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Editorial Op-ed
Mayor, guv must stop the squabbling
When he provided his daily coronavirus
briefi ng on Saturday morning,
Governor Andrew Cuomo
spoke highly of the state’s efforts to keep
politics out of the response to the pandemic.
“Keep politics out of it,” he said just after
noting his efforts with the White House to
secure relief for New York state. “Focus on
government and focus on policy and keep
politics out of it. It’s very hard, especially
at this time.”
Would that he could say the same for his
dealing with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Moments later, during the very same press
conference, Cuomo threw cold water on de
Blasio’s announcement, earlier that morning,
that New York City public schools would
remain closed through the end of the school
year, in June.
While de Blasio presented the decision
Saturday morning as a formality, Cuomo
reduced it down to the mayor’s “opinion.”
Cuomo said the governor has the authority
— something the mayor disputes — and
that he’d rather see a coordinated reopening
between the city and its suburbs of
schools and businesses alike. The stance
didn’t change on Sunday.
The animosity between Cuomo and de
Blasio is well-known to any New Yorker. But
does this rivalry need to present itself in the
midst of this unprecedented crisis?
Cuomo made clear there’s too much
unknown when it comes to the pandemic,
and it’s unwise to set a date on when to
reopen society. There’s much truth in this.
Public offi cials have said reopening society
automatically would be unwise. Social
distancing measures can be eased a bit as
the curve fl attens downward, but it must
be done gradually so as to minimize (if not
completely avoid) a second massive wave of
coronavirus cases.
Bringing students back en masse —
along with parents and school faculty — at
a late point in the school year during this
crisis increases the odds of additional infections
and deaths.
We can’t imagine a scenario in which
Cuomo overrules de Blasio and reopens
the schools in late May or June. So why
not just admit that de Blasio made the
right call here? Why couldn’t the governor
say that he would work with suburban offi
cials to coordinate with the city on school
openings?
Cuomo is correct: Politics must be kept
out of this crisis. We believe he should
follow his own advice when it comes to
dealing with de Blasio.
BY JUDY PATRICK
From afar, the COVID-19 pandemic
is generating news of such terrifying
magnitude that it is nearly too
overwhelming to comprehend. Millions
are suffering and thousands are dying.
Economies are collapsing. The world seems
out of control.
That’s the big picture, which you can
learn about from innumerable print, web
and broadcast news outlets.
But it’s in the pages of local newspapers
that this terrible news hits home.
Through stories of sickness and of death,
of brave healthcare workers and struggling
small business owners, local journalists are
documenting their communities.
In hard-hit New York City, dozens of
local newspapers are chronicling the challenges
neighborhood by neighborhood.
As the virus spreads beyond metropolitan
New York, the chronicling extends, paper
by paper.
In each, above all are the stories of the
lives that have been lost, touching tributes
to much loved grandfathers and grandmothers,
principals and store clerks, police
offi cers and nurses.
Next come the stories of isolation and
loss as the life of a community is put on
hold: Funerals, weddings, Little League
baseball, high school proms, senior citizen
trips and college graduations. The list goes
on and on.
Finally come are the tales of generosity
and hope, of thousands of rainbows hung in
windows and drawn in chalk on sidewalks,
of food drives for the affl icted, of music and
art and of the million small kindnesses of
one person to another.
Years from now, these stories will be
part of the historical record of this pandemic.
Right now, however, they serve a far
greater purpose: They are helping communities
come together to mourn, to support
and to hope. To eventually go forward and
heal, we fi rst need to understand what is
happening to the people we know and the
businesses we rely on.
There are practical benefi ts as well. In
times of crisis, local newspapers have long
been a clearinghouse of essential information
such as phone numbers, emergency
food distribution plans, road closures and
boil water orders. Nowadays, with much of
this information scattered online, newspapers
are adapting and collating.
All of this is how local newspapers
bring communities together. It’s just one
reason they’re so important. While their
watchdog role in sustaining our democracy
will always be paramount, and one that’s
become a crucial part of the ongoing story,
this shared commitment to community is
shining right now.
Local newspapers care – always have
and always will. It’s what sets them apart
from all other media, even Facebook.
They’ve been around so long it’s easy
to take them for granted. But they are in
danger, especially now that local businesses
that provide crucial advertising revenue
have closed.
There’s a lot of news you can access for
free. Many local newspapers have even
temporarily dropped their paywalls on their
virus-related content. The gesture refl ects
their mission to go above and beyond to
serve their communities in a time of crisis.
But news really isn’t free. It’s costly
to produce. Reporters, photographers,
editors, printers, advertising representatives
and support staff deserve and need
a paycheck for the work they do. To do
that, newspapers need the people in those
Fourth of July parades and at those school
board meetings to subscribe. Now, more
than ever, they need their communities.
Judy Patrick is vice president for editorial
development at the New York Press
Association.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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