RyeCity REVIEW THE
January 29, 2021 | Vol. 9, Number 5 | www.ryecityreview.com
State ramps up Covid-19 vaccine distribution
Back in business? On Jan. 22, Mayor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would allow high-risk high school sports to begin as early as Feb. 1, pending approval from local health officials. The decision could pave the way for many student-athletesto play ball this year. For more, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
Cuomo announces $200M in infrastructure funding Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday, Jan. 25, the availability of $200 million in BRIDGE NY funding for local governments to make their infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events. The new funding will allow localities to rehabilitate and replace bridges and culverts statewide. It builds upon $500 million previously awarded to 143 local governments since 2016 for the rehabilitation and replacement of 298 bridges and culverts. These strategic infrastructure investments have en-
hanced the quality of life for residents and businesses in every region of the state and have provided unprecedented support for making New York’s communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. This initiative supports the goals of New York’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. “New York State and communities around the world are increasingly contending with extreme weather events driven by climate change, and it’s vital that we fortify our community infra-
structure to be resilient to those changes,” Cuomo said. “This newly-available BRIDGE NY funding provides communities statewide with the technical and financial support necessary to harden locally owned bridges and culverts, which will not only enhance their safety and reliability, but will facilitate regional and global economic competitiveness.” The BRIDGE NY application is available to all municipalities authorized to receive and administer state and federal transportation funding. Awards
will be made through a competitive process and will support all phases of project development, including design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. Evaluations will be based on the structural condition of a bridge or culvert and its resiliency and significance based upon traffic volumes, detour considerations, the number and types of businesses served and the overall impact on commerce. Consideration will also be given to projects that provide demonstrable benefit for Environmental Justice Communities. (Submitted)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 24 updated New Yorkers on the state’s vaccination program. The total week 6 federal allocation of vaccine delivery to providers was completed last Sunday. Delivery of the week 7 allocation from the federal government does not begin until the middle of this week. As of 11a.m. Sunday, New York’s health care distribution sites have received 1,304,050 first doses and administered 88% or 1,144,070 first dose vaccinations. “As our week six allocation finishes arriving to providers today, New York has already administered 88 percent of its first doses, demonstrating once again that the problem we face is lack of supply from the federal government,” Cuomo said. “We have the operational capacity to do over 100,000 doses a day— we just need the dosages. In the meantime, the state will continue working around the clock to get shots into arms quickly, and providers must continue administering to their assigned priority populations in order to ensure equity of distribution during this time of
limited supply.” New York’s vast distribution network and large population of eligible individuals far exceed the vaccine supply coming from the federal government. While the federal government has increased eligibility for the vaccine to include 7 million New Yorkers, the federal supply of vaccines has actually decreased. Due to limited supply, New Yorkers are encouraged to remain patient and are advised not to show up at vaccination sites without an appointment. Vaccination program numbers are for doses distributed and delivered to New York for the state’s vaccination program, and do not include those reserved for the federal government’s Long Term Care Facility program. A breakdown of the data based on numbers reported to New York State is as follows: STATEWIDE BREAKDOWN * First Doses Received - 1,304,050 * First Doses Administered - 1,144,070 * Second Doses Received - 564,600 * Second Doses Administered - 139,929 VACCINE continued on page 8