Elijah’s COVID-19 Public Health & Economic Recovery Plan

To fully cope with the public health and economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Elijah believes we need bold action to help residents and businesses who are struggling through this unprecedented time. 

The pandemic has caused enormous budget deficits for state and local governments around the country. In New York, we must:

• Demand immediate additional federal aid to state and local governments and school districts to avoid mass layoffs, damaging reductions in services, or unaffordable tax hikes on residents and businesses. 

• Seek new sources of revenue to fill our state budget gap including raising taxes on multi-millionaires and billionaires and legalizing and taxing marijuana.

• Protect funding for education, healthcare, and public safety from devastating budget cuts

Our healthcare system, which has already suffered years of neglect and cuts, is under extreme strain from the COVID pandemic. Now hospitals have been inundated with patients, and have faced shortages of critical supplies. To address the public health crisis we must:

• Establish a universal and reliable testing program so that people can quickly and easily find out if they have had coronavirus so we know who is immune and can safely return to work.

• Guarantee free testing and treatment of anyone with COVID-19. In addition to the health consequences of the disease, no one should face financial ruin from having to be treated for the coronavirus.

• Obtain sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure that healthcare workers can save lives without putting their own health at risk and create a three-month stockpile of equipment so we’re prepared if there is a second wave of infections

• Increase funding of under-resourced hospitals whose capacities have been overwhelmed.

• Prioritize local manufacturing of medical equipment and other products in high demand to support job creation in New York and secure a supply chain.

• Invest in telemedicine to safely offer medical consultations for non-emergency concerns.

The pandemic has led to massive layoffs, with over one million New Yorkers filing for unemployment insurance and many struggling to make ends meet. We must:

• Waive state income taxes on unemployment compensation and the one time federal stimulus check.

• Upgrade our unemployment system so it can better deal with the large volume of claims and people don’t have to wait weeks before getting their claims processed.

• Extend the state moratorium on evictions/foreclosures until the crisis has passed and allow for rent/mortgage forgiveness for people who have lost their job as long as landlords and mortgage holders are fully compensated for lost income

• Provide financial counseling for individuals suffering fiscal hardships.

• Incentivize businesses to hire when the immediate crisis is over. 

• Create a large scale program to donate leftover food from restaurants and grocery stores to food pantries and other programs that are offering vital assistance to the unprecedented number of people struggling to feed themselves or their family.

Small businesses are the life-blood of this state and we cannot let them suffer and fail. We must:

• Administer a more robust small business program with zero interest loans and grants that covers fixed costs and payroll.

• Connect small businesses with affordable legal services, so that business owners know what their options are.

• Fight for tax deferrals, rental assistance, and eviction protection for businesses coping with financial hardship.

• Create a small business savings program that will help businesses save with tax deductions for future recessions.

Now more than ever, we need to take care of seniors, who are at the greatest risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19. We must:

• Provide vulnerable seniors with delivered meals, case management, and homecare services.

• Enforce social distancing, provide sufficient medical equipment, and increase staffing in nursing homes.

• Connect seniors with programs that combat social isolation, including those that provide free/low cost devices and tech training.