April 1, 2020 By Allie Griffin Governor Andrew Cuomo will shut down all New York City playgrounds to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, he announced today. The order comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio resisted a mass closure and opted to shut down specific playgrounds where social distancing was not being observed. However, at… Read more »
April 1, 2020 Staff Report Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revise its policy of turning away blood donations from gay and bisexual men in light of the long-term impacts of the coronavirus crisis on the nation’s blood supply. The pair, who both represent portions… Read more »
Op-ed: April 1, 2020 By State Sen. Mike Gianaris America is facing an unprecedented public health crisis which will soon become an unprecedented economic and housing crisis. With rents due April 1 and jobless claims expected to pass 3.5 million this week, we could see millions evicted from apartments, homes foreclosed upon, and small businesses… Read more »
April 1, 2020 By Michael Dorgan A New York City artist has erected “Thank You” signs outside various city hospitals – including Elmhurst Hospital – to show his appreciation for frontline staff battling the COVID-19 spread. Scott LoBaido, a Staten Island native who has been creating patriotic art for 25 years, said he wanted to… Read more »
March 31, 2020 By Michael Dorgan COVID-19 has killed more than 300 Queens residents since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to the latest data released by the NYC Department of Health this morning Since the beginning of the outbreak, Queens has been the hardest borough hit with 309 lives lost, accounting for 33 percent… Read more »
March 31, 2020, By Michael Dorgan Mayor Bill De Blasio has announced that the city – in partnership with FEMA – will get an additional 250 ambulances and around 500 extra EMTs and paramedics to help meet the spike in demand for emergency services. The extra resources will increase medical transport capacity between medical sites… Read more »
March 31, 2020 By Allie Griffin The Queens Borough President special election finally has a set date — June 23, 2020. The election, which was originally slated for March 24, was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but wasn’t given a new date until yesterday when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order. June 23… Read more »
March 30, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York’s five district attorneys and the special narcotics prosecutor said the mayor’s office has put forward the names of several dangerous inmates for release–in his attempt to stop the outbreak of coronavirus in city jails. The head prosecutors said the mayor and the Department of Corrections had suggested… Read more »
March 30, 2020 By Allie Griffin The novel coronavirus has killed 256 Queens residents since the pandemic began and more than 1,218 residents across New York state, according to the latest data. Statewide, more than 250 New Yorkers died overnight and the number of COVID-19 cases grew to 66,497, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a… Read more »
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 »