(MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. / The Journal) — Only with less than two months into his term, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat who represents the 16th Congressional District of New York (which includes the City of Mount Vernon) in the House of Representatives, has been working hard on legislation and how his office can help the local communities of Southern Westchester County and the Northwest Bronx in New York City. He's introduced legislation on a commission that will investigate the events of January 6th, 2021, the day of a pro-Trump insurrection when rioters sieged the Capitol, and he recently became Vice Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, with his experience as a local teacher and principal. Now, his latest move is getting an important vaccine site in his district, which was the early epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 and is home to many essential and frontline workers.
The new mass vaccination center will be housed at the New York National Guard Armory at 2 Quincy Place in Yonkers, and is part of a partnership under President Joe Biden and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo; it has a capacity of inoculating 1,000 people each day over its eight weeks of operation, and will be jointly overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) in a federal, state, and local partnership which also includes the federal Department of Health and Human Services, federal Department of Defense (including the New York National Guard), the Westchester County government and the county's health department, and the municipal governments of the City of Yonkers and the City of Mount Vernon. The Yonkers National Guard Armory was selected as a site by New York State, together with FEMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"We're proud that our team was able to work with the Governor to bring a mass vaccination site to our district. We will act urgently to ensure an equitable vaccination rollout to all of our constituents. Our district was the state's original epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak and is still dealing with the devastating effects today, which have disproportionately impacted seniors as well as Black and Latino communities."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D, NY-16)
Remember, only eligible people (those who are on New York State's current priority list for COVID-19 vaccinations, which include CDC vaccine priority phases 1A and 1B and those with eligible comorbidities) can sign up. As it stands, sign-up registration for vaccine appointments opened on Wednesday, February 25th with priority for people residing in Yonkers ZIP Codes 10701, 10703, 10704, and 10705, as well as Mount Vernon ZIP Codes 10550, 10552, and 10553. Sign-up registration for vaccine appointments for all Westchester County residents (including areas outside the 16th Congressional District) will open on Wednesday, March 3rd, which is the expected opening day of the site. The only ways to register for an appointment are through the NYSDOH systems online available 24 hours a day at covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov and over the phone at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829) from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week.
"These four additional federally funded community vaccination sites across the Empire State are part of federal, state and local governmental efforts to address and prevent COVID-19 health inequities and ensure an equitable response to the pandemic. Vulnerable and under-served populations having access to vaccines is part of our commitment to ensuring every person who wants a vaccine can get one."
Acting FEMA Region 2 Administrator David Marstaud
"The underserved communities that this mass vaccination site in Yonkers will aim to service are the same residents who have borne the brunt of this deadly virus as it ravaged our Nation, State and County. The same communities that were hit hardest when that nation's first coronavirus epicenter came to Westchester. With the new Biden Administration, we in government are here to provide help. The disparities that have occurred throughout the inoculation process are unacceptable and I thank President Biden and Governor Cuomo for their assistance in creating this site. These mass vaccination sites are truly the light at the end of the tunnel."
Westchester County Executive George Latimer
The City of Mount Vernon, including Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, and the Mount Vernon City School District (MVCSD) are working to encourage residents to get vaccinated with multiple public service announcements. Mayor Patterson-Howard also notes that she and her administration are working with MVCSD officials, including Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton, as well as local New York State elected officials Senator Jamaal T. Bailey (Democrat, 36th Senate District), Senator Alessandra Biaggi (Democrat, 34th Senate District), and Assemblyperson J. Gary Pretlow (Democrat, 89th Assembly District) to possibly get a vaccination site within the city in the future and notes that both Grace Baptist Church and the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center (MVNHC) or a MVCSD school building would be a suitable community-based location. Grace Baptist Church has hosted a temporary COVID-19 testing site in partnership with NYSDOH and the Northwell Health system in October 2020, and the MVNHC offices have been doing COVID-19 testing and vaccinations as a local medical center.
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