Brooklyn native and former Knicks player coordinating mask sale for New York City
Written by Site Hub on April 3, 2020
On Sunday, March 29, the New York Post reported that Stephon Marbury was attempting to broker a deal between New York City and a Chinese N95 mask supplier that would allow the city to purchase much-needed masks for first responders at an extremely low price.
The 43-year-old current head coach for the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Royal Fighters realized over the last week that his residency in China has put him into a unique position to aid New York. He convinced the Chinese firm to supply the masks for $2.75/mask instead of the current retail price of $7.50/mask. The deal would result in the sale of 10 million masks with a two-million weekly distribution during a five-week period.
Marbury initially had difficulty coordinating with New York City officials when he contacted Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. After some back and forth, Jill Montag, a spokesperson with the Department of Health, stepped in.
In his interview with the Post, Marbury explained: “At the end of the day, I am from Brooklyn…I have family there in Coney Island, a lot of family … who are affected by this, so I know how important it is for people to have masks during this time.”
This is not the first time Marbury has performed charity work. He has been involved with several charities in the U.S. and abroad. He was even named one of Beijing’s “Top 10 Model Citizens” in 2014 for his work. No other international citizen had received this honor in Beijing before Marbury.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28967894/stephon-marbury-trying-get-masks-china-ny
