4 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 15, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Forest Hills parents and kids want
schools in cluster zones to stay open
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
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) said
they want to see more data.
Demonstrators chanted “open up” at the
rally Wednesday aft ernoon, 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.” Th e school
also had two positive cases of COVID-19
in the last week.
Th e 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 specifi c geographic clusters. Th ey
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.
Th e 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. Th ey 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 offi cially opened for inperson
learning in every grade, and students
are receiving high-quality instruction
fi ve 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 inclassroom
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 fi ve days a week learning.”
Jeff ery Herskovitz, a parent in the community,
said Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de
Blasio have “failed” them.
“Th e 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.
“You do not have this power to dictate
to us what we do on a daily basis, it not
only ruins our lives it ruins our child’s
lives,” Herskovitz said. “Cuomo, you better
remember this, my laws are legislated
not dictated.”
Photos by Dean Moses
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
