18 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 2, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens senator calls on Hochul to fully implement NY HERO Act
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A Queens lawmaker is urging
Governor Kathy Hochul to direct the
state Department of Health (DOH) to act
under the NY HERO Act to keep workplaces
Vallone secures $280,000 for cleanup services for northeast Queens
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
A northeast Queens lawmaker
recently secured $280,000 to
keep local streets clean for his
constituents.
On Friday, Aug. 20,
Councilman Paul Vallone
announced that these funds
would go toward additional
cleanup services from the
city’s Department of Sanitation
(DSNY) and Wildcat Service
Corporation, which provides
jobs for unemployed individuals
with criminal convictions.
Th is year’s funding for cleanup
services is up $120,000 from the
last fi scal year.
Approximately $140,000 from
the funding will go to DSNY in
order for the agency to increase
litter basket service and maintain
the Manual Litter Patrol
program to keep trash off of
the streets. Th e other $140,000
in funds will be allocated
to Wildcat’s Neighborhood
Improvement Program, which
provides community street
cleaning services and job training
and employment services.
“Keeping our neighborhoods
clean and comfortable is key
to ensure that our city recovers
completely from the pandemic.
Last year I was able to maintain
our community’s cleanup
funding while so many other
parts of our city had to go without,
and this year I fought to
make our streets even cleaner,”
Vallone said. “I am proud
to have secured this funding so
that we are ready to come back
stronger than ever!”
Aft er many New York City
agencies, including DSNY, lost
funding during the pandemic,
many residents suff ered from a
lack of trash maintenance services.
But Vallone was able to
secure $160,000 to maintain
these services in 2020 to keep
District 19’s streets clean.
Many civic organizations
in the district rallied to save
and increase these street cleaning
services in order to maintain
a healthy quality of life.
According to Vallone’s offi ce,
the work of organizations like
A Better College Point Civic
Association and the Whitestone
Merchant Association were key
factors in resurgence of the
funding.
“A Better College Point Civic
Association would like to thank
Paul Vallone for securing these
much-needed funds and services.
Th e reduction of the DSNY’s
litter basket pick-up and other
services during the pandemic
really impacted College Point,”
said Jennifer Shannon, president
of the organization. “We
are still experiencing a lot of
illegal dumping and litter in this
area. It is a relief to get some
support and ABCPCA will continue
to help in any way we can.”
Neighborhoods in District
19, particularly College Point
and Whitestone, have taken
full advantage of the Wildcat
Neighborhood Improvement
Program and thanked the councilman
for securing funds to
bring the program back for
another year.
“As president of the Whitestone
Merchant Association, I am sure
I speak for our entire board
to hear of the great news that
sanitation and the Wildcat program
are receiving funding to
continue their eff orts. We got
a fi rsthand look and saw what
an impact the program had on
the sidewalks in Whitestone
village,” said George Issakidis,
owner of Harpell Chemists.
“Maintaining a clean and welcoming
town are key to an inviting
patronage from our community.
Th ank you to Councilman
Paul Vallone and all that helped
continue this great cause.”
safe.
Th e landmark bill, passed earlier this
year by the Legislature and signed into
law by former Governor Andrew Cuomo,
requires the DOH to declare a disease, like
COVID-19, “a highly contagious, communicable
disease that presents a serious
risk of harm to public health” before
the law’s protections can be implemented.
To date, the state’s health agency has
not done so, according to state Senator
Michael Gianaris.
“While the outgoing administration has
been distracted, New York’s challenges
have not gone away. Th e delay in HERO
Act implementation has resulted in preventable
danger of coronavirus spread
in the workplace,” Gianaris said. “Th e
new administration needs to act quickly.
Too many workers already sacrifi ced
their health for our community’s benefi t.
Th e New York HERO Act recognizes their
eff orts by giving workers the tools to protect
themselves while on the job.”
Th e New York Health and Essential
Right Act (NY HERO Act) requires the
DOH to implement enforceable minimum
standards for workplace safety.
Th e regulations must include protocols
on testing, PPE, social distancing, hand
hygiene, disinfection and engineering
controls.
Workers would also be given a direct
role in monitoring and reporting violations
through workplace health and safety
committees and employees would be
protected from retaliation for utilizing
their rights under the law.
Bronx Assemblywoman Karines
Reyes, who carried the bill in the lower
chamber, said the Cuomo administration
largely failed to implement laws
passed by the Legislature in its fi nal
months.
“Governor Hochul must immediately
take action and ensure the NY HERO
Act is enforced by the Department of
Health,” Reyes said. “With the delta variant
on the rise in our state, we must have
protection plans for employees in place
as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson from the DOH said
the agency is “actively working on a designation
for implementation of the NY
HERO Act.”
Th e legislation is supported by more
than 100 labor, community and safety
organizations, including the AFL-CIO.
Th e Essential Workers Coalition joined
Gianaris and Reyes in calling on Hochul
to push the DOH to take action.
“As cases surge throughout the state
due to the delta variant, it is painfully
obvious that COVID-19 is still highly
contagious and there is no evidence that
it has ceased to be a public health risk,”
the coalition wrote. “Test positivity rates
are at their highest point since February
— when vaccines were not widely available
and a state of emergency was still
in place. Already this month, nearly 200
New Yorkers have died from COVID-19.
With school reopenings around the corner,
it is crucial that the commonsense
basic safety standards promised under
the NY HERO Act be implemented in
order to avoid unnecessary death and
another statewide shutdown.”
Photo courtesy of governor’s offi ce
State Senator Michael Gianaris is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to fully implement the NY HERO
Act, an action the Cuomo administration failed at during his fi nal months in offi ce.
Photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Sanitation
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