March 30, 2020 By Allie Griffin Queens District Attorney and former Borough President Melinda Katz has tested positive for coronavirus. Katz learned she had been exposed to someone who had the virus on March 21 and soon got tested. Her test results came back Saturday, confirming she was positive for COVID-19, Politico reported. Most of… Read more »
March 30, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for a rent freeze for over two million New Yorkers to help them get through the coronavirus pandemic. The freeze would apply to the 2.3 million people living in the city’s one million rent-stabilized units. Many residents have suffered economic hardship under the… Read more »
March 28, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Queens continues to be the borough hardest hit in New York City by the coronavirus, according to data released by the NYC Department of Health this morning. Since the beginning of the outbreak, there have been 517 deaths in New York City, with 174 of those deaths in the… Read more »
March 28, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Community leaders in Queens have come together to launch a new initiative to help support frontline medical staff who are battling the coronavirus. The project, called “Fuel the Frontlines,” will provide thousands of cooked meals to medical workers throughout the borough’s nine acute-care hospitals for one week, starting Sunday…. Read more »
March 28, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Elmhurst has become the epicenter of the coronavirus with many residents being infected, according to a doctor who has worked at Elmhurst Hospital for 20 years and has dealt with a flood of patients this month. The physician, who did not want to be named, said that the first… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly said that he has no plans of releasing a neighborhood breakdown of coronavirus cases, despite numerous requests from reporters and the public. The mayor has only released borough breakdowns of the number of cases each day as the pandemic worsens and has said… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan New Yorkers plan to show their support and gratitude tonight for essential staff and health care workers who have been in the front line in the battle against COVID-19. People across the city are being asked to collectively clap for two-minutes at 7 p.m either outside their homes, at… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for a 100,000-square-foot temporary hospital to be built at the site of Queens Aqueduct Racetrack. The governor is working to increase hospital capacity as the number of cases of coronavirus continues to increase across the state. There are now more than 44,000 cases statewide,… Read more »
March 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The city is shutting down most building sites to curb the spread of coronavirus and protect construction workers from getting infected. Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared that non-essential construction will end today, effectively bringing the private construction sector to a halt, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on WNYC Friday…. Read more »
March 27, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Council Member Costa Constantinides has called on the Parks Department to provide additional Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) officers around Astoria Park this weekend to enforce social distancing guidelines. Constantinides has asked for the extra supervision to disperse crowds in order to help stem the spread of COVID-19 after large… Read more »