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COURIER LIFE, MARCH 25-31, 2022
Provided COVID-19 virus
cases remain low,
Mayor Eric Adams
said Tuesday morning, the
mask mandate for schoolchildren
under 5 years of
age will be lifted as of April
4.
The youngsters will be
able to attend school without
masks just like their
older peers, for whom the
mask mandate was lifted
earlier this month. Fortunately,
the end of mask
mandates for children over
5 years of age, along with
the suspension of the city’s
EDITORIAL
Mask up, if you wish
indoor business vaccine
mandate, did not accompany
a rise in COVID-19
cases.
Ironically, Adams’ decision
to potentially end
the preschool mask mandate
comes as health officials
express new concern
about the BA.2 subvariant
of Omicron, the variant
which spiked COVID-19
cases to record levels during
the holiday season.
BA.2 accounts for more
than 40% of all new COVID
19 cases in New York
state, health officials announced
OP-ED
New York needs Clean Slate now
BY STATE SEN. ZELLNOR MYRIE &
ASSEMBLYMEMBER CATALINA CRUZ
New York State is on the verge of a
historic expansion of opportunities for
approximately 2.3 million New Yorkers
with conviction records, who are denied
the chance to secure meaningful employment,
housing, and education.
With just weeks to go until Governor
Hochul and the Legislature finalize New
York’s 2022-2023 budget, lawmakers from
every corner of the state have joined the
chorus of major unions, business leaders,
BigLaw firms, civil rights advocates, and
faith leaders to call for the immediate
passage of the Clean Slate Act, vital legislation
that we have proudly sponsored in
our respective houses. Clean Slate would
automatically seal conviction records for
civil purposes, like housing and employment,
after a waiting period and without
subsequent convictions, allowing people
to establish a stable foothold in the state’s
recovering economy.
The Clean Slate Act is critical for combating
poverty and setting New York on
the path toward an inclusive recovery.
Monday. And
while infections have increased
in recent days,
there’s no evidence of an
imminent surge in cases or
hospitalizations.
Even so, the concern
among some of a potential
new wave of infections is
certainly valid, and they
may question the wisdom
of lifting another mask
mandate.
Nothing is stopping a
concerned individual from
wearing a mask out in public.
And no one should be
mocked or condemned for
By automatically sealing old conviction
records after a person has served their
sentence and suitable waiting periods are
met, the bill would vastly improve upon
our current narrow, application-based
sealing process, which less than one percent
of eligible New Yorkers have been
able to successfully utilize. The ability
to seal these records is key to addressing
the systemic racial injustice in our criminal
legal system, which has left a disproportionate
number of Black and brown
New Yorkers unable to adequately provide
for themselves and their loved ones.
There are several ways this bill would
boost economic growth and create stronger
communities. First, removing barriers
to employment after someone has already
served their time is key to breaking
the cycle of poverty. According to an analysis
from the Brennan Center, formerly
incarcerated people lose an average of
$484,000 in lifetime earnings, which perpetuates
poverty and homelessness and
destabilizes communities; the predictable
outcome of denying New Yorkers the
ability to secure a steady job that allows
LET US HEAR FROM YOU: Submit letters to: Meaghan McGoldrick, Editor,
doing so. If wearing a mask
gives an individual a sense
of safety and protection,
they ought to be able to do
so free of judgment.
If a parent wants their
child to wear a mask in
school, believing that it
will help keep their youngster
and their friends safe,
then they ought to be able
to do so free of judgment.
Each of us should recognize
the continued risks
of COVID-19, but also that
we are now in a far better
position than we were two
springs ago.
We have a safe, effective
and proven vaccine
that more than three-quarters
of all New Yorkers
have taken. Boosters have
proven even more effective
at blocking the variants.
We have safe, effective
antiviral treatments that
COVID-19 patients can
take early on to block the
most severe symptoms,
and stay out of the hospital.
The need for mask mandates
is not as pressing as
it once was. Science and
the miracle of modern
medicine have made it so.
them to support their families. It is time
we offer people the resources they need to
succeed, rather than create a lifetime of
perpetual punishment.
Second, Clean Slate is an unequivocal
way to boost economic growth and
tax revenue for our state. Incarceration
creates nearly $2 billion in lost wages annually
in New York, largely because individuals
with past conviction histories
face significant barriers entering the
workforce and advancing to higher-paid
positions.
This shortchanges our shared economic
growth and depresses tax revenue.
Other states which have implemented automatic
records clearance laws have seen
significant economic benefits. A recent
study in Michigan found that within one
year of clearing conviction records, people
were 11% more likely to be employed
and earned 22% higher wages.
Clean Slate also benefits employers
at a time when we have a massive labor
shortage resulting in more job openings
than workers. There is a reason flagship
New York employers like JPMorgan
For all the anti-maskers
who’ve bemoaned the mandates,
we hope that they
recognize it was science
and modern medicine that
allowed governments to
end the mandates, not their
protestations.
And to parents and educators
uneasy about the
end of the mask mandate
for preschoolers, we say:
Have faith, and be vigilant.
The mandate may be ending,
but nothing’s stopping
you from wearing masks if
it provides a sense of protection.
Chase support this legislation: it will
help them find skilled labor. Clean Slate
will increase the eligible pool of workers,
a benefit that could not be more important
than now. Every New Yorker can
contribute to their communities when
given the chance.
There is no reason New Yorkers who
have fulfilled their justice-system obligations
should continue suffering perpetual
economic punishment. We owe it to
all New Yorkers to act now and pass the
Clean Slate Act this session. Both the Assembly
and Senate stand ready to work
with Governor Hochul to ensure the bill’s
passage as part of the final state budget
and protect the livelihoods of millions.
New York cannot wait.
Zellnor Myrie represents the Brooklyn
neighborhoods of Brownsville, Crown
Heights, East Flatbush, Gowanus, Park
Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts
Gardens, South Slope, and Sunset Park in
the State Senate. Catalina Cruz represents
the Queens neighborhoods of Corona, Elmhurst
and Jackson Heights in the State
Assembly.
Courier Life,
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Center North, Brooklyn, NY 11201, or e-mail to editorial@schnepsmedia.com. Please include your
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