With Queens Pride Parade canceled, a
virtual celebration is now in the works
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QUEENS WEEKLY, APRIL 26, 2020
BY JACOB KAYE
The annual Queens Pride
Parade and Festival, which has
signaled the start of Pride month
in New York City for the past 27
years, has been canceled in response
to the COVID-19 crisis.
This is the first time in history
that the event – originally
scheduled for June 7 – has been
canceled.
“While I am saddened that
the Queens LGBTQ Pride Parade
will be canceled for the first time
in its history, I know that this
decision was made for the good
of the tens of thousands of people
who celebrate with us each
year,” said Councilman Daniel
Dromm, who chairs the LGBT
caucus. “Pride marches bring
visibility to our community and
that has always been key to the
success of the wider LGBTQ
rights movement. This year, we
will continue to be visible and
celebrate who we are, but will
do so in a safe and responsible
manner. This will take some creativity
and will look very different
from past pride months, but I
know we can do it.
Although the Jackson Heights
celebration has been canceled, a
virtual pride celebration is in the
works according to the Board of
Queens Pride. An announcement
concerning the details of the celebration
will be made in the coming
weeks.
Vulnerable communities, including
the LGBTQ community,
transgender individuals of color,
sex workers and those living with
HIV/AIDS have been disproportionally
affected by the coronavirus
crisis in the U.S.
“COVID-19 has shown how
vulnerable parts of our communities
are,” said Zachariah Boyer,
the co-chair of Queens Pride. “We
must do all we can to keep members
of our communities safe and
healthy right now.”
Mo George, a co-chair of
Queens Pride, hopes that by celebrating
virtually this year, the
in person celebration can resume
in June 2021.
“To many of us it feels like
being with family. It is with this
feeling in mind that we make the
tough decision to physically not
hold Pride this year,” George said.
“By protecting our family right
now — by staying home during
this pandemic — we ensure that
we can get the family back together
in June 2021.”
The first Queens Pride march
was held in 1993. It is now the second
largest Pride celebration in
the New York metropolitan area.
File Photo/Queens Pride 2019
Vallone calls on Congress to include co-ops, condos in CARES Act package
BY BILL PARRY
Northeast Queens Councilman
Paul Vallone will introduce
a resolution Wednesday
calling on Congress and
President Trump to expand
the CARES Act and Payroll
Protection Program to
include considerations for
housing cooperatives and
condominiums, allowing
them to access critical PPP
loans processed by the U.S.
Small Business Administration.
The White House and
Congress appear to be close
to a $470 billion relief package
that would replenish
funding in the PPP for small
businesses that were left out
of the initial round of the
bailout.
“As our city persists
through the COVID-19 crisis,
we must protect a cornerstone
of our local communities,”
Vallone said.
“Our co-ops and condos
provide a vital affordable,
middle-class housing option
to hundreds of thousands
of our New Yorkers. The
next iteration of the Payroll
Protection Program must
extend this lifeline to our cooperative
and condominium
owners and tenants, who too
are facing immense hardship
paying their essential
workers and maintaining
other critical operating expenses
during this public
health crisis.”
The PPP provides cashflow
assistance through 100
percent federally guaranteed
loans to employers who
maintain their payroll during
the COVID-19 pandemic
and if employers maintain
their payroll, the loans are
forgiven. Similar to small
businesses, cooperative and
condominium owners and
tenants are facing a number
of hardships including
declining revenues from
shareholders who have lost
their jobs, declining rental
income from commercial
tenants and vacant apartments
that are unsold due to
the current market. Many
also report the inability to
pay their essential workers,
which will undoubtedly
hurt tenant populations,
many of whom are homebound
seniors.
“This week I sent a letter
to Treasury Secretary
Mnuchin and SBA Administrator
Carranza urging
them to make residential
housing cooperatives and
condominium associations
eligible for Payroll Protection
Program loans under
the CARES Act,” Congressman
Tom Suozzi said. “I
fully support Council member
Vallone and the rest of
the City Council in their efforts
to ensure the financial
stability of the thousand of
housing cooperatives and
condominiums throughout
the New York metropolitan
area.”
The President’s Co-op &
Condominium Council, an
organization located in New
York City representing more
than 100,000 units of affordable
cooperative and condominium
housing units, has
issued a letter to Congressional
leadership in support
of the Vallone resolution.
“Co-op shareholders in
New York City have been
especially hard hit by the
coronavirus, both medically
and financially,” President’s
Co-op & Condominium
Council General Counsel
Geoffrey Mazel said. “Many
affected co-ops are located
in Queens, the epicenter of
the epicenter. The PPP loan
would provide much-needed
relief for these hard-hit
housing cooperatives.”
A total of 22 council
members have already
signed on as prime sponsors
to support Vallone’s
resolution.
“New York’s housing
cooperatives and condominiums
may face the
same financial uncertainty
as other businesses,” Bay
Club’s Board of Managers
Vice President Yacov Pshtissky
said. “Their revenues
could decline as some tenants
struggle to make their
monthly maintenance payments.
At the same time,
we’re seeing utility costs
rise as tenants spend more
time in their units.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Councilman Paul Vallone introduces a resolution urging
Congress and President Trump to include co-op and condo
owners in COVID-19 relief funds. Courtesy of City Council
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