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State lawmakers are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set aside 30 percent of COVID-19 vaccine appointments at the Jacob Javits Center for Manhattan residents — after learning that scores of non-city residents are getting shots at the site.
“We write to request that 30 percent of COVID-19 vaccination appointments at the Jacob Javits Center, which is located in or near our districts, be reserved for eligible Manhattan residents,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman, Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick wrote in a letter to Cuomo Thursday.
“Numerous non-Manhattan residents come to our borough every day to get vaccinated while our own residents are unable to make appointments,” the letter declares.
Their request comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier this week that 42 percent of COVID-19 vaccine doses at the state-run Javits Center have gone to non-city residents.
Up to 75 percent of shots administered at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens were also given to people who live outside the Big Apple.
State-run vaccine sites are currently open to all residents of the Empire State.
“Our constituents are at a unique disadvantage: While Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx have dedicated State vaccination sites for their borough’s residents, the Javits Center is the only State site located in Manhattan and it is open to all New Yorkers, as well as out-of-state residents who work in New York City,” the letter states.
“It would be fair that 30 percent of shots at Javits be set aside for local Manhattan residents.”
Javits Center’s operation will go 24-7 this week as it begins to dole out Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine Friday during overnight hours. Reservations opened Thursday.
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