De Blasio Orders Emergency Help & Testing After COVID Spike in Sunset Park
Mayor de Blasio yesterday announced that the City will activate the next stage of its hyper-local COVID-19 response in Sunset Park as the neighborhood continues to see low testing rates and higher rates of positivity.
As such, the City will deploy additional testing and outreach resources to ensure residents can immediately safely separate and receive assistance through supportive services, such as food and financial counseling
“A warning sign is blinking, and we are flooding the zone in Sunset Park to reach as many people as we can,” said de Blasio. “We know that testing and tracing is the key to reopening our city safely, which is why we are doing everything we can to connect people with the resources they need to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
With the goal of reaching 38,000 residents of Sunset Park, the City will launch an extensive outreach campaign using door knocking and robocalls. By the end of the week, all residents will receive a live call from the Test & Trace Corps urging residents to get tested and directions on how to access other COVID-19 supportive resources.
The City will also deploy additional mobile testing units in two locations: 44th & 6th Avenue and Brooklyn Herald Gospel Center (CORE Site) on 44th Street. Sites can be accessed without an appointment.
The Corner of 44th Street and 6th Avenue will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Aug. 13 and tomorrow, Aug. 14.
The Brooklyn Herald Gospel Center (CORE Site), 809 44th Street will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16.
Additionally, Expanded Urgicare Testing with AdvantageCare Physicians will be available at 740 64th Street. Appointments are available by calling (866) 749-2660. Rapid point of care testing at the Brooklyn Army Terminal will launch Monday, August 17.
Additional information on the Test & Trace Corps, including program metrics, is available here.
Treyger’s Investments in Holistic Public Safety
Council Member Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend) has partnered with local NYPD precincts and community-based organizations, to reduce gun violence.
“The investments that we have made, and will continue to make, focus on a holistic, comprehensive public health approach to public safety. We need innovative approaches and all-hands-on-deck partnerships to address gun violence, and the trauma it causes in our communities. I’m grateful to all of our nonprofit partners and local leaders for their dedication and collaboration to healing our community and keeping everyone safe,” said Treyger.
“And most importantly, I thank all of the residents who are courageous enough to take the enormous step of registering for these classes to build a better future for themselves, their families, and our community.”
To maintain and build on that work, he convened a collaborative of community stakeholders from the police department to educators to civic leaders to community-based organization leaders to address service gaps. Based on direct feedback from community stakeholders, he worked on adding social workers in high schools that never had them. He then began to develop a holistic approach to public safety to reduce rates of crime and chronic unemployment for justice-involved individuals by providing wraparound services and career development programming in the Coney Island and greater Southern Brooklyn community.
Two community organizations have been at the forefront of executing a holistic approach to public safety. The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), which provides comprehensive mentorship, employment, and educational support with stipends for at-risk, justice-involved disconnected youth. The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), which offers re-entry programming to support employment services for justice-involved individuals, including a Coney Island Community Coordinator dedicated to providing direct services to the community.
Treyger partnered with both organizations to address service gaps identified as a result of the collaborative working group, and their work has paid dividends for Southern Brooklyn residents.
Louis on Kamala Pick
City Council Member Farah Louis (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park, Flatlands, Kensington) issued the following statement after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced California Senator Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate.
“At a time when our nation is engulfed in movements for racial equity and justice, California Senator Kamala Harris has made history as the first Black woman vice presidential nominee. I also want to recognize Karine Jean-Pierre, the first Black person in history to serve as chief of staff to the vice presidential nominee.”
“Women have been at the forefront of every civil and human rights movement and now we stand ready to take our seat at the table in the White House. As our nation slowly recovers from COVID-19, it is imperative that we help amplify the voices of the vulnerable populations hardest hit – Black and brown people as well as the countless women who have been on the frontlines as healthcare and essential workers as well as our small business owners. Now is the time to prioritize the issues that matter most to women including but not limited to protecting and supporting survivors of gender-based violence through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), pay equity, poverty, homelessness, maternal health, and police brutality.
“Nearly fifty years ago, the Honorable Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn became the first woman to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Today, we must work tirelessly to finish what she started and unite rather than divide our diverse nation through inclusive legislative policies that strengthen our local communities and economies.”
Rose Announces Congressional Art Winner
U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island) announced the winner of the 2020 Congressional Art Competition yesterday.
“When this coronavirus pandemic is all over and visitors are finally able to walk the halls of the Capitol again, I want them to be able to look back on the way the American people, and New Yorkers in particular, came together to have each other’s backs,” said Rose. “Giovanna’s artwork captures that idea perfectly by honoring the incredible women who show up and serve on the front lines every single day. They’re the best that Staten Island, South Brooklyn, and our nation have to offer, and I can’t wait to see her artwork proudly displayed in the Capitol.”
“My mother was the inspiration behind Women Warrior Frontline Heroes,” said Campagnino-Lomonaco. “Although she would say she doesn’t do anything special, she gets up and goes to work every day and loves her job. She has always been, and continues to be such a positive role model for me, so I wanted to take this opportunity to honor not just her, but all women, and especially those on the front lines whom we rely on every day.”
For this year’s competition theme of “Salute to Public Servants,” students were asked to submit artwork that honors those who serve the community. After receiving submissions from all over the district, Rose selected Prince’s Bay resident Giovanna Campagnino-Lomonaco’s Women Warrior Frontline Heroes to represent the district in the U.S. Capitol building.
