Mayor Bill de Blasio during a press conference on coronavirus at New York City’s Emergency
Management office in Brooklyn on Monday, March 9. Photo by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech
TIMESLEDGER | 2 QNS.COM | MARCH 20-26, 2020
BY MAX PARROTT
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
on Sunday that he
will be canceling the special
election for Queens borough
president scheduled for March
24 as a part of his effort to combat
the spread of coronavirus.
At the press conference
where he announced that New
York City public schools will
close until April, he acknowledged
that in a democracy,
canceling the election was
not something he took lightly.
The mayor had previously expressed
resistance to postponing
the election, saying that
“it’s a very dangerous thing to
do in a democracy.”
Polling places opened Saturday
for an early voting period
leading up to the special
election to replace former Borough
President Melinda Katz.
While Donovan Richards
was the only candidate to call
for the postponement of the
election prior to early voting,
Costa Constantinides and
Elizabeth Crowley both called
to institute a borough-wide absentee
ballot program, which
Gov. Cuomo then signed into
law through an executive order
on Friday.
Three of the candidates immediately
sent out statements
approving the mayor’s decision
to stop the spread of the
virus.
“Today’s decision to close
New York City schools to protect
our children was a smart
decision, and so was the cancellation
of the March 24 special
election,” Councilman Donovan
Richards said. “Elections
are an integral part of our democracy.
There is no easy way
to put one on hold, however
we cannot risk the health and
safety of voters and our poll
workers in this moment.”
Councilman Costa Constantinides
said, “The health,
safety and stability of Queens
is most important. While we’re
grateful to everyone who came
out to vote early this weekend,
we respect the mayor’s decision
to suspend the special
election.”
Candidate Jim Quinn said
he agreed with de Blasio’s decision
to suspend the election.
“I understand the mayor’s
decision to postpone the election
and believe that it is the
most prudent course of action
at this time,” he said.
Elizabeth Crowley also
agreed, saying “the health and
safety of our city and citizens
is paramount.”
“We must now come together
protect ourselves and our
great city. Our politics will see
another day,” she said.
Fellow candidates Anthony
Miranda and Dao Yin have yet
to put out statements regarding
the cancellation.
Acting Borough President
Sharon Lee said that she is prepared
to extend her tenure of
the office as a result of the suspension,
and will continue to
support the borough through
the response to the pandemic.
“I made a commitment to
represent and serve the people
and families of Queens to the
best of my ability and for as
long as necessary, and this
commitment still stands. Government
must not and will
not shut down. Aggressively
slowing the tide of the spread
of COVID-19 is paramount,
and we as public servants
must remain calm while moving
swiftly but safely with the
urgency that this situation requires,”
said Lee.
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
New York City public
schools closed this week until
April in an effort to limit
the spread of the coronavirus,
according to Mayor Bill
de Blasio.
School is suspended until
after spring vacation
starting Monday, March
16, de Blasio said during a
press conference on Sunday,
March 15. He said the first attempt
to reopen schools will
be on Monday, April 20, but
he added that they may have
to go out for the whole school
year.
“It was a very painful,
difficult decision,” de Blasio
said. “It became clear to me
as we went through projections
… the threat was growing
so intensely that we knew
we had to. We’ve never seen
anything like this. Yeah, I
went through ebola, but nothing
like this.”
Students will be at home,
but teachers and school administrators
returned to
schools on Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday to undergo
training in order to
implement remote (or online)
learning.
Schools Chancellor Richard
Carranza said it is critical
for parents to sign up for
a New York City Schools account
in order to receive all
the updates and materials
they’ll need for their kids. He
added that while New York
City’s public schools are
closed on Monday, breakfast
and lunch will still be served
for students who need it.
“It’s not going to be like
regular school, it’s going to
be impossible for it to be,”
Carranza said.
He said that the DOE
wants to provide as much
flexibility as possible for students,
similar to the summer
school module. Carranza
said that as they work with
teachers, details will become
clear. De Blasio added that
teachers who are sick should
stay at home during the
training period.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo
also announced schools in
Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk
will close for two weeks
beginning Monday, March
16.
“Our goal is to slow the
spread of the virus to a rate
that the healthcare system
can manage, and one of the
ways to do that is to reduce
density,” Cuomo said in a
press release. “Closing the
schools is a good idea but
you have to anticipate and
correct any unintended consequences
— we have to ensure
children who rely on
free school meals continue to
get them and that there’s adequate
child care, especially
for healthcare workers and
first responders who are parents
of young children. We
will close these schools but
it needs to be done with these
contingencies in mind so
that children are not harmed
and our hospitals aren’t understaffed
— otherwise we
cut off our nose to spite our
face.”
The news comes a few
hours after Mayor Bill de Blasio
maintained that the city’s
public school system, the
largest school system in the
country, would stay open as
rising pressure from parents,
teachers and elected officials
mounted.
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Mayor cancels special
election for Queens BP
NYC public schools closed
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