Action Steps/Some things you can do:

We’re going to start including a few quick things at the top of these long update emails that you might be able to do, help with, or sign up for. These aren’t necessarily the most important things of the day (although in this case, the first one probably is), and we’ll keep including lots of updates and information below. 

• HelpNowNYC: The City is asking anyone with medical training to join the relief effort as we work to rapidly surge our hospital capacity (whether or not you are already NYS-State certified). Health care workers are the front line of this crisis, and we are so deeply grateful to every single one of you. Learn more and register here.

• Masbia Soup Kitchen in Boro Park and Flatbush is in urgent need of volunteers to help package food for delivery. Work can be done with minimal contact, and they have gloves and cleaning supplies. Sign up here.

• Urge the Mayor to take action to prevent the spread of the disease at Rikers. The first confirmed cases of an incarcerated person and staff members at Rikers Island were announced yesterday, just after Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and I held a virtual press conference with Communities United for Police Reform urging the Mayor and the State to take immediate action to release people over 50, many of whom have chronic health conditions, and stop arresting people for low level offenses and funneling them in to courts and jails. We echoed calls from doctors at Rikers who are speaking out about the urgent need to prevent the virus from spreading “like wildfire” through our city’s jails. The Mayor late last night indicated willingness to consider the release of some vulnerable people, sign here to help keep up the pressure on reducing unnecessary arrests.

• Join us tonight for a call about supporting older family members, with experts in family caregiving from Heights and Hills. Register here. This is the next call in our new community call series. If you have ideas of topics we should cover, send us a note.

Here’s what we know about what is happening in New York:

• Testing capacity is finally ramping up, and so is the spread of the virus. As of last night, 11 people have died in NYC and there are 1,871 positive cases in NYC, including many cases in Borough Park, where community leaders are urging people to social distance but many shuls, weddings, and large gatherings continued over the last few days. These numbers only count those who have been tested, the real number is likely to be much higher.

Testing: As testing and our own anxiety are ramping up, it is understandable that many people want to get tested. The reality is, at this point most people will be exposed to the virus, and we should all be social distancing as if we were. If you have symptoms, call your doctor and get the care you need, but please don’t rush out to get tested where you might spread the virus. Our healthcare system is overwhelmed right now, supplies and staff and space are all dangerously limited, and doctors and nurses are pleading with us to stay home if we safely can.    

• Essential Businesses: Governor Cuomo has expanded on business closures. Restaurants, bars and cafes may only serve food take-out and delivery. Gyms, theaters and many other establishments have been ordered to close. Gatherings of over 50 people are prohibited. Yesterday, Governor Cuomo ordered that all non-essential businesses reduce their workforce by 50%. He said that essential businesses would include health-care providers, grocery and food production, pharmacies, shipping, media, warehousing, utilities, banks and related financial institutions, and other industries critical to the supply chain. Many of you have asked for more specific information, and we are trying hard to get it! Everyone is encouraged to work from home wherever possible.

• Schools: NYC Schools are closed this week as teachers prepare for distance learning. Grab-and-go meals are available for students between 7:30 and 1:30 am at any public school. Next week, some schools will open as enrichment centers to provide childcare, food and support for children of essential workers and those who cannot stay home. Some online learning resources are already available here. NYC is buying and giving out laptops for students who do not have access to technology at home (people can fill out the form to request tech here), and Spectrum is making internet access free for those who do not already have it for the next two months.
  
  We had a good support call for parents yesterday, with lots of good advice, reassurance, model schedules, and more. The resources we compiled from the participants are available here.

• Hospital capacity: The City and State are taking action to find and create more hospital beds and supplies, as we look ahead to overwhelmed hospitals. They are considering turning spaces like the Javits Center and private hotels into emergency hospitals. The shortage of beds and supplies means that we all need to do our part in preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed.

• Paid Sick Leave: The State legislature passed legislation yesterday to provide emergency paid sick leave up to two weeks for employees who test positive for the virus or are told to quarantine. While that is a good step, the legislation leaves out hundreds of thousands of workers in NY who are independent contractors, including many misclassified workers like food delivery workers and for hire drivers. I am continuing to push for an expansion of paid sick leave to reach many more people, both now and in the long term.

• The Census goes on! Fill it out online here. The 2020 Census is suspending in-person collection for now, but we still need everyone to get counted so that Brooklyn can get the resources and representation we need. 

Seeking help:

• If you feel sick: stay home, and call your doctor. If your symptoms worsen, call 311 to get routed to a healthcare provider, or (especially if you would have been inclined to go, for example, to the emergency room at NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital) call the New York Presbyterian Hospital hotline at: 646-697-4000. Hospitals are overwhelmed with people seeking care, staying home and calling first will help prevent the spread of the virus and help conserve energy, space, and supplies that are in short supply.

• Unemployed: Due to the impact of COVID-19 on New York City's workforce, the City of New York has developed a list of resources for those who may be unemployed due to COVID-19 or are seeking additional assistance with food and rent or other expenses. The State has waived the 7-day waiting period for people out of work due to coronavirus to apply for unemployment insurance, details on how to apply here.

• Small businesses: The City is working to set up both employee retention grants and no-interest loans for some small businesses. Apply online here.

• Not-for-profit organizations: Our not-for-profit organizations and human service providers are essential. Earlier this week, I called for the City to more aggressively pursue measures to make sure non-profits get paid for their work and can pay their employees. Yesterday, the City put out some guidance for health and human services non-profits and announced several other measures, including guaranteed contract payments to those human service organizations, even if they can no longer meet their contractual obligations.

• Access-A-Ride stops requiring shared rides: Betty Barrett is one of our neighbors. She’s 71 and suffers from metastatic breast cancer and asthma. So she was rightly distressed that the MTA’s Access-A-Ride program was still requiring her to accept a “shared ride” on Tuesday, even after Uber and Lyft had cancelled shared rides nationwide. She raised her voice (and I cursed on the record for the first time I can remember), and we saw some fast action. Yesterday, the MTA changed its policy and will stop requiring shared rides. Even in a crisis, courage and organizing matters.

• Mutual Aid: There are many mutual aid networks and resources flying around. The most fundamental form of mutual aid is just sliding a note under your neighbor’s door with your phone number on it and an offer to help if needed, and we are seeing lots of great initiatives by many community members. 

Here are some grassroots networks that are setting up ways to help. We haven’t looked into all of them, but you can use your judgement on what makes sense for you to participate in:

Invisible Hands Deliver is doing no-contact delivery of food and flyering neighborhoods. Here is a crowdsourced document listing many mutual aid efforts and resources across various neighborhoods in NYC, and here is another crowdsourced document with local Brooklyn volunteer opportunities. To join the Kensington Mutual Aid Network, click here.

We are continuing to update our resources page here on a regular basis. 

Stay home, stay safe, take care of yourselves and each other. 

Brad

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