FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 20, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Mayor says layoff s ‘painfully real’ without help
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
editorial@qns.com
@qns
As the city continues to fi ght back
the novel coronavirus and taken on the
resulting fi nancial crisis without help
from Washington, city agency layoff s are
becoming more of a reality.
De Blasio called the possible layoff s of
22,000 municipal workers a “painfully
real” number now that federal stimulus
“appears to be dead.”
On Wednesday, de Blasio told reporters
that his administration has given guidance
to all agencies to fi nd savings wherever
possible and that he is continuing to
ask Albany to extend the city’s borrowing
authority to stave off layoff s.
If the state denies the city its request to
increase its borrowing authority again, his
administration will continue to work with
the city’s labor unions to negotiate contracts
to fi nd “every kind of savings.”
“It resembles the kind of things we had
to do decades ago but the job here is to
try and avert if we can,” de Blasio said.
“We are talking about tens of thousands
of families that will be aff ected and I don’t
want to see that happen.”
Th e mayor fi rst warned about mass layoff
s before budget negotiations in June
aft er revealing that the economic downturn
caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic
created a $9 billion budget gap.
If no aid from Washington or Albany
arrived before Oct. 1, the city would be
forced to begin layoff s and furloughs.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday
whether to a huge number of layoff s was
necessary or just an attempt to fear-monger
agencies, de Blasio argued that layoff s
and furloughs were a natural progression
of austerity measures.
“I want to be very clear that the overwhelming
Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
cost of local government is
personnel … and if you keep cutting and
keep cutting it has to at some point reach
personnel,” said de Blasio. “It’s just pure
logic of budget.”
Bowling alleys, low-risk museums to reopen in NY: Cuomo
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Cultural institutions and bowling
alleys will be able to reopen in
the coming days, Governor Andrew
Cuomo said.
In New York state, 85,455 tests were
performed with 727 coming back positive
on Aug. 13, giving the state a 0.85
percent infection rate. A total of 554
people were hospitalized and four people
died of COVID-19.
Cuomo told reports on Aug. 14 that
this has been the seventh consecutive
day of New York had an infection rate
that was under 1 percent.
“That is fantastic. We are doing a tremendous
number of tests — New York
State has averaged 87,000 tests a day for
the past three weeks,” said Cuomo. “So
0.8 is a great number and is based on
a very large sample size. On the numbers,
it’s been extraordinary.”
As a result of the low infection
rates, Cuomo said that bowling alleys
can reopen at 50 percent capacity on
Monday, Aug. 17. All patrons and staff
must wear a face covering, and every
other lane must be closed to ensure
social distancing. Parties who come
to the bowling alley must stay at their
lane, and all food and alcohol must be
served through wait service. The establishment
must also have cleaning and
disinfecting protocols in place, particularly
with the shared equipment.
Low-risk museums and cultural institutions
will also be allowed to reopen
in New York City at 25 percent capacity.
Face coverings will be required for
everyone on-site and tickets must be
sold ahead of time with pre-determined
times of entry that must be staggered.
The governor said that protocols for
gyms to reopen will be released on
Aug. 17. Cuomo noted that the state
will be conducting a pilot program in
four cities to analyze COVID-19 waste
water.
Cuomo told reporters that
Washington, D.C., continues to mishandle
COVID-19, stating that they are
continuing to play politics and that the
Photo via Getty Images
pandemic did not bring any responsibility
to the federal government.
“This has been a total disgrace,” said
Cuomo. “CVOD-19, and the handling
of COVID-19, is going to be the main
factor in the November elections, and
Washington is going to fail the leadership
test on COVID-19. You will see
it in all elections — Congressional,
Senate and Presidential.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio addresses the press on Aug. 3, 2020.
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