By: Jared Evan
Mayor de Blasio is withholding $12 million in funds, allocated for improvements to Manhattan public schools, including upgrades to ventilation systems, to help plug the $5 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus, according to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, NY Post reported.
“It is shocking to me that these desperately needed funds have not yet been released,” Brewer wrote. “I have made numerous inquiries at various levels of government and have gotten no reliable information.”
“At first, I was told that all capital spending had to be related to handling the pandemic. This clearly includes funding dedicated to digital tools for remote learning and improved air circulation systems,” she wrote in a letter the mayor last week.
“How can we ask principals to make their buildings safe and ensure all students have the tools for remote learning if you will not release already allocated funding for appropriate purposes?” she continued in her letter.
Brewer is concerned with a budget she set aside last year for technology, upgrades to HVAC and cooling systems, bathroom repairs, and refillable water bottle stations at public schools in the borough, the Post explained.
Contrasting with Brewer’s gripes, the Department of Education claims they already put sufficient resources into making schools safe for students to return on Sept. 10.
“The city has been focused on readying school buildings for re-opening for months, including checking classrooms to ensure proper air flow and getting HVAC systems ready,” mayoral spokeswoman Laura Feyer said.
“For remote work, we’ve gotten over over 320,000 devices to New York City students to ensure they can learn at home. The city is facing a fiscal crisis but is continuing to invest the resources necessary to ensure a safe school re-opening.”
Meanwhile, de Blasio continues to stall indoor dining, as NYC’s economy continues to melt down. Mayor Bill de Blasio “suggests” that indoor dining will not happen until there is a COVID-19 vaccine, even though the rest of the state is eating out. Cuomo is on the same page as the mayor in this regard, according to media accounts.
De Blasio made an astonishing remark late last week regarding outdoor dining, which seems to make it ostensible that his socialist ideology influencing hiss policies on New York’s restaurant industry.
