The New York Daily News reports: Kids, grab your backpacks. Again. New York City schools are set to reopen in stages starting Dec. 7, Mayor de Blasio said Sunday. The announcement came as coronavirus is expected to keep surging in the city. De Blasio said he was ditching his previous approach to schools, under which they could only be open …
Read More »Tag Archives: Bill de Blasio
De Blasio Sorry For Lack Of Plan To Reopen Schools
Gothamist reports: As parents wait to hear from the city and state over when public schools will reopen amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a mea culpa at a news conference on Wednesday, admitting he should have crafted a reopening redux plan before shutting down the entire school system last week. De Blasio said he …
Read More »NYC Schools To Re-Close As City Hits Positivity Marker
The New York Times reports: New York City’s entire public school system will shutter on Thursday, Chancellor Richard A. Carranza wrote in an email to school principals, in a worrisome signal that a second wave of the coronavirus has arrived. Schools have been open for in-person instruction for just under eight weeks. The shutdown — which was prompted by the …
Read More »De Blasio: NYC Schools Will Remain Open For Now
The New York Daily News reports: City schools will remain open Monday, Mayor de Blasio said, pointing to the latest COVID infection rate. The latest seven-day average of COVID tests coming back positive was 2.57%, according to Hizzoner, who previously set 3% as the level that would trigger school closure. “Thankfully, schools will remain open on Monday,” he tweeted Sunday, …
Read More »De Blasio Warns NYC Schools On Verge Of Closing
AM New York reports: New York City parents should prepare for school closures due to a citywide spike in COVID-19 cases as early as Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday. For weeks, the number of new cases of the virus has been steadily increasing across the five boroughs pushing the city’s overall positivity rate closer to the de …
Read More »NYC’s COVID Positivity Rate Now Highest Since June
NBC News York reports: Coronavirus tests in New York City are coming back positive at the highest rate since the first wave of the pandemic receded in June, Big Apple officials revealed Wednesday as they again sounded the alarm about a COVID-19 second wave. Figures from the city Health Department show that the average positivity rate for coronavirus tests taken …
Read More »NYC Shops Can Now Sell Products Out On Sidewalks
AM New York reports: New York City small business owners will be able to sell their wares outdoors as part of the city’s new Open Storefronts Program, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The initiative is modeled after the city’s Open Restaurant’s program and will allow shop owners to set up space to sell merchandise on sidewalks directly in front …
Read More »De Blasio To NYers: “Stay Home For The Holidays”
Gothamist reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio is urging city residents to stay put this holiday season, as the number of coronavirus cases nationwide surges to its highest level since the start of the pandemic. “I hate to say it, but I have to urge all New Yorkers to not travel out of state for the holiday,” de Blasio said during …
Read More »Cuomo To Close Schools In New York City Hot Spots
CNBC reports: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday ordered schools in certain New York City neighborhoods closed within a day in an attempt to halt flare-ups of the coronavirus. The governor took the action a day after the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, asked the state for permission to reinstate restrictions schools and businesses in nine ZIP codes in …
Read More »NYC Seeks New Lockdown In Heavily Orthodox Areas
Gothamist reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday announced that he would seek to close non-essential businesses and all schools, both public and private, in nine ZIP codes in South Brooklyn and Central Queens where coronavirus cases have surged for weeks, as health officials scramble to avert a broader outbreak. “In Brooklyn and Queens we are having an extraordinary problem, …
Read More »NYC Threatens Lockdown Measures In Orthodox Jewish Neighborhoods, Abuse Shouted At City Health Officials
The New York Times reports: Facing a worrying spike in coronavirus cases in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, New York City health officials began carrying out emergency inspections at private religious schools on Friday and threatened to impose an extraordinary lockdown in those communities that would be the first major retreat by the city on reopening since the pandemic began. Mayor Bill …
Read More »NYC Makes Outdoor Dining “Permanent Year-Round”
Gothamist reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that outdoor dining, which has become a major lifeline for the restaurant industry during the pandemic, will become “permanent and year-round.” “I want us to go for the gold here, and take this model and make it a part of the life of New York City for years and generations to come,” …
Read More »NYC Council Speaker Drops Bid To Succeed De Blasio
The New York Times reports: Corey Johnson, the New York City Council speaker and a presumed front-runner in the 2021 contest to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio, withdrew from the race on Thursday. Mr. Johnson, who was expected to announce his decision on Thursday afternoon, had been grappling for weeks about whether to continue his candidacy. “I have made the …
Read More »Brooklyn Municipal Building To Be Named For RBG
NY1 reports: The Brooklyn Municipal Building will be named after late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday. During his daily briefing, the mayor noted the honor is a testament to Ginsburg’s roots and legacy that began in the borough. “It’s personal for us as New Yorkers,” de Blasio said. The building, located …
Read More »Teacher Strike Threat Delays Opening Of NYC Schools
The New York Daily News reports: The scheduled start of in-person learning at city schools has been pushed back, from Sept. 10 to Sept. 21, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday. Sept. 10-15 “will be devoted to preparation” by school staff, he said at a press conference. Sept. 16-18 will provide a “transitional period” for the school year in which online …
Read More »New York City Gyms To Reopen On Wednesday [VIDEO]
The New York Daily News reports: The city is giving a tech-y touch to its efforts to keep gyms safe as they begin to reopen this Wednesday. The Health Department will conduct “virtual inspections” of gyms to ensure they are following new rules to keep customers and staff safe. A virtual inspection will consist of a video call between a …
Read More »De Blasio May Extend Outdoor Dining Past Halloween
The New York Post reports: Get ready to bundle up for al fresco dining in the late fall. Mayor Bill de Blasio is considering extending the city’s coronavirus-induced outdoor dining program beyond its current endpoint of Oct. 31. “We’re looking at that right now. We’re trying to get a sense from the restaurant community how much interest there is in …
Read More »NYC Expands Outdoor Dining To 76 Streets, 9 Plazas
Gothamist reports: Mayor Bill de Blasio did not hold his usual morning press conference today, but his office did share news about the city’s ongoing Open Streets initiative. The city announced this afternoon that 21 more locations around the five boroughs will become Open Streets for outdoor dining. That brings the citywide total to 76 participating streets and nine pedestrian …
Read More »De Blasio Sued For Denying “Blue Lives Matter” Mural
The New York Post reports: A pair of pro-cop groups are suing Mayor Bill de Blasio after being denied a Blue Lives Matter mural akin to the one Black Lives Matter had splashed across Fifth Avenue, The Post has learned. The lawsuit, filed late Monday by Blue Lives Matter NYC and Standing up for NYC in the Southern District of …
Read More »Riders Sail Past De Blasio’s Checkpoints At Penn Station
Gothamist reports: New York City is expanding its quarantine warning program, hitting bridges, tunnels, Penn Station, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal to intercept travelers—and returning residents—from states designated high-risk by Governor Andrew Cuomo. But on the first day of the new program, it became clear the enhanced efforts, which build on initiatives already in place at airports, are much …
Read More »