NYC First Lady Dances in Front of Mansion 'To Beat COVID-19'
In a video that spurred more than one Twitter user to liken the incident to Nero fiddling as Rome burned, New York City first lady Chirlane McCray posted a video to Twitter as part of her effort to defeat the coronavirus.
“We must ALL come together as one big global family to beat COVID-19. I am proud to lend my voice (and my dance moves!) to the #WeAreFamily campaign with Kim Sledge, @The_WorldWeWant @thewhof in benefit of @WHO. To learn more or sing with us, visit http://unitystrong.com,” she posted in a video shot outside of Gracie Mansion, the home of New York City’s mayors.
We must ALL come together as one big global family to beat COVID-19. I am proud to lend my voice (and my dance moves!) to the #WeAreFamily campaign with Kim Sledge, @The_WorldWeWant @thewhof in benefit of @WHO.
To learn more or sing with us, visit https://t.co/N4e6VDIR9I. pic.twitter.com/PKDbp3rFvZ
— Chirlane McCray (@NYCFirstLady) December 1, 2020
The smiling gyrations were at odds with comments about the city over which McCray’s husband, Mayor Bill de Blasio, presides.
“Today, as a result of the global pandemic, the city’s financial position and the city itself faces perhaps its most severe crisis since 1975,” state budget director Robert Mujica said in August, according to New York magazine.
“And it may actually be worse than that.”
Gunfire has ripped holes in the city’s image.
November recorded a 112 percent increase in shootings over November 2019, according to WABC-TV.
[firefly_poll]
New York Police Department figures show that the 115 shootings in November raised the city’s total for the year to 1,412, a 95 percent increase over the 721 recorded through the first 11 months of 2019.
November recorded a homicide rate of almost a body a day, with 28 people slain, an increase of five over November 2019, WABC reported.
Through 11 months, homicides in New York City have totaled 422, a 38 percent increase over 2019, according to the station.
And then there is the growing rebellion against lockdowns and other restrictions imposed by de Blasio and New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Last week, Mac’s Public House, a Staten Island bar, defied city and state orders and opened in protest, calling itself an “autonomous zone,” according to Newsweek.
“We are not getting the support that we need, the funding, anything from our local, state governments, all governments, for what we need, and we need our livelihoods back,” co-owner Danny Presti said, according to Newsweek.
“If they’re not going to give it to us, we’re going to take it back at this point because we have no confidence in them to do what needs to be done.”
All of which led Twitter to froth and foam at McCray’s dance moves.
Nero would approve
— Saro Gumusyan (@Fred_Coupon) December 2, 2020
Fiddling while Rome burns.
— Renea Feder (@FederRenea) December 2, 2020
WTF is this? A new production of “Nero fiddling while Rome burns” with a budget of $850 million?
— ConcernedUWSider (@sider_uw) December 3, 2020
The website Investopedia has created a recovery index that measures key pieces of the city’s condition, such as unemployment, home sales and restaurant reservations as well as COVID-19 hospitalization. The most recent score said the city really isn’t doing so well.
“New York City’s recovery stands at just 48.3 out of a total score of 100, according to the New York City Recovery Index, a joint project between Investopedia and NY1. The index dropped by 3 points from the prior week, marking the lowest reading since Oct. 26,” the site stated. “More than nine months into the pandemic, New York City’s economic recovery is less than halfway back to early March 2020 level.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
