Oct. 15, 2021 By Michael Dorgan A city clean-up initiative that launched in April has removed 600,000 bags of trash from New York streets, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. The City Cleanup Corps, which consists of nearly 10,000 workers, has also hand-swept more than 50,000 city blocks, repainted 900 defaced properties and cleaned 25,000… Read more »
Oct. 14, 2021 By Max Parrott Several Queens legislators have called on a city panel tasked with overseeing public art and architecture to vote to remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson in the City Council chambers as a form of reckoning with his legacy as a slaveholder. The 11-member city Public Design Commission will hold… Read more »
Oct. 14, 2021 By Allie Griffin Six million New York City residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. “This is unbelievable,” de Blasio said during his morning press briefing. “Six million people who have gone and done the right thing for themselves and their families,… Read more »
Oct. 13, 2021 Staff Report Governor Kathy Hochul announced a major milestone last week in the Kew Gardens Interchange Phase 4 project in Queens. Construction has been completed on two newly reconfigured ramps that aim to enhance safety and reduce congestion along the heavily traveled commuter corridor used by hundreds of thousands of commuters each… Read more »
Oct. 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin The NYC Board of Elections has increased the number of early voting sites to open in Queens this month ahead of the general election. There will be 22 early voting poll sites across the borough — an increase from the 18 sites that were available to residents ahead of… Read more »
This article was originally published by The CITY on Oct. 12, 2021, 5 a.m. BY GABRIEL SANDOVAL Fewer than half of the Open Streets touted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Department of Transportation are off limits to motor vehicles as advertised, a new survey finds. The review from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives also… Read more »
Oct. 11, 2021 By Allie Griffin New York State has closed applications for the Excluded Workers Fund as the $2.1 billion fund is running out. The state department of labor stopped accepting new applications Friday night to the program, which provides monetary aid to undocumented New Yorkers who lost their jobs during the pandemic and… Read more »
Oct. 8, 2021 By Allie Griffin Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday that the city will phase out the gifted and talented program at city public schools — sparking criticism from several elected officials in Queens. The highly competitive program, which requires kindergarteners to take a screening test, has been criticized by experts for exacerbating… Read more »
Oct. 8, 2021 By Allie Griffin The New York City Department of Education is facing backlash for not releasing public school enrollment and attendance numbers for the school year thus far. City Council members along with the head of the city’s powerful teachers union criticized the DOE for what they say is a lack of… Read more »
Oct. 7, 2021 By Allie Griffin More than 15,500 New Yorkers have received a total of $107 million to help bury their loved ones who died of COVID-19. The recipients were able to tap into the funds from the federal COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program, which recently expanded eligibility after facing pressure from two local legislators…. Read more »