It’s easy for me. Like most politicians, a taxpayer-funded paycheck hit my account on Friday, as it normally does, guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the hardworking breadwinners of New York City. By 10 a.m., I received confirmation emails for the autopayment of my bills: mortgage, electric, cable, etc. I didn’t even take the time to check. What for? It always goes through.
The devastating economics of the quarantine are far easier to bear for us elected officials than for the general public. Our jobs are surely demanding, but one of the great perks is having less need to worry about trivial things like making ends meet.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded here in its epicenter, the fear of mass fatalities rightly caused all leaders to act with purpose.
However, with fewer people concerned about the economic impact than the health impact, or perhaps because government leaders are financially insulated, we now see much less urgency from the mayor and governor on the economic catastrophe we face — despite our desperate need for them to pursue reopening as doggedly as they have sought ventilators and supplies.
The mayor’s bureaucratic shuffling of virus tracing from an agency that has long-performed this task to one that has not — and does not even operate in all five boroughs — is just one example of the sudden laissez-faire attitude toward the imperatives of reopening.
If New York is to recover, both medically and economically, we need to begin phasing out the lockdown of the city. We should begin this week. To be clear, I am not advocating an instant return to normalcy. But there is a sweet spot to be found somewhere between Draconian regulations and a lax, devil-may-care reopening. With fewer COVID admissions this past week at city hospitals than on one day during their height last month, it is time to move forward.
Nobody ever promised a world without risk or even death. That’s not possible. We were trying to bend the curve to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, and we succeeded.
Unfortunately, instead of focusing on issuing the guidelines and timelines businesses need, the mayor has announced a reopening plan that involves new czars and commissioners; a charter revision commission; a fairness task force; and eight sector advisory councils, each with a check-box cornucopia of 30-odd individuals.
Retailers, restaurants and offices need immediate assistance and clear rules to get back on their feet — not a mishegas of reports and bureaucracy.
New York does not have to reinvent the wheel. We can follow other cities that are already using established guidelines to develop new capacity and PPE standards. We can adopt rules that are already working at essential businesses. Since the quarantine began, I have shopped at Target, Home Depot and supermarkets. I share many New Yorkers’ bewilderment as to why I can’t also safely visit my accountant, florist or barber.
Moreover, by their own actions, New Yorkers seem ready for relaxed regulations. Parks and recreational spaces are packed, causing my colleagues to demand that the city open public streets to new activities.
I won’t second-guess the need for social distancing. However, now that we have passed the peak by all metrics, we should all question whether data proves that all of our strict shutdown measures were necessary, especially since we know that locales with less-stringent rules have not plateaued at nearly the same rates as New York.
In the governor’s own study this month, 84% of new COVID-19 patients reported isolating at home or were residents of a nursing facility. Essential businesses using social distancing seem not to be the petri dishes once assumed, surprising even health officials.
Since our assumptions on COVID were not always accurate, why then is Gov. Cuomo sticking strictly to seemingly arbitrary formulas to determine the pace of reopening? For example, the state is requiring each region have 30% of total hospital beds available. The city is now at 28%. Is that miniscule difference enough to warrant more unemployment and bankrupted families?
Our leaders’ lack of urgency on reopening is only made stranger by their doggedness in seeking a federal bailout. New York absolutely needs one, but Cuomo’s $60 billion ask is greater than what the IRS collects in revenues from nine states combined.
Our two progressive leaders, who believe that New York’s social safety net saves countless lives each day, must understand that the only way to ensure money is there to support this social spending is to reopen the businesses that generate nearly all of the city and state tax revenue. Let’s go.
Borelli represents Staten Island in the City Council.
The other side: No, it’s still way too risky, and will bring disease and death »