A 110-year-old trade association is making sure that vulnerable populations in the Bronx have the proper equipment to protect themselves against COVID-19.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. was given a donation of 50,000 face masks from the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA) earlier today at a garage nearby Bronx Borough Hall on E. 161st Street.
Those three-ply paper masks are to be distributed throughout the Bronx to vulnerable populations including seniors, essential workers and other vulnerable populations, according to Diaz’s office.
These masks are part of a larger, half million donation that GNYADA is making to 12 downstate counties, including the boroughs of New York City.
“The Greater New York Automobile Association has ensured that thousands of Bronxites will be safer from the spread of COVID-19 infection with their generous donation,” Diaz said while thanking the association for its support of the borough.”We are determined to persevere through this unprecedented public health crisis collectively as a united caring community,” Diaz added.
The president of the GNYADA, Mark Schienberg explained how auto dealers are the “brick and mortar” backbones of the city and its surrounding suburbs. Auto dealers make up the fifth largest retail employer throughout the downstate region, help to support 71,280 jobs, contribute $2.5 billion in local and state taxes and support a total payroll of $4.5 billion, according to an economic impact survey conducted in 2019.
“When New Yorkers are in need, time and again, franchise new car dealers and their employees are always there for the communities where they live and work,” Schienberg added.
