let me begin with what we know and then
I will be pleased to answer questions as
I think you are aware the state has
established a one-mile containment zone
this is surrounding the epicenter of the
outbreak in Nura shell within that zone
there will be a prohibition on large
gatherings now this of course affects
schools both public and private
it affects houses of worship potentially
other large institutions we are in the
process right now of consulting with
state authorities in order to make sure
we have a comprehensive list of the
facilities that might be impacted and to
make sure that all are contacted so that
we can provide them with guidance it is
very important to clarify that this is
not an exclusion or quarantine zone no
one is prohibited from entering or
leaving the area this does not affect
individual homeowners or families or
businesses it is purely a prohibition on
large gatherings in order to make sure
that the spread of the virus is
mitigated to the greatest degree
possible from the beginning of this
process the city of nourish shell has
made clear that we would work hand in
glove with and take direction from state
and county public health authorities
recognizing their greater expertise in
this area this particular measure is no
exception
we support it we will collaborate and
implementing it and we will make sure
that it occurs in the smoothest fashion
possible second the National Guard we
are told will be arriving in New
Rochelle in order to assist with
logistical and operational challenges
that are associated with this matter we
expect that that will be principally
assisting with cleaning as well as with
the delivery of meals us to students who
may need school lunches in school
breakfasts and therefore would be
affected by school closings the guard
will not have a military or policing
function as I indicated they will be
here to assist with logistics the city
itself has activated its emergency
operation center so that we are ready to
coordinate with the guard
and with other state authorities
to whatever degree they recommend and
whatever debris and degree would be
constructed hand sanitizer as you know
the state has created its own brand of
hand sanitizer and a significant
shipment of that sanitizer has been
brought to New Rochelle the city is now
coordinating with the state in order to
deliver that sanitizer to large
institutions in New Rochelle principally
those but not exclusively those that
serve senior citizens however the
sanitizer is not as yet available to the
general public if and when that changes
we will certainly make an effort to get
the word out as you know several days
ago it was announced that nursing homes
and assisted living facilities within
New Rochelle would no longer be able to
accept visitors we recognize this is a
hardship for many people in our
community in fact it affects my own
family my mother is presently at one of
the nursing rehabilitation facilities in
New Rochelle my brothers and I are not
able to visit her it's painful for us
painful for her but we all recognize it
is in the service of critical public
health goals we know that seniors those
with compromised immune systems
compromised respiratory systems are at
the greatest risk as a result of this
virus we want to do everything possible
to make sure that the virus does not
spread to these vulnerable populations
our Senior Center the you Doyle Senior
Center will be closed until further
notice
for the same reason however we will be
delivering cold meals to vulnerable
seniors beginning on Thursday that is
one example of the fashion which the
city hopes to think comprehensively
about how we can assist neighbors in
need very important to reiterate the
same reminder that we hear from the
governor every single day the vast
majority of those who contract
coronavirus will recover without
difficulty and will recover without
hospitalization it is a relatively small
fraction of individuals again
principally seniors and those with
compromised health who will face more
difficult challenges it is important
always to keep that in perspective I
would like to take this opportunity to
express my thanks and the thanks of all
people in New Rochelle for the
exceptional leadership
that has been provided by Governor Cuomo
by County Executive Latimer and by their
respective public health officials we
have been collaborating with them
consistently since the beginning of this
process and we feel as though their
attention and focus not only on the hot
spot here in New Rochelle but on the
larger countywide and statewide
challenges has been exceptional I also
want to express special thanks to the
young Israel of nourish shell
congregation as many of you know
although this affects everyone in New
Rochelle the heaviest burdens have
fallen upon the members of young Israel
and they have confronted this challenge
in the fashion that is not only
responsible but I would characterize as
inspiring they are concerned of course
about their own health the health of
neighbors and friends the health of
families many are quarantine which is
enormous ly disruptive to their daily
lives and yet there has been a sense of
commitment to the common good a wise and
calm acceptance of the need for all of
us to observe the dictates of public
health and we are very fortunate that
the leadership both delay and spiritual
of young Israel have been such
responsible partners in confronting this
issue the last thing I will say is the
following just to state the obvious this
is a major challenge for all of New
Rochelle no community would welcome a
challenge of this kind
however I am enormous ly proud of the
fashion in which the people of nourish
al have risen to the occasion they have
demonstrated focus and concern that is
proportionate to the issue before us but
has not strayed into panic or hysteria
of a kind that is unjustified and
self-defeating and although we know that
the days ahead will impose all sorts of
challenges on many of us I have no doubt
whatsoever that we will meet the
challenge in a fashion that is calm that
is serious and that is supportive of our
neighbors we are strong we are resilient
and we intend to prove it in the days
and weeks ahead thank you very much and
at this time I'll be pleased to accept
any questions mayor I want to say your
condition
so we're seeing something in this
containment zone we haven't seen in
their lifetime the force closure schools
and houses of worship National Guard on
the street this is all for many I'm sure
going to be very disconcerting well as I
said a moment ago this is naturally a
matter of concern for everyone in New
Rochelle and clearly a significant
disruption of daily life layered on top
of concern for health so I don't for a
moment minimize this but as I said a
moment ago the people of nourish shall
have proven that they are equal to the
challenge
they have been listening to the guidance
of public health professionals sharing
information with each other the city is
attempted to do its part to make sure
that our community is as well informed
as possible and I've been enormous Lee
moved by the fashion in which neighbors
have come together with neighbors just
to give you one small example but it's
illustrative our local Girl Scout troop
took it upon themselves to put purple
ribbons all around the neighborhood that
is most heavily impacted as a sign of
solidarity with their neighbors and in
response many neighbors are now raising
money for that Girl Scout troop it's an
illustration of how goodness baguettes
goodness I don't kid myself the gestures
of that kind are sufficient to confront
a global pandemic that's not my point my
point however is that we are able as
citizens if we look at this rationally
calmly and if we stay informed about the
options that we have to protect
ourselves and our families we can meet
this challenge and overcome it how many
of them are there and then about the
hand sanitizer so my understanding is
that the hand sanitizer is being
distributed now so the facilities that
are scheduled to receive it should get
it by the end of the day if they haven't
received it already with respect for the
National Guard we are still waiting for
details my expectation is that their
primary consultation will be with the
school district because they will be
assisting in the distribution of meals
but the city as I indicated earlier will
support their efforts in whatever
fashion we can we're waiting for
direction from them and by the way I
should say parenthetically that I've
shared with you what
No there are many questions that I may
not be able to answer yet this is a fast
evolving situation and we've opted to
come before you as quickly as possibly
as quickly as possible and in as
transparent a fashion as possible but
that also means there's some questions
we're simply not in the position to
answer yet and we hope we will be able
to going forward I should also add and
maybe I should have said this in my
opening comments for those who don't
know in Westchester County municipal
governments and school districts tend to
be independent and so even though we
know a substantial share of the burden
and concern in the days ahead will
concern school matters it is not my
place to speak on behalf of the school
district I expect that they will be
having their own briefing at five
o'clock today
and so if there are questions that are
specifically about the public schools I
would suggest you that they are best
posed then can you describe the area the
affected zone how big it is and in terms
of dimension and what exactly is within
that zone other schools other temples
are there residents what exactly is
within that zone so the geography I
described will probably be familiar to
most Neurol residents but maybe not so
much for those outside of New Rochelle
it's centered around what is called the
yka gill neighborhood in the north end
of New Rochelle the area has a one-mile
radius as established by the state I
believe will actually have maps of the
area that will be available for those
who want it it does contain three public
schools Ward Elementary School Albert
Leonard middle school and nourish L High
School as well as a number of private
and parochial schools there are several
houses of worship within the area there
are two country clubs within the area I
should also point out that it extends
beyond the borders of New Rochelle and
also incorporates a portion of the
unincorporated town of East Chester so
there are effects on that side of the
border as well I do expect that in the
hours ahead we'll be able to provide a
more precise listing of the specific
institutions that are affected but that
gives you a general sense of what we're
talking about I shall say it is mixed
use in its character primarily in its
land area it is residential but it also
has
some commercial businesses including the
wacky guild business district
that's an interesting question I don't
think we've tallied it up by population
it is several thousands certainly
although I don't know the exact number
but let me stress again because there's
so much misunderstanding about this then
it's some way that's kind of a
misleading fashion in which to look at
it because individuals living within
this zone are not going to be affected
any more than someone living in another
part of nourish L or living in a
different community entirely the
restrictions deal with large gatherings
it's essentially an institutional
description not one that applies to
individual homeowners or families except
those who are subject to the quarantine
that was already implemented which is a
separate map so again as a general
matter I will defer to the school
district but I can tell you that for the
three schools the three public schools
that will have to be closed all students
who attend those schools will be
affected whether or not they live within
the containment zone well private
schools yes so I have some reluctance to
make too many predictions because again
this is fast-moving and no one has
experienced an episode like this before
but as I said before I expect that the
National Guard will be here in a very
helpful logistical and organizational
support capacity it's not as though
nourish shells going to become a
militarized community we're not going to
have checkpoints at the border of the
containment cell and so forth so that
really should be emphasized because I
know just anecdotally hearing from many
folks in the community there's been
considerable misunderstanding about that
people are hearing what's going on in
Italy heard what's going on in
and may have assumed that what's being
put in place in New Rochelle is
analogous it is quite different this is
really again a geographically defined
restriction on large gatherings it does
not impact the way individuals are able
to move from place to place or in other
respects go about their lives and
participate in the commerce of our
community so the governor in his press
conference today and in his
conversations with us one on one made it
clear that he was taking direction from
Commissioner Howard Zucker the state
commissioner of health that was his
determination he in turn of course has
been consulting with public health
officials both at the state and national
level to ensure that his judgments are
informed by the best possible expertise
we don't have in New Rochelle our own
public health apparatus we don't have
our own public health responsibilities
and so the best thing we can do is take
direction from and support those who are
in the best position to make sound
judgments and so we trust
Commissioner Zucker informing the
governor to give us direction and now
we're going to assist in the very
important point as was noted a
substantial portion of Norrell's
population is spanish-speaking this is
obviously a matter that is of vital
importance not just to the containment
zone but to all of nura she'll most of
the bulletins and informational sources
that have been distributed thus far have
been bilingual I'm told that the
hotlines that are staffed by the state
have Spanish speakers as well and
certainly we want to make sure that we
honor the inclusive and diverse spirit
of New Rochelle as we go forward
especially facing a challenge of this
kind if if that standard is not being
met
then we're going to continue working and
collaborating with our county and state
partners in order to do as well as
possible yes well so there are some
things Nura shell can do on its own for
example we expect that we will be able
to deliver the cold meals to the seniors
who will no longer at least for a
limited period of time be able to attend
the you Doyle Senior Center but a
community like ours is not capable of
delivering thousands of meals on a daily
basis we simply don't have the personnel
and the resources to mount an operation
on that scale and we are grateful that
the state has recognized this fact has
recognized that these circumstances
oppose unique issues in New Rochelle and
is essentially flooding the zone with
the resources necessary to make sure
that the people in New Rochelle that
their needs are met to the greatest
degree possible a lot more people right
yes so you make a very good point the
county executive and I just a few days
ago made a point of having lunch at a
kosher Asian restaurant in the Waikiki
area simply as a means of demonstrating
confidence in and support for our
business community and by extension
demonstrating support for a neighborhood
that is experiencing a challenge of this
kind I do not have concerns over the
long term we have a strong and growing
economy that is bolstered not only by
small businesses but by a dramatic
revitalization that is occurring in our
downtown area there is no doubt however
that in the short term some businesses
are suffering and we do not have the
kind of resources or programmatic
capacity to provide small business
assistance for
small municipality like New Rochelle I
know that New York City is looking at
measures that may be helpful and it is
among many many items that I know we'll
be discussing with County and state
authorities as we move forward
nothing specific at this point to put a
final point on you saying people
shouldn't worry when they see the
National Guard correct look I want to be
real about this when you see someone
from the National Guard on your street
or outside your home it is natural and
human to find it somewhat unsettling
because it's a it's a Bills visible
illustration that things in your
community are not functioning as they
ordinarily do but I want to emphasize
the guard is here to help us they are
here to assist with the logistics and
operations that are simply beyond the
capacity of any municipality the size of
nura shell they are not here to provide
a military function they're not here to
provide a policing function Michelle is
not on martial law there's no exclusion
zone there is no quarantine zone no one
is prohibited from moving around you're
Rochelle so the bottom line your answer
to your question is yes don't worry
about the guard being here they are here
to help
can you clarify because there's a lot of
kids go to schools that are clothes that
get free or reduced lunches from the
school district that are not going to
get them anymore so how many meals do
you think they're delivering to the
school kids versus my understanding is
that the guard will be assisting in the
delivery of meals to all students who
qualify for a free or reduced meals
within our public schools again I would
urge you to pose questions to the school
district they're in the best position to
answer in an authoritative fashion but
that is my understanding so it's not
nourish ELLs daily testing capacity to
be clear it's the state's testing
capacity the last I heard there was an
ability to test several hundred I during
the course of the day the governor
announced earlier that northwell will be
establishing operations in nourish shell
with automated testing which said that
augment of the testing capacity but I
would urge you to speak directly with
state officials because they are the
ones who are most knowledgeable about
that that issue if I had a crystal ball
two weeks ago I would not have imagined
myself standing at this podium reporting
to you the things that I am reporting
right now we know that this is an
evolving situation it is an
unprecedented situation I think it would
be foolhardy of us to make conclusive
predictions about what's going to happen
next the best thing we can do is take it
one day at a time sometimes one hour at
a time and face it in a fashion that is
calm that is intelligent that is
cognizant of the full spectrum of public
health information that we can receive
and that reflects genuine collaboration
between the different levels of
government that have responsibilities
here
and as I said before I think that's the
way in which the people of New Rochelle
have addressed this challenge and will
continue doing so going forward
officials when the National Guard will
be arriving here I have not heard a
specific time again we are speaking
almost constantly if I wasn't having
this press conference right now the
likelihood is I would be on the phone
with them so even since the time I began
speaking it's possible that this story
has evolved but again I just don't know
minute by minute what may have changed
anything else thank you thank you all
for being here