MANH Lawmakers on the Move, Aug. 10, 2020

Cuomo Greenlights Schools for Reopening

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Photo Credit: www.governor.ny.gov) — Governor Andrew Cuomo

Last Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that New York’s schools will reopen this fall.

As of now, every region’s infection rate falls below the minimum threshold necessary to reopen schools. This Monday, the Department of Health (DoH) will review all of the reopening plans they’ve received from school districts; out of the state’s 749 districts, 127 still have not submitted their plans.

The DoH’s guidelines will determine whether each district shifts entirely to in-person learning or employs a hybrid model.

“Based on our infection rate, New York State is in the best possible situation right now,” said Cuomo. “If anybody can open schools, we can open schools. We do masks, we do social distancing, we’ve kept that infection rate down, and we can bring the same level of intelligence to the school reopening that we brought to the economic reopening.”

Hoylman Calls on New York to Participate in Vaccine Trial

State Senator Brad Hoylman (photo provided by Avi Small) — State Senator Brad Hoylman

Last Friday, State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Chelsea, Midtown) participated in NYU Langone Health’s clinical COVID-19 vaccine trial.

The trial is entering its third and final testing phase, and its administrators intend to test at least 30,000 participants. Anyone from ages 18 to 85 can participate, and Hoylman strongly urges his fellow New Yorkers to do so.

“The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is our generation’s moonshot,” Hoylman told WCBS. “As a staunch advocate for science-based health policy to combat vaccine-preventable illnesses, I’m proud to have done my part by joining a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccine Center at NYU Langone Health. If this or other vaccine candidates are successful, we’ll be able to stem the human suffering caused by COVID-19, protect our front-line workers and vulnerable New Yorkers from infection, and hopefully soon resume our daily lives.”

Maloney Issues Statement on Postmaster General’s Attempts to Degrade Postal Operations

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (Photo credit: maloney.house.gov) — U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney

Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens) issued a statement in response to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s attempts to undermine the U.S. Postal Service.

“The drastic changes to the Postal Service by an overtly partisan Postmaster General are another example of the President’s attempts to prevent millions of Americans from having their votes counted,” said Maloney. “These changes were made without sufficient consultation with experts or Members of Congress and are inappropriate this close to the Presidential election, especially since we are in a pandemic and expect a historic number of Americans to vote by mail. The House recently passed my amendment to prevent the Postal Service from making these significant changes to its operations, and now the Senate must swiftly do the same.”