This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated February 11, 2021
As we near a full year of living with the restrictions that coronavirus has made necessary, pandemic fatigue is real, but as a community, we must continue to do what is necessary to limit the spread of the virus.
After rising steadily throughout November and December, citywide metrics have all declined recently. On January 8, the seven-day average of new cases hit its winter peak at 6,373, nearly five times the rate two months earlier. A month later, that figure had dropped below 4,000. Hospitalizations and deaths have followed similar trends in recent weeks.
All of this is encouraging, but the proliferation of new, significantly more infectious strains of the virus requires that we remain vigilant. New research finds that the U.K. variant is doubling every ten days within the United States and that mutations from the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil are as much as 50 percent more transmissible.
At this point, if we have not contracted COVID-19 ourselves, we all know people who have. Statistics have moved in a positive direction lately, but anecdotally, I can say that I know more people testing positive over the past two weeks than during any similar span over this past year, and many people I know are saying they have had the same experience.
It is incumbent on all of us to make the right choices and do the right things to minimize community spread. It is also imperative that those in positions of power, especially government institutions, operate safely.
Lately, discussions about local police have almost entirely revolved around how they interact with the communities they are part of, and for good reason. I have written about that in this column several times the past year, but this week I am raising a different matter of public safety concerning local police and how they deal with the community here in Southern Brooklyn.
“They have promoted these community forums during the months of November and December, when public gatherings of more than ten were prohibited and anyone organizing one was subject to a $15,000 fine.”
The NYPD’s Neighborhood Policing initiative is the department’s attempt to interact directly with the community. Each precinct in Southern Brooklyn is divided into four sectors, each of which has monthly Build The Block meetings within those neighborhoods. Those regular meetings with community members began in 2018. As with all public forums, that has created challenges during the pandemic.
When the virus was raging out of control during the holiday season, there were complaints from some when the 68 Precinct of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights advertised Build The Block meetings at indoor venues. Of four meetings they invited the public to between November 24 and December 15, all but one was scheduled to be held indoors. They have not promoted any such meetings over the past two months.
The 62 Precinct of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach has seemed to fly under the radar with regard to their Build The Block Meetings. They have been consistently promoting multiple, in-person, indoor Build The Block meetings every month, throughout the pandemic. They shared photos on Social Media of one such event in August, where Officers, some unmasked, could be seen addressing seated community members who were not socially distancing. They have promoted these community forums during the months of November and December, when public gatherings of more than ten were prohibited and anyone organizing one was subject to a $15,000 fine.
The 62 Precinct’s latest is an invite for a community meeting February 13. As with all of their flyers for these events, there is no mention of masks or social distancing being required, but they suggest people arrive early for refreshments.
However, the 40 Precinct in the Bronx has been promoting their February 10 meeting to be held on Zoom. The 43 Precinct in the Bronx did their February 4 meeting outdoors. The 113 Precinct in Queens did one that same day on Zoom. The 34 Precinct in Manhattan held their January 23 forum outside. The 66 Precinct of Borough Park conducted their January 23 meeting over Zoom.
Southern Brooklyn, and the 62 Precinct in particular, seem to be the exception citywide. It is not acceptable from a city department that is supposed to serve and protect the community to organize indoor gatherings that put the safety of those community members at risk. These meetings must not be held indoors.
