By Linda Schleider
At least 250 people stood on line waiting to receive masks and COVID self-tests Friday afternoon at 3PM.
The starting point was 200 West End Avenue (at 70th Street) and the line continued for nearly four blocks in front of Lincoln Towers.
The initiative was courtesy of Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, who walked the line on the blustery day, handing out nylon bags with the kits and masks. Clearly the hard-to-get kits were a neighborhood hit!
Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.
Great leadership Linda. Always there for the people and animals of NY.
I am always happy to volunteer for anything Linda is doing for the community. At 86 plus I was outranked by dozens of people older than myself. My job was to guard the bags being given out. Anyone in a wheelchair or on crutches did not have to wait in line (my call). I will forgive those younger than myself for trying to cut the line.
Bravo Linda & her staff. It was cold out there. But she has a warm heart.
Thank you! And yes, some people should be allowed to cut the line including elderly or people with young children. We’re lucky to have Linda and to have people like you volunteering.
Sure, you can give out masks but what difference is it if people fail to use them properly. Look at the man in the photo, with his mask barely covering part of his mouth and his virus spewing nostrils potentially infecting our beloved Assemblywoman and our most vulnerable community members who braved the cold to be protected from this dangerous scourge. My recommendation is that only people wearing KN-95 or equivalent masks, tightly fitting and worn properly, should be permitted to enter stores, schools or apartment buildings, ride public transportation, or otherwise congregate. Science tells us that masks and boosters work and are the way out of this mess.
“Science tells us that masks and boosters work and are the way out of this mess.”
My first question is “Where does Science have lunch?”
How do you know he is potentially spewing virus? And will you be the one to go around enforcing your rule about KN-95 masks??
The key word is “potentially”. Anyone is potentially spewing the virus.
you don’t—that’s the problem.
Danny O’Donnell’s office was giving them out too! And no line!!! Thank you to our elected officials!
Right, a huge line before the distribution started, for home tests that the feds and nys should have been distributing en masse for free for months.
So more power to Linda Rosenthal and her staff, but having to stand in that long a line for effectively necessities is an issue.
They did a great job of making the simple act of handing out kits – promoted as starting at 3:00 – become a logistical nightmare. At 3:15 the line of mostly older adults, in the cold, was blocks long and the kits hadn’t yet arrived. They made a big deal of having disposable bags available but even that was unattended and chaotic – despite what another poster here states. Why not just put the kit in the bag in advance and hand those out? I took one look and walked away. If you want me to check whether I keep you safe, don’t make me jump through unnecessary hoops. Absolutely ridiculous. I’ll just wait for the .gov site to open Wednesday.
If you go to the following link, you can get free Covid tests, up to 4 per family, and no waiting out in the cold–!!!
https://www.covidtests.gov/
Just ordered mine; very quick and easy. We’ll see how long delivery actually takes. Thanks for the link.