Weekly Advocacy Alert, October 28:
Early In-Person Voting Now Open! Vote!

 

Make sure to vote! In person early voting is now open through November 1st, or you can vote on Election Day, November 3rd. You can still mail your absentee ballot (with proper postage paid!) so it is postmarked by November 3rd. Find both your early voting and election day poll sites here.
 

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FEDERAL
 

1. Heroes Small Business Lifeline Act introduced. Part of this bill is the expanded PPP eligibility for all nonprofits, regardless of size and type, as well as a second round of PPP, a new grant program to provide up to $50,000 grants to very small nonprofits, and other critical assistance. Refer to summary.

2. Dance/USA Updates:
     a. Use Dance/USA’s advocacy action alert to contact your Congressional delegation to urge immediate action to provide pandemic relief for the arts sector, including the dance community.
     b. Download Dance/USA #Dance2Vote tool kit. 
 

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NEW YORK STATE
 

1. Gov. Andrew Cuomo excluded neighboring New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania from New York’s quarantine list despite a spike in COVID-19 cases, stating there was “no practical way” to enforce such a limitation, The New York Times reports. He stressed that non-essential travel between the states should be avoided. 

2. Eight additional companies have received support from the State to help produce PPE. Empire State Development, New York's economic development agency, awarded $4.9 million to eight NY-based companies to help alleviate product shortages. 
 

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NEW YORK CITY 
 

1. Dance/NYC’s *NEW* Coronavirus Dance Impact Survey extended to October 30th!   We need 10–15 minutes of your time. If you are an individual dance worker and also lead an organization or fiscally sponsored group you are welcome to take both. Please help us spread the word, using this social media tool kit!

2. After Cuomo previewed the State’s vaccine distribution protocols, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city’s own version of plans for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine, once one arrives. In the city’s two-phase distribution plan, a limited number of doses will be provided to health care personnel, front-line workers and other vulnerable populations. A second phase will reach more of the general population, and could come in 2021.

3. COVID-19 Updates:
     a. U.S. Sets Coronavirus Case Record Amid New Surge, The New York Times reports. 
     b. The positivity rate in the "micro-cluster" focus areas was 3.25%. The statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 1.18%. To find out where the “micro-cluster” zones are, and to see what restrictions apply to each zone, please visit www.nyc.gov/covidzone.
     c. Download the COVID Alert NY app today! 
     d. Remember to follow the “core four”—wear a mask, wash your hands, practice social distancing, stay home if you’re sick—and get tested! For more information on free testing, personal protective equipment and more, please visit the NYC Mayor's Office Coronavirus page.

4. Open Healthcare enrollment runs from November 1 through December 15. Learn more at Healthcare.gov and also at The Actor’s Fund.

5. Sign up for free Flu Shots with the Actors Fund.

6. De Blasio restores about half of the funding his administration has cut from its housing department budget, in an attempt to lessen the blow of COVID-19 to his affordable housing plans, the Gothamist reports.

7. New York City is launching a new program to address the mental health impact of the pandemic on young people living in the neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID-19. AM New York reports that the initiative will have current NYC mental health counselors deployed to lead group therapy sessions at 350 schools across the city, and will educate students as well as their caregivers.

8. Engaging in a community action in support of dance workers? Submit to be listed on the #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers Campaign Activations page. Visit the page for events, actions, and platforms that are independently led by the NYC dance community.

9. Dance/NYC hosts weekly dance field-wide calls to address our questions, needs, and plans for the future as a field. Calls occur every Thursday, 4:00 pm. – 5:00 p.m. Register