UWS Mom Starts Fundraiser To Sue NYC Over Full School Reopening

Upper West Side NY

12 April, 2021

4:56 PM

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UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side mom started a fundraiser on March 31 in an effort to raise enough money to hire a lawyer to sue the city to fully reopen public schools five days a week for children. As of Monday, the GoFundMe campaign has raised $23,482 of its $30,000 goal and has collected enough money to hire attorney Jim Mermigis, who is known as the "anti-shutdown lawyer." Mermigis recently filed an emergency injunction on behalf of the parents, according to the New York Post. "The basis for our NYC lawsuit is that remote learning and "Zoom in a Room" are causing irreparable harm to children and depriving them of their constitutional right to an education," wrote UWS mom Natalya Murakhver in the explanation of the GoFundMe. "NYC has some of the strictest Covid standards in the country. Teachers are vaccinated. So many precautions have been taken to make school buildings safe for staff, teachers and students. Our Mayor readily admits schools are the safest places to be." While all New York public schools have technically reopened for in-person learning, many are deploying a blended model of teaching — meaning that kids actually come into the school building two or three times a week. "This lawsuit is necessary to help these children," Mermigis told the NY Post. "There are children that are not doing well. They're not coping. They have regressed significantly because of the remote learning." You can find more information about the suit on the GoFundMe page.