Mayor Of Rye Josh Cohn Releases COVID-19 Updates For October 6 2020

Press release from the City of Rye:

October 6 2020

[If you don't get these messages directly and would like to, please go to https://www.ryeny.gov/services/email-notifications, scroll down and select "City of Rye News and Information."]

We should take the upsides of the pandemic where we find them, don't you think? I was startled yesterday to find myself getting a flu shot outdoors. A vaccination is a hard event to redeem, but, in fact, the singing birds and passing cars took a little sting from the moment. I commend the practice to you, if a needle is in your future.

Another of the rare pluses of the pandemic for many, one with no sting at all, has been outdoor dining in "Purchase Plaza." The Plaza has been highly appreciated by numerous residents, deemed a life saver by our restaurants, supported by some other Purchase Street businesses and viewed as a burden on business by others. Now, as the weather changes, the City Council on Wednesday will need to decide how to go forward beyond the coming weekend. The City has gathered information from restaurants (available in the Council agenda package online) and we on the Council have been listening to all the opinions from differing perspectives that have been offered to us. We will try to make the best decision we can for all the businesses on the street and for the residents of Rye.

Purchase Street outdoor dining has perhaps been a counterbalance to the loss of many of our regular fall events. Those events, of course, are often prominent celebrations of worthy causes, as well as opportunities to get together. For example:

-SPRYE held its annual awards evening (honoring the terrific front-line workers of Port Chester, Rye, Rye Brook EMS and Harrison EMS) virtually. Please think of SPRYE and all it does for the 60-and-over community in Rye and environs.

-The Rye YMCA also held its annual benefit virtually. Again, please consider kindly the great contribution that the Y makes to life in our city.

-Our volunteer fire department canceled its annual inspection dinner, an event that brings representatives of neighboring fire departments to Rye to "inspect" our firefighters and equipment (yes, they all pass) and share a celebratory dinner. Raise a glass, if you will, to the volunteers who will turn out on your behalf, COVID or not.

-The Rye PBA cancelled its golf outing dinner, less a salute to the day's mishaps on the course than cheerful recognition of charitable causes served and the daily work of our police.

With this small sampling, i hope to remind us all of the many organizations and people that enrich our lives in Rye, in fall and throughout the year, and of the thanks and support they deserve, especially given the strains the pandemic has placed on their personnel and operations.

Speaking of the pandemic, Rye's Coronavirus count remains virtually unchanged. We continue to have a very small number of new active cases turning up (with only mild symptoms, we hope, for those who suffer). This is relatively good news of course, especially given the opening of schools, gyms, etc., and the appearance of hotspots in New York City, Rockland and elsewhere. Note that Port Chester and Rye Brook appear to have been slighted by being misreported as a hotspot last week. Our hospitable neighbors were not on the latest hotspot list from the state, and Port Chester's mayor assured me they are watching carefully to make sure of that.

Also last week, New York State has offered an app that will help you to be notified if you have been in a setting of COVID concern. Please go to ny.gov/covidalerts.

Rye Rec has been thinking of what it might safely offer as a Halloween treat, given the sad need to give window painting the year off. Rec has invented "Halloween Hustle & Crawl," an event to be enjoyed in small group sessions, masked, and with different sessions offering different age appropriate pursuits for grades K through 5. Please go to herefor further information

In recognition of school at home/work at home, I did extend the leaf blower ban through October 16th. i will be asking the City Council to look into potential improvements to our Code provision and its enforcement, but given the intensity of budget season in City Hall and the huge additional burden COVID-related tasks have placed on City staff, this will not be immediate.

We have been watching our budget anxiously since March to gauge the loss that Coronavirus will inflict in diminished revenue and increased expense. We deferred nearly half our annual road resurfacing budget until we could have a fall staff recommendation, to be made at our Wednesday Council meeting, as to how much of that spend should be spent. I am told that the green eyeshade people are feeling modestly positive and believe that we will be able to get to more pits and potholes before the freeze.

So many aspects of life in the City of Rye are COVID-stamped, variety cries out that I end with one that is not: the latest chapter in the continuing saga of what we might call The Kids' Car Club. As many will have heard, yet another stolen car chase ended courtesy of Rye's relatively bucolic roads. Fireman's (Daniel Balls) Circle, of course, has ended two chases with disastrous crashes. This last time, the intersection of Forest and Grace Church stopped the dangerous game. Last week's event ended with arrests and discovery of a pistol. The vehicle in this case was stolen in Stamford, presumably discovered unlocked (hot-wiring is a dying art), and may have come our way on a quest for still more untethered horsepower. It seems the team will drive one stolen car as it searches for more cars to steal. Other vehicular uses also are found: A car recently taken was used in a drive-by shooting. As, I said, no fun. Lock your car, please -- always, everywhere.

It's October. Though much is off this year, much is very much on. Remember, we are all in this together - one day at a time.

Mayor Josh Cohn

Useful Contacts:

• People under self-quarantine or exposure to known case, call (866) 588-0195 or 2-1-1 to self-report
• NYS Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline (888) 364-3065
• Westchester County COVID-19 Information Call 211
• COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling.

CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus-2020.html
NY Dept of Health Coronavirus Update
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home
NY Dept of Health Contacts
https://health.ny.gov/contact/contact_information/
County COVID Updates
https://health.westchestergov.com/2019-novel-coronavirus

This press release was produced by the City of Rye.The views expressed here are the author’s own.