May 28, 2020 By Allie Griffin The city is sending more police officers to patrol the bars and restaurants in Astoria and Long Island City to enforce social distancing. The mayor said that the two neighborhoods are among nine “bar-heavy” districts across the five boroughs that will see more cops. Last week Mayor Bill de… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin The city has hired more than 1,700 contact tracers and secured 1,200 hotel rooms to reduce the spread of the coronavirus as it prepares to reopen. The contact tracers will be tasked with finding family, friends and other people who have come in close contact to a person who… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The mayor has signed several new bills into law to support small businesses during the COVID-19 shutdown. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the legislation Tuesday after the City Council passed the relief measures earlier this month. The legislation slaps price caps on third-party food delivery services and extends the suspension of… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin New York City faces a whopping $9 billion deficit due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today. The budget hole was originally estimated to be around $7.4 billion through to June 30, 2021 — but has widened by another $1.6 billion, the mayor… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Michael Dorgan An Astoria restaurant is launching a new food delivery service with a twist. Fresco’s Cantina, a Mexican fusion restaurant located at 12-14 31st Ave., tested out a drag queen delivery service recently and will formally roll out the service on May 31. Drag queens will deliver food and drinks… Read more »
May 27, 2020 By Allie Griffin Alternate side parking is suspended once again during the coronavirus pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that alternate side parking rules will be suspended through June 7. “It brings out a lot of feeling and a lot of emotion in New Yorkers — that is any time that… Read more »
May 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin New Yorkers are still being hospitalized with COVID-19 in large numbers, with a significant number of them living in three hard-hit areas of Queens. Governor Andrew Cuomo released a list today of the top 10 neighborhoods/zipcodes where the newly-admitted COVID-19 patients live. Among the top 10 zip codes for… Read more »
May 26, 2020 By Michael Dorgan Queens Council Member Eric Ulrich has called for an investigation into Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ulrich, who represents a district in southern Queens, says Cuomo’s ill-judged nursing home mandates contributed to the alarmingly high number of deaths at those facilities. The councilman penned… Read more »
May 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin Candidates running for the Assembly District 37 seat will debate in a virtual forum tomorrow hosted by a handful of local community groups. The candidates, activists Danielle Brecker and Mary Jobaida and incumbent Assembly Member Cathy Nolan, will answer questions from Queens residents and the community-based groups live on… Read more »
May 25, 2020 By Michael Dorgan The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn will re-open churches for limited services this week. The diocese, which covers Catholic churches in Queens and Brooklyn, will resume prayer services, funerals, baptisms, and weddings from May 26. A maximum number of 10 people will be permitted to attend the ceremonies and… Read more »