Yorktown Officials Join Harckham in Calling for FDR Park COVID Testing
Yorktown officials have written to Gov. Kathy Hochul asking to open a mobile testing site in FDR State Park to help fight the latest spike in COVID-19 cases that have ravaged the state.
Hochul has announced that the state plans to open more testing sites to combat the surge. Of the 18 new sites that the governor disclosed Friday and Monday, two are located what has been considered the seven-county Mid Hudson region – at the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and at Patriot Hills Golf Club in Stony Point, Orange County.
“As we continue to fight this pandemic, we need to utilize all of the resources and tools available to us, and we know that testing is a crucial component in stopping the spread,” said state Sen. Peter Harckham (D-Lewisboro), who on Dec. 26 made the initial request to Hochul.
“I urge the governor to promptly open a site in the Hudson Valley region and recommend utilizing FDR State Park as a testing site. It’s large enough to easily accommodate a drive-thru testing site, and it’s easily accessible off the Taconic State Parkway and Route 202.”
Yorktown officials made the same request, noting the state used FDR State Park as an emergency staging ground after Tropical Storm Isaias.
“Our local healthcare system and regional hospitals are under extreme stress as testing demand remains at an all-time high,” Yorktown Town Board members wrote in their letter. “Patients are traveling from as far as Long Island in a desperate attempt to get a test at our local urgent care centers. The strain has caused our local police department to assist with crowd control at times.”
As of Dec. 29, there were 6,961 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yorktown, with 1,252 active cases, according to the Westchester County COVID-19 dashboard.
Two vaccine clinics in Yorktown are slated to be held this week where both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will be available. One clinic will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. at John C. Hart Library in Shrub Oak. The second clinic is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 6 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Albert Capellini Community Center in Yorktown Heights.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
