Sen. Zellnor Myrie addresses marchers at Grand Army Plaza. Offi ce of Sen. Zellnor Myrie
Caribbean Life, August 7, 2020 3
By Nelson A. King
Brooklyn Democratic Party boss
Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte
says that a bill in honor of her late son,
Jonah Bichotte Cowan, has passed the
State Legislator.
“Nearly four years ago, I lost my
son, Jonah Bichotte Cowan, after going
into preterm labor,” said Bichotte, the
daughter of Haitian immigrants, who
represents the 42nd Assembly District
in Brooklyn. “On Oct. 4, 2016, I entered
the New York Presbyterian/Columbia
University Medical Hospital 22 weeks
into my pregnancy after a check-up
revealed that I was several centimeters
dilated.
“At the hospital, I was told that my
baby and I were in an incredibly fatal and
high-risk situation,” she added. “Knowing
the risks associated with this condition,
the doctors at New York Presbyterian/
Columbia University Medical Hospital,
denied treatment and discharged
me, citing a ‘hospital policy’, which
claimed they could not intervene before
23 weeks because insurance would not
cover my preterm labor care.”
The assemblywoman said she was a
week away from receiving the care “we
desperately needed.”
On Oct. 7, 2016, Bichotte said she
gave birth to Jonah, “who was alive,”
at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center,
where she was admitted and received
care.
“Jonah passed away several hours
later,” she said.
In honor of Jonah, and all the other
babies and mothers who have lost their
lives” as a result of these cruel and
inhumane policies,” Bichotte said she
introduced the Jonah Bichotte Cowan
Law in the Assembly.
She said this legislation requires
hospitals to inform expectant mothers
if they are going into preterm labor
and provide care to women with highrisk
pregnancies.
By Nelson A. King
A broad coalition of elected officials,
community groups and Brooklyn residents
marched through South and
Central Brooklyn on Sunday to raise
awareness about the census and racial
justice.
The “Census March for Racial Justice,”
organized by Brooklyn Democratic
Sen. Zellnor Y. Myrie and co-sponsored
by numerous Brooklyn elected officials,
began concurrently in Sunset Park and
Brownsville, and converged for a rally at
Grand Army Plaza.
“From infrastructure and healthcare,
to school funding and political representation,
the stakes for the 2020 Census
are impossible to overstate,” said Myrie,
the State Senate’s point person on the
Census, whose grandmother hailed from
Jamaica.
“Our communities have historically
been undercounted, underfunded and
underserved,” added the representative
for the 20th Senatorial District in
Brooklyn. “Once every decade, we have
the chance to show up, get counted and
fight for the dollars we deserve.
“Filling out the Census takes 10 minutes
to answer 10 questions, but the
impacts for our neighborhoods, city
and state last for 10 years,” continued
Myrie. “At a time when the federal government
wants to starve us of needed
resources, it is more important than ever
that everyone completes the Census, so
that Brooklyn counts 100 percent.”
Myrie said over 200 New Yorkers
marched from Our Lady of Perpetual
Help in Sunset Park and Brookdale Hospital
in Brownsville, and attended the
rally at Grand Army Plaza.
He said marchers carried signs, the
Office of the Public Advocate led a car
caravan, and low-riders cruised along
with marchers.
As marchers drew the attention of
neighbors to the streets, Census staff
and volunteers helped residents complete
the Census.
“The route intentionally went through
neighborhoods that are lagging in their
Census response rates, such as Sunset
Park and East Flatbush,” Myrie said.
“These low-income communities of
color have high numbers of essential
workers and immigrants, and suffered
disproportionately during the COVID-
19 crisis.
“Achieving a full Census count in
these areas would directly increase the
federal resources available to these communities
that are channeled through
schools, hospitals, jobs programs and
more,” he added.
Myrie said New York City in general
and Brooklyn in particular are behind
on the census.
He said the citywide response rate
was just 54 percent as of Jul. 27, adding
that Brooklyn has a “disproportionately
high number of historically undercounted
populations, such as seniors, immigrants,
renters and children.”
“Filling out the Census is easy, secure
and incredibly important,
said Democratic Congresswoman
Nydia M. Velazquez, who represents
Sunset Park. “Everyone’s response,
including undocumented residents, are
protected by law.
“To help ensure Brooklyn gets its fair
share, it’s essential everyone completes
the 2020 Census and helps spread the
word,” she added.
For Public Advocate Jumaane D.
Williams, the Census is “a civil rights
issue.
“It can also be an instrument of justice,
if all New Yorkers are counted,”
said the son of Grenadian immigrants.
“In the midst of a pandemic and a protest
movement, it’s even more clear that
our laws and our lives are shaped by the
need for a complete count.
“A commitment to count every household
in this city is a commitment to
ensuring communities of more color
across New York get the resources and
representation they are owed,” Williams
added.
State Assemblywoman Diana C. Richardson,
the daughter of Aruban and St.
Martin immigrants, noted that “completing
the 2020 Census will take just 10
minutes to answer 10 questions which
will impact Brooklyn’s access to federal
funding and representation over the
next 10 years.
“Today, we are marching because
Brooklyn’s future depends on a complete
count,” said the representative for
the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn.
“Please tell your family, friends, and
neighbors to fill out the Census today;
and help spread the word.”
City Council Member Carlos Menchaca,
chair of the Committee on Immigration,
said: “We are witnessing the
devastation that systemic racism and
chronic under-resourcing can wreak on
our communities.
“It’s no surprise that Black and Brown
communities, including immigrants,
have been hardest hit by the COVID-19
pandemic,” he said. “In a crisis like this,
they are already at a disadvantage.
“Some of the lowest census response
rates we are seeing in the City right
now – response rates below 50 percent
– are in neighborhoods, like Sunset
Park, that have been hardest hit
by COVID-19 and need resources the
most right now,” Menchaca added. “We
march because our communities must
be counted to secure the resources we
need and deserve. We are not invisible.
We are here and will be counted.”
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte
holds an urn containing the
ashes of Jonah Bichotte Cowan,
the child she lost due to complications
with her pregnancy. Al Smith
‘Census March for Racial Justice’
State legislature
passes bill in
honor of
Bichotte’s late son