One year later, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to inspire Brooklynites to lend a helping hand. Photo by Paul Frangipane
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Police Blotter ........................10
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HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, MARCH 5-11, 2021
BKLYN CARES
BY BEN VERDE
One year ago, an onslaught
of the coronavirus pandemic
forced New Yorkers into their
homes, fracturing communities
and relegating social connection
to the digital sphere.
But as the pandemic wore
on, Brooklynites found ways
to help those in need and connect
with their neighbors like
never before.
As cases started to recede in
the early summer and outdoor
gatherings were deemed safe,
locals found themselves faced
with a drastically changed borough
that needed their help as
it dealt with compounding crises
— nearly all of which are
still prevalent today. Brooklynites
continue to be infected
and killed by COVID-19, and
thousands of small businesses
face closure, with economic
impacts reeling throughout
the city and those who had
once been steadily employed
fi nding themselves struggling
to pay for food and rent.
All the while last summer,
the borough found itself
in the epicenter of an uprising
against police brutality,
a troubling increase in gun
violence, and the fallout of an
austerity budget that saw cuts
to essential services like the
Sanitation Department and
Parks Department.
Brooklyn makers, businesses
and everyday people
alike banded together to support
each other through the
pandemic, from mass-producing
Personal Protective Equipment
for healthcare workers
and protesters to brightening
barren Coney Island storefronts
with colorful murals
and logging the lines for others
at crowded sites like grocery
stores and health clinics.
For Brooklynites like Katie
Kerr, helping out was as simple
as fostering a digital platform
to help her neighbors organize
trash pick-ups. Inspired
by a similar effort launched
in Manhattan, Kerr started
the Facebook group One Block
Brooklyn, which helps locals
organize litter cleanups
in their neighborhood meant
to combat a dramatic build
up of trash on sidewalks and
in parks spurred by a combination
of budget cuts and increased
outdoor socializing to
stem the spread of the virus.
“People were starting to get
out, and there was an increase
in trash, whether it was because
services were being cut
and more people were out,”
Kerr said. “It was an easy way
for people to give back. There
was this big sense of community
in New York and in
Brooklyn.”
YEAR OF COVID-19
How locals helped one another amid a pandemic
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