Vol. 55 No. 33
Saturday, August 15, 2020
DOH reports two Legionnaires’ cases in Bldg. 25 in past year Virtual meeting held with residents The NYC Department of Health (DOH) held a virtual townhall meeting with Building 25 residents on Thursday evening, August 13, 2020 after advising Riverbay Management of two reported cases of Legionnaires’ Disease in the building within the past 12 months. As was the case with Building 24 this past June, Management is working closely with DOH to conduct tests to determine if the source of the contamination is in the building’s water supply. Until the result of the water sampling tests in Building 25 is known, DOH similarly advises Building 25 residents, particularly those considered vulnerable to the disease, to take extra precautionary steps. A DOH information flyer distributed to Building 25 residents earlier this week described some steps that can be employed. • Do not take a shower — not even a cool shower — since it could create water vapor (mist). Instead, take a bath, but fill the tub slowly. Try to minimize your time in the bathroom while the tub is filling. • When doing dishes, fill the sink slowly to avoid creating mist. • When washing hands, allow water to flow slowly to avoid mist. • Drinking cold tap water is fine but start with cold water when heating water for tea, coffee or cooking. (Continued on page 2) BY ROZAAN BOONE
“Kid’s Picture Day on the Greenway”
Children display their photos taken on Friday on the Greenway when Councilman Andy King brought Ayant Photo Studios to Co-op City for a free summer picture day. Photo by Leandra Peters
See page 3 for more photos
Census gets new deadline Residents must respond by September 30 BY TORIEA McCAUSELAND
Last scheduled for October 31, 2020, the Census loses a full month in garnering counts across the country – possibly leaving many uncounted, thanks to the new deadline date. With the president needing Census counts by December 31, 2020, the Census now has the task of getting as many people across the country to respond a month sooner than scheduled, on September 30. According to Jeff T. Behler, Regional Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, his team is hopeful and up for the challenge. He said: “We’re confident that we can get the job done. We have the resources to knock on doors and get the information collected before September 30.” Mr. Behler told theCo-op City Times this week that although the survey is now due in September, the Census had more time than scheduled. He said: “Our selfresponse period should have been mid-March thru the end of July, we got two additional months as a result of COVID. We’re still collecting self-responses all through the end of September.” Since the initial announcement of the new change, the Census has eight weeks to knock on doors to collect as many responses as possible. On Wednesday, August 12, the nation’s self-response rate percentage of households that have either gone online, called, or mailed-in responses stand at 63.5%, while the state of NY is at 59.3% and New York City, 55.5%. Mr. Behler said, “Keep in mind that the self-response rate doesn’t have anything to do with the number of people counted; it’s the percentage of households that have filled out their Census.” (Continued on page 2)
$1.25
Riverbay Board meets virtually to move along corporation’s business At a meeting of the Riverbay Board of Directors on Wednesday evening, August 12, directors deliberated on a number of resolutions before the body prior to voting on each to advance the corporation’s business, improve services to shareholders and help ensure the health and safety of community residents. Resolution 20-20 approved a contract with Express Plumbing Sewer and Water Main Corp. at a total cost of $363,000 for Local Law 152 gas pipes inspections. Local Law 152 of 2016 went into effect earlier this year in January 2020 and requires all city buildings with gas piping systems to be inspected every five years to make sure gas lines are up to code. The only buildings exempt are those classified by the NYC Department of Buildings’ Building Code as R-3, which are buildings with two-dwelling units or less with fewer than 20 occupants, such as group homes and 1-2 family dwellings. Newer buildings are required to be inspected every 10 years. Local Law 152 was passed by the NY City Council after several deadly gas explosions around the city. The law requires “all exposed gas piping from point of entry of gas piping into the building, including building services meters, and all gas piping in public spaces, hallways, corridors, and mechanical and boiler rooms” to be inspected. This work excludes gas piping within apartments. Failure to file the required inspections reports by the due date could result in a hefty civil penalties. Inspection reports and certification must be signed by a licensed master plumber. Resolution 20-20 was submitted by Director Claudia Sampson and seconded by Director Cheryl Jenkins and Director Angelo Rosario. It passed by a vote of 12-3 with all directors except Bernie Cylich, Andrea Leslie and Mary Pearson voting affirmatively. Resolution 20-21 is for a two-year welding contract with B&H Iron Works, Inc. for a not-to-exceed cost of $300,000 to provide welding services. The resolution, submitted by Board Director Leah Richardson and seconded by Director Sonia Feliciano, passed by a vote of 12-3. (Continued on page 4) BY ROZAAN BOONE
See page 6 for Resolutions
Report finds 90% increase in COVID-19 cases in children BY BRANDON ORTIZ
A joint report published last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) found a troubling trend among children as many of them across America also begin in-class instruction. During a four-week period, starting on July 9 and ending on August 6, the AAP and CHA observed a 90% increase in child COVID-19 cases in America. Vice-chair of the AAP, Dr. Sean O’Leary, told CNN this week, “It’s not fair to say that this virus is completely benign in children.” He went on to say, “To protect everyone in our communities – children, teens, and older adults – we must follow all the public health measures that we know can contain the virus. This includes physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, washing our hands, and avoiding large gatherings.” The CDC is hoping COVID-19 is taken seriously among children too, as a report they released on Monday this week found that children who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 complications share the same rate of admission into the intensive care unit as adults do. “Children can develop severe COVID-19 illness. Hispanic and Black children had the highest rates of COVID-19 associated hospitalization,” the CDC team of researchers wrote in the report. Additionally, the report found, “the most prevalent [underlying] conditions included obesity (37.8%), chronic lung disease (18%), and prematurity (15.4%).” In the state of New York, these new findings are heavy on the minds of state health officials and school district superintendents alike as many scramble to formulate plans for their respective districts. Governor (Continued on page 5)