Thursday, March 26, 2020

Governor Cuomo ejects students from CUNY and SUNY dorm rooms to be triaged for COVD-19 patients

CUNY students booted from dorms to make room for coronavirus hospitals

NY Post

Students who reside at CUNY and SUNY colleges have been kicked out of their dorms as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and health authorities eye the campuses as sites for make-shift emergency medical centers to help treat a wave of coronavirus patients, officials said.

“New York State is sending its CUNY and SUNY students out into pandemic through dorm closures,” fumed Petra Gregory, a student government representative at the College of Staten Island.

Dorm students at CUNY’s Hunter and City College campuses were also ordered to vacate as were resident-students at several SUNY campuses — including Stony Brook, which the Army Corps. of 
 Engineers has chosen as one of Long Island’s emergency medical sites.

Stony Brook already has a hospital on campus and already serves as a Suffolk County COVID-19 drive-thru testing center.

Gregory said dorms residents at CUNY’s Staten Island campus were abruptly told that they were getting the boot Monday night when a resident assistant knocked on their doors.

“I am currently being unfairly evicted out of my dorms, and I have a mother who is immunocompromised and a 6-month-old baby sister. My family is unable to pick me up, and I have to travel with my support animal and pack for him on this short notice as well,” one of the college’s resident-students, Jasmine Shaikh, said.

A CSI official sent an email to students on Tuesday confirming the state ordered the students booted to make room.

“Governor Cuomo has asked private and public universities across New York State to be ready for the possibility that dormitories might need to be converted into temporary emergency medical centers,” said Jennifer Borrero, CSI’s vice president of student affairs.

Wonder if there has been any discussion about triaging empty condos that haven't been sold or that are being used as pie-e-terre's in all those luxury towers and empty "affordable" apartments in mixed use buildings that the state and city gave tax breaks to.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since 911 N.Y. has been target number one for potential terror attacks. chem, bio, dirty bombs, suitcase nukes you name it. And yet 4000 hospitalized is buckling the system. Why isn’t the state and city better prepared? Total failure of elected leadership. Will someone ask Cuomo this at his next daily hot air BS session?

Anonymous said...

Why weren't these students home already?