Close NYC Public Schools, City Council Speaker Says

NEW YORK CITY — City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called on New York to close its public schools Friday morning after the novel coronavirus's spread spurred lawmakers to declare a state of emergency.

"This isn’t an easy decision, but we must take aggressive measures to stop the spread of #COVID19," Johnson tweeted. "It is time to close our public schools."

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Johnson joins a cacophony of voices that have been calling for schools to close for days, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio's assertions that he would do so only as a last resort.

So far, several New York City schools have temporarily closed or, as the CUNY system did, transitioned to online learning. Success Academy, one of the city's largest charter school systems with 18,000 students, will transition to remote learning Monday.

The Mayor argued on "The Brian Lehrer Show" Friday morning that public schools provide child care that make it possible for New Yorkers to work and connect children with vital resources to help them stay healthy.

"We need our children to be fed," de Blasio said. "We need people to keep working for our livelihood."

While children are believed to be among the least vulnerable to coronavirus, some health experts worry about their ability to contract the disease and give it to older, more vulnerable, relatives.

When Lehrer brought up these concerns, De Blasio brushed them aside.

"There's a very slippery slope here," he said. "But we have to balance all the pieces right now in a very complex equation."

The Mayor has instead called on parents to keep at home children who have serious medical conditions and on the Department of Education to conduct temporary closures and cleanings on campuses with reported coronavirus cases.

But the speaker argued New York City should instead provide child care relief for parents as well as food and medical services for children.

"Teaching and learning can not take place under these circumstances for the safety and well being of the teachers and students," Johnson tweeted. "It is not time to panic. But it is time to act."