‘Nervous’ parents beg NYC officials to do more to protect kids during solar eclipse
They’ll be be reading, writing and retina-burning!
Parents are imploring the city Department of Education to do more to keep young students from damaging their eyes during Monday’s solar eclipse — which peaks citywide just as many schools are dismissed at around 3 p.m.
“The city should do more to protect our kids… If anything happens to my son, I’m going to blame them,” Farzann Mitul, the mother of a 12-year-old who attends J.H.S. George J. Ryan in East Flushing, Queens, told The Post.
Youngsters in the Big Apple will be tempted to stare directly at the cosmically cool event — as the moon covers 89 percent of the sun — potentially damaging their retina cells and even leading to partial blindness, worried parents said.
“They’ll look at it and become blind. My son is one of those kids. If you tell him not to look, he’s going to look — and he already wears glasses,” said Sonia Regis, a 28-year-old beautician with a 6-year-old son.
The eye-sizzling spectacle will be visible in the Big Apple between 2:10 and 4:36 p.m. with a maximum view at 3:25 p.m. It’s just moments after the bell rings in many city classrooms and kids are set free to travel home unsupervised.
“It can be dangerous if they are outside,” said Mintonwanou Aivoddi, whose 4-year-old son attends the aptly named Bright Beginnings Preschool in Jamaica, Queens.
“Children are curious — my son, too. You might tell them, ‘Don’t look up’ but you know how they are, some are going to do it anyway,” said Aivoddi, who is a taxi driver.
Katherine Colon, 39, whose 5-year-old gets out of P.S. 35 in Hells Kitchen at 2:20 p.m, said she’s nervous her daughter will suffer vision damage.
“I’m afraid for my child,” she said.“I worry about her because she is curious and might want to look up even for a short time. Without the proper glasses, that’s no good.”
“Children are curious — my son, too. You might tell them, ‘Don’t look up’ but you know how they are, some are going to do it anyway,” said Aivoddi, who is a taxi driver.
Mitul, meanwhile, said her son was supposed to receive protective eyewear in class but never got it.
“He gets out of school at 2:45 p.m., takes the bus and gets home at 3:45pm. That’s when everything is happening. I am really nervous about him,” said the 35-year-old Burger King manager.
“He already has problems with his eyes. He wears glasses with thick lenses,” said Mitul.“There is no way he can look up in the sky. If he does, there is the possibility he can lose his sight or damage his eyes even more.”
She and other parents said the city should close schools or release young students early on Monday to keep them safe.
Hundreds of schools ranging from Maine to Texas, including some in upstate New York, have canceled class to protect students’ eyes from harmful solar radiation and ensure they get home safely.
Looking directly at the sun during a solar eclipse can burn retina cells and lead to solar retinopathy, a permanent photochemical injury to the eye’s macular tissue.
After every solar eclipse reports of the condition spike, with U.S. eye doctors seeing dozens of extra visits after the 2017 eclipse, according to health reports.
New York City Department of Education spokeswoman Jenna Lyle said teachers have been instructed to offer kids safety tips ahead of the eclipse.
“Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our young people is our top priority. We are working closely with our city partners to ensure all schools have the appropriate guidance as we approach the eclipse,” she said.
“NYC is not within the path of total solar eclipse. Schools will remain open, there will be no change to dismissal time, and afterschool programming will remain in effect.”
