Covid-19 rates decline after mandates lapse, but concern remains

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Wednesday Mar 16,2022 08:05 pm

Mar 16, 2022

Presented by CWA District 1

The end of New York’s mask mandates for indoor places and schools has not reversed the state’s downward trend in Covid-19 cases, but concerns over another spike still loom.

Since Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the indoor mask mandate on Feb. 10, positivity rates have continued to drop: from a seven-day average of 3.6 percent on Feb. 10 to 1.6 percent as of Monday, the state’s data showed.

Meanwhile, the indoor mask mandate for schools ended March 2, and the number of Covid cases in New York schools has also continued to fall as the Omicron variant wanes.

The average number of Covid cases in schools between March 2 and March 11 was 564, down from an average of 1,345 cases in the same period in February, data from the state Department of Health shows.

There still is a large gap in the number of vaccinated children between ages 5 and 11 and other age groups. Just 40 percent of children aged 5 to 11 have received at least one dose, compared to 77 percent for those aged 12 to 17, and into the high 80 percentage rate and above for every other age group, state records showed.

Hochul noted the disparity in a statement on Tuesday when she released the daily Covid rates in the state.

"Parents and guardians, the vaccine and booster are the best tools to prevent child hospitalizations and reduce the risk of them spreading the virus to other loved ones in your families,” she said. “Please consult with your child's pediatrician about getting the vaccine, and booster if they're eligible, as soon as you can."

New York’s rates for all ages are higher than national averages, and New York ranks eighth among states in the percentage of people vaccinated: at 75 percent, according to John Hopkins University of Medicine.

Still, there are new worries as Omicron surges in Asia and Europe, as well as the development of a more contagious Omicron subvariant, BA.2.

Dr. Jay Varma, an epidemiologist and health adviser to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, told the New York Times that people in the U.S. should be prepared for another wave of cases.

“We have to plan for the worst and hope for the best, like hurricane season,” he told the paper.

And there is concern that rates are going up. There was a spike in positivity on Monday: it jumped from 1.5 percent to 3.7 percent after a jump in New York City cases.

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IT'S WEDNESDAY: Welcome to New York Playbook PM, as we bring you the latest from Albany and City Hall during a busy time in New York's political calendar.

From the Capitol

BILL SIGNING IN MANHATTAN: Hochul commemorated Women’s History Month in Manhattan today by signing measures that aim to further crack down on sexual harassment.

“I’m proud to sign bills that will address sexual harassment in the workplace and say that once and for all my administration has cleaned house,” she said, taking an apparent swipe at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned last year amid sexual harssment allegations. “This is a new day in New York.”

The governor endorsed three pieces legislation that would establish a toll-free confidential workplace sexual harassment hotline NY S812 (21R)/ NY A2035 (21R); extend Human Rights Law provisions to all public employees NY S3395 (21R) / NY A2483 (21R) and provide recourse to victims of unlawful retaliation NY S5870 (21R) / NY A7101 (21R). The bills cleared the Legislature earlier this month.

But Hochul, who cast herself as an “advocate” and “champion” for such legislation, stressed that the measures signed today are “not the end” of her support for anti-harassment measures in Albany.

“This is just the beginning,” she said. “These are the bills that are on my desk. I know there are more bills that have been considered by the Senate and the Assembly, and I look forward to keeping my pens sharp, my pencils sharp, to be able to sign as you make the progress through the Legislature over the next session.” — Shannon Young

HIGH SPEED FOR MORE: New York is seeing a positive impact from its efforts to get more low-income families onto a broadband network — a divide that became more apparent during the pandemic as some households struggled to have adequate internet access for school and work.

Hochul said today that about 100,000 additional qualifying families have enrolled in the federal government's Affordable Connectivity Program since New York launched an outreach effort in January, providing discounts of up to $30 a month toward internet service for eligible low-income families.

"The past two years have reminded us how crucial reliable and affordable broadband is, so we can stay connected to family, work, school and healthcare services," Hochul said in a statement. Overall, New York has 715,000 households receiving the monthly subsidy – tops among the nation’s largest states and enrollment of about 40 percent of those eligible, up from 10 percentage points since the campaign launched two months ago. — Joseph Spector

PUSH FOR STATE LAWMAKERS TO USE ZOMBIE CHARTERS: Charter school leaders, families and advocates took to City Hall Park today to call on the state Legislature to reissue closed charter schools as part of the state budget. They noted that Mayor Eric Adams has expressed support for using the “zombie” charters. Crystal McQueen Taylor, chief advocacy officer for pro-charter group StudentsFirstNY, said that they have support from lawmakers in the state Legislature but could not yet identify who they are.

She said the Legislature and Hochul should unite “to do something to meet the needs of constituents and families.” “That’s what we’re here to demand, that this comes up at the table and that voices of parents and families like the ones that we heard today are actually taken into consideration and not just the adult interest in the issue,” Taylor told POLITICO following the rally. The charter cap — the legal limit on the number of charters that can open in New York state — is 460, and there is a smaller subcap for the city. There are no charters available to be issued for the city right now. James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, said he believes Hochul is supportive but will need help from the Legislature. — Madina Touré

FROM CITY HALL

POLICE UNACCOUNTABILITY: A staff shortage at the Civilian Complaint Review Board is impacting the organization’s ability to carry out investigations into the NYPD, according to a report released today. While there are 265 positions budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year, the Independent Budget Office noted there are only 196 people currently on staff. Vacancies over the last several years have contributed to longer turnaround times for cases. Between July and October last year, it took CCRB an average of 586 days to complete an investigation of a substantiated complaint, a time frame longer than the statute of limitations to begin disciplinary hearings against officers and well beyond the target of 140 days.

A day before the report, Council Member Gale Brewer noted during a budget hearing that a key investigatory body within the Department of Investigation is also seriously understaffed. Out of 39 budgeted positions in the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, only 19 are filled, and the division is still without a leader. The shortages in police accountability staffing come as the mayor seeks to expand the scope of the NYPD. Just this week, the department's anti-gun unit began operating. The quasi-plainclothes division is a redux of the department's anti-crime unit, which was disbanded by former NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea because of the concentration of complaints and officer-involved shootings that stemmed from the unit's work. — Joe Anuta

LEFTIES RALLY: Adams demanded that his agencies cut their budgets and New York City’s progressive movement is organizing in opposition. Dozens of politicians and activists gathered outside the Tweed Courthouse in Lower Manhattan Wednesday to condemn the mayor’s $98.5 billion preliminary budget as one of “austerity” that slashed funding to public schools, garbage pickup services and programs for children and senior citizens.

But “The People’s Plan” — a new alliance that launched in response to the mayor’s budget — also branched out to criticize the policies of a mayor who defeated several of the progressive movement’s preferred candidates in last year’s Democratic primary. The group, which rallied alongside members of the City Council’s progressvie caucus, also released a report detailing the budget cuts. — Sally Goldenberg

NEW CUNY ONLINE INITIATIVE: The City University of New York announced that it will invest $8 million in federal stimulus funds to establish “CUNY Online,” a new initiative that seeks to boost the university’s online degree capacity and develop online courses and programs that fulfill students’ needs. The CUNY School of Professional Studies, CUNY’s online institution, will run CUNY Online and offer services to support all 25 CUNY campuses with putting together new online programs and expanding those that already exist. “The shift to online instruction that took place during the pandemic demonstrated the great promise of technology to help us meet students quite literally where they live, but course materials need to be optimized, and best practices incorporated, to realize the full potential of these tools,” CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez said in a statement.

The university said CUNY Online is in the initial phases of its launch and will choose and formulate a first round of seven to 10 new online associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs by the end of the year that will be in place by the spring of 2023. The initiative is expected to have finished13 to 20 new programs by the fall of 2023. — Madina Touré

The Campaign Trail

REPUBLICANS POUNCE ON NURSING HOME REPORT: Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s report Tuesday further confirming that the Cuomo administration undercounted Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes offered a fresh line of attacks from Republicans even as the former governor has sought to reenter the public spotlight.

Joe Pinion, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, called on his Democratic foe, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to demand that the U.S. Department of Justice to reopen its case into the nursing home scandal that helped to upend the Cuomo administration.

And Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican candidate for governor, linked Hochul to Cuomo’s misdeeds, saying in a statement “that the Cuomo-Hochul administration failed to account for nearly 4,100 deaths in nursing homes.”

And another Republican gubernatorial candidate, Harry Wilson, took to Twitter to knock Hochul: “Another tragic report on the effects of Cuomo's nursing home directive & illegal cover-up. Gov Hochul, AG [Tish] James and [Health] Comm [Mary] Bassett must investigate, refer evidence-based criminal charges & fix DOH so this never happens again.”

For her part, Hochul released more Covid death data when she succeeded Cuomo in August and vowed for greater transparency in Covid reporting.

She told reporters today she plans a look back at the state’s Covid response and to continue to release as much data as possible, in hopes of avoiding mistakes in the future.“We’re going to continue to be transparent, continue to release data,” Hochul said. — Joseph Spector

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ON THE BEATS

EDUCATION: There is now federal legislation called the “Protecting School Milk Choices Act”after POLITICO reported earlier this month that Adams has long supported removing chocolate milk from schools because of its sugar content.

The article sparked an unlikely alliance in these hyper-partisan times: A bi-partisan group of New York House members wrote a letter to Adams knocking the idea for fear it would hurt New York’s robust dairy market. And that was followed up this week when Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced the milk choices legislation. Stefanik’s district stretches across the North Country.

“Our dairy farmers in Upstate New York and the North Country work hard to produce nutritious milk for our communities, and I am proud to introduce legislation to ensure a variety of milk choices for our school children,” she said in a statement, adding: “Let our New York students drink chocolate milk!”

Adams hasn’t made an official move on banning chocolate milk, just sticking with Vegan Fridays for now. — Joseph Spector

HEALTH: Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine has called on the city to implement a plan that focuses on health and safety while keeping the city’s economy open.

The plan, presented today with Jay Varma, health adviser for former Mayor Bill de Blasio, suggests setting up a proactive booster schedule; making high-quality masks available in every building; providing New Yorkers with “go-bags” for when they test positive; and improving data collection by randomly testing the population to determine transmission rates in New York City.

Random collections, which are prevalent in the United Kingdom, would allow New York City to account for individuals who are likely to test positive with a rapid test at home, rather than venturing out for a PCR test. Probable cases in New York City are increasing, and anecdotally, New Yorkers are experiencing symptoms while still testing negative. Varma, an epidemiologist, said people can sometimes develop symptoms before the rapid test can detect the viral load.

“We also think that means as long as your test is negative, you’re not infectious to other people,” he said, while still cautioning people who are experiencing symptoms to assume it’s Covid-19 and reduce their interactions with others. — Amanda Eisenberg

TRANSPORTATION: Adams continues to face pushback for his $98 billion spending plan that requires most city agencies to cut their budgets by 3 percent.

A coalition of more than 50 transportation groups have sent a letter to the City Council calling for the Department of Transportation to allocate funding for the Street Master Plan — a 2019 law that requires the city to install at least 250 protected bike lanes, 150 protected bus lanes and redesign 2,000 intersections. The letter estimates that the department will have to allocate $170 million annually over the next 10 years to achieve the law’s objectives.

The DOT’s $1.3 billion budget may present “challenges” to that goal, said Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez at the Council’s budget hearing today. He said the agency plans to meet the law’s mandate of installing 30 miles of protected bike lanes in the next fiscal year. “We are still discussing resources with the administration given our year target,” Rodriguez said, adding the agency takes the plan “very seriously.” Rodriquez helped pass the law when he served as the Council’s transportation chair.

The agency cut $26 million from its budget by eliminating 159 vacant positions and using federal Covid-19 relief for the Staten Island ferry. — Danielle Muoio Dunn

REAL ESTATE: City Comptroller Brad Lander released an analysis today laying out the case for ending the controversial 421-a tax break, as the City Council introduced a resolution calling on the state Legislature to eliminate the program, which is slated to expire this June. Lander and other elected officials gathered in Downtown Brooklyn to call the program a “boondoggle” for wealthy developers that costs far too much in lost property tax revenue while failing to produce legitimately affordable housing.

Lander’s analysis found upwards of 60 percent of the apartments generated through 2020 by the latest iteration of the program — established in 2017 — were for families earning 130 percent of the area median income, or $139,620 for a family of three. The report, which noted the tax break cost the city $1.77 billion in foregone tax revenue in fiscal year 2022, said the changes proposed by Hochul are “modest and would change little” about the program.

Meanwhile, the Citizens Budget Commission released its own report arguing that allowing the tax break to expire without approving a workable replacement would jeopardize rental housing production in the five boroughs and worsen the city’s housing shortage. The current program, the organization said in the report, “has been essential for production of both market-rate and affordable rental housing in New York City.”

Given the high costs of building and operating rental housing in the five boroughs, the report continued, “the largest being the property tax, nearly all rental development in New York City is not financially feasible without government assistance.” The group said the governor’s proposed replacement would generate more housing than if the 421-a program were eliminated entirely, but would be less generous, and yield less development than the current iteration of the exemption. — Janaki Chadha

AROUND NEW YORK

— Advocacy groups are urging Hochul and New York lawmakers to sign off on a state budget that would include pay increases for service-sector jobs.

— Hochul’s campaign reimbursed taxpayers roughly $10,742 from when she used state aircraft for three days for campaigning.

— Public Advocate Jumaane Williams highlights the need for the city to invest in small businesses in the upcoming city budget.

— The New York Civil Liberties Union and the Bronx Defenders reached an agreement with the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give immigrants a fair consideration of release.

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We're facing crisis level staffing in our healthcare centers. Albany must take action NOW to help our upstate hospitals hit hardest by the pandemic. Learn more.