OPINION
Buddy, Business, Borrowing
How Orthodox Jewish moms are taking charge
COURIER LIFE, OCT. 9-15, 2020 41
OP-ED
BY AMBER ADLER
By 8 am on every day but
shabbos, the parent chats for
the Yeshiva my young boys attend
are already buzzing with
comments on the most recent
COVID-19 updates, new ideas
and replies. Some days, this
medley of discussions, news
drops and brainstorming sessions
last until nearly 1 am. It’s
been this way since the pandemic
arose this past March.
Yet, the conversation is completely
different than what you
might expect if you follow the
implications about the Jewish
community’s response to the
pandemic in some news outlets.
That is why, I think it is
important that I, an Orthodox
Jewish Mother of two young
boys in Yeshiva, explain what
it is really like to live in one of
the areas deemed a part of “the
Ocean Parkway Cluster.”
This area is also a part of
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s most
recent proposal to close all
schools and non-essential businesses
in 11691, 11219, 11223,
11230, 11204, 11229, 11415 and
11367.
First and foremost, let’s debunk
some misinformation.
The Jewish community is NOT
a community of complacency
when it comes to COVID-19
precautions. We aren’t rebellious
rule breakers with disregard
to medical science. We are
resilient problem solvers. And,
right now, we are all focused on
keeping our kids safe whether
they are in or temporarily out
of school, so they can get an education
that also benefi ts their
social emotional needs, provides
the structure they need
to fl ourish and fosters a wellness
of mental health.
To do this, parents have
been reading, researching and
reaching out to others to compare
notes and come up with
ideas to further assist in safety
measures. We are keeping each
other informed of not just what
is going on at our children’s
schools but also what’s going
on inside other local classrooms.
We have created and
distributed lists of classroom
closures to local moms within
the community and countless
families altered their recent
Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot
plans accordingly.
Additionally, behind the
scenes, Jewish moms are relying
on their friends and connecting
on a deeper level more
than ever. Since, I am very involved
in the community and
am well known for it, I have
had countless mothers confi de
in me and tell me their mounting
stress, anxieties and how
completely terrifi ed they are of
the schools shutting down for
an unknown amount of time.
Many Yeshiva’s in the area
I live in opened around Sept. 9.
For parents, it has been easy
to see how much being back in
school, even briefl y, has benefi
ted children. Now more than
ever, parents are willing to do
what it takes to have a safe and
in-person school year. Some
groups of parents fundraised
for additional items like freestanding,
state of the art air
purifi ers to be added into classrooms.
But, protecting our kids
doesn’t end there.
After seeing the kinds of
questions and fears that other
parents from both the Jewish
and non-Jewish communities
are expressing, I’m proposing
that we get proactive and take
the next step by adding prevention
methods data for every
school to the “COVID-19 Report
Card.”
Imagine: by adding data
related to prevention methods
such as types of PPE (personal
protective equipment)
required by students, teachers
and essential school staff,
product usage and brand information,
we can see what is
working and what isn’t in real
time. The New York City public
school system alone has
over 1 million students at over
1,800 schools — a huge sample
size. By combining public and
private school data, we could
utilize what works and what
doesn’t, and help inform our
continued response to COVID.
This data could give us the
ability to adapt at the fi rst sign
of strength or weakness in our
prevention measure systems.
This will both assist in keeping
our kids safer and putting
parents’ minds more at ease.
It will also expand our knowledge
of the virus and give insight
into the best combinations
of protection.
I’m currently in the process
of proposing this system
because our kids’ safety — and
our battle against COVID-19 —
is vital and time sensitive. We
must work together to defeat
this virus.
Amber Adler is a single Orthodox
Jewish Mother of two
young boys and has a Bachelor’s
Degree in Business and
Communications from Ohio
University. She is also a candidate
for New York City Council
in District 48.
Before getting into my
opinions, I want to offer a
few words about community
luminary Buddy Scotto,
who passed away a few weeks
back at the age of 91. There
were several well-written articles
about him, but I wish to
publicly offer my condolences
to his family and all those
whose lives were enhanced by
him. I know I cared for him,
and you probably wouldn’t be
reading this if It hadn’t been
for Buddy introducing me to
the neighborhood over the last
decade.
In my fi rst column, I offered
some hope for us, as a city, by
noting we are part of the “social
contract.” For that reason,
even with all the problems we
face, we have power and policy
options to change for the better.
I concluded by urging that
the city be given “any tool” to
avoid austerity, and with that,
avoid over 20,000 layoffs. The
ripple effects of layoffs would
further damage the city’s economy.
I also said that whatever
one’s opinions of the mayor, we
would not be punishing him.
The resulting pain of such cuts
will be felt by the citizenry and
beyond his term, and I’m revisiting
the issue to its urgency.
With the erratic Roid-
Rager-in-Chief tweeting from
the White House demanding
that negotiations on stimulus
be halted until after the election,
the “any tool” option becomes
immediate. As a public
employee, you may object that
I have a vested interest in this,
and I do. However, just like every
other public employee, every
place where I spend money
has a vested interest in avoiding
these layoffs. Our money is
no less green and no less benefi
cial to a business’ survival.
Think of it this way: “My
spending is your earning.”
If 20,000 public sector workers
lose their jobs and curtail
spending, store sales and
revenue will plunge. We only
have to look back at the impact
public sector job losses had on
slowing the recovery from the
2008 “Great Recession.”
So the city should be empowered
to tax the billionaires
who have added billions
of wealth in this recession, be
granted borrowing authority,
and be given not only the
power to raise income taxes
but also to cut taxes on those
most stressed. If you’re thinking,
“The rich will just leave
New York,” history suggests
that they won’t. The rich have
the good sense to want to live in
the best possible place, which
remains New York.
This is not the only set of
policies we need. I don’t have
enough space to get into everything
we can do. Still, as
I’ve suggested elsewhere, the
bill of Brooklyn’s own Assemblymember
Robert Carroll and
State Senator Andrew Gounardes
compelling payouts
on claims for “business interruption
insurance” should be
signed into law. It will come
out of insurance company reserves
and won’t cost the state
government more than the ink
in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s pen.
It would help save local and independent
businesses that are
our city’s circulatory system
and stop sclerosis caused by
vacant storefronts.
Avoiding layoffs and saving
local businesses is vital to
its merits. Still, it’s especially
important because what we do
now, during the pandemic, will
determine a lot about the diversity
of our post-pandemic city.
When we get past the pandemic,
do we want to walk into
a Panera Bread where a bodega
used to be, and be waited
on by a laid-off teacher?
Mike Racioppo is the District
Manager of Community
Board 6.
MIKE DROP
Mike Racioppo