New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is the worst mayor “in the history of this great country,” Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., told 360aproko News’ “America’s Newsroom” Friday.
Rose, who represents Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn in Congress, took specific issue with the city’s guidelines to reopen schools this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“They have not put out a plan for opening the schools,” Rose said. “They have put out a prayer, an outline at best.”
On Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that all schools in the state had met the criteria for reopening, though students will still be required to wear masks.
“We are probably in the best situation in the country right now,” Cuomo told reporters.
De Blasio previously announced that New York City schools would have to engage in a mix of remote and in-person learning. The mayor has also said schools will shut down if the infection rate in the city spikes above 3%. The city’s teachers union has reportedly complained that there isn’t enough testing to safely reopen.
“There’s a few things that we should be focusing on here,” Rose said. “The first is testing. There is no reason to say that every single teacher in New York City should not be tested at least every other day. We can resource that. Secondly, we should be pushing funds to our educational systems across the country to make sure that there is enough PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] as well as infrastructure for social distancing.
“But nothing can replace leadership, and I don’t blame anyone — to include teachers, parents, families — for not having faith in this mayor right now. It is an utter disgrace.”
