Health ‘risk’ in Brooklyn
Fear test offered by pol hopefuls
A pair of political wannabes advertising “free antibody testing” to Brooklyn public housing tenants are putting the community at risk while pandering for votes, residents charge.
State Senate candidate Andy Marte and District Leader Tommy Torres have been publicizing the tests — promising “results in 15 minutes” — to residents of the Williamsburg Houses, but without authorization from the city and with questionable privacy practices involved.
While flyers the duo has put up at the development and shared on social media suggest the testing will be held at a basketball court Tuesday, NYCHA hasn’t given them permission to do so.
The local tenants association president fears if a crowd forms there, it will actually spread the virus.
And Marte and Torres are asking residents to send personal information to a Gmail account, raising potential privacy concerns.
The event is “endangering people’s lives,” said Lavonne McLamb (below), head of the Williamsburg Houses Tenants Association.
“They both should be put to shame for this because they want to do anything for a vote,” she added. McLamb said she’s afraid the testing site would create crowds that spread the virus among her community, which has already been hit hard by the deadly disease. “My daughter was sick with this. My uncle died from this,” McLamb said. “And you think you’re going to bring this here and risk having everyone sick all over again? I will not have it.”
She said residents have been tearing down the pols’ flyers — which advertise tests from Asisa Urgent Care “sponsored by” Marte and Torres — and NYCHA plans to display flyers warning tenants against participating.
“ASISA is not using FDA approved laboratory technology and practices to determine accurate test results,” NYCHA’s flyer states.
“ASISA pop-up diagnostic testing has not been approved by any federal, state or city government health agency and cannot guarantee accurate results,” it continues. “ASISA requests that residents’ personal and health information be sent to an insecure Gmail account, putting residents’ confidentiality, privacy and safety at risk.”
Asisa Urgent Care came under criticism in March for urging people to come to its clinics for coronavirus testing even if they didn’t need it. Asisa did not immediately answer requests for comment.
While Marte and Torres’ flyers list the location of the event as “block 4 basketball court” of the Williamsburg
Houses, Torres claimed in a phone call that Asisa would shuttle patients to its 667 Myrtle Ave. location for the actual tests.
“Since when is offering extra services a bad thing?” Marte, who’s challenging state Sen. Julia Salazar in next week’s Democratic primary election, said in an email. “The tenants from Williamsburg Houses wanted to do this event in honor of Black Lives Matter.”
Asked about criticism he’s exploiting residents’ fears of the virus, Torres said in a phone call: “I don’t see the issue with that. I’m born and raised in the community and I want to help my residents.”
The flyers instruct residents to “preregister” by sending their names, birthdates, addresses and phone numbers to a Gmail account.
Marte and Torres declined to comment about potential privacy concerns, saying Asisa was running the account.
“If he sets foot on this ground and does anything without permission, I want it prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” McLamb said of Torres.
While Torres is defending his district leader seat for the 53rd Assembly District from a challenger, Marte is a political newcomer.
“I have no clue of who he is but reading up on him, I don’t get good vibes on him and my network of women are not feeling him at all,” McLamb said of Marte.