Archives

CCBQ Continues Serving the Most Vulnerable Through Coronavirus

By Emily Drooby

The food is prepared. The drivers are packed and ready to confront the coronavirus crisis and deliver food to people who need it.

Driver John Kapica normally transports seniors – now he’s dropping off meals with Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens. And in the middle of the virus outbreak, the demand is growing.

John is doing his best to guarantee the Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, Home Delivered Meals program is on track.

“It takes a special group of people to do this,” said John.

“Our seniors need us, even now more than before. The ones that could get out occasionally are not going out at all now,” explained Kathleen Dalbey of Southwest Queens Meals on Wheels.

Twenty more seniors signed up for food in just three days and at the same time, three senior centers needed increased deliveries.

Drivers are taking all necessary precautions – they have face masks, gloves and every car comes with its own bottle of Purell.

Drivers are putting food at the door to cut down on personal contact– but potential exposure to the virus is still scary.

“We can’t see it, that’s the hard part if you knew what you were looking for you would avoid whatever it is,” said John, who feels that despite any risks, pitching in to help seniors is worth it.

“I have a heart for them some of them are like my mom and dad that I’ve never had,” he continued.

Much like a family – John and the other drivers are there to feed and checkup on their seniors during the good times and the bad.

“I have had situations where I would be the last one to see them, they end up in the hospital and you find out you were the last one to talk to them,” he said.

It’s those deeps bonds that inspire John and all of the heroes keeping Meals on Wheels running during the coronavirus crisis.

Coronavirus Relief Package Signed Into Law

Currents News Staff

This legislation comes after detailed talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Trump administration. 

It will be a helping hand for Americans dealing with the daily stress from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The economy is strong, the foundation of it, but the reality is there’s so many people impacted in the short term,” said Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff. “We need to make sure that action is taken quickly to give them the resources they need.”

The relief package passed by the House was then approved by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump March 18. 

“I want to thank all Americans for pulling together, for coming together, for doing what they have to do,” said Trump. “It’s been incredible. It’s been inspirational.”

The legislation provides up to two weeks of paid leave for some workers.

There’s also a benefit —  limited to 200-dollars per day — for employees with relatives who are affected by the disease.

“If there are going to be some of these corporate bailouts, we need to make sure workers and labor come first, that people are not laid off, that people’s salaries are not cut,” said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader. 

Although some Senate Republicans were previously critical of the House’s legislation, they stressed the need to get aid to the public.

“Its imperfections will just make our more comprehensive bill even more urgent,” said Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader. 

The Senate is now working on a “phase three” economic stimulus package related to the coronavirus outbreak.

Brooklyn Soup Kitchen Works to Combat Hunger During Coronavirus Shutdowns

By Tim Harfmann

Boxes and boxes of food are pouring into one Brooklyn soup kitchen, thanks to good samaritans.

Denise Scaravella is the executive director of “Community Help in Park Slope,” known as “CHiPS.”

“We have donations coming every single day, all day long,” she explained, noting that the organization is becoming a hot spot for a hot meal because other places are forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic.  

“Yesterday, bars and restaurants came and brought me food, and they brought me eggs, and they brought cooked food, and brought food that was marinated that needed to be cooked,” she added. “I mean, we just got so much!”

A small group of volunteers are also chipping in, making pork platters with rice and broccoli.

They’re also handing out fresh fruit and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, too.

Seventy-five-year-old Maxine Sampson is determined to do her part through CHiPS.  

“The poor must be fed,” she exclaimed. 

CHiPS has cut back on their hours, but they’re still handing out hundreds of meals daily.

The line for a to-go dish stretches around the block. 

Fifty-two-year-old “Fox” said the generous donations are a godsend.

“It feels good. It’s a blessing. It really is,” he explained. “A lot of people appreciate it, too.”

Thanks to CHiPS, he’s able to catch a break during the outbreak.

“It kinda gets rough being hungry sometimes, you know? Just one meal a day makes all the difference in the world,” he said. 

“I can’t imagine where will these people that come here and rely on us day in and day out, where will they go?” asked Denise. 

She said that as long as food keeps coming in, CHiPS will keep handing it out. 

Currents News full broadcast for Wed, 3/18/20

On the newscast: The Navy is coming to help out New York. A giant hospital ship will anchor in our harbor to take on the crunch sparked by the coronavirus pandemic; Students in the Diocese of Brooklyn are hitting the books today. Well, really laptops and computers. Distance learning is underway; An expert looks at how the outbreak is impacting the Presidential election; And you need to read The Tablet right now. We’ll tell you how to subscribe.

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.

What a Day of Distance Learning Looks Like for Catholic School Students

By Emily Drooby 

Salve Regina Catholic Academy student Brennan Elder has been experiencing a very unique kind of school day. He’s been learning, completing assignments and even taking part in a gym class, all from home. 

“We’ll be assigned work, and then we either have to take a picture of it and send it to her or we have to do it on the Google Drive and that’s how we send it to them,” he explained of his new classroom routine. 

Brennan is one of 18,000 students across the Brooklyn Diocese schools who are learning virtually  during the Covid-19 crisis. They’re using Google Classroom to receive assignments and upload them to teachers when they’re completed. 

The diocese’s elementary Catholic academies and parish schools are closed until at least April 20 for safety.

“We want to continue to keep the kids learning, continue with the curriculum to the best of our ability,” explained Susan Walsh, principal of St. Saviour Catholic Academy. “And we think it’s important to continue learning, and we don’t just want busy work. We want kids to be going right through the curriculum” 

St. Saviour Catholic Academy is one of the schools relying on distance learning – they’ve been preparing for weeks.  

Over the past two days, teachers like Caitlin Carroll and Sophia Sgro have been uploading work, giving mini-lessons through video chat and making sure they’re around to answer questions.  

“We’re trying to keep ourselves available so our kids know we are there for them,” said Caitlin.

The system is necessary, but it isn’t always easy. The teachers explained that there have been some growing pains. 

“Relaying all information to both kids and parents, there’s’ just a lot of constant communication that needs to be happening,” explained Sophia. 

“There’s a lot of questions,” Caitlin added. “Trying to figure out how to get onto Zoom, how do they do this, what do they need for this?”

This was especially true for younger students, who were not already using the platform before the outbreak.

But still, tough times call for extraordinary measures. 

“It’s something we have to learn how to do,” said Sophia. “It’s inevitable, and we are smart and capable of adjusting to whatever we need to.”

Biden Takes Primary in Three States Amid Coronavirus Precautions

Currents News Staff

Despite the coronavirus, voters still turned out on election day in three states to deliver wins to Joe Biden.

The former vice president swept the March 17 primaries, and is now projected to take Florida, Arizona, and Illinois.

The wins give Biden a considerable boost in the delegate count as he battles Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.

“We’ve moved closer to securing the Democratic party’s nomination for president,” said Biden. 

But the elections in Florida, Illinois and Arizona all happened amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is Clorox wipes, latex gloves and a mask,” said Carlos Puello, one Florida voter. 

“I’m in that target category for the virus, so i was worried about looking crazy but then I thought ‘who cares? This is more important,” said one voter in Illinois. 

In a stunning turn of events late Monday, just hours before polls were set to open, the state of Ohio announced it was closing all polling sites due to concerns over the coronavirus.

The order came from the state health director, after a court rejected the governor’s plea to move the primary to June.

Now, residents in Ohio will have to wait while state officials attempt to figure out what’s next.

“There was no way that in good conscience we could order an election, and certainly not a legitimate election, given that we were telling a large portion of the Ohio population that they should not come to the polls,” said Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. 

The drama in Ohio is the latest chapter in a primary race upended since the virus began spreading rapidly in the U.S. and more states have postponed their elections. 

The Democratic National Committee wants to shift from in-person voting and transition to other methods, like by voting mail— all to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Probably next time I will do it mailing or voting to the email. I don’t know. Right now I had to come here and vote,” said Puello.

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Marches On Despite Coronavirus Concerns

By Tim Harfmann and Melissa Enaje

Usually On St. Patrick’s Day, the bells ringing from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan are heard by more than 100,000 marchers and at least a million spectators along one and a half miles of Fifth Ave. But for the first time in more than 250 years, the annual parade was canceled amidst concerns of COVID-19. The St. Patrick’s Day Mass was live-streamed since all Masses in the Archdiocese of New York were canceled since March 14.

That didn’t stop the parade’s board of directors and committee members from making an effort to continue the New York City tradition that dates back to 1762. The sound of bagpipes still echoed in the early morning March 17 as a small clan of marchers were led from the 69th Regiment Armory up to Fifth Ave.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, took to Twitter and addressed the faithful.

“I think you would share my sentiment today on St. Patrick’s Day, we need him to drive out snakes today,” Cardinal Dolan said. “I’m talking about the snake of the coronavirus which is hurting and harming and even taking the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters. But I’m also speaking about the toxins, the poisonous snakes of our own selfishness, our own fear, our own judgment of people, or own sin.”

Outside of St. Patrick’s cathedral, the most popular spot on March 17, the streets were empty. Instead of floats on the parade route, there was a sparse amount of taxis with drivers wearing face masks. Instead of bagpipers and Irish dancers, a person would stop in front of the church, take a picture on their phone, and keep walking. The only evidence that hinted at some sort of Irish Catholic heritage was the flag of Ireland waving on top of the cathedral that kept its doors open to the public for private prayer.

A small group of visitors from Scotland told the Tablet that they planned their New York trip just to attend the parade, not knowing it would be canceled. Denise and Mark Madden, as well as two of their friends, visited the cathedral and wore festive green shirts with shamrocks on them.

“We came, lit a candle, said a prayer for our own family, for ourselves, for everybody in New York and everybody back home,” Denise said.

The group said they’re taking the necessary sanitary precautions as they go sightseeing around New York – washing their hands and being careful. Denise said they’ll still continue the spirit of the St. Patrick’s Day parade by buying beverages and celebrating at their hotel.

“We’ll raise a glass to St. Patrick and everybody else back home and everybody else that couldn’t make it to the parade,” she said. “We’ll go back, we’ll put some Irish music on, have a glass and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day ourselves.”

Celebrating in closed quarters was their only alternative. A couple of pubs close to the cathedral that usually overflow with crowds during St. Patrick’s Day were closed. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced March 19 that all restaurants and bars were limited to only takeout as a way to force New Yorkers to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak. NYPD told its officers they could ticket and even arrest restaurant or bar owners who didn’t follow the rules that banned city nightlife and dine-in meals.

It was also the first time Father Christopher Heanue didn’t participate in parade festivities. Father Heanue heads the Irish Ministry in the Brooklyn Diocese. He said that even though the huge celebration won’t take place, the silver lining is that Catholics can still honor the day through their faith.

“I think that people can have private devotions today in a particular way,” Father Heanue said. “It raises the question to us, what makes St. Patrick’s Day an important day? Is it just a day for drinking and celebrating or is it a day to recall the Catholic traditions of Ireland and the great works that the Catholic Church has done in Ireland and all over the world? It’s a day to evangelize in honor of St. Patrick himself. It helps to put things in focus.”

Outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, three men, also wearing shades of green and Irish caps, said they marched in the annual parade for years. They were glad the cathedral was open on the day that is intrinsically a part of their identities. Kevin Einsmann grew up attending St. Andrew Avellino, Flushing; Marcus Sverko from St. Sebastian’s, Woodside and Father Steven Ryan, S.D.B., grew up in Staten Island. The day was bittersweet for Father Ryan. The Salesian priest is the vice provincial of the St. Philip Province and a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He held onto his faith and the witness of St. Patrick as a beacon of hope during these times.

“Well there is a sense of sadness and grief that we have to face this situation, but there’s also, because of our faith and because of St. Patrick’s message to us, there’s hope,” Father Ryan said. “We can’t let any obstacle, including this coronavirus stop us from proclaiming Christ … St. Patrick would not stop.”

Currents News full broadcast for Tues, 3/17/20

On the newscast: This is a Saint Patrick’s Day unlike any before. We’ll have the latest on how the coronavirus is affecting the celebration of Irish heritage; We have an important update tonight on what Catholic schools are doing about the outbreak. The man in charge will be with us; The toughest restrictions anywhere in the country are in San Francisco; And a woman celebrating a milestone won’t let the coronavirus stop her.

Watch weeknights at 7:00 pm EST on NET-TV in the New York City area on Spectrum, Optimum, and Fios. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notifications about new content.