Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee this week lauded a swiftly collected donation of various Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and other supplies by Queens College’s School of Mathematics and Sciences, including N-95 masks, 30 unopened cases of disposable nitrile gloves, disposable lab coats, and bottles of 70% isopropyl alcohol.
The swift donation is in response to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s public call on Friday to New Yorkers about the critical need for PPEs in anticipation of a shortage emerging from the fast-developing COVID-19 pandemic. Within hours, professors, faculty, and college lab technicians (CLTs) of “the college of the future” stepped up and scoured their teaching labs for materials that could be of immediate use by the city’s medical professionals and other frontline workers.
Messages such as “Now I remember that I always kept as emergency backup a few boxes of disposable lab coats” and “The cases (not open) of gloves are kept on the shelves. You can give all the cases” could be found in a flurry of emails between professors, faculty, CLTs, and campus security throughout Saturday.
“A simply brilliant and swift move by the Queens College community,” said Borough President Lee. “In a crisis, every minute counts, and frontline workers have been working around the clock to stem the tide. Thank you, Queens College, for stepping up with such haste and compassion, and for this immediate assist. We hope this inspires similar actions throughout Queens. Against COVID-19, every effort helps bend the curve and will save precious lives. We can make a bigger impact against the curve if we act together and act now.”
“I am deeply proud of the Queens College faculty and staff of our School of Mathematics and Sciences, including the Biology Department, the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Family, Nutrition, and Exercise. Together they quickly heeded the calls of Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, and CUNY Chancellor Matos by collecting and donating gloves, lab coats, respirators, and disinfectant solutions to assist the City’s health care workers,” said Interim Queens College President William Tramontano. We especially thank Acting Borough President Sharon Lee for speedily contacting the Office of Emergency Management to arrange for pick-up. We hope these efforts will inspire others who have access to protective gear and sanitizers to join in support of the dedicated staff of the City’s hospitals.”