With our region now well into the re-opening process, the City’s communications team put together this video looking back on New Rochelle’s experience with COVID-19. The crisis is far from over, but it’s encouraging to reflect on how far we have come and to express our gratitude to all the essential workers who made our community’s progress possible.
New Rochelle and our region enter Phase IV of the reopening process today, allowing higher education, as well as low-risk arts & entertainment, to restart operations. There’s more at forward.ny.gov.
Our continuing progress is good news and a credit to the hard work of all of us in the nation’s former epicenter of the virus. Even so, spiking rates of infection in other parts of the country serve as an alarming cautionary tale. The crisis is not over, individual responsibility remains vital, and New York is absolutely right to monitor public health statistics in order to determine if and when restrictions need to be reimposed.
Let’s each do our part to keep moving in the right direction.
An interesting story on CNBC about COVID’s impact on the supply chain, including a focus on New Rochelle Farms, the new (and very good) market on North Avenue at Manor Place. The New Rochelle portion begins at about 6:00.
Our region’s recovery from COVID continues, as New Rochelle enters Phase III of the re-opening process today. Restaurants are now allowed to offer indoor dining (at 50% capacity), and personal care businesses are also permitted to open. More detail at forward.ny.gov.
While our progress is encouraging, responsible behavior remains a must: please continue to wear a mask in public, practice physical distancing, and wash hands frequently. Having come so far, let’s not slide back.
The PBS NewsHour returned to New Rochelle this weekend to profile our city’s reopening, with a positive look at how local businesses are adapting to make the best of this moment. Please watch.
This is a moment when law enforcement agencies across the nation have an opportunity and an obligation to take a hard look at racial disparities in criminal justice and consider meaningful reforms. Here in New Rochelle, we begin with a strong foundation — a PD that has long prioritized community relations and that has already taken several of the steps recommended by reformers. But even a good department can improve.
In this spirit, last night, the City Council, with Council Member Yadira Ramos-Herbert taking the lead, initiated a comprehensive review of past and current NRPD practices, including use of force policies and training protocols, while also asking our professional staff to analyze potential future steps, such as body cams, independent oversight, and enhanced community engagement. We aim to move quickly, with a report due in July that will facilitate further discussion and decision-making.
In the meantime, I have signed on to this pledge from the Obama Foundation, committing to the review and reform process described above. Important work ahead for all of us.