Dear John,

Congratulations to all the students, educators, and parents who made it through remote learning this semester! I know it was not easy. This may have been some of the hardest learning, teaching, and parenting in human history. But dedicated teachers, resilient students, and infinitely patient parents have done so much to make it work.

There are so many critical and unanswered questions -- and so much understandable anxiety -- about how schools can open in the fall. I’ll have a lot more to say about that soon (and will be eager to hear what you have to say as well). But for today, hopefully you and your families can celebrate the end of the school year and get a little rest from the Zoom classroom routine.

One good feature of NYC’s public schools will be continuing this summer: Because we fought to adopt “universal free lunch,” every NYC public school family will get a Pandemic EBT card with $420 per student to pay for groceries this summer . Thanks to the hard work of Community Food Advocates (with support from the NYC Council Progressive Caucus) to win that fight back in 2017, in order to remove the stigma of school lunch, these funds will support families to buy food while students are not in the classroom.

Every family who receives one of these cards – we’re looking forward to getting ours – can and should use it. Everyone needs healthy food. We really want to make sure that these federal funds are going to local NYC businesses. And it's great to have the chance to be part of a universal program to help make sure all people have what they need to survive and thrive (if you believe in "Medicare for All" think about this as a very small trial run). P-EBT comes on a debit card and can be used at many grocery stores [[link removed]] and every NYC greenmarket [[link removed]] (and you can use the great Fresh EBT app [[link removed]] to locate them and check your balance).

If you want to share or donate your Pandemic EBT funds, we’ve helped set up an easy way for you to do it. Pandemic EBT cards are non-transferrable, so you can’t transfer your card to someone else or return your card to the government. So we’ve arranged with several grocery stores in the district for people to use their EBT cards to purchase food directly for emergency food providers and mutual aid groups in our neighborhood. You can use your card at Rossman Fruit & Vegetable District in South Slope to buy food for South Brooklyn Mutual Aid, at Bingo Wholesale in Borough Park to purchase for Masbia Soup Kitchen, or order online or over the phone from the Windsor Terrace Food Coop for People In Need.

Visit bit.ly/p-EBT [[link removed]] to get their addresses, and learn more about how to share your EBT with local emergency food providers and mutual aid groups. And let us know if you do!

(And of course, you can also use your P-EBT card to buy food for your family at your regular grocery store, and then donate a comparable amount of money to a local soup kitchen or other human service provider).

With school out and Phase 2 underway, the summer seems to be getting off to a cautiously good start in NYC (even as COVID-19 cases in many other states are rising dramatically). Beaches are opening next week, day camps will be able to use city parks, outdoor dining is making our neighborhoods feel alive again. Diligent mask-wearing and social distancing will be needed to keep it so, even as more activities become available to us.

Last but certainly not least, the ongoing lack of guidance to day care centers, limited summer camp possibilities, and huge cuts to City-funded summer youth activities makes this a very hard time for working families. There is simply no way that our city can fully reopen without affordable child care for parents. As of now, the majority of child care centers in NYC remain closed awaiting guidance from the Department of Health, the budget for summer youth jobs and city-funded summer camps is on the Mayor’s chopping block, and no one yet knows what the fall will look like.

Along with Councilmember Debi Rose, I am continuing to push [[link removed]] the city to make a plan for day care centers, and the state to fully use the federal funds available to help the child care industry stay afloat. We gave the de Blasio Administration a deadline of today to give us an answer, and we’ll keep you posted.

The Brooklyn Coalition for Early Childhood Programs is hosting a family-friend protest tomorrow from 11 to 2 pm, at Lincoln Terrace Park (Eastern Parkway and Buffalo Ave) to demand more federal funding to save the childcare industry [[link removed]] . More information and ways to take action here [[link removed]] .

Brad

City and State Updates

*
Latest
impacts:
As
of
yesterday,
there
have
been
210,523
cases
in
NYC.
More
than
54,564
people
have
been
hospitalized.
We
have
lost
17,715
people
from
the
virus,
and
another
4,669
are
presumed
to
have
died
from
the
virus
as
well.


*
Beaches
open:
As
of
July
1
NYC
beaches
will
be
open
for
swimming.
Lifeguards
will
be
on
duty.
Beach
goers
should
continue
to
observe
social
distancing
and
wear
masks
in
transit
on
the
way
to
and
at
the
beach,
but
thankfully
New
Yorkers
will
be
able
to
catch
a
breeze
and
cool
off.


*
Grab-and-go
meals:
The
city
will
continue
[[link removed]]
offering
free
grab-and-go
meals
at
school
sites
through
the
summer.


*
Day
Camps:
Private
day
camps
have
now
been
cleared
to
use
city
parks,
permits
are
expected
to
be
processed
in
the
next
few
days.
The
City
Council
is
still
fighting
to
get
funding
restored
for
public
day
camps
to
ensure
equitable
access
to
summer
childcare
and
recreation.


*
Childcare
funding:
The
Governor
announced
this
week
that
$65
million
of
the
$134
million
in
federal
CARES
Act
funding
will
be
made
available
for
childcare
providers
to
help
facilities
get
prepared
to
reopen,
woefully
insufficient
according
to
childcare
providers
[[link removed]]
already
operating
with
thin
margins.


*
Traveler
quarantine:
Governor
Cuomo
and
neighboring
state
leaders
in
New
Jersey
and
Connecticut
are
demanding
that
visitors
from
states
with
an
uptick
in
COVID-19
cases
quarantine
for
two
weeks
upon
arrival.


*
Alternate
Side
Parking:
The
Mayor
announced
that
starting
June
29,
Alternate
Side
Parking
will
be
in
effect
again,
but
cars
will
only
need
to
be
moved
once
a
week.
On
blocks
where
the
signs
say
two
ASP
times,
only
the
second
day
will
be
in
effect.
More
detail
here
[[link removed]]
.



456 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-499-1090
[email protected]

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