A Collective Demand for Pandemic Relief by Sean Ghazala

A coalition of Staten Island groups including La Colmena, the Pride Center of Staten Island, and CWA Local 1102 launched a campaign Friday, December 11, to demand collective economic security through federal COVID-19 relief. The letter calling for “the swift passage of a comprehensive COVID relief bill before the end of the year,” comes as cases are surging locally, and the Island has seen the highest one-day increase since April.

The coalition’s campaign for federal COVID-19 relief was launched by Move Forward Staten Island, a non-partisan organization focused on advancing social justice issues in the community through civic engagement, education, grassroots organizing, and policy advocacy. The campaign was initially a statement in opposition of the Proud Boys involvement at the Mac’s Public House Rally. The rally was alarming for its presence of the far-right, neo-fascist Proud Boys, its disregard of COVID-19 public health guidelines, and that congresswoman-elect Nicole Malliotakis was among the supporters who gathered at Mac’s to declare her support. In her December 10 appearance on NY1, Malliotakis pointed to the Supreme Court’s overturning of New York State attendance caps at religious services as confirming the coronavirus mandates were “arbitrary decisions by our governor."

Seeking to counter the individualistic pursuits of rally attendees, the coalition is demanding COVID relief for collective health and economic security.

“So many of our neighbors are hurting which is why it’s so important for us to quickly pass a relief bill” Julienne Verdi, director of Move Forward Staten Island, and a owner and Principal Attorney at J. Verdi Law, LLC said. “The best way to support our small businesses is by keeping the pressure on to pass a relief bill before year’s end and by all of us doing our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while we wait for widespread vaccination.”

In the congresswoman-elect’s appearance on NY1, the day before the relief campaign’s launch, Malliotakis called on the current congress to pass relief immediately. When asked if Malliotakis had expressed her support for their letter, Verdi said “we have not heard from Congresswoman-Elect Malliotakis [but] would certainly welcome her support of our efforts.”

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