Manhattan COVID-19 News Roundup, Apr. 7, 2020

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Rosenthal Leads Call to Elect Women in Era of Coronavirus

City Council Member and Gender Equity Committee Chair Helen Rosenthal (D-Central Park, Lincoln Square) and 49 other local political figures co-wrote an op-ed in the Gotham Gazette Monday. 

The piece draws attention to the many unique challenges women face during the coronavirus pandemic, including heightened financial impacts and greater risks of domestic violence and homelessness.

The authors call to address these inequities by electing more women to positions of political influence. “In 2021, we have the opportunity to elect new leaders to the two-thirds of City Council seats that will be open due to term limits,” they wrote. “There are dynamic, competent, exciting women running for all of these seats.”

 “We have a chance to reshape our city leadership and the way the city works for women, families, and all New Yorkers. Coronavirus has magnified just how important that is.”

De Blasio Blasts Burying Coronavirus Dead in City Parks 

City Councilmember Mark Levine (D-Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville) raised eyebrows Monday when he suggested temporarily burying corpses in city parks as a last resort to the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelming city morgues. 

In a NY1 appearance Monday, Mayor Bill De Blasio (D) denied the necessity of such a proposal. Instead, he suggested temporarily burying such bodies at Hart Island, which already serves as the city’s pottersfield, the New York Post reported.

“If God forbid we ever had to get to the point of a temporary burial, it would be individual by individual so that families could reclaim their loved ones when the crisis was over,” De Blasio told NY1.

Nadler Supports Extending 9/11 Benefits for Coronavirus

In an online meeting Monday night with the Downtown Independent Democrats political club, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) endorsed expanding the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) September 11th Victims Compensation Fund (VCF) to cover survivors and first responders of the September 11 attacks who have COVID-19, the BroadsheetDAILY reported.

Justine Cuccia,co-founder of the grassroots organization Democracy for Battery Park City, asked Nadler whether he supported such an expansion, noting that those who developed respiratory issues from inhaled toxic debris following the Twin Towers’ collapse were particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Nadler responded positively to the idea. “Yes, I think that’s a very good idea,” he said.  “I hadn’t thought of it, but as you know, I was the author of the laws creating the World Trade Center Health Program and the Victims Compensation Fund.”