Fernandez donates supplies to Jacobi
BY JASON COHEN
After quarantining herself
for two weeks, Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez
returned to the community on
Monday as she donated supplies
to Jacobi Hospital.
On March 30, Fernandez,
Assemblyman Michael Blake
and SUNYY EOC gave masks,
gowns, gloves and goggles to
medical staff at Jacobi.
“Our frontline workers are
putting their lives on the line
so that they can help our most
vulnerable patients,” Fernandez
said. “I am so glad that I
was able to team up with the
SUNY Bronx EOC to provide
these resources to the staff,
understanding just how limited
the supply is and how necessary
it is to have these protective
gears. This protective
equipment is the little bit that
we can do for our healthcare
workers to give them some
safety during this pandemic.”
Fernandez said she has
never experienced anything
like this. While she did not
have the coronavirus, she
was near someone who did, so
stayed home as a precaution.
In Albany, waiting to vote
for the budget, she chatted
with the Bronx Times about
the coronavirus and how it
BRONX TIMES R 2 EPORTER, APRIL 3–9, 2020 BT
has changed everything.
As she looks out on the
streets of the Boogie Down,
she feels like she is in the Twilight
Zone. The abandoned
stores and empty streets are
scary, she said.
According to Fernandez,
the same stress residents are
feeling is affecting her and her
staff as well.
“It’s really an everyday
type of battle,” she said.
“There is anxiety I know that
I’ve felt.”
She recalled how Hurricane
Sandy destroyed businesses,
but after a week or so
people were back at work and
school. However, no one knows
when things will be normal
again with this pandemic.
“I always try to be very
positive,” she said. “I feel like
that’s jumped in the last two
weeks. They communities
are coming to elected offi cials
as a source of information.”
Her constituents have
called her with a litany of issues.
Some of the concerns
have been mental health, technology,
food, jobs, money and
living too close to people in a
shelter.
As millions of kids are
learning virtually, likely for
the foreseeable future, many
are without computers and
internet access. Fernandez
stressed this should not be the
case and the DOE and schools
need to make sure every child
has a device and Wi-Fi.
“I think the immediate roll
(of virtual learning) out was
not sharp,” she remarked. “It
COVID-19 smacked us with
the hard reality that we were
not prepared.”
Many people are stuck at
home because they lost their
jobs or are working remotely.
This isolation can lead to poor
mental health, she said.
“Anxiety is up and depression
is growing,” she commented.
She noted that the
fear of suicide during this
time is increasing.
While Governor Andrew
Cuomo declared no evictions
for 90 days, she is still worried
about people losing homes.
Some landlords have
reached out to her saying they
still need the money because
they have to pay people.
“In my opinion, I say we
cancel all payments and bills,”
the assemblywoman said.
A family picks up food at the makeshift food pantry at KIPP HS Photo
Courtesy KIPP NYC
BY JASON COHEN
After quarantining herself
for two weeks, Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez
returned to the community on
Monday as she donated supplies
to Jacobi Hospital.
On March 30, Fernandez,
Assemblyman Michael Blake
and SUNYY EOC gave masks,
gowns, gloves and goggles to
medical staff at Jacobi.
“Our frontline workers are
putting their lives on the line
so that they can help our most
vulnerable patients,” Fernandez
said. “I am so glad that I
was able to team up with the
SUNY Bronx EOC to provide
these resources to the staff,
understanding just how limited
the supply is and how necessary
it is to have these protective
gears. This protective
equipment is the little bit that
we can do for our healthcare
workers to give them some
safety during this pandemic.”
Fernandez said she has
never experienced anything
like this. While she did not
have the coronavirus, she
was near someone who did, so
stayed home as a precaution.
In Albany, waiting to vote
for the budget, she chatted
with the Bronx Times about
the coronavirus and how it
has changed everything.
As she looks out on the
streets of the Boogie Down,
she feels like she is in the Twilight
Zone. The abandoned
stores and empty streets are
scary, she said.
According to Fernandez,
the same stress residents are
feeling is affecting her and her
staff as well.
“It’s really an everyday
type of battle,” she said.
“There is anxiety I know that
I’ve felt.”
She recalled how Hurricane
Sandy destroyed businesses,
but after a week or so
people were back at work and
school. However, no one knows
when things will be normal
again with this pandemic.
“I always try to be very
positive,” she said. “I feel like
that’s jumped in the last two
weeks. They communities
are coming to elected offi cials
as a source of information.”
Her constituents have
called her with a litany of issues.
Some of the concerns
have been mental health, technology,
food, jobs, money and
living too close to people in a
shelter.
As millions of kids are
learning virtually, likely for
the foreseeable future, many
are without computers and
internet access. Fernandez
stressed this should not be the
case and the DOE and schools
need to make sure every child
has a device and Wi-Fi.
“I think the immediate roll
(of virtual learning) out was
not sharp,” she remarked. “It
COVID-19 smacked us with
the hard reality that we were
not prepared.”
Many people are stuck at
home because they lost their
jobs or are working remotely.
This isolation can lead to poor
mental health, she said.
“Anxiety is up and depression
is growing,” she commented.
She noted that the
fear of suicide during this
time is increasing.
While Governor Andrew
Cuomo declared no evictions
for 90 days, she is still worried
about people losing homes.
Some landlords have
reached out to her saying they
still need the money because
they have to pay people.
“In my opinion, I say we
cancel all payments and bills,”
the assemblywoman said.
Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez and Assemblyman Michael Blake
deliver supplies to Jacobi. Photo courtesy Offi ce of Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez
KIPP HS provides food bank for community