Dear John,
Every week of the last month has been hard in ways we never imagined, but for me this was the hardest one yet. Holidays apart from our families. The clarity that -- even while we are at last bending the curve -- we are really in this for the long haul. And of course, the most lives lost.
We are all grieving, mourning loss of friends and family, the loss of our freedom of movement, loss of connection, loss of economic security, and grappling with the fear of an evermore uncertain future. As David Kessler, a grief expert, says “we are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air.” And how could we be?
Many of us are also grieving special holiday time with loved ones. In our house, the Weissman Family Zoom Seder (named for my Grandma Alice, of blessed memory) was as lovely as could be. We had more relatives around the (virtual) table than usual, and we were able to put some creative twists on the Haggadah (we did the Ten Plagues silently, definitely no need for more words about plagues this year). But I’m still mourning the trip to visit my family in St. Louis, where I’ve spent Passover every year of my life. And I’m guessing that Easter this Sunday, and Ramadan later this month, might be harder to translate onto Zoom.
This week, we also got more data about the disproportionate toll that this virus is having on communities of color, made more vulnerable by less access to health care, greater exposure to air pollution, and existing health disparities. Latinos and African-Americans are more likely to be low-wage essential workers, more likely to be tenants at risk of losing their homes, less likely to have savings to fall back on, more likely to contract COVID-19, more likely to be hospitalized, and more likely to die.
With that lens in mind, I’ve been reflecting on the idea of being “all in this together.” This virus has shown us how interdependent we are, and how much our actions have an impact on the collective public health. We are all trying to adjust to this impossible time of grief and anxiety and the challenges of shutdown.
But even if we’re all grieving, that doesn’t mean it’s hitting all of our communities in the same way. If you haven’t already, read Annie Correal’s reporting on the toll of the crisis in the immigrant heart of Queens, the epicenter of the outbreak.
One of the many impossible challenges of this virus is seeing both of these realities: We are all grieving, and we all need and deserve support for what we’re mourning. And at the same time, we live in a society where your zip code and your race unconscionably determine so much about how much suffering you’re likely to endure.
To confront this reality, we’re organizing a town hall next Thursday, April 16th at 6:30 PM to get plugged into advocacy efforts for vulnerable populations during COVID-19 and a just recovery from the economic effects of the crisis. We’ll hear from organizers working on worker's rights, supporting immigrants, climate justice, decarceration, housing rights, and safeguarding democracy and learn about ongoing campaigns and how to get involved. Register here.
Whatever holidays you celebrate (or don’t), I hope your traditions and your family are providing you with ways to show up for each other, to see and fight injustice, and to recognize our universal need for comfort and love in the face of suffering.
Brad
In this email:
City and State Updates
Economic Relief Updates
Multilingual Resources for Parents
Upcoming Calls
City and State Updates
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This week saw unprecedented deaths in the city, we lost over 700 people each day this week (and there were almost certainly more deaths than the official count shows). According to the most recent available data, there are 87,725 total positive cases, 21,571 people are hospitalized and 5,820 people have died in NYC. At the same time, we are seeing some hopeful signs that the rate of hospitalization is slowing, a source of cautious optimism that we are seeing the worst phase now.
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City and State officials are preparing us to be in this shutdown for some time still, and no one yet knows exactly how we will all come back out of it without a rapid scaling up of testing capacity. We expect a decision to be made in the next few days over whether schools will stay remote for the remainder of the school year.
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The Governor issued an executive order expanding absentee voting. In theory all New Yorkers will be able to vote by mail in the June 23rd primary. In practice, there is still some advocacy to do to make sure absentee ballots are actually accessible: currently the application to request an absentee ballot will need to be downloaded, printed (who still has a printer?!), and physically mailed to the BOE.
Economic Relief Updates
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Unemployment Insurance: Yesterday, the NY State Department of Labor (DOL) announced that people who have been struggling to get through the overloaded phone lines to complete their unemployment insurance (UI) applications can rest easier. If you completed a partial UI application and were told to call the DOL to finalize, you no longer need to call. A DOL call center representative will call you back within 72 hours. Additionally, the DOL has hired 100 more people to help process the volume of claims and unveiled a new website to help streamline the process. The state will add an additional $600 to the first payment you receive and payments will begin retroactively from when you lost your job, no matter when you were able to complete the application. The state also extended the length of time for benefits by 13 more weeks, so it will be possible to get payments for a total of 39 weeks.The NYS DOL is a state agency, so your state representatives should have the most up to date information and may be able to help you troubleshoot claims issues. Here is a helpful FAQ.
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Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: There is now an application to apply for the PUA, which is available to independent contractors and others who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance. You have to apply first for regular unemployment insurance, and after you are denied you can apply for PUA. There is a link to a specific PUA application once you make an account on the DOL page. We hope to provide more information on this application soon.
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Small Business Loans: The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program is supposed to open up to self-employed individuals and independent contractors today. The rollout of the program has been rocky, and the expansion is expected to be also. But the program should allow small businesses, non-profits, and self-employed business owners to apply for forgivable loans from banks to cover: payroll up to $100,000/employee, interest on mortgages, rent, and utility payments. The program is first come first serve, so apply as soon as you can. More details about other federal grant and loan programs are available here and more information from the City is here.
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Student Debt: New York's Department of Financial Services reached an agreement with private student loan companies to provide temporary relief to those struggling to pay down debts due to the coronavirus. The agreement defers loan payments for 90 days and waives late fees, and should provide some relief for more than 300,000 New Yorkers. (The federal CARES Act deferred payments for most federal student loans until September, without additional interest.)
Multilingual Resources for Parents
Our office is continuing to update and translate our parent resource list with information about remote learning, DOE policies, and other resources. Please share these really useful resources, which are now available in:
English
Spanish / Español
Mandarin / 中文
The City this week launched a free new digital platform to provide safe, fun, and entertaining virtual activities for New York City’s teens and young adults. Visit nyc.gov/funathome or text “Fun” to 97743 to receive the latest updates on resources and activities.
Upcoming Calls
We are continuing to host calls to provide information and opportunities to get involved. If you have ideas for topics you would like to discuss with neighbors or get more information about, let us know! Here is what’s coming up:
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Thursday, April 16 from 6:30 to 7:45 PM: Organizing for Justice During COVID-19 with Brad Lander, Get Organized BK, and Persist Brooklyn
Join us to learn about and get plugged into advocacy efforts for vulnerable populations during COVID-19 and a just recovery from the economic effects of the crisis. We will hear from organizers working on worker's rights, supporting immigrants, climate justice, decarceration, housing rights, and safeguarding democracy and learn about ongoing campaigns and how to get involved. Register here.
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Friday, April 17 from 3:00 to 4:00 PM: Resources for Parents Webinar in Mandarin
The next iteration of our webinar to provide information about remote learning, DOE resources, and other information and support for parents of schoolchildren during COVID-19 will be in Mandarin next Friday co-hosted with Councilmember Carlos Menchaca's office. Please forward the below invitation to anyone in your networks who may benefit.
理事会成员布拉德·兰德（Brad Lander）和卡洛斯·门恰卡（Carlos Menchaca）将举办普通话网上研讨会，让家长提出问题并解决他们的疑虑。您对远程学习有疑问吗？是否想与其他家长谈论与孩子谈及冠状病毒危机时遇到的挑战吗？您需要获得科技或其他资源的支援吗？
请参加由理事会成员布拉德·兰德（Brad Lander）和卡洛斯·门恰卡（Carlos Menchaca）办公室举办的家长支援网上研讨会。
4月17日（星期五）下午3时
As always, our regularly updated resource page is available here.
