News & Announcements
Update from The College at Brockport 3/9/2020
Dear Brockport community:
I want again to express my gratitude to the individuals and teams who have repeatedly exceeded all expectations over the last several days as we have welcomed our SUNY guests to Gordon Hall. I have been touched, not only by the efforts of our campus community, but by the generosity and support of our surrounding communities. So many individuals have expressed a desire to help enrich the stay of our visiting students that we have created a website to centralize these efforts. I’m sure this support will mean a great deal to our guests. I know it does to me. Thank you.
In addition to the 18 study abroad students currently quarantined at Gordon Hall who had been in Italy, we have learned that we will be hosting approximately 14 additional students who had been studying in Japan and South Korea. We expect them to arrive sometime this evening or early tomorrow morning. Just like with our guests from Italy, these new students, who will undergo a two-week precautionary quarantine, have been screened and show no symptoms of the Coronavirus.
The students from Japan and South Korea will receive the same welcome and comforts that the students from Italy have received. And, with the support of our surrounding communities (as indicated above), we expect to offer them even greater comfort in the days ahead.
We have developed a full FAQ website with a lot of additional information. We will continue to add more. In addition, you’ll find below the information that was shared yesterday in an effort to ensure that our entire community is up-to-date:
Why Brockport
Gordon Hall was selected because it was a one of the very few vacant dormitories across SUNY, with rooms that can accommodate students comfortably with WiFi and food services, and that are large enough to allow them to be separated from one another during their precautionary quarantine period.
What is Precautionary Quarantine
The New York State Department of Health defines the need for precautionary quarantine when an individual has traveled to one of the impacted countries (China, Iran, Japan, South Korea or Italy) where the Coronavirus is prevalent but who is not displaying any symptoms. The students in Gordon Hall are undergoing this precautionary measure, as would any traveler returning from Italy. While many of the study abroad students chose to undergo the precautionary quarantine at home, several chose a dormitory.
While here, our guests will be provided with every comfort of home including plenty of food service, technology access and academic support to complete and continue their course studies. As part of the precautionary quarantine directions, each student will be separated from one another, monitored and screened daily by local and state health department staff to include temperature checks and will remain inside the dormitory at all times for the duration of the 14-day period. The New York State Department of Health has issued guidance when testing for COVID-19 shall be authorized by a health provider.
(https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Interim_Testing_Guidance_COVID-19.pdf#_blank).
Campus university police presence
A university police presence will be at Gordon Hall. They are there to provide the same level of service and security to the study abroad students as they would the campus as a whole.
Our campus community
SUNY Brockport, working closely with our county and state health partners, are taking significant steps to protect the health and well-being of our entire campus community. The students in Gordon Hall have repeatedly shown no symptoms of the Novel Coronavirus and are undergoing this precautionary quarantine as a preventative measure because they traveled from an impacted country where the Novel Coronavirus is prevalent. At the direction of the county health department, these students, who again are not showing any symptoms of the Coronavirus, will remain inside the dormitory, with no contact with our campus students. This is an additional precaution to ensure the protection of our campus community.
Thank you again for your patience and understanding.
Kind regards,
President Macpherson
Update: Meeting location changed 3/10/2020
The joint meeting originally scheduled to be held at Oliver Middle School's LGI room has been moved to the Brockport High School's auditorium. Meeting to be held from 7:30-9pm. A live stream of the informational meeting will be available for those wishing to view the meeting remotely. The web address will be announced as soon as it is available.
Joint Meeting / Tuesday March 10, 2020
There will be a Public Information Meeting regarding COVID-19 and the greater-Brockport community on Tuesday, March 10 from 7:30 pm – 9 pm at the A.D Oliver Middle School Large Group Instruction Room, 40 Allen Street. The presentation will be led by Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County Public Health Commissioner and representatives of The College at Brockport, the Brockport Central School District, the Brockport Fire District, the Towns of Sweden and Clarkson and the Village of Brockport.
The presentation will include up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 in general and the quarantine of SUNY students returning from abroad at The College at Brockport campus. There will a question and answer period following the presentation.
UPDATE: Meeting location has changed to the Brockport High School.
Update from the College at Brockport
Received from the College late this afternoon. Please stay tuned for a special meeting to be called for Monday. - Village Board
Dear Brockport Community:
I am writing to confirm that SUNY Brockport will host several study abroad students returning back from Italy who left the country due to the spread of the Novel Coronavirus. They are due to arrive on campus later tonight and will be housed at Gordon Hall.
These students have been screened and show zero symptoms of the Coronavirus and are undergoing this precautionary quarantine period, as would any traveler returning from Italy, as a preventative measure for a period of 14-days. While here, SUNY will spare no expense to make sure these students are provided with every resource needed to make their precautionary quarantine period as comfortable as possible. We are working very closely with local and state health departments to ensure these students are frequently monitored and screened.
Our first priority is the safety, health, and welfare of all students, faculty, staff, and local residents. Gordon Hall is currently unoccupied, meaning these students undergoing precautionary quarantine will not come into contact with any Brockport students during their stay.
Please be assured that we will continue to provide you with information as frequently as possible.
Many thanks for your understanding, patience, and cooperation as we work to support all SUNY students impacted by travel restrictions.
Sincerely,
President Macpherson
County Meeting for Officals on Corona Virus
Monroe County Executive, Adam Bello, and Director of the Monroe County Health Department, Dr. Mike Mendoza, held an informative meeting for local government officials on the novel corona virus.
Guidance and resources are available here: https://www2.monroecounty.gov/health-coronavirus
We would like to stress, as Dr. Mendoza stated, all guidance from the county, state, and federal governments about how to handle pandemic flu are the protocols we should be following for this corona virus. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/actions-prevent-flu.htm
Please remember we are talking about people and their families; be patient and kind with one another and as always, practice healthy habits.
- Wash your hands.
- Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough with your sleeve/elbow.
- Avoid close contact with those who are ill.
- Stay home if you are sick.
The College at Brockport Message to Community
Message from President Macpherson, The College at Brockport:
"Members of the SUNY Brockport Community:
In an effort to help our fellow SUNY students who are currently in countries that have been designated by the US Department of State for Level 2 Travel Alerts and Level 3 Travel Warnings due to the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in those areas, SUNY, under the direction of the New York State Department of Health, is urging all program participants in the impacted countries to return to New York and begin a 14-day precautionary quarantine either at home or at a designated residence hall.
SUNY is chartering flights to transport students from Italy, Japan and South Korea and return them to New York. Based on information provided by SUNY administration, if returning back to the US on SUNY sponsored flights, SUNY will give study abroad students the option to undergo precautionary quarantine for 14 days (as per NYS Department of Health guidance) either at home or on one of three designated SUNY campuses. Brockport is one of the locations being considered because it has the facilities, services, technology, clinical and general staffing capabilities to accommodate NYS DOH quarantine guidelines. However, we won’t know if our campus will be utilized until we get a final determination from SUNY depending on the number of students that select the dormitory option.
Preparations are currently being made to potentially house these students in Gordon Hall and, if our campus is selected, they could arrive as early as next week.
Our first priority is the safety, health, and welfare of all students, faculty, and staff and local residents. None of these students that may arrive on our campus will have tested positive for COVID-19 but have visited one of the impacted countries and must undergo precautionary quarantine. Please visit the Hazen Center’s website on the Coronavirus for more health information.
The Brockport campus can potentially accommodate up to 95 students. A team of individuals from across campus are working diligently to ensure that any students who might arrive are safely undergoing precautionary quarantine, will continue to receive academic support, and that they experience minimal personal discomfort through the course of the 14 days.
We recognize that many of you will have questions. Please understand that this is a work in progress. Many talented, hard-working people on campus, at SUNY system administration, and in state and local government are working on identifying solutions, which we will communicate as appropriate. We will make this process as transparent and informative as possible.
More information will be forthcoming soon. Many thanks for your understanding, patience, and cooperation as we work to support all SUNY students impacted by travel restrictions.
Sincerely,
President Macpherson
Cuomo's Press Conference Re State Response to COVID-19
Governor Cuomo's press conference from 3/6/2020
"New Yorkers should focus on facts not fear as we confront this evolving situation, and the facts do not merit the level of anxiety we are seeing," Governor Cuomo said. "The number of cases will increase because it's math - the more you test, the more cases you find. We are testing more people, we are isolating anyone who may have come into contact with the virus, and we are getting people care if they need it."
A brief mention of the SUNY travel abroad students and possible quaratine is made during the Q&A.
Letter to Governor Cuomo Re Quarantining Students
Mayor Blackman's letter to the Governor regarding the possibility of quarantining students at The College at Brockport is available here.
Covid-19 Information from NYS Dept of Health
Please read this letter from the NYS Department of Health regarding COVID-19.
We want to emphasize the below paragraph from the letter and encourage residents to stay calm, review the facts, and be smart.
"Cold and flu viruses are much more prevalent in New York right now. Your community members are far more likely to contract one of these viruses than COVID-19. You already know the steps to take to stop the spread of all of these viruses. Please remember to advise your residents to:
• Wash hands with soap and water, and often.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands, especially before eating
• Avoid contact with sick people.
• And stay home if they feel sick, or are caring for a sick housemate"
NYCOM: The importance of local government
Please watch and share this brief video produced by the New York State Conference of Mayors (NYCOM), introduction by Mayor Blackman, and narration by a student, the future of our communities!
Village Offices Closing at 3pm
Village Offices will close at 3pm due to increasing inclement weather. Our drop box at Village Hall remains available on our driveway for payments and communication.
Thank you to DPW and the BPD for your continued work keeping our community safe.
HPB Public Hearing 2/20/20
The Historic Preservation Board will hold a public hearing on February 20, 2020. Read the full notice here.
Volunteer Opportunities
We are looking for volunteers to serve on various boards and committees - see the full list here.
Call for 2020 Events
The village is accepting events for their 2020 Events Calendar. Please read the notice/directions here.
Brockport Loop Announced
Connecting the north and south sides of the canal, between the College of Brockport and the Village of Brockport is a guard gate. This gate was never intended as a connection for people -- until now. The gate is being reimagined as a pedestrian bridge.
The Guard Gate bridge, the anchor of the Brockport Loop, will provide access to the Empire State Trail and Corbett Park in the Village. It will be a stimulus to the further development of Brockport Community Rowing at Commissary Park and to the partnership between the College and the Village. Without question, the bridge and the completion of the Loop (to the Smith Street Bridge and across) will stimulate economic development and tourism, drawing people from the greater Brockport area along with more visitors to our section of the Erie Canal.
Read the Governor's press release about reimagining the Erie Canal, including his announcement of the Brockport Loop here.
See the local WHAM news piece, including interview with Mayor Blackman, here.
Village Offices Closed
Village offices will close at 12:30 on 12/31/19 and will be closed on New Year's Day. We will reopen on Thursday, January 2, 2020 at 8:30am.
Happy New Year!
Curbside Christmas Tree Pickup
The DPW will pickup curbside Christmas trees now through March 2020.
Carolyn Dr. Water Shut-off 12/26/19
A water shut-off has been scheduled between 9am and noon for Carolyn Dr. on Thursday, 12/26/19. Read the full notice.
Morgan Manning House Program Rescheduled
The program scheduled for 12/18/19 at the Morgan Manning House has been rescheduled for Monday, December 23rd at 7pm. See the events tab for more information.