8 APRIL 9, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden, Ulrich call for Barbot to be replaced
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Two Queens lawmakers are urging
Mayor Bill de Blasio to replace
the city’s leader of the Health
Department.
Councilmen Robert Holden and
Eric Ulrich accused Dr. Oxiris Barbot
of failing to take decisive action
to contain the coronavirus early
and flatten the curve, and that her
inaction led to the city becoming the
epicenter of the pandemic.
In a letter to the mayor, the elected
officials point out that at a Jan. 24
press conference, when there were
two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in
the United States, Barbot said, “New
Yorkers should know that the risk to
city residents is low.”
After the World Health Organization
declared a global health emergency
on Jan. 30, Commissioner
Barbot tweeted “there is no need to
avoid public spaces,” and that “NYC
is prepared to respond.”
Holden and Ulrich added that when
the first person who was under investigation
in the city tested negative
on Feb. 5, Barbot said, “This is exactly
what we prepared for and is evidence
that the system in place is working as
it should.”
On March 4, aft er the city’s second
case of COVID-19 was confi rmed, Barbot
said, “there’s no indication that being
in a car, being in the subways with
someone who is potentially sick is a
risk factor,” Holden and Ulrich wrote.
Two Queens councilmen are calling for the ouster of Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot, claiming her comments
helped spread COVID-19 in the city. Photo by Todd Maisel
“At this point, it became clear that
the administration’s rhetoric was
not in line with the facts about how
this virus spreads,” they argued. “Dr.
Barbot’s irresponsible and reckless
public tweets, statements and comments
were counter-productive and
assisted in the spread of COVID-19.”
The de Blasio administration
dismissed the charges by the two
Queens councilmen.
“This is despicable and reeks of opportunism,”
de Blasio Press Secretary
Freddi Goldstein said. “Dr. Barbot
has been expertly leading us through
this crisis since Day 1 and there is
absolutely no one more qualified to
do so.”
Holden and Ulrich also came under
fire from their own colleague,
Councilman Mark Levine, chair
of the Council’s Health Committee,
who came out in support of Barbot’s
leadership during the COVID-19
emergency.
“Barbot has one of the toughest jobs
on earth and her leadership in the
crisis has been outstanding,” Levine
said. “She has given sober, sciencebased
information to the public at every
stage of this pandemic, including
when some were still calling it a hoax.
She sounded the alarm. She sounded
the alarm and fought hard for difficult
shut-down measures when our
city needed it. She continues to be a
strong leader for the Health Department.
New York City is lucky to have
her.”
When Americans can expect coronavirus relief checks
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Congresswoman Grace Meng
announced on April 6 that the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is
working to distribute coronavirus relief
payments that are being made available
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and
Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The relief package, which was recently
passed by Congress and signed into
law by President Trump, will provide
payments of up to $1,200 per adult and
$500 per child to help many taxpayers
with the fi nancial burden that they are
experiencing due to the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic.
“People in Queens and across the
nation are hurting, and this fi nancial
assistance will provide important
short-term relief to families and workers,”
Meng said. “I will monitor these
timelines to ensure that constituents
receive their payments.”
According to the House Ways and
Means Committee, the IRS is expected
to make approximately 60 million payments
to Americans through direct
deposit in mid-April (likely the week
of April 13). The IRS has direct deposit
information for these individuals from
their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. This will
include Social Security benefi ciaries
who fi led federal tax returns that included
direct deposit information.
Shortly (possibly within 10 days)
aft er the fi rst round of payments are
made in mid-April, the IRS plans to
make a second round of payments.
These payments will be made to social
security benefi ciaries who did not fi le
tax returns in 2018 or 2019 and receive
their social security benefi ts via direct
deposit.
Approximately three weeks after
the fi rst round of payments are made
(the week of May 4), the IRS is expected
to begin issuing paper checks to
individuals.
On April 3, Meng helped to introduce
a new legislation — Leave No
Taxpayer Behind Act — that would allow
immigrants who use an individual
Tax Identifi cation Number (ITIN) to
receive these funds as well. Currently,
the CARES Act only allows the money
to be sent to those who fi le their taxes
with a social security number, leaving
millions of immigrants ineligible to
receive these critical payments.
“Just like millions of American citizens,
working immigrants and mixedstatus
families are falling on hard times
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They
too have bills to pay and loved ones
to support. And many immigrants
fortunate to still have a job are among
the essential employees who are risking
their health and safety by working on
the frontlines during this outbreak,”
Meng said. “We must immediately right
this wrong and help our hard-working
immigrant communities receive this
needed assistance.”
Photo via Getty Images
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