Washington Heights Community Board To Hold Virtual Meetings

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Washington Heights and Inwood's community board has canceled its March full board meeting as a coronavirus precaution and plans to hold future meetings virtually instead of in-person, its chair announced Thursday.

Community Board 12 sent out an update from Chair Eleazar Bueno announcing that it will begin canceling or virtually hosting executive and full board meetings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement follows an earlier alert that the board's office will be closed so that staff can work remotely and prevent the spread of the virus. Staff will continue to work during the office hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and are accessible via their emails, which are available on the website.

The next virtual meeting will be of Community Board 12's Executive Committee, which was originally scheduled to meet this week. Bueno said that meeting will instead be held virtually next week and plans to release an exact date on Friday.

The March full board meeting, scheduled for next Tuesday, will be canceled, but a date for a virtual full board meeting will also be released Friday, Bueno said.

(To keep up with coronavirus news in Washington Heights and Inwood, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Community Board 12 originally planned to hold its board meetings in-person, according to a notice sent out Wednesday, but updated the plan Thursday to include the virtual meetings based on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's suspension of the Open Meetings Law.

The Washington Heights and Inwood board is one of several community boards in New York City that have closed office, cancelled or held off on meetings as officials advise New Yorkers to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Gatherings of more than 50 people have been banned in New York City as officials try to prevent the spread of the virus.

So far, 22 New York City residents have died and 3,615 tested positive for novel coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

The number of people hospitalized is 554 with 169 in the intensive care unit, according to the mayor.

There are 980 cases in Queens, 976 in Manhattan, 1030 in Brooklyn, 436 in the Bronx, and 165 in Staten Island, official data show.