De Blasio Announces Furloughs for Mayoral Office Employees

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sept. 16 that the City will issue a week of furloughs for mayoral office employees. This action, in addition to savings from the adopted budget, will represent a 12% cut to the FY21 Mayor’s Office budget. “Dedicated public servants have worked tirelessly for our city and their fellow New Yorkers throughout this crisis,” said De Blasio. “This is a painful step, but it shows just how committed we are to responsible budgeting and leading the City through these challenging times. Today’s announcement makes it clear we need Albany to step

By DAVID GREENE

Representatives of the United Bodegas of America (UBA) will be granted a sit-down with NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and his top brass regarding a host of issues including recent robberies and assaults on bodega workers, as well as the dangers for shop workers enforcing the city’s mandated face mask rule. The meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday, September 16 at Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan. In a statement released on Tuesday, Sept. 15 announcing the sit-down, Radhames Rodriguez, the President of UBA, wrote, “It’s been an awful year for all of us in the bodega

By SÍLE MOLONEY

To reduce mosquito activity and the risk of West Nile virus, the Health Department will conduct an adulticide treatment in the Bronx. Trucks will spray pesticides in sections of the Bronx on Tuesday, September 15, between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning, weather permitting. In case of bad weather or equipment malfunctions, application will be delayed until Wednesday, September 16. The Health Department will use very low concentrations of DeltaGard® and/or Anvil®. The risks of pesticides applied by the Health Department for mosquito control are low to people and pets. Some people who are sensitive to spray

By DAVID GREENE

Business is back to normal along a busy shopping strip in Pelham Bay, after a man reportedly left a pressure cooker outside of a funeral parlor. According to residents and workers in the area, members of the NYPD’s 45th precinct, Emergency Services Unit and the Bomb Squad were joined at the location by members of the F.B.I., who arrived on the scene around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The block was quickly shut down along Crosby Avenue, between Westchester Avenue and Roberts Avenue, after a pressure cooker was found in the doorway of Ralph Giordano Funeral Home

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Indoor dining is to recommence in New York City on Sept. 30, at 25 percent capacity. On Monday, Sept. 14, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio held a virtual hearing with interested parties from the hospitality sector and signed the extension of two bills in support of New York City restaurants. The first bill extends an existing ban on charging for unconfirmed phone orders until 90 days after restaurants are allowed to operate at a hundred percent capacity. The second extends an existing cap on fees that delivery apps can charge restaurants until 90 days after restaurants are

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced on Sept. 14, the opening of the Department of Education COVID Response Situation Room—a multi-agency partnership between the Department of Education (DOE), Department of Health and Mental Health (DOHMH), and the Test & Trace Corps—to facilitate a rapid response to positive COVID-19 cases in public schools. The Situation Room provides a single point-of-contact between schools and agency partners responsible for performing both testing, contact tracing, and ensuring the appropriate interventions are being taken by school communities. “The Situation Room is the precise system we need

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reiterated the Trump Administration’s commitment to minimize displacement and evictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in line with President Trump’s executive order, “Fighting the Spread of COVID-19 by Providing Assistance to Renters and Homeowners.” On Sept. 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions to Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19,” order. It took effect on Sept. 4, and declares a national moratorium on certain residential evictions for nonpayment of rent, as well as other fees or charges. In fact,

Crime File: Another Heroin Death in the Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that as of Sept. 14, all customers who refuse to wear a mask on public transit will be subject to a $50 fine. The new measure follows Governor Cuomo’s executive order directing the MTA to develop a plan to bolster mask compliance across public transit. MTA officials reiterated that the rule is to ensure that customers are adhering to the best possible public health practices and to further improve upon current rates of mask usage, which are already above 90 percent across New York City Transit subways and buses, the Long Island Rail Road and

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Following the news that 24 New York City teachers tested positive for COVID-19 across all five boroughs after returning to school, on Monday, Sept. 13, Bronx Council Member Fernando Cabrera reiterated his earlier warning that the Department of Education (DOE) must carefully plan with UFT before re-opening schools. “I’m saying again, the DOE must engage in careful planning with the UFT and CSA before we can open our schools,” he said. “Having 24 teachers across the city testing positive for COVID-19 after returning to school buildings is a dire warning sign. As I have said previously, the DOE needs