Winner of Vol. 72, No. 5
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, March 11, 2021
$1.00
ONE YEAR LATER n Few people knew what a coronavirus was at the start of 2020. Now we can’t escape it By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@riverdalepress.com
She was a Manhattan health care worker who recently returned from Iran. He was a New Rochelle lawyer who worked in Manhattan. Everyday people leading everyday lives. But what they carried inside them was no everyday virus. And there was just no way they could know how it would change not just their home, but the world.
What’s inside?
It’s not over yet. Just wait a little longer. Page A10 This was how our knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic started in New York at the beginning of March 2020. Later, however, we would learn that it wasn’t the actual start of COVID-19’s invasion into our state and country. These were simply the first confirmed cases of a virus many of us were convinced would never make it to the shores of the United States. Yet, more than 365 days later, SARSCoV-2 is still here, with nearly 29 million confirmed cases. And more than 525,000 deaths. On March 3, 2020, Salanter Akiba Riverdale closed both its academy and high school
becoming two of the first schools in the country to shut down because of the coronavirus. One of its high school students was the daughter of that New Rochelle lawyer, and she, too, would become an early positive case. The hope at the time was that SAR could reopen its doors on March 16, just after the Purim holiday. Days later, however, some of the community’s other elite schools — Horace Mann, Riverdale Country and Ethical Culture Fieldston — shuttered their campuses as well. And by then it was anyCORONAVIRUS, page A4
Courtesy of Alissa Eckert & Dan Higgins, CDC
ALONE & HUNGRY
Confusion leads to missed meals in quarantine n Manhattan College says it raced to fix issues moment they found out about them By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
How do we vote? It’s all about ranked-choice voting for the special election on March 23, but what exactly does that mean? Page A3
A Bronx mayor? Eddie Cullen knows his shot is a long one, but still the businessman with strong local family roots could picture himself at City Hall. Page A5
College is supposed to be the time of your life. But as the coronavirus pandemic completely upends what it means to study and live on campuses across the country, a few students much closer to home say they suffered even more: Days filled with hunger. It all stemmed from a positive coronavirus test at Manhattan College last month. With millions already exposed to COVID-19 in some form or another, getting a positive test isn’t unusual. But it wasn’t the disease that ultimately threatened at least one student who had interacted with that positive classmate. ALEx Instead, quarantine beNIEvEs came dangerous after the school failed to deliver something to eat in a timely manner. On “Feb. 27, we didn’t get food until like 6 p.m.,” sophomore Jilleen Barrett said. “I know I didn’t, and there were some (other) students who didn’t as well.” Barrett was forced to move from her room in a communal dorm to Horan Hall on Manhattan College Parkway on Feb. 25, after finding out a friend tested positive. Horan would become her new home for the next 10 days. Barrett’s problems, however, began the moment she started quarantine. She was locked out of her room because the door’s passcode didn’t work. She called and emailed any college campus office she could, met only with automated responses of workers being away from their desk. It finally took a call to campus security to get the door unlocked.
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Jilleen Barrett, a Manhattan College sophomore, says her problems with the school’s coronavirus quarantine started when she was given the wrong passcode for her designated room. Barrett, along with other students, said Feb. 27 was her worst day, waiting for any food until 6 that evening. “I’m really angry that when you call someone they just don’t pick up,” Barrett said. “And I’m trying to figure out what it is that you have to do to get somebody to not only like pick up the phone or answer an email, but also help you.” A new passcode also didn’t work, forcing Barrett to find another room. Having to drop everything and change rooms on a weekday could’ve been disruptive to Barrett’s busy class and club schedule. Yet, Barrett settled into her new room and believed her quarantine troubles were over. That is, until she woke up the next
morning to no breakfast. Barrett filled out the required meal order form all students received in quarantine, but what she ordered did not arrive that morning. In fact, nothing was delivered to her. With that in mind, Barrett went on with the rest of her day, participating in a fivehour virtual conference for her sorority, looking forward to some lunch. The afternoon came and went, however, and that meal didn’t arrive at her door, either. Luckily, Barrett was able to hold herself over with some food and snacks she’d saved from the day before, but still, that couldn’t
replace a full meal. At a breaking point, Barrett finally reached out to dining services and residence life. But it was now the weekend, and neither office was open. “So, I definitely was getting really frustrated when that was happening, when I wasn’t getting food,” Barrett said. “I was both hungry and angry at the same time. I was ‘hangry.’” Finally, Barrett connected with Jacqueline Martin, Manhattan College’s health and safety coordinator. Dinner arrived QUARANTINE, page A4
Carranza’s departure leaves testing in question HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
On an episode of ‘PolitiChat,’ city council candidate Jessica Haller tells host Benny Goldstein she’s running for office to create a world that’s safe and nurturing for kids like him. Benny, 8, has so far interviewed four of the six special election candidates on his online chat show.
8-year-old puts candidates in hot seat n Benny Goldstein wants to learn all there is to know about politics and elections By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
I
t’s been a grueling race for the six candidates vying to replace Andrew Cohen in a March 23 city council special election. In recent months, the candidates
faced tough questions from journalists and community groups alike at several debates and forums. But perhaps the hardest-hitting questions have come from the least expected source: Benny Goldstein. And did we mention he’s 8? Like Edward R. Murrow before him, Benny sits down and interviews candidates face-to-face. Well, computer screen-to-computer screen. He delivers questions like: “What will be your No. 1 priority if you get elected?” And, “If you could go back in time to visit your
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younger self, what would you tell them?” So far, Benny has put four of the six candidates — former teacher Eric Dinowitz, environmentalist Jessica Haller, arts non-profit executive Mino Lora, and real estate attorney Dan Padernacht — in the hot seat for his “PolitiChat” web series. He’s still working on booking retired police detective Carton Berkley as well. But as many journalists know, some interviews are just hard to get. As a young political aficionado, Benny started his web series for a POLITICHAT, page A4
n Borough superintendent Meisha Porter steps into new chancellor role on Monday By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
The past year has been challenging for many. But that’s probably especially the case for Richard Carranza. The schools chancellor says he lost 11 friends and family members to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s devastating in and of itself. But Carranza had something else massive on his plate: Managing the closing and reopening of the nation’s largest public school system. It was an ongoing and daunting process, but Carranza won’t see the system’s full reopening to fruition, as he announced he is stepping down. His successor, Bronx superintendent Meisha Porter, will take over CARRANZA, page A4