[[link removed]]Dear John,



With COVID-19 cases on the rise around the country [[link removed]] , there are now more than 40 states on the list for mandatory quarantine if you travel back to New York. Health officials are strongly discouraging “non-essential” travel even to our neighboring states of New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

At the beginning of this pandemic, we created a framework for approaching risk in our activities through the lens of what is “essential.” We honored the essential workers, not only in our hospitals, but also in grocery stores, sanitation, power, and transit systems – the activities necessary to keep society functioning.

It’s not an easy framework. If you work on Broadway, and you need your income to pay your rent, then it sure feels essential to you (really, wherever you work does). With hindsight, I think we got some things pretty clearly wrong: day-care and schools are more essential than gyms, or restaurants, or retail, as important as those all are. But we did not make them nearly high enough priorities.

Still: the general principle of diminishing non-essential risk, especially in areas where Covid-19 cases are rising, is a good one to follow. That’s why I broadly supported the decision by Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to institute “hot zone” closures that shut down businesses and schools in parts of southern Brooklyn two weeks ago (despite very real frustration at how sloppily they were implemented).

The “micro clusters” as we are now calling them, have seen a surge in dedicated testing and contact-tracing, along with increased public health outreach. The influx of targeted resources and closures seems to have helped to reduce the positivity rates and begin turning the tide in those areas.

Here’s what the Governor announced yesterday:

*
Red
Zone
-
Remain
Red,
with
schools
and
non-essential
businesses
closed.


*
Orange
Zone
-
Become
Yellow,
with
businesses
allowed
to
open
as
soon
as
tomorrow,
and
schools
to
reopen
for
hybrid
learning
on
Monday.


*
Yellow
Zone
-
Stay
Yellow,
with
businesses
and
schools
open,
including
schools
that
had
been
closed
under
the
Mayor’s
zip
code
plan
initially.



This means non-essential businesses in Kensington and Windsor Terrace that had been closed, will be able to reopen, and hybrid learning students in schools in the 11218 zip code will go back to classes starting on Monday. They will continue to receive extra testing and public health outreach.

While I support targeted closures, the approach remains puzzling and maddening. The designation of the borders of the zones was confusing and haphazard, with lines drawn through blocks with little communication or reasoning. We don’t know what geographies are being evaluated, or what measures used. There’s no easy way to look at a map of your block or neighborhood (but there is now a place to look up [[link removed]] the rules for your address). Principals, teachers, students, parents, business owners, and employees have to wait for dueling press conferences, with rules that can change daily.

Still, as hard as it is, and as frustrated as we are with the lack of clear leadership, we all have to stay very vigilant. Cases are rising outside of the hot zones. So our job must be to do everything possible with social distancing, mask wearing, testing and tracing, quarantining and isolation after (potential) exposure. I’m getting tested about once-a-week at this point -- and I’m encouraged by the fact that it’s gotten easier and faster.

Unfortunately, we are collectively failing to meet the essential needs of many. An estimated 1.5 million New Yorkers are facing hunger [[link removed]] , more than 13% are out of work, an unknown number of children have not connected with remote schooling, and more than 75,000 are still waiting for devices. We have not stopped the rent from piling up, we have not passed legislation to give protections to essential workers, and we have not done enough to provide relief for small businesses. This week Congress is once again discussing a federal relief package, which partisan fighting has put on the back burner even as families struggle. The legislature in Albany has not met since July, and here in NYC our ability to act independently is limited, especially without a different approach to the budget.

We desperately need efforts at all levels of government to help families get the essentials of what they need to get through this crisis and live healthy, dignified lives. With a little good luck, and a lot of ongoing effort, hopefully some big things will start to change soon, in the direction of solidarity.

I’m grateful to everyone who is providing mutual aid, supporting neighbors, demanding better of your representatives, and organizing for justice. We need all of it.

Brad

In this email:
Updates and Resources
Upcoming Events

Updates and Resources

*
Latest
Virus
Data:
In
NYC,
there
were
436
new
cases
identified
yesterday.
We
have
lost
23,949
people
in
NYC
from
the
virus,
including
sadly
7
in
the
last
few
days,
and
260,762
total
cases
have
been
identified
in
the
city
since
the
start
of
the
pandemic.
The
citywide
7-day
rolling
average
of
positive
test
rates
was
1.68%
and
rates
are
still
high
in
the
red
zones.


*
Parental
Consent
for
Testing:
If
your
child
is
attending
in
person
blended
learning
school,
please
fill
out
the
consent
form
[[link removed]]
to
enable
them
to
be
tested
for
COVID-19
at
school
so
that
we
can
have
an
accurate
picture
of
how
schools
are
doing
at
keeping
everyone
safe
and
the
virus
at
bay.


*
Get
Tested:
You
can
make
an
appointment
for
a
free
rapid
COVID-19
virus
test
[[link removed]]
at
multiple
COVID
Express
sites
throughout
the
city.


*
Get
a
Flu
Shot:
Getting
the
seasonal
flu
shot
this
year
is
more
important
than
ever
to
protect
each
other.
Flu
shots
are
available
at
most
drug
stores
or
Health
and
Hospitals
sites,
more
info
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Donate
Laptops
to
Students:
Parent
leaders
at
M.S.
88
are
collecting
laptops
for
students.
Devices
are
backordered
and
hard
to
come
by,
so
they
are
asking
community
members
to
ask
their
IT
departments
if
they
have
extra
devices
to
donate.
If
you
have
access
to
extra
devices,
contact
us
at
[email protected]
[[email protected]]
.


*
Dial
a
Teacher
Program:
UFT
Dial
a
Teacher
is
up
&
running
for
the
school
year.
K-12
students
and
their
parents
or
caregivers
are
invited
to
call
212-777-3380
or
visit
the
Dial-A-Teacher
website
Mondays
through
Thursdays
between
4
and
7
p.m.
to
get
free
homework
help
from
a
licensed
teacher.
Many
of
the
teachers
are
bilingual,
so
Dial-A-Teacher
can
assist
students
and
families
in
10
languages,
including
Armenian,
Bengali,
Chinese,
English,
French,
Haitian-Creole,
Korean,
Russian,
Spanish
and
Tagalog.


*
Make
a
Plan
to
Vote:
If
you
haven’t
already,
you
can
request
an
absentee
ballot
here
[[link removed]]
.
Early
voting
starts
this
weekend
on
October
24,
and
is
a
great
option
for
those
who
are
able
and
comfortable
going
in
person.
You
can
look
up
your
early
voting
poll
site
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Evictions
Update:
On
Monday
Governor
Cuomo
announced
that
the
state
moratorium
on
commercial
evictions
will
be
extended
until
January
1.
NY
courts
last
week
allowed
residential
evictions
to
move
forward,
upending
and
complicating
even
further
the
patchwork
of
moratoriums
that
continue
to
protect
some
tenants.
More
details
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Participatory
Budgeting:
Submit
your
ideas
[[link removed]]
for
how
to
help
our
neighborhoods
recover
and
rebuild
from
this
crisis.


*
Tell
DOT
where
new
CitiBike
stations
are
needed:
The
DOT
is
taking
suggestions
about
where
new
CitiBike
stations
should
be
placed
in
South
Slope,
Windsor
Terrace
and
Sunset
Park.
Take
a
look
at
the
map
and
submit
ideas
here
[[link removed]]
.



Upcoming Events

Thursday, October 22 at 6 PM: CB6 Land Use and Landmarks Committee Meeting on the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning. Register here [[link removed]] .

The Department of City Planning will present about the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan and the plan for public engagement as they get ready to start the public review process in the coming months. You can read more about how I’m thinking about the proposed Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning here [[link removed]] . Community Board 6 is collecting written feedback here [[link removed]] and you can sign up to offer public comment at tomorrow’s meeting here [[link removed]] .

Friday, October 23 from 2:30 to 4 PM: Participatory Budgeting Pop-Up in the Park Slope Library Reading Garden. [Rescheduled from last Friday due to rain]

Drop by to discuss and submit participatory budgeting ideas in the Park Slope Library Reading Garden (a PB-funded project!) on 6th Avenue and 9th Street.

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

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