6
QUEENS WEEKLY, APRIL 19, 2020
BY BILL PARRY
A Cambria Heights community
organizer is sounding
the COVID-19 alarm to
Millennials and Generation
Z across southeast Queens.
James Johnson, 29, is
urging the young people in
the community to take the
pandemic seriously as he
himself suffers from the virus
in quarantine.
“These young simply
don’t realize how important
it is to stay at home,” Johnson
said. “People are home
from college and they’re going
to parties every night and
they have to understand how
serious this is. They might
be bringing the virus home
to their parents and maybe
even their grandparents.”
Johnson, the founder of
Opportunities for Southeast
Queens Millenials, began
feeling the symptoms of
coronavirus on March 16 but
he listened to Mayor Bill de
Blasio say that those with
flu-like symptoms should
stay home.
“By March 25, I couldn’t
breathe. I knew I wouldn’t be
able to get tested at Jamaica
Hospital because it was already
overrun so I drove
myself to Long Island Jewish
in Valley Stream, Long Island,
to get tested at 4 a.m.,”
Johnson said. “There simply
are not enough testing sites
for the people of southeast
Queens. It’s a transit desert
and most people cannot get
to Aqueduct if they don’t
have a car.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced April 9 that
a new drive-through mobile
testing facility opened at the
Club House at the Aqueduct
Race Track parking lot and a
walk-in testing facility would
open at a health care center
in Jamaica. Cuomo’s announcement
came after the
city health department statistics
showed that COVID-
19 was disproportionately
killing Latino and black New
Yorkers.
“I wasn’t surprised by
those numbers, I wasn’t
shocked at all by those stats,”
Johnson said. “There has always
been a lack of resources
here in southeast Queens.
It’s a healthy food desert — a
supermarket just closed here
in Cambria Heights. But
there’s a big lack of access to
health care. From Day One
we should have been testing
at Roy Wilkins Park. We
have concerts there but no
testing. We are always at the
bottom of the barrel when it
comes to resources and we
have to address this properly
going forward.”
Meanwhile, Johnson is
begging the younger generation
in southeast Queens to
pay attention to what happened
to him.
“At 29 years old, I would
never have imagined being
diagnosed with coronavirus.
I want young adults and Millennials
to be informed that
the risks of contracting the
virus are not based on age,
race, nor gender,” Johnson
said. “It seems this information
Community organizer James Johnson warns his peers
that COVID-19 can strike them too if they don’t act more
responsibly. Courtesy of James Johnson
has not been highlighted
enough, being that the virus
has no age requirements.
COVID-19 is knocking on
everyone’s door, we need to
make sure we don’t answer. I
am asking young adults and
Millenials to please educate
yourselves, take precautions,
stay healthy, safe, and
self-quarantine to prevent
contracting the virus or
spreading it.”
Johnson already suffered
from asthma so the virus
has hit him harder. He’s had
a high fever, severe headaches,
excessive coughing,
body aches, loss of smell, and
extreme weight loss at nearly
20 pounds.
“Although there isn’t a
cure for COVID-19, together,
we can flatten the curve,’
Johnson said. “Whether
you have symptoms or not,
the virus can lie dormant
in your system. Please practice
social distancing and
understand the importance
of prevention and quarantining.
It is imperative to
remain calm, continue to
utilize social media to remain
informed on the latest
news, and community resources.
Mostly, please stay
home.”
Meng warns residents
of COVID-19 scammers
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens residents are
being warned of scammers
who are seeking to
take advantage of consumers
during the coronavirus
outbreak.
According to Congresswoman
Grace Meng,
the scams include everything
from bogus vaccination
and home test kits to
robocalls offering insurance
and work-at-home
schemes.
“It is unconscionable
that in the middle of a public
health crisis, there are
those who prey on unsuspecting
individuals, and
attempt to steal the money
they need during this pandemic,”
Meng said.
Meng is urging all New
Yorkers, particularly seniors,
immigrant communities
and vulnerable populations
to be on alert.
“If you receive a call
regarding your economic
impact payment, hang up.
If you receive an email or
text, do not reply, and do
not click on attachments
and links. Report it to law
enforcement and the IRS,”
Meng said. “The IRS will
never contact you asking
for any kind of personal
information.”
Among the most noted
scams to be on the lookout
for are those in which
criminals attempt to steal
people’s COVID-19 relief
payments, the funds consisting
of up to $1,200 per
adult and $500 per child
that the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) is in the
process of sending out to
taxpayers.
The agency will in
most cases deposit relief
payments into the direct
deposit account that taxpayers
previously provided
on their tax returns,
according to the IRS.
Taxpayers who have
previously filed but did
not provide direct deposit
information to the IRS
will be able to provide
their banking information
online to a newly designed
secure portal on
IRS.gov in mid-April. If
the IRS does not have a
taxpayer’s direct deposit
information, a check will
be mailed to the address
on file.
Taxpayers should not
provide their direct deposit
or other banking
information for others
to input on their behalf
into the secure portal.
For retirees (Social Security
recipients) who don’t
normally have a requirement
to file a tax return,
no action on their part is
needed to receive their
payment.
The IRS has also provided
the following tips to
help consumers to be on
alert for fraudsters seeking
to steal their relief
payments.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail
at cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
Cambria Hgts. man warns younger
generation of coronavirus danger
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