April 3–9, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 3
To residents of the 50th Assembly District:
Asse
i d
he 50
has
nts of
VID
Combating COVID19 has required us to make drastic
changes to our lives and
and daily routines. I take your
hardship to heart and d a
am working around the clock
along with my entire staff; we are here for you. My
office is working remotely, but constituents can still
connect at lentolj@nysa.us or call 718-383-7474.
24-hour COVID19 hotline: 1-888-364-3065
Price Gouging hotline: 1-800-697-1220
Congresswoman isolates
Nydia Velazquez announces she likely has COVID-19
Photo by Nydia Velazquez
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez announced she
was showing symptoms on March 30.
Cuomo’s proposal includes $38M in cuts in Brooklyn
Photo by Reuters/Mike Segar
PrEP and PEP
(Pre and Post Exposure Prophylaxis)
Bookmark these resources:
coronavirus.health.ny.gov
April 7th
World Health
Day
Preventive Healthcare
Follow us @prep4brooklyn or
Call or Text for more info. #929-293-5948
Stop in for a FREE HIV Test
Interfaith Medical Center
Primary Care Clinic
880 Bergen Street Brooklyn, NY 11238
By Kevin Duggan
Brooklyn Paper
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez
is in quarantine after
contracting symptoms of the
novel coronavirus, she said in
a Tweet on March 30.
“I have been diagnosed
with presumed coronavirus
infection. My symptoms are
mild. I am isolating myself at
my home and following the
guidance of the Office of
Attending Physician,” said
67-year-old Velazquez, who
represents swaths of Brooklyn,
from Sunset Park to East
New York.
The legislator developed
symptoms — such as muscle
aches, fevers, and a loss
of smell and taste — but declined
to receive a lab test at
the advice of the Office of
Attending Physician, which
takes care of members of Congress’
health needs.
By Ben Verde
Brooklyn Paper
As lawmakers in Albany
scrambled to finalize the
state budget on April 1, legislators
ran into an unexpected
hurdle — Governor
Andrew Cuomo’s proposal
to cut funding for New York’s
hospitals, which would lead
to a $38 million funding decrease
for central Brooklyn
medical facilities just as they
reel with financial hardship
from the novel coronavirus
outbreak.
Prior to the budget deadline,
several Kings County
pols blased Cuomo’s proposal
as unacceptable given the current
pandemic.
“The proposed cuts to our
hospitals in central Brooklyn
are cruel, inhumane, and unacceptable,”
wrote State Sen.
Zellnor Myrie and Assemblywoman
Diana Richardson in
a letter to Cuomo. “We should
I encourage everyone to stay
at home and continue practicing
social distancing.”
Velazquez was present
in the nation’s capital on
March 27 to vote in favor of
the “CARES Act” — a $2 trillion
economic stimulus package
that includes a $1,200 nostrings
attached check to
Americans earning less that
$75,000, an expansion of unemployment
benefits, as well
as other policies.
Velazquez becomes the
latest in a series of Kings
County legislators who have
contracted the virus.
Assembly Members Helene
Weinstein and Charles Barron
both contracted the virus,
and Barron’s wife, Councilwoman
Inez Barron, later
tested positive for the virus
herself while in self-quarantine,
according to the New
York Post.
Instead, Velazquez will
quarantine at home and work
with her staff remotely, she
said.
“I’ll continue my work on
behalf of New Yorkers as together
we overcome this virus,”
she said. “In that regard,
Hospital budget shocker
be providing additional aid —
not austerity budgets — during
this pandemic.”
The governor’s Medicaid
Redesign Team included the
budget reduction as part of the
upcoming state budget process
in order to deal with a
Medicaid deficit. Statewide,
the Cuomo-appointed panel
recommended $400 Million in
cuts to Medicaid spending —
$186 Million of which would
affect New York City’s public
hospital system.
Central Brooklyn medical
facilities such as Kings
County Hospital, Brookdale
University Hospital, and
Kingsbrook Jewish Medical
Center stand to lose millions
in funding, which comes as
they grasp for both finances
and resources to deal with the
massive influx of coronavirus
cases.
The situation is rapidly deteriorating
as cases rise, and
many local politicians are worried
about the financial hole
that hospitals will find themselves
in when the virus subsides
— and the lack of preparation
for future health crises.
Kings County Hospital is operating
at 95 percent capacity,
and washing face masks with
hand sanitizer. SUNY Downstate
doctors are being asked
to split life-saving ventilators
between patients. Brookdale is
understaffed as they’ve been
forced to send home essential
staff who have fallen ill.
Adding to the ire of local
leaders, these hospitals mainly
serve low-income communities
of color, and according to
city data released Friday are
among the regions with the
highest percentages of positive
COVID-19 tests.
Myrie and Richardson
pointed to the governor’s own
words at a press conference earlier
this week, where Cuomo
pledged that New York State
would “fight every way we can
to save every life we can.”
“We agree,” the electeds
said. “As such, we cannot in
good conscience accept a budget
that includes these cuts.”
The governor’s office did
not respond to a request for
comment about whether the
virus outbreak has changed
thier stance on the cuts.
Local lawmakers blasted
Governor Cuomo for his
austerity measures.
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