editorial
Bronx COVID-19 deaths on the rise
BY JASON COHEN
While only 20 percent of the borough
has COVID-19 compared to 33
percent in Queens and 27 percent
in Brooklyn, the disease is killing
many more people in our borough.
A total of 772 people have died in
the Bronx from coronavirus, which
is more than twice the Manhattan,
where the death toll is 255. These
numbers should not surprise anyone.
It is known that all of the hospitals
in the fi ve boroughs are struggling
to fi nd beds and protective
gear, but the Bronx has its own
unique set of issues. People with
pre-existing conditions such as
asthma, lung problems or diabetes
are prone to the virus and numerous
Bronxites have these.
Elected offi cials Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez and
Senator Alessandra Biaggi and
Community Board 11 District Manager
Jeremy Warneke all understand
why the numbers are high.
“We have some of the greatest
poverty levels in the nation,”
Warneke said. “That seems to the
crux of people dying, underlying
conditions.”
According to Biaggi, the borough
is a hotspot for diabetes and
asthma. There are pockets of food
deserts, so people with diabetes
can’t get healthy food and developer
Robert Moses many years ago put
countless highways throughout the
Bronx, which has led to some of the
highest asthma rates in the country.
Biaggi explained the high deaths
are no coincidence. She stressed
these concerns were here before the
coronavirus epidemic and will be
here after. Even, God willing, when
a vaccine is found, people need to
look at the larger picture, she said.
“Systemic and economic inequalities
make it almost impossible
to come out of poverty if you live
in certain areas of the Bronx,” the
senator said. “It’s disgraceful.”
Another problem is the lack of
testing sites in the borough. Currently,
there are ones at Jacobi Hospital,
Baychester Mall in Co-op City
and Lehman College. Just three
places, what a joke.
Not driving and navigating the
awful subway system is already a
challenge. Imagine being sick and
having nowhere to get tested that
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you can’t get to without a car.
On Tuesday, a group of elected
offi cials, including Assemblyman
Michael Blake sent a letter to the
governor asking for a medical facility
and testing site to be created
at Harlem River Yards on 12 acres
of land. Also, on March 30, Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson sent a letter
to the city requesting a site in the
south Bronx.
“We need one in the south
Bronx,” Fernandez said. She noted
that the south Bronx has higher
asthma rates than the rest of the
borough, so not having a site there
make no sense and endangers lives.
Meanwhile, Warneke said residents
aren’t helping themselves either.
Some people in his district
have broken chains on playgrounds
to play sports, some aren’t following
social distancing in supermarkets
and last month, Luke’s Lounge,
1808 Hone Ave. in Morris Park, operated
after the shutdown and lost
its liquor license.
“I’ve seen people constantly
posting on social media playing
basketball,” Warneke said. “Unfortunately,
people aren’t taking this
seriously.”
Senator Alessandra Biaggi is not surprised the
Bronx has high fatality numbers for COVID-19
Photo Courtesy Offi ce of Senator Alessandra Biaggi
Making Sense of the Census
By Julie Menin, Director of NYC
Census 2020 AND Kristina Newman-
Scott, President of BRIC.
With COVID-19 at the top of everyone’s
minds, it’s important to take a
moment to appreciate and thank the
workers that are keeping our city going.
From our doctors, nurses and
health officials, to bus drivers and
conductors, to the essential workers
keeping our city running, we’re relying
on our public services more and
more every day.
And now, they’re counting on us.
Because to keep our public services
fully funded and working for the
next decade, we need to make sure all
of us are counted in the 2020 Census.
This is why NYC Census 2020 and
BRIC partnered to create a new PSA
demonstrating why doing the census
is one of the most important ways to
support our communities in these difficult
times.
With the coronavirus introducing
new challenges to our communities,
the census could not be more important.
Now more than ever, we are seeing
Our
Heroes
Are
Counting
On Us
how much we all rely on our public
services: our hospitals, healthcare,
roads and bridges, transit, schools
and countless other programs.
The census is also vital because
census data is being used to determine
our responses to crises. The
communities hit hardest by COVID-19
are some of the most historically undercounted
in the census. If New York
City does not have a complete count, it
hurts the funding, political representation,
and data needed to serve these
communities.
Luckily, since the census is available
online, over the phone, and by
mail, you can get counted on your
own from home. In other words, you
can still fight for social justice while
social distancing.
“Making Sense of the Census” is a
weekly column from Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020. Every week
we will be publishing pieces from Julie
and guest authors laying out the facts
and answering tough questions about
this year’s census. Fill out the census
now at my2020census.gov.
/my2020census.gov
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