T H E C I T Y O F N E W Y ORK O FFICE OF THE M AYOR N E W Y ORK , NY 10007
March 31, 2020
The President General Mark A. Milley The White House Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20502 Washington, DC 20301-1000
The Honorable Mark T. Esper Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000
Dear Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, and General Milley:
I write you as our city continues to face a threat unlike any we’ve ever seen.
This morning, New York City has 40,900 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. That number has risen by over 14,000 since I spoke to the President last Friday. We’ve lost 932 New Yorkers. One of every four Coronavirus cases in the U.S. is a New York City resident. We are the epicenter of this crisis. We know this will get worse before it gets better – and we are racing against the clock to make sure our city and health care system are prepared for the worst.
As we discussed on Friday, March 27th: we are staring down a critical shortage of staff that our City needs to fight this war. Our doctors, nurses, and health workers – heroes who continue to put themselves in harm’s way – desperately need reinforcements from the federal government, especially the United States military.
I will say again – for our public hospitals we need the following in the next five days:
1,000 nurses 300 Respiratory Therapists 150 doctors
These are the medical professionals we need to provide care for our COVID patients prior to April 6th. It isn’t all we’ll need in the coming weeks – unfortunately, it isn’t even close. But here is the blunt truth: without them, now, New Yorkers we could have saved will die.
We are grateful for the help that you’ve already provided. The USNS Comfort has given us not only beds and extraordinary staff, but a sense of hope. The ventilators you’ve sent are in our hospitals, saving New Yorkers who otherwise would be on their last breath.
And we know, more and more, this pandemic will grip other cities the same way it has ours. I assure you: When that happens, New York City will be the first to give our supplies to the nation. We will ask our doctors and nurses to travel to their front lines, wherever they may be. But right now – at this moment – the nation’s largest city needs your help. We don’t have a minute to waste.
Sincerely,
Bill de Blasio Mayor cc: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Congressman Thomas Suozzi Congressman Gregory Meeks Congresswoman Grace Meng Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Congressman Hakeem Jeffries Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez Congresswoman Yvette Clarke Congressman Max Rose Congressman Jerrold Nadler Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney Congressman Adriano Espillat Congressman Jose Serrano Congressman Eliot Engel Peter Navarro, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy