NYC in the Daze of COVID-19

First food responder - No sooner did Uncle Paul's Pizza owners Dino Redzic, Paul Nicaj and Leo Krkuti learn of the COVID crisis, than they sprang into action and reached out to see how to get food to hospital staff, police, and firefighters. I reached out to CB8's Barbara Rudder who put me in contact with Metropolitan Hospital and voila, Uncle Paul's Pizza was able to deliver boxes of pizzas to the hospital. Not to be outdone, Slice Company pizza owner Ilia Sala learned about Dino's donation, and Slice had its pies delivered to the hospital the next day. (Sounds like a "domino effect" without a Domino's pizza.) Free meals for police, hospital staff, firefighters can be picked up at Uncle Paul's Pizza's Grand Central location at 70 Vanderbilt Ave (45th-46th Sts.) between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. for the next two weeks. And special thanks to Upper East Side Assembly Members Dan Quart and Rebecca Seawright for their cooperation in reaching out to hospitals in the area.

A step back to BC - before COVID-19) - While this is not the time to be a critic or naysayer, old habits die hard. So a couple of kvetches, and a kudo:

Makes no census - Census time is upon us and Julie Menin has done a masterful job in getting out the message of the importance of filling out the form. Can be done online, by phone, or by the U.S. mail. However, filling out the form when it arrives and mailing it is not encouraged. Volunteer texters with NYC's Census "Get Out The Count" campaign advise to call or go online. If you reply that you'll fill out the form and mail it, you're texted that, by doing it by phone or online, "you can avoid a Census Bureau employee knock on your door." Not so. If you fill out and mail the form, no one's knocking on your door. If you can vote by mail, you can fill out the census form by mail. No need for texters to mislead and make people wary, especially now. Truth to tell, the U.S. mail is one of the public services that can be relied on these days.

Oh those buses - It's amazing that, in these days of light traffic and even lighter ridership, the MTA is running Limited buses. At least two or three Limited buses in succession pass by as riders wait at local bus stops. Oh to be in la la land.

NY's Mensch-in-Chief - In these dark days, it's reassuring and a blessing to have Gov. Cuomo at the helm of our state informing us, cheering us and letting us know that we have a leader who is leading us.