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Dear John
One year ago this week, our city shut down as the Covid-19 pandemic began to hit us with its full and horrible fury. During those first few weeks of anxiety, we started sending out this email newsletter almost daily to help New Yorkers stay up on the constantly changing news, which seemed to get darker by the day.
Even though we could not gather in person, we are lucky to have a community that jumped immediately into collective action and mutual aid, getting masks to health care workers and emergency food to neighbors who needed it.
That very first week of staying home, we held our first training for volunteers to do phone outreach to seniors who were isolated during the pandemic. That program continued and evolved into the Neighbor Network’s friendly calls, and over the past year, over 500 volunteers have called over 15,000 seniors.
This week, I joined the Neighbor Network as they held their first vaccine outreach phonebank. Together, 80 volunteers reached out 1200 people over 60+ in Central Brooklyn. We are now helping several dozen to set up and get to their vaccine appointments. Neighbor Network is now launching weekly vaccine outreach phonebanks. Sign up to make vaccine outreach calls with Neighbor Network here.
Every evening during those early weeks, we clapped and clanged pots for our healthcare and essential workers, and we fought to get them PPE and keep them safe. We had actions at Cobble Hill Health Center, and figured out ways to comfort our neighbors who have experienced loss and hardship. We held Zoom town halls in multiple languages to support families with remote learning, small businesses apply for no interest loans, and freelancers navigate new federal relief programs.
From the beginning, we focused on supporting essential workers, pushing for an “Essential Workers Bill of Rights” to get them premium pay, PPE, paid sick days, and workplace protections. We worked to connect people with pandemic unemployment benefits and resources.
Yesterday, we built on those efforts to aid recovery: I introduced legislation (Intro 2241) to give workers a “right to recall.” Under the law, as employers re-open, they would be required to offer jobs to their prior workers as their hire back up.
Over the past year, we’ve repurposed tens of thousands of Fresh Direct bags and spent countless volunteer hours to support soup kitchens and mutual aid networks who are doing critical work to help get food, cash assistance, and now vaccines to those who need it most.
So many of our neighbors have stepped up to meet the moment in amazing ways. Our office would like to highlight Carolyn Ruvkun as a “COVID hero” for her efforts in assisting both our office, and the city at large, in helping connect seniors to life-saving vaccines. We’re incredibly proud to have her as a resident of District 39!
Carolyn runs the nycshotslots Twitter account, which helps provide information on new appointments as well as the process. Over 20,000 New Yorkers follow this account and rely on it to make vaccine appointments! In January, after reading about our vaccine sign-up efforts in our newsletter, Carolyn reached out to us to see how she could support us. Since then, she connected us to mutual aid groups, facilitated partnerships with organizations focused on helping vulnerable seniors, and connected us to other resources. Carolyn made a complex system much easier to navigate for countless numbers of people.
Since then, she’s also been supporting the mutual aid group Bed Stuy Strong to help address the city’s vaccination inequities. She has even been featured in a New Yorker article where she was dubbed the “vaccine yenta.” Carolyn is an amazing example of how much dedicated and compassionate people can accomplish during a difficult time.
Now, we have to bring this energy forward. As of this week, a whole new set of New Yorkers are now eligible for the vaccine. This includes government workers and non-profit workers who work with the public. You can find the full list of eligibility here. And President Biden announced Thursday that all Americans over the age of 16 will be eligible by May 1st.
While we can see the horizon, it is important to continue to wear masks, keep social distancing, and wash your hands. New variants are still spreading, and there are still lives to be saved on the way to broad vaccination.
A lot has happened this past year and we must honor the hard work of the everyday New Yorkers that helped us get through it. It is also incredibly poignant that many New Yorkers who are not here this year, and families all across the have dealt with loss this year that will last a lifetime. Honoring their memories must include working to address disparities in our economy and health care system, investing in care work, and taking on rising hate and racist violence.
So, finally: This week, we saw the heartbreaking culmination of hateful anti-Asian political rhetoric that began over a year ago, with the shootings in Atlanta that killed 8 people. We have not done enough to protect our Asian-American neighbors, and we must do better to stand in solidarity with our fellow New Yorkers. I’m planning to attend a vigil tonight in Union Square at 6 PM organized by the Asian American Federation, and hope to see some of you there.
Stay safe, enjoy the saved daylight, look out for your neighbors, and get vaccinated when you can!
In solidarity,
Brad
Covid-19 Updates and Resources
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Latest Virus Data: In NYC, 3,573 new COVID cases were reported March 16th, for a total of 788,302 cases since the start of the pandemic. We have lost 30,406 people in NYC from the virus, including sadly 63 reported on March 16th. 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 6.4%. City data here.
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Vaccine Data: As of today, 2,873,565 vaccine doses have been delivered to New York City, and 2,405,191 have been administered (1,277,582 first doses, 733,896 second doses). For more information on vaccine eligibility, locations, and data, visit the NYC Vaccine Command Center’s Website. (And you can review our office’s Vaccine FAQ here).
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Beware of COVID Vaccine Scams: Please ignore any individual or organization claiming to be able to provide a vaccine in exchange for payment. No vaccine distributors will ask you for Social Security, credit card, or bank account information. The vaccine is completely free, regardless of whether you have health insurance. If you suspect any fraudulent activity relating to COVID-19, please call the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center Hotline at 718-250-2340.
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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.
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Self Senior Sign up: If you are a senior or know a senior who would benefit from free friendly calls from the Neighbor Network during this isolating time, you can now sign up here by filling out this form or calling 914.572.5526.
Anti-AAPI Hate and Solidarity Resources
Education Updates and Resources
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Pre-K application deadline is April 7. You can apply online or by phone. Sign up for the pre-K admissions email list for updates, tips, and reminders. Throughout the admissions process, you'll use MySchools.nyc to learn about pre-K programs, apply, get your offer, and learn about waitlists. For more information visit the DOE pre-K website.
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Most high school Regents exams are canceled: This week New York State eliminated most spring and summer high school Regents exams. Only Regents exams in Algebra I, English, living environment, and earth science which are still federally mandated, will take place in June (unless the US Department of Education grants the state a waiver prior to the date of the exams, in which case all assessments, including grades 3-8 state tests and all Regents, would be canceled.
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School Budget Relief Rallies: Principals didn't cause COVID and they shouldn't have to pay for it out of next year's budget. Pandemic-related enrollment declines and increased staffing costs have put many principals across the city into debt. Let’s rally to tell City Hall and Albany that schools should be held harmless and given the money they need to start next fall strong!
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Rally for School Budget Relief: Join Brad and parents from across the city on Monday, March 22 at 4PM at DOE Headquarters, 52 Chambers Street in Manhattan
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And if you prefer to stay local: Kids, Not Cuts! A Rally To Prioritize & Invest In Our Schools & Students organized by D13 and D15 parents, Friday, March 19 at 3PM, Grand Army Plaza
RSVP: http://bit.ly/rallyforschools
Other Updates and Resources
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Legal Services Hotline: NYC Financial Justice Hotline is a free legal hotline for low-income NYC residents. The hotline staffed in English and Spanish, provides free legal information, advice, and referrals on a wide range of financial justice issues--from discriminatory banking practices to predatory debt collection. You can find more information here.
- COJO Flatbush Tax Collection: They are offering free tax services for tax season. If you need assistance filing your taxes you can find more information and contact them here.
- Tax Day Delayed: The Federal Government announced that due to the pandemic the deadline to file your taxes has been extended to May 17th, 2021
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Access Benefits Helpline through Legal Aid: Anyone having trouble with an application to apply for or recertify for HRA cash assistance, SNAP, or Medicaid benefits, can all the Legal Aid Society’s Access to Benefits Helpline at 888-663-6880 M-F 10am-3pm.
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We are redirecting our Fresh Direct Bag Program: After collecting and redistributing more than 50,000 bags, we are transitioning our Fresh Direct bag donation effort now that Fresh Direct has established its own program to connect bag donors with nearby food pantries. A couple of our partners, Masbia and People in Need, are now signed up for direct bag drop off through Fresh Direct’s program. Locations and times and the complete list of partners here. Thank you to the many constituents who have continued to collect and donate their extra bags over the course of the pandemic. This has provided a much needed supply of durable bags to food providers, and helped reduce the number of these bags entering our waste stream. We hope you will continue to donate directly through this new program.
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