Briefing 5/12: More Deaths, Free Masks, & Jobs

It’s Tuesday! The sun is out and the birds are chirping. The coronavirus is still out there, so please don’t forget to wear a face-covering if you are outside! Here are some new numbers as of this afternoon:

• There were 657 new confirmed coronavirus cases in NYC bringing the total to 184,319 cases in the City. In Brooklyn, there were 214 new cases, bringing the total to 50,079 cases in the borough.
• The total number of hospitalizations has gone up to 48,939 in NYC. As for deaths, there were 173 new deaths in NYC, bringing the total to 15,101 deaths in the City with 5,136 probable deaths. In Brooklyn, the number of deaths has gone up to 4,596. Brooklyn currently leads with the most number of deaths out of all of the boroughs.
• Jerry Stiller, a Brooklyn born and raised comedian and actor, died yesterday. His son, Ben Stiller, announced the death on Twitter but did not specify the cause. “This son of Brooklyn brought the humor of everyday New Yorkers to the world. On behalf of his hometown I offer our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Mayor Bill de Blasio Tweeted.
• Drivers are paid $53/route delivering food to the neediest New Yorkers. To make sure they get routes, a few sleep overnight in their cars outside distribution centers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Dr. James “Charlie” Mahoney, a pulmonologist at SUNY Downstate Medical Center’s ICU, died from the coronavirus. “Mahoney’s workplace didn’t have enough protective equipment at the onset of the pandemic and staffing was strained. The exposure was inescapable,” the Guardian reported in this wonderful obituary. “He was handling patients and codes [patients needing intensive intervention] every five to 10 minutes,” Mahoney’s colleague said. “He was doing everything he could.”
• Juan Vazquez, 53,  a fixture in Boreum Hill, died from the coronavirus. He had been battling the coronavirus for three weeks when he was rushed to the hospital. His sister told NY1 that he was trying to ride out his symptoms because it was hard for him to leave his apartment as a double amputee. “He was just special to all of us. We are devastated beyond words with his loss,” his sister said.
• Olmsted, the popular Prospect Heights restaurant that had closed at the beginning of the pandemic, has reopened as a grocery store selling restaurant favorites, Eater reported.
• Assemblymember Joe Lentol wants all NY nursing homes to submit an annual emergency pandemic response plan to the state, citing COVID-19’s devastating effect on the state’s elderly population, the NY Post reported.
• NYC is expanding testing by opening 10 new sites starting the week of May 25, including in Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, and Canarsie.
• We compiled a big list of openings and closings in our borough. Let us know if we missed any!
• Council Member Mark Treyger will host two free mask giveaways for residents in Southern Brooklyn today and tomorrow. Here is some more information.
• Here are some job listings. Please share it widely!
• Here’s how two sisters managed to raise $18,000 to help undocumented Bangladeshis in our borough.