New York City Catholic schools blasted Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s newest announcement that all Brooklyn and Queens schools located in ‘hotspot” Zip codes experiencing spikes in positive COVID-19 cases will be forced to close starting tomorrow.
“I would not send my child to a school in a hot-spot cluster,” Cuomo declared to reporters during a Manhattan briefing flanked by staff — explaining the decision was made just prior to the briefing upon the joint recommendation of United Federation Teachers union head Mike Mulgrew, City Comptroller Scott Stringer and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. De Blasio had previously said schools should close Wednesday.
“I am not going to recommend or allow any New York City family to send their child to a school that I wouldn’t send my child,” he added, adding schools located in nine Zip codes located in Brooklyn and Queens will temporarily close until further notice — arguing not enough testing has been done in City schools to date.
But leaders from the Archdiocese of New York and Brooklyn blasted the statement shortly after the announcement.
“Our Catholic schools in these ZIP codes largely serve children of blue collar essential workers. These parents depend on us to safely educate and care for their kids while they are caring for New Yorkers,” seethed Dennis Poust, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference — which represents all Bishops in the Empire State.
“Governor Cuomo consistently says he is governed by the facts. The fact is we have not had any significant covid issues in our Catholic schools anywhere in the state, including the hot spots. Our Catholic school families should not be caught up in this issue when we have kept our kids safe and have gone above and beyond everything the state has asked of us, and served as a model for safe reopening,” he added.
On Sunday the Archdiocese of New York and Brooklyn jointly wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio following an announcement by the Mayor that broad closures were on the horizon.
They argued blanket closures are an unreasonable approach, especially as Catholic schools have invested heavily in measures to allow students return to in-person schooling as well as hybrid options.
“The Catholic schools throughout our state and, particular in the densely populated New York City Metropolitan Area, have rightly been held up as a model for safety in these uncertain times. Our Catholic schools opened for full-time, in-person learning weeks before the New York City public schools and have had no significant COVID-19 outbreaks to date,” they insisted.
“Should our schools be ordered closed by the state absent any significant COVID-19 outbreaks because of inferior protocols at non-Catholic schools, it would be a profound injustice to our families who have placed their trust in us to keep their children safe and whose faith has been richly rewarded to date.”
De Blasio and Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza had previously warned neighborhoods maintain a positive coronavirus infection rate above 3 percent over seven day straight days, then schools will be forced to temporarily close until spikes level out.
The plan to close nine Zip codes slated to return to virus-related lockdowns, several of which are home to large Orthodox Jewish populations, may also be revised within the coming days, as Cuomo argued Zip code-specific containment is imperfect.
“Targeting by zip codes is imperfect. The virus doesn’t travel by zip codes,” he said.
The strict measures will not include shuddering non-essential businesses, according to Cuomo who argued theses businesses are not sources of “mass” virus spreading.
He said he also plans to speak with members of the Orthodox community, as well as other religious leaders Tuesday in attempt to get them on board with encouraging community compliance.
The state has not yet made a decision to close schools outside of the five boroughs — specifically in Orange and Rockland counties — that have also seen alarming upticks in positive virus infection rates.
The new regulations harken back to measures taken back in March, when state officials were taking measures to tame the virus’s spread.
There are four pre-K through eighth-grade Catholic schools and one high school in the nine hotspots on watch, serving roughly 2,600 kids.
The Zip codes impacted by the decision include:
- 11219: Borough Park, Brooklyn
- 11223: Gravesend/Homecrest, Brooklyn
- 11230: Midwood, Brooklyn
- 11204: Bensonhurst/Mapleton, Brooklyn
- 11210: Flatlands, Brooklyn
- 11691: Edgemere/Far Rockaway, Queens
- 11229: Gerritsen Beach/Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
- 11367: Kew Gardens Hills/Pomonok, Queens
- 11415: Kew Gardens, Queens
The schools located in several Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods include St. Athanasius, Our Lady of Grace, Good Shepherd, St. Edmund, Resurrection/Ascension, St. Mark and St. Edmund Prep.