Winner of Vol. 71, No. 41
What’s inside?
Thursday, November 19, 2020
n Infectious disease doctor says keep outdoor dining, but consider other plans for the holidays kbrendlen@riverdalepress.com
Administrators at College of Mount Saint Vincent aren’t taking any chances with coronavirus still lurking about. Page A3
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As COVID cases rise, what’s safe? What’s not? By KIRSTYN BRENDLEN
Mount closes
the Pulitzer Prize
Concern was originally sparked by hot spots — neighborhoods mostly in Brooklyn and Queens that had positive coronavirus rates spiking as high as 5 percent. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “clus-
ter zones” saw some schools and non-essential businesses closed in an effort to keep infections contained. And during daily briefings, the governor separated those cluster zones from other statewide positive rates. As November began, however, rates began to climb outside of those “cluster zones.” It wasn’t
a surprise — experts had been warning of a second wave of the coronavirus since spring, one that would overlap with the annual flu season. As of Tuesday, the city’s seven-day average of positive SARS-CoV-2 tests was just above 2.7 percent, with 7,400 cases and more than 400 hospitalizations reported citywide. Cases, hospitalizations and even deaths had all increased over the weekly average from October,. In this part of the Bronx, the
seven-day positive rates were just under 3 percent in the 10471 ZIP code, including Riverdale and Fieldston, and just over 2 percent in 10463, which includes Kingsbridge and Spuyten Duyvil. Mayor Bill de Blasio had previously declared schools would close if that seven-day rolling average ever crossed the 3 percent positive mark citywide. Last Friday, the mayor warned teachers and families to prepare to move completely online by Monday. The positive rate stayed below
Addressing Alzheimer’s
that metric over the weekend, though it’s impossible to know for how long. On Monday and Tuesday, rates remained under 3 percent, keeping schools open, although updates on social media from de Blasio indicated he was taking it day-by-day. It’s the first time positive coronavirus rates have remained that high, and trended upward, since the spring. There was one big difference last spring, however. Schools, ofCOVID RISE, page A4
Bowman introduces a new age in House n It’s community’s biggest political change in over three decades By KIRSTYN BRENDLEN kbrendlen@riverdalepress.com
Blank spaces Nothing is more powerful than a vote. But what if few choose to wield that power down-ballot? Page A5
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
At her Bronx caregiving company Right at Home, Enrie Morales and her employees routinely treat Alzheimer’s patients — the recipients of these stuffed animals. It’s estimated some 5.5 million Americans — most older than 65 — have Alzheimer’s disease, making it one of the most common fatal illnesses in the country.
Compassion, awareness are key n Common yet deadly, Alzheimer’s disease impacts over 5.5 million Americans By ROSE BRENNAN
Noisy park The summer and fall have been filled with complaints about noise at Vannie. Will winter help? Page A8
rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
P
aulaida Rosas is a proud woman. Family and close friends know her as “Chickie,” and few if any can deny how much pride she has. In fact, when she lived at Skyview-on-the-Hudson, she’d push around a shopping cart so people didn’t know she needed a walker. After her husband died, Chickie herself realized she wasn’t getting any younger. It wasn’t long before she welcomed a health aide into her home. That was nothing too serious. But as time went on, her son Howard started noticing some things were just not quite right with her. “She had ability, in terms of daily
living,” Howard said. “She would take a shower, no problems. But she would leave the water running maybe 30 minutes.” Following a medical emergency in late 2018 that landed her in the hospital, Chickie kept reiterating her desire to go home. That’s not an unENRIE MORALES common wish from a hospital bed. But it wasn’t the homesickness that worried Howard. It was that Chickie didn’t really know where she was. Once Chickie left the hospital, she headed to the Hebrew Home of Riverdale for rehabilitation. Her memory lapses only got worse, and Howard made the deci-
sion to make her temporary stay there permanent. That way Chickie could get the day-to-day assistance she needed. “By the time she got to the Hebrew Home, those were two different environments in two or three weeks,” Howard said. “And I think that threw her off, without a doubt.” Chickie is not alone. Millions of Americans suffer from some sort of memory loss or memory-related disease. And November spotlights one of the most common — yet most deadly — forms of memory loss. It’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and many might not know just how wideranging it truly is. Alzheimer’s is the sixth most common cause of death in America, according to the National Institutes of Health. Some estimates even place it as high as third, after heart disease and cancer. Regardless, Alzheimer’s is quite a comALZHEIMER’S, page A4
It’s almost impossible to dispute. New members of Congress don’t have as much experience or power as their veteran colleagues. And because of that, they might not be as effective. That was a common refrain during the campaign to become the next representative in the U.S. House for this part of the Bronx. Eliot Engel JAMAAL had served these BOWMAN same constituents for 30 years, building significant personal and political connections in the House, leading to ultimately chairing the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It was a snapshot into conversations that would start after the general election. Democrats didn’t take as many seats in the House as they had hoped, and some politicians and analysts pointed fingers at progressive Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has become the de facto head of the party’s seemingly ultra-progressive wing. Ocasio-Cortez hit back on those critics, however, saying she and other progressives had been unseating “powerful” Democrat incumbents since she beat 20-year incumbent Joseph Crowley in 2018. AOC endorsed Bowman’s campaign in June, joining former presidential candidates — and progressive U.S. Senators — Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. “The reality is, the majority of people across the country are ready BOWMAN, page A4
Coronavirus wipes away January’s state Regents exams n Still no decision yet, however, on whether the achievement tests will return once again next summer By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
A No. 2 pencil perches atop the desk, ready to go at a moment’s notice. You clutch another for dear life, as you ponder the five choices in front of you: A, B, C, D or E? Is E even an option? The clock’s ticking seems louder than normal in the silence of the classroom as you look around and discover your peers pondering the same questions. Many students of a certain age are familiar with the standardized test setting. But it’s not just the specially engineered psychological torture for students it’s often made out to be. In fact, many of these tests — particularly at the state level — measure proficiency and growth throughout the academic year. But it seems New York state will be without
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these benchmarks for at least a while more. After canceling Regents exams in June, the state has done it again for January, meaning it could be next summer before anyone has a chance to stress over the achievement tests again. The culprit behind the move, of course, is the coronavirus pandemic. “Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been the health and well-being of our students and educators,” said Betty Rosa, the state’s interim education commissioner, in a release. “We determined the January Regents exams could not be safely, equitably and fairly administered across the state, given where the pandemic currently stands.”
Students not ready? There’s no decision yet about Regents exams next June. But Michael Flanagan, a social studies teacher at Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, believes no one should mark their calendars for it, especially given the difficulties of teaching the Regents curriculum REGENTS, page A4
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
While the Regents exams might not be the favorite activity of many students, some believe they’re necessary — especially if they want to fully understand the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on the educational landscape.