new Executive Director of the Young Men’s Initiative. Stockdale previously served as Deputy Executive Director of the Close Rikers Initiative at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and managed the office’s school climate and Raise the Age portfolios. He is a former special education teacher and Fulbright Scholar.
  
“Girl Vow is hard at work dedicating our time establishing creative platforms so that young people can thrive and succeed during this state of emergency,” said Dawn Rowe, Executive Director of Girl Vow, Inc.

Statement from Council Members Andy King and Deborah Rose on the Cancelling of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program


THE COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF NEW YORK
COUNCIL MEMBER 12TH C.D.
ANDY L. KING

April 7, 2020

As announced today, New York City will be suspending the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) for SUMMER 2020 due to COVID-19. Since 1963, SYEP has served as financial assistance and a means for youths to gain work experience. Every Summer thousands of participants between the ages of 14 and 24 benefit from SYEP. Suspension of this program is devastating news to our youths, who often rely on a paycheck to help their family. We still need to find a way to keep our young adults engaged and safe, while still offering them some kind of financial assistance throughout the summer months.

As the recently announced stimulus package is slated to provide relief to small businesses, corporations and organizations, we are calling for a “Summer Youth Stimulus Package” to be amended to the budget. We are proposing on a youth package that will give aid to those young adults who applied to SYEP. We propose to Mayor Bill De Blasio and our colleagues in the City Council that they receive a one-time payment equal to one-fourth of what they would have earned from working in the Summer Youth Employment Program. While we want to provide some support, we see the importance in “working” for a check, therefore they should earn it in some capacity, for example, by writing an essay or completing a project.  

Keep in mind, not only will these young people miss out on the financial assistance of SYEP, but they will also lose educational and real workplace experience. As youth developers for the past decades, this is very damaging to the growth of our youth. Many of our youths are already feeling the financial strain as their parents or guardians may be unemployed, and so eliminating the SYEP is adding more distress to families. The financial relief package would be a way to assist youth and their families to be economically viable during the summer months.

Hon. Andy L. King                           Hon. Deborah Rose

Council Member                                                             Council Member  
12th District - Bronx                                               49th District - Staten Island
                                                                                        Youth Committee Chair

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces NYS on Pause Functions Extended for Additional Two Weeks


  Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced all NYS on Pause functions will be extended for an additional two weeks. The Governor also directed schools and nonessential businesses to stay closed for an additional two weeks through April 29th. The state will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.

Governor Cuomo also announced the state is increasing the maximum fine for violations of the state's social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000 to help address the lack of adherence to social distancing protocols. The Governor reminded localities that they have the authority to enforce the protocols.

The Governor today is asking the federal government to allow the USNS Comfort hospital ship to be used for COVID-19 patients. President Trump has already granted the Governor's request for the Javits temporary hospital facility to be used for only COVID-19 positive patients, and the addition of the USNS Comfort would help relieve pressure on the state's hospital system with an addition of 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients.

The Governor also announced that 802 ventilators have been distributed downstate through the state's "surge and flex" system where all hospital systems are working together as one and sharing supplies, equipment and staff. Of the 802 ventilators, 38 were deployed to Rockland County, 36 were deployed to Westchester County, 505 were deployed to New York City and 223 were deployed to Long Island.

Governor Cuomo also announced the creation of the First Responders Fund to assist COVID-19 health care workers and first responders with expenses and costs, including child care. The State Department of Health is accepting donations for the fund, and Blackstone is making an anchor $10 million contribution to the fund. Donations can be made electronically at https://www.healthresearch.org/donation-form/ or by check sent to below address. Donors should specify the donation is for "COVID-19 NYS Emergency Response."
Health Research, Inc.
150 Broadway
Suite 560
Menands, NY 12204

The Governor also announced that the state is partnering with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, to offer free meditation and mindfulness content for all New Yorkers as a mental health resource for residents coping with the unprecedented public health crisis. New Yorkers can access a collection of science-backed, evidence-based guided meditations, along with at-home mindful workouts, sleep and kids content to help address rising stress and anxiety at www.headspace.com/ny.

The Governor also announced that the South Beach Psychiatric Center in Staten Island and the Brooklyn Center Temporary Hospital at 170 Buffalo Avenue will open this week and will be used specifically for COVID-19 patients.

"This virus is an enemy that the entire country underestimated from day one and we have paid the price dearly," Governor Cuomo said. "While the numbers look like they may be turning, now is not the time to be lax with social distancing - that would be a mistake and we all have a responsibility and a societal role in this. As I said from day one, I am not going to choose between public health and economic activity, and to that end I am extending all NYS on Pause functions for an additional two weeks. People are dying and our health care workers are exposing themselves to tremendous risk every day. If we can't convince you to show discipline for yourself in terms of social distancing, show discipline for other people."

Finally, the Governor confirmed 8,658 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 130,689 confirmed cases in New York State.