Hi John,
I’m writing to you from home, where I’ve been staying and working for the past sixteen days, to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus among the most vulnerable in our community and our essential workers. In this time, I’ve been reaching out to families in NY-01 -- as well as my friends, family, students, and colleagues -- to check in, listen, and extend my support during these challenging times.
Last week, my team and I sent around a survey to see how you’ve been holding up and how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted your life. Hundreds of people have responded. Today, I wanted to share some of the stories from my conversations and some of the responses to our survey.
I spoke with the owner of our local sushi shop. She says that business is down by 75% from what it was before the outbreak. She and her husband are just trying to earn enough to be able to pay this month’s rent. Business started to turn before people were sheltering in place because some people were (wrongly) worried about being in an Asian restaurant. Now, as people switch to using third-party delivery services, some of those services take a 25% commission, making it even harder to make ends meet.
A lawyer who works on a contract basis with the State of New York as a hearing officer and public defender is suddenly out of work. There are no hearings or trials going on now, and she’s been left scrambling to pay the rent on her office and cover her living expenses.
A public school teacher told me she is working to put together remote learning lessons for her sophomore English classes while taking care of her own 2- and 6-year old kids at home. She’s trying to ensure her students have a sense of structure and normalcy during these stressful and uncertain times.
Our postal workers continue to work without being issued masks or gloves. A wife of one mail-carrier reported that she is worried about him staying safe. He is committed to his job, because he knows how important it is to get people their mail, especially during times like this. His wife is rightfully frustrated that there has not been more attention paid to keeping our postal workers safe.
A graduate student working on obtaining their masters from Stony Brook who also works in healthcare wrote in sharing that it’s sad our students can’t fully enjoy their experience given the current circumstances. I agree -- my heart goes out to all the students managing this sudden shift in learning. The student shared their concern about their own family’s finances and health, as some family members have pre-existing conditions, and most of the family is working in our healthcare system, on the frontlines of this pandemic.
Please keep reaching out, to me and to those around you. Help all of us remember that although we are living in uncertain times, this is only a temporary new normal -- and while we cannot be physically together, we can support one another by connecting through phone, e-mail, and online.
Please continue to do your best to stay safe and follow the CDC guidelines. We will get through this.
I hope to see you all soon. Be careful, and be well.
Best,
Nancy
