[[link removed]]Dear John,



Yesterday the Mayor announced that by the new first day of school, September 21, the city will have 30,000 free child care spots available to teachers, essential workers and low-income parents.

It’s a good start. When we started campaigning for wrap-around child care [[link removed]] two months ago, there were no plans to provide any such support to parents. It’s a gigantic task to scale up a plan to provide child care to tens of thousands of families in just two months. So I’m grateful to the DOE and City employees who swung into gear, and to the child care providers who raced to stand up these programs.

But there’s a very long way to go to get to the 100,000 families that the Mayor committed to serve in the “Learning Bridges” program (which will first prioritize essential workers, teachers and school staff, NYCHA residents and low-income families in neighborhoods impacted by COVID-19). And the need is likely to be far greater than that.

And if you’re a teacher who had to report to work this week, with an elementary school kid of your own, it's already late. (We even heard from one couple in the district, both high school teachers at NYC public schools, with a child in a neighborhood elementary school. They literally needed this program yesterday).

My office was told that the DOE will begin reaching out to families who applied for the Learning Bridges program early next week to start matching families with providers, and will continue on a rolling basis. (If you need childcare help and haven’t applied yet, you can do so here [[link removed]] ). We don't know how many people applied, but we do know the demand is higher than they will be able to meet immediately. More details about the Learning Bridges program are available here [[link removed]] .

If you are a teacher, essential worker, or low-income family in District 39 and need childcare who has applied for Learning Bridges -- email us and we’ll do our best to advocate for you.

For teachers going back to work this week, essential workers who have been relying on REC centers -- and of course for all other working parents, child care is obviously essential.

But we sure haven’t treated it that way.

Child care has been underfunded for decades, leaving an industry made up largely of women of color, operated largely by underfunded nonprofit organizations or women-owned small businesses, struggling with thin margins, high rents, and low pay. Well before the pandemic, families struggled to afford the tens of thousands of dollars that it costs to go to work, cobbling together help from friends and family and still losing job opportunities because childcare was out of reach.

Now, child care providers in NYC and across the country are struggling to stay afloat. The rent remains high, but months of closures have caused revenue to crater. Added costs for cleaning, staffing, and materials, coupled with smaller classes for social distancing are making it nearly impossible for providers to make ends meet.

The Center for American Progress created a helpful calculator [[link removed]] to help understand how those new costs are adding up for child care providers, costs that are likely to be passed on to families that need care.

The CARES Act set aside funding for childcare, but in New York State only about half of it has been allocated so far (we have been begging [[link removed]] Governor Cuomo to allocate the rest, and today he announced that $86 million will be released). Much more is needed to help stabilize an industry that is critical to getting parents back to work and supporting the next generation to learn and thrive.

We could do this so much better. With encouragement from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden has put forward a plan [[link removed]] that would start by providing immediate relief to struggling child care providers across the country. But it would go far beyond that: To provide free preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the country. To offer significant new subsidies for low-income families for kids younger than that. To offer tax credits to encourage employers to construct onsite child care facilities. And to boost pay and provide the benefits for child care workers that all workers -- most certainly including those who care for our most precious resource -- deserve.

Like so many of the challenges we are facing, childcare was a large-but-little-seen crisis before the pandemic, now made far more visible and acute. In the (very) short term, we’ve got to keep fighting for the most immediate relief. In the (not so very) long term, we know quite clearly what our families, our economy, and our communities need.

Brad

In this email:
Updates and Resources
Upcoming Events

Updates and Resources

*
Latest
Virus
Data:
There
were
222
new
cases
identified
yesterday,
and
8
more
New
Yorkers
died
from
the
virus.
We
have
lost
23,744
people
in
NYC
from
the
virus,
and
236,434
total
cases
have
been
identified
in
the
city.
Currently,
the
7-day
rolling
average
percent
of
tests
that
came
back
positive
citywide
remains
low,
0.8%
as
of
yesterday,
although
we
know
that
the
infection
rate
varies
widely
across
neighborhoods.


*
Rapid
COVID-19
Testing
Expanded:
The
NYC
Department
of
Health
has
expanded
rapid
covid
testing
to
9
sites.
Results
should
come
in
under
24
hours,
usually
the
same
day.
Rapid
testing
is
by
appointment
only.
Visit
here
[[link removed]]
for
more
details
and
to
sign
up.


*
School
Updates:
The
DOE
website
is
up
where
you
can
look
up
your
school
ventilation
report
[[link removed]]
.
10
school
buildings
were
deemed
not
yet
fit
for
reopening,
and
2,800
classrooms
(around
4%
of
classrooms),
more
details
here
[[link removed]]
.
As
of
today,
the
DOE
says
4
of
the
10
have
been
repaired,
reinspected
and
now
approved
for
reopening.
The
calendar
for
the
2020-2021
school
year
is
now
available
here
[[link removed]]
.
School
bus
contracts
are
now
in
place
and
the
DOE
says
there
will
be
100,000
seats
operational
by
the
first
day
of
school,
with
mandatory
masks,
social
distancing,
windows
open,
and
nightly
cleaning.
Every
bus
will
get
PPE
and
electrostatic
sprayers
will
be
provided
to
every
garage.
Families
will
be
notified
of
routes
starting
today
and
through
the
end
of
the
week.


*
First
Test
for
Schools:
Yesterday
evening
two
teachers
at
P.S.
1
and
MS
88
in
District
15
received
[[link removed]]
positive
covid
test
results
after
going
into
school
for
the
first
day
back.
Teachers
were
given
the
option
to
work
from
home
while
the
test
and
trace
team
followed
up
with
people
who
may
have
been
exposed
to
require
them
to
quarantine.
We
knew
that
there
would
be
cases,
since
the
virus
has
not
been
eradicated,
but
the
real
test
will
be
whether
the
systems
are
in
place
to
stop
it
from
spreading
in
schools.
We
have
yet
to
see
still,
but
hopefully
we
will
see
that
cases
can
be
caught
early
and
we
can
stop
spread
before
it
happens.


*
Grab
and
Go
Meals:
The
Grab-and-Go
meals
that
DOE
sites
have
been
distributing
to
adults
and
children
since
the
pandemic
began
will
continue
at
200
sites
after
school
begins,
on
a
new
schedule.
Students
attending
in-person
classes
will
get
grab-and-go
meals
and
eat
them
in
classrooms.
Students
learning
remotely
will
have
access
to
meals
at
the
school
buildings
closest
to
them,
from
9
am
to
noon.
Adults
will
be
able
to
pick
up
meals
after
school,
between
3
to
5
PM.


*
District
15
Survey:
The
D15
PAR
Project
is
conducting
a
community
survey
by
and
for
families
who
are
impacted
by
the
potential
rezoning
the
elementary
schools
in
Subdistrict
3
of
District
15.
The
NYCDOE
is
exploring
rezoning
for
seven
elementary
schools
(PS
676,
PS
15,
PS
32,
PS
58,
Ps
29,
PS
38
and
PS
261)
in
District
15
with
potential
changes
to
who
has
priority
to
attend
each
school.
If
you
are
zoned
for
these
schools,
or
if
you
have
a
child
who
currently
attends
one
of
these
schools,
you
can
learn
more
and
take
the
survey
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Lien
Sale
Postponed:
The
City
has
extended
the
tax
lien
sale
until
September
24th,
heeding
the
call
of
many
elected
officials
to
give
homeowners
more
time
due
to
the
pandemic.
To
avoid
being
included
in
the
lien
sale,
property
owners
who
owe
the
city
taxes
can
pay
the
debt,
establish
a
payment
plan,
or
apply
for
an
exemption
that
would
qualify
them
for
removal
from
the
sale.
More
information
is
here
[[link removed]]
.
If
you
need
assistance,
please
contact
our
office.
(In
the
longer
run,
we
need
to
come
up
with
a
better
way
of
dealing
with
distressed
properties
more
broadly
--
including
the
proposal
I
made
to
use
a
NYC
land
bank
and
models
of
“social
ownership”
in
The
New
York
Times
last
week
[[link removed]]
).


*
Indoor
Dining
Timeline:
Governor
Cuomo
announced
today
that
indoor
dining
will
be
permitted
in
NYC
starting
September
30.
It
will
be
limited
to
25%
capacity
and
restaurant
goers
will
need
to
do
temperature
checks
and
leave
behind
contact
information
for
contact
tracers
to
follow
up
if
needed.


*
Request
Your
Absentee
Ballot:
You
can
request
your
ballot
online
at
nycabsentee.com
[[link removed]]
.
Check
the
box
for
"Temporary
Illness"
on
the
application.
The
definition
has
been
temporarily
expanded
to
include
"a
risk
of
contracting
or
spreading
a
disease"
such
as
COVID-19.


*
Sign
Up
to
Be
a
Poll
Worker:
Here
in
NYC
and
nationwide
we
are
facing
a
shortage
of
poll
workers,
which
may
mean
fewer
poll
sites
and
longer
lines.
If
you
are
able
to
take
the
time
during
the
early
voting
week
or
on
election
day,
sign
up
here
[[link removed]]
to
become
a
paid
poll
worker.


*
Reminder
to
Fill
Out
Your
Census:
Fill
out
your
Census
at
my2020census.gov
[[link removed]]
if
you
haven’t
already
and
remind
your
friends
and
neighbors.



Upcoming Events

September 10 at 2:00 PM: The Justice in Action conversation series I host with Ruth Messinger is coming back. Tomorrow we will be talking with Senior Advisor to the NYC Schools Chancellor Alison Hirsh and President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten to discuss the realities of the reopening process and how it will impact existing challenges facing students and teachers. Register here [[link removed]] .

September 16 at 6:30 PM: The Community Education Council of District 15 is hosting a town hall about school reopening with Chancellor Carranza. Sign up here [[link removed]] .

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

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