Mayor Bill De Blasio Thanks Many for Their Efforts in Boro Park, is Pleased about Increased Mask Compliance

By Yehudit Garmaise

   In his daily press conference this morning, although the Covid numbers in six of the eight neighborhoods that saw a recent increase in positive cases are still seeing increases, Mayor Bill de Blasio sounded optimistic.

   “We are finding, the more there is communication with members of the community about the importance of wearing masks,” De Blasio said, “the more there is free mask distribution, and obviously, the sense that there are consequences to not wearing masks, the more we are seeing people pick up on that and wear masks, and that is going to be how we turn this situation around.

   In particular, De Blasio gave Boro Park’s elected officials whom “have stepped up,” a special thank you. De Blasio especially appreciated what he called “a very clear, very powerful, and very straightforward op-ed in Hamodia” written by State Senator Simcha Felder, Assembly member Simcha Eichenstein, Assembly member Daniel Rosenthal, Council member Chaim Deutch, and Council member Kalman Yeager, who “joined together with a unified voice to say how to the community how important it was for everyone to be a part of this effort to turn back this challenge,” the mayor said.

      “The positivity rates in our community are higher than in most of New York City,” the elected officials said together in Hamodia. “This is an undebatable, scientific fact.

    “We join with our community’s own health experts, doctors and Hatzolah in asking that everyone, young and old, follow all the health guidelines: social distancing, proper hygiene, and especially wearing masks whenever in a public place indoors, and even outdoors where it is difficult to socially distance.”

   De Blasio also gave a special thank you to his senior Community Liaison to the Jewish community, Boro Park’s own Pinny Ringel, whom the mayor called “a beloved member of our team...and who has done extraordinary work within the community.“

   De Blasio went to say that he receives many expressions of heartfelt thanks from community members for Ringel’s tremendous outreach efforts “to help people know what they need to know and how to act on it.”

   In addition, De Blasio thanked the “tremendous support” he has received during numerous conference calls and individual calls with community leaders who are committed to “getting the word out that real action needs to be taken from each and every member of the community to help address this challenge.”

   Finally De Blasio thanked Brooklyn-born Mitchell H. Katz, the CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals.

   “Many [Brooklyn] community leaders say to you, “Thank you for your involvement,” and we know that the [Brooklyn] community is very personal and very real for you,” the mayor said.

  Dr. Katz said that he was pleased with the increasing compliance in the neighborhoods that have recently seen a Covid uptick.

     “We have more than 350 people [in Brooklyn] handing out masks, distributing literature, and reminding people of the four core ways that we stay safe: we stay home if we are sick, we keep physical distance between us and others, we limit indoor gatherings, we wear face coverings, and we practice healthy hand hygiene and that is to protect ourselves, our parents, and our grandparents,” Dr Katz said.