Mayor Bill de Blasio took time Wednesday to thank Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi following the announcement of the proposal of the House Federal Stimulus Bill.
Mayor de Blasio says the bill will include direct and local aid including $17 billion for New York City, with a total of $375 billion total for counties and localities.
If the bill passes, it will provide financial aid for states and cities. There will also be $24 billion for New York State of the $500 billion for the states.
According to the city, $10 billion will be used for food assistance to support the increased use of SNAP and a 15% increase in benefits.
It will also be used for housing, including $4 billion for new and renewed Section 8 vouchers. Federal benefits will also be available for survivors of first responders who have dies in the line of duty related to COVID-19.
A Heroes’ Fund will also use $200 billion to establish hazard pay for essential workers. This will include a $13 per hour premium on top wages and up to a $10,000 bonus.
In addition to the stimulus bill, Mayor de Blasio also addressed the growing concern over pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome.
He says there have been 82 cases detected in New York City. This includes 53 cases that tested positive for COVID-19 and antibodies. He says one fatality has been reported.
The city will be launching a multilingual PSA campaign Wednesday targeted to parents about the syndrome.
This Thursday, 12 additional miles of Open Streets will open with 1.3 miles with local partners. The streets include 4th Street, Newkirk Avenue and Grattan Street in Brooklyn, along with several others in Queens and Manhattan.
Another 7.6 miles will open with local precincts including West 238th Street, 140th Street, Rhinelander Avenue and Creston Avenue in the Bronx and Prospect Place and 6th Avenue in Brooklyn.
The mayor says 9.2 miles of protected bike lanes will also be opening throughout may. 4th Avenue, Ashland Place and Navy Street and Flatbush Avenue will open in Brooklyn.
Also available Wednesday are Pre-K offers. The mayor said Pre-K offers are out to 71,790 students and their families.
A record 77% of families received an offer to their top choice, as well as a record 90% of families received offer to one of their top three choices. The mayor says seats are still available for children born in 2016.
As nightly subway cleanings continue across New York City, the mayor says 370 people were engaged Tuesday night with 213 accepting services. He says 178 went to shelters and 35 went to the hospital.
Mayor de Blasio also took time to thank several groups for their help in the fight against COVID-19.
The group include Americares for donated 555,000 N95 masks, Chine General Chamber Commerce for donating 100,000 surgical masks, Ford and Troy Design Manufacturer for donated 30,000 non-surgical face shields, Century 21 Stores for over 20,000 square feet of warehouse space for PPE storage and Anheuser-Busch for 23,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, among others.
