2 JANUARY 6, 2022 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Lawmakers bring free COVID-19 testing to district offi ces
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Local elected offi cials have joined
together to bring their constituents
more testing as COVID-19 rates
continue to surge, but no city-run testing
sites are found in Middle Village and
Maspeth neighborhoods.
More than 500 COVID-19 tests were administered
on Saturday, Jan. 2, with the
combined eff ort of Councilman Robert
Holden, state Senator Joseph Addabbo,
Assemblyman Brian Barnwell and Congresswoman
Grace Meng. Tests were
off ered outside Holden and Barnwell’s
district offi ces, free of charge with no
appointments required. More chances
to get testing at their offi ces are coming
this week.
Testing will continue on Wednesday,
Jan. 5, from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday,
Jan. 8, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at
Holden’s Middle Village district offi ce at
64-69 Dry Harbor Rd.
On Saturday, Jan. 8, testing will also
be off ered at Barnwell’s Maspeth district
offi ce from 3 to 7 p.m. at 55-19 69th St.
In conjunction with NYC Health +
Hospitals, the tests off ered at Holden’s
offi ce are PCR saliva tests, and results
are available in 24 to 48 hours via email.
If individuals haven’t received results
within 48 hours, they should call or text
212-241-5227.
Holden took to Twitter last week
saying there have been no efforts
made by former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
administration to put city-run sites
in his district, despite local elected
offi cials’ eff orts.
“Weeks into this surge, our district
still doesn’t have a city-run testing site
despite multiple requests,” Holden said.
“Because @NYCMayor sees us a district
of middle-class families who didn’t vote
for him, this administration doesn’t
give us vaccination or testing sites, or
other sites.”
The New York Post reported on Jan.
1, from leaked emails, that the city
uses race to decide where to allocate
COVID-19 testing resources. The city’s
Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity
identifi ed 31 underserved communities
to prioritize. According to the Post,
despite Staten Island’s South Shore
neighborhood having one of the highest
COVID-19 rates in the city, the mostly
white area has not received priority.
Holden was emboldened by this,
stating his mostly white, middle-class
district should not be discriminated
against and deserves protections from
COVID-19.
“The virus doesn’t discriminate
based on race, and neither should our
city government,” Holden wrote on
Facebook. “I look forward to working
with the new administration to get our
neighborhoods the services we pay for
with our taxes.”
Woodhaven, parts of which fall into
Holden’s district, was one of the neighborhoods
selected by the task force.
The city justifi ed this racially prioritized
list by stating minority communities
were hit the hardest. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
confi rmed in a study that the COVID-19
pandemic has indeed unequally impacted
racial and ethnic minorities.
This week, testing vans are also being
brought to several neighborhoods
in Queens, including Woodside and
Woodhaven area that also previously
lacked city-run sites.
To fi nd a testing site near you, visit
nyc.gov/covidtest.
People queue for a COVID-19 test as the omicron coronavirus variant
continues to spread. Photo by Andrew Kelly/REUTERS
#02_rw
/covidtest
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