Schumer: Feds Must Deliver Resources To Stop Spread Of Superbug Across NY
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) yesterday called on the federal government to provide millions of dollars in more funding in the fight against a vexing bug giving great angst to hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities across the State, not to mention the public.
Schumer’s call for additional funding comes just days after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a case count update on New York’s spreading superbug, a multidrug-resistant fungus called Candida Auris.
Schumer is urging the CDC to designate the spreading and multidrug-resistant fungus an official ‘emergency,’ making New York eligible for special public health crisis response dollars that could stretch into the millions.
“While the CDC is doing a fine job honing in on the threat this superbug presents to New York and the country, with the wave of a pen, they can help beat back the wave of this fungus’ spread across New York in an even tougher way. And that is what they should do: deliver a new raid of resources to stop this superbug from spreading even more across New York, Long Island and Upstate,” said Schumer.
“They can do it by qualifying ‘superbugs’ for official emergency response funding, adding the category to the federal eligibility list. We have done this successfully for Zika, Ebola, H1N1, the list goes on. The point here is that when you are dealing with a vexing bug like this one, which puts our healthcare facilities and the public on edge, every dollar we can use to better identify, tackle and treat this deadly fungus is a dollar well spent,” he added.
Gottfried, Yuh-Line Niou, Quart Join Decrim NY Rally
Assembly Members Richard Gottfried D-Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Murray Hill, Midtown), Yuh-Line Niou (D-Chinatown, Financial District, Battery Park City, LES) and Dan Quart (D-UES, Midtown East) tomorrow will join with the coalition Decrim NY, which is made up of more than 20 current and former sex workers, allies, and organizational partners seeking to decriminalize, decarcerate, and destigmatize the sex trades in New York City and State.
The rally in the state capital, which will include more than 75 sex workers, trafficking survivors, and advocates from Decrim NY, will share tales on how they’ve been impacted by the criminalization of the sex trades, including stories of profiling and arrests, police assaults and brutality, deportation proceedings, experiences with the legal system as trafficking survivors, discrimination from housing and employment services.
Steering Committee members will also share updates on Decrim NY’s package bill to decriminalize and decarcerate the sex trades in New York state, the most comprehensive bill in the nation.
The rally is slated for 10:30 a.m., tomorrow, May 7 at the New York State Capitol, Million Dollar Staircase in Albany.
Rosenthal Announces Participatory Budgeting Items
City Council Member Helen Rosenthal (D-UWS)) last week announced the projects that won financing through participatory budgeting, a community-driven process to allocate $1 million in taxpayer money for each council district.
The winning projects included school improvements, waste management and tree planting. They Include:
- Technology Upgrade for 4 U.W.S. Schools (2,852 votes) Purchase of needed technology — computers, smart boards, and other equipment — for P.S. 199, P.S. 84, M.S. 245/The Computer School, and P.S. 87. Cost: $400,000 (each school will receive $100,000)
- Bathroom Upgrades at 2 U.W.S. Elementary Schools (2,530 votes) Upgrades to four bathrooms in P.S. 452 and P.S. 199 that are in serious disrepair and no longer fully usable by students. Cost: $400,000
- New Waste Management System for NYCHA Buildings (2,266 votes) Purchase of compactors and rat proof garbage bins for NYCHA buildings in the northern part of District 6. Cost: $150,000
- Neighborhood Tree Planting and Tree Guards (2,072 votes) Planting of new trees and installation of tree guards in eligible areas throughout District 6. Cost: $110,000
