Tag Archives: New York state

Newsday reports: Rep. Lee Zeldin, the front-runner to be the Republican nominee for New York governor, acknowledged in a Newsday interview last week that Joe Biden won the presidency and said he won’t call the election “illegitimate,” even though he sought to overturn it. Zeldin edged away from former President Donald Trump in the interview in the Capitol Wednesday just …

Gothamist reports: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that 51.5% of New Yorkers over the age of 18 have now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The state also reported 61.4% of adults have received at least one vaccine dose. 49.6% of all New Yorkers have received at least one dose, and 41.3% of all New Yorkers have been fully vaccinated, according …

The Albany Times Union reports: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday that State University of New York campuses will require COVID-19 vaccinations for students starting in the fall semester. The policy will also apply to the City University of New York, and Cuomo said he would encourage private colleges to adopt it as well. It starts by September, and if …

The Buffalo News reports: Saturday was the first day that Erie County worked with a local microbrewery to host its Shot and a Chaser program, offering individuals who got their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at Resurgence Brewing Company a free pint glass and coupon for the vaccinated person’s drink of choice. County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who was nursing …

The Daily Beast reports: New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that her office has filed a lawsuit against bumbling right-wing conspiracy theorists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman over robocalls the pair allegedly made to suppress the Black vote ahead of the 2020 presidential election. James says 5,500 New Yorkers were affected; she’s asking for Wohl and Burkman to …

The Hill reports: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed legislation Tuesday night that would restore voting rights to formerly convicted felons upon their release from prison. The bill, which the state legislature passed in mid-April, immediately restores voting rights when people are released from prison, even if they are on parole. Prior to conviction and sentencing, criminal defendants are …

The New York Times reports: New York and its neighbors, New Jersey and Connecticut, will welcome back crowds on May 19, state officials said Monday, a major step for a region that was once a center of the coronavirus pandemic. Restaurants, offices, retail stores, theaters, museums, barber shops, amusement parks and gyms and fitness centers will all be allowed to …

The Associated Press reports: Indian Point will permanently stop producing nuclear power Friday, capping a decades-long battle over a key source of electricity in the heart of New York City’s suburbs that opponents have called a threat to millions living in the densely packed region. The retirement of the Indian Point Energy Center along the Hudson River could increase New …

Bloomberg News reports: Census Bureau figures released Monday found New York missed a threshold for keeping all its 27 seats in the House of Representatives starting in 2022. In news release, Cuomo said he would ask Attorney General Letitia James to explore avenues of legal relief. At the press briefing, Cuomo shifted blame onto former President Donald Trump’s administration, which …

NY1 reports: The state legislature is moving to repeal a requirement that forces bar and restaurant customers to order food with their drink orders. The rule was imposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the height of the pandemic last year, and quickly got attacked by critics as arbitrary and not based in science. Some restaurants and bars began asking customers …

Gothamist reports: The governor said the move was prompted by the increase in vaccinations and the downward trend in the rate of positive COVID-19 tests statewide, citing the lowest mark since Thanksgiving. Starting on May 15th, offices will be allowed to function at 75% capacity, up from 50%. Casinos will be able to get half full instead of operating at …

USA Today reports: The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a challenge to New York’s gun licensing requirements that could expand protections for carrying concealed weapons in public, putting a major Second Amendment dispute on the docket for the first time in years. The nation’s highest court overruled handgun bans in Washington and Chicago in 2008 and 2010 in two …

Gothamist reports: Days after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd, city and state officials plan to introduce a similar bills that would prevent police officers who’ve been fired or disciplined from joining any other department in the state. New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson made the announcement at the National …

Gothamist reports: Nearly one week before the state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire, two state lawmakers have introduced a bill to extend the deadline to August 31st, aiming to provide further relief to New Yorkers who continue struggling to pay rent. “This will keep people from being thrown out onto the streets,” Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz, a sponsor of the …

CNN reports: Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a former public liaison official inside the Trump White House, will meet with the former President at Mar-a-Lago next week as he finalizes his plans to launch a campaign for New York governor. “I will be down there next week for a two to three-day …

NBC New York reports: Three people were shot at a Stop & Shop grocery store in West Hempstead on Tuesday, law enforcement sources tell News 4, and the suspect in the attack remained at large as of early afternoon. One of the victims is believed dead and two others are injured. The suspect is thought to have fled after the …

Bloomberg News reports: Donald Trump said a New York law enabling Congress to ask for his state tax returns no longer applies because he isn’t president. The law, known as the Trust Act, allows the state to share the president’s tax information with a congressional committee that asks for it. Trump sued the House and Ways and Means Committee to …

New York Upstate reports: The statewide 11 p.m. curfew for bars and restaurants serving alcohol has been extended until May 6, despite the recent relaxing of other Covid-19 restrictions. Gov. Andrew Cuomo included the 11 p.m. closing time in a series of extensions to Covid-related executive orders that had been set to expire on Tuesday (April 6). In addition to …

Gothamist reports: Restaurants and shops that fell behind on their rent and other expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic will soon be able to apply for additional grants. New York’s new state budget includes $800 million in direct cash assistance for small businesses. State Assemblyman Harvey Epstein [photo] of Manhattan, who had been lobbying for the aid, said the package sets …

NBC News reports: Rep. Lee Zeldin announced Thursday that he is running for governor of New York in 2022, becoming the first high-profile Republican to launch a challenge to embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Zeldin, 41, who has represented eastern Long Island since 2015, shared his decision on Fox News and posted it on Twitter, saying that to save …