Johnson Blasts De Blasio Administration’s Coronavirus Mismanagement
During a Friday oversight hearing, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Midtown West, West Village, Chelsea) blasted the lack of communication about coronavirus management among key members of the administration of Mayor Bill De Blasio (D).
The New York Post reported tensions in priorities among Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot, NYC Health & Hospitals CEO Mitchell Katz, and NYPD Department Chief Terence Monahan, while the mayor did little to reconcile the difference.
“New Yorkers desperately need to have confidence in their city government,” said Johnson. “That confidence is being eroded daily by leaks and agency-vs.-agency infighting. The future of this city is literally hanging in the balance. Enough is enough.”
Stringer Declares Inquiry of City’s Coronavirus Preparation and Response
Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) announced a probe to evaluate the city’s response to COVID-19 Thursday, 1010 Wins reported.
It will investigate how the city handled the crisis from Nov. 1, 2019 until Mar. 22.
“As the city’s independent fiscal and oversight officer, I am determined to examine what we knew, when we knew it and what we did about it,” said Stringer. “Every single New Yorker deserves to know what city government did to prepare and prevent the worst.”
Hoylman Urges Blood Centers to Allow Gay Donors
In a Wednesday letter, Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Midtown West, Chelsea, West Village) encouraged the New York Blood Center to permit gay and bisexual men to donate blood, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.
The letter came after the Food and Drug Administration changed its policies on Apr. 2 to permit them to donate. Despite the shift, the center still barred Hoylman, who is gay, from donating in early May.
“The federal government is encouraging citizens to donate blood during this pandemic. The fact that I couldn’t do so makes me feel like a second class citizen,” he said. “It’s completely discriminatory. It’s not based on science. It’s insulting to LGBTQ people, and it sends a really negative message.
“There is screening now that can detect pathogens in blood like HIV, AIDS, not to mention the fact that gay and bisexual men are not the only carriers of HIV, AIDS. We need to end the blood ban on gay and bisexual men but in the meantime blood banks should update their guidelines to follow the FDA’s recommendation of a three month, not an entire year deferral.”
