Elected Officials Representing Village, Chelsea & Hell’s Kitchen Request State of Emergency on Monkeypox

New York — Today, NYS Senator Brad Hoylman, Congressman Jerry Nadler, NYS Assemblymember Deborah Glick, NYS Assembly Health Chair Dick Gottfried, NYS Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, and Council Member Erik Bottcher released the following joint statement calling on a State of Emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak in New York State:

“New York is in the middle of another health emergency that shows no signs of abating. Since the first monkeypox case was confirmed on May 18, the number of verified monkeypox cases in New York has risen to 1,341, more than 25% of all cases nationally, and continues to grow. 

New York State and New York City should each act now. The NYS Department of Health declaration of Imminent Threat to Public Health was an important and necessary, but not sufficient, step in recognizing and combating the seriousness of the virus. A state and local declaration of emergency will help facilitate disaster response efforts by cutting the red tape standing in the way of effective and speedy distribution of testing, treatment, and vaccines. For example, the declaration could expedite approval processes for new testing and treatment, as well as procurement and contracting processes necessary to provide testing, treatment, and vaccines to New Yorkers. We must ensure that the vaccine doses coming to New York are administered quickly and distributed equitably and that those exposed to monkeypox can get swiftly tested and treated if necessary. In addition, a disaster declaration will send a message to the federal government that we need additional resources to deal with this health crisis. Accordingly, we urge Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams to immediately declare a state of emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak.

This call to action is even more urgent given the resumption of classes next month for New York’s 1.1 million college and university students.”

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