From Epicenter-NYC: There’s a Creole app for that

Epicenter-NYC is a weekly newsletter to help New Yorkers get through the pandemic. We are written by the community, for the community. Sign up for weekly updates at epicenter-nyc.com.

Out and about in a pandemic

First things first: Are you registered to vote? The deadline to register in New York is October 9.

There’s an app in Creole for that: The New York State Department of Health last week debuted a new app, Covid Alert NY, that will tell you if you have come in contact with somebody who is Covid positive. The app, which is free and available for iPhone and Android users, will notify you if you were within 6 feet of a person who tested positive (granted, that person must also have the app). The app relies on Bluetooth technology, and doesn’t collect or store users’ location or personal information.

Covid Alert NY is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Korean, Russian and Haitian Creole. You can download the app here.

Eat global: The Bronx Night Market is back, with its diverse roster of food vendors, will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 6 p.m., through November. Entry is free, but due to social distancing restrictions, tickets must be reserved in advance.

Buy Black in Bed-Stuy: Every Sunday for the month of October, Building Black Bed-Stuy will be hosting an outdoor market with black vendors, music, food and drink at 343 Tompkins Ave. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Follow its Instagram account for updates.

MoMA PS1 in Queens reopened last month with a stunner. Far off the beaten path of typical exhibition fare, yet so central to our current social and political climate comes Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration.

The impact of incarceration can be felt viscerally with works that express and expose the inner workings and dark histories of prisons across the country. A mix of self-taught and formally trained artists redefine what constitutes art materials, transforming whatever is at their disposal into powerful works that give one pause. A must see.

Fast and free Covid-19 testing — a review: Thanks to a certain superspreader in chief, rapid Covid tests are facing scrutiny. We wrote last week that the city launched free rapid coronavirus testing — and we decided to get one ourselves. Note: We did not have symptoms — you do not need to have symptoms to receive a test.

Scheduling an appointment is easy and straightforward through the NYC Health website. There are nine testing sites around the city: Chelsea, Corona, Riverside, Crown Heights, Washington Heights, Fort Greene, Morrisania, Jamaica, and Central Harlem.

Appointments are offered in 10-minute intervals. We went to the Chelsea location on a Tuesday afternoon, and were seriously impressed by how organized, efficient, professional and friendly the entire process was. You don’t need insurance (they didn’t even ask about it), nor do you need to present any type of identification. We were in and out in less than 20 minutes and received our (negative) results through the MyChart portal just four hours later. Yes, it’s the deep-nose test, but it’s really not that bad. Schedule an appointment here.

This content is run in collaboration with the Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter launched at the height of Covid-19 to surface and meet the needs, expand networks and create more connectivity among neighbors in New York City. We are written by the community, for the community. Welcome.

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