Dear Friends:

Monday, March 1st, marked a full year since the first confirmed coronavirus infection in New York State. It has been a tough year like no other for our communities, our state, and our nation. To date, we have lost over 38,500 New Yorkers to the virus, over 2,000 of whom were residents of Westchester, and over 500,000 Americans nationwide. So many of us, including the majority of my staff members and I, have been touched by the loss of a family member, spouse, or a friend. There is no easy way to grieve, and my thoughts are with all of those who have lost loved ones. Our hopes continue to lie with a growing vaccine distribution plan that can meet local demand for the vaccine. The most recent updates about vaccine distribution and information is included below.

On Wednesday, March 3rd, the mass vaccination site at the National Guard Armory in Yonkers began accepting appointments from all eligible Westchester residents. To make an appointment, visit the state's Am I Eligible website or call the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829). 

This weekend, a second former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo stepped forward with allegations of sexual harassment. The allegations are deeply troubling. Although Gov. Cuomo led New York through the coronavirus crisis with much to praise, it does not reduce the obligation to provide a workplace that is free of harassment and intimidation. I am pleased to see that Attorney General Letitia James will appoint an independent counsel with full subpoena powers to lead the investigation. Sexual harassment claims must always be taken seriously and investigated fully. I also commend legislation by Senators Todd Kaminsky and Andrew Gounardes to overcome the conflicts of interest that are inherent in this case. Click here to read my full statement.

On Tuesday, March 2nd, the Senate Education Committee, which I chair, advanced legislation which I am sponsoring to secure free high-quality broadband for every child and school in New York State for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic through the E-LEARN Act; and to allow special act schools and private special education schools, which serve some of our most vulnerable students, additional fiscal management tools by authorizing reserve funds. Read more about these bills in the section below.

As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please don't hesitate to email me at [email protected] or call (914) 934-5250.

Warm regards,

As of Wednesday, March 3rd, 3.1 million New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose, and 1.6 million have received both doses. Click here to track the status of the state's vaccine distribution.

Following FDA authorization, New York State expects to receive approximately 164,800 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine this week. The state also expects 422,780 first doses and 290,500 second doses from Pfizer and Moderna. This will be the highest-ever weekly allotment of the vaccines to New York State with a total of 878,080 doses.

Food pantry workers and volunteers are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. To look through the list of eligible categories, click here.

The mass vaccination site at the National Guard Armory in downtown Yonkers is accepting appointments from all Westchester residents who are eligible to receive the vaccine. Those who are eligible can book an appointment through the state website here or by calling the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).

A list of non-state-run vaccine providers in Westchester County is available here. Supply is limited and each site has its own protocols for signing up or registering for a waitlist. Click here for the New York State Department of Health’s Guidance for The New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Program for vaccine providers. Please continue to be patient and check back as often as possible for any new openings. Click here for the Westchester County COVID-19 Dashboard to track positive COVID-19 cases and vaccine allocations throughout the county. The mobile friendly version of the dashboard is available here.

New Yorkers can use the Am I Eligible website to determine if they are eligible and make an appointment at a New York State-run vaccination site. Please check back daily for new appointments. If you have made an appointment for the vaccine, please fill out the New York State COVID-19 Vaccine Form, available here, and bring it with you to your appointment.

Click here to watch the March 2nd meeting of the Senate Education Committee.

On Tuesday, March 2nd, the Senate Education Committee, which I chair, advanced my bills to provide free broadband to every student & school in the state (S.3184) and to allow special act schools to establish reserve funds (S.572)

The E-LEARN Act or E-Let's Expand Access to Remote Learning Now Act, secures free high-quality broadband internet for all students and schools during the COVID-19 pandemic through an assessment on intrastate revenue of Telecommunications Service Providers (TSPs). The E-LEARN Act is based on the premise that the digital divide which impedes remote learning threatens the state’s ability to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a “free common school” education. Click here to learn more about the E-LEARN Act.

S.572 allows the governing boards of special act schools and private special education schools to establish reserve funds. This bill extends the fiscal management tools available to independent school districts to schools which serve some of our most vulnerable students. S.572 limits the amount of funds that may be reserved annually to one percent of the allowable program cost. The fiscal stress of the pandemic on budgets makes clear the need to equip education leaders with additional tools, to plan, respond, and provide for the state's most vulnerable students. Click here to learn more about S.572.

Click here to learn more about the full list of bills advanced by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, March 2nd.

On Monday, March 1st, the New York State Senate adopted my bill, S.1239, to allow trained school staff to administer a potentially life-saving nasal spray for students with diabetes. S.1239 allows trained school staff to administer glucagon nasal spray in the event of a medical emergency when a diabetic student suffers from severe hypoglycemia. Trained school staff were already allowed to administer glucagon by injection, but when a first-of-its-kind glucagon nasal spray was approved by the FDA, the law had to be updated to allow school staff to administer it. As medicine & treatments advance, so must our laws follow suit.

Thank you to the organizations who signed on to a memo of support in support of the bill including the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Leadership Council, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, among others.

Read Across America Day is celebrated annually on March 2nd. On Tuesday, I was glad to join the Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School in Yonkers with a reading of the children's book All Are Welcome by Alexandra Pendfold. The book fosters diversity and inclusion and dreams of a better world. In the story, the reader follows a group of students from all different backgrounds where everyone is welcome and traditions are celebrated. Click here to watch me reading All Are Welcome.

On Friday, February 26th, I was glad to join Senator Pete Harckham, Kathy Halas, Executive Director of the Child Care Council of Westchester, and local providers and parents to bring attention to the need for expanded child care subsidies and funding for local providers. Working parents, particularly mothers, cannot work without the security of affordable, quality child care for their children. We must expand child care subsidies, reduce co-pays, and increase wages for child care workers in this year's state budget to help working parents afford child care and improve quality. Our economic recovery post-pandemic is dependent upon a robust network of child care providers. Local providers have suffered great financial distress due to the pandemic and are hanging on by a thread. They need additional federal dollars dispersed swiftly. Thank you to the local providers and parents who joined us at the press event and shared their powerful stories. Click here to read more about this event.