Winner of Vol. 71, No. 42
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, November 26, 2020
$1.00
Vaccine coming, but ‘new normal’ still here What’s inside?
Racing a drag Dinowitz tries new tact to fight drag racing in neighborhoods. He’s going to Albany. Page A3
n FDA doctor warns there’s still a long road left to reach the end of this pandemic By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@riverdalepress.com
It took the United States nearly 100 days to produce its first 1 million confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections, hitting that mark on April 28. Today, the country is adding that same number of cases every six days. America is well on its way to reaching 13 million cases by Thanksgiving, as deaths related to COVID-19 complications number above 1,000 each day. Even New York, which appeared to have been long past the worst of the initial outbreak, is starting to see numbers climb as government officials contemplate what might have to shut down to prevent the virus spread from spiraling out of control. There is light at the end of the tunnel — it’s just a lot of tunnel left to traverse before we reach the end. Two pharmaceutical companies, Moderna and Pfizer, have boasted far-better-than-expected trial results for their vaccines, meaning we could be getting closer to finally defeating the
JULIUS CONSTANTINE MOTAL / File
Face masks and social distancing have become the ‘new normal’ on this planet over the last several months. But a doctor with the Food and Drug Administration warns that even with positive news on the vaccine front, people must stay vigilant, and protect themselves from the coronavirus as much as possible. coronavirus. Yet seeing life return to normal is something that will still take months, even after the first group of people get vaccinated. That’s according to Dr. Peter Marks, direc-
tor of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research. Marks made a virtual stop at Community Board 8’s health, hospitals and social
Socially distanced tree
Across water Good art looks great in a gallery, but it looks even better in a 3-D virtual gallery. Page A8
services committee last week, sharing optimism, but chasing it with a strong dose of reality. “I think that the first availability of the vaccine under emergency use authorization is matter of weeks away, probably several weeks away,” Marks told committee members. Even when it does roll out, it won’t be available to everyone, he said. In fact, it won’t be available to most people. It’s likely the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have to create a priority list on who gets the vaccine before others. And even when that process starts, it could take up to a month — and two separate doses — before the typical person is fully shielded from the coronavirus. “Your body has to build up the antibodies, and that takes time,” Marks said. “There is a limited amount of vaccine right now, so it’s possible the Centers for Disease Control may decide to make a recommendation on who should get vaccinated first. Maybe health care workers should get the first available vaccine, or people in long-term nursing facilities. Can’t say for sure, but some of those groups have been talked about.” Wider-spread availability of the vaccine won’t come until the end of January at the VACCINE, page A4
COVID closes school buildings ... again n With weekly positive rate above 3%, de Blasio pulled trigger sending students home last week By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Giving back Find out what one restaurant decided to do with all of its extra food. Page A5
Two kids race around a tree in Seton Park as the fall winds down. Despite the threat of coronavirus lingering over our neighborhoods, youngsters are still finding a way to safely get together, and enjoy some of the waning days of good weather before winter officially arrives.
Forever a hockey player at heart n Jim Breidenbach makes the best of pandemic, keeping a positive vibe in neighborhood By PETE JANNY Intern
S
ome things in life are always constant, no matter what reality tries to throw at it. Like the coronavirus. Jim Breidenbach in particular knows how to stay positive amidst a crisis, and because of that, he stays true to the constant fixtures in life worth living for. At 73, Breidenbach does his best to keep himself busy, with a lot of his focus in the COVID-19 working brightening up the days of others around him. He’s lived in Riverdale more than 60 years, and is no stranger to his neighborhood’s streets. Breidenbach often greets others with a wave and smile, regardless of whether it’s a close friend or a total stranger. “He’s outside almost every night and people pass by to say hello to him,” said Ray Castiglia, who lives near Breidenbach’s Netherland Avenue home. “Everybody gets along with him.” At the center of Breidenbach’s life, however, isn’t neighbors or a new face wandering into his path. No, for Breidenbach, the
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Jim Breidenbach’s life revolves around hockey, having played the game for nearly half a century before moving off-ice as an official for the National Hockey League. His love for the game started after finding out a few New York Rangers players lived in the same apartment building he did growing up. true “love of his life” is the game of hockey. As a young boy in Queens, Breidenbach was introduced to the slippery sport after learning a few New York Rangers players lived in the same Bayside apartment com-
IN CONTRACT 3656 Johnson Avenue, Apt. 2J ELLEN FELD // 917.734.9463 ANNE SHAHMOON // 914.262.5679
plex his family did. “Matter of fact, there was a guy named Earl Ingarfield Sr., who played for the Rangers, and we would see him all the time in HOCKEY, page A4
Not even two months into the academic year, public schools returned to square one once again, shifting back to fully remote classes across all campuses beginning last week. The move mimics one the city made in mid-March when it became one of the first epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic’s American leg. But although the weekly positive test rate is much lower now than it was then, it nevertheless reached 3 percent — the threshold BILL Mayor Bill de Blasio de BLASIO set last summer as the one requiring public schools to shutter. The mayor first hinted earlier this month that schools could return exclusively to remote learning as early as Nov. 16, Yet, coronavirus positivity rates in the city didn’t climb as fast as expected, leaving many parents, students and teachers in limbo — and sitting through hours of de Blasio’s daily news conferences, where he usually announces COVID-19 statistics. And with each passing day, the mayor kept repeating the same mantra: Schools would remain open. That is, until Nov. 18. de Blasio’s news conference was more than four hours late, almost assuring viewers the mayor would eventually sit in front of his microphone and meticulously laminated notebook pages to deliver bad news. And he did. “Unfortunately, as of today, on our seven-day rolling average for coronavirus positivity, New York City had exactly three point zero percent, and as a result, we do need to close our schools for the coming days,” de Blasio said. “No one is happy about this decision. We all, in fact, are feeling very sad about this decision, because so much good work has been put into keeping the schools open — and opening them up to begin with.” SCHOOLS CLOSED, page A4