FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 16, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
Hochul mandates face coverings inside unless businesses require vaccines
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
New York state is cracking
down on mask mandates as
COVID-19 hospitalization cases
start to rise.
In an eff ort to stop a winter
surge of COVID-19 cases, Hochul
announced that masks must be
worn in all indoor public places
in New York unless businesses
or venues implement a vaccine
requirement. Th is decision
came as the winter surge comes
as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations
rise statewide, and the
guidelines are in alignment with
the CDC’s recommendations for
communities with substantial and
high transmission.
“As governor, my two top priorities
are to protect the health
of New Yorkers and to protect
the health of our economy. Th e
temporary measures I am taking
today will help accomplish
this through the holiday season.
We shouldn’t have reached the
point where we are confronted
with a winter surge, especially
with the vaccine at our disposal,
and I share many New Yorkers’
frustration that we are not past
this pandemic yet,” Governor
Hochul said. “I want to thank the
more than 80% of New Yorkers
who have done the right thing to
get fully vaccinated. If others will
follow suit, these measures will
no longer be necessary.”
“Community spread requires
a community-minded solution,
as the omicron variant emerges
and the overwhelmingly
dominant delta variant continues
to circulate. We have the
tools we need to protect against
the virus — and now we must
ensure we use them,” Acting
Health Commissioner Dr. Mary
T. Bassett said. “Th ere are tools
each individual can use, and
there are actions we can take as
government. Getting vaccinated
protects you, and wearing a
mask is how we will better protect
each other. Both vaccination
and mask-wearing are needed
to slow this COVID-19 winter
surge.”
Th e decision for the mandate
came as the state’s hospitalization
rates and seven-day case rates
increase. Since Th anksgiving, the
statewide seven-day average case
rate has increased by 43% and
hospitalizations have increased
by 29%. According to Hochul’s
offi ce, though the rate of vaccinations
is increasing, it is not
rising fast enough to curb the
spread of COVID-19.
The requirements, effective
from Dec. 13, 2021, until
Jan. 15, 2022, extend to both
patrons and staff of businesses
and venues and will be re-evaluated
based on current conditions.
Th ose who violate the new
mandate face civil and criminal
penalties, including a maximum
fi ne of $1,000 for each violation.
Local health departments
are being asked to enforce these
requirements.
“I have warned for weeks that
additional steps could be necessary,
and now we are at that
point based upon three metrics:
Increasing cases, reduced hospital
capacity and insuffi cient vaccination
rates in certain areas,”
Governor Hochul added.
Businesses and venues that
choose to enforce a proof of
vaccination requirement can
accept Excelsior Pass, Excelsior
Pass Plus, SMART Health Cards
issued outside of New York state
or a CDC Vaccination Card. Fullcourse
vaccination is defi ned as
14 days past an individual’s last
vaccination dose in their initial
vaccine series, and the state also
accepts WHO-approved vaccines
for these purposes. Parents
and guardians can retrieve and
store an Excelsior Pass and/or
Excelsior Pass Plus for children
or minors under legal guardianship.
Th ose what don’t choose
to have a vaccine requirement
must implement a mask requirement
must ensure all patrons 2
years and older wear a mask at
all times while indoors.
Unvaccinated New Yorkers
must continue to be responsible
for wearing masks, and the state’s
masking requirements continue
to be in eff ect for pre-K to grade
12 schools, public transit, homeless
shelters, correctional facilities,
nursing homes and health
care settings per CDC guidelines.
Masks are encouraged as
an extra layer of protection in
public indoor settings even when
not required. Children ages 2 to
5 who remain ineligible for vaccination
must wear a proper-fi tting
mask.
Photo via Facebook/Kew Gardens CSA
health
Kew Gardens CSA brings composting program and fresh produce to community
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Every Sunday morning volunteers from the Kew
Gardens Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
group gather at KG Cinemas Park to collect residents’
food scraps and distribute fresh produce
delivered from a local farm.
“I think there should be a food scrap drop-off near
people’s houses,” Kevin Burns of Kew Gardens CSA
said. “The food scraps don’t belong in the garbage.”
Kew Gardens CSA is partnered with the Queens
Botanical Garden (QBG) bringing community members
together at its food scrap drop-off and distribution
site. The group is also a member of the Just
Food CSA Network, an organization that connects
communities and local farms with the resources and
support they need to make fresh, locally grown food
accessible to all New Yorkers.
While dropping off their food scraps, Kew Gardens
CSA members can pick up produce which is grown
and delivered from the Garden of Eve Organic Farm
on Long Island.
“Most members are happy with the variety of fresh
food. We also have a new program providing mushrooms
for members and working on micro-greens,”
Burns said. “It’s kind of like an alternative to a supermarket;
it’s organic. It’s also a social thing — it builds
community and I’ve met so many amazing people.”
In March, about 86 residents saved their food
scraps in freezers and brought it to the site, Burns
said. The scraps are then delivered to QBG, where it
is processed and distributed back to members to use
in their backyard or household plants.
As they’re coming toward the end of the CSA summer
season, Burns says they will continue collecting
food scraps during the winter months, and boxes of
produce will be available monthly.
“We fill three large bins and I’m glad Queens
Botanical does a lot of the work and we do the onsite
work,” Burns said. “There’s definitely a need
for this kind of thing which is a public food scrap
drop-off. I know the city is doing a sidewalk pick-up
project and that will be successful, but people need
options.”
Residents can also visit another site on Metropolitan
Avenue and Audley Street, that is operated by Grow
NYC, an organization dedicated to improving NYC’s
quality of life through environmental programs,
including farmers markets, community recycling,
gardening and environmental education.
Kew Gardens CSA hosted its Compost Giveback
on Sunday, Nov. 7, at KG Cinemas Park, where residents
brought their scraps and received a bag of
compost from QBG to mix in with the soil of their
houseplants.
“I think it’s pretty cool, and people come up with
ideas. We hear stories about other cities that seem to
be further along with green living, and NYC might
need to buckle down a little bit but if things are done
locally, a lot gets accomplished. I believe in local,”
Burns said.
While Briarwood residents showed interest in Kew
Garden CSA’s compost drop-off site, they formed
their own group, the Briarwood CSA, Burns said.
“The two groups are joined like twins and they
work well together,” Burns said. “The food we give
out on a Sunday comes back to us as scraps on another
Sunday.”
Chelsea Encababian, compost project manager at
QBG, lauded Kew Gardens CSA for the fantastic
work they have been doing in the community alongside
Briarwood CSA.
“We weren’t quite sure about what it would’ve
turned out to be, but what they have expressed to me
is the expansion of new faces who would come and
drop off food scraps and now we’re getting regulars
and volunteers,” Encababian said. “It’s a testament to
how consistent Kew Gardens CSA is as a leader and
community organizer in Kew Gardens.”
Read more on QNS.com.
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
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