Spring turkey season opens May 1by Melanie Lekocevic / April 27, 2022Related Posts
Hochul: Indoor mask mandate returns
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
ALBANY — The state’s indoor mask mandate is back, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday.
Face coverings are required in all indoor public places unless the business or venue has implemented a vaccine requirement. The mandate was put back in place in an effort to stem a rising tide of COVID-19 infections, particularly during the holiday season.
The mandate went into effect Dec. 13 and will remain in place until Jan. 15, when it will be reevaluated, Hochul said.
“As governor, my two top priorities are to protect the health of New Yorkers and to protect the health of our economy,” Hochul said. “The temporary measures I am taking today will help accomplish this through the holiday season. We shouldn’t have reached the point where we are confronted with a winter surge, especially with the vaccine at our disposal, and I share many New Yorkers’ frustration that we are not past this pandemic yet.”
The change was made amid a rising surge of COVID-19 infections. Since Thanksgiving, the statewide seven-day average of positive test results increased by 43% and hospitalizations went up by 29%, according to Hochul’s office. The number of vaccinations against the virus rose 2% since Thanksgiving, but Hochul said the increase has not been enough to check the spread of the virus, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates.
“I have warned for weeks that additional steps could be necessary, and now we are at that point based upon three metrics: increasing cases, reduced hospital capacity and insufficient vaccination rates in certain areas,” Hochul said.
Those found not in compliance with the mandate face a maximum fine of $1,000 for each violation, Hochul said. Local health departments are tasked with enforcing the mandate.
Businesses that require proof of vaccination against COVID are exempt from the mask mandate.
Acting Health Commissioner Mary Bassett, M.D., said steps need to be taken particularly to address the new virus variants.
“Community spread requires a community-minded solution, as the omicron variant emerges and the overwhelmingly dominant delta variant continues to circulate,” Bassett said. “We have the tools we need to protect against the virus — and now we must ensure we use them. There are tools each individual can use, and there are actions we can take as government. Getting vaccinated protects you, and wearing a mask is how we will better protect each other. Both vaccination and mask-wearing are needed to slow this COVID-19 winter surge.”
Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy supported reimplementation of the mandates.
“I have continually said that any kind of mask or vaccine requirement would only be truly effective if it’s done at least on a regional basis,” McCoy said Friday. “As we see new daily cases of COVID spike here in Albany County, and across the Capital Region and the state, and as the omicron variant spreads, I applaud Gov. Hochul for demonstrating leadership in the face of a pandemic that has forced all of us to make difficult decisions that prioritize the health and safety of our people. This statewide policy will help us stem the tide of new infections, which will prevent more hospitalizations and deaths as we approach the winter months.”
Not everyone is happy with the new mandate. Assemblyman Chris Tague, R-102, came out against the state requirement.
“Enough is enough. With vaccines and boosters readily available to those who want them, and contact tracing technology and testing being more accessible than ever, we do not need a statewide mandate to protect people’s health,” Tague said. “More than that, it is despicable that Gov. Hochul has decided to threaten our people and businesses with a $1,000 fine for any incidents of noncompliance. This mandate will be disastrous for our small businesses, which have had this mandate suddenly thrown into their laps during the critical holiday sales period and will stifle our collective recovery as a state. Protecting public health should be a priority for us all, but it can be done without implementing a statewide mandate that in no way takes into account the unique circumstances of the communities it affects.”
Greg Biryla, Sr., state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/New York, a small business advocacy group, called the mandate “troubling,” particularly as businesses try to rebound from the economic impacts of the pandemic.
“As small businesses continue to grapple with record inflation, workforce shortages and supply chain dysfunction, today’s announcement that employers and employees will be put in the position of enforcing and regulating public health mandates is troubling,” Biryla said. “This holiday season is a crucial time for small businesses holding out hope for 2022 after unprecedented economic disruption of the past two years; NFIB continues to ask all New Yorkers to find new ways to support small business and sustain local commerce.”
Town mulling farm animal law
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
COEYMANS — The town is expected to revise a proposed law prohibiting farm animals and fowl in some areas of the town.
Proposed Local Law No. 8 of 2023 would make it unlawful for farm animals or fowl to be kept within the commercial, business or industrial zones in the town.
But pleas from several residents whose homes are in the industrial zone led town officials to reconsider portions of the law. Those changes are expected to be made at the town board’s next meeting July 13 and if enacted, would remove the town’s industrial zone from the prohibition.
The law would make it unlawful to keep animals including cows, cattle, horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, roosters, ducks, geese and others.
Resident Emily Zinkhen lives in Selkirk but the land surrounding her home is zoned industrial for the town of Coeymans, she told the board at a public hearing June 22.
“In the early spring of 2020, as COVID restrictions and lockdowns were being put in place, our family rescued a little black sheep from slaughter,” Zinkhen said. “We raised her as if she were a puppy, with love and respect, and in turn she ate our weeds and fertilized our soil. That November, my family rescued a pig from a breeder in Tennessee. She became a member of our family quickly and helps us refresh our garden and till our soil. The next spring brought us a baby goat and another sheep, both of which were rescued from certain death at a meat market.”
The animals have become members of the family, Zinkhen said.
“Our two sheep, goat and pig are beloved pets. They keep us sane during hard times and greatly improve not only the quality of our lives, but the quality of our land,” she said. “We look forward to spending our time caring for them, especially when times get a little rougher. Fruit trees and gardens now grow where the soils were once dust, and our grass truly is greener with them here.”
The passage of Local Law No. 8 in its original form would negatively impact her family and home, which is otherwise “surrounded by industry and pollution,” Zinkhen said.
Zinkhen’s mother, Gina Al-Mahdi, broke into tears as she addressed the board at the public hearing.
“Not only did we save these animals, but these animals saved my children and my family,” she said. “We need them. They aren’t nobody. They even have Instagram (accounts), and people follow them. They harm nobody.”
Al-Mahdi said her children with special needs have greatly benefited from having the animals around. The animals have helped alleviate symptoms of depression and helped the children develop life and social skills.
“I just wanted to point out that not only did we save them, but they saved us as well,” Al-Mahdi said.
Selkirk resident Janet Kessler spoke on behalf of the family and their animals.
“These people have had these animals — they are considered pets,” Kessler said.
No other community members spoke out on behalf of keeping farm animals on properties in either the business or commercial zones, and Town Supervisor George McHugh said the town council could revise the law to omit industrial zones.
“Frankly, the complaints that we’re receiving are not from the industrial zones, they are from the commercial and business districts,” McHugh said.
Resident Barbara Tanner asked if the farm animals at the Zinkhen property would be grandfathered in in the event the law is passed in its original form.
“They would not be,” McHugh responded. “But that doesn’t mean that we’re going to keep industrial in.”
McHugh said the town council would consult with the town attorney before adopting the law, and that a revised law may be presented at the next meeting of the town council on July 13.
