A Thousand Words

In my career, I've written hundreds of thousands of words about a lot of complicated stories. But in one very short sentence, the nurses who chalked the sidewalk outside Montefiore Hospital in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Thursday captured the story of this week better than I ever could.



There are two grim-looking refrigerated trucks parked in a lot next to the hospital to store bodies the morgue cannot hold. There are ghostly white tents set up in the Emergency Room ambulance bay to create extra space. The chalk messages, which stretched along two sides of the block, offered a more hopeful image to the nurses and doctors entering the hospital to try to save lives, at no small risk to their own.

Stay healthy and hopeful,
Jarrett Murphy, executive editor

The Coronavirus Thread: Parks Dept. Signals Funding Freeze to Nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations that run public programs and perform key maintenance work in city parkland are concerned that the de Blasio administration is abruptly cutting off funding amid the budget crunch triggered by the coronavirus crisis.

City’s Food Pantries and Soup Kitchens Face Obstacles Meeting Soaring Need
Several dozen programs have closed for lack of volunteers even as demand soars and social distancing rules demand more personpower.

Mutual Aid Movement Playing Huge Role in COVID-19 Crisis
Over the past few weeks, advocacy groups, veteran volunteers, and everyday residents across the five boroughs have stepped up to form groups and projects that assist vulnerable New Yorkers.

CUNY Students Scramble After COVID-19 Dorm Evictions, Demand Spring Tuition Refunds
Student-residents at five CUNY campuses have been told to move out as soon as possible, as the state turns to college dorms for possible medical uses during the pandemic.

DOE Chancellor on What’s Next for City Schools Amid COVID
A leading anti-hunger advocate also joined Max & Murphy to talk about how SNAP benefits and food pantries can be reinforced to address COVID's economic fallout.

NY’s 90-day Mortgage Waiver Has Big Limitations
It doesn’t apply to banks and servicers outside the state’s regulatory power. And it allows financial institutions to decide what ‘hardship’ is.

COVID-19 Creates Deep Uncertainty in NYC’s Child-Welfare System
Advocates for children and parents say that with an ever-growing backlog of cases, they’re concerned that the wait might be long, and that delays might keep families from reunifying not just for months but for years.

Read our in-depth coverage of the crisis here.

Voices of New York

Chinese Laundromats Remain Open, Amid Fear and Shrinking Staffs
Chinese owners of laundromats say they are worried more about their safety during the coronavirus pandemic, and some say they’ve had employees quit because they are afraid to come to work.

Her Husband’s in ICE Custody. She Knew Something Was Wrong When He Didn’t Call.
‘How is it possible to do social isolation in a detention center?’

Group Urges Allowing Unlicensed Immigrants with Healthcare Experience to Work in Hospitals
Hispanic Association of Health Professionals is calling for lawmakers to create temporary, flexible licenses so thousands of immigrant health professionals can be included in the COVID-19 emergency effort.

Gym Closed? A Home Workout for an Anxious Time
‘We have been coming up with routines to make sure we are staying committed to our well-being while cooped up.’

• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene COVID-19 information page

• Latest case count and other information from the New York State Department of Health
 

• the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Coronavirus
 

• the World Health Organization situation reports on COVID-19
 

Need help or info? Check out our resource library.

The Cruelties of the COVID-19 Stimulus Bill
‘This stimulus bills turns Julia and her U.S. citizen children, and other Americans, into second-class citizens for marrying undocumented immigrants.’

Why We’re Going on Rent Strike
'Right now, our primary responsibility should be keeping our families and communities safe. Since the governor has refused to step in and issue a rent moratorium, we have no choice but to stop paying.'

Density is not Why NYC is the Coronavirus Epicenter
‘The future of our country and planet will be won or lost in our cities. We must defend them during this outbreak and we must center them in our social and economic recovery. In a word, density is our destiny.'

Two RGB Members Agree with Mayor—NYC Needs a Rent Freeze Now
‘New Yorkers who live in rent-regulated units, the vast majority of whom have only low or moderate incomes, must be protected from the destructive financial impact of the coronavirus.’
 

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