Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson News, Resources, and Updates

 

Dear Neighbors,

 

I want to once again thank all of you for your support of our administration, our team and your patience during this difficult week.

 

Early last week, on Tuesday, a gunman opened fire on a Manhattan-bound train at the 36th street station in Brooklyn shooting 10 and injuring 23. That same day, as our city worked to find the perpetrator, there were several shootings in the Bronx. All of this on the heels of the passing of 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo, who was struck by a ghost gun on her way home from school.

 

As I said during Congressman Ritchie Torres’ Press Conference on Friday, "This is only April. What will we do this summer?" We cannot allow this violence in our neighborhoods to continue and we must be proactive in our response to this issue. Last week, Congressman Ritchie Torres introduced federal legislation that will allow families to sue ghost gun manufactures and hold them accountable for the distribution of guns in our neighborhoods. My colleagues and I will not allow gun manufactures to profit at the expense of our community.

 

Despite all of the challenges, there were some beacons of light:

•   This was the first time in 30 years that major spring holidays (Easter, Passover and Ramadan) for Islam, Christianity and Judaism coincided.

•   I declared April 11 – 17th as Black Maternal Health Week in the Bronx and joined with birthing advocates in urging the state government to take immediate legislative action to address the high rates of Black Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in the borough.

•   Our office also held a press conference declaring April 18th as National HIV Transgender Testing Day to bring awareness to the high rates of HIV infection within our TGNC community, and to announce the relaunch of our LGBTQIA+ Taskforce.

 

Our team is also excited to announce the relaunch of Bronx Week from May 5th - May 15th! Our office, in partnership with the Bronx Tourism Council, the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation and event sponsors, will host a series of events throughout the borough highlighting our residents, cultural institutions, art, culture, food, and so much more. Click here to subscribe for updates, and if you have an event you’d like to submit for Calendar inclusion consideration, please submit it here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 718-590-3500 or email us at webmail@bronxbp.nyc.gov.

 

In partnership,

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson

In the Community

BP Gibson attended the Street Co-Naming ceremony for beloved community leader and advocate, Eleanor Dowe. BP Gibson attended the unveiling of a mural in honor of the victims of the Twin Parks fire.

BP Gibson celebrated the birthday of Hip Hop legend Grand Master Caz. BP Gibson attended Senior Appreciation Day at Baychester Senior Center.

BP Gibson presented awards to the Neighborhood SHOPP Executive Staff and Senior Center Directors. BP Gibson joined with elected officials and community leaders on Easter Sunday at Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

BP Gibson joined with Congressmember Ritchie Torres and other community leaders to attend the Ribbon Cutting for Waring Playground.

Supporting our Neighbors

Black Maternal Health Week Press Conference During our Black Maternal Health Week Press conference, we urged the state government to take action and aide in supporting doulas, birthing people and Black mothers throughout the birthing process. You can read the letter to Governor Hochul here.   Roughly 50,000 women suffer from pregnancy complications.   Black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die during childbirth.   Maternal mortality in the US has been on the rise over the past 30 years.

Ghost Guns Press Conference Our city was shaken last week Tuesday by the shooting in the 36th Street Brooklyn train station. That same day, there were other instances of gun violence in our city. This is unacceptable. Gun violence is a nationwide epidemic but we are seeing the worst of it in our city and borough. The easy access to weapons and the manufacturing of unserialized guns is waging a deadly war against our communities, against our neighbors, against our families, and against our children. We cannot allow this to continue. That is why I proudly stand with Congressman Ritchie Torres, who introduced new legislation that will allow individuals and families to pursue civil lawsuits against ghost gun manufactures National Transgender HIV Testing Day Press Conference   I declared April 18th, 2022, Transgender HIV Testing Day in the Bronx. Transgender women are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV compared to the general population. According to the NYC Department of Health, the Bronx has the second highest number of new HIV diagnosis and THE HIGHEST percentage of HIV related deaths on the city. HIV testing and early treatment options (like pre and post exposure prophylaxis, PrEP and PEP) save lives. We cannot continue to allow the stigmatizing of people living with HIV and the marginalization of Trans people in our borough. Health & Wellness Resources Bronx Week News, Events and Resources

Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19 - APRIL 20, 2022

 

As New Yorkers Continue to Travel During Spring Recess, Remember to Use the Toolkit: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing, and Treatment  

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

"With new contagious subvariants circulating, let's be vigilant in using the tools to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy and out of the hospital,” Governor Hochul said. “Get your vaccine, your booster, and your second booster if you’re eligible, get tested if you feel sick, and if you test positive, talk to your doctor as soon as possible about treatment. Let's keep moving forward safely through this pandemic." 

Today's data is summarized briefly below:   

• Cases Per 100k – 40.23  
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k – 31.67  
• Test Results Reported – 111,687  
• Total Positive – 7,862  
• Percent Positive – 6.92%**  
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive – 5.56%**
• Patient Hospitalization – 1,404 (+47)  
• Patients Newly Admitted - 286  
• Patients in ICU – 170 (0)  
• Patients in ICU with Intubation – 66 (+2)  
• Total Discharges – 293,938 (+226)  
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 14 
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS – 55,329 

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

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

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

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC – 70,603   

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

• Total vaccine doses administered – 38,060,532  
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours – 32,440  
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days – 200,111  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose – 92.3%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series – 83.6%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 95.0%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 86.6%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 82.8%  
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 72.9%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose – 81.8%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series – 74.0%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) – 89.9%  
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) – 76.6%  

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

Borough	Sunday, April 17, 2022	Monday, April 18, 2022	Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Bronx	1.64%	1.72%	2.20%
Kings	3.04%	3.18%	3.37%
New York	4.85%	4.85%	4.97%
Queens	2.98%	3.08%	3.45%
Richmond	3.42%	3.45%	3.98%

Alessandra Biaggi - Happy 4/20! 🍃 - legalizing marijuana on the federal level

 

Happy 4/20, everyone!

Today is a great day to talk about legalizing marijuana on the federal level.

Last year, I joined other Democratic state legislators to support the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), legislation that finally legalized recreational marijuana in our state.

Passing the MRTA opened up an avenue to create millions of dollars in revenue for our state and was an important step towards ending mass incarceration, which disproportionately impacts people of color.

In Congress, I plan to push for similar legislation so that adult Americans can legally enjoy recreational marijuana.

Thanks for reading,

– Alessandra

EDITOR'S NOTE:

We are surprised that New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi has not used the progressive word Cannabis in place of the word Marijuana. With the proven facts about what cigarette smoking does to one's health, and those who breathe second hand smoke, we wonder why Biaggi is pushing legalization of Marijuana nationwide.