Veteran Hamodia reporter Reuvain Borchardt received a shocking response from the failing NYC Mayor Deblasio.
QUESTION: While you’ve recommended that protestors stay home, for others in the city, you’ve enforced gathering bans, not recommendations.
The retail store owner who has been closed for two months and is experiencing financial ruin has been banned from opening his store. People for whom attending houses of worship are a regular part of life been have banned from doing so with more than 10 people.
Now, you’ve expressed solidarity with this particular protest cause. Is that why it’s been given dispensation to disregard all pandemic guidelines?
I know you were asked about this yesterday. And you said there’s such pain and anger, and [banning protests may be construed as] not hearing their concerns. What about the retail store owner facing imminent financial ruin, or the religious person who can’t attend a house of worship – what about their pain and anger?
So, Mr. Mayor are we in a pandemic or not? And do we have one set of rules of protesters and another for everyone else?
Thank you.
ANSWER: Thank you. You’re a smart guy asking a smart question but I’m going to tell you that anyone who thinks there’s different rules for different people, again, is not trying very hard to see the reality. And I’m just not going to hold back. If you guys want to really work hard to miss the reality, be my guest. But every day New Yorkers can see what’s going on. We’re in the middle of a national crisis, a deep-seated national crisis. There’s no comparison. I’m sorry, I do feel for the store owners, I really do. I know a lot of the store owners, and I’m so happy that on Monday, we’re going to start to open up – the minute we thought we could give relief. I want to tell you in the middle of all this, we’re talking about the pandemic. I haven’t been the last days talking about our thresholds because there’s been so much else going on. Let me take a moment to answer your question in part with this: Three indicator thresholds we do every day – the daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19, all of New York City, the latest report, 40 patients. 40 out of well over 8 million people. Forty. Below our threshold of 200. The daily number of people in our public hospital ICU’s, that threshold is 375; today it’s 354 people. The percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19. As more and more testing is being expanded literally every day in this city: 4%, lowest we’ve ever seen. 4%. So, Reuvain, I want to make clear: Before Thursday, which was not that long ago, my friend, we were doing one thing, one thing only: fighting back this disease, for everyone’s benefit. And I want to say: state and city, governor and I, have been totally united, that we had to have a strict, strong approach to get to these numbers. Didn’t happen by accident. So you could say, Oh, couldn’t we have done stores, and I appreciate how painful it’s been for people to be missing religious observance, but I’ll tell you the religious leaders of this city have stood as one and said we are not going to do things prematurely, that will endanger lives.
So these facts [the improved COVID-19 numbers] speak for themselves. We stood there together, we held the line, we beat back this disease. These last days, I’m very worried about any resurgence that might come from these protests. I absolutely am. I wish, and I honestly believe it, I think people have made their point, change is coming, I wish people would now realize in the name of the health of all New Yorkers, it’s time to go back, stay home, let’s turn this page. And the folks who are the criminals and the folks who are doing the violence need to be dealt with.
But this is other piece of the equation: When you see a nation, an entire nation, simultaneously grappling with extraordinary crisis seeded in 400 years of American racism, I’m sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services. This is something that’s not about which side of the spectrum you’re on. It’s about a deep, deep American crisis. We have never seen anything quite like what we’ve seen in the last few days. This is a powerful, painful historical moment.
So, no, I have eyes to see. We’re not going to treat it like it’s just any other day. We’re not going to treat it like, why are people outside the bars and not notice that all of America is grappling simultaneously with a horrible crisis. Sorry guys, there’s a world outside New York City.
So, we’re dealing with this. And I want to turn the page as quickly as possible. But we’re not going to ignore the reality.
Monday, we restart. And that relief is coming for those small business owners very quickly. On Monday. They can do curbside pickup, they can do pickup at the stores. That’s going to start the relief. If we do things right, notwithstanding, I’m worried again about the health impact here, but it’s only been a few days. It’s been people outdoors, which also, thank G-d means less spread than when people are indoors. I want to get past this and go back to doing the work we’re doing. We keep doing the good work fighting back this disease, then the next phase happens, and all those store owners you’re talking about are back in business as usual. That does not have to be far away. The religious services come back, that does not have to be far away, if we do the work together. And we will.
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29 Responses
his typical bumbling as usual…
He should have told the Commie Pinko about the over 2000 years of worldwide antisemitism we’re grappling with.
Cliff Notes on the mayors answer. Yes, their are 2 sets of rules. The Mayors beloved looters can do what ever they want, but tax paying business owners, and people wanting to attend religious services must stay home.
basically we have 2 groups of criminal s here in NYC 1-the rioters , burning breaking into stores shooting at police and 2- the Jews opening schools and shuls, so yhis overworked nut-job has an explanation as to why the latter one is much worse. Gimme a break. our fault, we elected him
is there is any way to remove this mayor from office it must be done so immediately. He killed hundreds with his Covid incompetence and he will kill the city with his stupidity. Come on all the lawyers out there. Can’t anyone come up with a solution.
He is probably not really an anti semite.
He’s just an arrogant, narcissistic, incompetent, imbecilic idiot.
Imagine one person having all this “qualities”……
If I lived in New York, I would make sure that I owned a shotgun and had plenty of ammunition. You’re on your own, frum community.
Question is when the big askanim will realize they need to stop kissing up to these politicians who have no regard to our needs.
why would anyone vote democrat??
I try not to just hate the mayor for everything he says, but I’m sorry, that was an extremely stupid stupid answer.
If people are hurting for a few hundred years of rasicm, why let more people die from a pandemic, and if its not dangerous let everyone open up.
Basically, we have to keep this pandemic under control unless there is a good enough reason not to, which is decided by yours truly.
Protests won’t help 400 years of American racism.
What a RASHA ! Could not care less about store keepers since there is a 400 year history of grief. So they have a right to destroy hundreds of years of collective toil, sweat and tears of all the hard working store owners all over the city? We are talking about hundreds of stores that were vandalized and they are not done until they are able to get every electronic gadget and nike sneakers to satisfy their animal instincts. And this is a leader? This is exactly how the government acted before Kristilnacht in Germany – they looked the other way knowing full well in advance what is about to happen. So he is not a RASHA?
“the Essential activities of this city will go on despite the curfew”
like looting? that’s pretty basic you know.
His answer pretty much openly says that there are two sets of rules.
One for people he doesn’t value like business owners and religious people and another for people he does value like protesters and rioters
So,Mr. Mayor, are you hoping that by having no social distancing at the protests you’ll manage to kill off a bunch of the protesters?
” We have never seen anything quite like what we’ve seen in the last few days. This is a powerful, painful historical moment. ” Really??? I remember the riots that began in Detroit in the 1960’s that were exactly like the riots, looting and destruction that we are seeing now. The animals who see an opportunity to steal from innocent store owners miles away from the site of the travesty jump right on the band wagon. Nothing has changed in 400 years in that respect. They are still the same animals, still acting like animals. Evolution has clearly not touched them.
So even if the panic over Covid19 was initially in good faith (justifying closing down Torah institutions), it is very clear that the government no longer believes its own propaganda, and that the closing down of Torah institutions is nothing other than pure anti-semitism, meaning that based on Dina Malchusa Dina we are free to ignore and resist them. One would hope that our Rabbanim would call on all shuls to reopen and all shiurim to resume and all schools to return to normal (with special precautions for the sick and elderly, who may actually be at risk from Covid19), We based cooperation with the shutdown on information, which the goyim’s own leaders has clearly repudiated.
@hershh:
No time to deal with the second group, they’re not important enough. He cares more about the first group, to ease their terrible pain of being mistreated in terrible racism. It’s not their fault they always attack Jews on the streets…it’s because everyone is racist. There’s a deep, deep issue in America which is racism, and it needs to be taken care of…so no time to deal with the Jews right now, we’ll get to them later…In the meantime they can die out with the Covid-19, but until then we need to take care of the poor, poor African Americans, looters and all.
Some one should tell Deblasio that these rioting antifa thugs are really citizens protesting Wuhan-19 lock down, he will send national guard in 5 min to disperse them.
Hershh Yasher.koach!
I agree with everything you said but one: “overworked”?
This nut job is NOT overworked!
What a load of #$%*. Obfuscation at its best. Not to mention the nachas from his meeskeit of a daughter.
you shouldnt have voted for democrats. its pashut when you have democrats you have criminals in the state. democrat just want the votes even if it means the citizens lives are in danger. we should all sign a petition to tell this loser to step down once and for all, this way we might have a chance to law and order
No worries. The oilam in Brooklyn would vote for him again in a heartbeat.
#fakemayor
What a stupid loser!!
Blazyface
Can someone please tell me how his dumb curfew is actually helping?? As if the looters are going to listen nicely like good little kids. Just another stupid attempt to exert control when he realizes he has none.
Loser!!!
If he were funny, he would be a joke. The picture at the top of this page reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield. But at least Dangerfield was funny; Comrade Bill is not. He is the most seriously incompetent person ever to hold the office of Mayor of the City of New York. The voters only have themselves to blame, however.
Mayor Wilhelm will do nothing and let the city burn to the ground but will do everything in his power to suppress religion and commerce. Typical commie scum.
On this matter the mayor is probably correct and motivated to save life. Even if you think he doesn’t care about Jews (not true) then whom they can spread it to. Not all gatherings are equal. A big Chassidishe wedding (in the most extreme example of no social distancing) is much riskier than many other kinds of gatherings, even worse than a MLB baseball game. Corona is far from gone. Look at Jerusalem. It’s coming back as soon as the Israelis reopened the “economy.”
I guess he just thinks it’s more dangerous to ban the protests than to allow them. He’s probably right. That’s how it works, the people using the most force get their way.