Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and New York labor leaders sent a letter to the New York congressional delegation on Wednesday, Dec. 9, outlining the critical need for state and local funding in any stimulus bill in order to prevent massive damage to the State of New York.

 

The letter was addressed to U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer, Kirstin Gillibrand and members of the New York congressional delegation. In it, officials talked about the desperate circumstances New York suffered at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis that continue today.  “We understand Congress is considering a short-term federal funding measure of approximately $908 billion in COVID-19 relief,” the letter read. “As an interim measure, this proposal should address states’ immediate and pressing needs, and it is essential and fair that New York receive at least a minimum amount of funding necessary to stop further massive damage.”

 

The New York state and city officials wrote that it was important to remind federal colleagues that New York paid a unique price for COVID, and the damage done was as a direct result of federal negligence. “Unlike almost any other state, the COVID crisis in New York was caused by the COVID virus coming from Europe. Scientists have definitively traced our COVID strain to European countries. The Trump administration was either unaware or did not inform New York that the virus had traveled from China to Europe and was traveling to New York State.”

 

They went on to say that while the Trump administration banned travel from China on February 1, it did not ban European travel until March 16, and by that time, over 3 million Europeans had traveled to New York and had potentially been spreading the virus for months prior to any notification to New York officials. They said that this explained the explosion of cases in New York State. “These facts have been confirmed by Dr. Redfield and Dr.  Fauci in testimony before Congress,” the letter read.

 

They added that federal aid in the $908 billion package must be proportionate to the damage incurred by states and must consider the federal liability. “New York has the highest number of deaths in the nation, and has among the highest number of unemployed people in the nation because COVID came to New York before the Trump administration even acknowledged COVID’s presence on the eastern seaboard. Federal funds should not be distributed politically but rather distributed by need and damage.”

 

They letter went on to say that by any fair estimate, New York is the economic engine of the United States, a fact that should be recognized in any federal legislation intended to jumpstart the national economy. “No state was damaged to the extent that the federal government damaged New York,” the letter read.

 

Officials also wrote that the city’s need is dire. “If the MTA does not receive $4.5 billion this year, 9,000 workers will be laid off, and subway and bus fares and tolls on crossings will be increased beyond the level of inflation. If New York State does not receive a minimum of $15 billion in aid, or if New York City does not receive a minimum of $9 billion in direct aid, then tax increases, layoffs of essential workers, and significant borrowing will all be necessary.”

 

They added that it was no time to impose more burden on hard-working New York families, nor was it the time to lay off essential workers, especially ahead of undertaking a complicated and labor-intensive vaccination program. “We understand that you hope this initial package will fund states through next March at which time a more substantial package will be passed,” they wrote. “However, we will not make it to March without the necessary funding outlined above.”

 

The full text of the letter can be read online here.

 

During the governor’s usual COVID-10 press conference on Wednesday, which New York City’s mayor joined in part, the governor said there was no tax increase that could be imposed in New York State that could make up for the lack of funding needed from the federal government.

 

Meanwhile, on the same day, grassroots organizations, State Senators Jessica Ramos and Brad Hoylman, Assemblywoman-elect Jessica González-Rojas, and excluded workers and activists unrolled a five-block long, 650-foot scroll on Central Park West to symbolize New York billionaires’ $600 billion in net worth. Speakers called on Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature to return to session, pass an emergency tax on New York’s wealthiest and immediately raise emergency relief for struggling New Yorkers.

 

BREAKING: 100+ community members unveil 700 ft scroll to show the massive gains of NY’s billionaires and millionaires during the pandemic.

For perspective: 1 inch = $100k
#FundExcludedWorkers #MakeBillionairesPay

👉Learn more: https://t.co/hnKdndGtG4 pic.twitter.com/TzBRiikJFM

— Make the Road NY 🦋 (@MaketheRoadNY) December 9, 2020

 

The nonprofit, Make the Road New York wrote in a press release that New York’s wealthy pay less in taxes than working class people, and that tax obligations of America’s billionaires decreased 79% between 1980 and 2018. “The top 1%  pays less in New York taxes than low-income and middle-class New Yorkers,” they wrote. “New York has the 44th most unfair state and local tax system in the country.”

 

The group said that State wealth taxes could raise $35 billion per year, and cited a number of bills with the breakdown:

 

• $5.5 billion – Billionaires’ tax S.8277 / A.10414
• $4.5 billion – Ultramillionaires’ tax S.7378 / A.10363
• $13 billion – Stock transfer tax S.6203 / A.07791
• $3.2 billion – Stock buyback tax S.7629 / A.09748
• $650 million – Pied-a-terre tax S.44 / A.4540
• $500 million – Corporate landlord tax S.7231 / A.9041
• Additional wealth taxes total $35 billion per year

 

Back at the conference, a Cuomo administration official confirmed that bars and restaurants were the fifth and sixth highest arenas, in terms of mass gatherings, for the spread of COVID-19, and were also the fastest growing arenas for virus spread.

 

Meanwhile, the governor said that 170,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine may arrive in New York State as early as this weekend, subject to FDA approval. Nursing home residents and nursing home staff will be prioritized for vaccination, followed by emergency hospital staff. The governor said that an education campaign on the safety of the vaccine is currently being prepared for roll-out given 50 percent of the population are currently not inclined to get it, but 75 percent of the population will need to get it in order for it to be effective and prevent community spread.

 

He said talks were also underway with the federal government about the measures that need to be taken to reassure and encourage undocumented immigrants to get the vaccine.

 

Separately, he added that further COVID-19 protocol will be announced on Friday.