The Westchester Human Rights Commission  panel on Fair Housing Monday night opened eyes.

WPCNR REALITY REALITY.  By John F. Bailey, April 26, 2023:

 

A panel of real estate experts delivered  an assessment of discriminatory conditions minorities face today Monday night. In buying first homes, and second homes locally and nationwide the obstacles are deeprooted  a discussion sponsored by the Westchester County Human Rights Commission at the County Center made painfully clear.

BRYAN GREENE, Vice President of Policy Advocacy of the National Association of Realtors, DEBRA S, COHEN, Civil Rights Attorney and Professor of Law, and GREGORY JOOST, Researcher, Author and Professor of Sociology gave a general overview of the high standards that minorities face in buying that first home, and second homes compared to white people.

What became clear through the  hour before 35 persons was the lack of enforcement by government bureaucracies and lack of investigation studies by government agencies.

Local and state authorities are reluctant to investigate alleged discrimination. Ms. Cohen said the courts are an option, but the current political  sensitivity  and composition of courts make it difficult to produce  verdicts that find discrimination is evident.

The panel brought out that banks and credit ratings services discriminate by preconceived attitudes reflecting century old derogatory conceptions of  minority character. This centuries old perception of minorities results in a double standard,  giving lower credit scores to  minority applicants  than they do to whites. The credit ratings are defended by banks saying they have formulas.

BRYAN GREENE SAID STATE AND LOCAL ENFORCEMENT SHOULD STEP UP PROSECUTION OF ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION PRACTICES, SINGLES OUT COLLEGE LOANS LOWERING HOME EQUITY PREVENTING MINORITIES FROM GETTING MAX  VALUE OUT OF  HOME THEY ARE TRYING TO SELL. CALLS FOR  COUPLE TESTS TO DISCOVER HOW REALTORS TREAT MINORITY COUPLES AND WHITE COUPLES DIFFERENTLY.

 

Even  If a minority owner of a home in an area wants to sell their home, they face lower assessments because they are minority owners than if a  white owner of the same house would for the same property, based on the neighborhood, Professor Cohen said.

Minority owners, who have purchased a first home face problems reselling a home they own, Professor Cohen related. She said minority owners have been known to make over  their home interiors removing any objects, decorations, photographs of their minority family.  White friends  are recruited by minority owners to be in the home when it is shown.

GREG JOOST (right) SUGGESTED LAND TRUSTS ACQUIRED BY CITIES, TOWNS COULD MAKE AVAILABLE HOMES MINORITIES COULD AFFORD–TELLING HOW THIS OCCURRED IN PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, MARYLAN

CALL TO ACTION NOW FROM VICE PRESIDENT OF POLICY OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION REALTORS TO ADDRESS THE DISCRIMINATION, RECOGNIZE THE WEALTH DISCREPANCIES, DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES AND REWARD DESERVING MINORITIES. HE TELLS WHY

The panel gave an overview of practices constricting minority home ownership, but stopped short of saying the practices were in Westchester County.

COVID BIVALENT BOOSTER SHOTS AT  WHITE PLAINS SITES NOW AND OTHER  SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER LOCATIONS TODAY! GO TO https://www.vaccines.gov/search/ for the Bivalent Booster ready locations around the county!

THE CDC NEW BIVALENT VACCINATION BOOSTER MAP 

LOCATIONS ON INTERACTIVE MAP SHOW YOU WHERE YOU CAN GET NEW BIVALENT BOOSTER.

WPCNR COVID SURVEILLANCE. Statistics from NY Covid Tracker. Observation and Analysis by John F. Bailey April 23, 2023:

I used to worry. Stay Home. Not go out. WORRY! STAY! NO GO OUT!  WORRY! STAY! NO GO OUT! BUT NOW I’M–

 BOOOOOOSTED!

I’M BOOSTED!

Those who have completed their series of Covid Shots  are now eligible for the Bivalent Booster announced last week and it is here in White Plains New York USA. It is one of the best coordinated efforts by the government in years at least locally. The CDC  and the manufacturers have  executed brilliantly.

I GOT MINE MONDAY MORNING AT 11:15 A.M. in White Plains New York USA

The Center  for Disease  Control has delivered the new Bivalent Booster to White PLAINS  New Rochelle,  Port Chester Mount Vernon Yonkers and 38 locations across the swath of southern Westchester. 

There do not appear to be locations with the new bivalent protector above Chappaqua.

Go to find locations with Bivalent Booster in stock for Pfizer and  Moderna  at the CDC website https://www.vaccines.gov/search/ type in your zip code and the site displays a bullet map showing locations where you can get the new vaccine.

The CDC gives the locations phone numbers. And the pharmacy I called, answered, confirmed they had the vaccine and I could walk-in at 11, no appointment necessary.

I walked in expecting delay putting 30 minutes on the meter.

The young ladies behind the counter knew all about it.

1. They asked for my vaccination card (showing the first 5 shots of my Pfizer series.
2. They asked for proof of my  medical insurance  for records, though the bivalient booster vaccine does not cost you anything at the location I went and should not anywhere The staff said there was no cost.
3. They asked for a photo I.D. (Drivers license)

I received the shot within 15 minutes.

The vaccine going in gives you just a dull stiffness in your arm. You hardly realize it is going in or when it is actually withdrawn from your arm.

I cannot tell you how relieved I am. Because I have now I have done all I can at this time to protect myself and others.

WHERE ARE WE IN COVID IN WESTCHESTER?

Last week in Covid, Westchester continued for a third straight week lowering infections to 181 for the 7 days ended Saturday.

At the present rate of 2.72 daily infections for 5 days last week  per 100,000 persons in Westchester next week  should result in 192 infections which would complete April with 867 new cases of covid,compared with 1,352 for the month of March.

The Saturday infections for entire Westchester County was 35 infections.

Since the County likes to cite how many cases we have had in the past to analyze covid intensity in the present, I will do that.

Last April 2022 April had 7,054 new cases. This year we are on track for 867. However 3 months ago in January 2023  we  experienced 6,573 infections after a very socially reckless December. February we knocked that down to 2,906.

March cut infections to 1,352

The number of infected people  are out there is not really known because the persons have not verified their positives with a lab test. That unknown, unestimated by any official authority  is what is keeping the covid cloud lingering over us.

There were 1,352 known new cases (lab tested) in March and they have resulted in a projected 867 cases in April. This means that people known to be infected have infected less than 1 person. This kind of spread rate is very low.

If there are hundreds more people out there with covid whom we do not know because they are not verifying antigen test positives they take at home, that can be  a source of the weekly almost 1,000 new cases we continue to see, and we cannot count those continuing to perhaps spread the disease at above the actual daily new case rate

The optimist way of acknowledging that worry and diminishing the worry, say covid is just something we have to live with the possibility of growing.

I say finish off your vaccine series people get the booster and the new one.

We will see what the hospitalizations are around the county later today,  at 65% of new admissions  (62 of 96 admissions) from March 31 to April 18,being admitted to White Plains hospital because of covid last week at White Plains Hospital according to the state, you have to wonder where those sick enough to be admitted to a hospital bed are coming from.

If we had not stopped testing everybody who thought they were sick we would know where the continued spread, last week still closer to 1,000 a week instead of below 500 you have to wonder about the invisible spread. That is a major dropped ball by the authorities.

If everyone had gotten vaccinated, the cases would be lower.

If schools had been directed to continue to announce students testing positive, you would know if school populations were spreading the disease. But the State Education Department said that was no longer necessary. Now, we have to take School District word for it. That is simply a “feel good” decision based on guesswork.

If we have a surge by July which we had last year that resulted in a big wave in December,  we will have no impending knowledge of a bigger than expected July surge  because of those decisions by individuals who did not get the full vaccination treatments; failure to keep track of infections in the school population; and failure to make mandatory lab tests of all persons with positives after  antigen tests.