Editor’s note: This letter was provided by Village of Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen.

My sincerest thanks to all those who have emailed about ways to support neighbors during this time of emergency. For those who would like to volunteer at the local level, please contact Laura Caruso at [email protected]. Pelham Together is working with Pelham Civics, the Junior League of Pelham, volunteers from every neighborhood and Town of Pelham leadership to meet residents’ needs as they arise. Beyond the local need, New York State is asking for help as well. They are seeking the assistance of Qualified Health Professionals, donations of goods, services and space, and businesses who can sell or manufacture products that are critical to responding to the crisis. You can get involved by visiting https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/get-involved-how-you-can-help. 

Tonight at 9:00pm, Senator Biaggi will be hosting a conference call with local business owners to discuss state actions and give our local businesses an opportunity to share needs that can be elevated to NY State leadership. If you are a local business owner, and you did not receive information on this meeting from the Pelham Chamber of Commerce, please email [email protected]. If you’re unable to join, this meeting will be recorded and made available tomorrow.

Please be advised that Governor Cuomo issued additional executive orders for all of New York State, including that 100% of the workforce must stay home (excluding essential services), non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason are temporarily banned, and the Westchester County Department of Health should now be considered our primary contact for all COVID-19 concerns. The Westchester DOH can be reached by phone at (914) 813-5000 for general questions. I recommend visiting  health.westchestergov.com before you call, since they have established different phone numbers for different needs.  All New Yorkers age 70+ and anyone with compromised immune systems are strongly advised to practice extra vigilance by adhering to the following practices:

• Remain indoors
• Only go outside for solitary exercise
• Pre-screen all visitors by taking their temperature
• Wear a mask in the company of others
• Stay at least 6 feet from others
• Do not take public transportation unless urgent and absolutely necessary

As of this afternoon, the NYS Department of Health is reporting that there are 20,875 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York. 2,894 of those are in Westchester and the DOH has now confirmed 16 positive cases in the Village of Pelham. As a reminder, there continues to be a lag time of 4-5 days between the DOH numbers and our own local estimates based on residents who self-report. Based on our local estimates, we believe the number of positive cases in Pelham is higher than the number reported by the Department of Health.

Please keep in mind that over the next week, we may start to see significantly higher numbers throughout the state, the county and even here in Pelham. Some of this is due to the increasing spread of coronavirus, but much of it is a reflection of expanded testing. New York now leads the country on this front, having tested more than 78,000 people. In fact, the NYS Department of Health is now administering about 16,000 tests per day. While this may cause an alarming increase in reported cases, let’s remember that this is actually excellent news, and it’s the best indication that our leaders in Albany are taking this very seriously.

Thanks again to all those stepping forward to support your neighbors in need. It has been so inspiring to watch. Keep up the good work, Pelham.

Best regards,
Chance