20 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 15, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Cuomo signs Kim’s bill repealing nursing home immunity
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
State Assemblyman Ron Kim’s legislation
Lawmakers announce funding for vital food link
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Aft er she spent months distributing
food to families in need during the
height of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz and her
colleague Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal
of northeast Queens championed eff orts
to increase funding for Nourish NY, a
highly successful program connecting
New York’s agricultural sector with food
distribution eff orts across the state.
Th e two lawmakers spearheaded the
eff ort to make the program permanent as
rising food insecurity continues to aff ect
millions of New Yorkers in the wake of the
global pandemic. Th eir advocacy eff orts
had broad support from more than 50
members of the Assembly on both sides
of the aisle, from all regions of the state.
Cruz and Rosenthal announced
Wednesday that funding was doubled in
the fi nal state budget, bringing the total
commitment to the program to $50 million.
Cruz represents Corona, Elmhurst
and Jackson Heights, all of which were
ravaged by the coronavirus emergency.
“I watched helplessly as my constituents
were the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
My district already suff ered from food
insecurity issues long before we became the
epicenter of the epicenter,” Cruz said. “Th is
program is a win-win for all parties. Th e
upstate agricultural industry, also hit hard
by the pandemic, receives a fi nancial lifeline,
while those in the state who need it most can
count on receiving their next meal.”
In the past year, the NY Nourish initiative
has sustained more than 4,000 farms
that were economically impacted by the
closings of restaurants and schools during
the shutdown, and distributed over
17 million pounds of fresh produce and
food to warehouses, social services agencies
and food pantries.
“Nourish NY has been a lifeline for New
York families,” Rosenthal said. “Supporting
the expansion of this program is commonsense
policy, and I am proud to see our eff orts
come to fruition in doubling state funds for
this initiative. Th is would not have been possible
without support from Assemblywoman
Cruz and the countless advocates who fi ght
everyday to ensure every New Yorker has
access to adequate and nutritious food.”
Th e fi nal deal was reached as part of a
monthslong negotiation between the governor’s
offi ce and the Legislature.
to repeal an immunity law shielding
nursing homes from lawsuits amid
the COVID-19 outbreak was signed into
law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday,
April 6.
Kim’s bill, which passed by a vote of
149-1 in the Assembly and 63-0 in the
Senate, repeals Article 30-D of the Public
Health Law (Emergency of Disaster
Treatment Protection Act), that was
granted by Cuomo at the height of the
pandemic in March 2020. Th e law instituted
severe liability standards that essentially
insulated nursing homes and their
executive leadership from criminal or
civil liability. Specifi cally, liability would
only pertain to cases in which gross negligence,
reckless misconduct or instances
where intentional malfeasance has
occurred.
“Finally, aft er a year of grief, setbacks,
frustration and gaslighting by this administration,
thousands of families who lost
loved ones begin to seek some form of
real closure,” Kim said in a statement to
QNS. “Although this can never fi ll the
void of losing a family member, it will create
a path towards fi nally holding these
for-profi t operators accountable for their
actions.”
Th e Enacted Fiscal Year
2022 Budget includes comprehensive
nursing home
reform legislation to
help ensure facilities
prioritize
patients
over profi ts;
establishing
minimum
thresholds
for nursing
home spending
on direct resident care
and staffi ng; and investing
$32 million annually
to implement the
reforms, while capping
profi ts and performing
related party
transactions to drive
funding to where it
matters most, the
patients. Excess revenues
recouped by the
state will be deposited
into the existing nursing home quality
pool for further investments for nursing
homes to meet high quality standards.
According to the governor’s offi ce, now,
more than ever, it is important that nursing
homes are staff ed to provide highquality
care and safety for their residents.
Th ese initiatives will have a positive
impact on nursing home residents
and staff , delivering the quality of
care needed for the most vulnerable
New Yorkers in a safe environment.
For Kim and his community
in particular, the discovery
of 29 or more deaths
at a Flushing nursing
home
last year —
which he
exposed
and confronted
the city
and state on
after meeting
the daughter of a
resident — has been
a strong catalyst for
taking meaningful
action.
Following the passage
of the bill, Kim
thanked Senator
Alessandra Biaggi
(D-Bronx) for joining him early in the
fi ght to hold the governor accountable for
the nursing home deaths across the state
that devastated families who lost their
loved ones.
“Her moral clarity and leadership have
been vital to our struggle for justice, and
she has been a true champion for the
countless victims of this tragedy,” Kim
said.
In January, Kim had addressed a report
released by the state attorney general’s
offi ce that revealed nursing home deaths
may have been undocumented by as
much as 50 percent. According to Kim,
the groundbreaking report from the attorney
general’s offi ce confi rmed what he
had publicized last spring — that forprofi
t nursing home executives “criminally
neglected nursing home residents and
staff because they were disincentivized to
act more responsibly.”
“Th e governor handed out blanket
immunity to corporate executives which
cost lives and brought undue pain and
suff ering. It is a business model soaked in
blood,” said Kim, who became embroiled
in a very public feud with the governor as
he continued to push for accountability.
Although Kim’s bill has been signed
into law, he says the fi ght is not over.
“It is now clear — even as Governor
Cuomo is being investigated by the
Justice Department, the FBI, and New
York Attorney General — that he and his
offi ce altered nursing home death statistics,
profi ted from this coverup in the
middle of the pandemic, and continues
to deny any culpability for his fatal decisions,”
Kim said. “I and many others will
not stop until the full truth is uncovered.”
Photo by Dean Moses
State Assemblyman Ron Kim’s legislation
to repeal an immunity law shielding nursing
homes from lawsuits amid the COVID-
19 outbreak was signed into law by Gov.
Andrew Cuomo.
Photo by Dean Moses
Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz distributed food to her constituents during the hardest months of
the pandemic and then went to work to secure funding for the Nourish NY program.
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