26 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 15, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Another nice mess for Cuomo, de Blasio
“Well, here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten
THE QUEENS
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PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ZACHARY GEWELB
NIRMAL SINGH
JACOB KAYE
ANGELICA ACEVEDO, JENNA BAGCAL, KATRINA MEDOFF,
CARLOTTA MOHAMED, BILL PARRY
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
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Story: Spider-Man coming home as fi lming of new
movie set to begin in Astoria
Summary: Filming notices posted in Astoria this
week slyly suggested that fi lming for the third
installment of the latest Spider-Man franchise from
Marvel Studios will begin on 31st Avenue and 23rd
Street.
Reach: 14,462 (as of 10/12/20)
us into.”
Th e old catch phrase from the classic
comedy team of Laurel and Hardy comes
to mind when considering how Governor
Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio
have handled the response to COVID-19
spikes in Brooklyn and Queens.
Where do we begin to recount this latest
chapter in these frenemies’ rivalry that puts
at stake the safety of New Yorkers?
Th e mayor fi rst announced on Oct.
4 a plan to put a “pause” on businesses
and schools in the nine ZIP codes where
COVID-19 has been spiking. Everything,
he said, was pending the governor’s approval
— and it appeared, to some, that was a
formality.
Not so. One day later, on Oct. 5, Cuomo
pulled the rug out from under de Blasio
by shift ing the school closures up a day to
Tuesday, Oct. 6 (the mayor had wanted to
close the schools Wednesday, Oct. 7) and
disagreeing with widespread closure of businesses.
Th e governor also questioned whether it
was wise for the city to consider entire ZIP
codes or census tracts by which to map out
the cluster zones.
So Cuomo came up with what he deemed
to be a more crystalized plan of attack,
with color-coded regions of Brooklyn and
Queens refl ecting the cluster with unique
boundaries.
Th e red areas, with the highest cases,
would go back to where they were before
New York City began reopening in June —
including severe restrictions on gatherings
at houses of worship.
Th at development bristled people of faith
in Brooklyn. Members of the Orthodox
Jewish community, in particular, were
outraged and took to the streets to protest.
Th ings got out of hand; an onlooker
was assaulted, and masks were reportedly
torched.
Cuomo and de Blasio sought to calm
things down and provide greater specifi cs
about the cluster action plan. Th ey also reiterated
that the enforcement of COVID-19
regulations wasn’t aimed at any one community
— but, by then, the damage was done.
Of course they didn’t make this announcement
together, holding near-simultaneous
press briefi ngs on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Th e
city could’ve used a little unity, and they
couldn’t provide that.
Nothing’s riding on this cluster action
plan other than the overall health and wellbeing
of millions of New Yorkers, and the
fate of our economy.
And its rollout was a nice mess that provoked
anger, confusion and resistance —
largely because the governor and mayor
continue to butt heads on the things that
matter most.
Photo by Kevin P. Coughlin/Offi ce of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio once again failed to show unity during a time when we
so desperately needed it.
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