Lisa Sorin, president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce was named to
the reopening task force. File photo
Governor appoints two
Bronxites to task force for
Car dealers association donates 50,000 masks to BP Diaz
BRONX TIMES R BTR EPORTER, MAY 8-14, 2020 3
reopening of state
BY JASON COHEN
As the state slowly is taking
steps to return to normalcy,
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced
the creation of a task
force this week that will help
with the process.
On April 28, Cuomo outlined
additional guidelines for
the phased plan to reopen New
York on a regional basis. Each
region of the state, Capital Region,
Central New York, Finger
Lakes, Mid-Hudson Valley,
Mohawk Valley, New York
City, North Country, Long Island,
Southern Tier and Western
New York must follow
these rules as part of the reopening
plan.
The advisory board will be
chaired by former secretaries
to the Governor Steve Cohen
and Bill Mulrow and includes
more than 100 business, community
and civic leaders from
industries across the state. He
selected just two people from
the Bronx, Lisa Sorin, president
of the Bronx Chamber
of Commerce and Lourdes
Zapata, president and CEO
at South Bronx Overall Economic
Development Corporation.
“We’ve come up with a
phased plan to reopen New
York so every region in the
state has the same opening
template as we begin this process,”
Cuomo said. “We have
to be smart about this. Emotions
can’t drive our reopening
process. We’ve come up
with factual data points that
each region must monitor as
they begin to reopen.”
Sorin spoke to the Bronx
Times about being selected
amongst such prestigious people.
She has not been informed
of a date of when the economy
will reopen, but knows things
will not be easy when it happens.
While it is her goal to make
the transition smooth and
painless, she doesn’t know
what the future holds.
According to Sorin, businesses
are hurting in the
Bronx. She fears that when
the dust settles, the landscape
of the borough will be forever
changed. Far too often the
Bronx is forgotten and left behind,
hopefully, now it can recover
and fl ourish, she said.
“I was incredibly honored
that the Bronx Chamber was
selected,” Sorin said. “My
fi ght has always been that the
Bronx doesn’t have a voice at
the table. We have to fi gure
out a way to put our voices together.”
She is still awaiting word
from the state about what the
next steps are, but is ready to
hit the ground running and
work with her task force colleagues.
Sorin noted that the Bronx
has a high undocumented immigrant
population who were
not helped by the federal government
stimulus packages
and the small businesses only
received one percent of the
city Small Business Service
loans and grants.
These numbers paint a
bleak picture, she said.
“I expect that large percent
of our businesses will be
closed and not be able to reopen,”
she commented. “I’m
terrifi ed to see what happens
when things reopen.”
BY ALEX MITCHELL
A 110-year-old trade association
is making sure that
vulnerable populations in
the Bronx have the proper
equipment to protect themselves
against COVID-19.
Bronx Borough President
Ruben Diaz, Jr. was
given a donation of 50,000
face masks from the Greater
New York Automobile Dealers
Association (GNYADA)
earlier today at a garage
nearby Bronx Borough Hall
on E. 161st Street.
Those three-ply paper
masks are to be distributed
throughout the Bronx to vulnerable
populations including
seniors, essential workers
and other vulnerable
populations, according to Diaz’s
offi ce.
These masks are part of a
larger, half million donation
that GNYADA is making to
12 downstate counties, including
the boroughs of New
York City.
“The Greater New York
Automobile Association has
ensured that thousands of
Bronxites will be safer from
the spread of COVID-19 infection
with their generous donation,”
Diaz said while thanking
the association for its
support of the borough.”We
are determined to persevere
through this unprecedented
public health crisis collectively
as a united caring community,”
Diaz added.
The president of the GNYADA,
Mark Schienberg explained
how auto dealers are
the “brick and mortar” backbones
of the city and its surrounding
suburbs. Auto dealers
make up the fi fth largest
retail employer throughout
the downstate region, help to
support 71,280 jobs, contribute
$2.5 billion in local and
state taxes and support a total
payroll of $4.5 billion, according
to an economic impact
survey conducted in 2019.
“When New Yorkers are
in need, time and again, franchise
new car dealers and
their employees are always
there for the communities
where they live and work,”
Schienberg added.
GNYADA donated 50,000 face masks to Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
Courtesy of the Bronx Borough President’s Offi ce