June 15, 2020


To the Good People of New York’s 9th Congressional District:


Happy Monday! As we continue to flatten this curve as a community, I can’t thank you enough for the sacrifices and tough decisions you’ve had to make to ensure our community is kept safe. I am very proud of the activists and community members who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder (or 6 feet apart that is) to fight for Black lives. As the only Black woman Member of Congress hailing from the great state of New York, it’s important to me that we continue to uplift our community and unite in this fight to protect Black lives. We’re in this together. Black lives matter.

As New York begins to slowly reopen, we are continuing to see a decline in the number of daily new COVID cases. Governor Cuomo reported that New York State, which once had the highest number of cases in the nation, now has the nation's lowest rate of transmission (Rt) — at just 0.77. An Rt of 1 or higher means that COVID-19 is increasing — an Rt of below 1 means it is decreasing.

As of Friday, the number of positive cases in NYC is 205,011. We have lost 17,255 New Yorkers due to COVID-19, with another 4,705 deaths likely due to the disease. I am devastated to witness this loss of precious life in our community and I am working tirelessly to ensure our community is protected in the face of this pandemic. The weather is getting warmer and we are emboldened to protest for equality and fairness for Black folks, so I must remind my beloved constituents to continue to wear masks and social distancing. 

As many of us are now teleworking, home with kids or home to help with our most vulnerable populations, please, remember the importance of the 2020 Census. Our district is one of the hardest-to-count in the country, so it is vital that everyone in our community is counted. Health care resources (like we are seeing with COVID-19) are tied directly to Census population counts. Census data is collected once every ten years, so, please do your part today so NY-09 has an accurate and complete count for the next decade. You can practice social distancing and fill out the Census online and by phone at 844-330-2020. You can also call my office at 718-287-1142 if you have questions. 

Lastly, my staff are still teleworking. If you have any constituent concerns, contact us Monday-Friday during business hours at -718-287-1142.

Let’s continue to flatten this curve together.


In good health,

Yvette D. Clarke
Member of Congress

NYC Updates:

• Black Lives Matter Street Co-naming: The City will begin street co-namings and street paintings in all five boroughs to commemorate the Black Lives Matter movement. The project will begin in Manhattan near City Hall. 
• Guidance for Businesses Part of Phase 1 Restart: An estimated 200,000 - 400,000 workers will return as construction, manufacturing, wholesale supply, and non-essential retail (curbside and in-store pickup) get up and running again. 
• SBS guidance: nyc.gov/covid19biz and Reopening Guide. 
• A helpful palm card: NYC Means Business: Reopen & Stay Safe at Work.
• Employer and worker guides are available at nyc.gov/coronavirus. 
• A dedicated Business Restart Hotline: 888-SBS-4NYC or 888-727-4692.
• Worker Hotline: Workers who call 311 will be connected to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for immediate assistance. Worker rights and guidance is also available: nyc.gov/coronavirus.
• PPE for Small Businesses: NYC SBS coordinating with 70+ BIDs and Chambers of Commerce to provide 2 million pieces of PPE to small businesses citywide. Find a distribution partner near you at: Free Face Coverings for Small Businesses & Their Employees.
• Small Business Emergency Grant Program: For small businesses impacted by looting and vandalism. City will begin by providing grants of up to $10K, starting in the Bronx. 
• Busways and Bus Lanes: The City will implement 20 miles of new busways and bus lanes that will serve nearly 750,000 daily riders. This will enable faster travel, and more frequent buses will help to increase social distance. Five new busways have been planned, using 14th Street as the model, and the 14th Street Busway itself will be made permanent. More information available here. 
• NYC Open Streets: Find open streets locations here. Please submit suggestions of streets in your community that could safely be closed with staffing of community partners here. Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance. Please submit separate applications for each corridor you are proposing to pedestrianize in your community. Email [email protected] if you have any questions.
• COVID-19 Centers of Excellence: Three new Gotham Health Centers will open in communities of color that have been hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Located in Bushwick, Jackson Heights, and Tremont, the new Centers will provide comprehensive outpatient services for recovering COVID-19 patients. These new Centers will specifically provide pulmonary care, radiologic and diagnostic services, as well as mental health services to help address anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychological distress. The sites are projected to open this fall. Patients can be referred to one of the centers after a hospital visit or through their primary care provider.
• Alternate Side Parking: Will be suspended through Sunday, June 21. Parking meters and all other parking rules remain in effect. The City may extend the suspension based on street cleanliness and workforce availability.

• This can be a stressful time for many New Yorkers.  Resources are available for New Yorkers should you or a loved one need mental health assistance, please utilize the NY State COVID-19 Emotional Support Helpline by calling (844) 863-9314.
• For meditation, relaxing music, breathing exercises, etc., you can utilize the relaxation hotline by calling (718) 920-2256.
• During this crisis, New Yorkers with disabilities can reach out on Twitter to @NYCDisabilities, call 311 or visit http://nyc.gov/disability for more information. Deaf New Yorkers can also connect via video phone at 646-396-5830.
• For our furry friends - please visit the NYCEM pets planning page at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/ready/pets.page to plan ahead for your beloved pets in case of a medical emergency.
• Citibike is offering free 30-day memberships for critical workforce in response to COVID-19. More information here: https://www.citibikenyc.com/critical-workforce-membership-press-release.
• Finally, SBS loan application is up and running! Businesses interested can apply online at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/sbs/businesses/covid19-business-outreach.page
• If you believe an employer is violating COVID-19 related labor laws, please call 33 and say “Paid Safe and Sick Leave,” or visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/workers/worker-rights.page for more.
• As a reminder, vulnerable New Yorkers who have symptoms can call 1-844-NYC-4NYC to connect with services and schedule testing from H+H.
• Find a Testing Site: Get Tested in Your Community. If you have been part of the crowds in recent protests we urge you to get tested for COVID-19. Be careful not to have close contact with anyone in the highest risk groups for 14 days.
• Take Care Hotels: We know many can’t safely separate at home. Any doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant across the entire City can email: [email protected] to refer patients to hotels.
• Census: Please help spread the word that anyone can fill out the census online at my2020census.gov. Select “If you do not have a Census ID, click here.” and enter your address. It takes less than 10 minutes and has never been more important!
• Election Day 6/23: Registered voters can request an absentee ballot for the 6/23 elections until 6/16: NYC Absentee. We are amplifying the DemocracyNYC FAQ using hashtags #DemocracyNYC #NYCVotes #VoteSafely.
• Blood Donations Needed: We’re making another urgent push for blood. With the cancellations of big blood drives that typically happen throughout the year, the New York Blood Center is very low on blood. Please consider donating: make an appointment by visiting nybc.org or by calling 800-933-2566.
• Debt Collection: DCWP released a letter template today in multiple languages that people can use to respond to aggressive debt collectors during the state of emergency. Please share it with your constituents. For more information about scams and other consumer issues, visit nyc.gov/consumers.
• Relief for Survivors of Domestic Violence: We are partnering with providers to offer “micro-grants” directly to survivors. If you have constituents who need resources, please share the NYC HOPE directory and the Resources for Survivors During COVID-19. The Mayor’s Fund is continuing to pursue additional funds – anyone  can contribute: COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.
• DOHMH COVID-19 Data Page: Updated COVID-19 data page detailing additional demographic information about the outbreak is affecting New York City.
• COVID-19 Heatwave Plan: We are purchasing over 74,000 A/Cs for vulnerable New Yorkers. HRA will be reaching out to eligible New Yorkers. More information here.
• Lastly, we will continue hosting conference calls with our agencies to brief elected officials. Here is the upcoming schedule. We will circulate dial-in info ahead of these calls. Please contact our team if you don’t receive it.

• America is experiencing national anguish, as we grieve George Floyd’s murder by a police officer and the many others killed by police brutality and racial injustice.
• The murder of George Floyd has led to a nationwide movement across the country of Americans demanding true police reforms and ensuring that all Americans receive equal justice under the law.
• Last week, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Senator Kamala Harris, along with 164 other House Members and 33 other Senators, introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020.  As of today, the bill now has over 200 House Members as cosponsors.
• The Justice in Policing Act is the first-ever bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.
• This sweeping legislation will take numerous key steps to achieve transformative, structural change to combat the pattern of police brutality and racial injustice:
  • Ensuring police officers can be held accountable, including by reforming qualified immunity so that individuals are not barred from recovering damages when police violate their constitutional rights;
  • Combating police brutality, by requiring body and dashboard cameras, banning chokeholds and carotid holds, ending the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases, and enacting steps to end racial profiling;
  • Increasing transparency, by establishing a National Police Misconduct Registry to prevent problematic officers who are fired for misconduct from moving to another agency or jurisdiction without any accountability;
  • Promoting independent investigations of police misconduct, by creating a grant program for state attorneys’ general to create an independent investigation process of law enforcement misconduct and excessive use of force;
  • Improving the training of police officers, by creating a training program to cover racial bias, implicit bias, procedural justice, and the duty to intervene; and condition federal funding on such training at the state and local level;
  • Creating a national standard for the operation of police departments, by requiring the U.S. Attorney General to create law enforcement accreditation standard recommendations based on President Obama’s Taskforce on 21st Century policing;
  • Stepping up pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement;
  • Reprogramming existing funds for grants to community-based organizations to study and develop alternative policing practices that create accountability;
  • Making lynching a federal crime, by making it a federal crime to conspire to violate existing hate crime laws; and
  • Demilitarizing the police by limiting the transfer of military weaponry to state and local police departments.
• This critical legislation has the support of numerous organizations including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., National Urban League, National Action Network, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Demand Progress, National African American Clergy Network (NAACN), National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Black Women’s Roundtable, Black Millennial Convention, American Association for Justice, Southeast Asia Resource Center (SEARAC), National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, Third Way, San Carlos Apache Tribe, America Forward, Moms Demand Action, Everytown, and Center for American Progress.

• The mail continues to operate largely uninterrupted, and there are no plans currently to change that. Customers may see delays in mail and packages destined to China as well as from China, as well as to and from European countries subject to restricted passenger airline travel. 
• According to the World Health Organization and CDC, the risk of spreading and catching the virus that causes COVID-19 through the mail remains low, and there is no current evidence that the virus is spreading through the mail.
• Our office has received reports of certain buildings not having their mail delivered, and we have worked with the Postal Service to ensure service is restored. If you or someone you know is having an issue with receiving your mail, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office for assistance.
• Post Offices remain open as normal, and extra sanitary wipes have been put out. However, please be sure to practice social distancing when visiting your local Post Office. This means keeping at least 6 feet between yourself and other people as much as possible, in order to avoid spreading the virus.

• Is COVID-19 spreading in the area where you’re going?
• If COVID-19 is spreading at your destination, but not where you live, you may be more likely to get infected if you travel there than if you stay home. If you have questions about your destination, you should check your destination’s local health department website for more information.
• Will you or your travel companion(s) be in close contact with others during your trip?
• Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like coronavirus may increase in crowded settings, particularly closed-in settings with little air circulation. This may include settings such as conferences, public events (like concerts and sporting events), religious gatherings, public spaces (like movie theatres and shopping malls), and public transportation (like buses, metro, trains).
• Are you or your travel companion(s) more likely to get severe illness if you get COVID-19?
• People at higher risk for severe disease are older adults and people of any age with serious chronic medical conditions (such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes). CDC recommends that travelers at higher risk for COVID-19 complications avoid all cruise travel and nonessential air travel.
• Do you have a plan for taking time off from work or school, in case you are told to stay home for 14 days for self-monitoring or if you get sick with COVID-19?
• If you have close contact with someone with COVID-19 during travel, you may be asked to stay home to self-monitor and avoid contact with others for up to 14 days after travel. If you become sick with COVID-19, you may be unable to go to work or school until you’re considered noninfectious. You will be asked to avoid contact with others (including being in public places) during this period of infectiousness.
• Do you live with someone who is older or has a serious, chronic medical condition?
• If you get sick with COVID-19 upon your return from travel, your household contacts may be at risk of infection. Household contacts who are older adults or persons of any age with severe chronic medical conditions are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• Is COVID-19 spreading where I live when I return from travel?
• Consider the risk of passing COVID-19 to others during travel, particularly if you will be in close contact with people who are older adults or have severe chronic health conditions. These people are at higher risk of getting very sick. If your symptoms are mild or you don’t have a fever, you may not realize you are infectious.