March 20, 2020 By Christian Murray State Sen. Mike Gianaris is calling for a 90-day suspension of residential and commercial rent for tenants and small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Under Gianaris’ proposal, residential and commercial tenants would have 90 days of rent forgiven if they lost their work or closed due to the… Read more »
March 19, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo has introduced a number of new measures to help New Yorkers struggling to pay their credit card bills and make mortgage payments — and has taken action to increase the state’s hospital capacity as the coronavirus takes hold. Cuomo is offering relief to New Yorkers facing… Read more »
March 19, 2020 By Michael Dorgan A number of local leaders have condemned U.S. President Donald Trump and some media pundits–such as Tucker Carlson– for labeling the coronavirus the “China virus.” They argue that the use of the term is racist and inflaming discriminatory attacks against New York’s Asian population. Trump has repeatedly used the… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Christian Murray The Queens District Attorney’s office plans to facilitate the arraignment of defendants via video conferencing in an attempt to keep employees and alleged criminals safe from COVID-19. Melinda Katz, Queens District Attorney, announced yesterday that her office has taken a number of steps to protect defendants, victims, witnesses and… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Allie Griffin Prompted by the number of coronavirus cases across New York state surpassing 2,000, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all businesses to keep half their workforce home or working remotely. The executive order — which goes into effect Friday — is meant to reduce density of people and reduce the spread… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Christian Murray Police are looking for a man who was watching porn on the subway and was trying to make sure a 16-year-old girl sitting next to him got a good viewing, police said. The suspect was riding a Manhattan bound R train at around 11:20 a.m. Monday and was watching… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Christian Murray An off-duty police officer aided a woman who was about to commit suicide in the East River near Astoria Park yesterday. Eileen Fitzgerald, a port authority police officer, was running along a path in Astoria Park Tuesday when she came across a crowd at the shoreline by 20th Avenue… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The MTA has requested a $4 billion federal bailout to offset the impact coronavirus is having on the agency as ridership levels plummet and costs to combat the virus increase. In an urgent letter to New York’s congressional delegation, MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick Foye said the transportation authority… Read more »
March 18, 2020 By Christian Murray Forget about the inexpensive Uber ride-share option. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced yesterday that he has signed an executive order than bans shared rides in an effort to promote social distancing. “We want to protect drivers and we want to protect riders alike,” the Mayor said during a press… Read more »
March 17, 2020 By Allie Griffin Mayor Bill de Blasio said New Yorkers should prepare for a possible “shelter-in-place” order as the number of coronavirus cases in New York City jumped more than 75 percent in one day. Across the five boroughs, there are now 814 positive cases of COVID-19 — up from 463 confirmed… Read more »