“Open Streets: Restaurants” Initiative Expands from Weekends to Weekdays

By SÍLE MOLONEY

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sept. 16 the first weekday expansion of the “Open Streets: Restaurants” initiative. In the meantime, restaurant partner organizations have been organizing temporary street closures across the City to facilitate additional, weekday outdoor dining along select corridors. Earlier this month, the administration invited BIDs, community-based organizations, and groups of restaurants to submit applications to expand the existing “Open Streets: Restaurants” initiative that combines the existing “Open Streets” and “Open Restaurants” programs. Previously, car-free hours on streets had been limited to weekends. Expanded “Open Streets: Restaurants” locations in the Bronx which

By SÍLE MOLONEY

On July 31, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule (PDF) that increases fees for certain “immigration and naturalization benefit requests” to ensure that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a service which falls under DHS, recovers the cost of the services it provides. The increases become effective Oct. 2, 2020. According to DHS, unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee funded. Fees collected and deposited into the Immigration Examinations Fee Account fund nearly 97 percent of its budget. As required by federal law, USCIS conducted a comprehensive biennial fee review and determined that the

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO

In last week’s article, we talked about some basic truths regarding Retirement Planning. We talked about how important it is to save and invest early. We talked about how inflation can eat up your money. We also briefly discussed when is it right to retire and for how long. This week we will talk about the products one must use to achieve those goals: Social Security You already have a retirement product with the government. Yes, 80 percent of Americans are covered by social security. Employers and employees normally pay 50 percent each (8.25 percent) towards an

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 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

When Elizabeth Quaranta began fundraising two years ago with Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) for a community mural in Azalea Garden, she had no idea that fundraising would turn out to be the easier part of the project. The volunteer community association’s plan was to paint a mural on the park-facing side of the wall behind Azalea garden, adjacent to Mosholu Parkway subway station, located at Mosholu Parkway and Jerome Avenue. Their objective was to beautify a leafy corner of Mosholu Parkland, loved and frequented by the elderly, the homeless, veterans, and local residents, some of whom live

By DAVID GREENE

Everyone’s got to eat. When the pandemic hit the United States in March, it came as no surprise to the owners of Foodtown supermarkets that their business would be deemed essential, but they also knew that they would have to adapt to “a new normal” in order to maintain a safe operating environment for both their staff, and their customers. They did their research, acted on their plan and little did they know, it would subsequently become nationally recognized, and is now an online model for similar businesses. Noah Katz is the co-president of PSK Supermarkets which owns

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO

By the time you read this, school will have started; many, now virtually. At CUNY, this fall semester, I am teaching Retirement Planning. In our temporary “new world,” this should be a very interesting topic this semester. But let’s start with a very simple premise. What is Retirement Planning? For many, it is the objective of achieving financial security and independence. While we all, I am sure, want to achieve a desired financial lifestyle – what many do not understand is that to achieve that future financial independence, one has to be willing to forego a certain sum

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individual shown in the attached video in connection with a commercial burglary which occurred within the confines of the 52nd precinct. It was reported to police that on Aug. 29, 2020, at approximately 00:35 a.m., at 2467 Jerome Avenue, in the Fordham Manor section of the Bronx, an unidentified man entered the location, which is under construction, and removed tools totaling approximately $4,500. The man is seen pushing a generator along the sidewalk in the attached video, which he took from the location.