Forest Hills parents and students want schools in
cluster zones to remain open, call for more testing
TIMESLEDGER | 2 QNS.COM | OCT. 16-22, 2020
Photo by Dean Moses
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
About two dozen parents
and children called on the city
to keep schools in Queens’ hot
zones open during a protest at
P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway
in Forest Hills on Wednesday,
Oct. 7.
Following Mayor Bill de
Blasio and the Department of
Education’s announcement that
more than 100 public school
sites across Brooklyn and
Queens COVID-19 cluster zones
will close for a two week period
to minimize the spread of the virus,
parents in some of Queens
hot zones (Kew Gardens, Rego
Park and Forest Hills) say they
want to see more data.
Demonstrators chanted
“open up” at the rally, before
several took turns speaking, including
some children who said
they want to be in school and
mentioned some schools have
“zero cases.”
“If the percent is 3 percent or
8 percent, based on single digit
positivity when you’re only testing
200 people, the logical thing
to do is to test more people,” said
Yiatin Chu, member of PLACE
NYC. “I looked at some charts
yesterday that we have in New
York City, the ZIP codes that actually
have the highest number
of people testing have the lowest
number of positivity. And
of the nine ZIP codes that are
highlighted in New York City
that have high percentages of
positivity, they have one of the
lowest numbers of testing.”
Chu said it isn’t “right to
shut down schools, and take
away public education for our
children for a handful of cases.”
P.S. 196 is one of the 153
schools in the state’s designated
“Red Zones.” The school
also had two positive cases of
COVID-19 in the last week.
The DOE maintains the decision
to close school buildings
for two weeks is one strategy in
a comprehensive plan designed
to reduce the transmission of
the virus in specific geographic
clusters. They say they have
conducted mobile testing in areas
in those COVID clusters in
Brooklyn and Queens, with only
two positive cases out of 1,859
test results as of Wednesday.
The city plans to continue its
mandatory monthly testing program
beginning Friday, Oct. 9,
as originally planned.
Schools that are closed until
the 21st will not be tested this
month. They have communicated
with all schools that will be
tested on Friday, which are not
currently in the “Yellow Zone.”
DOE spokesperson Danielle
Filson told QNS the city’s
schools reopening plans prioritize
health and safety of students
and staff.
“Last week we officially
opened for in-person learning
in every grade, and students
are receiving high-quality instruction
five days a week in a
way that keeps our communities
safe and helps prevent the
spread of the virus,” Filson said.
“As we continue to navigate a
global pandemic, our reopening
plan prioritizes the health and
safety of our students and staff,
and school closure decisions are
made based on guidance issued
by federal, state and local health
experts.”
At the protest, parents and
children held signs that read:
“Protocols Work,” “Cuomo Keep
Our School Open,” “Show us the
data,” and “I follow the rules, let
me stay in school.”
One parent said that while
28 positive cases in the area
are “cause for concern,” it isn’t
“when there’s approximately
75,000 people in the area without
COVID.”
“We believe schools are essential,
we believe children belong
in class,” the parent said.
“Remote is simply no substitute
for in-classroom learning, especially
for children in special
education, in ICT, in District 75,
who cannot be in a classroom as
much as possible, but yet they
were not prioritized by the DOE
for five days a week learning.”
Jeffery Herskovitz, a parent
in the community, said Gov. Andrew
Cuomo and de Blasio have
“failed” them.
“The last time I checked, I
still live in the United States, I
still live in the land of the free
and the brave,” Herskovitz said.
“My child is home and is upset
every day that she can’t go to
school. Cuomo has failed us
completely from day one, with
the worst rates in the nation.
How dare you even try to dictate
to me as an adult of what I can
and cannot do.”
He added the community
knows how to socially distance,
wash their hands, and feel safe
sending children to school.
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