Kiara Sakiheld Testimony: Lower East Side Resident
Kiara Sakiheld, a Lower East Side resident, testifies via Zoom in favor of outdoor dining as a crucial public health accommodation for immunocompromised individuals.
The subtext of the opposition to outdoor dining is that it was a COVID era program, but because COVID is over, the program should be curtailed and our streets should be returned to cars.
But COVID is still very real for many New Yorkers.
And if you're concerned about ADA violations, please remember that disability can take many forms.
And I'm very concerned that being high risk or immunocompromised has been entirely overlooked in this conversation.
It's not lost on me that the city's own rules for in-person testimony today include COVID safety protocols like masking that don't seem to be widely adopted or enforced, which serves as a visible reminder for how vulnerable people are further excluded from public life.
Vanishing outdoor dining options are particularly troubling when Kathy Hochel is pushing for a statewide mask ban.
Vaccine uptake is terrible.
COVID cases surged last summer.
The CDC is cutting billions in funds to help state to health departments respond to COVID.
And Gotham has recently reported that 500,000 New Yorkers have long COVID, which can be so debilitating it prevents them from being able to work and support themselves.
Every new COVID case is a new opportunity for one of our neighbors to get seriously ill, die, or experience long-term complications.
Outdoor dining also plays a role in stopping the spread of flu, and this year flu cases were at their highest level since 2020.
There have been 23 pediatric deaths statewide this season, nine of which were here in the city.
Proper ventilation is crucial to preventing airborne illness, but the city has not invested in the infrastructure needed to make indoor dining safer.
And most outdoor dining options aren't even available year-round, meaning that if you're vulnerable, you can't safely or easily participate in a huge piece of public and social life for half the year.
With all of this in mind, I'm asking the council to please make applying for roadside and sidewalk seating less cumbersome, allow year-round streeteries, and provide more flexibility for sidewalk cafes.
Outdoor dining is a public good, particularly when it comes to public health.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Next speaker, please.
You may begin.
Michelle Campo, are you able to testify?