Complete COVID-19 Update For Brooklyn #3

Updates and Important Information

As of 5:00 PM on Monday, April 6th, there are 68,776 confirmed cases in New York City and 18,434 confirmed cases in Brooklyn. There have been 2,738 deaths citywide, 738 of them in Brooklyn.

• Per Governor Cuomo, the PAUSE plan will stay in effect through Wednesday, April 29th. The maximum social distancing fines have been increased from $500 to $1,000. 100 percent of a non-exempt essential service business’s workforce should stay home. A halt on all non-essential public gatherings is in effect.
• NYC Parks is closing dog runs as a part of ongoing efforts to maintain social distancing in public spaces. They will also remove any remaining basketball rims and tennis nets and lock up all courts with a gate, including handball courts. Last week, Governor Cuomo announced the closure of all New York City playgrounds. Parks will remain open for the time being.
• Per the State Department of Education, the Regents exams in June have been cancelled.
• After a letter we sent to the City asking that a secure web conferencing platform be made available for our community boards, the City will now offer WebEx free to all that need a license.
• Mental health professionals have signed up to volunteer their services for a FREE hotline. Call (844) 863-9314 for a free appointment. Worried about having to self-isolate in a dangerous home situation? Co-quarantined with an abuser? Please reach out and contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1 (800) 799-7233, TTY 1 (800) 787-3224, or chat online at thehotline.org.
• There are 23 fewer Regional Enrichment Centers (REC) sites to maintain sufficient staff, supervision and attendance.
• The senior center meals program is now 100 percent delivery, rather than grab-and-go. Seniors should call their local senior center for more information if they haven’t already received meals.
• New York City needs your medical ventilators, old or new, not in use. Please let us know here if you have any. If you have face shields, gloves, gowns, or anything that might help to donate/volunteer, go to nyc.gov/donate.
• Numerous businesses have reached out about how they can provide support. The City launched this intake form and a designated hotline (833-NYC-0040) for local businesses that have resources to offer that can potentially support the COVID-19 emergency response effort.
• In line with New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommendations, NYC Health + Hospitals is no longer testing patients for COVID-19 who do not require hospitalization. If you are sick with fever, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat, you must stay inside and isolate yourself from others. Isolate yourself for at least seven days from when your symptoms started. You must also be without fever during the last three days of your isolation. Please only go to the emergency room if you are severely ill.
• The City has created a new, online portal that will allow New Yorkers to self-report COVID-19 data, helping the City to communicate with affected members of the public and assist in the identification of areas that may require an enhanced response. By going online or calling 311, New Yorkers can quickly input information about themselves and legal guardians can add information for children or adults in their care. New Yorkers can update their status at any time through the Portal or by calling 311. The Portal is available in 11 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu. It is not intended as a mechanism for providing medical advice or treatment, and should not be relied upon as a method to obtain medical care or emergency service. Personal information will be stored securely and only accessible to City employees protecting public health. It will not be accessible by ICE, or used for law enforcement or any other purpose.
• Governor Cuomo announced “Matilda’s Law” to protect New York’s most vulnerable populations, including individuals age 70 and older, those with compromised immune systems, and those with underlying illnesses through specified requirements: Stay home and limit home visitation to immediate family members or close friends in need of emergency assistance. If visitors are necessary, they should be prescreened for high temperatures and flu-like symptoms.
• The NYPD is enforcing the suspension of religious services and will impose fines and other penalties, including building closure, on those who are not adhering to the guidance.
• Banks will waive mortgage payments for 90 days and suspend foreclosures. Eligibility is based on financial hardship. Late payment fees and ATM overdraft fees are also suspended. All student loan interest has been suspended.
• Tax Day has been pushed back from Wednesday, April 15th to Wednesday, July 15th. This is an extension for federal tax returns; we have also called for an extension of state tax returns. As per Mayor de Blasio, all tax lien sales will be postponed from May until at least August.
• You can do your part their part in securing respect, money, and resources with the 2020 Census. Please fill out the Census online and #MakeBrooklynCount.
• The Employee Retention Grant for small businesses with four or fewer employees is available and includes space for you to add March and April’s revenue. Additionally, loans are available for small businesses affected by COVID-19. The Small Business Continuity Fund will offer financial assistance to small businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25% or more will be eligible for loans of up to $75,000, to help retain employees and ensure business continuity.
• The US Treasury has released guidelines for the new Paycheck Protection Program that awards small businesses with less than 500 employees seeking COVID-19-related relief with forgivable loans toward job retention and certain other expenses.
• We have partnered with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce to get businesses the relief they deserve amid the pandemic. Join the Small Business Hotline via the Brooklyn App.
• Per Governor Cuomo, the statewide school shutdown is extended through Wednesday, April 15th, at this time. New York City public schools are remote learning. The NYC Department of Education will provide computers and internet access to every student who needs it. Call (718) 935-5100 (press 5). Parents and guardians of students with disabilities can send questions to specialeducation@schools.nyc.gov.
• School sites are open for grab-and-go meals this week, from 7:30 AM to 1:30 PM, outside of main entrances of every school building. The program is now open to anyone who wants food, no questions asked. Go to schools.nyc.gov, or text “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 877-877 for lists of where meals are being served.
  For veterans and their families, the NYC Veterans Alliance has a list of resources on their website.
• MTA buses and subways remain open, and the NYC Ferry system and Staten Island Ferry will continue to operate. MTA buses are rear-door boarding-only, with exceptions for disabled riders. On local buses, that means no more fare collection. Regular fare policy remains in effect wherever on-board payment boxes or SBS off-board ticket machines continue to be accessible. 
• MTA NYC Transit has revised service in Brooklyn to maintain essential service and mitigate overcrowding: The X37/X38 express routes have a 30 minute headway, the X27/X28 will start an hour earlier beginning at 6:00 AM, and the B82 Select Bus Service (not operating on Sundays) will have reduced headway.
• Alternate Side Parking (ASP) is suspended through Tuesday, April 14th. Parking meters are still in effect. Rideshares and carpools have been banned by executive order. With the exception of families, there can only be one passenger per vehicle.
• The City is recruiting TLC-licensed drivers through DeliveryTLC to help with work related to COVID-19, such as delivering food to older adults. This work will be paid $15/hour plus reimbursement for gas and tolls. Drivers will be selected on a first-come, first-serve basis. The initial need for drivers will be small, but they expect it to increase as they expand the programs.
• The NYC Department of Buildings is fining and shutting down non-essential construction sites. Essential construction may continue and such construction includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters.
• While all Brooklyn Public Library branches are closed until further notice, services and programming are still available online at their website.
• A statewide eviction moratorium is currently in effect, including residential and commercial properties as well as foreclosures, according to the Office of Court Administration. The City will work with the State to suspend the Rent Guidelines Board process for the coming year, which will maintain all regulated rents at their current level for 2.3 million tenants in nearly one million stabilized units across the city.
• Utilities have been ordered to not shut off service for gas, water, or electricity. Internet services will not be cut off during this time.
• If you see price gouging, report it to 1 (800) 697-1220, fill out the complaint form on the New York State Attorney General’s website, or email askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov.
• If you are feeling sick, please wait three to four days before contacting a doctor. Use telemedicine services BEFORE going to the doctor’s office, urgent care, or the ER. Thanks to our advocacy and Governor Cuomo’s leadership, co-pays for telemedicine consultations have been eliminated due to COVID-19. Call (800) 633-4227 or your doctor for more information if you are on Medicaid. Whether you utilize Medicaid, private insurance, or are a self-payer, options are offered across many specialty areas. Urgent care telemedicine is available with New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, or NYU Langone. Mental health telemedicine is available with Columbia Doctors. Diabetes telemedicine help is available with NYC Health + Hospitals. If you know other services, email askeric@brooklynbp.nyc.gov.