6 Sunday,March 29, 2020 DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com
CORONAVIRUS
ALBANY — New York law-
makers are set to apply social
distancing to the legislative
process.
Democrats, who control
both the state Senate and As-
sembly, are taking steps to al-
low remote voting on budget
bills amid the ongoing co-
ronavirus crisis.
Senate Majority Leader An-
drea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yon-
kers) said Saturday that some
of her members will meet in
the capital before the weekend
is out to “begin the process of
passing budget bills this week
as bills are ready.”
But the state Capitol build-
ing — typically overrun with
staffers and sleep-deprived
lawmakers in the days leading
up to the April 1 budget dead-
line — will remain relatively
quiet as both chambers eye
work-from-home options for
legislators.
“Throughout the week, our
process will establish appro-
priate protocols involving so-
cial distancing, and tomorrow
we will pass a resolution au-
thorizing limited remote vot-
ing as necessary,” Stewart-
Cousins said.
Many Assembly members
are wary of gathering at the
Capitol as four of their col-
leagues have already tested
positive for the potentially
deadly respiratory illness.
Democrats, led by Speaker
Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), were
slated to discuss the state
spending plan Saturday night
via videoconference, members
said.
The idea of a remote budget
vote is not all that far-fetched
af t e r A s s e m b l y M a j o r i t y
Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes
(D-Buffalo) introduced a reso-
lution last week that provided
some guidance for the process.
Members, currently re-
quired to be in the building to
vote, would be allowed to re-
motely submit attendance, de-
bate questions and vote via
“teleconference or videocon-
ference.”
Go v. C u o m o , w h o h a s
vowed to include priorities
such as changes to bail reforms
and legal weed in the budget,
has shown little sympathy for
legislators reluctant to return
to the Capitol amid the crisis.Albany pols
prepare for
remote votes
BY DENIS SLATTERY
NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEFAn NYPD detective has died
from coronavirus, the first
uniformed officer to suc-
cumb to the illness, author-
ities said Saturday.
Detective Cedric Dixon,
4 8 , o f H a r l e m ’s 3 2 n d
Precinct, died early Saturday
af t e r b e i n g a d m i t t e d t o
North Central Bronx Hospi-
tal three days earlier with
flulike symptoms, sources
said.
The investigator was a 23-
year veteran of the force and
suffered from health issues,
including asthma. He was di-
agnosed with diabetes while
being treated at the hospital,
officials said.
Two NYPD civilian em-
pl o y e e s d i e d f r o m c o -
ronavirus Thursday: Gia-
comina Barr-Brown, an ad-
ministrative assistant at the
4 9th Precinct in the Bronx,
and custodian Dennis Dick-
son, who worked Police
Headquarters in lower Man-
hattan.
“We have lost three mem-bers of our family in a little
over 48 hours,” Police Com-
missioner Dermot Shea said
Saturday. “As I stand here, I
cannot begin to describe
what we are feeling, what the
family of these three heroes
are feeling.
“We are hurting, we are
crying, and we are continu-
ing to fight. We simply have
no other choice,” he said. “It
is in our heart and it is in our
soul to sacrifice, to serve, to
fight for you.”
Friends and colleagues
described Dixon as a big-
hearted man, Shea said.
“I’ve spoke to many of his
friends and co-workers since
this morning, and he was
known as the person who
would do anything to help
you. If you had something
broken, he was particularly
fond of fixing technology and
electronics. He is going to be
so sorely missed,” Shea said.
Dixon’s death comes as
the number of cops testing
positive for coronavirus has
more than doubled since
Thursday. The NYPD said
6 08 cops tested positive for
the virus on Saturday, 38%
more than the 442 who werepositive on Friday and 107%
more than the 294 who were
positive on Thursday.
Police said 4,342 cops
called in sick on Saturday,
1 2% of the uniformed work-
force.
The surge in sick cops has
forced the department to
shuffle its personnel, moving
detectives assigned to gang
an d n a r c o t i c s u n i t s t o
precinct detective squads,
for example.
“When we emerge from
this crisis — and make no
mistake, we will emerge
from this crisis — may we
never forget the sacrifice of
th o s e wo r ke r s w h o p u t
themselves in harm’s way to
keep you and your family
safe,” Shea said.
Dixon joined the depart-
ment in 1997 and worked at
the Bronx’s 40th Precinct
before being promoted to de-
tective.
“We will always be here
for his family and we will
never forget him,” Paul Di-
Giacomo, head of the Detect-
ives’ Endowment Associ-
ation, said Saturday.
The association bought
4 ,000 masks for its members,and also purchased gloves. A
hand sanitizer shipment is
on the way.
The union is also recom-
mending its members use
every precaution possible
when investigating crimes,
including wearing protective
masks, gloves and a full
Tyvek protective suit when
responding to calls about
dead victims.
“We are first responders,
we are at a higher exposure
rate than others, and it is very
difficult and uncharted bor-
ders for us,” DiGiacomo said.
“But we are out there doing
the best job we can, and this
exemplifies what we are
known for, the greatest de-
tectives in the world, and De-
tective Dixon will always be
known as the greatest detec-
tive in the world.”
Dixon’s death sent shock
waves through other first-re-
sponder agencies, including
the FDNY.
As of Friday, 170 FDNY
members tested positive for
coronavirus, and more than
2 ,0 0 0 f i r e f i g h t e r s , E M S
members and civilian em-
ployees were on medical
leave.Detective Cedric
Dixon (pictured),
48, of Harlem’s
32nd Precinct, died
early Saturday. He
was a 23-year
NYPD veteran.BY NICHOLAS WILLIAMS,
ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
AND THOMAS TRACY
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