Dear John,

The votes are still being counted in the presidential and local elections, but we are beginning to get a clearer picture of where things stand. One thing that couldn’t be clearer: the pandemic is very much still here.

The US hit 100,000 daily cases yesterday, the highest single day ever. The fall wave we worried about is here, new cases in NYC have been above the threshold of 550 per day for nearly a week. Our 7-day average positivity rate citywide is hovering around 1.7 or 1.8 percent. New isolated infections of members of school communities in our area have also been reported, a reminder of just how cautious and diligent we must continue to be. (You can look up testing and cases in your school here.)

In only the latest whiplash in school policy, parents now have just until November 15 to decide whether to opt in to in person learning for the rest of the 2020-21 school year. To change your learning mode, fill out the survey here. It would have been far wiser and kinder to make the opt-in period in January, when we would have a better sense of how things are going after the height of flu season. But instead parents are facing difficult choices between options that each carry risks, for physical and mental health and educational progress, with too little time and too little information. Our public educators, who have been abandoned by government at all levels, are still doing an amazing job of making schools (both online and in person) welcoming, supportive, and safe places of learning under impossible circumstances right now, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

New York is doing better than many other places right now. With nearly every state in the country meeting the Governor’s metrics to require two weeks of mandatory quarantine upon travel to New York, new rules require travelers to quarantine for three days and test negative on the fourth in order to leave quarantine. The rules are further relaxed for those traveling to neighboring states for less than 24 hours, but that doesn’t mean we should relax our social distancing, mask-wearing, hand washing precautions. Around the world, added restrictions for businesses and travel are growing again, as the spread continues into the winter.

One thing is very certain, we have to get a handle on the virus and begin to rebuild a more fair and more sustainable economy, no matter what happens with the election. The first steps towards that lie with each of us, doing our part to maintain our distance even as the weather gets colder and we get lonelier. The next steps for local and federal government should be clear too: federal aid is likely not coming soon, so Albany must act to raise progressive revenue to help keep people in their homes, feed excluded workers, keep the subway running, and save small businesses. Our city must do a better and more fair job allocating the resources we do have, to invest in the things that will keep us healthy and safe now and generate jobs and housing for the future.

This is not an easy time, take care of one another, stay safe, stay healthy.

Brad

In this email:

Latest Virus Data: In NYC, there were 795 new cases identified yesterday. We have lost 24,034 people in NYC from the virus, including sadly 13 in the last few days, and 271,112 total cases have been identified in the city since the start of the pandemic. The citywide 7-day rolling average of positive test rates is 1.81%.
Get Tested: Testing is widely available (and free) to all New Yorkers. You can make an appointment to get a rapid test (results back in 24 hours) or walk in to a testing site around the city.
Schools Opt-In: Families have until November 15 to opt-in to in person/blended learning. Fill out the survey here if you want to change your learning mode.
January Regents Cancelled: The State Education Commissioner announced today that the January Regents exams will be cancelled, though no information is available yet about the June and Augusts tests.
Evictions Update: Thanks to yet another confusing, last minute executive order, some New York tenants will have an additional 60 days to respond to non-payment cases filed against them (extended from the usual window of 10 days). This small change may help thousands stay in their homes, but is also indicative of the patchwork-nature of the eviction protections that are strung together right now. More details and context here.
Participatory Budgeting: This is the last week to submit ideas for participatory budgeting (do so here!). Our budget delegates, who will research proposals, negotiate with agencies, and shepherd ideas to the district-wide ballot are meeting next week to get oriented and begin the next stage of that process. It’s not too late to volunteer, RSVP for Monday’s orientation at 7:30 PM here.
Support Local Businesses: The Park Slope BID launched a new holiday gift card program to support businesses in Park Slope and Gowanus to keep holiday shopping local.