By Donna Davis
As a non driver, for decades I have primarily used car services to get to my nursing job at hospitals and home care cases in Yonkers and other parts of Westchester. Since the end of February, I have been in a unique position to see how these drivers have been affected by the pandemic as we talked about what was happening in Yonkers and the Bronx communities that border Yonkers.
As the City, community leaders, residents, business owners and non profit organizations came forward to give donated hand sanitizer and PPE to hospitals, police, firefighters, EMS and other first responders, I noticed that the various car services had not been part of the circle.
Multiple drivers told me of how they were unable to bear the highly elevated costs of gloves and masks. Price gouging had made antiseptic wipes out of rangeas the prices went from $3 to over $12. We all know there was no isopropyl alcohol or hand sanitizer gel to be found on the shelves by the middle of March.
Several drivers came down with Covid19 and one driver told me she knew of 2 people who had died from complications.What concerned me from a medical point of view was that as no one seemed to view drivers as essential workers. These Yonkers companies are a mainstay in communities of color. They transport residents to work at our hospitals, nursing homes, physician offices and many other jobs that support the infrastructure of the city and county. During normal times, they take residents shopping, to the movies out on date nights, etc.
In addition, many residents sick with early symptoms of Covid19, took car services to get to the emergency rooms and urgent care offices, long before it was manadated that we all use face coverings.
Once schools, colleges, clinics, elective surgeries and other businesses deemed non essential were closed, these men and women saw their salaries diminished by 50 – 80%. I spoke with Marisol Mancebo, CFO Yonkers YMCA, and she agreed that we should try and put something together. She spent 2 days making calls to the companies and obtained plastic bags from the YMCA and a donation of 5 boxes of vinyl gloves from Walgreen Pharmacy.
I spoke with Councilwoman Corazon Pineda Isaac and she was able to obtain handmade washable face masks. Marisol Alcantara from New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) joined us with donated K-N95 masks. She had already spent weeks giving PPE to taxicab drivers in the Bronx. Chuck Lesnick obtained gallon jugs of the liquid hand sanitizer from Nahmias et Fils distillery and gave each company 2.5oz spray bottles for the drivers to refill.
My hope is that as we settle in for the long haul, we keep these me and women in our thoughts and send them PPE assistance as needed to help keep themselves and their families protected.
City Council Majority Leader Corazon Pineda-Isaac said, “Donna Davis, utilizes the local taxis for much of her work as a nurse and photographer and noticed that many drivers did not have the appropriate PPE. She then proceeded to call myself and others to see if we could collect some materials for the different cab companies throughout our city. I reached out to the Office of Emergency Management and they were eager to help! Marisol Mancebo the CFO of the Yonkers YMCA and Marisol Alcantara of the NYS Nurses Association also collected masks and gloves for the different cab companies. Chuck Lesnick was able to secure a donation of hand sanitizer from Nahmias Et Fils the distillery that is now bottling and distributing hand sanitizer in Yonkers. TOGETHER we were able to distribute to 5 different taxi companies. Hundreds of drivers and staff members now have access to materials that will make them safer and the passengers safer. During this crisis partnerships are being formed regularly to provide and assist for one another.”
