1/ While New York’s first wave of COVID-19 may have subsided, the city is seeing a growing number of hospital patients checking in with long term symptoms of COVID-19.
Doctors estimate patients with these long-term symptoms is at least 70,000.
Here’s what that looks like:
2/ One center that’s treating these patients is @MountSinaiNYC, where they’ve already checked in upwards of 400. These are just patients that doctor’s there know about — one’s who have insurance, and who’ve heard about the center.
3/ The more than 70,000 patients experiencing these long-term symptoms is an estimate based on New York City’s confirmed cases, which is around 230,000.
Because there were likely many unconfirmed cases, there are likely even more "long haulers."
4/ Patients that come in report brain fog, shortness of breath, trouble thinking, trouble speaking, fevers and chronic fatigue. The overall effect is debilitating. One “long hauler” said “she’d walk too far and need to rest for three days.”
5/ Many are taking leaves of absence from work, which jeopardizes their ability to stay insured.
We don’t know how much long-term treatment will cost, but starting on Sept. 30, it will cost more because many insurers are set to waive patient cost-sharing for COVID treatment.
6/ Which means that at some point, treating long-haulers could become an out of pocket expense, especially for the unemployed.
On leave from her job, one long-hauler told us that at this point, she “was going into her savings.”
7/ And last but not least, so many of these patients continue to say that their doctors don’t believe them. They either don’t believe they had COVID, or insist that, months later, they must have some other disease or underlying condition.
Tests for those costs money too.
8/ You can read the full story about “long haulers” here: buff.ly/2RvbgWt
9/ @THECITYNY will continue to report on long-haulers.
If you have a story you’d like to share with us about long-term COVID-19 symptoms, and you live in New York, drop us a line at coronavirus@thecity.nyc.
10/ This story was part of MISSING THEM, @THECITYNY’s ongoing collaborative project to remember every New Yorker killed by COVID-19.
11/ If you lost someone to COVID or work w/ victims' families, we want to hear from you. Help us remember New Yorkers who died of COVID-19. Here’s how:
Tell us here: buff.ly/3dUlxoF
Call our hotline: (646) 494-1095
Text “remember” to 73224
Or email: memorial@thecity.nyc
12/ ...and while you’re here, don’t forget to sign up for our daily newsletter: eepurl.com/gdQ5on
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1/ For years, Winnie Greco worked as a volunteer for Eric Adams, becoming a prolific fundraiser and eventually securing a City Hall role as Adams’ liaison to NYC’s growing Asian communities.
Two people told @THECITYNY that she used her role to benefit herself and the mayor. 🧵
2/ In March 2021, a tech worker from Flushing joined Adams’ campaign as a volunteer, working with Greco.
After Adams got to City Hall, Greco promised the worker a job in the administration if he volunteered to help renovate her kitchen, he told @THECITYNY.
3/ A year later, the 33-year-old volunteer landed a city government job.
Then things got sour, when he says, Greco asked him to help with her home renovation during city time.
1/ A principios de abril, un incendio enorme consumió un edificio residencial de 133 apartamentos en la calle 89 en el vecindario de Jackson Heights.
Más de 500 personas perdieron sus hogares.
2/ Cuatro meses después del desastre, muchas de las personas que perdieron su hogar todavía luchan para encontrar un nuevo hogar permanente y asequible.
3/ Alrededor de 60 familias todavía están alojadas en hoteles cortesía de las autoridades, pero su estadía no ha sido garantizada desde mediados de junio. @NYCHousing no ha creado refugios de emergencia para estas familias en Queens.
1/ Hey, rent-stabilized tenants! Make sure you know your rights when renewing your lease this year because the rules for raising the rent are a little more complicated than usual.
Here’s the deal:
2/ First, if you’re not sure whether your apartment is rent-stabilized, check here: amirentstabilized.com
Note: To know for sure, though, you’ll have to request your rent history from the state.
3/ The city Rent Guidelines Board, which decides how much leases can increase each year in stabilized apartments, decided to freeze the rent for the *first* six months — and then allow a 1.5% increase in the *second* six months for one-year leases.
2/ About 60 families are still in hotels provided by the city, but their stay officially expired two months ago. There are no @NYCHousing emergency shelters for families in Queens. buff.ly/3y0xenJ
3/ Tenants @89stUnidos told us they are left with few options. Some are applying to the city’s affordable housing programs in Far Rockaway and downtown Jamaica — far from their community in Jackson Heights.
2/ @NYCHA has long struggled to maintain and modernize its 710 playgrounds. Some are decades old, covered in layers of peeling paint and bolstered by makeshift repairs, while others have been demolished or locked up and virtually abandoned.
3/ About $31 million has been set aside but @NYCHA’s Physical Needs Assessment, released 4 years ago, estimates of what it will cost to tackle needed fixes throughout the system run more than twice that figure.
In some cases, it can take years before the money is ever spent.