Briefing 4/24: The City To Provide Free Legal Help To Those Threatened With Eviction & More

Today is Friday. Ramadan Mubarak to all of our Muslim neighbors! May this month bring you peace, happiness, and humility. As of 1:30 p.m. yesterday, here are some new numbers:

• There were 3,329 new positive confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC, compared to the 3,551 new cases from Wednesday, bringing the total to 141,754 positive confirmed cases in the City. In Brooklyn, there were 865 new positive cases, compared to the 924 new cases from Wednesday, bringing the total to 37,564 positive cases in the borough.
• There were 803 new hospitalizations yesterday, bringing the total to 36,723 hospitalizations in the City.
• There were 346 new coronavirus-related deaths in NYC, compared to the 382 coronavirus-related deaths from Wednesday, bringing the total to 10,290 coronavirus-related deaths in the City, with 5,121 probable deaths. In Brooklyn, the number of deaths is 3,040.
• NYC will be providing free legal help to anyone being evicted, regardless of income. The Mayor said to call 311 if you were being threatened by your landlord.
• Roberto Correa, 43, an activist and rapper from Sunset Park, is currently battling the coronavirus, the Daily News reported. “Correa started showing symptoms nearly six weeks ago, with his condition worsening until he was admitted to the hospital where he was intubated about a month back. The family was soon appealing to a higher power for his recovery as the married father of two young daughters continued to struggle.”
• Brooklyn fashion brands like Malia Mills have pivoted to making surgical gowns amid the pandemic, ABC7 reported. Dozens of brands are aiming to make 65,000 gowns each week.
• Masbia Soup Kitchen partnered up with a local Judaica bookstore to launch an initiative to support newly-widowed parents whose spouses died from the coronavirus, the Algemeiner reported. “Any living spouse with children of a breadwinner who was a victim of COVID-19 since Purim will have a free ‘tap’ in a local Borough Park grocery store until Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year that begins this year on September 18.”
• The Mayor announced a $5 million program will give free, internet-connected tablets to 10,000 seniors living in NYCHA homes. The initiative will begin next week in Brownsville and go to other neighborhoods after that.
• The President suggested that disinfectants could be injected into the body to give protection from the coronavirus. The company that makes Lysol issued a statement urging people NOT to do that. “We must be clear that under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion, or any other route),” the statement said.
• In an effort to expand the City’s supply and distribution of halal meals during Ramadan, the City will increase the supply of halal meals at 32 DOE Grab & Go sites across all five boroughs with large Muslim populations by 25% (which amounts to 400,000 meals). All of the DOE sites will also have halal meals available, the Mayor said.
• Lawmakers representing Brooklyn, including Congresswoman Yvette Clarke Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, signed onto a letter demanding Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio convene a task to address the emergency, relief, recovery & rebuilding of black New Yorkers in Central & South Brooklyn.
• There is a new hotline to file complaints about nursing homes, we reported yesterday.
• Flatbush United Mutual Aid is a network of neighbors spread out over the greater Flatbush neighborhood, working in collaboration with community-based organizations like to provide as many people as possible with necessities like food. Their philosophy? Solidarity — not charity, we reported.
• Here’s how young Muslims are stepping up during this Ramadan, the holy month which will take place inside the home.