April 20, 2020 Dear Governor Cuomo, I hope you, family, friends, and staff stay well in this scary time. I am starting a petition today to urge you to find the money necessary to provide some economic relief for undocumented immigrants in our New York State community. In New York City, Mayor de Blasio is tapping George Soros's nonprofit, Open Society Foundations, and in California Governor Newsom is drawing on non-profits founded by the widow of Steve Jobs and the Zuckermans respectively. Perhaps most city and state immigrant-rights nonprofits are not as well-heeled as those coming out of Silicon Valley, but surely there are other nonprofits out there willing to step in. Mayor de Blasio found the Open Society Foundations. I think we both know a former mayor who likes to present himself these days as a "progressive." This is the perfect opportunity for him to burnish that image. Then I remember the richest man in the world wanted to open an Amazon factory in Queens, but local opposition squashed the deal. I'm sure you had some contact with Mr. Bezos in trying to woo Amazon, why not call upon those positive connections now? You could sell Amazon financing as paving a better reputation for Amazon in the city for the future. We both know that whatever financing Amazon provides - my guess is it would be about the same as the 20 mil from Soros's organization - won't be enough to smooth relations completely with the NYC Council, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do for our city and state. Governor Cuomo, as the antithesis of Trump, you have won gushing media approval in recent weeks. What about using some of that star power to appeal to the many left-leaning and philanthropic stars in Hollywood, or even better, keeping it local, in the rap world - which has its origins in the Bronx, after all? In any case, you must come up with the money somehow. As Mayor de Blasio stated, “Immigrants are the heart of this City — they are our friends, neighbors and colleagues." And Patrick Gaspard, the president of the Foundations stated, “This crisis has laid bare just how much we depend on low-wage workers who stock our grocery shelves, harvest and deliver our food, staff society’s essential services. These essential workers are also the people with the least access to services and benefits, many of them beyond the reach of the government’s stimulus package.” Gaspard's comments are well put. And although the city's plan, targeting to reach 20,000 people with payments between $400 and $1000 dollars, is a positive first step, more is needed, both for immigrants in the city and, of course, the state. Immigrants, often on the front lines as essential workers, are one of the most vulnerable populations in our community. It is imperative on us to do the right thing morally by them. It is also the prudent thing to do. With the vicious spread of this virus, we are only as safe as the weakest member in our community. Stay safe, Ed Kilcullen

Why is this important? During this Pandemic and quarantine, outdoor activities (walking, hiking, exercising, yard work) have still been acceptable while maintaining social distancing. Most parks and neighborhoods have been over flowing with the public on nice days trying to get outside. Camping with immediate family members poses less threat of infection than going to any public park at this time. Seasonal campsite owners pay a yearly “mortgage” fee on said property and typically only reside with immediate family members at their sites. These campgrounds are more often than not private and do not have sites to rent to the general public (if they do those rental sites could continue to be closed temporarily) The sites are situated MUCH more than 6ft away from one another and pose little risk of infection to anyone outside of the household as long as proper social distancing is followed. Please consider reopening private campgrounds by May 15th to assist in the health and well being of michiganders,and Ohioans

Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, groomers included. We believe that providing grooming services is essential to the health and well being of our companion animals. Without proper and routine grooming care and hygiene which includes everything from bathing to nail clipping, gland expression, ear cleaning and more pets can be at risk for a number of negative health impacts including skin infections and coat issues, injuries from overgrown nails, impacted anal glands, and ear infections, just to name a few. Many pet parents are not capable and even fewer properly equipped to groom their pets at home. Grooming services, from storefronts to mobile services, are not at all equivalent to human hair salons . We are more than capable of meeting and exceeding existing safety measures to ensure the public health and stop the spread of Covid 19 while also providing needed services and keeping our small businesses alive. Please allow us to do so!

We're all self employed and NYS unemployment hasn't come through to help, nor has the US government.

The financial survival of all California mobile pet grooming businesses are at risk. We are facing challenging financial hardships. It imperative that mobile pet salons are reinstated. We need to work in order to service our clients who’s pets are long-over due for grooming, feed our families, pay our bills, and support our economy. We are not given Paid Time Off or Insurance Benefits.

I would like the governor to take into consideration that barbers are highly skilled licensed professionals, who have taken courses on contamination of infectious diseases. We are more than capable with guidelines and restrictions put in place, of creating a safe environment while providing our much needed services to our community. Before I outline the system that I would like for you to consider , I would like to talk about why it is so important for us to be open during these dark times.. Mental health is so important at this time and should not be taken lightly. it is very easy in this time of heartache and despair, for a person to fall into a deep depression. there is a saying "when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good , good things happen".. In my 24 years of serving my community as a barber I couldn't agree with that statement more than I do now. Governor, as I'm sure you know, a barber is not just someone that cuts your hair. We are more of a therapist to our clients. Our clients tell us their problems in life and in return we listen and give them advise on how to overcome those problems.. in most cases, they confide in us more than they would their spouse or close family member. what I'm trying to say is, that we as barbers are not only here to make people look good but more importantly we make people feel good about themselves even at a time in their lives when they may think there is nothing to feel good about. We as a whole, would be hard pressed to think of a time when professional barbers were more needed to provide that mental health aspect that we bring to our beloved communities around nyc, than now.. mr governor, the following is an outline of a simple plan that I would like for you to take into consideration, on how to create a safe environment while conducting business in barbershops : 1) the barbershop would run on a strict appointments only schedule to minimize a gathering. . 2) all staff must be wearing a mask and gloves at all times. 3) no client will be allowed to enter without a mask and gloves. 4) as the client enters the shop they will imediately go to the shampoo sink with their barber, they will both remove their gloves and proceed to wash their hands. 5) the barber and client will then put on a new pair of gloves provided by the barbershop and proceed to the barber chair. 6) the client will have to wear the mask and gloves as does the barber, throughout the entire haircut. 7) the trimming of beards and facial hair will not be permitted. 8) the next client will not be waiting in the barbershop for his haircut. He will be in his vehicle or waiting outside for his barber to call him in after the last client has left. It would be a 1 in 1 out system.. This is is a very safe and easy system to run. Mr. Governor, People rely on us to feel good about themselves, especially in a time like this. I have great respect for you and I'm confident that you will understand the importance of the mental health of our communities during this crisis. Thank you

The survival of the independent beauty professionals is at risk. We are facing a grave financial hardship.

Let us add, there is a severe shortage on sanitizer, Quats (Barbicide), gloves, wipes, and clipper disinfectant State to State. If the sole purpose of the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology is to uphold us to strict rules, regulations, and sanitization practices, thus ensuring we are providing a safe and clean environment for our clients without spreading any infectious diseases, please justify your logic in shutting down the only resource holding us accountable during a pandemic! A first in our lifetime. They offices should remain open, even if our Salons are closed. At the least, strategizing on how to ensure our safe return to our salons. Not being an accessible resource for us during this extremely difficult and uncertain time is proving to be very unhelpful and problematic as many of salon professionals are forced to come up with their own ideas as to what they think they will need to go back to work without any hard evidence other than a news source. We expect nothing less than a collaborative effort between the CDC, the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology of Consumer Affairs, and the Health Department to establish clear and concise safety measures, cleaning and sanitization guidelines if they differ from the ones we are already implementing. Thus ensuring a safe return for us, our clients, our COMMUNITY, and to avoid any future risk of infection. Anxious to return to work safely, Alicia Orabella Orabella Hair Studio Oakland Ca Janice Lewis Salon Non Fiction Sola Salons Walnut Creek Ca Einstein Parades Gents Barber Shop San Francisco Ca Debbie Hollingshead Salon Professional Bakersfield Ca

Many people are out of work and need to get back to work in order to pay their bills and support their families!!!

If these teenagers don't take their permit test it will take them longer to get their driver's licenses which will create hardship for families who need these teens to drive when they turn 16. Currently, the DMV does not have a plan for all the teenagers who missed their permit test.

To get people back to work

Allow a licensed beauty professional to perform a beauty service/ privately with one client in the salon / per stylist at a time Starting as of Monday, April 27, 2020. All necessary precautions and sanitation protocols approved by the state of AR and the local Board of Health will be followed. Our industry needs to be recognized & deemed as an essential business so we can better serve our community. Servicing one client at a time (while wearing a mask & gloves) poses little to no risk of spreading the virus, as compared to 20 or more people in a grocery store or 10 plus people at restaurants picking up food. Why is this important? The survival of the independent beauty professionals is at risk. We are facing a grave financial hardship.