2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
A look back at the COVID-19 timeline in Queens
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Throughout the COVID-19
pandemic, Queens residents
have shown their resilience,
perseverance and strength in
the battle against the coronavirus
that has taken countless
lives, and impacted the
borough’s economic, social and
political landscape.
As COVID-19 swept across
the globe, it had finally made its
way to New York City in early
spring. In Queens, the first confirmed
case of the virus was
reported in Far Rockaway on
March 7.
Senator James Sanders Jr.
announced that a 33-year-old
male Uber driver had contracted
pneumonia and was taken
to Far Rockaway’s St. John’s
Espiscopal Hospital, where
he was held in isolation and
closely monitored.
The announcement came
as Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared
a state of emergency, as
the number of COVID-19 cases
had continued to grow statewide.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill
de Blasio warned that “community
spread” was the biggest
threat and urged New Yorkers
to avoid congested spaces and
to stay home if they’re feeling
sick.
It was the beginning of a
nightmare that led to a citywide
shutdown to curb the spread of
the virus. On March 16, Cuomo
had ordered bars and restaurants
to shut down, and by
March 18, schools were closed.
On March 21, he implemented a
“stay at home” executive order
for all non-essential workers.
Businesses in Queens, such
as hair salons, barber shops,
gyms and entertainment venues
closed their doors. Restaurant
owners were allowed to
remain open for pickup and
take-out services only.
By March 23, the mayor’s office
reported there were 13,119
coronavirus patients citywide.
Queens had the most cases of
any borough, with 3,848.
As the pandemic raged on,
hospitals throughout Queens
were becoming flooded with
COVID-19 patients in their
emergency rooms.
For three weeks in March,
NYC Health + Hospitals/
Elmhurst in Corona had become
the epicenter of the public
health crisis. In one 24-hour
period, 13 patients died and
within days refrigerated trucks
were parked outside the facility
to handle the dead.
According to Mitchell Katz,
president and CEO of Health
+ Hospitals, Elmhurst Hospital
was considered a safe
place where immigrants and
uninsured people go to receive
treatment.
Additionally, Katz had
said the high concentration
of COVID-19 cases in Queens
stemmed from many families
living together in close
quarters.
As COVID was reaching its
peak, hospitals were becoming
overburdened with patients and
lack of resources — a shortage
of personal protective equipment
(PPE), ventilators, medical
supplies, and staff members
were becoming sick with the
virus.
To help the city’s straining
healthcare system, hundreds
of retired nurses, students
and graduates were deployed
for duty. Additionally, nurses
from other states traveled to
New York City to work in the
hospitals.
In recognition of their tireless
dedication to help treat
COVID-19 patients, Queens’
healthcare professionals,
among other frontline essential
workers, were referred to as
“heroes.”
The community had shown
their appreciation through deliveries
of donated meals, letters
and residents cheering on
essential workers daily at 7 p.m.
blasting inspirational music
while banging pots and pans.
Since hospital staff were
working around the clock, “Fuel
the Frontlines,” a Queens-based
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.6 COM | DEC. 25-DEC. 31, 2020
initiative to feed hospital workers
in Queens, had prepared
250 pre-cooked meals that were
delivered over the course of a
week that began March 29.
The joint initiative was organized
by the Queens borough
president’s office, Entrepreneur
Space, and Queens Night
Market. Across the borough,
community volunteers were
delivering boxes of food to
hospitals.
It came during a challenging
time when Queens hospitals,
most notably Elmhurst
Hospital, were facing a surge in
the amount of COVID-19 cases
coming through their doors.
By using local businesses, the
initiatives helped small business
owners who were struggling
to stay afloat during the
pandemic.
Meanwhile, hundreds
of food insecure families
in Queens were lining up
outside food pantries, as unemployment
rates had soared.
La Jornada Food Pantry, located
at 133-36 Roosevelt Ave.,
which had been feeding thousands
of Queens families for
years, was put into overdrive
since the pandemic hit the
borough in March.
Other grassroots organizations
helping fight food insecurity
include The Connected
Chef, Queens Together, Catering
for the Homeless, Hungry
Monk and Woodbine.
Catholic Charities Brooklyn
and Queens hosted emergency
food popup events in low-income
neighborhoods, while Queens
County Farm had partnered
with Queens College Knights
Table Food Pantry, to help feed
students and their families.
The COVID-19 pandemic
had devastated Queens’ local
economy, the second-largest
and most diversified of all the
five boroughs, with jobs across
the health care, retail trade,
manufacturing, construction,
transportation, and film and
television production sectors.
Small businesses act as an important
part of the borough’s
economic vitality with twothirds
of all businesses employing
between one to four people.
Small businesses that were
depending on the federal government’s
bailout plan, known
as the Payroll Protection Program,
did not receive the first
round of funding in April
to keep their employees on
payroll.
However, several establishments
in Queens that were considered
a staple in their communities
had closed permanently
due to financial constraints.
Even though new places
were continuing to open, it
served as an incredibly challenging
time for restaurants,
such as American Brass in
Long Island City.
After a three-month lockdown,
Cuomo had given New
York City restaurants the green
light to offer limited outdoor
dining in Phase 2 of reopening,
as early as June 22 — two
days after the official start of
summer.
De Blasio’s “Open Restaurants
Plan” included curbside
seating by allowing restaurants
to convert parking spaces
in order to use the roadbed
alongside the curb for dine-in
service. The city has also allowed
restaurants, who are on
the city’s Open Streets Initiative,
to create areas in front of
their establishments.
By June 29, Bayside’s Bell
Boulevard was bustling with
life once again, as patrons dined
beneath the shade awnings and
surrounded by custom dividers
in order to help put diners
at ease while also giving them
privacy.
Many business owners had
taken the opportunity to create
a unique ambiance to the sidewalk,
like Chef David Arias,
creator of Spanglish NYC, at
4004 Bell Blvd., who designed
and decorated wooden frames
with an eye-catching urban
graffiti style.
“We wanted to make something
different to get everyone’s
attention. It’s really positive
that everybody is now outside.
Everybody is trying to get life
back again, so we tried to be
very creative in the things that
we did,” said Charlotte Zubieta,
Arias’ mother.
Eventually, indoor dining
had reopened at limited
capacity capped at 25 percent.
However, as the fall season
was approaching, there were
warnings of a spike in COVID-
19 cases, especially during the
holiday season.
Then, once again, restaurateurs
were hit with a second
order on Dec. 14 to close their
doors for indoor service, but
were permitted to continue
outdoor dining and takeout/
delivery services.
Cuomo’s decision to suspend
indoor dining is a result of
sustained increases in the five
boroughs’ hospitalization and
COVID-19 positivity rates.
While the city received its
first shipment of Pfizer and
BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines
in December, de Blasio
has urged residents and businesses
earlier in the week to
brace for a possible second shutdown
amid a citywide surge in
coronavirus cases.
The New York State Restaurant
Association is asking for a
federal relief package and sent
a letter to Cuomo asking for
his support, calling the timing
“critical.”
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4526.
People wait in line to be tested for COVID-19 while wearing protective gear outside Elmhurst Hospital
Center on March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Stefan Jeremiah
/schnepsmedia.com
