In a few short hours, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office
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Dear Friend,
In a few short hours, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office. After so much darkness and corruption over the past four years, the past ten months, and the past two weeks, it will be deeply moving to have a new beginning.
Even the way we will watch inauguration -- in our homes, with watch-parties on zoom instead of in-person -- is part of our urgent collective effort to recover from this long nightmare.
Biden and Harris are getting right to work. Immediately after the inauguration, President Biden plans to sign 17 executive orders ([link removed]) , revoking the Muslim ban, restoring DACA, extending eviction and foreclosure moratoria, stopping the Keystone XL pipeline, and rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. Many more executive orders and legislation -- including a large-scale relief package to help millions of Americans facing food insecurity, eviction, loss of their small businesses -- will follow.
For the first time in so long, we have a fighting chance on so many things that matter. We will need to keep organizing; but now our organizing can shift from resisting harm to winning progress.
Job #1 for President Biden, of course, is the Covid-19 pandemic.
We reach this moment of Presidential transition amidst a raging third wave of Covid-19, the spread of a new variant, and a badly-botched vaccine distribution strategy. We know too well how Donald Trump’s refusal to tell the truth, listen to scientists, or just wear a mask took the U.S. from being the country most prepared for a pandemic to having one of the worst responses in the world ([link removed]) . More than 400,000 people have died as a result. Until yesterday, they did not even have a proper memorial.
So it was poignant and powerful to see Biden and Harris on the National Mall for a national memorial for Covid-19 victims. “To heal, we must remember,” Biden said. “It’s hard sometimes to remember. But that’s how we heal.” (Even as we move forward in the coming days, we’ll owe much more to families who have lost loved ones, to Covid-19 long-haulers, and so many who have suffered).
Biden has pledged 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days ([link removed]) . They could not come soon enough. The mayor has announced that if there is no change, New York City will run out of vaccine doses on Friday ([link removed]) . That means appointments would be cancelled, and the new sites the city has set up would be closed until new doses arrive.
Finally invoking the Defense Production Act, the Biden Administration plans to increase the vaccine production ([link removed]) , deploy the National Guard and FEMA to staff vaccine centers around the country, and expand vaccine availability in neighborhood pharmacies. He pledges to focus on marginalized communities hit hardest by Covid-19, mobilize a larger public health workforce, and launch a national public education campaign to help convince people to get vaccinated. His plan will address supply chain problems to prevent bottlenecks, and help with the “last mile” problem of getting vaccines from storage into our arms.
The Biden plan also includes the economic relief needed to allow people to stay home and a five-step, $175 million plan to help schools safely re-open as vaccine distribution accelerates and the virus subsides.
So now, we have a fighting chance. But we have to rise to it together. I’m not expecting miracles from President Biden, so I don’t know whether he can get Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio to work together. But if the two of them want a chance to show they care about our lives more than politics or ego, now is surely the time.
We need to improve the registration system -- which so many of you have reached out to us in frustration about -- to help people find and make appointments. We need to keep opening vaccine hubs, and make sure they have the equipment and staff required. We need to begin a massive outreach effort to seniors and vulnerable populations (with help from volunteers, as so many of you have offered). And we need broad public health outreach across our diverse communities, through networks like the one that dramatically improved NYC’s census response.
I’ll keep pushing hard at the local level on all of this -- with a renewed, hopeful energy that comes from today’s new beginning. Even the sunlight is returning: today is the first day of 2021 where the sun sets after 5 pm.
If we have learned anything from the last four years it is that we cannot take our democracy for granted. For today, let’s celebrate this act of democratic renewal, and use it to rededicate ourselves to the hopeful, urgent work of taking care of each other.
Brad
* Latest Virus Data: In NYC, 5,350 new COVID cases were reported January 19th, for a total of 536,287 since the start of the pandemic. We have lost 26,104 people in NYC from the virus, including sadly 68 reported on January 19th. The number of new cases and the positivity rate have been declining slightly for the past week, but the citywide 7-day rolling average of positive test rates is 8.23%. City data here ([link removed]) .
* Vaccine Data: As of today, 876,550 vaccine doses have been delivered to New York City, and 455,737 (52%) have been administered (403,157 first doses, 52,580 second doses). For more information on vaccine eligibility, locations, and data, visit the NYC Vaccine Command Center’s Website ([link removed]) . (And you can review our office’s Vaccine FAQ here ([link removed]) ).
* Get Tested: Even with these new vaccines in circulation it is still so important to keep up our social distancing, wear masks, and get tested. For information about testing sites around the city, visit New York City’s Covid-19 testing website ([link removed]) .
* Donate blood: Health officials say the city needs 14,000 New Yorkers to donate blood before the end of the to bolster blood supplies. You can make an appointment at www.nybc.org/donate.
* DOE kindergarten application deadline extended: The kindergarten application deadline has been extended to 1/22. If you have a child born in 2016, you can apply to start kindergarten this fall by 1/22 in one of two ways: online by visiting MySchools ([link removed]) or by phone at 718-935-2009. For more information visit the DOE kindergarten website ([link removed]) .
* CHiPS needs a new refrigerator and PPE: Our beloved community soup kitchen and residence for homeless mothers and infants has been serving the neediest amongst us throughout the pandemic. So many of you have already donated money, prepared food, and toiletries to support their efforts, but now CHiPS is in urgent need of a new refrigerator and additional PPE. To help fund these needs and allow CHiPS to continue on with their incredibly important work you can make a direct donation here ([link removed]) .
* Brooklyn Relief Kitchen needs PPE and Donations: The Brooklyn Relief Kitchen which has been working hard to feed Brooklynites who have been struggling needs PPE, especially face masks and gloves. They are also collecting non-perishable food items and Fresh Direct Bags! You can drop those off Tuesday-Saturday 10am-2pm in from the Old First Church at 7th Ave. You can also directly donate funds here ([link removed]) .
* We are still collecting Fresh Direct Bags for redistribution to food pantries and mutual aid groups: You can drop your Fresh Direct bags (folded, please) at any of the locations and times below:
+ Kensington: 3 Avenue C, Saturdays at 4 PM
+ Park Slope: 256 13th St, M-F, 8 AM to 6 PM
+ Carroll Gardens: 71 3rd Pl, M-F, 8 AM to 6 PM
+ Cobble Hill: 359 Henry St, Mon-Wed, 9 AM to 6 PM
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Contact us:
District 39
456 5th Ave Ste 3
Brooklyn, NY 11215-4076
USA
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718-499-1090
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