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The Miracle of COVID Vaccines: A Guest Blog by CUCS’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Van Yu
May.03.2021
As awful as COVID-19 has been, things would have been much worse without vaccines. When SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, first started spreading last spring, every human was vulnerable to it. There have been some modest improvements in the treatment of COVID-19, but people are still largely at the mercy of whatever SARS-CoV-2 has in store for them, and it has killed 575,000 people in the United States alone. In Brazil, people have been reinfected showing that even a previous infection is not a guarantee of protection raising the specter of repeated deadly waves with mutant variants. With three effective vaccines, however, the United States is on the brink of an almost-normal summer.
City Council Releases Response to the FY22 Preliminary Budget
Apr.28.2021
On April 7th, the NYC Council released its response to the FY22 Preliminary Budget. The Network is pleased to see many of our priorities in the response.
Condemning Recent Violence Against Asian Communities
Apr.13.2021
Violence against Asian Americans – which has increased exponentially during the pandemic fueled by the ex-president and his hateful rhetoric -- is not new. Even though attacks are up 150% over the past year, it took the brutal murder of eight people in Georgia last month, including six women of Asian American descent –to bring these attacks to widespread attention. This excellent piece from NPR’s Code Switch looks into America’s long history of discrimination and violence against Asian Americans and unpacks the sexualization and marginalization of Asian American women.
The Network Testifies to City Council on the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget
Apr.12.2021
The Network’s Senior Policy Analyst Tierra Labrada testified before the City Council on March 16 about the Mayor’s proposed budget and its impact on creating and sustaining supportive housing. As previously reported the Network supported the City’s restoration and increase of HPD funding in the FY 22 budget to $1.45 billion. The Network is also relieved to see there were no significant cuts in the expense budget that would impact supportive housing services. Additionally, however, the Network strongly urged that HPD lift its hiring freeze, which, in conjunction with lack of pay raises at the agency is negatively impacting both new development and move-ins.
Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act Passes
Apr.12.2021
As a result of years-long advocacy, the use of solitary confinement in New York’s jails and prisons will be severely limited or outright banned for certain populations starting in March of next year. Governor Cuomo signed the HALT (Humane Alternatives to Long-Term) Solitary Confinement Act, March 31st which means no one can be placed in solitary for more than 15 days and the practice is outright banned for various populations including minors, seniors and people with disabilities – including individuals with serious mental illness. The practice, deemed by the United Nations as has been found to have lifelong deleterious health and mental health impacts. This legislation is an important first step in undoing the most barbaric practices in the criminal legal system – which disproportionately impact Black people.