Monday, March 23, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces Initial Delivery of Equipment and Supplies for Javits Center Temporary Hospital


Federal Administration Has Deployed Hundreds of Thousands of Masks, Gloves, Gowns and Face Shields to New York

Former Secretaries to the Governor Steve Cohen, Bill Mulrow & Larry Schwartz Join Governor's COVID-19 Task Force — Tasks Mulrow & Cohen with Developing 'NYS Forward' Plan, Strategy to Restart the Economy Following 'NYS on Pause'

Signs Executive Order Mandating Hospitals Increase Capacity by at Least 50 Percent - Goal of 100 Percent Increase in Capacity

Announces DFS Will Request Health Insurers Disclose Number of Registered Nurses, Doctors Who Work for Them So State Can Ask to Temporarily Serve

FDA Has Approved Use of New Experimental Drug in New York on a Compassionate Care Basis

State Opens Drive-Thru Test Facility in the Bronx — State has Opened 6 Mobile Facilities to Date

Launches 'New York Stronger Together' Campaign — Celebrities Sending Videos of Themselves at Home to Reinforce Governor's Message That Young People Need to Stay Home to Help Stop the Spread — Watch Videos from Robert De NiroDanny DeVitoBen Stiller and LaLa Anthony

Confirms 5,707 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 20,875; New Cases in 36 Counties

Governor Cuomo: "We implemented New York PAUSE, which stopped all the nonessential workers, et cetera. We have to start to think about New York Forward. Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow, who I worked with for 30 years, they're now in the private sector, they're going to start to think about this. How do you restart or transition to a restart of the economy? How do you dovetail that with a public health strategy? As you're identifying people who have had the virus and have resolved, can they start to go back to work? Can younger people start to go back to work because they're more much tolerant to the effect of the virus? So, how do you - you turned off the engine quickly, how do you now start or begin to restart or plan the restart of that economic engine? Separate task, but something that we have to focus on."

Cuomo: "Many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected.

The increase in the number of cases continues and that is what we are watching every day. They see it as an upward trajectory. I see it as a wave that will break at one point and the question is what is the point of the break, and if when the wave breaks does it crash over the healthcare system? That is what we have been talking about.

So, two track simultaneously, you have to reduce the spread, the rate of spread of the virus. You are not going to control the spread, but you can reduce the rate of the spread so you can handle it in you hospital system. That is what every state is doing. That is what this is all about. How do you reduce the rate of spread? Reduce the density, do more testing, isolate the people who test positive. Second track, increase hospital capacity as quickly as you can so that at the apex of the wave you have the hospital capacity for the people who will need the hospital capacity, which are the vulnerable people that we have been talking about.
Reducing the spread, density control, we have taken every action that government can take: closed the gyms, theaters, other high density businesses, non-essential employees, social distancing, Matilda's law. Remember, this is about protecting vulnerable people: older people, compromised immune systems, underlying illness. Those are the people that are vulnerable here. That is the focus of all of this.

The greatest density control issue right now is in New York City. I saw the issue myself. I told New York City I want a plan. Yesterday, I said I want a plan on how they are going to control and reduce the density. I want the plan today. I want the State to be able to approve the plan. It has to focus on young people and the gathering of young people. I have said it before, you can get it. The numbers show you can get it if you're a young person and you can transmit it and it's reckless and it's violative of your civic spirit and duty as a citizen as far as I'm concerned. If New York City needs legislation to enact their plan once we approve it I would ask New York City to pass that legislation quickly. If they have a problem passing legislation they should let me know.

Also on reducing the spread, increase the testing capacity. When you identify somebody positive isolate that person. What we've done on testing is important. March 13 is when the State got the authority to start testing. Up until then the federal government was controlling all the testing and it was going through that bottleneck of a federal government. I don't mean that in a pejorative way but it had to go through the FDA, the CDC. I said decentralize that task. Let the states do it.

March 13 the FDA allowed the State to start testing. In 10 days, we've gone from testing 1,000 people per day to 16,000 people per day. How much is that? That's more than any other state in the United States is testing. That's more per capita than South Korea which was the gold standard of testing. They were doing 20,000 per day. On a much larger population, about double the population of New York, so we're doing 16,000 which compared to China, South Korea per capita is even higher. So in short we're doing more testing than anyone.

Two points off that: kudos to the team that put that testing in place and the nurses and the doctors, God bless them for being out there every day and doing it, but also our numbers will be higher on positives because we're doing more tests. We have multiple locations that are working now and we'll be increasing those locations.

Second track, increase hospital capacity, increase the number of beds, we have 53,000, we may need 110, we have 3,000 ICU beds, we may need between 18,000 to 37,000. That's my greatest concern because that's where we need ventilators to turn those ICU beds into beds for people suffering from the virus.
We are today issuing an emergency order that says to all hospitals you must increase your capacity by 50 percent. You must. Mandatory directive from the State - find more beds, use more rooms, you must increase your capacity 50 percent.

We would ask you to try to increase your capacity 100 percent. Okay? So we now have 53,000 beds. We need 110,000 beds. If they increased the capacity 100 percent that solves the mathematical projection. Right? I think it's unreasonable to say to every hospital basically double your capacity. I don't think it's unreasonable to say try to reach 100 percent increase but you must reach a 50 percent increase. Fifty percent increase, we're only at 75,000 beds. We still have a problem between 75,000 and 110,000.

Once you secure the bed you have to secure the staff. You are going to have staff that are getting sick and need to be replaced. You create these new beds, you don't have the staff for those new beds now. They just don't exist. Your staffing is to your number of beds. You increase the number of beds you need more staff.

We are going to the entire retired community, health care professionals who are licensed, registered and we're saying we want you to enlist to help. It's not a mandatory directive. I can't legally - well I probably could legally - ask them to come into State service. But this is just a request. We put it out. We've gotten very good response. There are hundreds of thousands of health care professionals who are licensed and registered in this state but we have 30,000 responses to date and I'm doing an emergency Executive Order for all nurses who are registered to enlist and the Department of Financial Services is sending a directive to insurance companies. Health insurance companies employ many nurses, doctors, et cetera in the insurance business. We're saying, we don't need them in the insurance business now, we would like them to help in hospitals because this is not about assessing insurance claims at this point. This is about saving lives. When we get to assessing insurance claims, we can handle it then.

Supplies are the ongoing challenge nationwide. Masks, PPE, ventilators are the number one precious commodity. This is happening on an ad hoc basis We are competing with other states as I have said. We have made certain strides. We have a full team working on it, we're very aggressive. We're talking to other countries around the world. We're talking to companies. We have New York manufacturers who are really stepping up to the plate and converting factories, et cetera. But this is not the way to do it. This is ad hoc. I'm competing with other states. I'm bidding up other states on the prices. Because you have manufacturers who sit there and California offers them $4, and they say well California offered $4, I offer $5 and another state calls in and offers $6. It's not the way to do it.

I was speaking to Governor J.B. Pritzker about this yesterday. Why are we competing? Let the federal government put in place the Federal Defense Production Act. It does not nationalize any industry. All it does is say to a factory, "you must produce this quantity." That's all it does. I understand the voluntary public-private sector partnership, and there are a lot of good companies who are coming forward and saying let us help. But it can't just be who wants to help let me know. We need to know what the numbers of what we need produced and who is going to produce and when. I get that a lot of companies are stepping up and doing good things, and that's a beautiful thing. They're doing it here in New York too, but you can't run this operation that way. It can't just be based on we're waiting for people to come forward with offers and if you happen to get a lot of offers on gloves, then you have a lot of gloves. But if you get no offers on masks, then you don't have masks. 

The Defense Production Act just says you can tell a company manufacture this many by this date. Yes, it is an assertion of government power on private sector companies, yes. But so what. This is a national emergency, and you're paying the private sector company They're going to produce a good and they're going to get paid, and by the way, they're going to get paid handsomely. You cannot continue to do these supplies on an ad hoc basis. We have had success securing supplies. We're going to be dispatching them across the state today. These are the number of goods that are going out. You heard on the news that, especially in New York City, they're worried about running out of supplies. Again, this won't get us through the entire situation, but this is a significant amount of supplies that will be going out. New York City, for example, 430,000 surgical masks, 176,000 pairs of gloves, 72,000 gowns, 98,000 face shields, 169,000 N95 masks, which are very precious now. They're about $7 a mask.

So, these are significant supplies. We have been having some success in gathering them and we're distributing them, and this should make a difference. Well, it will make a difference. Again, not until the end of the crisis, but short term. Hospital capacity: I'm on my way down to the Javits Center today. I want to make sure those hospitals are getting up right away, then we're going to use Stony Brook, we're going to use Westchester, we're going to use Old Westbury. President Trump did deliver yesterday. I put forward a series of requests in the morning. He did the briefing in the afternoon, and he responded to those requests. That's government working, that's government working quickly and I thank him for it. It makes a big difference to New York. We're getting those emergency hospitals. The Javits hospitals for example, those are 1,000 beds right there with the equipment, with the ventilators, and with the staffing. So, that's a big deal.

The president declared what's called a major disaster declaration. That allows FEMA, Federal Emergency management agency, to help us. There's normally a 75-25 split between the costs of those services. Federal government pays 75. The state pays 25. I said to the president I can't pay the 25. We just don't have those kinds of resources. The federal government has the authority to waive that 25 so the federal government pays the whole 100 percent. And that's what the president is doing [for the National Guard] and I appreciate that. I also asked for the FDA to expedite the approval of an experimental drug that we are working on here in the state of New York, which I'll tell you more about in a moment, and the president also did that the FDA gave the New York State Department of Health approval to use on a compassionate care basis a drug that we think has real possibility.

On the drug therapy, Tuesday we're going to start the hydroxychloroquine with the zithromax, that's the drug combination that eth president has been talking about. the FDA approved New York State Department of Health to proceed with an experimental drug, again on a compassionate care basis. But what it does is it takes the plasma from a person who has been infected with the virus. Processes the plasma and injects the antibodies into a person who is sick. And there have been tests that show when a person is injected with theantibodies, that then stimulates and promotes their immune system against that disease. It's only a trial. It's a trail for people who are in serious condition. But the New York State Department of Health has been working on this with some of New York's best healthcare agencies, and we think it shows promise. And we're going to be starting that this week. There's also work on a serological drug where you test the antibodies of a person and see if they had the virus already. We all believe, thousands and thousands of people have had the virus and self-resolved. If you knew that, you would know who is now immune to the virus and who you could send back to work, et cetera. So we're also working on that.

The numbers today, total tested up to 78,000, tested overnight, 24 hour period, 16,000. As of yesterday about 25 percent of all the testing nationwide is being produced right here. Number of positive cases, we are up to 20,000 statewide. 5,000 new cases, which is obviously a significant increase. And as I say that trajectory is going up, the wave is still going up, and we have a lot of work to do to get that rate down and get the hospital capacity up. You see it spreading across the state, the way it spread across the nation, and that will continue, my guess is every day. We have, right now on hospitalizations, 13 percent are being hospitalized. None of these numbers are good, but relatively that is a good number. Remember it's the rate of hospitalizations and the rate of people needing ICU beds. 13 percent is down, it has gone as high as 20 percent, 21 percent, hovered around 18 percent, 17 percent, 13 percent is a good number. Of that number, 24 percent require the ICU beds. The ICU beds are very important because those are the ventilators.

Most impacted states, you can see that New York far and away has the bulk of the problem. And that's relevant for the federal government, that's relevant for the Congressional delegation that is arguing for federal funds. Fund the need. Fund the need. New York, we have 20,000 cases, New Jersey, 1,900. California, 1,800. So, proportionately, in absolute terms, New York has by far the greatest need in the nation.

Again, to keep this all in perspective, Johns Hopkins has studied every case from the beginning. 349,000 cases. Death toll worldwide is 15,000, right? Many will get infected, but few will actually pass away from this disease. Also, this is all evolving and this is all evolution and we are still figuring it out. There has to be a balance or parallel tracks that we're going down. We're talking about public health, we're talking about isolation, we're talking about protecting lives.

There also has to be a parallel track that talks about economic viability. I take total responsibility for shutting off the economy in terms of essential workers. But, we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality, right? You can't stop the economy forever. So we have to start to think about does everyone stay out of work? Should young people go back to work sooner? Can we test for those who had the virus, resolved, and are now immune and can they start to go back to work? There's a theory of risk stratification that Dr. Katz who's at Yale University is working on, which is actually very interesting to me. Which says isolate people but really isolate the vulnerable people. Don't isolate everyone because some people, most people, are not vulnerable to it. And if you isolate all people you may be actually exposing the more vulnerable people by bringing in a person who is healthier and stronger and who may have been exposed to the virus, right? Can you get to a point where the healthy, the people who are most likely not going to be effected can go to work? Remember, you study the numbers across the countries that have been infected. The survival rate for those who have been infected is like 98%, right? A lot of people get it, very few people die from it.

So, how do we start to calculate that in? We implemented New York PAUSE, which stopped all the nonessential workers, et cetera. We have to start to think about New York Forward. Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow, who I worked with for 30 years, they're now in the private sector, they're going to start to think about this. How do you restart or transition to a restart of the economy? How do you dovetail that with a public health strategy? As you're identifying people who have had the virus and have resolved, can they start to go back to work? Can younger people start to go back to work because they're more much tolerant to the effect of the virus? So, how do you - you turned off the engine quickly, how do you now start or begin to restart or plan the restart of that economic engine? Separate task, but something that we have to focus on.

I offered my personal opinion yesterday - I separate my personal opinion from the facts. You can disregard my personal opinion. You can disregard the facts, but they are still facts. I said don't be reactive, be productive, be proactive. Somebody, a few people have said to me afterwards, well what did that mean? That happens to me often. Look, this can go on for several months, okay? Nobody can tell you is it four months, six months, eight months, nine months - but it is several months.

We all have to now confront that that is a new reality. That is not going to change. You are not going to turn on the news tomorrow morning and they are going to say surprise, surprise this is all now resolved in two weeks. That is not going to happen. So, deal with this reality. Understand the negative effect of this, which I have spoken to personally because these are personally negative effect. You do not feel them governmentally, you feel them personally. You fee then in your own life.

And don't underestimate the emotional trauma and don't underestimate the pain of isolation. It is real. This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, not to be close, to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today. I had not seen them in months. I can't shake their hands. I can't hug them. You know this is all unnatural. My daughter came up. I can't give her the embrace and the kiss that I want to give her. This is all unnatural and disorienting. And it is not you, it is everyone. It's the condition,

And we are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively? Also, at the same time we have to learn from this experience because we were not ready to deal with this and other situations will happen. Other situations will happen and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation as dramatic as this one has been.

Also finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos. The stores will have groceries. Gas stations will have gasoline. There's no reason for extraordinary anxiety. But it is going to change. You won't be at work, you can't be sitting at restaurants, you're not going to be going to birthday parties, you don't have to go to business conferences on the weekends. There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways: You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, "Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to." Well now you can. You have more time with family.

And yes, I get family in cramped quarters can be difficult, but it's also the most precious commodity. For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise. You know, I'm dad, right? The last thing you want to be when you're in Cara's position is hang out with the old man and hang out with dad and hear bad dad jokes, you know - they'll come with the holidays, they'll come when I give them heavy guilt, but I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that.

And as I said, normal operations will continue. As I said from day one, the level of anxiety is not connected to facts, there is no chaos the net effect - many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected? I don't have the answer but I know the question.

Governor Cuomo: In Time of COVID-19 Pandemic be 'Socially Distanced, But Spiritually Connected'


  I said don't be reactive, be productive, be proactive. Somebody, a few people have said to me afterwards, well what did that mean? That happens to me often. Look, this can go on for several months, okay? Nobody can tell you is it four months, six months, eight months, nine months - but it is several months.  

We all have to now confront that that is a new reality. That is not going to change. You are not going to turn on the news tomorrow morning and they are going to say surprise, surprise this is all now resolved in two weeks. That is not going to happen. So, deal with this reality. Understand the negative effect of this, which I have spoken to personally because these are personally negative effect. You do not feel them governmentally, you feel them personally. You feel then in your own life.

And don't underestimate the emotional trauma and don't underestimate the pain of isolation. It is real. This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, not to be close, to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today. I had not seen them in months. I can't shake their hands. I can't hug them. You know this is all unnatural. My daughter came up. I can't give her the embrace and the kiss that I want to give her. This is all unnatural and disorienting. And it is not you, it is everyone. It's the condition.

And we are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively? Also, at the same time we have to learn from this experience because we were not ready to deal with this and other situations will happen. Other situations will happen and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation as dramatic as this one has been.

Also finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos. The stores will have groceries. Gas stations will have gasoline. There's no reason for extraordinary anxiety. But it is going to change. You won't be at work, you can't be sitting at restaurants, you're not going to be going to birthday parties, you don't have to go to business conferences on the weekends. There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways: You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, "Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to." Well now you can. You have more time with family.

And yes, I get family in cramped quarters can be difficult, but it's also the most precious commodity. For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise. You know, I'm dad, right? The last thing you want to be when you're in Cara's position is hang out with the old man and hang out with dad and hear bad dad jokes, you know - they'll come with the holidays, they'll come when I give them heavy guilt, but I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that.

And as I said, normal operations will continue. As I said from day one, the level of anxiety is not connected to facts, there is no chaos the net effect - many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected?

AG James Launches Hotline to Combat Coronavirus Hate Crimes and Xenophobic Rhetoric



Individuals Who Have Experienced Hate Crimes and Bias-Based Incidents Are Encouraged to Call the Ongoing Hotline at 1-800-771-7755, or Email Civil.Rights@ag.ny.gov

  Attorney General Letitia James today announced the launch of a hotline for New Yorkers to report hate crimes and bias-based incidents. The hotline, which will continue indefinitely, comes in the wake of rising reports of harassment and assaults, as well as rhetoric against Asian Americans amidst the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 


“As we face an unprecedented and uncertain time for New York, the United States, and the world, we must reiterate the fact that this pandemic does not give anyone an excuse to be racist, xenophobic, or biased,” said Attorney General James. “No one should live in fear for their life because of who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. I encourage all victims of discriminatory actions stemming from this pandemic to contact my office. We will continue to work with local law enforcement to combat hate in all its insidious forms.”
In the last week alone, there have been numerous reports in New York of Asian Americans being harassed or physically assaulted as a result of this pandemic. The last several weeks have also seen a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric through the use of terms such as “Chinese virus,” creating a stigma around Asian communities. This comes on the heels of a record number of hate crimes over the past several months in New York, demonstrating the urgent need for action. The Attorney General’s Office, in its commitment to combating these heinous acts, implores everyone, from everyday New Yorkers, to individuals at the highest levels of government, to stand united against hate, now more than ever.
“During this public health crisis, people are fighting for their lives – fighting to keep their families safe. Yet these incessant, irresponsible, and atrocious naming of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus” is endangering the lives of Asian Americans. I thank Attorney General James for setting up this necessary hotline for New Yorkers to report coronavirus-related hate crimes or biased-based incidents,” said U.S. Representative Grace Meng. “I have repeatedly called on public officials – from the President to the top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives – to abstain from using derogatory language that demonizes Asian Americans. This must stop. Public officials – and the media – must speak truth to power and refrain from dabbling in misinformation or conspiracy theories. I’m urging all New Yorkers to come together, call virus the coronavirus, and report to the hotline those who would use this uncertain time to make racist, xenophobic or biased attacks.”
“Long scapegoated and cast as "yellow peril", Asian-Americans are besieged on two fronts by the COVID-19 contagion, with outbreaks of ignorance and bigotry sometimes inflicting more harm than the virus itself,” said State Senator John Liu. “More and more hateful incidents are occurring, ranging from distasteful gestures to obnoxious name-calling to outright violence against Asian-Americans — and despicably condoned by the president himself. The battle against the coronavirus has actually brought out the best among New Yorkers but it is necessary to remind some not to let fear of the unknown devolve into irrational and inexcusable hate, and we thank beloved Attorney General Tish James for leading the charge on this front as well.”
“Currently our community is dealing with COVID-19, a global pandemic — but our community is also facing another virus: extreme anti-Asian xenophobia,” said State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou. “While we battle this crisis, it has become abundantly clear that the coronavirus does not discriminate based on race. Yet, people are using COVID-19 as an excuse to perpetuate racism and xenophobia throughout New York and the entire country. There have been so many reports of Asian Americans being attacked because they were just riding the subway or wearing a face mask. The attacks are hateful, and go out of their way to blame our community. It is important that we stand together and remain educated on the growing emergency. Together we must stop the spread of the unfounded harmful stereotypes and hateful words that people are using to demonize our Asian American community through thoughtful and reasonable discussions. Thank you to the Attorney General for setting up a hotline to address and to better support our community through this devastating time of unfounded xenophobia and hate crimes against our community.”
Although local law enforcement is responsible for criminally prosecuting these perpetrators, the Attorney General’s Office is taking on this issue in other ways, including connecting victims and impacted communities to available resources, launching civil investigations, and supporting local law enforcement, among other steps.
The Attorney General urges those experiencing hate crimes and bias incidences to report them by emailing the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau at civil.rights@ag.ny.gov, or calling 1-800-771-7755. 

Comptroller Stringer Releases Updated Economic Analysis Forecasting Substantial Reduction in New York City’s Tax Revenues in FY20 and FY21 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic


Stringer analysis projects losses of $4.8 billion to $6.0 billion in City tax revenues
Renews call for an immediate mandatory City agency savings program and for fiscal relief for State and Local governments in the federal stimulus bill - including direct cash assistance and paid sick leave
  New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released an updated analysis of forecasted tax revenue losses for New York City in Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021 amid the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s economy.  Comptroller Stringer’s analysis estimates revenue losses of between  $4.8 billion and $6.0 billion total in fiscal years (FY) 2020 and 2021. The range of the estimate  depends on the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic,  and the duration and extent of the resulting economic shutdown.
An earlier analysis by the Comptroller conservatively estimated the budget shortfall at some $3.2 billion, based on estimated declines in specific economic sectors. Today’s analysis presumes a wider downturn in the overall economy, given rapid job losses in many sectors and mandatory shutdowns of many businesses enacted within the last week.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is already putting enormous financial strain on our city’s workers as millions of New Yorkers grapple with the uncertainty of their next paycheck, paying rent, and taking care of their families. At the same time, the massive slowdown of our city’s economy is going to result in  substantial losses of the tax revenue that keep this city running,” saidComptroller Stringer. “Our economic forecast highlights the significant  financial pressure on our city’s coffers. We are staring down a fiscal emergency and need the federal government to step up by injecting as much funding into our city’s economy as possible — our healthcare system, infrastructure, transit network, and so much more depend on it. And our City government must act immediately to protect our fiscal position so that we can continue to provide vital services for our most vulnerable New Yorkers in the face of this emergency.”
Forecasted Revenue Losses in New York City
Comptroller Stringer’s economic analysis forecasts a very sharp decline in specific sectors from  March through the end of June, particularly in hotels, restaurants, retail and the cultural sector, as earnings collapse and unemployment soars. The analysis outlines two economic scenarios for New York City in Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) and FY21 and estimates lost tax revenue from personal incomes, sales, hotels, real property transfers, businesses incomes, and other taxes.
In a more moderate  scenario, the measures taken to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus are successful and the shutdown of the economy would essentially end by May. There would be relatively limited impacts on sectors outside hotels, restaurants and retail. This scenario predicts a tax revenue loss of $1.28 billion in FY20 and $3.5 billion in FY21 totaling $4.8 billion, which would be a 2.0 percent decline in FY20 and 5.4 percent decline in FY21.
The higher range scenario presumes the state of emergency lasting  at least into June or July, with a slower recovery to normal economic activity, and larger impacts on other sectors of the economy . This scenario envisions a tax revenue loss of $1.5 billion in FY20 and $4.6 billion in FY21 totaling $6.0 billion, which would be a 2.3 percent in FY20 and a 7.0 percent decline in FY21.

The City Budget Outlook
A  revenue shortfall of between $1.3 and $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year  could be offset using  the City’s current projected budget surplus of $2.7 billion and other available reserves. Balancing  this year’s budget through use of the surplus, however, would result in a larger gap next year, since the City planned to use this year’s surplus to pre-pay FY 2021 expenditures. Next year’s gap could be as high as $4.5 billion in that case.
To avoid exhausting other reserves, including balances in the Retiree Health Benefit Trust, the Comptroller renewed his urgent call for an immediate “Program to Eliminate the Gap” (PEG) that would require City agencies to identify savings equal to 4% of their City-funds budget with certain exceptions for DOHMH, NYC H+H, and social services agencies.
Federal Stimulus Relief Urgently Needed
Amid the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Comptroller Stringer called for direct and immediate economic relief in the federal stimulus package. Several key proposals that Comptroller Stringer outlined to support struggling families, businesses, non-profits and state and local governments included:
  • Direct Cash Assistance: Cash relief to hard-pressed families and individuals should not be conditioned on taxpayer status. Anyone, regardless of taxpayer or immigration status or earnings, should be able to get a check, based on family size, now.
  • ​Small Business & Non-Profits: Congress must extend forgivable loans to small businesses and non-profits to keep employees on the payroll–even while they’re closed. This measure will allow businesses to survive and re-open once we get through this crisis and the state of emergency is over. Congress must appropriate enough funding to ensure that every small business and non-profit that has been forced by current circumstances to close is able to access funding.  Congress should also provide some funding directly to States to administer the program, since the federal SBA will be hard-pressed to administer the program by itself in a timely way.  Finally, these loans should come with the condition that the money be targeted to paying frontline workers – not executives or investors.
  • Unemployment Insurance: Unemployment insurance weekly benefits should be immediately increased, and their duration extended to at least 39 weeks.  The waiting period for benefits should be eliminated.
  • Paid Sick Leave: There should be no limits placed on emergency paid leave.  At a time when we need workers and businesses to heed urgent public health guidance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, limits on paid sick leave would only serve to undermine that goal. Instead, Congress should implement measures to make small businesses whole for costs incurred for sick leave and family leave.
  • State and Local Government Fiscal Stabilization: It is imperative that frontline state and local governments get the federal support they need to address this public health emergency and the economic impact of widespread business closures.  Options include a higher federal share of state and local Medicaid expenditures, additional funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, waivers of state and local matches on other federal aid programs, and a State and Local Government Fiscal Stabilization Fund of at least $250 billion.

MAYOR DE BLASIO ON COVID-19 - March 23, 2019


 Mayor Bill de Blasio: Well, everyone, we’re starting out a week that we've never seen before – anything like this before. This is going to be a very challenging week, a week where we're going to get used to doing things that are absolutely unprecedented in our lives. So, I think it's safe to say that as we woke up this morning, this Monday, looked very different than any Monday we've ever experienced.

I want to talk about what we all will be doing and will need to do to make these adjustments and to deal with our new reality. But I want to talk about against the painful backdrop of this surge of this disease, the fact that we're seeing milestones in the growth of this disease that are just absolutely staggering. Things we could not have imagined even a week or two ago, we've now passed by quite a bit – 10,000 cases of coronavirus here in New York City. We are as of this morning on the verge of having lost a hundred New Yorkers for a disease that would, most of us had never heard of a few months ago – that seemed to just have the smallest presence in our city just weeks ago – it now has become the dominant reality and we're all trying to make sense of that together. But, suffice it to say that we now – all of us – fully understand what we're up against and we are taking every conceivable action as a city working with the state government and now increasingly working with the federal government, to address this crisis, to try and every way we can to slow the growth of this disease, to help everyone in need, and to get through to the day when this will be part of our history, not the reality we're living. Right now, for so many people it’s just a day-to-day adjustment trying to figure out how to live with these new rules, trying to figure out how to adapt. For so many people trying to figure out how to get the basics of life even if you aren't being paid anymore, you don't have a job anymore - so much uncertainty, so much fear, so much anxiety. That's what I hear everywhere I go.

Look, what we all have to do is help each other. But we in government particularly have to help you to understand this new reality and help you navigate it, support you through it. And so, I'll talk about some of the big picture reality, but I'll also keep coming back to the day-to-day reality; how important it is for us all to stay home to the maximum extent possible. To really understand that what we do will affect the overall situation, not just for ourselves and our families, but for everyone else. And that social distancing is so important for all of us.

I will tell you again these very painful facts about the situation. Our city right now, confirmed cases as of the last count this morning already 12,339 New Yorkers have tested positive for COVID-19. I want people to understand that at this point we're about 60 percent of the cases in New York State are here in our City. About 35 percent of the cases in the entire country are here in this City. We are the epicenter of this crisis. No one wants that distinction. Not a single one of us, but it is true that we are the epicenter of this crisis and that's why we so desperately need help, particularly from our federal government to get through it. As I said, at this, as of this moment, 99 confirmed deaths related to Coronavirus. We know more are coming and that again, those are not statistics, those are human beings, those are friends, those are our loved ones. The breakout by borough, Queens has 3,621 cases, Brooklyn 3,494, Manhattan 2,572, the Bronx 1,829 and Staten Island 817. It's a very tough time, but it is not a time for people to give-up to say the least because this fight has just begun. It is not a time for hopelessness because we finally see things starting to happen and first and foremost New Yorkers are making things happen.

I had the opportunity today to be on Roosevelt Island visiting the Coler hospital facility and there – right this minute – new hospital beds are being created right now so that we will have additional capacity to handle this surge in coronavirus cases and to make sure that everyone else who needs hospital care for other diseases and challenges will have support as well. On Roosevelt Island at Coler, 100 new beds will be available this week, 240 will be available next week. It's just one example of many to come where we're finding new ways to create hospital space for those who need it. And of course, we heard great news today about the Javits Center and so happy to say the Army Corps of Engineers working with FEMA, working with the State of New York, all of us working together, setting up a new field hospital at the Javits Center. This was something absolutely crucial and we've been pushing for the federal government to bring in everything they have, every form of support and everyone knows the great work of the Army Corps of Engineers. This will mean a thousand new beds. That's going to be extraordinarily helpful.

I want to talk about supplies as well, which are absolutely crucial. Equipment and supplies we're going to need to get through not only this crisis over many weeks, but what we need to do to get through just the next days, just the next week or two. And I do want to say on a positive note, I had a long and detailed conversation last night with President Trump and Vice President Pence. And we got into real specifics about the challenges facing New York City. I emphasized to both the President and Vice President that we particularly in our public hospitals are dealing with honestly a day-to-day reality where we have to make sure that there'll be more and more equipment and supplies coming in to deal with a surging demand of people in need. I'm very pleased to say that conversation focused on ventilators - in particular - as the single most important, most urgently needed piece of equipment. And today we received the good news that 400 ventilators from the federal stockpile are arriving now to help New York City. That's going to make a huge difference. Now, our need for ventilators is in the thousands, but we're going to fight every day to stay ahead of this curve. We're going to literally be in a race against time, so even 400 ventilators is a huge step forward to help us get through this weekend into next. So, I'm very grateful the federal government has come through with this first-step.

I also had conversations today with Peter Navarro – several conversations – who the President deployed as the individual he's going to have focusing on specific supply requests from New York City. We've talked multiple times today. We've been texting back and forth and again, the focus that I made clear Mr. Navarro is ventilators, but other supplies as well are part of his purview. And again, we see very productive actions in the course of today.

I spoke with Defense Secretary Esper about an hour ago. Continue to emphasize how much we need the military’s help here in New York City. I want to thank the Secretary for the fact that the USNS Comfort is on its way soon to New York, obviously are so appreciative for the presence of the Army Corps of Engineers, but we are going to need so much more going forward and then when New York gets through our crisis the same help is going to be needed from the military all over the nation. So, it is my hope that that military role will continue to expand in the days ahead.

When it comes to supplies, we have been amassing supplies and ensuring that they get out immediately to public and private hospitals across the city and starting today we sent out supplies around the city in total 200,000 N95 masks for our hospitals, 2 million surgical masks and 70,000 face shields. Additional help is coming from both the federal government and the State government, that includes 430,000 more surgical masks, 170,000 more N95 masks, 175,000 pairs of gloves, 98,000 face shields and 72,000 surgical gowns. So, we'll be giving regular updates, but you can see these are substantial quantities. And yet, I think everyone knows we're going to need constantly to get a supply because the number of cases will keep growing and the number of medical personnel that we're going to need will keep expanding, number of facilities will keep expanding, so these numbers represent something good, which is the flow of supplies to where they're needed, but we're going to need a lot more where that came from. And we're going to focus on getting supplies from all over the country from obviously the federal, state government, any private sources we can find, any philanthropic sources and we're going to be manufacturing our own here in New York City, cause we're going to be at this for a while. We're going to need all of that to get through.

There are some companies that have really stepped up. I think it's really important to give credit where credit is due. So, I want to thank the ASO Corporation of Florida who has sent 600,000 vinyl gloves to New York City. I want to thank American Express for putting together 36,000 N95 masks. Merck Pharmaceuticals, sending half a million surgical masks and then companies here that are stepping up to produce right here in New York City; Boyce Technologies, Bednark Studio, MakerSpace, and Adafruit, all local companies that have agreed to help us by producing tens of thousands of face shields right here in New York City. All of this is going to make a difference. Every single one of these efforts matter. And this is how we save lives to make sure these supplies are always available to our brave and heroic health care workers. So, thank you to all of these companies for stepping-up.

I want to make clear as we all get into this new reality. We all have been told, I think very, very clearly to think about the difference between what's essential and what's not essential. At this point since we passed 8:00 pm last night, non-essential businesses, non-essential activities are a part of the past and that is going to be true for weeks to come. At this point since we passed 8:00 pm last night, non-essential businesses, non-essential activities are a part of the past, and that's going to be true for weeks to come. So, non-essential businesses closed down. The things we all used to think were normal. The things we used to do for leisure and fun, the things we used to spend time and money on, we're not doing that anymore, honestly. We're doing something different now. So essential businesses are what are allowed to be opened. Grocery stores, pharmacies, food establishments that provide delivery and take out, obviously, the kinds of businesses that we are going to depend on to get through this.

And another thing we have to recognize that’ll be different. We're used to – we’re New Yorkers, we're used to crowds, we're used to lines, we're used to being close together. Not anymore. We're not going to allow crowds to form. We're not going to allow lines where people are tightly packed next to each other. We're not going to allow any indoor space to get overcrowded. We're not going to allow outdoor spaces to get overcrowded. From this point on, everyone needs to understand social distancing. Six feet apart on every side. The obvious exception is when you're with the people who live under the same roof with you. The family, whatever the composition of your family, those you live with. Obviously, that's different because you're in close proximity all the time. And if you live with someone else, and you're out on the street, just the same way as you would be living together, close together, that's fine. We understand that. But for people who you do not live under the same roof with, you're going to have to practice the social distancing and we're going to help, the city of New York, all our agencies will be there to educate people, to remind people, to warn people, sometimes to step in and help people create more separation. We're going to be doing that very, very energetically from this point on.

And we've made clear that everyone we understand who has to go out for groceries or for medicines or for a little bit of exercise or walk the dog, that's okay. But for as little time as possible. And there are some people who should not go out. And those are the folks who are the most vulnerable, the folks who really have to avoid any other contact with other people. And that means, especially outside their family obviously, and that means folks over 70 and folks with those serious preexisting conditions, medical conditions.

So now, to the question of our parks and the places that we are used to going outside. We want to get some exercise, some recreation, as Commissioner Dermot Shea, and I said yesterday, we're going to focus in the first days on education and warnings and a lot of NYPD presence and also the presence of many other city agencies, obviously the parks department included. We're going to focus, we're going to have signage out to help people understand, lots of messages that you'll hear constantly letting people know how this is going to work, and you have to practice social distancing. And that if we see people in groups, we're going to break them up. If we see a place that's too crowded, we are going to get people to disperse.

And also, I want to say to my fellow New Yorkers, this week's going to be decisive. We want to see how this is going. We're going to work with the State of New York to figure out what the law, the rules I should say, will be for the longer term. This week is our chance to test different approaches. We need to make sure people will practice social distancing in our parks and playgrounds. And if we don't think it can be done, we're going to have to come up with tougher rules. So, it really is incumbent upon all New Yorkers to do your damndest to live by this new reality.

As our officers go around monitoring and enforcing, the more we see people practicing social distancing, the more we see people avoiding crowds and really greeting some space, the more we can allow folks the opportunity to use parks and playgrounds fully. If we see that we're just not seeing enough evidence that people are getting the message, we're going to be tougher about getting that message out and more enforcement. If that's still not working, we could easily get to the point soon where we say, you know what, we're not going to be allowed to be able to allow playgrounds to be open. I don't want to do that. I don't think a lot of New Yorkers want to see that happen. But the only way we keep playgrounds open is if people really honor the rules. Don't overcrowd them. We don't need family groups mixing with each other. We don't need kids playing with kids outside of their families. I know it's strange. I know it's difficult. I really do. But this is the reality we have to make sense of. So, if everyone is tough and strong as New Yorkers are, we can find a way to strike that balance.

What will not be allowed in parks at all is any larger gatherings, and no team sports activity, which again pains me as someone who loves sports and still plays team sports. It's just not going to be possible. Team sports, pretty much in every case, involves close contact. It does not allow for social distancing. So, this has to be something that we've just let go for now. But hopefully in the months ahead we can all get back to. We're also not going to allow barbecues, which obviously are social activities. We know that's going to be tough as the weather gets warmer. But again, that's just for the duration of this immediate crisis. And then when we get through it, we can go back to normal.

So, you will see a lot of enforcement, a lot of personnel. You'll see first and foremost the NYPD that is going to make this a high priority to be present around parks and playgrounds. But you're also going to see teams from the FDNY. You're going to see teams from the Sheriff's Office, from the Office of Special Enforcement, from the Department of Buildings, you’re going to see teams from the Sanitation Department, our Community Affairs Unit here at the Mayor's Office, our Office of Neighborhood Safety at the Mayor's Office. And of course, from the Department of Parks and Recreation, you're going to see in every case a lot of presence. And please, I’m going to state the obvious to my fellow New Yorkers, when an officer asks you to move along, move along, they ask you to disperse as part of the crowd, disperse. If they remind you that you've been out exercising, and it's time to go home, go home. We really need people to recognize our officers are simply telling us what we need to do to keep safe and to stop this disease from continuing its extraordinary growth. That's the whole mission will be to keep people safe now and in the future. So, please follow the instructions of our officers.

Some other updates. And I will go through different items quickly. And then we'll hear from the chancellor, and then open up to questions from the media. You know, I've been calling on the federal government and I talked to President Trump and Vice President Pence about this last night. I've mentioned, I talked about ventilators. I talked about the need for medical personnel, including from the armed forces. We went into detail about that.

But I also talked about the situation that our public and private hospitals are facing where right now they are dealing with huge new surges of cases and it's tremendously difficult for them and it's costing them so much in human terms, but also in financial terms. Public and private hospitals need help from the federal government. Cities, towns, counties, states all have been constantly stressed over these last weeks and we'll be much more stressed in the weeks ahead. Massive new expenses, plummeting revenue. I've made very clear, we've got to have help in the legislation as being discussed right now in Washington. Hundreds of billions of dollars we need for localities and States, hundreds of billions to help our hospitals get through this everywhere in the country. I'm hoping and praying we'll see that support from the federal government. We're certainly fighting hard and I know our senators and our house delegation are as well.

But while we're hoping that some relief may be coming, the size of the deficits ahead are huge. We again, you cannot have billions of dollars in new expenses while simultaneously losing billions of dollars in revenue without having a massive problem. So, knowing that we're going to have severe challenges with our city budget, I have instructed our office of management budget to initiate a peg program immediately. That means a mandatory initiative requiring city agencies to cut their spending. This is going to be a very difficult exercise. Given the backdrop of this crisis. I want to be very clear, we will not cut spending related to COVID 19 response. If it has anything to do directly with stopping the spread of coronavirus, of course, that's where we're going to prioritize spending. That's where a lot of our new spending is. But outside of that area, every agency will be asked to help. All in different ways. But the specific goals that will be given to each agency by the office of management budget will be obligatory. We have to make these cuts in light of an ever-worsening budget situation. And I say that with no joy, but I know it is time for us to do this. Looking ahead, just weeks until the next step in our budget process, the executive budget.

Another important topic, our jails. I'll be updating New Yorkers daily on this situation. We continue to ensure that there's additional healthcare capacity for our jail population. We continue to ensure that there's ample space for any inmates who need to be isolated. One thing we have, particularly on Rikers Island, is space because our jail population is less than half of what it was six years ago, thank God. Today, through the combination of efforts by the city and the district attorney's, 75 individuals have been released from our city jails. There are more being immediately reviewed that are under state jurisdiction, but in our city jails. We'll have an update on them shortly.

In the course of this evening, I will be given results of an effort by the Department of Corrections and NYPD and our Mayor's Office for Criminal Justice to review a list of approximately 200 inmates for potential release. From that list, a number will be determined, and we will make the decision this evening on what that exact number will be and then they will be released. Whatever that specific number of inmates, those individuals will be released tomorrow. Then starting in the morning, an additional group of between 100 and 200 will be reviewed quickly. We hope to make decisions on them very quickly. But I think to be safe, I would say those decisions will come Wednesday. But this process will be ongoing. It will be constant to determine what is the right number of people and who are the right people to release, and under what conditions to make sure everyone is safe, but also to make sure we look out for the health and wellbeing of all. So, we'll have constant updates on that.

Two more points, then I'm going to just give you a quick summary in Spanish. Been a lot of questions about city services that we normally expect and city offices that are normally open and obviously a lot has been suspended, a lot’s been altered. A lot of things we depend on aren't there right now. Anything you want to check on for City services or offices to know if they're open or if they're operational, you can go to nyc.gov. Right there on the homepage, you can click into a list and see exactly what is still available and what isn't. And anytime you have a question, you can always call 311— to get a clearer picture. I want to take one moment before I close to talk directly to New Yorkers with disabilities. I know there's tremendous concern in our disability community dealing with all the unknowns everyone else is dealing with, but needing to make sure that there'll be sensitivity and concern in our City government and all the institutions of our society – that there'll be information flowing and messages that will be helpful and necessary information for the community, that everything that we do takes into account all New Yorkers, including so many fellow New Yorkers who have a disability and who needs support at this moment. The fact is we are focused on making sure that every New Yorker gets the support they need during this crisis and anyone who has a specific concern and needs help can reach out to our Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities. And I want to thank Commissioner Victor Calise and his whole team in that office who do extraordinary work all the time, but have really risen to the occasion in this crisis. Anyone who needs more information or needs help can call 311 or visit nyc.gov/disability for more information and deaf New Yorkers specifically can connect through video phone at 646-396-5830, I'll say that number again, 646-396-5830.

ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ SEEKS TO ALLAY VOTING WORRIES DUE TO CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS



This came in from Assemblyman Jeffry Dinowitz



Dinowitz has proposed new legislation which would move the April 28 Presidential primary to June 23, simplify the ballot, and temporarily authorize absentee voting to New Yorkers who are unable or averse to appear personally at polling sites due to an imminent, impending, or urgent threat resulting from a disease outbreak such as COVID-19.

    A new bill from Assemblyman J effreyDinowitz aims to ensure that New York’s upcoming primary elections will not be derailed by coronavirus fears. As an increasing number of voters express worry about going to a polling site to physically cast their ballot, Assemblyman Dinowitz is proposing a series of changes to ensure our electoral process moves forward during the ongoing pandemic. The new legislation proposes three changes:

1) Move the April 28 primary to June 23;
2) Temporarily authorize absentee balloting for all voters who are worried about disease outbreak; and
3) Simplify the Presidential primary ballot by removing all candidates and delegates who have suspended their campaign.

As New York State awaits a constitutional amendment which would permit absentee voting for any kind, New York voters currently would be forced to confront the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus (COVID-19) if they want to cast ballots for a Democratic candidate for President of the United States as well as for candidates of both major parties for Congress, State Assembly, State Senate, and other state, local, and party positions. There are also several special elections scheduled for various districts in New York State over the next several months.


The legislation proposes adding a new paragraph to the section of election law which describes who is permitted to cast an absentee ballot in New York State. If passed, any eligible voter who is “unable or averse to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which he or she is a qualified voter because of an imminent, impending or urgent threat resulting from a disease outbreak, including, but not limited to, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This expanded eligibility for an absentee ballot would expire on July 1, 2020.


It is also becoming increasingly likely that restrictions on public gatherings will still be in effect at the end of April, which poses a severe challenge to the operation of elections. Moving the Presidential primary date to the end of June would allow Boards of Election to adequately prepare for significant increases in absentee ballot requests as well as allow more time for the spread of novel coronavirus to significantly slow before people have to vote.

As the Democratic nomination process for President has worn on, a field that originally had dozens of candidates has been winnowed to only two, however voters in New York State will still have the option to choose from many candidates who have suspended their campaign. This creates the possibility for voter confusion when voting for not only Presidential candidate, but also for delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Voters in New York vote for delegates separately from President, and the inclusion of numerous slates of delegate candidates for suspended Presidential campaigns presents an opportunity for voters to unwittingly cast their ballots for delegates of candidates who will not receive enough votes to have representation at the Democratic National Convention. Additionally the ballots would be very long if suspended campaigns are not removed, due to a large numbers of candidates and delegate slates qualified for the ballot earlier this year.

Since December 1st, 2019, when the first confirmed human case of COVID-19 was detected in Wuhan, China, cases have been confirmed in almost two hundred other nations including the United States. New York State has been ramping up preparations for widespread viral outbreak as thousands of positive cases have appeared in New York State in recent weeks and thousands more are under investigation. The United States Health and Human Services Secretary declared a public health emergency on January 31, 2020 to help the nation respond to COVID-19 and Governor Cuomo signed a $40 million emergency management authorization on March 3, 2020 for New York State’s novel coronavirus response.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D - Bronx) said: “While our health experts are doing everything they can to prepare for and prevent the spread of coronavirus in New York State, we must ensure that our democratic processes are not negatively impacted. The 2020 Presidential election is the most significant in our lifetimes, maybe even in American history, and no New Yorker should be disenfranchised from casting their ballot out of fear for their health or confusion about how the process works. We have already taken steps towards no-excuse absentee voting, but this is an important stopgap while we work through the constitutional amendment process. It is imperative for us to pass this legislation as quickly as possible so that our democratic processes can continue in full force amidst this pandemic.”

The legislation has been filed and is currently being circulated among Assemblymembers. The bill is awaiting sponsor in the State Senate.