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 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

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,

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

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The New York Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the man shown in the attached surveillance video and photos who is wanted in connection with a forcible touching incident which occurred in the 52nd precinct. On Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at approximately 5 p.m., in the vicinity of Davidson Avenue and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, a 21-year-old female was entering the vestibule of her apartment building when an unknown man approached her from behind and grabbed the victim’s buttocks. The individual then fled on foot in an unknown direction. The victim sustained no injury.

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance identifying three male individuals who are sought in connection with a series of gunpoint robberies which took place in the 43rd, 44th, 47th, and 50th precincts. The men appear in the attached videos and photos which were taken in the vicinity of various incident locations. Incident Number 1 On Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020 at 7 p.m., in the vicinity of Grant Highway and West 169 Street, in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx, a 66-year-old male victim was walking on the street when two unknown men approached him

By SÍLE MOLONEY

Attorney General James has secured refunds for New Yorkers who purchased gift cards that expired earlier than legally permitted. The court order resolves a lawsuit filed earlier this year in Erie County against gift card company “Simply Certificates,” which profited by selling gift cards to consumers with illegal expiration dates. Some New Yorkers purchased gift cards from Simply Certificates that expired one year from the purchase date, which is in violation of New York State law. The law requires a 5-year period before a gift card can expire. “At a time when so many are hurting financially