By Nelson A. King
In a joint letter on Wednesday,
April 22, 19 of Brooklyn’s
Black elected officials called on
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor
Bill de Blasio to implement a
sweeping revitalization plan
directed to Black communities,
which they said have suffered
the most harm from the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
Signatories of the letter
comprised: Jumaane D. Williams,
New York City Public
Advocate; Congress Members
Yvette D. Clarke and Hakeem
Jeffries, 9th and 8th Congressional
Districts, respectively;
Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough
President; and Sens. Kevin
Parker (21st Senate District),
Zellnor Myrie (20th Senate District)
and Roxanne J. Persaud
(19th Senate District).
Other signatories were:
Assembly Members N. Nick
Perry (58th Assembly District),
Walter T. Mosley (57th Assembly
District), Latrice M. Walker
(55th Assembly District),
Charles Barron (42nd Assembly
Caribbean L 6 ife, May 1-7, 2020
District Assembly), Diana Richardson
(43rd Assembly District),
Jaime R. Williams (59th
Assembly District), Tremaine
Wright (56th Assembly District),
and Mathylde Frontus
(46th Assembly District).
City Council members who
signed the letter were: Alicka
Ampry-Samuel (41st Council
District), Farah Louis (45th
Council District), Majority
Leader Laurie Cumbo (35th
Council District) and Inez Barron
(42nd Council District).
The elected officials said the
proposed Elizabeth Jennings
Graham Community Investment
Plan, otherwise known
as the “Lizzie Plan,” would seek
to involve the Black community
in the public response to
the crisis and include plans for
data collection, testing, personal
protective equipment,
among other things.
“Black people are dying at
a higher rate than the rest of
New York while making up the
majority of frontline workers
keeping the state afloat,” the
letter reads.
“This disproportionate
impact demands a commensurate
response and is why we
write today to demand that
New York immediately convene
a task force to specifically
address the Emergency, Relief,
Recovery and Rebuilding needs
of Black New Yorkers in Central
and South Brooklyn,” the letter
adds.
“Thus far, Black voices have
been excluded from the decision
making in response to
COVID-19,” the letter continues.
“The convening of this task
force, and subsequent adoption
of the recommendations put
forth by the Plan, seeks to rectify
this injustice.”
The legislators said the scope
of the proposed task force would
include: Specific and granular
data on infection rates, hospitalizations
and deaths in the
Black community; provision of
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) for all essential workers,
many of whom are Black; “all
manners of testing” in Black
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. Photo by Nelson A. King
communities, including the
testing of essential workers, the
availability of rapid testing and
additional testing sites; relief
for Black-owned businesses;
and resources specifically dedicated
to food distribution in
the Black community.
Brooklyn’s Black pols want
sweeping revitalization plan