COVID-19 update: Domino Park mural honors frontline workers

July 7, 2020 Editorial Staff

This part of the new Domino Park mural, titled "Sylvia Hernandez," is by artist Joe Matunis. “Sylvia is an activist artist whose work I really admire so I gave a lot of thought into the design and painting of this portrait,” Joe said. Photo courtesy of El Puente

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On the front lines of the war on COVID-19, there are many civilian heroes going out of their way, as volunteers and contributors. Also, many who are elected to serve are going the extra mile. In this column the Eagle hopes to give our readers an ongoing update on those fighting in the front lines.

Williamsburg’s Domino Park has revealed its newest mural, which pays tribute to frontline workers. The work was painted by artists from Los Muralistas de El Puente, led by lead artist Joe Matunis, and is made up of sections that together form the collaborative El Puente mural. Each section of the mural focuses on a different Brooklyn-based community member. Based in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Los Muralistas de El Puente is a multi-generational community mural group.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday unveiled the first set of “Cool Streets” for this summer, announcing expanded cooling options on existing Open Streets in the most heat-burdened parts of New York City. The Cool It! NYC program prioritizes new cooling options on blocks in vulnerable neighborhoods, with tree-based shade and fire hydrants with spray caps. During heat advisories, NYCDEP and FDNY will proactively install spray caps on these streets’ hydrants to ensure every New Yorker living in a heat-burdened community is within 1/4 mile of an outdoor cooling element.

Citizens Union has renewed its call for the government to allow New York City residents to register to vote online in advance of the November 2020 election. The call was made in response to data released last week by the New York City Campaign Finance Board showing that half as many New Yorkers had registered to vote in the first six months of 2020 than in the first six months of 2016.

On Monday, all five borough presidents joined advocates and senior service providers in their respective boroughs to urge the expeditious restoration of funding to the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA), which funds programs in the city for older adults. The virtual press conference was held in response to the City’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget cuts to the agency. “During a deadly pandemic that disproportionately impacts seniors, the need for resources is even more dire to keep them healthy, active, and engaged while we continue to fight COVID-19,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.