By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 9:39 pm
District has stepped up technology to help students, teachers connect during shutdown
HOLLEY – The Holley school district would take a $2 million hit in state aid if the state does a 20 percent cut to school districts this coming year.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said school districts and local governments can expect funding reductions from the state. On Monday he said the cuts would probably be about 20 percent. Over the weekend he mentioned it could be 50 percent.
He wants the federal government to make up the difference, but the federal aid packages so far haven’t included money for state and local governments, which are facing drastic declines in revenue due to many sectors of the economy being shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Holley receives $10.6 million from the state in foundation aid. A 20 percent reduction would be about $2.1 million.
“That would be a significant decrease for us,” said Sharon Zacher, Holley’s assistant superintendent for business. “That would be horrible. I hope the federal government will fill the gap.”
The school districts normally have their budget votes and elections the third Tuesday in May. Cuomo has pushed those elections back to after June 1, at a date to be announced.
Holley hasn’t adopted its final budget yet or set the tax levy because it is waiting to see what happens with a possible state aid reduction, perhaps as soon as April 30.
In other during Monday’s Board of Education meeting:
• TENURE – The following were approved for tenure: Timothy Artessa, assistant principal in Elementary School; Zachary Busch, music teacher in Middle/High School; and Carrie Rebis, general education teacher in Elementary School.
• MEAL PROGRAM – The district starting next week plans to shift its meal program to three days a week. Students will still be provided breakfasts and lunches for five days, but the meals will be delivered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The district has been serving about 900 to 1,000 meals a day since it started the food program on March 18. The food is taken to five drop sites in the community.
Brian Bartalo, the district superintendent, said Holley wants to reduce the number of times cafeteria staff are gathered in a tight space, preparing the food. He noted other districts that were delivering five days a week are now down to two to three days, while still providing meals for the five days.
• TECHNOLOGY – Brendan Keiser, Director of Teaching & Learning, updated the board on how teachers at all grade levels are using technology to stay connected with students, and accept and grade homework assignments.
The district has sent 220 laptops to elementary students and 90 to middle/high schoolers during the shutdown so students can do their work online with a computer. Holley also has 20 hotspots and has distributed 14 of those to help students have internet access. The district still has six that it can provide to students.
Keiser said teachers have stepped up to the added challenge of working from their homes and learning new software and programs to work with students.
“Our staff has been phenomenal navigating through this,” Keiser said.
He said the district has also tried to support parents, letting them know they shouldn’t feel like they need to be teachers. He recommends parents try to help their kids get online, help them make sure them understand the directions of the schoolwork, and give the kids space to do their schoolwork.
Melanie Montague, president of the Holley Teachers Association, said teachers and families have been on a big learning curve, adjusting to classes through Zoom and other online programs. She urged parents and the students to try their best with the situation, but not get too stressed out about it.
“The lines are blurred,” she said during the board meeting, which was through Zoom. “But we’re all in the same position.”
• SPECIAL EVENTS FOR SENIOR CLASS – Bartalo, the district superintendent, and Susan Cory, the middle/high school principal, said they are hopeful seniors will be able to close out their school careers with prom, senior tea, graduation and other special events. The governor has schools closed until at least May 15.
“We don’t have any answers about some of our big events,” Bartalo said.
The district is hoping there will be a chance for the events even if they are celebrated later in the summer.
“We’re waiting on the governor’s orders,” he said.
Some districts have already canceled prom and graduation for seniors. Cory doesn’t want to do that yet.
“Keeping the possibility gives them hope,” Cory said about the senior class.
• BIG KINDERGARTEN CLASS NEXT YEAR – Karri Schiavone, the elementary school principal, said 97 students are registered for kindergarten in 2020-21. That is a big increase in class sizes for Holley. The current senior class has 81 students and that includes three international students. The junior class only has 57 students.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 5:45 pm
Health Department, Villages of Orleans stepping up efforts to stop spread of virus among residents and employees
File photo by Tom Rivers: The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center is contending with many cases of Covid-19 among residents at the Albion site on Route 31.
ALBION – Public health professionals are increasing their efforts to help The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in Albion after an outbreak of Covid-19 cases. There have been 27 confirmed cases and three deaths among residents at the nursing home on Route 31 in Albion.
“We are aware and have been proactively responding to the number of positive cases being generated from The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehab Center,” said Paul Pettit, director of the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments. “We are working with The Villages of Orleans along with the New York State Department of Health to assist them in containing and stopping the spread of the virus among residents and employees.”
The Orleans County Health Department, Emergency Management staff and NYSDOH have worked cooperatively to provide guidance to the nursing home leadership to provide swabs for testing the residents, accessing personal protective equipment and to provide instruction on isolation/quarantine for the residents as well as self-monitoring the employees’ health prior to reporting for duty.
The facility used to be owned by the county. It was sold for $7.8 million on Feb. 6, 2014 to Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services LLC.
Lynne Johnson, chairwoman of the Orleans County Legislature, praised the efforts by Pettit and Dr. Tom Madejski, medical director for The Villages of Orleans, to fight the virus at the nursing home.
“We will commit resources as necessary to combat this situation and help to keep our neighbors, friends, families and co-workers healthy,” Johnson said in a news release from the Health Department. “We were also saddened to learn of a third Covid-19 related death for one of our Orleans County residents. Our condolences to the family and friends of this individual.”
In the event of a resident being exposed or infected with Covid-19 the New York State Department of Health has jurisdictional oversight of nursing homes and will follow-up with contact tracing, isolation and quarantine.
The State Department of Health will work with the agency and contact the local health department with information about the employees (from the county where they reside) who may have been exposed, the Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments said in the news release.
The local health department will then provide follow-up on those who live in their respective counties while the state deals with the facility.
As of today, in the Villages of Orleans, there have been 89 residents swabbed – some were swabbed twice due to change of symptoms – with 27 confirmed cases and 3 deaths related to Covid-19.
Any questions and concerns should be addressed first to the nursing home. If there are further concerns, call the appropriate Complaint Hotline: For Nursing Homes: 1-888-201-4563 or visit the NYS Consumer Health Care Information website (click here).
In an effort to provide additional information on state and federally regulated facilities in both Genesee and Orleans counties, the health department will be adding some additional layers to the mapping tool that will break out community versus (non-county regulated) facility spread cases.
In addition, the two health departments will be adding a chart to their websites and daily briefings that will detail the number of cases and deaths in the regulated facilities in the two counties.
“As the number of Covid-19 positive cases are confirmed and growing in both Genesee and Orleans counties, we all need to continue to take measures to help prevent infections and spreading the disease to others, especially our most vulnerable citizens, our older adults and those with underlying health issues,” the Health Department said in a news release.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 4:23 pm
Orleans County has suffered its third death from Covid-19, and the county has two new confirmed cases, bringing its total to 58 confirmed cases.
The death of a person over age 65 is the third death from Covid-19 in county reported in the past five days. The other deaths were reported on Saturday and last Thursday.
Two positive cases reside in Albion. In Orleans, 33 of the 58 positive cases are people who live in Albion.
Of the two new cases in Orleans, both people live in Albion, and one is in the 30s and the other is in the 50s.
The Orleans and Genesee County Health Departments is reporting two more recoveries from Covid-19, bringing the total recoveries to 18. The department also reports that 425 people have been tested for the virus in Orleans County, with 367 of those tests coming back negative.
Four people from Orleans County are currently hospitalized with Covid-19.
Genesee County is reporting three more confirmed cases, bringing the total to 130. The three new cases include two people from Batavia and one from Elba.
One individual is in the 20s, is in the 50s, and the other person is in the 60s.
In Genesee, two of the positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic, the Health Department reported this afternoon.
Genesee also has six more recoveries, bringing that total to 59. Three of the current cases include people who are hospitalized from the virus.
There have been 710 people tested in Genesee County, with 580 of those tests negative for Covid-19.
“If you are experiencing any Covid-19 related symptoms stay home!” the Health Department said in an advisory today. “Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, you are spreading the virus. Stay Home!”
Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced elective outpatient treatments can resume in counties and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term.
Hospitals will be able to resume performing elective outpatient treatments on April 28 if the hospital capacity is over 25 percent for the county and if there have been fewer than 10 new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients in the county over the past 10 days.
If a hospital is located in a county eligible to resume elective outpatient treatments, but that hospital has a capacity under 25 percent or has had more than 10 new hospitalizations in the past 10 days, that hospital is not eligible to resume elective surgeries.
If a county or hospital that has resumed elective surgery experiences a decrease in hospital capacity below the 25 percent threshold or an increase of 10 or more new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients, elective surgeries must cease. Further, patients must test negative for COVID-19 prior to any elective outpatient treatment. The State Department of Health will issue guidance on resuming elective surgeries.
Restrictions on elective surgery will remain in place in Bronx, Queens, Rockland, Nassau, Clinton, Yates, Westchester, Albany, Richmond, Schuyler, Kings, Suffolk, New York, Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster, Erie, Orange and Rensselaer Counties as the state continues to monitor the rate of new COVID-19 infections in the region.
Governor Cuomo also announced the state will take a regional approach to reopening and will make decisions on which counties and regions to open and when to open them based on the facts and data specific to that area. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will coordinate Western New York’s public health and reopening strategy, and former Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy will volunteer as a special advisor to coordinate the Finger Lakes’ public health and reopening strategy.
The Governor also announced he will be meeting with President Trump at the White House today to discuss testing.
“As New York continues to flatten the curve of new COVID-19 infections, we are now ready to lift the restrictions on elective surgeries in regions where hospital capacity and the rate of new infections do not present a significant risk of a surge in new positive cases,” Governor Cuomo said. “It is essential that we continue to support hospitals and health care workers in all regions to ensure they have both capacity and supplies to treat COVID patients because this virus is by no means defeated.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 4,178 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 251,690 confirmed cases in New York State.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 2:36 pm
HOLLEY – The Board of Education and the Holley Teachers Association have agreed to a three-year contract giving teachers an average annual salary increase of 3.5 percent.
The contract was approved by the board last month. The contract changes the step salary structure. Not all of the increases for all of the steps are 3.5 percent a year.
The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2019 and continues through June 30, 2022. The agreement includes 105 teachers and eight teaching assistants.
The contract also requires teachers to contribute 12 percent to the health insurance costs for either single or family plans. That is the same rate as in the previous contract.
‘It is irresponsible to be dismissive of the public health threat this virus poses as well as the economic threat that this virus has created.’ – Rob Ortt
Press release, State Senator Rob Ortt
Today, State Senator Rob Ortt (R,C,I,Ref-North Tonawanda) is calling on Gov. Cuomo to reexamine what businesses should be deemed essential during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Last month, the federal government issued its guidelines for what it deemed as an essential business, which includes businesses that the state of New York has not deemed as essential. Businesses such as gun stores, outdoorsman activities, and landscaping services should be considered.
“While it’s premature and unwise to open all businesses to pre-coronavirus levels and functioning, it’s foolish for the state to operate beyond critical guidelines deemed essential by the federal government,” said Sen. Ortt. “This is a straight-forward step that balances public health and economic concerns as we effectively plan for reopening our state’s devastated economy. It is irresponsible to be dismissive of the public health threat this virus poses as well as the economic threat that this virus has created.”
By reviewing the businesses that have been deemed essential by federal guidelines and aligning it with what has been implemented in New York, the state will be able to allow businesses to begin operation again carefully.
“We want businesses that are able to operate to do so while still observing safe social distancing practices,” Ortt said. “We must begin to discuss a regional approach and take into account the differentiation in potential infection rates between Western New York and New York City’s unique situation. By implementing federal guidelines and adapting New York’s guidelines, we will be able to safely allow some Western New York residents to return to work.”
This approach will also allow local government officials to coordinate with state and federal officials to adopt policies that work for each localities’ unique situation.
HAMBURG – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, announced her endorsement of Nate McMurray for the June 23 special election in NY-27.
“I’m proud to endorse Nate McMurray for New York’s 27th Congressional District,” Gillibrand said. “Now more than ever, we need independent leaders in Washington who will fight for everyday Americans over corporate special interests. Nate’s extensive domestic and international business experience, and record of expanding economic opportunities to create jobs will be critical to rebuilding Upstate New York in the difficult months ahead.”
“I’m incredibly honored to have Senator Gillibrand’s support for our campaign,” McMurray said. “She has paved the way in the fight for working families on everything from pay equity to advocating for critical support for rural communities in Western New York. I Iook forward to working with the Senator to improve the lives of all New Yorkers and all Americans once we win the special election on June 23rd.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 11:29 am
Deaths from Covid-19 in New York State near 15,000
Photo by Tom Rivers: The American flag is lowered outside the Treasurer’s Office on East Park Street in Albion, with the Orleans County Courthouse in back. The governor has directed flags to be lowered out of respect for the victims of Covid-19 until at least May 15, while the state is on “pause” with schools and non-essential businesses closed. The governor today reported 481 people died from Covid-19 on Monday. That brings the state’s death toll from the virus to 14,828, including 177 in Erie County.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is allowing elective outpatient treatment in counties and hospitals without significant risk of Covid-19 surge in the near term.
The governor acknowledged today that not allowing elective surgeries has hurt the finances for many hospitals, leading to layoffs. He will allow elective surgeries as long as hospitals can still respond to Covid-19 patients.
The governor’s directive today doesn’t include hospitals in New York City, or the counties of Erie, Westchester, Albany, Dutchess and Rockland, which continue to see many Covid-19 patients.
The governor said the Covid-19 cases are on a descent in New York City, and seem to be plateauing in Erie County. But the governor said different regions around the state are experiencing different curves with the virus.
State-wide the hospitalization admissions have declined from 1,308 on Monday, 1,560 on Sunday, 1,758 on Saturday and 1,962 on Friday.
Cuomo said the state will direct resources to different regions that are experiencing peak cases.
“Nobody is on their own,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Buffalo at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “We are one state, we are one family, and we are there to help one another.”
Cuomo also announced there will be regional teams to reopen the economy around the state.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 10:46 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
POINT BREEZE – Les Kenward of Medina drove out to Point Breeze last evening to enjoy the sunset.
Kenward brought along his camera and welcomed the chance for fresh air. Point Breeze only had a few people at the Oak Orchard Harbor on Monday evening, making it easy to keep 6 feet of distance from others.
Kenward captured the scene of the sun setting on Lake Ontario.
Provided photos: A new rapid sterilizer will clean personal protective equipment for staff at Medina Memorial Hospital.
ALBION – Apex Clean Energy and Heritage Wind have awarded a special grant to the Orleans Community Health Foundation in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The $4,000 grant will help the foundation secure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) sterilization equipment and other resources as needed to assist in the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic at Medina Memorial Hospital.
“The front-line health care workers at Orleans County’s only hospital are the first line of defense for this community in the fight against COVID-19,” said Heritage Wind spokesman Brian O’Shea. “We want to do everything we can to help ensure they have what they need to both protect themselves and care for their patients.”
Orleans Community Health Foundation Executive Director Heather Smith says there has been a high demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health care workers. This grant will help ensure Orleans Community Health will have new rapid sterilization equipment to safely extend the life of PPE, which in turn, protects their workers and the public.
“We are thankful for this support from Apex Clean Energy and Heritage Wind because, as you can imagine, our resources are stretched thin. PPE supplies are low, and costs are high. This grant will enable us to invest in sterilization solutions to safely reuse the PPE we have on hand as we work to secure more N-95 masks and other protective gear,” said Smith.
Heritage Wind recently launched a new community grant program and will continue to look for ways to support critical community needs. If you have ideas for how the project can provide such support, visit www.heritagewindpower.com/grant or e-mail info@heritagewindpower.com. Grant applications are currently being reviewed and additional grants will be awarded in early May.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 21 April 2020 at 8:57 am
That day also includes special election and primary for NY-27th, with presidential primary also scheduled
June 23 will be a busy day at the polls in Orleans County with a presidential primary, a long-awaited special election to fill the vacant Congressional seat in the 27th district, and a primary for county clerk.
The 27th Congressional seat has been vacant since Chris Collins resigned on Sept. 30. Collins was sentenced on Jan. 17 to 26 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme to commit insider trading and for making false statements to federal law enforcement agents when interviewed about his conduct. He also was fined $200,000.
The special election was set for April 28 but was pushed back about two months due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
So June 23 is currently scheduled for the election to fill a vacancy for the 27th Congressional District. The winner will fill about five months of the remainder of the term.
The special election on June 23 will include the following candidates:
• Nathan D. McMurray – Democratic, Working Families
• Chris Jacobs – Republican, Independence
• Michael J. Gammariello – Green
• Duane Whitmer – Libertarian
There will also be a Republican primary on June 23 to see who gets the Republican line in the November election for a full two-year term. Jacobs, Beth Parlato and Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw are among those expected to be pursuing the Republican line. The candidates for that primary won’t be announced by the Board of Elections until April 29.
April 28 also was supposed to be the presidential primary. But both major parties have settled on their candidates: Donald Trump for Republicans and Joe Biden for the Democrats. The presidential primary is still scheduled to go forward on June 23.
Absentee ballots
The local Board of Elections reminds registered voters they can use absentee ballots to vote. Voters can request an absentee ballot by calling (585) 589-3274. Click here for more information on how to reach the Board of Elections.
Local primaries include County Clerk, Republican Committees in Ridgeway and Murray
There are two Republican candidates are running for Orleans County Clerk. Diane Shampine is the current acting clerk. She assumed the post after Karen Lake-Maynard retired. Shampine was Lake-Maynard’s deputy clerk for 14 years. Nadine Hanlon, current clerk of the County Legislature, also submitted petitions to be on the ballot of the primary. Hanlon is also a former Kendall town clerk. She is a current member of the Kendall Board of Education.
Normally candidates running in primaries need signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in the party to be on the ballot for a primary. Gov. Andrew Cuomo reduced that threshold to 1.25 percent of registered voters. He didn’t want people out going door-to-door to get signatures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are also primaries to pick members for Republican Committees in Murray and Ridgeway.
In Murray, there are primaries for three of the districts, with three candidates seeking two positions in District 3, District 5 and District 6.
In District 3, the candidates include Kathleen Case, Anthony Peone and Kerri Neale.
In District 5, the candidates include Lynn Wood, Cynthia Oliver and Ronald Vendetti.
In District 6, the candidates include Kellie Gregoire, Robert Miller and Adam R. Moore.
In Ridgeway, there are three candidates for two positions with District 2 on the Ridgeway Republican Committee. The candidates include Virginia Nicholson, David Stalker and Ayesha Kreutz.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2020 at 10:03 pm
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – A brigade of fire trucks heads down Knowlesville Road at about 5 p.m. today to surprise Justin McAdoo on his 16th birthday.
(Click here to see a video of the fire trucks going past McAdoo’s home.)
Justin McAdoo is surprised by the processional of fire trucks from Ridgeway, Lyndonville, Shelby and East Shelby. His mother, Kristin McAdoo, is the first assistant chief for the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company. Justin’s father Ken and grandfather Don Marchner are both past chiefs for Ridgeway.
Justin has looked forward to joining the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company for many years. When he turned 16, he intended to fill out the application and join.
But the fire company has been on pause with no regular meetings, per orders from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to attempt to avoid gatherings of people.
Justin also wanted to start driving today but the DMV is limited right now. Justin, like all students, also has been out of school for five weeks and counting due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A fire truck has a birthday greeting for Justin, using his nickname Buford.
Pat Kelly, the Ridgeway fire chief, said Justin has been around the fire hall and firefighters for many years.
“He’s been a diehard fire buff,” Kelly said. “He wanted to join the fire department but couldn’t. Everything is on hold. We wanted to help make the day special and give him some incentive to get through these tough times.”
Tyler Luckman climbs out of a Ridgeway fire truck that included a birthday greeting for McAdoo.
Justin McAdoo said he is appreciated the effort to give him a surprise on his birthday.
Don Marchner, Justin’s grandfather, hands Justin an application to the join the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company.
Justin filled it out. He said he wants to be a career firefighter. He looks forward to taking the basic firefighting class once the classes start again.
Don Marcher administers the oath of office to Justin. That was also a surprise for Justin. He was told he would have to wait until after the pandemic to be accepted into the department. But the fire company held a quick meeting outside the fire hall and accepted Justin as a member.
Marchner said he was thrilled to administer the oath to his grandson.
“I feel good to have three generations involved now,” Marchner said. “He has had a love of fire trucks since he was a young shaver.”
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 April 2020 at 4:23 pm
There are seven new confirmed Covid-19 cases in Orleans County, with seven in Albion, the Orleans and Genesee County Public Health Departments is reporting this afternoon.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Orleans County to 56. The county reported its first case on March 19.
Of the seven new cases, one person is in the 50s, one in the 60s, two in the 70s, two in the 80s, and in the 90 and above category.
The Health Department is reporting one more person has recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 16. Five people from the county are currently hospitalized with Covid-19.
Genesee County has five new confirmed cases of Covid-19, bringing the county’s total to 127 positive cases.
Of the new cases, two people live in Batavia, two in Elba and one in LeRoy. One person with Covid-19 is in the 20s, one is in the 30s, one in the 40s, one in the 50s, and one is in the 60s.
Genesee County also has three more recoveries from Covid-19, bringing that total to 53. Three of the current active cases involve people who are hospitalized.
Additional information from the Health Departments:
Federal Detention Facility Cases
• Regarding the sharp increase in the Genesee County positive individuals, they are not considered community-spread as they are all detainees at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility located in Batavia. Although the detainees are not considered residents, because the facility is housed in Genesee County, they are reported as Genesee County positive cases. Any workers with direct contact with those who have tested positive at the facility for COVID-19 will be followed by their county of residence.
Contact Tracing
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if symptoms become present.
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if symptoms appear. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
Testing
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order Covid-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and the ability to be swabbed.
• For information about the community testing, click here, or call the NYS Covid-19 Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 for more information. All individuals will be screened and must have an appointment. The local health departments do not have a supply of swabs for the community, call your primary care provider or the community hotline.
If you are experiencing any Covid-19 related symptoms, stay home! Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, You are spreading the virus. Stay home!
Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today called on the federal government to provide hazard pay for essential public workers on the front lines, proposing a 50 percent bonus for these workers.
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, 41 percent of frontline workers are people of color. Of those frontline workers, 45 percent of public transit workers, 57 percent of building cleaning service workers and 40 percent of healthcare workers are people of color. People of color are also disproportionately represented in delivery and childcare services, and approximately one third of frontline workers are members of low-income households.
“Essential public workers are the ones on the front lines every day carrying us through this crisis, and we must ensure their efforts and sacrifice are appropriately recognized,” Governor Cuomo said. “This crisis is not over yet, and as long as these workers continue to work and expose themselves to the virus, they should be properly compensated. I am calling on the federal government to provide hazard pay to these frontline workers and give them a 50 percent bonus because they are the true heroes in this crisis.”
Governor Cuomo also announced the state is launching a new partnership with Ready Responders to bring health care services, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, to residents of public housing in New York City.
The state will also partner with Representative Greg Meeks, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Attorney General Letitia James, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. on this effort. An initial pilot program will begin this week at locations across New York City, including Highbridge Houses, Edenwald Houses, Washington Houses and Andrew Jackson Houses in the Bronx; Queensbridge Houses and Brevoort Houses in Queens; and Red Fern Houses and Hammel Houses in Brooklyn.
The Governor also announced the state will deliver 500,000 cloth masks and 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to public housing communities.
The Governor also announced the creation of the Reimagine NY Task Force to improve systems in downstate New York once the state is no longer on pause. The Task Force will be led by the state and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and will be comprised of other local elected officials and housing and transportation experts.
The Governor also announced that SUNY is distributing more than 8,800 laptops and Chromebooks to students in need who are currently completing their spring semester coursework online amid the COVID-19 health crisis. As SUNY and campuses began planning the shift to distance learning in March, SUNY System Administration surveyed all 64 campuses and colleges to gauge student technology needs, and is providing the laptops and Chromebooks based on those findings. SUNY will continue to monitor and fulfill technology needs while remote learning continues.
Finally, the Governor confirmed 4,726 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 247,512 confirmed cases in New York State.
Provided photo
